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Tuesday, January 18

Bargin Shopping @ Thrift Stores

Thrift Stores Yea!!
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Ok so there are a ton of ways to find furniture and accessories for your home.  My biggest finds are from thrift and antique stores, yard and garage sales, craigslist and sometimes right outside.  Well today I'm going to talk about Thrift stores.  They come a dime a dozen and every city has one.  One of my favorites of course is the Goodwill.  Now there are others but usually they vary from city to city.  Today I am meeting up with my cousin Tina!  I haven't seen her in a while and will are just going to see what's out there.... Yea!!

However, here in Chattanooga, Tn there are a couple I just hop around too. 

Greater Good- Rossville Blvd
American Thrift Store- Lee Hwy
Goodwill- Hixson and East Ridge
Consignment/Thrift shop- next to the Balloon Factory on Brainerd Rd
Northside Thrift- behind Krystal's in North Chatt
Jr. League- Hixson next to Big lots
any many more....

- What do I look for when it comes to furniture?
    sturdiness
    is the price right?
    is it good enough for me?
    color, texture, smell?
    what else can I use it for
    what can I do with this
 
Now I don't know if you knew this but I guess some thrift stores are even selling new furniture.  LOL I found this out when we visited the American Thrift Store.  Here are some pics and the prices are really shocking (in a good way see video below).
So I want to show you how you can use your imagination..  Pic on the left is of a gold arc lamp.. (throwback right) I think it cost about $15.  The right pic is from Chiasso it cost $228.  You know what you can do to get this look right.  Buy the item on the left and spray paint it.. Whooo who!! Same concept lower price...
Ok so I say to you again.. Wouldn't those shoes look great in my closet!! Lol I think so...

Now when we visited a shop in the Highland Park area on main street I purchased a dresser for $20 bucks.  There is also a great story behind this.... I originally saw this dresser a month or so ago and she was asking about $40 bucks for it.  And being the bargaineer that I am I already made up in my mind what I was willing to pay for a use dresser.  So I low balled it to $20 and she said the lowest she could go was $35 with no tax.  I walked away.  You see I was aimming for $25ish. 
Well what do you know a month or so later it was still there.  I walked in asked do you have any dressers and she led me straight to it.  Lol gotta love it.  So I asked the seller how much do you want for it and she said "oh I'll take $20 one of the handles are lose" and you know what said right.... RIGHT!!
Now this bad boy is heavy to death.  Once I inspected it I found the brand name was Foward 70- Broyhill.  Yep I'll take that.  It was as sturdy as a rock and heavier than a mountain..  Well my plans are to repaint it white and add to our bedroom.  It was exactly what I wanted.  Pics of that coming soon.

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Goodwill Finds...

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Here are a few tips for thrifty shopping:
  •   Know what you are going to spend- set aside a certain amt
  •   Know what you are looking for- right it down (ok i need...)
  •   Inspect the items shake it, rock it, sit on it- don't be afraid
  •   Just because the items are used doesn't mean you have to    accept how it is.  You can also chose to leave or ask for a reduction in price
  •   If you can buy it new for the same or a few $$ more leave it
  •   As well as, just because it's used that it will be perfect either
  •   Shop around first before you buy- don't wait to long bc someone else will come up right behind you and buy..trust me
  •   Know what you are looking for- right it down (ok i need...)
  •   Use your imagination- if you need a dresser and tv stand find something that you can use for both or make a pillow out of a dress or a shower curtain can be your fabric- think outside the box
  •  Have fun and take a friend!!


On another note I no I haven't said anything about Hgtv Design Star.  But every year I say I'm going to apply and for some reason I don't.  Well this year I was late but I did.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.  In my next blog I will talk about some of the questions they as you as well the audition tape I sent them. 

Monday, January 17

Free Decorative Paper Weights

Free Decorative Paper weights.. 
Ok so remember a couple of blogs back I talked about making these...
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Well I did and they were totally free!!  I already had some spray paint and I used some of moms left over pebbles she was using to recover her fireplace.  Yeaaaaa!!  And this is what the look like.... 
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Now where to use them....mmmmm... well I figure they could be used as decorative accessories or paper weights.  Now I originally found them on Chiasso.com but since then they have taken them off of the website.  The price was $18-$38 depending on the size... Right..I know..

