Pretty Frugal Pretties

Give thanks

2012-01-06T18:50:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went to Goodwill to see what treasures I could find. I haven't been there in months and was excited to see what was there! I found this beauty. Here's the before and after of my purchase:

My sister made this sign for my mom, years ago...and when we were in Chicago for Christmas, it reminded me that I wanted one too! And of course, since it was made so long ago, my sister couldn't remember what font it was. What's a girl to do? Well, here are the steps I followed:

1. I took a picture of the actual sign and pulled it into Adobe Photoshop Elements (a program that my wonderful hubby bought me for Christmas this year. I was SO excited!)

2. I stretched it out and made it fit in the size of the board I bought.

3. Time to print it out (in full size). It took 4 pieces of paper and I taped it all together.

4. I colored the back of the printed paper with pencil. When I laid it on the black painted board and traced the letters, the outline of the font rubbed off so I had the font transferred right on there.

5. Time to grab some red paint and go to town. I used a small paint brush and painted within the lines. I wasn't too worried about covering all the black underneath the red. I wanted it to look a little rustic/primitive.

I had all the paint on hand....not too bad for a $4 project! :) Here it is up in our kitchen...

Kitchen Rug

2011-10-29T18:54:00.002-07:00

I've been looking for a new kitchen rug for months now. Actually 7 months...since we've moved into our new house. I liked our old rug, but it was a 5'x7' and a bit too small for what I wanted. So, I searched store websites, blogs, Ebay and Craigslist. Well, Craigslist won. A lady was selling a rug she had because she changed her decor. Here's the proof:

She was asking $175. I offered her $125. And she met me in the middle and said she'd sell it for $150. That's what I was hoping for. :) The only issue was that someone else beat me to emailing her....and she was holding it til the next day for a guy. She told me she'd contact me either way and let me know if it was still available after he came. BOO!!

So, I went to bed thinking that it would be gone. Mid-afternoon I got an email from her saying the guy no-showed her! Bad news for her, but good news for me!! I called and said I'd be over in less than an hour to buy it from her!! The best part: you can still purchase these rugs from Target, which is GREAT....because I put the smaller rugs on my Christmas list. I want two of them: one for in front of the stove and sink. And they are even on sale right now! Yeehaw!

Here's a picture of the rug under our kitchen table. Don't mind the bib on the table, the vacuum on the side or the gross back yard. I don't live in a model home...and the weather is JUST starting to cool down to work outside. HA!

Now, I've just gotta get those kitchen cabinets painted and new flooring installed. I'm gonna get tile that looks just like hardwood. I know it's cheaper to do a laminate or actual hardwood, but we've got a pool...and that back door is the way in and out. So...tile it is. :)

The Girly-Girl's Room

2011-10-18T16:54:00.000-07:00

It's been long enough. We've been in this house for a little over 7 months now, and Rylie's room is complete. At least for now. Here is a before picture of the room - I know it's not the best, but it's the only one that shows the real color. The flash didn't go off on the other 'before' pictures, so no need to post them...

See that color? It was this gross peachy color that was AWFUL...and whoever painted, did a HORRIBLE job! I still have to paint over the woodwork that they painted peach. It made the room look dark and grungy. I originally wanted to paint her room pink, but knew she'd outgrow that color really quick -- so I went another direction. I went with a Benjamin Moore color: 'Glass Slipper'. It's a Cinderella blue and more neutral than pink.

And here are the AFTER pictures...

Now...the breakdown of the cost of it:

Desk: $15 on Craigslist
Desk chair: FREE from my grandparents. I just painted it.
Dresser: $85 on Craigslist (came w/ a nightstand I have in the guest room)
Mirror: $7.50 from the thrift store
Toy Box: FREE from a friend. I'll eventually re-do it.
Chalkboard: $15 (I believe) from Ikea. I just painted it.
Trundle bed: $200 on Craigslist. Mattresses were included.
Bedding: $40 from Marshall's.
Curtains: I can't remember how much. I bought the fabric online and made them.
Chest of Drawers: $10 from a friend's garage sale.
'love' sign: FREE. I had the wood and paint and just painted it today.

King Sized Bed

2011-10-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

Ever since I've started feeling better with this pregnancy, I've been a Craigslist stalker. There's so much I want to do with our new house, it's SICK! But unlike most people, we aren't made of money and I don't have a money tree in our backyard. :) I LOVE finding deals....I LOVE re-doing furniture...and I LOVE the inexpensive transformation of a room!

Last Sunday, I found this baby looming in front of my eyes on Craigslist:

Oh, how I LOVED it! We didn't really need a new bed. I was more so looking for an inexpensive king sized bed (or just the frame) to put in our guest room. But this enticed me. I could put our sleigh bed in the guest room and put THIS in our master bedroom! Yeah, that was the plan. But, she was asking $150 for it....more than I wanted to pay.

So, I kept the ad up in my browser. Monday afternoon it was still up, so I emailed her and asked if she'd consider a $75 offer. She had mentioned in the ad that she wanted it GONE...so I thought I had a little wiggle room on the price. All I wanted to pay was $75 anyway, and I figured if she said 'no', then I'd be ok with it and keep looking. She wrote back and said if I could come get it ASAP then she'd sell it to me for that price!

I waited for the bub to get up from a nap and called her. It had been a few hours since she responded through email, so I asked if she was still willing to sell it to me for that price. Yep. So I quickly put on our shoes and headed over. It's BEAUTIFUL! I got it home and hooked up my spray gun and sprayed it black to match our other bedroom furniture. Here's what it looks like:

Please excuse the night stand. The little guy gave me a cold and I've been sick for 4ish days now. There's more to do to the room. I've gotta pick out a paint color and paint, but that'll kill my back now. I may have to wait til this next little boy is born, but it'll get finished eventually.

