Owl Love You... (Before & After)

I showed you this guy the other day, acquired on a recent thrifting excursion. Well, yesterday before the blizzard hit it was warm enough to spray paint. Yay!

I've always loved owls and they're so hot right now. I mentioned back here that I needed something more for my dresser area and when I saw this guy, I knew he had to be mine.

He wasn't quite tall enough for the space on his own so I gave him a little boost with this old wood block I had from something else. I kind of like how the block is rough and sort of rustic. It gives Mr. Owl a nice edge.

He looks rejuvenated and refreshed after a new coat of Heirloom White. (The same color I sprayed my dresser tray.)

I adhered him to the block with a thick coat of E-6000.

He looks great on my dresser. I'm still planning on replacing that print with a larger, canvas version. I just need to convince myself to spend the money on it. I know I can get a great deal through Canvas People, I just need to get it ordered.

What do you think? Was he a good addition to my dresser? For $1 (the cost of the bird - the wood block and paint were on hand) I think he's a good deal!

This weekend I'm going to be sewing and hanging my new curtains and going on the hunt for a new computer. I can't wait!

Found Treasure

Well, I realize that Wednesday doesn't really classify as "early next week" but please don't hold that against me :)  Today I am going to be sharing with you a few treasures I recently found thrifting. I wish I had some finished projects to show you but it hasn't been quite nice enough to spray paint and my weekends have been too busy for any real sewing projects.

I got this pretty little compote (?) for 50 cents. I couldn't believe my luck getting it for so cheap - it is in kind of rough shape but I really think it just adds to its charm.

I was thinking it would be useful on my desk to catch paper clips or pins etc.. For now I have it in my display case/buffet in the dining area. It goes well with some cool retro green goblets I've got.

These are one of my favorite finds and a project I've got in process.

They were $3.00 each and although I'm not in love with the artwork, I do love the frames. They've gotten a fresh coat of paint and are just waiting for the right art. I think they will be going in my master.

This guy is my most recent purchase. I got him for a buck and although he's not much to look at now, I plan on giving him new life in my master. I mentioned here that I am looking for something to add to my dresser and I think he might just fit in well.

These weren't a trifting find but a gift from my in-laws. They bought them with money received as a wedding gift in 1965 and never used them because they were too nice. Well, we ended up getting married on their 42nd anniversary so my mother in-law thought they might be something we would appreciate. My husband brought them home and never showed them to me because he thought I would hate them. He couldn't be more wrong!

I love the mid-century style of these and although they won't be used daily, I do plan on putting them to good use!  I love them so much and am on the hunt for the rest of the set.

So, there you have it. Some of my more recent treasures. This weekend I am planning on sewing my new curtains for my open concept upper level. I blogged months ago about finding the perfect fabric and I am ashamed that I have put them off for so long! Well, not anymore!

What treasures have you found while rummaging or thrifting?



At The End Of The Rainbow...

I've been promising a St. Patrick's Day wreath and I didn't want to close out the week without delivering. The problem was, I just couldn't decide what to do. I still wanted to do something with a rainbow but I just wasn't sure what. I was thinking that it would be fun to make a wreath into a rainbow somehow but I really didn't want to spend much money. I headed to Joann Fabrics to pick up some yarn because I really loved the texture on my Valentine's wreath. When I got there I realized that I didn't want to spend even $2.50 on each skein when I needed so little each of six different colors. I was walking around aimlessly trying to find inspiration when I saw these little spools of ribbon. The grosgrain was $1.00 per spool and the other was $0.50 each. That sealed the deal.

I grabbed a foam wreath form, two different shades of green felt and six colors of the rainbow (I don't mean to be a snob by leaving out indigo, I just didn't have room for it in my plan!).

Because I had six colors I marked off eight sections on my wreath form - six for the colors and two for the shamrocks.

I wrapped the ribbon the same way I would have my yarn, filling each section with the next color in the sequence ROY G. BiV.

I just used straight pins to secure each color in place.

I printed out a few different sizes of shamrocks to use for a pattern...

...and traced them on to my felt and cut them out.

I used straight pins to attach my shamrocks to the wreath. (I decided to wrap the last two sections with some black yarn I had on hand - just to make it look more finished.)

I used mostly green straight pins but also a few yellow and blue in places where they wouldn't be too noticeable.

For a hanger I pinned some scrap ribbon to the back. I used two pins on each end crossing over each other to make them extra secure.

And the finished product. I wasn't so thrilled with it when I just had the ribbon on but when I got the shamrocks on I started liking it a lot more. I still think I'm going to do it differently next year but for now I really am happy with the finished product!

I love the 3D effect from the shamrocks!

I was able to use a 40% off coupon on the wreath form so the total cost of this wreath (including tax) was $8.10. I've still got plenty of ribbon and felt leftover for some future use and because I didn't use any glue this can be totally taken apart if I want - perfect for some cold winter day (next year maybe?) when I'm feeling crafty but snowed in...and that happens a lot in North Dakota!

So what do you think? Do you like wreaths as much as me?  I'm off for the weekend, we're visiting family out of town. Early next week I plan to show you some fab finds from a recent thrifting excursion. Now I just need another semi-warm day to paint them up!