Downtime. Upcycle.

Thrift Store Find Turns New Vanity

2014-10-08T06:06:00.000-07:00

Oh Hello $10 real wood thrift store desk(????). table (?????) thingy (????). Any hoo, I love you now.

Before you buy a new vanity for a bathroom remodel, rethink old furniture! There are tons of tutorials online which I used to make this. I got my sink from ebay for $60. The faucet was a ridiculous price that I don't even what to admit to paying, but we hadn't had any running water for weeks, and I was desperate, so I picked this up at Lowes for somewhere around the tune of $150. Those who have time to shop around could easily build this entire vanity for $150. Less than Craigslist yall! Be creative :) Plus, it's the focal point of the bathroom, and everyone always brags on it, and then I get all bubbly inside.

P.S. Baskets are all from thrift stores as well! The round one is my all time favorite basket for $3.00. Whoop!

DIY Draft-blocker

2014-01-25T06:25:00.001-08:00

We are having some crazy cold weather in East Tennessee which means the power bill is going to be even more crazy this month. I made a draft-blocker to help keep the heat in. It took me about 15 minutes to make and isn't too much of an eye-sore. Made from reused pipe insulators (from a homemade water slide) and an old throw blanket, this was cheap project that will hopefully save us some cash!

This could actually be a no sew project since the pipe insulators have slots down the middle to stuff the fabric into. I went ahead and sewed ours though since we let Hank in and out about 50 times a day and needed something more sturdy.

He is worth it :)

Changing Mindset

2014-01-05T06:22:00.001-08:00

The New Year Resolution law-of-order states that when you make a resolution, the universe does all it can to test your resolve.

For a while now (way before New Year's), I've been working on changing my mindset toward consumer consumption. As you know if you read this blog, I've always focused on recycling, upcycling, and being frugal in general, but there is always room for improvement. This year, one of my personal New Year's goals is to participate in Looking Fly on Dime's challenge of NO new clothes for a year.

Along with this challenge, I wanted to change my mindset when it comes to purchasing in general. Here is where the test of my resolve begins. On the last day of 2013, I went downstairs to do a load of laundry, and ended up almost flooding the basement. After my husband determined that the problem could not be fixed, without a thought, we got in our truck and went to Lowes to buy a new machine. Luckily, the prices gave me sticker shock -- average $800--- so I decided to take pictures of the ones I liked and go home to read reviews on them. Due to this pause, I had to think about alternatives to dishing out $800 for a washing machine. I decided that I would give ole' Craigslist a chance first, and yet again, he did not disappoint. I found a 2010 model of the one I was looking at in Lowes. The price? $220. I realize this this purchase was somewhat of a risk, but after speaking to the seller, I found out the the wife had gotten a new front-loading machine for Christmas so had no need for this one. After seeing the machine in person and getting good "vibes" off of the seller, we bought it. So far, it works beautifully. Even if the sell didn't work out, I'm at least glad that I took a pause to consider the alternatives to American consumer consumption.

I will be posting more on my "No New Clothes for a Year" challenge. I'm excited about it!

Thrifty Thursday

2013-11-14T18:29:00.001-08:00

Dress-Goodwill tag sale $3

Cardi- clothing exchange with friends

Knit tights- clothing exchange with friends

Boots- Jessica Simpson new 5 years ago (they are still my fav!)

Thriftstore Outfit

2013-11-07T15:49:00.001-08:00

Today's entire outfit was thrifted! Red corduroy pants (LOVE ❤️) with flannel and a cardi.

Upcycled Child's Costume into a Pawchild's Costume

2013-10-27T13:09:00.001-07:00

It's not secret that I love ~~torturing~~ dressing up Hank whenever I have an appropriate excuse to. :)

In 2010 he was a bunch of grapes

Look at his expression!!

Last year he was a leopard (used a thrift store leopard tank). He has also been a lady bug and rock star on various Halloweens. This year he is going as a dinosaur!

I found this Children's Place costume at t local thrift store, cut out the belly section , used the scraps to make a tie across the chest, and snipped off the back feet to use as "socks" for this back legs.