Off white spray paint

2011-09-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since I've posted. We moved 40 minutes away from our previous home, I've been working on the new house and also found out that we are pregnant with our second child, a boy - due February 1, 2012. So, I've been busy -- but I'm going to try and update more often and show you what I've been doing! My next big project is painting the darn kitchen cabinets AGAIN! Yikes...I swore I'd never do it again, but I've got those ugly honey-oak cabinets that I just don't care for. Oh well, it's got to get done! :)

But here's a little quick project I did a few weeks ago. Well, it's not REALLY a project. More so a quick spray paint job. I got these little birdies from my grandma after she passed away. They are from Ethan Allen. I debated spraying them because I'm sure she paid a pretty penny for them...but they just weren't my style:

See what I mean. They look 70's. So, I bought a can of off white spray paint at Walmart and went to town. Now I LOVE them! They match my decor and I can say I have a little something from my grandparents -- and I remember them anytime I look at them! :)

Such a cheap update! I LOVE spray paint!!!! :)

Transformed Treasures

2010-10-12T10:41:00.013-07:00

I got this 'ole tin tray at a thrift store years ago. I thought it was kinda cute at the time. I never have used it. That just shows how a spontaneous purchase can go to waste. HA! But hey, it's not like I spent a lot of money on it. It was only 25¢. It had a Christmas-y look to it. I have so much Christmas decor that I couldn't possibly put another thing out. Well, maybe I could. But I don't like the look of it.

A few weeks ago I was watching Hoarders on tv. That show grosses me out, but I watch it anyway. This time, it made me realize that I have WAAAAAAAY too much stuff that I don't use. It FINALLY hit me to get rid of stuff that I'm not using or haven't used (or worn) for years. Boy did I go to town. I gave away about half of my wardrobe, I'm selling stuff on Craigslist and I'm throwing things out.

I remembered that I had this tray in an old trunk that needs to be painted black out in my garage. So I went out to get it. It was PERFECT for the top of my toilet in the bathroom. Every time I go to a friends house, the top of their toilets are cute. (Who would have thought I'd say the top of a toilet is cute? HAHA!) Well, mine just had a box of tissues on it. BOOOOOORING!!!

So I grabbed some paint I had on hand (a Waverly paint color: Summer Cottage -- satin finish). I painted that tray up....and VOILA! It's now shabby chic and fits perfectly in my hall bath!

I love transforming things from 'non-usable' to usable and I'd LOVE to see all your transformed treasures! Click on the link below and let's all link up and share our ideas with other blog readers! :) Please be sure to link to your direct post, not to your main page. Happy decorating!

Halloween decorating

2010-09-24T16:27:00.001-07:00

Today I packed up the little bub and we went shopping. I heart The Dollar Tree. You can find so many cheesy things to gussy up! Here's what I did:

I normally don't decorate for Halloween, but I've found so many cute ideas from other blogs lately...that I just couldn't resist.

The cute little witch silhouette was found here. I actually printed it out and traced it onto some scrap fabric I had laying around the house. Then I grabbed a paint brush and black paint and went to town. I LOVE it.

The crow was found here. I don't know what she used to sit this little guy on...it looks like a real stump of wood to me. Since I didn't have that, I bought some round styrofoam pieces and some fake moss to glue on it (both from the Dollar Tree as well). They didn't have the glass candle pillar base (boo), so I found something in my 'armoire' of house goodies that works just fine.

I printed out the 'boo' using Century Gothic font -- size 100 (since my frame was a 5" x 7" instead of a 4" x 6"). I'm thinking about reprinting it, and instead of the word 'boo', I'll make it say 'eek' since I got an orange glittery 'BOO!" at the Dollar Spot inside Target. I don't want too many boo's around here. :)

The cute little orange pumpkin....you guessed it. The Dollar Tree. They have a bunch of different ceramic ones, which I got one of each. I love these little guys....

Thanks to all the bloggers out there who have such wonderful decorating ideas. And plus, they are SUPER INEXPENSIVE, which I'm sure my hubby appreciates!

And just for the heck of it, here's the whole shot. Gotta get that star in the picture! :)

If any of you have other fun fall decorations, let me know! I LOVE seeing different ideas and copying you guys too! :)

Homemade Pumpkins for Fall

2010-09-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, my mom sent me an email to make some pumpkins out of 2x4's. She found a blog with the directions and supplies needed to make them. I bought a long 2x4 at Lowe's for under $3 (which would make at LEAST 4 sets). A bottle of craft paint from Michaels was 88¢ and the twigs were free (found off a tree in the yard). A VERY inexpensive craft project that is SO cute!

I made mine more simple and a little primitive. The heights of my pumpkins are approximately 10", 6.5" and 3.5". We painted one coat of 'Burnt Orange' paint on them, let them dry and sanded down all the edges. I glued a thick twig on the top with a glue gun and then tied a bow around it with raffia.

The hardest part was cutting the wood, but I say that because we were on my back porch in the sun -- while the temperature was 110˚. Not the most ideal situation, but we wanted to get them done and start making them pretty. :)

If you want step-by-step directions, head on over here, as she took pictures of all the steps.

Happy Fall! :)

Bathroom Birdies

2010-07-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a little tidbit about me: I'm constantly re-doing things in the house. Then I give it a few months and I like to mix it up again. I'm sure it drives my husband crazy, but I don't spend a lot of money doing it...so he doesn't care too much. :)

I've had this little shelf for years...and by that, I probably mean about 5 years or so. I bought it at a thrift store, of course...and it sat in my parent's basement since I didn't know what to do with it. I got married, moved half way across the country (from Chicago to Phoenix) and it sat in our garage for almost two years. Then I had a brilliant idea. Well, brilliant in my eyes.

As you see from the picture, my calendar is on February. And I finally just finished the final touches about a month or so ago. I painted this baby in a soft creamy color, "Honeymilk". It was a cheap sample sized can from Lowe's -- MORE than enough paint to get this project done!

Here's a little look into my hall bathroom. The little blue birds are so cute, and I wanted to add a few more. You can't get too many of those little guys in one room, can you? Well...umm...I bet you could, but I didn't go overboard. Anyway, I got this shower curtain as a pre-wedding gift from my mom. Target has the cutest things...and I'm so glad she got it for me...because I knew this one would go fast!

Alright...here's my final added touch. The shelf is done...and I gathered little blue birds all over (one from Etsy, some from my mom, one from Kirkland's, another from a cheap warehouse called Bailey's Discount Center in the boonies of Indiana for a whoppin' 25 cents). The cute little birdie block on the top of my shelf is from my friend, Mindy -- who handmade it. If you have a second, go check out her Etsy shop here.

