Changes in the master

Hello and good morning and Monday to you! Hope you had a lovely weekend! The sun is just starting to peek out here and we have progress happening in basement bathroom as I write. We may have a potty down there by the end of the week! WHOO. HOO! :) Today I’m sharing a a few changes I made to the master bedroom. I started these projects last weekend and finished up a few little things yesterday.

Giving, With Purpose

It’s time for the great pre-Christmas toy clean-out at the Clark house.  At least that’s what I have planned.  But, when I actually start going through their toys, the guilt kicks in, or I think someone might play with that plastic Dora doll that’s missing an arm and all of her clothes someday. 

 

A playroom found here.  (Because there’s no way you’re seeing what ours looks like right now.)

 

Last week, Lelia (who I met while writing for the Goodwill blog) emailed, asking me to remind you about donating to Goodwill this holiday season.  It was a good reminder for myself that the things I’m “throwing out” mean a lot  more than the fact I can feel better about how our playroom looks before we just add more toys to the mix next week.  I had the opportunity to tour the Goodwill offices and facilities in Charlotte last year, and it opened my eyes to all that they do for people because of others simply dropping off their extra “stuff.”  (And, if there’s ever a time to help people, it seems like it’s now.)

 

 

(Young donors at a local school—photo courtesy of Goodwill)

 

 

Besides providing jobs at their retail stores, Goodwill also offers job skills training, employee placement, and youth services, to name a few.  Sometimes, it’s hard to comprehend what that means unless you see real people who have been helped.  You can read about some of those success stories here.

 

 

 

 

Goodwill Gift Card giveaway

This giveaway is now closed.

And, of course, we thrifty blogging types all know that Goodwill can be a pretty great place to shop for treasures.  In the holiday spirit, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont is giving one of my (local to the Charlotte area) readers a $50 Goodwill gift card.

 

To enter, just “like” Goodwill on Facebook and leave a comment on this post.  For an additional entry, leave another comment letting me know what you plan to donate this holiday season.

 

Please note that the gift card can only be redeemed at a Goodwill in the Southern Piedmont region.  The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on my Facebook page this Friday (12/21).

 

 

Off to clean out our toy closet. . .

Faux metal (Goodwill makeover)

Hello there! I’m back today with a super easy Goodwill project that almost never happened. ;) Last year I found a cute terrarium for only $5 at Goodwill, but it sat in my storage room all this time because it was just kinda…well, bland. I love white and bright as much as the next person but this one was just there and not doing much for me: I wasn’t even going to keep it -- I had it in my

Trying out Annie Sloan paint

Hey there! First of all, have you seen the 400 awesome before and after projects linked up this month? Fantastic! (You can see them here.) But come back soon cause I want to show you a fun little project. ;) I was lucky enough to get the chance to attend an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ Workshop a few weeks ago at a fun shop called ReStyled here in central Indiana. I’ve never used this paint and was

It's a spray paint party!

Hey hey! We’ve been dealing with a blue screen of death around here tonight –
but Hubs saved the day. :) And then Live Writer decided to hate me...so this post looks a little different because I'm publishing in Blogger. Because I’m getting this up later than I had
hoped, this will be a quick post, so you all can get to linkin’!
I'm just glad to have it GO UP. 

Today’s party is the last in the

The Moon Chairs

Sooo, I don’t go into Goodwill nearly as much as I used to. I was going a couple times as week there for awhile and it contributed way too much to my crapification problem. ;) Now I am dropping off stuff a lot more than picking up. I probably go in once a month now. And last week I went in and found a couple really fun items. There were six “moon chairs” for $15 each and I kept walking past

Metallic Christmas Table

Hello hello! Hope you had a lovely weekend! I finished up our Christmas dining room today and I am smitten! Layla is kicking off our Holiday Home link ups tomorrow morning, so I had to share what I’ve been up to! I’ve wanted to change up the centerpiece in the dining room for some time now – I love those glass candleholders in the framed out mirror, but it’s been a couple years now and I

Before and After Party: Goodwill table

Well hello all! It’s time for another partaaaay! I’ve got another project from the family room redo to share this time. When I was sure we were going to order the sectional, I started measuring out the space to see what was going to be able to stay and what would need to go. One thing that needed to scoot (to another room) was the long Goodwill coffee table I had moved into the space last year.

Above the cabinets

Hello all! How was your Easter weekend? I hope it was wonderful. :) We had a great one – as you can tell by the tuckered out Bub and dog: :) Adorable. I get asked a lot how to decorate one spot in particular – and it’s a toughie. High spaces in particular (plant ledges, above armoires) are hard, in my opinion. And the kitchen cabinets are no exception. Our cabs aren’t super tall – we

A Desk Makeover on a Dime

    

Today on the Goodwill blog, I'm sharing a project courtesy of my kids' babysitter (she obviously has skills beyond keeping my three monkeys in line!).


See how she transformed a cozy corner in her room from this. . .

To this. . . with a few cans of spray paint and a very productive trip to her local Goodwill:

Read all of the makeover details here.

