A New Shadow Box

I bought this magnetic dart board at Goodwill a few weeks ago for $.80. I thought it would make a great shadow box. First, I removed the dart board from the frame and painted it with some mis-tinted, semi-gloss paint that I got from Lowes for $2.00.

After I finished painting the box I had my husband cut a piece of bead board we had left over from another project.  I glued the bead board to the box with gorilla glue. 

I then hot glued some twine around the border of the frame to trim out the edges of the beadboard.

I then used gorilla glue to glue the star fish to the beadboard.  I am going to hang it up in my guest bathroom.  You can buy the picture hangers at any hardware store.  I loved how it turned out!

 

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Please Stay Tuned!

Hello Blogger Friends! Please stay tuned to a new template and some changes to my blog.

Weekend Finds

I really did not have a lot of time to get to very many garage sales this weekend. The lake was calling my name!  However, I was able to sneak in a few garage sales.

I picked up these little squirrels for my fall decorations. They are little tealight holders. I think they are going to look great on my mantle! Isn't the acorn adorable?

This is an old coffee pot.  The lid is a little broken but I thought I could use it with out the lid.  I think it would be cute with flowers in it or I could use it as a pitcher for these hot summer days.

The next picture is actually a gift for my dog, Ruby!  I always feel bad that she has to bend her head down so far to get a drink of water.  Now, she can just go up to the bowl and doesn't need to bend.  Of course, this will be getting a few coats of spray paint.

This last purchase made me one very happy girl!  I have been looking for pretty table legs for quite some time. You will all see in good time what I will be using these for.  They came with a table top but I just wanted the legs. I was so happy when they said they would just sell me the legs!

Breakdown of the Costs:
(2) Squirrel Tealights:  $.50
Vintage Coffee Pot: $.50
Dog Bowl Table: $2.00
(4) Table Legs: $10.00
Total Costs:  $13.00



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Cheap Decorating Tips

I wanted to share some great tips from Garage Sales Tracker  about decorating on a budget.  This is great site to use to map out where the garage sales are.  Please be sure to check out the site and the youtube video in the post!  I hope it gets your inner-creative junking juices going.

 (Banner photo courtesy of Garage Sales Tracker)

A lot of the time when you are working on re-decorating your home you will find that it can become quite an expensive task to take on. So in these tough economic times it pays to get a little bit creative and to find places to bargain hunt. 

The first that comes to mind is a consignment shop. These stores are great because it’s slightly used goods that are marked down and being sold at non-traditional retailers so you get to find items that are rare, unique, and reasonably priced. Most consignment shops have furniture and desks that really aren’t found elsewhere. For example an Armoire/dresser that is a nice wooden piece that can be purchased at many consignments for less than $200.00. There are always a ton of dining room tables and chairs as well as vanities and a handful of mirrors to place either in the bedroom or in one of the guest bathrooms.  A lot of times you may not want to try to mix and match so some of the larger consignment shops will actually have full bedroom sets in which you can purchase and save yourself the hassle but being creative and piecing together different parts at a store is always part of the fun. 


If a consignment store is a little bit too pricey for you than the next best alternative would be to shop at a garage sale since this cuts out the middle man at the consignment shop you can often find really amazing bargains for miscelleanous house hold items such as lamps, end tables, coffee tables, vases, patio furnitue, and if you hit a moving sale you can get just about anything you can imagine for the house. 

Also if you are creative you can craft up really cool designs for the house with the miscelleanous items that are to be found at a yard sale. For example there is a lady who is known as the junk market queen who turns old trash into treasures from items found at a garage sale. You can take a handful of hard back book drill a hole in them and make it into a nice flower vase and other really creative ideas that you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--87q2ofEWY
The most important part is saving money, enjoying your re-decoration, and having fun with the concept of finding great items that fit your personality!  

This article was written by Garage Sales Tracker specifically for this post.  Happy Junkin' Y'all!

CSN Stores Giveaway!

I have some great news to share with all of my WONDERFUL readers! CSN has given me the opportunity to do a giveaway for a $40 gift certificate to one lucky reader. CSN has over 200+ stores and has very many beautiful things for your home. I have been wanting to give my master bedroom a makeover for quite some time now and  have had my eye on a new bed .  I am in love with this tufted headboard from CSN.  I think it stands apart from other beds and looks very elegant. 

Isn't this bedding beautiful?  I think it would look great on the tufted bed. 

  This bench would add some extra storage and would be a perfect fit for the end of the bed.  

Here is how you can win this AWESOME givaway!

Visit any of the CSN stores and leave me a comment telling me how you would spend the $40. Please leave your e-mail address in the comment so I can contact the winner.

Bonus Entries: (Please be sure to leave a new comment for each bonus opportunity)

1.  Become a follower and leave a comment that you are a new follower.

2. Post something on your blog about this giveaway and link back to Keep Calm and Decorate. Please leave me a comment letting me know about your post.  

Rules For The Giveaway:  This contest is open to US and Canadian readers. If you choose to purchase an item that does not have free shipping, you will be responsible for shipping costs. If you are in Canada, there may be Canadian fees that you will be responsible for. You must be 18 to enter.

The giveaway will end July 14, 2010.  I will pick the winner by using a random number generator. The winner will then receive an e-mail from me and will have 48 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen. Thanks for stopping by and taking advantage of this great giveaway.  I look forward to hearing about how you would spend the $40 giveaway!   

 

Christmas in June

Remember my post from way back when?  I was desperately wishing (actually obsessing)  for a new camera! Well, after 500 trips to Best Buy and a very patient husband....I finally bought a Nikon D5000.  I thought I was in love with the D90 but once I tested the D5000 out and realized there was not much of a difference the choice was easy.  The D5000 also came with an extra zoom lens which was the big sell for me.

Here are some of the pictures that I have taken with my new camera.  Everything is in full bloom here and I am loving it!

And last but not least, without further ado...making his first blogspot appearance is Rocky the Big Orange Cat. He thinks one day he will be on the cover of GQ.   I hope you all are having a good week! Thank you for all of your wonderful comments and to all of my new followers!!!