As you can tell, he is thrilled with the results :)

This dog brings me so much joy xoxoxox

Revamp a Thrift Store Painting

2013-10-20T05:58:00.000-07:00

I found this oil painting at a local thrift store for $3. I was drawn to its size and misty fog over the water. I knew it would be perfect for a painting revamp that I had in mind.

After finding this perfect (and cheap) painting, all I had to do was add an appropriate quote over top the painting in white craft paint.

I just free-handed the quote, so this project took all of 5 minutes to do :) I love how it turned out! It reminds me to be thankful for and frequently visit the beautiful mountains we have here in East Tennessee.

Pine Ridge Falls

Devil's Fork State Park ,SC

2013-07-28T16:11:00.002-07:00

Aaron and I have somehow worked most of our summer break away on house updates, so to keep from starting a new project, we went camping! Aaron wanted to visit Greenville, SC, so we chose a campground that we thought was close. Turns out that 36 miles on back-roads equals FOREVER. So, that plan didn't really turn out as I had pictured, but Devil's Fork State Park was gorgeous.

Clearwater lake view from the campground

We rented a canoe from an on-site rental company. This was my absolute favorite part of the trip. I have never ridden in a canoe and neither has Hank, but we both loved it. We only turned Aaron over once :P

Breakfast and view from our campsite (the lake is behind the trees).

Whitewater Falls was about a 30 min drive from our campground ; it was well worth it!

Sadly, it was our last trip in The Jones :( We loved the camper, but hated the door ( it was extremely hard to open and close due to an off-center frame). We tried to fix it/live with it, but in the end, we decided to sell it so that I can find a new one to fix up (with a sound frame and door). I'm very sad our first camper is gone, but I'm happy that we doubled our money on it!

The search for a new vintage camper has resumed....

1971 Aristocrat Camper Remodel Before and After

2013-05-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

The Jones has come a long way since November. Here is the progress I've made on him in five months.

Before:

Despite the condition of this 1971 Aristocrat, you can tell I how ecstatic I was to get it for $450. lol

After

Made a long pillow out of a flannel skirt

Sewed flannel shirts into curtains

Painted over that awful, 70's blue

Spray painted all of the hardware shiny silver

Put to use some wedding decor ironed on decals to thrift store pillows

Sewed lazy-(wo)man slipcovers using $5 Wal-Mart Sheets

Redid the counter tops

Spray Painted the outside white and hunter green

Skidaway Island State Park

Hot Springs, NC

Left to do:

1. Install an air conditioner

2. Sew an awning

3. Paint an outdoor rug

Flannel Bombing the Camper

2013-05-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

Turns out we love flannel.

Maybe a little too much.

Nah, that could never be ;)

Instead of paying tons for fabric to make new curtains for our vintage camper, I hit up my local thrift store on a sale day and brought home a bag full of flannel shirts for $2.

Then I cut all of the large portions off and lined them up.

Then I sewed them together one by one and added a loop thingy at the top to put the curtain rod through.
It only took me about one hour to do this project, and I absolute adore my custom made curtains for our little camper :)

Also, while I was at it, I took a flannel skirt , made one cut (cut the waist off) and sewed a pillow out of it. Love.

Hot Springs, North Carolina

2013-05-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

Our second trip in The Jones was to Hot Springs, North Carolina. It is a neat little town about 30 minutes outside of Asheville, NC. The campground is privately, not state owned, so it's a little pricey at $40 a night, but the good thing about it is that friends can set up tents on the site, and no one will say anything, so we split the price and saved some money. Camping is always more lively with friends :)

This campground has a lot of sites that are right on the river where you can float, raft, or sit in a lounge chair and just watch.

But the best part about this campground though is that you are within walking distances from a spa, a bar-b-que, place, and two taverns. This town is really dog-friendly too, so we were able to take Hank with us and sit on the patio to eat at Spring Creek Tavern.