I'm not completely satisfied with each little bird, but a lot can be done with time! At least I have all the empty spaces filled for now!

Now, the fun part is that you can do this with ANYTHING you'd like! It's a fun way to display things that you LOVE...and I'll guarantee you'll get compliments! :)

Children's rocking chair Re-do

2010-06-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

Lookie what I came across a while ago! I was catching up with my blogs I follow and an old friend of mine found a CUTE children's rocking chair -- and had it re-done! Check out her post! I LOVE seeing everyone's new ideas...as they really inspire me! Here's the before and after:

It turned out SO great...and what a FUN idea for a gift! Kudos to you, Lane! :)

Bedroom furniture makeover

2010-06-02T20:01:00.002-07:00

I recently had a viewer of my blog comment and ask if I could give her some tips to paint her bedroom furniture! And the answer is....OF COURSE! :)

I have the Broyhill Fontana bedroom furniture, but the color of wood just didn't look right in our home. So I did a little research...went to the Broyhill website and noticed that they have the bed in a honey oak color AND black! I LOVED it. I knew it would be a lot of work to paint mine, but I didn't have any kids yet...so I had NO excuse!

Then, my friend Sarah saw what I did and wanted to do hers too. She has the same bedroom suite as I do, so she could see exactly what it would look like before she painted hers. Smart move. I didn't really HAVE that luxury in person. Just a website to see it.

I love black furniture, but imagine all the possibilities with all the colors out there! Seriously, I would LOVE to see all your ideas! I've got to figure out how to put up one of those links where ya'll can enter in your blog addresses and your before & after pictures! :) If anyone has any idea how to do that...let me know! HA!!!

Anyway, back to the furniture. Here's what I did:

Buy some liquid sander deglosser. I bought mine at Lowe's, but I'm sure you can get it at Home Depot, Ace Hardware, etc... (the exact stuff I bought is pictured above).
Use some old rags (or a cut up t-shirt) and rub it all over your furniture. Don't pour it directly on the furniture, as I saw a little bit of a squiggly pattern when I was done with mine (which thankfully didn't show after I had painted it). You want to pour it on the rag first, and then rub on a thin coat all over. Since it's bedroom furniture that is used quite a bit, I would suggest two coats. Read the directions on the back to see how long it takes the first coat to dry. (P.S. It's not long!)
After your furniture is all dry from the deglosser, it's time to paint it up pretty! If you have access to a air compressor and sprayer, I suggest you spray it. (If you do this, you need to pour a little water in the paint mixture to thin it up a bit (not much water)...mix it up...and start spraying). You add the water so it doesn't clog your sprayer up. That's what my friend did...she's got a handy husband who has a super big compressor -- and it worked GREAT! If you aren't that fortunate (like me)...I do it the old fashioned way. Grab that can of paint and a paint brush and start painting. I'd recommend at least two coats of paint. And make SURE you let each coat dry really good. I mean, like at LEAST a whole day...if not two. I've learned that paint that hasn't cured well does NOT mix with everyday use of those pieces of furniture. Do it right. You won't regret it. :)
If you feel the need, after everything is painted and it looks good...you can put on a coat or two of polyurethane. You can choose a shiny or matte sheen. Sarah also used the air compressor and sprayer to spray a thin coat over her furniture. As for me, I didn't do this step. It's held up really well, but I do have a picture frame on our dresser that kinda sticks when I lift it up to dust. But....it's not that big of a deal to me. It's not horrible. Maybe I just didn't wait long enough for it to cure all the way. HA! Oops!!
Put your room back together and show everyone how good your work turned out. I bet they'll want to paint theirs too!
The End.

There's the tutorial on how to do it. Now, here are the before and after pictures from Sarah's room...

Doesn't it look FAB?!?!?!? :)

***UPDATE***
I have had some people ask why the beds are different in the before and after picture. If you notice, the before picture has a queen sized bed and the after picture has a king sized bed. This is my friend Sarah's bedroom. She originally had a queen sized bed -- and right before she started painting this set, she sold it and upgraded to a kind sized bed. So that's why you see a different bed in the 'after' pictures. Because it IS a different bed. She wasn't going to set up the bigger bed and take it upstairs just for her before picture...then take it apart again, to carry it back downstairs to the garage.**

Wooden Highchair

2010-05-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

So, I got this last summer on Craigslist when my little guy was not even 2 months old. I think I paid about $35 for it....but did NOT like the overall look of it. The golden oak just didn't match the rest of my kitchen or house, so something had to be done. I LOVED the detail on it, as it goes with my oak pressed back chairs I have for my kitchen table. So, whats a girl to do in this dilemma? Umm, PAINT IT BLACK!

The lady told me that someone else had stopped at her house to buy it from her and had mentioned they were going to take it apart for parts. She immediately told them that she wouldn't sell it to them - because it was beautiful and that someone would really want a good wood highchair. Well, that would be me. But I didn't have the heart to tell her that I would be painting it. She probably would have thought I was crazy and refused to sell it to me too. HA!

Here's what it looks like after I sprayed it black and then sprayed two coats of polyurethane on it. You know, that had to be done. Because with kids...they are just plain messy...and I knew I'd be wiping it down all the time. It turned out perfect. Now, all I have to do is figure out how to belt the bub in....because he LOVES to spin around in it! :)

Nursery Wall Decoration

2010-03-29T14:04:00.000-07:00

I know that you've all seen the cute vinyl decals that you can buy and put on your wall...but I think they are a little pricey. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE them!! And there are so many different things that you can do with them!

My sister wanted to do something for her daughter's room...but didn't want to go out and spend a good chunk of money for something of the size she wanted. So, she did a little research...and figured she could do it herself. No, I'm not talking about using a Cricut machine (which I hope to own one someday, and you could TOTALLY do this with one)...but the old fashioned way. You know...a paint brush and some paint!

Here's a picture of the room before she started:

What she did was found a picture that she liked online. That probably was the hardest part! HA! Then she used her neighbors overhead projector to scale it to size:

and traced it onto the wall with a pencil:

She went to Sherwin Williams and bought a sample size of paint and painted it!

