Sneak Peek: Freecycle Bed Frame

I was really excited to share with you the makeover of  my son's new big boy bed this week.  I thought it would be a perfect project enter in the Roadkill Rescue challenge at the CSI Project too.   Remember the before?

I painted both pieces of the bed a lovely dark midnight blue and applied two coats of super-easy rub-on poly.  

Behr Starless Night 

I love how the bed turned out!  But when I was ready to attach the headboard and footboard to the bed frame things got tricky...

It seems that the frame that accompanied the bed is not original (hey, the whole shebang was free so I can't complain).  It is a bolt on frame and the headboard and footboard are slotted to accommodate a hook-in frame.  There are holes drilled in the headboard so that it can be attached with bolts but not the footboard.  The frame is not long enough to attach a footboard anyway.  Has this happened to anybody else?  Do you have any creative solutions?

After some Internet searching I found the parts I need to convert the frame - for about $60.  I figured it's worth it since the bed was free.  A whole new bed for sixty bucks ain't bad.  Right?

Here's a peek at the new paint job.  I should have the new frame parts in about a week so stay tuned for the reveal!

By the way friends, I wasn't able to score those awesome Star Wars sheets at the thrift shop.  Total bummer.  But I'm going to keep looking!

Thanks for visiting!

Linked to:
Serenity Now's "Show me the Progress" Party

Thrifty Finds Monday - I Blame the Dark Side

My 4 year old loves, I mean loves Star Wars.  If you need proof check this out!

Halloween 2009

What does this have to do with thrifting you say?

Well, on Sunday I loaded up my little one with snacks (low fat graham crackers, not too bad) and was taking a nice leisurely stroll through the thrift store when I found the mother load.  Vintage twin-size Star Wars sheets!!!  *squeal*

Just the thing for my son's new big boy Star Wars room and just like the ones his daddy had as a kid too!  I was so excited at my awesome score.  Each sheet was marked just a $1.99 too.  On ebay these babies are going for like $30-40 bucks for the set!

But then the lights went out.  A huge thunderstorm knocked out the power and the store made everyone put down their items and leave.  I had those awesome sheets in my hot little hands and I had to leave them in the store! WAHHH!!  


Do you think Darth Vader is behind this plot to part me from those awesome sheets?!

So I went back today to snatch up the sheets before anyone else could and the store is closed because power is still out.  Guess I should have called before I headed out…

I'm hoping I can get them some time later this week.  I hope the force is with me!


Thanks for visiting!

Linking to:
Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Treasures

Apron Thrift Girl - Thrift Share Monday

Friday I'm In Love #12

This week I'm sharing some projects that exemplify for me the "just do it" spirit of DIY bloggers.  I like problem solvers, people who don't take no for an answer and do it all on the cheap!  
   
It's no secret that brass fixtures are OUT in blog land.  Do you have any of the shiny stuff still hanging around your house?  Well just paint it already!  Even if it's still hanging from the ceiling.  That's just what Lacy at The Inspired Nest did and it turned out FAB!

I have to admit I have my own brass fan "situation" going on in the family room.  But I'm afraid my husband would pass out if I tried spray it in the room...

If you have a fireplace in your home, you know how much fun it is to decorate the mantel for the seasons.  Unfortunately, Erin from Decore Allure was without this essential design element.  No problem, she put one in the foyer!  Who says you need a fireplace?

Veneered furniture scares the hell out of me!  Every furniture piece I've worked with so far (in my not so very long blog career) has been real wood for this reason.  Well if you find a lovely furniture item with chipped or damaged veneer, have no fear!  Just follow this excellent tutorial from Pemberley Style.  Pemberley and her husband make it look so easy and beautiful!

I hope you enjoy these featured projects and feel inspired to get out there and make your DIY projects happen!  If you've been featured grab a button!

Thanks for visiting!

  

Take a Ride in my Convertible Baby(Doll)...

…or Teddy Bear. 

Remember this free doll cradle from Freecycle?  

It was dirty and smelled like smoke.  I cut the top off with a saw and added those cute finials with glue.  Then spray paint, fabric from etsy and a glue gun finished it off!

This will be so cute in my daughter's room!  I'm thrilled with the transformation and she seems to like it too.