My friend, April, took some really awesome photos of our camping trip at: NamastApril

Our little camper looks so cute in the woods!

Camping versus Hotel

2013-05-20T07:12:00.000-07:00

On our maiden voyage to Skidaway State Park, I decided to do a cost comparison of camping versus staying in a hotel. Here are the totals:

	Camping	Hotel
Stay	$80 ($27 per night x 3)	Around $500 for 3 nights (this price is based on the average hotel cost close to downtown Savannah, GA)
Gas	$130 (had to take the truck)	$80 (based on my small car’s gas millage)
Food	$125 (based on only eating out once a day plus the grocery bill for breakfast & lunch food)	$150 (based on eating out 2 times a day since most hotels offer free breakfast)
Dog Care	$0	$30 boarding fee
Total	$335	$760
	Saved $425

We almost saved the price of the camper ($450)! Obviously by saving money you lose luxuries like private showers and such, but sometimes it does the heart well to rough it a little :)

DIY Candle Holders

2013-04-01T10:53:00.000-07:00

Supplies:
Stair spindles from Lowes around $2 each
Wooden platforms from Lowes around $2 each
Upcycled salsa jar lids
spray paint

Time :
about 30 min plus drying time

Steps:
1. Paint
2. Glue or screw platforms to spindles
3. Hot glue lids to top of spindles

This is a great way to upcycle lids. Aaron also had the idea to paint pop lids to hold long candles.

Maiden Voyage : Skidaway Island State Park

2013-03-31T06:20:00.000-07:00

It was my goal to have "The Jones" ready by our spring break, and though it's not finished *completely*, he was ready enough to get us the hell out of East Tennessee where snow was in the forecast for each day of our vacation.

Turned our storage door into a chalkboard

We had planned all along for his first trip to be to Hot Springs,NC with some friends, but alas, we were snowed out/in. So, we did indeed have a case of March Sadness and on a whim loaded him up and headed to Skidaway Island State Park in Savannah, GA.

Sun Shine and Spanish Moss does the heart good! I found this campground just by googling "campgrounds near Savannah, Ga" It had lots of great reviews, and they all proved true. The sites were private, the showers clean, and the trails well marked.

We hiked each day we were there. I say "hiked," but it was more just like a walk since the land is very, very flat unlike the trails in the mountains were we are used to. Above are just a few of the amazing scenic spots we saw along the way.

Rooftop Bar View From Bohemian Hotel

Each night, we made the 25 minute drive into downtown Savannah. We heart Savannah. It's where we honeymooned and may very well be our favorite city :)

The Azaleas were blooming all over the city!

To get to the nearest beach from Skidaway, you have to drive about 40 minutes to Tybee Island. I'm not going to lie, even though the sun was shining, it was chilly on the beach in March. But.....

We did throw down at The Crab Shack on Tybee. A platter as big is Aaron's face. Amazing.

After 3 nights, sadly, it was time to head home :( We will definitively return though; we LOVED it!

*Next post will be camping versus hotel when traveling*

Vintage Sports Baby Shower and Maternity Shoot

2013-03-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

Our Whichcrafters craft club hosted a shower for one of our members. She did the baby's room in a vintage sports theme, so that's the theme we went with for her shower and photo shoot. It turned out to be such a fun theme to work with!

I decorated my mantel with basketballs, daisies, and patriotic colors.

We took pictures before the shower at a local baseball field.

Baseball cake!

Here we are cheering our little mommy on! The flags that you see in the above two pictures were made out of felt and scrap fabric.

H is for Holden :)

I found some old trophies of mine and used them as food markers. I tried throwing the trophies out many, many times, but my mom always jumps in to rescue them. Thanks mom, they finally came in handy for something!

For our craft, we each painted a onesie. They are each so different and so cute! She loved them all!

Another Christmas Ornament

2013-02-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

Well, with over a million repins, I've become a Pinterest sensation with last year's Christmas ornament, so I thought I would post another one to keep my fans happy ha :)

After our wedding, I dried my bouquet and used it to make a shadowbox. I had a few petals leftover, so I had the idea to use them in a Christmas ornament.

