School Desks

At the beginning of the summer I knew that I wanted to get desks for the kids rooms. I went thrifting and found some great deals! I paid a little more for this first desk because I really wanted it. I think it was $20 because it was a consignment item.

A little bit o' magic with a can of Fire Engine Red spray paint and...............VOILA!!!

I then found a chair at GW for $5 and sprayed that the same color spray paint!

I added a blue seat cushion that I picked up at WM for $4 and it makes a perfect addition to his new Mario Bros. Room!

I also picked up the little tin buckets at Gee to the Dubbya! I think they were 50 cents each. He loves math and wanted to learn his times tables, so I got him a poster for above his desk.

So...then I went to GW and found this desk for .......99 cents!!!!!! It had some nasty corkboard on the back and had some nails sticking out the top. I took both of those off and cleaned out the drawers. I sanded it and painted it with Black Laquer spray paint. I then picked up some sheet metal from Lowes and glued it with Gorilla Glue to the back. The kids and I made some magnets with those clear stones (the kind you put in vases) from the Dollar Tree, some magazine cutouts, and Modge Podge! They turned out awesome, picture and tutorial to come later!

THE AFTER

I was super shocked at how good this turned out. He loves it!! I also picked up this dirty nasty metal chair for 99 cents. It was VERY grimy. A little cleaning and replacement of the seat cushion and backing (that was a vinyl) with some blue fabric and it was awesome!

I also put some black trim around the edges of the sheet metal with hot glue!

Oh...and the frame (which now has a picture in it), the boxes, and the lamp....all from GW! I think I spent a total of $4.00.

We added a silohette vinyl to his wall for the overall look. He loves his new room!

Back-to-school

School supplies-Check...Backpacks-Check...Lunch boxes-Check... So I guess it is about time to start getting organized. I got my daughter's volleyball schedule for August and quickly realized that we also signed both boys up for soccer and it will soon be chaotic with a million things to do once school starts. I have a cubby area next to the garage door that will be our go-to area for all schedules, calendars, school papers and such. I was not sure what to do with this area but I knew I had to do something. When we first moved in, I quickly hung up a bulletin board that I had, but it was not working so well because it is kind of dark in the space and hard to reach the back wall because of the shelf.

This space was becoming a catch-all.
I remembered that I had a shelf in the garage that would work. I picked this shelf up last summer at a garage sale for $3.00. I got my trusty spray paint and went to work. I wanted a satin finish and also wanted to distress it some. I put on two coats.

Then started sanding the edges with my block sander.

Love the distressed look

So I took down the bulletin board and got my trusty "Hercules Hooks"....Love these things!! I actually found some at walmart, but they were a different brand. They are easy to hang up and hold lots of weight!

I needed something to hold school supplies for homework and activities for the year. I got this set of cans (4 cans in a set) that had ducks on them. They were at Goodwill for 99 cents!! So...I grabbed some scrapbook paper, tags that I had, some ribbon, and my trusty Modge Podge!! I love that stuff!

Went to work adding the paper which was a little tricky trying to not get wrinkles or bubbles on these cans. It dried without too many bubbles.

Next, I needed some kind of system to keep activities organized and remembered that I had a dry erase board that was also magnetic that was hanging on the bottom of a chore chart that I never used...perfect!

I printed out my kids names on some white cardstock. I used the font..My Underwood..because I loved that it looked like old typewriter font.

I had a roll of magnetic strip that was sticky on one side. I cut it to length and peeled off the back and attached my cardstock name.

I then took a permanent marker to outline the board because I wanted to keep the days separated. I found these cool day of the week magnets at walmart for only a few dollars! They were exactly what I needed for this project. I already had these in my office.

I added a calendar that I already had under the board. I placed each kids name at the top. Now I can keep track of where everyone needs to be, who has snack day at school, school programs, etc.

Added my cans to the shelf. I also picked up these two jars at Goodwill for 49 cents each! :) I have push pins in one and pencils in the other. We can never have enough pencils in this house and hopefully now everyone where be able to find one for homework.

I added a colored pencil can, glue, scissors, crayons. I LOVE the way this looks.

The AFTER! I also had these green cubby baskets that were in my office and not being used. This is great for papers that I want to keep or things that are needed for school projects! I put a file folder basket on the other side to hold important papers that I need to sign and return to school or for other important school information.