And here is the the overall look of the corner of baby Kierstyn's nursery:

So, if you have access to an overhead projector, you can do this just by the cost of paint. EASY PEASY! And it turned out BEAUTIFUL! :)

Sock Monkey Diaper Bag

2010-03-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

I know this isn't a 'decorating' post, but I just can't help myself. A few weeks ago, I bought 3 yards of fabric from Fabric.com because I couldn't find the patterns I wanted anywhere local. Guess they were popular a while back...and no one sells them anymore! :( Anyway, I found it online and ordered over $35 of sewing 'stuff', and got FREE shipping and 20% off my order...for a total of $26.39.

Here's a picture of the fabrics that I got:

Isn't the sock monkey fabric SO CUTE?!?!? I LOVE IT!!! Well, after three long days of being at the sewing machine (yeah, it's a long time....but I didn't have a pattern and went off of different diaper bags that I found online)....I got it done!! Here's what it looks like:

Looks like my little bub likes it! :) I just emailed these pictures to my mom and sister -- and they mentioned that my niece needs one and asked how much I charged! HA! Well, this is a one of a kind...and after making this one, I understand why people BUY theirs. It was hard work.

Don't ya'll want a cute sock monkey diaper bag for your kiddos too? :)

New look & a giveaway link!

2010-03-20T10:18:00.001-07:00

As sporadic as I am with keeping up with this blog, I've added some new features! It only took me a whole day to spruce it up and make it look more 'professional'. :) On the right side of the page, you can click the little icons to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. I even managed to set up an RSS button...and when you click it, it gives you the option to subscribe to my feeds and I'll email you every time I make a new post!

On another note, ya'll should stop by Amanda's blog, Imperfectly Beautiful, for a fun, girly, summery giveaway!! And while you are at it...stay a while and read her blog! She's got such GREAT ideas and is one of the nicest women I've emailed back and forth!

I LOVE blog-land. It makes me smile. :)

Craigslist previewer withOUT clicking on the ad!

2010-03-19T12:33:00.001-07:00

If you've read through my posts, you know that I LOVE Craigslist! Whoever Craig is, he is a brilliant man! HA!! My only problem is when people list their 'goods' and title it as beautiful...etc. About 95% of the time, it is NOT beautiful. You know, when you see a listing titled "Beautiful like new sofa". Well, it sounds intriguing, right? Then you click on the post to see a picture like this:

That's not beautiful! It is downright disgusting! I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder, right? It's only a WASTE of time to click on links with furniture like THIS that's being sold for over hundreds of dollars.

Anyway, if you are a huge craigslister like I am, this is WORTH the download and shouldn't bog up your computer or make it a whole lot slower. It does work. I've been using it for months now! Here's what it looks like:

What a GREAT way to browse the site without clicking on every ad that interests you. Now we can all search for deals faster than what we thought we could! HA! Do you like what you are seeing? If so, here's the info on what to do:

1. Install greasemonkey (browser add-on):
For Firefox - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/748
For Internet Explorer - http://www.gm4ie.com/

2. Install the craigslist script:
http://jeffpalm.com/craigslist/0.6/craigslist.user.js

And BAM! You have an instant previewer! :)

**Keep in mind, if you have a slow internet connection, it may take a while longer to load the pictures. Also, you will preview the pictures ONLY if they have uploaded them to Craigslist.**

Paint goes a LONG way!

2010-03-17T12:28:00.001-07:00

I'm tellin' ya....I LOVE LOVE LOVE to make things pretty!! I never thought I'd turn into such a painting fool, and I've pretty much burned myself out doing so much of it - but I can't stop! So many people walk into my house and say that it's beautiful! I respond with a sincere 'thank you', but then proceed to tell them that I do it VERY frugally and almost all my wood furniture is from a thrift store, a garage sale or found on the street with a pile of ~~garbage~~ treasures left for the trash man! HA!

I've been looking for a good toy box for my step-daughter Rylie's room. She has so many toys that we had no place for them! I didn't want to pay big bucks for it....so I waited a few months til I found a good one at a decent price. This was a Goodwill find for $14.99 -- and I had a 20% off coupon! So I got it for a whoppin' $12! It looks ugly, I know. But it's nothing that paint can't make cute!

It had all these Star Wars and shiny butterfly stickers all over it. Who in their right mind would let their kids do that to furniture? Ok, I'm sure the parents didn't KNOW about it til it was already done! :) I got this home and took a razor blade to scrape them off. Then grabbed my power sander (thanks dad for buying it for me for a Christmas present a few years back -- it has been put to good use) and sanded that baby down! I slapped on 3 coats of white paint (yeah, it took that many because the wood was REALLY dark) and this is how it turned out:

Rylie LOVES it. And it's perfect for throwing EVERYTHING in there when it's time to clean up her room! I couldn't be any happier with my thrifty find! :)

Sleigh bed makeover

2010-03-17T11:41:00.001-07:00

Well, hello! Seems like I need to re-introduce myself since it's been three months since my last post. Obviously I took a little time off from blogging. Eeks. I didn't mean to be gone THIS long. I've been busy focusing on my family, giving my little guy some more attention (which he needs since he's now 10-1/2 months old and is scooting all around the house), and of course...doing more projects. Anytime I finish something, I tell my husband that "I'm finally finished and happy with the house". His response back to me is "until tomorrow". HA! And you know what? He's right. I'm constantly doing something to make 'improvements'. :)

Here's a project that I did a while back. I bought a sleigh bed from a nice young man in Scottsdale that I found off craigslist. The cool thing is that he was selling it for his 'bride-to-be' -- and since they were merging furniture, this bed had to go. He goes on to tell us that they were going to be on HGTV's My First Place. Sure enough, we saw the episode a few months after I bought his bed. So, in essence....I bought it from a TV star! HA!! Well, that's what I keep telling myself.

Anyway, It was a pretty cherry colored bed, but it didn't match the furniture in our room. So, what's a girl to do? Paint it black! :) We have the Broyhill Fontana bedroom set -- and I just couldn't find the bed to match in a king size...so I did a little mix-n-match with the furniture and painted it ALL black!

Here's what the bed looked like before:

Yeah, that's right. I set up shop right in the back of the bedroom to paint it. It was over 100 degrees outside, so I couldn't do it in the garage! (Sorry the bed isn't set up in the pictures....but you get the idea of how it looks, right?)

