I won! I won! I won!

I can't remember how I stumbled upon Two Dog Pond (perhaps it was by way of Lisa's RetroStyle) ... but I'm glad I did. Rachel, the owner of Two Dog Pond, creates beautiful soldered glass pendants, and holds weekly contests to connect a clever saying with one of her images to make a final product. If your saying is picked, you receive a pendant with your cleverness written all over it! How cool is that??

Two weeks ago, the image I saw in Rachel's contest reminded me of me circa 1984. My parents used to tease me about how much I pouted, and the little girl in the picture had that same sass and pout that I do did. So, I entered my saying -- "Princess Pissy Pants." And I WON!

Thank you so much Rachel -- I LOVE IT! Be sure to stop by and play round or two with Rachel ... you could walk away with your own lovely pendant.

A Thrift friend = A Forever friend

One of my dearest friends from high school is here for a weekend visit! It was only natural that we found ourselves wandering around a few local thrift stores. Is there anything better than thrifting with a long-time friend? I believe not.

We reminisced about spending many of our days in high school scouring local thrift stores for cool "old man" pants to wear -- a trend that has since faded. Now our eyes are peeled for furniture, art, knickknacks, as we both have houses to decorate. Regardless of what we are looking for, our love of thrift remains!

The pickin's were slim this weekend, but Julia scored a BEAUTIFUL sewing machine. Check it out!

The husband doubted my ability to find a user's manual for the machine -- silly silly man. Within five minutes, I'd found Julia two manuals to get her started on her own sewing journey. I am so excited for her! I can't wait to see all the beautiful things she creates ...

A tisket. A tasket. A stair step basket.

Confession: I have wanted a stair step basket since seeing one in my high school sweetheart's house back in 1996/97. What makes me laugh most about this, is my sweetheart's house only had like 5 steps, but his Mom still had one of these baskets and I *LOVED* it.

Fast forward to this past weekend when Jen and I were touring the Raleigh flea market. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, and then I saaaaw her staaaanndding theeerree. Sorry, I love the Beatles. On a table full on random stuff, there was my stair basket. It was kind of like love -- it came to me when I was not looking for it. Here's a before shot (well, after I cleaned it up a bit).


As lovely as it was in its natural state, I wanted to give it a little punch. I grabbed an old scarf, some card stock, and an old mini Japanese print calendar. And, TAA DAA ...

Happy creating my friends ....

PS -- While admiring my new basket, I looked up to see Maple-girl carefully watching over me. She seemed generally pleased with the basket. And, we called a truce -- she promised not to eat it. However, she could not vouch for Franklin gnawing on the basket. Keep your fingers crossed!

Weekend Warriors.

My dear friend, Jen and I decided to check out the local flea market this weekend. It took about 2 minutes for us to realize how freaking cold it really was out there (33 degrees -- this is wicked cold in NC), particularly when the wind decided to put on a little show for us. BRR baby BRRR!! Somehow we managed to brave the cold for some good girl-talk and decent rummaging.

Some of my favorite finds were these random boxes of mannequin body parts. We struggled with thinking about creative ways to use these pieces ... aside from sticking them in the ground in your garden. This is exactly why I love Jen so much -- we enjoy a little dark humor!

I wanted to take home ALL of these vintage clocks, but just could not justify droppin' all that coin for "art" since none of them actually worked. Jen really wanted to take home this little hippo guy, but he was a tad on the pricey side. He was so cute. He looked so sad. It's probably because he was so cold!

We found ourselves swept away to a Moroccan hideaway. This guy the most *amazing* rugs for sale ... and at some seriously good prices. However, there is a strict moratorium on rug and lamp purchasing at the Elmore Ranch. So, I admired, took pictures, and walked away with a heavy heart.

We also stumbled upon a box of great vintage letters from advertising signs. I searched desperately for an "E" ... but walked away empty-handed. Oh well.

Jen fell in LOVE with this one vendor who sells Asian inspired furniture. We "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed over a couple of pieces that she could use in her bedroom. She was sold on one particularly piece, but the spirit of my Mother summoned me to suggest another piece that was a bit more functional, but just as beautiful. After making this suggestion, I shuddered quietly thinking about all the ways I am becoming more and more like my Mom. HA!

Finally, we decided that we needed the reprieve of some HEAT, and headed to a few local thrift stores in the area. We had a FANTASTIC time! How could good friends, thrifty finds, and mild frostbite not equal good times??

Stay tuned for another posting showing how I crafted-up my little stair basket I picked up on our excursion. I am super pleased with how it turned out!