Here's the before and after one more time.

Before (yuck!)

After!

Thanks for visiting!

I'm linking up to:

Southern Hospitality's Today's Thrifty Treasures
Momspiration Monday

Apron Thrift Girl

Friday I'm In Love #11

Happy Friday my lovelies!  I hope you have some fun planned this weekend.  We are going to a Creative Memories/birthday/meet the new baby party tomorrow and then the kids are going to Grandma's house all day on Sunday.  Fingers crossed I can get some projects underway with all that free time!

The first of my loves this week is this super cool drink cart made from a utility sink!  So retro looking and fun.  How cool is that?  Go tell Megan at Yes! Big Deal! what ya think!

Next up is this cute project from The Jewelry Box.  Nikki takes a $2 garage sale print and really punches it up.  The result is so fresh and updated.  I'm so stealing borrowing this idea.

Last but not least is a sewing project from The Creative Maven.  I love to wear ballerina-style slippers around the house.  So much cuter than "grandma slippers".  Now Molly shows you how to make your own ballerina slippers with fat quarters.  Looks like a great project for my new sewing machine!

Now go give these creative girls some comment love and have a great weekend!  If you've been featured grab a button and pin it on.

Thanks for visiting!

My Boyfriend on the Side: Craig

I've already told you guys how I *heart* Freecycle.  And of course, I love my husband and kids to pieces.  But I have to admit I have a boyfriend on the side: Craig and his list!  Craigslist isn't free like Freecycle, but if you troll the list multiple times a day frequently you can usually find yourself a great deal. 

Check out the new desk in my husband's office.  Just $95 from Craigslist!  My husband works from home and has been conducting business on a narrow computer desk and two filing cabinets.  Now he is free to stretch out (his mess) while working.

I'm sorry to say there will probably won't be any amazing makeovers on this piece.  We put it right to work.  Though I did recommend Mod Podging some "manly" scrapbook paper over the scratches and dings...

Here's the best part (for me) of the little office reorg: a craft spot!!  It's pretty rough right now…but I'll be keeping an eye out on Freecycle and Cragislist for some goodies to make it gorg.

Check out these great resources for buying and selling on Craigslist from The Thrifty Little Blog.  Kasey's blog is chock full of great finds - she's a real CL pro!  

How to buy on Craigslist: The Ultimate Guide 

Like selling land in a swamp: Selling Tips for Craigslist

Thanks for visiting! 

Organization Meets Wall Art

I took this photo of my family room about a month ago.  As you can see, my house is not what you might call clean organized.

My Mom is a teacher and likes to give my son reading, animal and dinosaur flashcards.  He loves to learn letter sounds and fun dino facts but the cards end up everywhere!  Here's how I corralled all those flashcards so that we can still read them AND keep them neat.

First I made some cute wall art using cheap frames from Michael's and scrapbooking paper from Target Dollar Spot.

For the remaining cards I found a great faux snake skin binder for $1.98 at Target.  Then I got all the cards under control with extra plastic inserts from my coupon binder!

I had this idea kicking around in my head for awhile and I'm so happy with how it turned out: cheap, sweet and organized!


Thanks for visiting!

Party links:




 Moms By Heart




 

Red, White & Blueberry

Happy 4th everybody!  Hope you are enjoying a fun holiday with friends & family!

Last week my Mom (AKA Grammy) visited us.  One of the fun activities we did with Grammy was blueberry picking!  I love to get out in the warm weather and pick our own fruit and veggies.  It's usually cheaper than the supermarket and so much fresher and tastier.   

Do you know you can find local pick your own farms at http://www.pickyourown.org/?

Blueberries are so easy to pick.  We went home with nearly seven pounds.

I washed and dried a bunch to put in the freezer for baking all year round.  Then I made a batch of blueberry freezer jam.  I already have 12 jars of strawberry jam from strawberry season so I don't think I'll be buying any jam all year!  

And the last thing we did is bake a blueberry pie with Grammy!  She's famous for her crust.  Ben and Grammy were very proud of their work.  

YUM!

So get out their and find a pick your own farm near you!  Blueberry season runs through August...we may go back for more!

Thanks for visiting!