Big time score

I got the best deal this weekend at a yard sale.  Sometimes you just have to dig to get what you are looking for.  I found an antique laundry basket on wheels.  I spotted these in a few decorating magazines and for sale on the web but I didn’t want to spend a lot of money.  I got this baby for $4.00.  Yep, I said $4.00. 

I think maybe this was one of the best deals I found this summer.  The lady that I bought it from said her mother had a laundry shoot in her house and this basket caught all the clothes at the end of the shoot. 

She estimated it to be at least 50 to 60 years old.  SWEET, I love it.  Right now I’m using it in my laundry room but I may have to find a more creative use for it. 

Any ideas from my blog friends would be appreciated.

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NEW ADDITION to our house

…and I don’t mean a wooden structure.  We got a puppy.  Well let me rephrase that, my husband and

my son got a puppy.  I didn’t want anything to do with him.  I lost the battle.  They brought him home last Wednesday.  It’s hard to believe that in just one short week my entire life has changed.  No more clean house, no more quiet  time, no more decorations on the coffee table, no more clean windows.  They keep reassuring me that it is just for a “few” months “he is just a puppy.”  I’ve heard every excuse that they can come up with. 

Don’t  tell them but I am secretly in Love.  He is the cutest darn puppy I ever saw.  Don’t get me wrong I’m still refusing to clean up his poop and still threatening that if he chews a piece of furniture

I’m getting something new to replace it, but he can stay. 

Pretty cute isn’t he?

He is a goldendoodle.  A golden retriever and poodle mix.  He doesn’t shed, but he does still however smells like dog.  He is going to grow into a mere 80 pounds or so.  URGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did I mention that his name is “WINDSOR.”  Just like the whiskey.  

"MANGIA"

So this is what you get when you grow up Italian and marry an Italian.  You end up with an Italian themed kitchen. 

I painted over an old sign and added the letters in vinyl.

Mangia means EAT in Italian.  How appropriate because it seems like all we do is eat.  Everytime I turn around it's time to cook again.  URGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I keep telling my husband "you just ate yesterday, why do you have to eat again."  He doesn't find the humor in that!!!

This is an old drawer that I removed the hardware, painted it black and added the words with vinyl.  It sits on top of my hutch. 

Everyone enters our house through the garage.  When you walk in this is what greats you.

WELCOME TO MY HOUSE

This was a birthday present from Sister #2. 

Good food, Good wine, Good friends

I also have the village where my mother's family came from in Italy on one wall and the village where my mother-in-law's family came from on the other wall written in vinyl letters.  

There is no mistaking when you enter our house that we are proud italians.

My son says it's like living in a dictionary.

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Let's start from the very beginning

I wanted to share with you my very first transformation.  This project was the beginning of my confidence that I really can transform something into something else.

I found this snowman at the thrift store for $2.99.  All the boxes stacked inside of each other so it was easy to store away.  I needed extra storage in my spare bedroom and I didn't want to use it as a snowman.  I removed his mittens and one star.   I cut strips of scrapbook paper and added to the sides of the boxes with modge podge.  (I think I should have stock in the modge podge company) I added another piece of scrapbook paper to cover the snowman face. 

I didn't take the time to paint the boxes because I liked the color.   I'm pretty happy with the transformation and best of all it's extra storage that I needed.

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Steeler wreath

I found this black and gold wreath at a yard sale for $1.00.  When I found the wreath it had some ugly yellow yarn attached to it.  I removed the yarn, painted an old piece of of wood that I had and added the black vinyl letters.

I don't know what the material is of this wreath.  It's like a wire mesh type of ribbon.  I've never worked with anything like it before but for $1.00 and a little bit of creativity I think someone will love it. 

SOLD!



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Fall decorations

I found some old fall decorations that I made a few years back and thought I share them with you.

Landscape timbers, raffia, fall leaves and a tree branch cut in pieces

soup cans with fall arrangements

I just painted the soup cans and added a little fall arrangement in them.  I used the crackle technique on  the larger can.   Here is a close up of the can.  

These are terra cotta pots painted orange turned upside down.  I added some leaves and a piece of the tree branch.  These are sitting on top of old wooden spools that I use as candleholders.

High school football started tonight so that means it's FALL.

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Updated serving tray

Did you go through the apple phase?  I never was into the apple deco kitchen style but I know it was very popular a few years back.   A lot of people seem to be trading in their apples for a new kitchen decor because I am finding tons and tons of apple motifs at yard sales. 

I purchased two of these trays for $1.50 each.  I knew I could make them cute and functional.  This is the larger one.

I really like the handles on this tray because of the wooden bead on the ends.

I got out my modge podge, some steeler fabric and leftover steeler wall paper border.  I've used these supplies on a few other projects too.  A little creativity later and this is what I came up with.



I cut a small logo from the fabric and modge podged it to the wooden bead



This tray is going to the Shop for resale.

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