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Another simple project.  You can find these at Chiasso.com ranging from $18-$38 (if available).  

To Too easy.  Purchase a bag of pebbles from the Dollar Tree and Silver spray paint.
Steps: do i have to....
Ok spray the pebbles and let dry... Done!! Lala...

 
So what do you think!! To leave a comment click the link at the top of the blog!!  View the entire process below!!

Wednesday, January 12

$22 Diy Inspired ZGallerie Mirror

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Michael Mirror

Sooo I'm on a roll here and this is the 3rd mirror that I have created as a Christmas present this past year.  Now I know Christmas is over but I still wanted you to see the outcome and possibly create a mirror for yourself.  This mirror is inspired by the Michael Mirror at Zgallery which retails for $349.  I made this mirror for a friend Ronslan and she absolutely loved it....Yippee!! 

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She was so excited. She wants me to make another one!!! Lala,,
 Ok the Michael Mirror comes from Zgallerie for a $349 and 45''W x 52''H.  Wow.. Do I even need to explain this one... otay otay...  I will.  

It is quite a big mirror.  If you want to make one on this scale your square mirror would need to be around 45"x52".  Otherwise, you can make a smaller version which is what I did with a slightly different design. Here is what you will need for my design.
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My design...
     Materials/Total Cost $22:
--1 24x24 Square Mirror--Ikea $9.99
--Hanging device (which comes with Ikea mirror)
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--6pks of 1" tiled mirrors 25 in a pack $1.99 pk @ Michael's
--Glue (hot glue or mirror glue)
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Pic shows mirror, glue gun and a pack of 1' mirrors
Steps for my design:
1.  Glue 1" tile mirror starting from the outside working your way inward around entire frame 1x. (only 1 square will be created with the 1" tiles)
  
2.   Next you will only use 12 1" tile mirrors creating an L shape in each corner of the mirror.  (there are 4 corners).  6 of the 12 tiles should be glued making the 1st line of the L (like this--->|)...and then the remaining 6 tiles of the 12 will be used to make the rest of the L (like so----> __ )
see below
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3.  For the final step you will only need 3 of the 1" tiles to create a shape like :.
this shape will be glued inside of the L shape design which was created in step 2
see above
4.  Attach hanging device and you're done!!


Notes:  If you want to scale down the mirror but have the exact pattern of the Michael Mirror you will need 12 packs of tiled mirrors.Hobby Lobby 1" mirrors are $2.99 a pack but don't forget you can use a 40% or 50% off coupon when they are available.           
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   Steps for Michael Mirror design

1.  Glue 1" tile mirror starting from the outside edge of the mirror working your way inward around entire frame 3x.  (Hint the 1" tiles will border the 24x24 mirror creating a square pattern 3x's.)   
2.    Attach hanging device and you're done!!

Saturday, January 1

$6 Gold Square StarBurst Mirror inspired by Colorsplash Miami!!

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Happy New Year!! And what a great year it is...  In my last post I showed you how to make a Sunburst Mirror....And for some reason I think this is my season for mirrors.  I have always loved them in any form or fashion. 
 
Today I'm going to talk about another type of sun/starburst mirror.  It was inspired by a commercial I saw for Colorsplash Miami.  I have looked all over the internet to locate one to show.  But unfortunately, I haven't been able to find one.  But for $6 bucks you can make this......
Watch the video for instructions and please leave a comment to let me know what you think!! 
 
Materials
$1 Mirror--Dollar Tree
$.97 Bamboo Skewers ---Walmart
Glue gun and sticks
$1-$4 Spray Paint--depending on what you may already own or buy
 
$6 Starburst Mirror!!!
Materials: Mirror
Materials: Spray Paint and Skewers
Idea of what sticks would look like w/o the mirror
I think this mirror in multiples will have a WOW factor..  4 of these 2 at the top and 2 at the bottom----whoaaaaa!!!
What if they were all gold or silver red? black?
So what do you think?

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