After a few coats of paint, it's all ready to set up and get our room back in order.

I LOVE it. And my hubby thinks it looks good too. I'm just so thankful that I have a wonderful husband who lets me do whatever I want with the house and furniture. :)

The look of all the furniture painted black looked so good that I inspired one of my good friends, Sarah, to do the same to HER set of Broyhill Fontana furniture. Yesterday I went over and we sprayed her's all black too. I don't know if any of you have sprayed furniture vs. painting/rolling with a brush...but it was amazing and less time consuming! Her husband set us up with the air compressor, showed us how to pour the paint in the little thingy and start going. As much as I paint things around MY house, maybe I can convince my hubby to buy one for me! The paint dried a LOT faster and there were NO brush marks!!! When I was spraying, I told Sarah that I was in LOVE with the sprayer!!

Stay tuned for her bedroom makeover! As soon as it's all put together, I'll be doing a before and after post of her room!

Chalkboard fun

2009-12-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

Here's what I bought at the thrift store a few months ago. It was $1.99 and I had the perfect idea about how to transform this ugly tray into something pretty. I saw it on someone's blog. Don't ask who...because I follow so many bloggers now that I can't remember who it was. I really need to start documenting where I find these ideas. Anyway, I'm sure you all have seen it too.

This is the before...

And the FUN Christmas counter top decor after:

Nothin' a little chalkboard spray paint can't fix, right? :) Cheap, fun and something your friends will talk about, guaranteed!

Recipe Dinner Party

2009-12-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

I got a great idea of having a recipe dinner party from a friend of mine from St. Louis! The idea of it is to have your good girlfriends over for dinner but with a twist. Here are a few of the rules:

No boys or kids allowed. This is a time for you to hang out with your friends withOUT any distractions.
Everyone brings something to eat. This makes it easy for the host, so you don't have to spend all day in the kitchen making a complete meal for a bunch of people.
Whatever each person brings - they have to bring copies of the recipe for everyone. **I know that I get tired of the same 'rotation' of dinners I make for us, so this adds more ideas to cook up for your family'."
Last but not least, you MUST have a ton of fun! :)

Here's a little glimpse of what my table looked like when my friends walked in my kitchen!

The cloth napkins were a great find at Goodwill (the day of my party -- ha, nothin' like waiting til the last day to find them). They were $1.99 for eight of them. Yippee! Also, the Santa's in the bowls were a little fun thing found at the Dollar Tree (of course, $1 each). They were just a little something that each person got to take home with them to remember how much fun we had!! And the dishes -- I found them a few years ago at Target after Christmas for 90% off!! I had to go to a few stores to find two sets -- but each set (which included 4 mugs, 4 bowls, 4 salad plats and 4 dinner plates) was a whoppin' $5.99 each!! I bought them before I had even re-connected with my now husband -- but couldn't pass them up because they were SO cheap and pretty!! I didn't realize I'd be getting married 3 years later...but they came in pretty handy! :) And the mirrored cones in the middle of the table...another Dollar Tree find a few weeks ago!

Anyway, I'm thinking this just started an annual tradition! SO MUCH FUN!!!

Ornament Wreath

2009-11-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

My new best friend is the Dollar Tree. I LOVE that place. It has a good variety of junk for a DOLLAR that you can turn into such pretty stuff!!! :)

For example, I saw this and thought it was SO cute! So, where do I go to buy my supplies? Why, the Dollar Tree, of course! I bought 12 (5-packs) of red, green and silver ornaments and 2 (10-packs) of little mini glittery ornaments! I only spend $14 plus tax. The hanger was free because I already had it.

I took the hanger apart and formed it into a circle and started stringing those babies on. If you attempt this, you buy the mini ornaments as 'fillers' so you don't see the hanger! When I got to the top, I hooked it and found some pretty ribbon to hang it by! I LOVE it. The pictures don't really do it justice...it's SO much more pretty and sparkly in person! :)

Paper Christmas Trees

2009-11-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

Ok. So, if you saw my post about the little paper Christmas trees from Martha Stewart, chances are you thought they were cute -- just like me! I was dying to have these in my house, and although I don't have my Christmas decorations up yet, these are the only things that are Christmas-y in here right now. Let me tell you, they aren't as simple as you think they would be. There's a lot of folding. I'm SO glad I didn't get cardstock - but the scrapbook paper was a little too 'thick' I thought. It took me QUITE a while to make these. If you know me, then you know I pretty much expect perfection. And these are not perfect. But, I didn't give up -- and kept on going. Just wanted to let ya'll see how mine turned out!! If any of you attempted it...let me know about your experience making them! :)

$1.59 Christmas Craft

2009-11-21T12:01:00.001-07:00

I was at Michael's last night sauntering around the aisles - completely baby free, taking my dear sweet time! I ran across this cute red glitter word 'Hope' that was in the dollar bin. I love things for $1! I pondered the idea of buying it, but didn't know what I'd do with it. So, I kept browsing the store. Then I hit the scrapbook paper aisle and had a brilliant idea! I had seen this done on someone's blog...(I'm so sorry...I can't remember who it was), but she made one for Halloween. It was so cute...so I thought I could do the same! Anyway, I grabbed a piece of shiny green scrapbook paper (for 59 cents) and scurried back to the dollar bin to grab that glitter word!

This is what I made out of it! I had an old frame laying around the house...so that was free! I glued my 'Hope' onto the paper and put it in the frame! So simple. It took about 2 minutes and it'll look so cute during the holidays!!

So, if you wanna make a fun holiday craft for under two bucks, head on out to Michael's and grab your goods! :)

Kitchen Cabinet Painting 101

2009-11-19T17:52:00.001-07:00

Fun title, huh? I thought about it....and it's kinda fun putting '101' behind anything. For example, cooking 101 or sewing 101. The '101' makes people perk up...as if there's something to learn. :) I don't know if there's really anything to learn in this post....but a reader asked what I did to transform my kitchen, step by step and with some extra close-up shots. So here is my attempt to answer any questions that have come up in your mind - and show you really how simple it is to do (and by simple, I don't mean quick. Because as you all probably read in the original kitchen post, it took me 2 months to complete).