All I did was cut out a picture of our wedding flowers, roll it up, and insert it into the ornament opening. Then, I used tweezers to straighten it out. Lastly, I put in a few dried rose petals from my bouquet.

Ahhhh, memories.......

Egg Carton Seed Starters Year 3

2013-02-20T07:47:00.001-08:00

This makes the 3rd year that I've used this method of starting seeds, and each year I've gotten great seedlings!

Here is how to make the mini-greenhouses : Link

This year I had a new helper :)

I've used this method as well: Link

Both methods have their benefits. When you use the egg carton method, you create a mini greenhouse that you don't have to water as often while the plants are tiny enough to keep the lids closed. However, you have to disrupt the roots when you plant them. Using the newspaper method, you have to water more often, but you can plant the newspaper and all into the ground. Last year we used both methods, and we saw NO difference in the plants once they matured and produced. We will probably use both methods again this year too because we are out of cartons and have tons more vegetables dancing in our heads :)

DIY Counter Tops...Finished

2013-02-08T11:28:00.000-08:00

The camper's counter tops are now finished! See the first steps in this post. I really love how they turned out! However, if I were to use this method in my house (which I very well may do), I would make the first coat of color a solid and even color. I was going for a rustic/stone/granite look, and this is exactly what it turned out like. As you can see, the black paint under the stone paint is a little uneven, but I think that achieved the look I set out to obtain.

Remember is what they looked like before:

And here is after:

After all of the camper updates are complete, hopefully I will be able to get some better pictures for you :)

Camper Progress and DIY counter tops

2013-01-21T14:12:00.001-08:00

UPDATE...FINISHED TOPS:
Click Here

I'm making progress with my vintage camper renovation! You may think that the cold and snow would have put a damper on the camper work, but no, it's warm and toasty in "The Jones," and I've managed to put a few hours into to it each week. What I'm working on today are the counter tops.

As you can see (or maybe not from the dark and horrible photos), is that I was working with some U.G.L.Y tops and had nothing to lose, so I tried out this tutorial on using American Accents Stone Spray Paint to create a faux granite look. The tutorial used the sand colored stone paint, but I went with a darker choice.

Steps:
1. Tape everything well
2. Spray paint the base layer using just regular and cheap spray paint. It doesn't matter if it's all well covered or not because you will be covering it up with the stone spray paint.

3. Let dry and then spray on the stone spray paint.
4. Let dry for a long, long, long time. Every time I checked my stone paint, it was still damp, so I ended up letting it dry two nights before moving on to the polyurethane.
5. Polyurethane. This is the step I'm currently on. I applied my first coat today, and now, I'm going to let it dry over night before applying the next coats

There's the sneak peak! I will post the finished outcome in the next week or two! I can't tell they are going to be so so so much better than what was in there :)

Cost:
Cheap black spray paint $2
Stone spray paint x2 $10 (I ended up using 1 and 1/2)
Polyurethane $8
Total = $20

UPDATE...FINISHED TOPS:
Click Here

Old Shutter Christmas Card Holder

2012-12-20T08:09:00.000-08:00

I made this shutter card holder for our wedding, and I loved it so much that I kept it to use as a Christmas card holder as well.

It looks really cute sitting in our kitchen on a couple of picnic baskets also left over from our wedding :)

Our Vintage Camper

2012-12-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so tickled to have finally found an old camper to call my own :) :) :) I've been on the lookout for a vintage (such a better connotation than 'old' haha) camper for months and months, and my patience has paid off. He may not look like much now, but I have some big plans for "The Jones." I let my husband name him since he so very sweetly drove an hour to haul home a cute piece of "junk" that he can't even stand up in all the way because it's so short and he's 6'1. He chose to name it "The Jones" after George Jones because our little camper is old, beat all to hell, and can hold quite a few cold ones. hehe

This is a 1971 Aristocrat. It makes me smile to think about all of the joy it's given previous owners in the past 41 years. I have a lot of plans on how to fix it up, and I will share all of the before and after photos as I finish. My goal is to have it ready by our spring break (March!) so my honey and I can take off somewhere wonderful :)

Here is a mood board of what I have in mind for the inside:

If you are wondering how to begin the hunting process for a camper of your own, here is what I did.

