Friday, April 29, 2011

Feature Friday

There are so many uber talented bloggers out there that I thought I would share some great projects from around the blogosphere this Friday!  Here are a few I couldn't stop thinking about and want to give a try myself!

Cyndy used scotch 3M tape and screen printing paint to makes these fabulous Trina Turk inspired pillows!  Don't know what screen printing paint is? (me neither!) Cyndy from The Exchange says: It’s the most amazing medium out there because it has something in the paint that will not bleed in fabric. In other words, it stays exactly where you paint it on. The best thing of all, when the screen print paint dries, it is just like fabric and doesn't look "painted" on.
These came out so well!  I really want to give this a try!  Thanks for the inspiration and detailed tutorial Cyndy!



If you've stepped foot into any home decor store lately you've probably seen coral there!  Beth from The Stories of A to Z shows how to make your own from fish tank supplies!!!  Love that!  It's so Pottery Barn on a Walmart budget!


And at that home decor store right behind the coral you probably saw a sunburst mirror!  Love Diane's take on it using clothespins!  Looks very manageable!  Check it out over at In My Own Style.



So what projects are you guys working on this weekend? 
Going to give any of these a try?




Thursday, April 28, 2011

Who has weird space above their kitchen cabinets?

I DO!
Here are some ideas on how to fix it that do not involve faux greenery!



This one might take some time...although not at my house ;)








All the ideas above you could certainly find at your local thrift stores! 

Here's whats going on at my house.  Oh and please pretend my cabinets are white, that's what I do! 
 I don't know why new builders insist on using light oak.  They are just not my cup of tea!
Painting them is on the to do list...although my husband hasn't come to terms with that yet!


I went for the white ceramic look (sorry you only get one photo...the rest of my kitchen looked like a tornado ran through it!)  Very easy to find these at Goodwill for next to nothing.  But I'm kind of liking the last inspiration photo!  Love the layering of the white in the back and the silver items in front. 
Might have to try that! 

What about you all?  What do you have above your kitchen cabinets?



Wednesday, April 27, 2011

What I picked up thrifting yesterday!

I had to drink an extra glass of wine last night to get over the fact that I didn't snag the to die for tufted couch from Consignment Connection.  But I still have my marriage so I think it was a win for me in the end!  I did end up buying a few things yesterday and it was totally guilt free.  A) Because they were dirt cheap and B) Because Consignment Connection gave me a check for some items I consigned with them!

Here is what I picked up!

Some candlewick glasses (to add to my collection) from Arnedas Thrift and Gift.  Remember that is where I got my highboy.  Well they are closing :(  The only upside was she gave me a crazy deal on these.  9 glasses for 90 cents!!

And I picked up this key from Consignment Connection for $8.   I know this will come as a shock, but I think I am going to spray paint it ala younghouselove and add it to my future gallery wall in my future bedroom makeover.


Arneda's $1.50

Oh and lets not forget about this beauty!  I don't think Nate Berkus would approve but my daughter was pretty thrilled with it.  That is, until she took a nasty spill out of it and busted her cute little face.  Now I'm not sure how she feels about it!  All I know is it's staying in the garage until Charlie's t-ball games where it may entice her to sit still for .5 seconds!
Hope everyone has a great day!

PS.  Ever since I wrote about my Jillian Michaels workout in my last post she is all over my google ads. 
It's like she haunting me.  Watching my every move. 
 I'm pretty sure she knows how many cadbury mini eggs I ate yesterday!
Remind me not to write about her again ;)

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Quick Thrifting Post

I ran out this morning and HAD to show you some stuff I found.  I didn't buy any of this stuff :(  so it's fair game for any locals! 

I hadn't been to Consignment Connection in a while but I'm so glad I went today.  LOOK AT THIS BEAUTY!  The tufting almost brought me to tears!  I had to keep repeating over and over in my head "I do not need this...Alex will kill me...I do not need this...Alex will kill me!"  This thing was in seriously amazing shape.  Looks brand new.  It was a linen type material.  The photo does it NO justice!  Someone go get it and invite me over to lounge on it!!!

Consignment Connection $395


This bamboo mirror was really cute too! 

Eeeeek, pardon my scrubby outfit and baseball hat!  Bad hair day is an understatement!  And if I put gym clothes on in the morning I am more likely to force myself to work out during naptime (Jillian Michaels Comcast On Demand)...plus I already ate a bag of cadbury miny eggs today and opened the second bag so I really need to...sorry, I digress!


Consignment Connection (can't believe I didn't write the price!  I remember it was good though, or I wouldn't have taken the pic!)

I found a lot more but will post tomorrow!!!

Goodwill Secretary Desk- You're getting a makeover!

Oh Goodwill and your "Color of the Week!" 
There is really no better place to find a ridiculous, "can I be reading that right" price. 
I found this secretary at the Chamberlayne Goodwill.  The first time I saw it it was $50.  Not bad but not low enough for me to take the plunge.  Well I guess it was meant to be because I went back a few weeks later and the tag matched the color of the week!  Thank you Goodwill Gods!  I ended up getting it for $25!!!
Crazy right!!! I had no idea where it would go but I had to buy it! 




It's going in this cutie's room


(Yes!  She is way to old for a paci!  I'm working on it!  Any tips are more than welcome)

Here are some inspirational photos for your viewing pleasure!





