My new favorite store: Goodwill

Hello everyone!

I have a story to share:

Before I got married, I would sometimes stop by Goodwill to just see what they had. I rarely got anything but just liked to look at the junk.  Well, when we moved to Cornelius I found a Goodwill (and a good one at that) right down the road from our house.  I went three or four times before I found something I liked, but was very happy with what I found.  Going to a store like this is kind of hit-or-miss.  You have to go and go frequently in order to get some great finds.  Because we all know that great finds don't last long.  Here's an example:

I went a couple weeks ago around 10 in the morning.  I walked in the front doors and spotted this beauty:

Yes, that is a wine refridgerator.  Those things run $250+.  I saw the Goodwill worker take it out of the back and place it onto a shelf.  He plugged it in to show people that it worked...I called my mom debating on whether or not to buy it, she told me to go ahead and purchase it because the price tag read:

Can you believe it?!?!!??!   $25 dollars for an awesome wine fridge.  I figured it I don't really use it now, I will in the future.  So I told my mom I was getting it and proceeded to take the sticker to the check out counter.  If you frequent Goodwill, it's common courtesy that when you want to purchase a large item, you peel off the pricetag and take it to the cashier.  I pulled the tag off and some old grumpy man yelled "I ALREADY BOUGHT IT".  So I left emptyhanded.  It kind of made me grumpy too because he didn't take the tag to the front desk, and he was just standing there staring at it and not taking it to his house!  Oh well..I went back another day and found some pretty great stuff. 

Now, before I show you these items I would like for you to remember this old wise saying:

"One man's junk is another man's treasure"

I'm sure some of you may think i'm crazy for actually spending money on this stuff, but once you see the end result, I hope you'll change your mind.  Here's the bottom line:  I love being crafty, thinking outside of the box, and finding CHEAP stuff.  So..take a gander at what I bought:

1. A ball of lace.  It was actually a frilly window valence that was my most expensive purchase at $1.99..what in the world do you do with one window valence???  I had a few tricks up my sleeve... :)

2. A glass candlestick and a vase...i bought two candle sticks and two vases actually for .50 cent a piece. 

3. Pieces of tile...I spent .99 cents on four of those.

So..for $4.98 I got all of those items and here is what I did with them...

With the lace, I made little rossettes to go on my lampshades in our bedroom.  I LOVE the way they turned out.  Take a look:

I love the lace because it makes for a softer look and coordinates with my Pottery Barn rouched pillow cases that I got at a wedding shower.  I made sure that Seth was okay with me beautifying our lamp shades so that when he walked into our bedroom, he didn't feel like a total girly girl.  He was okay with it.  ;)  I really like the added texture and eye candy.  Also, the wreath above our bed is made out of the pages of an old book.  I am not completely done with it, but wanted to see what it looked like above my bed.  I liked it there.

So, that's what I did with the lace...here is what I did with the 2 glass candlesticks and vases:

I made my own hurricanes (if you don't know what a hurricane is, it's a fancy word for a glass container on a pedistool that holds neat things).  Pottery Barn has them here and look at that price!  I made mine for $2 total...one of theirs like around $40. I filled one with wheat that I got while walking Penny one evening and the other with pinecones...you know, to celebrate fall.

Fall is being celebrated at our house in lots of ways.  I love it.

And lastly, those ugly tiles...here is the transformation:

I just painted fleur-des-lis one them and made coasters out of them..we have been needing some more, but I didn't want to spend $10-15 dollars on decent ones..these will get the job done for .99 cents!  (Notice the red one..i freehanded that one and decided for the rest of them I should probably trace..haha)

That's what has been going on in the Jones' household...I 

have been Mrs. Crafty and Seth has been watching tennis all day.  He was so excited because his favorite woman player took the title of U.S. Open Champion:  Kim Clijsters

He has a major crush on her. 

Oh yeah, here is another thing I made the other day.  My own topiary...I got moss, the pot, a dowel rod and balled up newspaper for this one..I like the end result.  These are also for sale at Pottery Barn for around $25 dollars..i'm sure they look a little better than this one, because I slacked off towards the end but I spent around $5 on this one.  I should have used a smaller pot..

 

and MORE fall decorating!  I got this frame from a wedding shower, the vintage keys from my mom (which are WAY in style, apparently..Here is proof)

I previously had a blue and white plant holder with some fake greenery on the top..now I framed the keys in front of leaves I gathered from the yard.  I placed some wheat in front with a few corks on the top...

And now for the last project for the evening (I need to get to sleep!)  I finally made my own pillows using this great tutorial. I made the pillow cases out of a Burlap-esque fabric from Hobby Lobby...

I made the "S" and "K" pillows.  The letters were hot glued on with the remaining lace from the other project.  I added a rossette to each one..I was initially going to paint our initials on them, but got really nervous in fear of messing up, so even though this may not be as cute as paint, I liked the result, nontheless. 

 

Adorned with Huey Cat

Aren't hubby and kitty cat cute?

Well, I'm about to fall over from exhaustion...Seth and I are trying out a new church tomorrow in Uptown Charlotte..we are really excited to see how it is.  Tomorrow is also our monthly DEEP CLEAN day.  It's the first time we've actually had a list to go by and that we've set aside an afternoon to do it..but I hope it becomes monthly...now, don't get me wrong: I clean my house more than once a month, but DEEP CLEAN takes it to a whole new level! Stay tuned for pictures of hubby scrubbing the floors and toilets!!!

OH! And more recipes coming soon...garlic lime Cajun shrimp, chocolate chip banana bread, HOMEMADE laundry detergent...

Goodnight!