Sometimes I'll spy something thrifty and have a very specifc purpose in mind, assuming whomever I use it for will like it too. But that can be a miss at times.

So when I saw this 50-cent-pot-bellied-thrift-store owl, I thought it was perfect to hold Reese's precious colored pencil set. He loves to draw with real art pencils.

But I also thought this owl looked a little scary so the plan was to spray paint it. I put it up in his closet to safe keep until then. I spent the entire afternoon on Labor Day cleaning out his room. Entire afternoon. Boys can quickly destroy a room with all their antics and what Reese calls his "Karate chop incidents."

After I cleared his dresser, I rotated some of his decorative things. Even boys like to display their precious items. His glass/rock frog collection took its turn in the drawer and all of the Beyblades went back in the minnow bucket. I pulled out the owl, plopped in the pencils and put it on his dresser. I was surprised that when I told Reese I wanted to paint it he said "Noo. I like his blue tie!"

So now he proudly sits guard over the pencils and its colors and strangeness all seem to work, don't you think?

Here's to those simple things that can make you happy.

Shared space

I am taking a break from working on the boys' room today.

Having two boys share a room can be challenging in many ways. Besides the space challenge or when one doesn't want the other there, another challenge is trying to incorporate both of their "likes" which vary when you are six years apart. Reese is pretty specific on what he wants to display while Trae is just happy to be there and allowed on the top bunk from time to time.

Lately, Reese and Trae both like Bay Blade toys although I am not up to decorating a whole room with them. A bucket full on the dresser is good enough. It is fun to hear Trae ask Reese to battle with him, though.

So, I am taking down all of their things, setting them on the floor and choosing what is staying. While I am at it, I am tackling the closet which is another day of work.

Reese likes his pennants and vintage paint-by-numbers paintings (yay!) but is on the fence about his Little Wonder Books tin box. We'll see how it works out. All I know right now is that they have too many toys and clothes so we'll be taking a trip to the donation bin.

Boys' room - some details

mid century dresser

I keep trying to get a picture of the boys' shared bedroom but it's rarely put together long enough for a shot. And when it is, well, things sometimes happen.

So let me just show you a few details of the room and hopefully I can get to a full view later down the road when this poster, although cute, comes down in place of the "salon style" display.

It's there for a purpose...Reese put up this poster last night in an attempt to make me feel better about his mishap. (Notice the use of blue painters tape. It's all we have around here.)

Anyway (big sigh) add another item to my fix-it list...

So let me just address small and inexpensive touches that were easy to do...on the other side of the room.

We'll just forget about the damage for now.

Damage, what damage? I don't see anything.

This canvas work apron is from our local True Value store. I bought a bunch of them for .50 cents each. They are tied to the end of the boys' bunk bed where they can place little items for the night if they want to keep their beds a bit more clear.

The closet is painted with chalkboard paint. As you can tell, the bottom half gets used a lot. I may have to give it a third coat sometime but for now it's fine.

The globe was a $5.00 antique shop purchase, minnow bucket $2.00.

I purchased the wooden crate at the flea market for $2.00. I bought it knowing I would make it their shelf. I liked the old weathered wood and most of all, the typography. Jon put up the shelf for me using drywall anchors and screws since there was no stud to attach it to.

On its top is another opportunity for display. Reese likes to play chess and when I saw the Avon chess bottles for .25 cents each at the flea market (again), I knew he'd like them. What I didn't like is that he tried on the cologne that was in them. Oy!

The books are from thrift shops or antique malls.

The blue one on the left is a cute 1950's book called

the true book of

Tools for Building.

Isn't the little bionicle cute? There are a bunch of them stored in the minnow bucket on the dresser. And there are more under the bed I'm sure...

So there you go, some snippets of the room.
More later after the you-know-what is repaired.

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linking to Making the world cuter

Boys' room redo - sneak peek

Inquiring minds want to know about the make-over on the dresser and the boys' room.

How about a little look?

This is the inspiration photo for the mid-century modern piece that I was looking for to go in the boys' bedroom. Although I wanted a 6 drawer, I found a nine-drawer with similar lines for $20.00 on Craigslist. Sold.

from Google Images

So after applying a heavy duty primer,


the dresser was beginning to take shape. The problem was that I liked the wood grain in-between the drawers. The inspiration photo shows they are white. What to do, what to do...
I think I'm going to live with it this way for a while. I can always get back to it. "When in doubt do nothing" my mom would say about things of this nature.
Upon moving in, we found the walls painted with a color called "Petal."

I know that because I found oodles of it in a closet. I don't recommend it. Too green with a yellow cast in a house without a lot of natural light. It came off dingy. The flat paint wasn't helping either.

Sadly, it stayed this way for too long.

Reese wanted a blue room with polka dots - A bright blue room. I'm a believer in letting them have a creative space but that blue was "too creative." I got it anyway thinking I'd work it in somehow. I called it "Painter's tape" blue. And I was hoping to change his mind about the polka dots. I told him to trust me.


He did get some of his bright blue and the polka dots were forgotten when he saw stripes. I strategically placed the blue stripe nearer to the bottom of the wall. It took me painting 2 shades of orange paint before I got it right on the 3rd.

The lamp was a Target donation to Goodwill. $3.99 are you outta your mind?..not me. I scooped up that bad boy knowing it would go right in this room.

The shade was $5.00 on clearance at Wal-mart.

The $2.00 flea market persimmons box is waiting to become a bookshelf mounted to the wall and the pennants will soon be hung.

New curtain fabric, closet door make-over, picture wall and new flooring (that can wait until the fall) will round out completion of this room.

Stay tuned.

Linking to


Between naps on the porch


Dilly dally and flitter


Someday Crafts


The Thrifty Home


Just A girl


The Girl Creative

Thrift store picks of the week - week 5

Belen and I managed to make a quick trip to the local flea market and 1 thrift shop on Saturday. We wanted to escape the virus that was knocking 3 of the other kids out. Since Jon was home and the kids were sleeping, we went out for a while. Most of the market vendors started loading up by 2 PM so we didn't see much there. I did manage to pick up a few things though. I usually have an idea of what I am looking for so I quickly scan the booths and avoid perusing them too much. That keeps me focused and on budget.

My first find was this cute little bird. I remember my mom had a pair of these. Although it looks like a smooth finish, it actually feels a little rough with a porous texture. A light dusting made it look pristine. And for only .75 cents it came home with me.

In one of my last posts I mentioned that I like to buy things that are "native" to the area in which I live. Well, I couldn't do any better than this! This is going into the boys' room and Reese just loves it. I have a few other banners to display as well so they will make a nice grouping.

Next up - If I spot books that are in decent shape with interesting covers or in this case, spines, I like to use them to elevate other things, like this flower. You wouldn't even know that this candle holder came crashing down a few weeks ago. Apparently kicking shoes over the banister will do that to ceramics. Super glue was a good invention.

I don't always buy just vintage items at fleas or thrift shops. Take this glass candle holder for instance - it was a Target item that had been marked down twice in the store before the Goodwill bought its clearance items. I liked the chunky glass so I bought it for $2.99 with an extra 20% off. Charley said, "You got a discount on top of a discount??" Yup.

Speaking of Target, I spotted this metal sign at the flea market for .50 cents. It will also go in the boys' room. Reese thought it looked too new for him so I may have to run over it, hammer it or something.

So there you go - another round-up of fun finds. For all you fellow thrifters and flea marketers, as soon as I work on a link party, we can all link our posts together on one page. Then we can enjoy what each other has found.
Until then, let me know how your hunting was!