Keep on keeping on ...

Working and Thrifiting; It's called SYNERGY, y'all.

My new job sometimes provides me with an hour or so between appointments. Most of the time, I am waaaaay out in BFE, so what's a girl to do but find some small-town thrift stores? I stopped in one "thrift store" and wrestled my way through racks of stinky clothing and tables piled high with crap (the broken dishes actually had food still stuck to them). I left heartbroken that such a place could actually consider itself a thrift store.

Luckily, I have managed to find some lovely goodies recently, so I wanted to update and share ...

One of my favorite finds is this Bingo set. I remember reading about VRS finding her Bingo set at an estate sale. Mine is not as vast or as vintage as hers, but it was still such a thrill to open an inconspicuous box and find this little prize. Why are Bingo cages so freaking cool? I don't know, but they certainly are.

I also found my new quest in life. I stumbled upon these dishes and I fell in love ... hard. I love the design on these dishes more than anything I've ever seen before. I rummaged the shelves of that Goodwill like no body's business, but only found four dishes -- two dinner plates and two bread plates. It any of you find these dishes during your thrifting adventures, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE alert me ASAP. I will pay you to snatch them up for me and ship them my way!

I also found a sweet little table cloth covered in strawberries. For some reason, strawberries always remind me of my childhood. Perhaps it is because I spent so much time huffing sniffing my Strawberry Shortcake doll. Oh, and here's a little wooden serving tray with a gorgeous glass topper. The glass is what drew me to this piece -- it's thick and smokey. I have never seen glass like this paired with a wooden serving piece. Neato.

All righto, that's all for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the new year. What an exciting one it has been so far! Happy creating to each of you ...

Dear Last-Reader-Standing,

I can't believe it's been almost TWO months since I last posted. The holidays hijacked my life this year. Normally, I really enjoy this time ... feeling like the Yankee Candle "Home Sweet Home." This year was less warm-cinnamon-and-mulling-spices and more like the-tree-is-falling-over-the-turkey-is-dry-leave-the-eggnog-gimme-the-bourbon-straight. No seriously though, I am soooo glad the holiday season is over and done with.

I have started a new job this year, and I am super excited. With that, I needed to create a home office for me, since I see kids and their families out in the community. Since cash is tight, I set out to re-purpose, re-design, re-decorate and make myself a new space. I only bought one new piece for this room -- the filing cabinet (and that was of course from a local thrift store).

I *wish* that I had taken a "before" of this room, but alas, I did not. So, I'll just give ya the money shot(s) ...



So, now my craft room is my home office. I am slightly sad about having to fuse my creative space with my work space, but in the end I think it turned out nicely. And unfortunately, I think for the next few months (until I really get a handle on all my new responsibilities), I'll probably be more work-y and less creative-y.

I am stinkin' JONESIN' for some thrift store/flea market action. The last two trips I took were completely business-like. I was looking for something specific and was not allowed to browse until my heart was content. Boo hoo.

All right, it's way too late and I need to get off to bed. Thanks for hanging in there with me. And I'll thank you in advance for hanging with me for the next bit of time, as I get accustomed to the new job.

Happy creating my friends ...

My current obsession.

I scored this while visiting my Mom a few weekends ago. I still drool a bit when I see it in the office. It's ... just ... so ... awesome.

I see a bathroom and I want to paint it ORANGE.

I'll begin with the obligatory apology for such a lapse in posting. Here are some, but not all the reasons; work, family, new computer (hooray!), traveling for the holidays, etc. Please please please don't think that I was purposely ignoring all of you dearies! I wouldn't dream of it.

So, on with the good stuff. I managed to repaint our downstairs bathroom this weekend. I mean with all the oodles of time I have, why not spend some of it painting a room that has already been painted?? This marvelous idea stemmed from an impromptu Target trip where I found this AMAZING shower curtain on sale. At such a steal, I couldn't help myself. But, it just wasn't going to work with my *bright* green bathroom. The only reasonable answer was to use the inspiration I've been receiving via How About Orange, and just paint the room to match the shower curtain!

Here's a shot before ... GAMMA GREEN!



And here are a couple shots after I let loose with some Maple Orange!! Ooooh, even my husband loves it. It's just so warm and inviting. Yum.

We'll be heading out of town for Turkey Day, so I might be off the radar for a few days. But, I promise to jump back on track and get this train a rollin' once again! So, have a great Thanksgiving and happy creating everyone!

PS -- A special shout out to my friend, Jenny. I *promise* to come visit the shop after Turkey Day!!