PS--Don't forget today is the last day to enter the rug giveaway from ShopTen25!

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Book Art

    

I hope you'll swing over to the Goodwill blog to read my latest post, "New Uses for Old Books."  I'm sharing some obvious and not-so-obvious ways to use old book pages in your decor.

Woman's Day

   
I recently took my own advice when I needed some quick art for our very blank canvas of a playroom.  Since this room stays in upheaval most of the time, I wasn't looking to invest a lot of money in artwork.  Instead, I scoured my kids' bookshelves and found this beautifully illustrated train book.  (I also had this canvas train painting that I bought off Ebay a few years ago and never used. . . )

After convincing my six-year-old that the entire family could enjoy his book if we cut it apart and hung it on the wall, I went to work.  I also discovered a new favorite IKEA frame.  Although I usually recommend the Ribba, I tried the Stromby and really like the thin frame and the price for the size--just $10.  (Is this new?  It's not listed on their site.)

The frame doesn't come with a mat. And, since I told you this was a quick "cheap" project, I just flipped the paper that came with the frame over to the white side and put my art right on top. (It's a playroom, not an art gallery, after all.)

 
 

Once I got the hang of the clips on the back of the frames, I was in business. (It should tell you something if the frame comes with instructions. And, notice that all IKEA "directions" start with that dumbfounded guy calling for help.  That's a bad sign from the get-go.)

 

I'll be showing you more of this room soon.  For now, you can read more of my ideas for using book pages here.

A Guide to Goodwill

      

If you've read my blog for a while, you know that I love running through Goodwill to see what treasures I can find.  Some of you have told me that you never find anything.  Believe it or not, there is a method to my madness (at least, somewhat).  Today, on the Wow! Goodwill blog, I'm showing you how I typically do a quick run-through of my local Goodwill store, what I found and what I would do with it.


    

My latest Goodwill find--a vintage trunk in perfect condition for $15.

Read the entire post here.

   

Welcome to my newest sponsor, House of Pemberley! 

A beautiful online shop full of restyled furniture :)

    

Photographs: My favorite art

Well hello all! Can you believe it’s almost the weekend already? I swear this week has absolutely flown by. I got one project completed this week that I’m really, really happy with. (GLEE!!) And I did most of it with what I had, which is always a bonus in my book. :) When it comes to filling wall space, we don’t have much real art in our home. OK, let me rephrase…we have ZERO real art. :)

February Before & After: A pretty pitcher

Hello all! I’m back this month with a very simple but beautiful (I think so anyway) before and after project! It started with a recent trip to Goodwill – I don’t go as often as I used to (see my STUFF post), so I haven’t found nearly as much good stuff as I used to. (You have to go fairly often to get the good pickins.) But that day, the heavens shined down on this beauty on the top shelf:

A DIY memo board

Well hello there!! I am just overwhelmed at your response to my last post. You made me feel SO much better! :) I was so happy to read your comments and to hear many of you are making time to take care of YOU! It made my week! (Really.) Because of I’ve been organizing like mad, and throwing in a few more work outs in here and there lately – my DIY/crafty/decorating time has been suffering. :) I

Spooky in the house

Well, it’s about time for some Halloween decorating up in here! At least that’s what the Bub said – without the “up in here” lingo. OH my goodness – he is SO exited about Halloween this year! He’s been decorating all over the place. Which in his way is pulling everything out of the bins and lining it up along every. single. surface. in the house. Adorable. :) It feels like I just put the

Before and After Party: Clock cloche

Anyone else glued to the Bachelorette tonight? ;) Don’t worry, I won’t ruin it for anyone. But it was GOOD. (YES. I have watched every season of the Bachelor and Bachelorette. Good stuff.) Ohhh Lordy, the rainbow part just about KILLED me!! Sniff. Hubs and I were so taken with the shots of Tahiti, we were searching to see how much a trip there would cost. Let’s just say we need to wait till

Details of an airplane room

First of all – the (randomly drawn) winner of the Lisa Leonard Designs giveaway is Patrizzia from iCreate! Congrats Patrizzia! Email me and I’ll connect you with Lisa. Well, shucks folks. Seriously, I am so thankful for all the comments here, Facebook and Twitter and all of your sweet emails about the Bub’s new room. I really don’t don’t what else to say but that I’m so glad I’ve inspired so

Goodwill transformations!

Hello there! Today I want to brag on a few of my new Hoosier/local friends who joined Beckie from Infarrantly Creative and me at our Goodwill Shop and Hop last month. We had such a blast and I’m so impressed with what these ladies did with their goodies. Erin from Beauty in the Attempt turned this $1 Goodwill find…Into this: (Click here for more!) Isn’t that cool? I love those test tube things.

Before and After Party: A DIY cloche

Happy Easter to you all! I hope you had a wonderful and blessed spring day! We had planned on just lounging and eating all day – but the fantastic weather drew us outside, so we spent most of the day working on the yard. Wow. SO much to do out there this year! But it felt good to get my hands dirty again. ;) This month’s Before and After Party project is a complete and utter copy cat – but that’