So, I started off by taking down all my cabinet doors. I put all the hinges and screws in a plastic ziplock baggie - because if I lost any of them, it wouldn't make me happy. I didn't number anything to know which door belonged where....and I wish I did. But, I don't know HOW I would have done it anyway - because I painted the insides as well. So, if any of you attempt this and have an idea....please let me know what you did! :)

I set up two card tables in my kitchen and threw a drop cloth over them, because I didn't want white paint splats everywhere! And here are the steps I went through:

I didn't do ANY sanding. I used a product called "Easy Liquid Sander Deglosser". You can buy it at Lowe's in the painting aisle...and it's pretty cheap. Can't remember how much it was...but it's worth it, so you don't have to use a power sander...or even worse, your hand and a piece of sand paper. Yuck! I put one coat on each side of the door with an old rag. Let each side dry first before you flip it and do the other...otherwise, it'll stick to the drop cloth! :)

After dried, you can now start covering up your ugly cabinet doors! I went to ACE Hardware (or you can go anywhere that sells Benjamin Moore paints) and bought one can of Benjamin Moore Primer - Fresh Start - All Purpose Primer, 100% acrylic. It has a green label. I'm really sorry...but I don't have an actual picture of MY can, because when I poured it out...I got paint all over the front of the label...but here's what it looks like. You MUST wait for it to be completely dried before you move onto the next step. If you don't let it cure right...it's going to scrape off or peel. And you don't want that to happen, do you?! :) **P.S. I only primed one coat -- on both the front and back of the door.**

Next step was to paint the real white color that I got. It was Benjamin Moore's 'White Dove'. It's a soft white (looks a little off white when compared to a bright white). The paint I got was Benjamin Moore -- Waterborne, Satin Impervo, Acrylic Low Luster Enamel. This is the part that took the longest - since the paint took longer to dry than the primer. It took a day per side of a cabinet door. I painted the front once and the next day I turned it over and painted the back. The next day I flipped it over and painted the front one more time. And my secret is that I didn't paint the insides twice. Just one coat of primer and one coat of paint. :) Hey, it saved me a lot of time....and no one notices the insides either.

And then it was time to hang the doors! :) I did these steps over and over -- because I only had room to do around 4 doors at a time. I also used the smaller paint rollers to do this project -- and kept them in a ziplock baggie in the refrigerator when I wasn't using it.

Now, I did use a brush on the base of my cabinets - but on the 2nd coat of paint, I just rolled it -- so it had the same 'texture' as the doors (although, 'texture' isn't the right word...because it doesn't look bumpy because I used rollers). I just didn't want to use a brush for all my cabinets and doors - or have the chance that I'd see brush marks. The roller eliminated all of that and cut my time down!

Now, here's the best picture that I have of a close-up -- where you can see how it looks. As you see...there is a bit of 'texture'...but when you are like a foot away...you don't see it. And they all look the same...so it's uniform. You can click on it to make it bigger!

Facebook page!

2009-11-18T22:06:00.001-07:00

So, I just set up a Facebook page for Pretty Frugal Pretties! Feel free to become a fan --by clicking here. Be patient with me as this is my first attempt to setting up a 'fan page' -- as I don't really know what I'm doing! HA!!

And I just set up a Twitter account as well. If you 'tweet', follow this link as well. :)

Back Porch

2009-11-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

So, I had a back porch that was boring. A porch that I didn't want to really use when it's nice here. You know, the winter time -- when it's like 60 degrees! And who doesn't want to eat outside when it's nice outside?!?! Here's a little before picture of what it was like.

After being in this house for a year and a half...I noticed that my 'backyard' neighbor had some fun lights on her covered porch. So, one evening...when she was out, I ran inside to grab my stepstool ladder and took it outside. That's right. I propped it up so I was visible over our 6' privacy wall. I introduced myself and then asked where she got her lights. She told me they were umbrella lights and she got them at Lowe's.

Well, my husband and I ate dinner and then I ran out to get them. But, they weren't there anymore. They had colorful christmas lights. That's it. So, Target was my next stop. Sure enough...they were there. I had to buy two strands of them (I think they were $11.99 each). So, for $24 -- I spruced up my back porch and LOVE eating out there in the evenings now! They provide just enough light to see what you are eating and see the other people at the table...but not too much where bugs are coming around! Check it out....

Laundry Soap Bucket

2009-11-18T10:01:00.001-07:00

Do you have a big Tide box sitting around in your laundry room? Wanna get rid of it, but don't know what to put your laundry soap in? Well, here's what I did with mine. When I was at Goodwill a while back, I found a tall tin with a lid. You know, one that came with popcorn in it at one time? It was the PERFECT size and I snatched it up for only $1.99!

I brought it home and hosed it out and let it dry up real good. Then attacked it with spray paint. But not regular black spray paint. CHALKBOARD spray paint! :) It had to dry for at least 24 hours (I think that was the dry time)...then it was time to pull out the chalk. It's WAY cuter than a laundry soap box and you can write or draw whatever you want on it. Here's mine:

And as an added bonus, if you wanna make your own detergent (yes, I said MAKE)...head on over here -- she gives you instructions on how to do it - and it works. I've been using it for months! It doesn't suds up like normal laundry soap -- because there aren't any of the 'bad' ingredients in it, so don't go expecting a good ole sudsy wash! But, it does clean your clothes really good -- and my whites have become much whiter since using it!

Martha Stewart

2009-11-17T12:42:00.001-07:00

Shoot, she has the CUTEST ideas! :) Mindy, a friend of mine on Facebook posted this link...and I HAD to share with you all!! If you all get excited about decorating for Christmas like I do...you'll wanna head out to get some materials to make these:

Aren't they ADORABLE?!?!? Well, here's the link to learn how to make them! Have fun and let me know how yours turned out! :)

Furniture upgrade

2009-11-13T12:29:00.001-07:00

So, this summer I bought this caaaaaaute chaise lounge. It was down filled and SO comfy. It wasn't my style of fabric for my family room, but my goal was to recover it to make it match. Here's the original picture off CL that they had posted:

I bought it for $40. Finally, after having in the family room for about 5 months, I decided I wasn't going to recover it. I just didn't want to tackle this project or spend all the money for the fabric. It would have been pretty pricey. More than I wanted to spend. So, I started looking for something else. And finally, a chair popped up that matched the colors of my house (you'll see more posts with pictures of our home later on)...and it was even a recliner. I know what you all are thinking. A recliner? Aren't those big and bulky and kind of for 70 year olds? HA....I know. But wait til you see it. It was a Lane wingback chair that was ALSO a recliner. You'd never know unless you were told that it was. I loved it. It was smaller than the chaise and I didn't have to recover it.

