My New Best Friend

I’ve been making fruit smoothies for breakfast every morning for the past few months.  It was kind of a pain to lug out the blender every day and wash it after each smoothie, but then I found my new best friend!

I found this little personal blender at an estate sale for $7.50 brand new in the box!  Now it takes only minutes each morning to make my smoothie and after a quick rinse, the blender is ready to go again the next day!

I vary my ingredients each day; today I used strawberry yogurt, orange juice, frozen strawberries and frozen pineapple.  I usually buy fresh fruit and cut it up and freeze it myself, but of course Wal-Mart was out of fresh strawberries yesterday so I bought a bag of pre-sliced frozen ones.  I’ve also used blueberries, peaches, bananas, blackberries and raspberries.  Good thing the local Farmer’s Market is open for the summer!

Every now and then I use Greek yogurt and add spinach (you can’t even taste it) for an extra-healthy touch.

Dump in the yogurt, add a little liquid to the 8 oz. mark, add the frozen fruit and blend.   I’ve found using the frozen fruit instead of adding ice gives the smoothie the perfect creamy texture just like the ones sold in stores for $3-$5 each.The best part is the top cup detaches from the bottom part so I don’t have to dirty up another cup!  Sooooo yummy, I’m addicted!

What’s your favorite summer-time treat?

Thrifty Treasures

I’m joining Rhoda for her weekly Thrifty Treasures party.  I hit several Estate sales this weekend and grabbed a couple goodies.

These three glass liquor decanters were $1.50 each. 

Two of them still had liquor in them! I wish I knew what company they were from, but I couldn’t find any info online and there are no labels or markings aside from some numbers on the bottom.  I think they are from the 1950s.  They can be used as candleholders.  I loved how the silver paint is chipping off, making them look like mercury glass.  I don’t know where I’ll put them yet, maybe I’ll save them for holiday decorating.

I also found this large frame that is a match to a smaller set I found at Goodwill last year.

Maybe I’ll make a jewelry organizer out of it to coordinate with the butterfly art I made from the other two:

 

I’ll also be linking up today’s post with It’s So Very Thrifty, Thrifty Thursday, and Frugalicious Friday.

Quick Change

Is anyone else excited about getting back on the trail of Estate sales and garage sales??  It’s been a slow start here so far, but I picked up a couple bargains last week.  I just couldn’t pass up this $4.00 sewing box because my mom has one just one just like it:

A coat of purple spray paint made the plastic fake wood a little more bearable!

I’ve been on the look-out for a container for all my embroidery supplies and threads, and this box was just what I needed! Plus, it was much cheaper than the wooden spool holders and keeps all the thread protected.

It even had the plastic tray that rests on top to hold bobbins, needles and notions!  I covered the inside of the lid with a scrap of tiger fabric to cover the ugly faux velvet that was there.

Now all my supplies are neat and organized in a container of my favorite color!

Sharing with:

 

Thrifty Finds

I’m not sure if Rhoda will be doing her weekly Thrifty Monday Party since she is on vacation, but I thought I would share my finds anyway.  I was only able to visit one Estate Sale back before Labor Day, and I found a couple good deals.

I thought the frame ($1) was a great size and shape to do something with, perhaps another jewelry display?

For $2.00, I couldn’t pass up the metal mirror.  It’s already a cool color, but I may change it.  Such a pretty scroll design. My mom ended up going back and picking up one other frame for me.  It needs some work (bye bye Mr. Fish!) but it’s got good bones:

I was browsing the clearance section at Michael’s last week and found this wooden “W” for $.99.   I thought it would look pretty painted black and gold-leafed sitting in our living room bookcase.

I’ll be working this week to get out my fall decor, and of course trying to learn how to use my new embroidery machine, so stay tuned for new posts!

Thrifty Treasures

I hit a few Estate Sales on Friday but came away empty handed so I decided a trip to Goodwill in the next town over was in order.  It seems that everything at Goodwill is either $.99, $1.99 or $3.99….weird.  I picked up these three wooden pieces for $1.99 each:

I just loved the curved edging of these pieces, they just look like they were all made for one another, don’t they?

