Autumn in January

I had my best Saver's find to date so far this week.  One of my humidifiers did not work but I found this beautiful basket of Autumnal flowers when I went to exchange it.

With my return I paid $1.09.  ($5.99 ticket price.)  When I got the home I found extra flowers that had either fallen or were just shoved in the bottom and most still had their price tags so I was able to guesstimate the original price.

There were 5 mum clusters priced at $3 and 11 assorted smaller clusters priced $1.  I am thinking the basket would cost at least $10 new so that puts me at least at $36 for the lot of it.  Woo-hoo!  I am already looking forward to using this in the fall!

Savers buy one get one finds

Today I ventured out again (The month of sickness is driving me insane!) because Savers was having a buy one get one free ($10 and under) sale for club members.  I was hoping to find some decent looking greenery but instead I bought this in two trips.

All this treasure for seventeen dollars!  The humidifiers may not be decorative, but they are sure needed.  We are having a dry winter in Arkansas so far.  We are drying up like fish out of water around here!  I am going to have my father-in-law blow them out with his air compressor and then run a round of vinegar water through them to clean them out.  The camera!!  Vintage love.  All of my vintage cameras are black so this gray and silver beauty will be a welcome change.  (I am still looking for a creamy white vintage camera...not sure if one exists, but I am keeping my hopes up.) I plan to scuff the skates a bit more, treat them with tea stain wash, and rust the blades a bit more. They will be part of my Christmas decor next year.

I got a kick out of my friend Travis' comment about the skates, "Ice skates in (Arkansas) seem like mission workers; somehow brought here to spread word of another world, where water turns cold and people walk on ponds and lakes."

 

I found these three things at the Salvation Army for three dollars.  The vintage felt letters are perfect for a project I have in mind.  The bowl will soon hold my one little house plant.  The fifty cent frame is for a wreath alternative project I am working on.  

I am seriously loving my new old camera.  Here it is in its new home on top of our TV armoire. 

(See my greenery need?)

Those are my fabulous finds for this week.  

I think it was twenty dollars well spent and I love the fact that it was all resale finds.  

Saving money and making use of old things. 

Happy.

Fabulous Finds from 2011...just now

Due to the last semester of crazy I have a lot of neat things that I picked up here and there but never have really done anything with.  Here are a few pictures of my fabulous finds from 2011. (I am hoping this will motivate me to do something with them!)

 

This was a great yard sale weekend.  There were some more finds, but this was the cream of the crop and most of it came from my friend Stacy's yard sale.  She has great taste and I will be camping out at her house before future yard sales.  Look at that chair!  I am thinking it would be a great chalk paint project.  I haven't tried it yet, but I am planning to soon. 

 

The little bird pillow is a favorite.  The vintage camera case is now a purse for one of my girls.

 

The thermos is now a repurposed vase and the tray is hanging on my bathroom wall.  

 These French scene coasters are another favorite.  They are like little works of art in themselves.

I found these tags at Remember When Antique Mall for a dollar each.  They were from an old hotel stood at the end of Garrison Avenue in Fort Smith, Hotel Goldman.  I was sad when the building was torn down because even in its dilapidated state its former grandeur was still evident.  My Grandma Conner told me a very funny story about applying for a job there once when she was a young woman that is a post in itself.  I am trying to decide whether or not to mat them or put them in a shadow box of some kind.

I took a trip in the fall to Ozark, AR with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law to eat lunch and hit the antique stores.  It was fun and I found quite a few neat items, although this picture is not the best.  Another chair, a vintage ceiling tin, five books for ten cents each, milk glass salt and pepper shakers and other little things including a vintage lunch pail and a typing table for three dollars.  The brick is vintage and from the Acme company in Fort Smith.  It was a neat find and at seven or nine dollars it was also my most expensive purchase.  Barry and I are planning a trip there at some point this spring and are hoping to find a bed and breakfast nearby.

These little snowmen houses were a giveaway rather than a find.  Our neighbor, Barry's cousin Chuck, gave them to me when he was packing away his Christmas decorations.  They will be in my kitchen next Christmas!


I hope this will motivate me to finish up existing projects and edit picture of the projects I have completed.  Please post links to your projects and finds in the comments section.