I paid $50 for it. Pretty decent price, huh? Well, the same night....right before we went out to pick it up, someone who had been emailing me about the chaise I listed called me and asked if she could come pick it up. She bought it for $60. Perfect timing. If you did the math, I made out pretty nice:

$40 -- Original price of chaise

$60 -- Sold the chaise for this price

-------

+ $20 -- I've already made $20 on my 'chair swap'

- $50 -- for the new wingback recliner

-------

$30 - total out of pocket for finding a chair I LOVE! :)

I didn't intend on doing all of this, but it's just how it worked out. And if I had a bedroom big enough to keep the chaise, I totally would have. But, without a basement...it was just better to sell it. And when I have a bigger house someday, I'm sure I'll run into something else that I just 'have to have'! :)

Plantation Shutters

2009-11-13T11:40:00.001-07:00

So, a while back -- I saw these plantation shutters on Craigslist and she was asking $40 for them. I thought they were REALLY cool....and had a great architectural look to them since the tops were rounded. I emailed and got specific dimensions to make sure they fit in a specific spot in my home. They are over 5' tall -- taller than they look in the original picture below (that was on CL). I also asked if she'd take $20. Oh yeah, I'm a big bargainer -- and it's just part of the 'thrill' to see how frugal you can be while getting something so cool. She emailed back saying "Make it $25 and they are yours!"

I didn't know EXACTLY what I was going to do with them, but I had an idea. So we went to get them on a Saturday afternoon, and while strapping them on top of the car, the frame broke. Oh well...it was something I could fix...and it was a great deal as it was. They were actually from a multi-million dollar home in Scottsdale, so that was kinda fun to hear! HA!!

When we got home, I put them on a ledge in our entryway. I LOVED them. One problem, they were a little too big. So, I took the frame off. After all, it was broken. They fit PERFECTLY!!! :) But, something was missing. I went around my house to see what I could do to 'spruce' them up. And this is what I came up with. Pure LOVE!!! :)

Tip Junkie

2009-11-12T13:45:00.002-07:00

Ok, I just ran into a super fun blog. She's doing this '12 Days of Junkie', where she gives away things for 12 days! How fun is this?!?!? Today, we are on day 4 of the giveaway (too bad I missed the first 3 days). Anyway, go check this out and have fun browsing....her giveaways are SOOOO tempting! :)

http://www.tipjunkie.com/

Don't ya just love the land of bloggers? I sure do! :)

It hasn't been a week yet...

2009-11-12T10:59:00.001-07:00

Since I set up this new blog and I've been doing SO much blog-hopping that I forgot to feed my 6-month old son the other day before I laid him down for a nap. NO WONDER he didn't sleep for me! Well, I felt a little bad for him...but he's not lacking in the food department. He's got good 'ole thighs like his mama -- (you know how it goes when you have a baby, right)? :)

Anyway, I ran across this lovely blog and thought I'd share it with you: http://blondiesjournals.blogspot.com/

First off, she has a glittery header on her page to DIE for! :) I love it...and one day I hope to totally create my own background and blog header all by myself. No kits and no using the free ones online. After all, I am a Graphic Designer -- so there's no reason I couldn't do it. But, my family is more important -- and I work around them!

Second off, she's having a GREAT giveaway! Go check it out and good luck!

And last but not least, she's from Chicago! That's where I consider myself to be from....since my family all still lives there! I miss them, but not the weather that's a-coming! HAHA! While they are dealing with sub-zero temps and snow, I'll be enjoying the sunshine and 60's while having my doors open to air out the house.

Chandy Before & After

2009-11-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

So, I had this light in my kitchen that was good and served the purpose. But, it just wasn't my style - since I've pretty much re-done my whole house in a year and a half. (Sorry about the picture, but my hubby wasn't gonna get off the ladder while he was taking it down so I could get a 'before' picture). I knew what I wanted -- a Williamsburg style chandelier. I priced these babies out and BOY are they expensive....so I held out and was a Craigslist stalker for weeks. Finally one popped up and the guy wanted $20 for it. Here's what it looked like:

He said if interested to call him. I don't know about all of you, but I don't like dealing with people over the phone. So, I let it pass. Then a few days later, the posting was gone. So, I did another search. There it was again. I guess he just wanted it to be the most recent in the searches -- so I re-listed it. It went on and on like this for a week and a half and apparently no one wanted to buy it. So, I mustered up the courage to call. I asked all about it...if it worked, the dimensions, how long the chain was, etc. Then bombed him with the question, "Would you consider taking $10 for it?" There was a pause and then he responded with, "Ok, sure. I guess I could take $10 for it." I immediately said "Well GREAT! I'll take it!" and we made arrangements to pick it up. I got there and it looked as if one of the arms didn't work -- it looked burned out and was re-wired. Oh well...for $10 -- I couldn't go wrong.

I got it home and took the white candlesticks off...and sure enough. There had been an ATTEMPTED re-wire done....and it wasn't right. So I had my husband stick the two wires in the electrical socket to see if it worked. Sure enough, it did. I went to the garage to my 'lamp overflow' and had a little lamp that had the exact part that I needed. My hubby re-wired it for me and the whole thing worked now! Yeehaw!!!

The next day, I took my handy can of Krylon black satin spray paint and went to town! I let it sit and cure for a day and we hung it in my kitchen the next day and BOY do I love it!!! :) ALL FOR TEN DOLLARS!!!!!