1. Set a budget. I knew I didn't want to put more than $600 into a camper. Sure the new ones are nice, but for me, the pleasure I will get from fixing this one up is worth loads more. Plus I'm cheap.
2. Check Craigslist and your local newspaper....everyday
3. My husband will attest that I became obsessed. I checked listings every morning and night for about 5 months. But, this served two purposes....1. I would catch the good listings 2. Aaron knew this wasn't a "phase" I was in. He realized how much I really wanted one, so he gave in ;)
4. Search for the words "Vintage" "Older Camper" "Hunting Camper" "Aristocrat" "Scotty" "Shasta" "Airstream" as these will show up out of your regular local search.
5. Over the coarse of 5 months, I probably found about 15 campers that I thought fit what I was looking for. Out of those, only about 5 owners emailed or called me back. Out of those, we looked at 2. So, I guess this step is to be patient.
6. Take someone with you that will be the voice of reason. I wanted the very first one I saw. However, Aaron pointed out that the floor and ceiling were....umm....rotting out. He knew that would be too much for me to fix, so finally I agreed.
7. Always bring cash and talk them down. The man had this camper listed for $1000. I told him via email my budget ($500-600), and then Aaron was able to talk him down to $450 once we got there because we had cash to pay. Whoop!

Aaron laughed at our hoopty trailer all the way home, but haters gonna hate. lol He won't be laughing when he wakes up to biscuits in the tiny oven, a river rolling in the background and coffee by the fire this spring :)

Upcycled Sleeping Mat into a Headboard

2012-11-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

Our king size bed really needed a headboard, and I had full intentions of making one since May, but the hassle of measuring and getting the wood cut at Lowes turned my intentions into procrastination. However, just so happens that my sleeping prima donna (husband) , decided to throw out my little one-man camping mat since his highness needed a fancy air mattress for camping ;) Never fear though, I snatched it back and made this handsome headboard out of it. :)

Time: 15 minutes (I know, crazy fast project)

Supplies:
Old sleeping mat
Cloth
Push pins
Hot Glue gun

Steps:

1. Cut mat to size if need be

2. Cover front of mat with fabric and hold in place with push pins (if you use decorative ones, you can leave them in)

3. Flip over, pull fabric tight, and hot glue to back

4. Nail to wall

This is the before picture above, and...

This is the after. I like how it anchors the room with the black.

Also, I finally framed my $5.00 prints as you can see in the picture. I am ON it this week!

Fall Kisses

2012-11-11T16:09:00.001-08:00

This is a simple little way to spread some fall kissy poohs :) Just add some googly eyes, and use puffy paint for lips and eyebrows.

We love fall!

$20 Living Room Update

2012-11-03T13:08:00.001-07:00

This October marked the 3rd year that I've been in my house, and I was in the mood for a little update.

Here is the before picture:

(We really aren't this messy. I had already begun moving some things before I remembered to take the picture) As you can see, I had a tiny little rug under our trunk/coffee table. I found a much larger rug at Big-Lots for $19, and I think it pulled the living room together so much better!

Then, I finally did something with a $1 yard-sale canvas I had. The canvas originally had brown circles painted on it, but I gave it a white coat, and then I got to work using the same colors found in my new rug.

It took me about an hour to free-hand it, and I REALLY love how it turned out. It also blends well with the tree painting I did when I first moved in. Both of these DIY paintings were fairly easy to do, but I think that anyone, regardless of artistic talent, could do the abstract one. All you need is 3-4 colors of paint and to be able to draw a leaf-like oval. After getting the ovals, simply rotate the ones your fill in all the way, or leave as outlined.

Scarf Holder

2012-10-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

I used a behind-the-door towel rack and curtain clips to create a much needed storage solution for my scarves.