I’ve got a great idea for each of them, I can’t wait to show you soon!

I strolled down to a neighborhood garage sale late Saturday morning and found the perfect desk lamp for my new sewing area:

25 cents, can you believe it?  I’m going to introduce him to my pal Mr. Spray Paint soon, I’m sure they will become fast friends!

That’s all of my thrifty finds, be sure and visit Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality to see everyone else’s treasures.

Transformation Thursday: DIY Personalized Jewelry Box

For some reason I am drawn to these vintage jewelry boxes, perhaps they remind me of the hours I spent playing with my grandmother’s vintage jewelry, which she kept in a similar jewelry box. I picked up these two at separate estate sales for $1 and 50 cents each.

These babies needed a facelift, don’t ya think? Enter the spray paint:

Much better! I spray painted the larger one silver and the smaller one lavender. They were still kinda plain, so I decided to keep on going by adding my initial and some bling.

I added the border to highlight the slightly raised detail border that still showed through a little.

I just used silver craft paint to paint the border and initial, then outlined them using a paint pen. I printed out an initial and used carbon paper to transfer it to the top of the box. Since I am an impatient crafter, I didn’t even tape off for a clean line, but it still turned out okay. If you wanted to do a real professional job I would recommend taping off.

Now they’re right at home in my guest bedroom, but I keep moving them around. Tell me which spot you like best.

In the vanity:

Under the vanity:

In the corner (I’m leaning toward this spot):

I’m linking up with A Soft Place to Land for DIY Day, The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursday and Tales from Bloggeritaville for Thrifty Thursday. Whew, I’ve got a lot of friends to visit now!

Today’s Thrifty Treasures: Craft Mecca

You just never know what you’re gonna get when you head out to an Estate sale.  Most of the time they are pretty hit or miss for me, because I’m usually looking for cheap bargains I can transform into something that looks much more expensive, not heirloom antiques or collectors items.  Well, this weekend, I hit the craft jackpot! 

If you read this post, you know how I like to make up little stories about the people who own(ed) these Estate sale homes. I didn’t have to make up a story about this one, because it was totally obvious she was an avid crafter and collector.  There were more crafting supplies than Michael’s or Hobby Lobby!  Not really, but there were drawers, closets, cabinets, and dressers packed with paints, fabric, notions, candy molds, craft books, and more!  When I stopped by on Friday, everything was already 25% off.  I got all this stuff for $6.00:

It was so overwhelming I had trouble sorting through all the stuff but I did come away with a few bargains. Here’s what I got:

~2 spools of ribbon

~2 packs of adhesive gemstones

~pad of tracing paper

~2 plastic organizers for my loose rhinestones & vintage jewelry

~pack of stitch-n-tear lining for appliqué sewing

~bottle of fine glitter

~bottle of crackle paint

~3/4 bottle of glitter paint

I think my favorites were the ribbon. The 3 yard roll of burlap ribbon still had the original price tag of $11.99, I got it for $1.50.  The 10 yard roll of linen looking woven ribbon was originally marked $2.47, I paid $.75. 

She also had more teddy bears than I have ever seen in one location in my whole life.  There must have been hundreds, and most of them were Boyd’s Bears.  I couldn’t resist this little cutie for 50 cents:

She’s now living in my guest bedroom.

On Saturday morning, I went with my mom and best friend to our local weekend flea market.  I got this 15” square frame for $5:

I don’t know what I’m going to do with it yet, but it will surely get a coat of spray paint first! I’ll do a longer post about the flea market tomorrow with more photos.

Last but not least, my mom remembered this great old frame she had stored in the garage and was happy to pass it on to me, FREE of charge:

The detail is beautiful, and it is large, about 26”x30”.  I think it will make a great chalkboard or memoboard.

I’m off to visit Rhoda and everyone else who’s posting their Thrifty Treasures!

 

p.s. I picked one other surprise that I’m going to transform into a great giveaway when I reach either the 100 posts or 100 followers milestone!! Stay tuned for your chance to win SOON!!