Garage Sale Goods

Me + 2010 garage sales = no good finds.

For whatever reason, I’m either late to the party, don’t have enough cash on me, or all I run across is junk (and believe me, I love junk).

I’ve been in a slump. And slumps are funny, because you never know when things will take a turn for the better (or worse). Well, I slowly emerged out of my slump this weekend, and I had to drive all the way to Sweet Home to do so. Kyle and I made the trek to visit his parents this weekend and commemorate Dad’s Day (hooray for having two great Dad’s to celebrate), and conveniently, there happen to be a garage sale right in the neighborhood.

My wonderful mom-in-law and I checked out the sale and I brought home a few items, all for $7.00! I am so, so excited about my “new” chair. It’s made out of english oak and is stuffed with horse hair – the most resilient of stuffings. The sad part is, the chair didn’t come home with us because it wouldn’t fit in our car. It will join us soon, and I have big plans to recover it.

What else did I get? A few old books, an oval frame, a totally righteous pillow that I am going to sew a new case for, and a fairly ugly ottoman that I am probably going to reupholster too (I don’t quite have a vision yet but it was so cheap I could not say no).

And what does Kyle think about all this junk? He thinks I’m nuts, but he warms up to these items after he sees my little eyes light up - all over stained and rickety furniture.

As for fabrics, I’ve been saving these for my next project, whatever it might be…

Chocolate Trellis fabric:

Zig Zag fabric in Chartreuse:

Lattice Print fabric:

Any favorites?

Many thanks to a fellow Kirsten (they are very few and faaaaar between) for introducing me to these fabulous AND affordable fabrics and I’ll be sure to keep you posted on how my upholstery projects are coming along!

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Before & After: Entry Table

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Hopefully you all remember my post on the sewing table I found on Craigslist last week? Since then, I’ve painted it and it now serves as our entry table. Usually when I purchase a piece like this, it needs more work (like new knobs and some slight repairs) but this table was pretty much turn-key. In fact, I probably could have just left it as is, but I’ve had this thing with white paint lately…

Before I show you these pictures, I want to say these images are not my best work, as I was busy celebrating Dad’s day this weekend and didn’t get a chance to snap any photos during the day(and the cord in the “after” photo drives me nuts, but whatever). So, I promise to get you guys some better photos soon, and I’ll also be doing a follow-up post on three different ways to style a table like this, because the options are truly endless!

BEFORE

AFTER

I really wanted to buy a few new items for our table, but as I started playing around with decor pieces, I realized I already had a number of things around the house that would work well on the table. In fact, I had too many things to choose from, which is why I am going to do another post on decorating small tables.

And here’s a little source list:

Table: Craigslist

Letter “N”: Urban Outfitters

Plant Pot: Home Depot

Lamp: Ikea

Finally, I plan on framing and placing the line art drawings I featured last week above the table, and when I do so, I’ll be sure to post a final “After” photo of our entry table area.

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My Dad. My Hero.

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I wanted to take a break from the blog and give a shout-out to my Dad, in celebration of Father’s Day this weekend.

The sacrifices he made for me are countless and my childhood memories of him are vivid. He was there – always pushing, always encouraging, always rooting for me on the sidelines (literally). Everything was taken care of and I was allowed to just BE. And play. And go after my dreams.

Dad, thank you for the little things – for the morning game-day notes you left me before you went to work, for making peanut butter cookies, and for trying to sew on my girl scout patches when Mom gave up.

I’ve grown up quite a bit since the 80′s (when short and tight shorts were all the rage – ha!) and I hope I’ve added some joy and sunshine to your life, as teenage/college girls aren’t the easiest to get along with. And when you gave me away last August, I hope you were proud of the father you were and continue to be.

I love you Dad, and I’m looking forward to celebrating YOU on Sunday!

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Lovely & Local Line Art

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Art is expensive.

Therefore, I am always on the hunt for cheap, but meaningful art. I know, it seems like an oxymoron, but it’s out there! Kyle and I have a deal that any framed picture or piece of art we place in our house has to truly speak to us and can’t be purchased at a big box store. Even though I love the idea of each art piece in our house having a story to tell, most art that has a story is quite spendy.

And that’s why when I ran across these prints, drawn by local elementary school first-graders, I had to have them.

Each line art print was $7.50 (so affordable!) and all proceeds benefit the Sabin Elementary art program. Under the direction of Sabin art specialist Chris Lamp, students were taught the basics of line art and these drawings (there are dozens of different portraits available for sale) are the fruits of their labor.

There is something so innocent and approachable about these prints. It’s incredibly refreshing to look at life through a child’s eyes. It’s like putting a different lens on your camera – such a different view.

Charlie + Pipey, welcome to our home. We are so glad to have you and I promise to find you a wall that suits your charming smiles. I have a feeling you might get along great with my sewing table I painted last night…stay-tuned next week for the big reveal:)!

And if you want to purchase your own Sabin line art, leave me a comment below and I will forward you the information.

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