Getting Organized With Labels

I have to confess that I am a little obsessed with organizing and having things in their places. My husband jokes that it is just that I have OCD, but I just like things to look pretty. I could spend hours in The Container Store, grab any magazine that says "organize" on it, and think that a well organized shelf is a work of art. Before our move, I went through my kitchen and pulled out everthing that I did not need and tried to get everything else organized for our new kitchen. I came across a fabulous website that has printable labels called JustSomethingIMade.com and also from Family Fun. Wal-Mart has the best jars and I have to stay away from that aisle or else I will buy more.

Love how these look when I open my cupboard! My husband even loves them too!

As I was organizing, I had these spice jars (that I bought about 8 years ago!) and wanted to make them cute, so I added these labels on them that I printed off my computer. I just used clear packing tape. On move-in day, I immediately spotted this spice rack that the previous owners left behind and was sooo excited because I just finished adding the labels to my spice jars...coincidence...I think not! :)

I also picked up some containers from the Dollar Tree and added some labels the same way. I still have a few more to add, but love the way they turned out!

I do have a delima that I need some advice on. I have a little cubby area that will be our "school paper center" and I have no idea how to organize it. Any tips on organizing kids papers, school supplies, shoes, and such...please leave me a comment! Thanks!!!

Summer Time Garden

I was very lucky when I moved into this new house to find a raised gardening bed around the deck! I had plans to garden, but this made it that much easier. This was my first attempt to grow anything you can eat! My thumb is not very green, but I thought I would give it a try. We planted 4 different tomato varieties and peppers..green, red, and yellow (though I cannot remember which is which because my youngest son decided to move the markers around). There were already strawberries planted, but they are not yielding very big fruit. We are thinking of moving them to a pot for next year and planting more veggies. There are also morning glories planted (pssst....I kept waiting for them to grow beans because I thought they were pole beans! HAHA..remember..green thumb).

I also planted some marigolds around the plants because I read somewhere that they keep the bugs and slugs away...so far, so good!

This one is an heirloom variety

Some "Better Boys" (better than what, I don't know?)

We have been eating outside on the deck alot this summer. We have nice shade over the deck in the evening, so why not take advantage of the cool breeze during dinnertime. I wanted to do a simple tablescape to make it fun. I pulled out the vintage jars (love these!!) that I just picked up at a thrift store and decided that adding some candles would be great.

My very sweet husband has been practicing his grilling skills. He grilled some lemon herb chicken. We made a salad which I have named "Rainbow Salad". Lots of veggies, feta cheese, and greek dressing. The kids loved that I added stars to the salad that are made from peppers.

My kids have been much more willing to eat fruits and veggies since we started the garden! Score!!! So, we made up a fruit salad with mango, dried cherries, grapes, and mango for dessert.

We also decided to use our one little red tomato that was finishing ripening on the window sill and went down the road to an Amish man's little roadside farmer's market to gather some more veggies. I have a feeling that we will become friends!

We made stuffed tomatoes with some green peppers, onion, garlic, chedder cheese, and a sprinkle of parmesean cheese on top. They were delicious!

My little tablescape turned out pretty nice! I loved having the candles in the blue glass jars as it was turning dusk. It made for a nice ambiance.

Summer of thrifty redos-End Table

I am super excited for my first post for Get Your Craft on Tuesday! I have checked out this site for a few months now and love it! Great ideas from some great ladies!


During transition from our old house and new, I started going to thrift shops to look for furniture and house decor. I have collected A LOT of stuff to blog about, but I thought I would start out with this table. We needed a table in the home theater to hold remotes and also to hold drinks. One day while at Goodwill, I spotted this little beauty! As I got closer, my mouth dropped when I saw the sticker and it was only .....$1.99!! I immediately picked it up and made my way to the checkout (I actually made my daughter help me haul it to the front!)

It was missing one of the front knobs, but I knew that I was going to replace those anyway. I loved the quirkiness of the legs and its size. It was perfect. After a little sanding, alot of black laquer spray paint (the top was giving me tons of trouble because it was not looking great) and finally a coat of black chalk board spray paint (because it was what was on hand) and a clear coat...TA DA!

I added some brushed nickle knobs that I found at Wal-Mart. I love the way it turned out.

My first home blog

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging about my new home. I love being crafty and thrifty. I just moved into a new home with my family of 5 and have been decorating and trying to come up with budget friendly ways to make my home beautiful. I have gotten many great ideas from other blogs that I have come across. I hope I can inspire someone else with my craftiness!