An itch...

As I was leaving a kids party with my kidos, I was in the mood for a little fun...

What does a mother of two do for fun you ask?

Well, in the warmer months I usually go to a lot of garage sales and flea markets, however the winter months put a little damper on that.

As I sat at the traffic light, I pondered.... should I turn left and go to the thrift store OR should I turn right and go home? hmmm...

I chose to go left...

Normally I would just leave the kids at home, but my hubby was away on a trip to Maine.
Who needs him, right? I CAN DO THIS!

Now who knows what I needed or wanted, but isn't that the best part? The anticipation of where my house will go with an unexpected trip to a thrift store...oh the possibilities!

While at the store, I stumbled across a great pot belly lamp. It needed some work, but that's the fun of it! I instantly knew I wanted to paint the lamp a glossy cream color.

As luck would have it, I also scored a beautiful porcelain horse book end, some old skeleton keys, and an Edgar Allan Poe hard cover book. All for $22.

The kids were pretty good too. Aside from the unexpected chasing game my son wanted to play as we were walking out to the car and my hands were full carrying my goodies, hoping not to break them...

Since I was FRESH OUT of glossy cream spray paint, we were off to a home improvement store. While cruising the isles, I happened to find a great lamp shade for my not-so-perfect lamp. Major points!!!
Then a mirror I just had to have made its way in the cart too.

I was on a  roll!

Then it happened….as I walked out of the store, I realized, I don’t have my precious Tahoe, but my hubby’s small sedan….and 2 car seats, 2 kids, a very large mirror, 2 lamps, a lamp shade, a horse bookend, skelteton keys, and a book. AND my hubby's golf clubs in the trunk! I don’t even think it’s a sedan but I guess because it has 4 doors…

Anyhow, we have a problem.

I start by putting the kids in first-- they have to come home with me, right?
I then empty the trunk and try to get the mirror in there…not happening, then the front seat…nope…. Am I going to have to return the mirror?
Can you just imagine all my stuff out on the pavement and me shuffling around like some loser?

About 15 minutes later, I finally got the mirror between the kids feet and the 2 front seats. Thank goodness not one of my kids asked for a snack or to use the potty--I would have flipped!

I crammed the rest of the stuff where it would fit and let's just say it wasn't a very comfortable ride home for anyone. I also scanned the parking lot to make sure no one was watching me. I could just see it now...watching the 5 O’ Clock news with a clip showing me stuffing my kids in a cramped car filled with crap.

Hopefully no one I knew saw me either....

Which brings up another question--Have you ever crammed a very large mirror in front of your children's feet (that are hopped up on sugar from a birthday party!!) hoping that they don't break it?

It was a miracle!

We finally made it home and here is a photo of the not-so-perfect lamp BEFORE...

And AFTER...

And REFRESHED

I JUST love it!

Here's a picture of my mantle BEFORE

And AFTER with my NEW MIRROR!

I pulled the finial containers from my bedroom, the horse from the entertainment center and changed the candles to pillars.
The bird is a pepper shaker!

A picture of the HORSE BOOKEND & EDGAR ALLAN POE BOOK

NOW, what am I going to do with the 3 skeleton keys?

I saw a picture a few years ago, where the keys were matted in a frame. I decided I was going to give it a try...

I recycled a frame in my basement, that I wasn't using, which happened to have a matted frame already in it with 3 slots. BINGO!

I spray painted it gold and used card stock scrap paper (4.5" X 6.5") as the back drop for the keys and glued them on.

What a beauty! My NEW piece of art!


I know just the WALL for this!

While working with the scrapbook paper, I also had a great idea for the perfect sized paper...

THANK YOU NOTES!

The pads come in a book of 60 or 72 pages at a craft store for about $5.99. The paper is already cut to the perfect size--all you have to do is fold it in half!
I imagine you can buy some small envelopes to fit, however I have (for some reason?) hundreds of unclaimed small envelopes in my card bin.

You could find a pretty box, fill it with these "note cards", and you are ready to roll when the time comes!

You could take this a little further and give a SET as a GIFT to a NEW BRIDE, NEW MOM or as a HOSTESS GIFT

AND you could cut them in half, hole punch, thread the ribbon through the hole and tie a ribbon on a bottle of wine. Perfect for a personalized message to the recepient!

If you really want to show off-- you could glue PUNCH EMBELLISHMENTS or SCRAPBOOKING EMBELLISHMENTS to them. The possibilities are ENDLESS!

What a great DAY!!!

Not too bad for an ITCH!

This HUNT was $101...

LAMP--$10
SHADE--$25
HORSE BOOKEND--$5
SKELETON KEYS--$3
EDGAR ALLAN POE BOOK--$4
MIRROR--$45
CREAM SPRAY PAINT--$3
SCRAPBOOK PAPER--$5.99 (60 NOTE CARDS--less than 10 CENTS per card!)



Some of my NEXT PROJECTS include--

Refreshed COO COO CLOCK

SMALL FOYER CLOSET AND HALLWAY turned multi-tasking mudroom

NEW BUNK BED AND NAUTICAL THEME ROOM for the BIG BOY!

Refreshed PRECIOUS LITTLE GIRL ROOM


From my HOUSE to your HOUSE, HAPPY HUNTING!



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Linking to:
Thrifty Decor Chick
Southern Hospitality
Shabby Nest
Jennifer Rizzo
Watch Out Martha
A Stroll Thru Life
Tatertots and Jello