So I will give you 2 hints ;)

                                         
                                                            Fabric from Ufab

And I will leave you hanging with those.  I know, the suspense must be killing you ;)

Monday, April 25, 2011

U-Fab is FAB-U-LOUS!






Aren't these fabrics FABULOUS!  I found them at a local fabric store called U-Fab!
 This is also the place where I got my fabric for the file cabinet redo

Richmonders (and anyone living in Charlottesville because they have a store there now) MUST check this place out.  They have the best selection of fabrics with all the current trends, chevron, ikat, trellis, lattice, etc.  Their prices are VERY fair too!  They call themselves a discount fabric outlet and I would have to agree.  Most fabrics were around $10-$12 a yard. (They did not pay me or give me a discount to say this...I just wanted to pass on a great thrifty find!) And they have a ton!  It's a happy medium between the size of Williams and Sherrill and Printer's Alley (both Richmond fabric stores)

I was just there this weekend trying to find some fabrics for my future bedroom redo. 
This is what I came up with so far.




I'm still not exactly sure what I want to use what fabric for but on the list to make are...pillows and a duvet (my mom is going to make me one!!!).  The dot fabric's color is not coming up correctly on the camera.  It's not as neon green as it looks in the picture.  But you get the drift!

The paint colors are from the Martha Stewart line (that I usually color match in Behr Ultra paint).  One is called Driftwood Gray, the other is Winters Day.  Has anyone used these colors before?  I haven't gotten samples yet so I'm not sure how they will look on the wall.  Usually it takes me close to 10 samples to find the right color!

Anyone else found any fun fabrics lately? 



Saturday, April 23, 2011

Sponsors (AKA my craft fund)

I would love to work with you to promote your business!

I will be offering advertising in my right sidebar as a button.
This includes an introduction post and monthly mentions and tweets.

I really look forward to working with you!
Please contact me at erinmcgurkinwhite@gmail.com if you are interested!

Are you a No-reply blogger

Are you a fellow blogger that sometimes writes me a comment on the blog and I don't reply!?  It's not because I am a total meanie and don't like you!  It's because you are a No-reply blogger.  BUT!  Good news!  You can change this!!!

I found this VERY instructional tutorial over at Pleasant Home.  I hope she doesn't mind if I pass it on to you guys!

You may not even know that you are a NO-REPLY blogger. No worries.

Follow these instructions to see if you are a NO-REPLY blogger:


Sign in to Blogger and bring up your Dashboard or Profile Page. Click on EDIT PROFILE.

See the third box down (SHOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS) there should be a check mark in it.

and
Scroll down; see the section titled IDENTITY. See the box labeled EMAIL ADDRESS. Your Email address should be in that box.

If there is no email in that box or if you don't have the Show My Email Address box checked. You are a NO-REPLY blogger and I can't email you back.


I hope this makes sense!  I would love to talk to each and every one of you and I like to do it through Gmail so I know that you get the reply.  If I reply on the blog post sometimes people don't know I wrote them back...so don't be a no-reply blogger, and make sure I reply to you via email!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Habitat ReStore-Last Saturday of the Month Sale

So a few weeks ago I hopped into the Habitat for Humanity ReStore on a Saturday.  It happened to be the last Saturday of the month.  I was greeted by THIS SIGN!  Which you know made me happy!



Who knew this even existed?  Not me!  I'm assuming this happens at all ReStores but I was at the Hanover, VA location. 
Find out if you  have a ReStore near you HERE!

Here is a list of all the additional mark-downs.

I shopped around and found something that caught my eye!
image 2287527375-0
It retails for $160 on Amazon.com

I got it from the ReStore- BRAND NEW in box- for $16
ReStore price was 65.00 then take 75% off for the Saturday Sale!

I got it to replace the "boob" light in our entry
Here is the before:


And here is the AFTER:




Did you all know the Habitat ReStores sell new items along with the donated used ones?  I think they are items that were overstocked and donated by the manufacturers.

I would highly recommend visiting on the last Saturday of the month!  LOTS of good deals to be had! 
They had TONS of these brand new entry lights in case anyone else wants to get a "boob" job!

Linking up:

Home again, Home again!

Hey everybody!  This is going to be a thriftless post!  We just returned home from a fun couple of days visiting my sister, her hysterical boys and their new precious little sister!

Kate was born on Sunday and we hightailed it outta here!  I even forgot my make-up bag-eeek!  I'm sure I scarred poor Kate for life!

                                                
                                                                        
Baby Kate...in the outfit my sisters and I wore home and my daughter Emerson wore home :)


My nephews Jack and Thomas with their baby sister!



Trying to figure out what to do with her!

My sister Meghan checking out the latest addition to the fam!


Uh Oh!  I might have the baby bug again!


"Do you want mommy to have a baby like this"


My sister (who survived labor without an epidural after 2 failed attempts to get one to work!!!) explaining to my daughter Emerson she isn't the baby of the family anymore!

My parents with all their grandbabies!


And how do we end the trip but by breaking down 10 miles away from home on 95 South.  My accelerator thought it had worked long enough and decided to take a time out.  Nice!  Very safe with two sleeping children in the back.  So thankful we were almost home.  And apparently this did not shock the people at Hyundai...said it happens and they have a part to fix it!  Wouldn't that qualify as recall worthy?  Thankfully my sweet hubby came to our rescue and picked us up!  UGH!  Never a dull moment!