Cabinet Knobs

2009-11-11T10:04:00.001-07:00

Alright. Here is my frugal secret to getting hardware for your kitchens, bathrooms or any cabinets you have around your house! My mom found these for me on Craigslist for $20. I think there were over 70 knobs included WITH the screws too (enough to do my whole kitchen and both bathrooms)! She emailed them and asked if they'd take $10. The lady emailed her back and said for $15, they were hers. DEAL! I know you have seen these at one point of your life. Kinda 80ish -- cream knobs with little brown flecks in the ceramic...here is what they used to look like:

And this is what they look like now -- all finished and installed on my cabinet doors:

Here is what I did to them. Pretty easy peasy - and for SO cheap! I didn't want to spend $3-4 PER knob...especially since I had to buy 30 for my kitchen alone!

So, I ~~ran~~ drove over to Lowe's and went straight to their spray paint aisle (which I knew exactly where it was...who doesn't?) and chose a color. I thought I was getting an oil rubbed bronze. At least I grabbed a can from that row -- and a can of primer. Little to my knowledge, I bought a color called Black Night Metallic and didn't realize it til they were sprayed already. But they turned out FABULOUS! :)

Here are pictures of what I bought, because if any of you are looking to tackle this project and are like me....I like to see a visual! So, here's the primer (color: Dark Gray Primer):

I took a damp paper towel and wiped down the knobs good...getting all the grease and yuckie things off of them. I let them dry, then sprayed on ONE coat of this primer. Then, after all dried...I sprayed on this (color: Black Night Metallic):

Talk about a VERY inexpensive project and SO easy! And to answer the question "Has the spray paint rubbed or scratched off since you didn't sand the knobs?" Nope. But I don't go scratching them on a daily basis. I just grab them like a normal person does. HA! :)

Coffee Table

2009-11-10T12:45:00.002-07:00

Ever see a cool coffee table you love, but it just wouldn't match the style of your home? Well, no sweat! Nothin' a little paint and a paint brush can't cure! A little less than a year and a half ago, I found this cute coffee table on Craigslist and HAD to have it. I don't have a basement, so any extra storage is great -- and this had three deep drawers to hide some of my ~~junk~~ treasures. It was listed for $70, but being the frugal one - I email and ask if they'd take $50. He said yes, so we made arrangements to go pick it up.

It was about an hour away, and my patient husband drove me over there to buy it. (Hey, I wasn't gonna drive that far by myself, being in a new city for just a few months!). It was perfect, exactly what I wanted. I had a vision...and I wouldn't rest until it was pretty! Just imagine this strapped to the top of a car. Yeah, we do it the bootlegged way, but you have to make do with what you have, right? This was it...

Well, I got it home and prepped it - by putting on a few coats of Liquid Sand Paper (which is something that I ALWAYS have on hand). I opened the drawers and I found a dime! So really, I got it for $49.90, HAHA!! Ok...back on subject! After the coats of Liquid Sand Paper were dry, I rolled on a few coats of black paint (Valspar paint that I bought at Lowes - in Satin finish). I then took my awesome power sander (thank you dad for buying me a new tool every year for Christmas) and sanded down the edges a little to give it a rustic/primitive look. Here is the after:

Now it sits covered by a sheet in my garage. We decided by having small kids in the house, that we should get a big ottoman. My hubby thought that since it wasn't staying in the house - that I should just sell it and make some money on it. I don't know what he was thinking, but when I find a piece of furniture I ~~like~~ LOVE, I refuse to get rid of it. Because one day when I have a bigger house, I'll wish I would have kept it. Therefore, our garage is piling up with goodies! :)

Kitchen Makeover

2009-11-09T19:02:00.012-07:00

See the above picture? Do you have ugly cabinets in your kitchen? If you don't, consider yourself lucky! But for me, I wasn't one of those lucky people. I had DISGUSTING, ugly, builder's grade, light oak cabinets that made me not want to go into my kitchen. Ever. They were probably the cheapest cabinets that could be put in a house and I hated them.

We don't plan to be in this house for a whole long time, so getting new cabinets installed was not an option. My sweet husband didn't want to put that kind of money in it, especially since he didn't really see a problem with the kitchen in the first place. Ok. Fair enough. But that didn't mean that they weren't going to change. Did I mention that my kitchen was UGLY?!? What it DID mean was the only alternative was for me to paint them. Eek. With a 4-month old? What was I getting myself into? Oh well. I'm a stay at home wife and mom...so I could dedicate all my 'baby-free' time (which would pretty much be naptime) to the makeover. It was worth it.

I did a lot of kitchen makeover research online, checking out a bunch of blogs and getting ideas that would work for what I had. I REALLY REALLY wanted to paint them black, but I didn't think it would be wise with my dark red walls - and I had to think about resale as well. So, I decided to go with white cabinets and a black kitchen island.

I spent a little over $100 (for paint and and supplies -- after all, I'm a paintin' fool and needed a new brush and some more rollers). After all my research, I thought I could get this project done in a weekend. So, I started it on a Saturday morning. What was I thinking?!?!? There was NO way I was going to get this done in a WEEKEND!!! Two months later, it is completely finished. FINALLY. Will I ever do this again? I say no, but if we move into another house that has ugly cabinets...I probably will. It was hard and very time consuming. But I love it. I love it a LOT! :)

Here's the after:

Here are some more before/after pictures of my makeover...

Before:

After:

And here's a slide show of all the pictures that I took during the process:

My next few posts will be about the little details to pull the kitchen all together. You won't BELIEVE how little I spent to make this kitchen the way it is now! :)

In the beginning...

2009-11-09T18:22:00.002-07:00

So, I finally broke down and started a home decorating blog. I used to put different things on my personal blog for my friends and family to see, but had to make it private due to personal reasons -- and plus, there were a lot of posts about my family that I didn't really want made public. It wasn't a 'decorating' blog anyway, so I figured that not a lot of people would even return! HA!!

So, this is my attempt to put all my decorating ideas and projects on here to inspire others! I absolutely love finding cheap trashy treasures at thrift stores and garage sales and making them into pretties and displaying them in our home. That's what this blog is all about...decorating parts of your home by being frugal. And by frugal, I don't mean cheap. There is a huge difference. I think that's what makes it fun...spending little and making it look like you spent a lot. :) I hope you all enjoy browsing through my blog! Feel free to email me anytime with questions...and I'll do my best to get back to you with a prompt response!