The family that thrifts together, stays together!

Jeff and I went home this past weekend to spend some time with the family and to celebrate my Mom's birthday. We also celebrated the end of a long journey for me ... I passed my licensure exam. All in all, a great weekend!

Of course, there was some thrifting involved. So, first let me introduce you to the posse ...




Mom, the crew's fearless captain





Me, the co-pilot or the one in charge of the Navigon




LeeAnne, an innocent by-stander who claims to have just "married into" the insanity




None of us were on the prowl for anything in particular, but we packed the car full. HOLY COW!! We never even made it out of our small little town. We had to end our excursion, not because we were done, but because there was just no room in the car for more goodies. I had a small ladder sharing the front seat with me. Comfortable? No. But, sometimes it's just what you have to do. Here's the haul ...

Oh, and here's a shot of my loot in all its glory ... I won't even tell you all the STEALS I got. I was not disappointed by the bounty available in good ol' Irmo, SC!!


After visiting my family for the weekend and reveling in some hometown fun, I realized that I owe a lot of my thrifty roots to my Mom. The women in my family all share a common thread of creativity and frugality, and my Mom is no exception. So, thank you to my family -- my heritage, some might say -- for making me part of who I am today.

Happy creating, everyone ...

Check out all my THRIFTY finds!

BOOTY!! No, not a la Destiny's Child. I'm talking major thrift store finds. I've recently been toying around with the idea of starting up a booth a local antique mall. I'm still not 100% on all the details, but I told myself I would keep an eye out for good finds, and slowly cultivate my "booth collection."

So, over the past couple of weeks, I've stopped by some local thrift stores to give the ol' once-over and see what I could find. HOT DAMN! I don't know if it's because I was on the prowl, or if it was just a total fluke, but every thrift store I have been in recently has been teeming with wonderful goodies!!

Check it out ...

There are a few pieces I may keep (including the following 8 tracks; Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack, Janis Joplin's Pearl, Jim Croce's I Got A Name, and The Moody Blues' A Question of Balance).

Oh, and here's one piece that I have already put into use. I wanted to put something above the stove to hold recipes AND of course look pretty. I toyed with the idea of a cork board, but didn't know how well the would hold up against grease and cooking splatters (my husband is a FABULOUS, but messy cook).

Then, one day I was cruising the internet, and stumbled upon a great solution -- a tin platter. I wish I could remember where I found this idea, so that I could give proper credit ... but my brain is worthless right now. So, if you are the originator of "the tin platter as a recipe holder," please step forward and claim your rightful place in Clever-Clever-Land.

All right ya'll, I'm off to bed. Have a great week and as always, happy creating!

Pusherman Part Two: Antique stores in Raleigh

Woo Hoo! Time to get back to the Tour de' Raleigh!

This weekend lead me out towards two of my favorite local antique stores. Quickly though, let's refer back to my original posting, and remember what to expect from an "antique store" -- lots of *lovely* items, therefore slightly higher prices. Also, many antique stores are stocked by numerous vendors, hopefully ensuring a wide range of goods. The vendor will rent a small space to sell their belongings, and the store will collect a portion of the vendor's profits. So, now that we know what to expect, let's start the tour.


My first stop was at Thieves Market. Thieves Market is located right off the beltline on New Bern Ave. This antique mall holds over 200+ booths! I'm pretty sure you can find just about anything you are looking for. The staff here are always helpful and very friendly.

This is also a great place to search for furniture. Every time I have been, I have noticed an abundance of fantastic furniture pieces. I will say this store tends to lean more towards 30's/40's/50's shabby chic. It's not exploding with many mid-century pieces or funky knickknacks, but do not let that dissuade you from exploring. I'm almost positive you won't walk out empty-handed!

Enjoy a few snippets from my visit ...

My next stop was at Gresham Lake Antiques. This little gem is located in North Raleigh, off of Capital Boulevard. Gresham Lake is another very large antique mall with 80+ booths. I adore the staff here -- these ladies always give me a good laugh and are super helpful.

I feel like this antique mall has a wider variety of dealers -- 30's/40's ephemera, 60's/70's kitsch, and even one dealer with a vast array of salt and pepper shakers. Gresham tends to be a bit lean on larger furniture, but they do have pieces sprinkled throughout the store.

A quick glance of some various booths ...




So, if you find yourself with some free time on a weekend afternoon, first, tell me how you managed to score some free time, and then make your way out to one of these antique malls. I promise you won't be disappointed.