When I saw the following comment on my last post this morning, I laughed so hard that my Skinny Vanilla Latte nearly came out of my nose.

Jenelle said…

Yo, whoa, Lady. That was a fantastic post. I was laughing at your usage of “bendy” and “eleventy billion.” And I was impressed at your mad sewing skills. But what I’m REALLY intrigued about is in your last picture… on your crafting table… is that a cake stand with a tin planter and bird??? Can you take another picture of that close up? I want to drool over it more and then run home and create something like that for myself!!!

Ha! Thanks, Jenelle. I really needed that this morning. Just keep your drool to yourself, as I have a three year old who’s cutting a molar and have more than enough drool to go around right now. Your comment, however, reminded me that I hadn’t shown off my most excellent thrift store find in the history of the world.

A couple of weeks ago during my weekly thrift store visit, I came across a matching mint green cake stand, coffee & tea canisters, and a sugar shaker. They were listed as a set for – get this – $6.99! I took them to the front and asked the cashier if that could possibly be right, and she said the price was correct. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with them, but clearly, I couldn’t leave them at the store.

After giving it some thought, I decided to use them in my craft room since they coordinated with the fabric I used in there. I put the coffee and tea canisters on my bookcase nestled between a chippy bird and my vintage rabbit cotton ball dispenser. There’s nothing in them right now, but I’m sure they’ll be used for storage in the near future.

Let’s take a moment to discuss the vintage rabbit, shall we? It actually was used in *my* bathroom when I was a little girl. There is a hole with a rubber stopper in the bottom. You fill it with cotton balls and pull them out where the bunny’s little cotton tail should be! Have you ever heard of anything more adorable? No, you haven’t. My mother actually bought it years and years ago at an estate sale. I found it when I was visiting them over Spring Break and reclaimed it.

Okay, back to the green kitchenware.

I took the top off of the sugar shaker, stuffed a little bit of floral foam inside, and added some green moss and one of the $2 Pier One bunnies on a stick that Rhoda made me covet.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m working on my photographs. My great friend JJ sent me some tips for shooting into a window, and sadly enough, this is way better than it would have been otherwise.

And lastly, just for Janelle, here is the cake stand. I added a white plate I found at Ross for $1.49, a small galvanized bucket that contains my colored pencils, and another chippy bird. It makes me smile, and that is what decorating my home is all about.

Don’t forget to think outside of the box when you find great things for super cheap! You can easily turn them into treasures when you put your mind to it.

Speaking of turning super cheap items into treasures, did you take a look at the entries in the Five Dollar Challenge? Folks, I was just floored. I cannot believe the wonderful creations that people came up with! It took me so long to get through the entries because I was amazed with everyone’s creativity. Well done!

After all was said and done, I plugged the number of entries into a random number generator and this is the little number that hatched:

Congratulations to Infarrantly Creative! You are the Grand Prize winner! Send me an email at LivingWithLindsay [at] gmail [dot] com and we’ll chat about your prizes.

I had so much fun with this challenge, and I hope you guys did, too. Anyone up to do it again in a few months? I have a new idea in mind that’s really going to stump you…

This time a year, I get a little stir crazy. Here in Texas, the weather is warm, but the storms are a plenty. I remember last year it was so rainy outside that we didn’t get to “play” outdoors for almost two weeks! That’s enough to drive anyone crazy.

The storms roared in with a vengeance this evening, and left behind an amazing amount of hail in our yard (I shared some pics of it on Twitter tonight). Sigh…there are so many things I want to do outside right now – like spray painting, sanding, and priming – but I’m stuck inside just watching the arrival of Spring through the windows.

I wanted to add a little freshness to my decor to get me out of my rainy day funk, so I put together a few tips to help you usher Spring into your home very quickly. Each of these items you should be able to complete in about fifteen minutes, leaving time to enjoy your new surroundings before the sun sets or the next storm rolls in.

1. Re-accessorize – This is something I do in my home quite often, and it always amazes me how this simple tasks really freshens up a room. Simply take ALL of the accessories in one room and pile them in the center of the floor. Take down framed artwork, clear your tablescapes, remove the knick knacks from your display shelves, and basically move anything that is not a piece of furniture.

Once everything is down, start adding the items back into your decor one by one. You’ll begin to see things in a new way as you pair a different assortment of items. If you have a little more time to spend, rearrange the accessories in several rooms at the same time. You’ll find that as you move accessories around a room or into different rooms, your home will have a fresh, new look.

2. Hang a mirror – One of the best ways to add more light to a room and make a space seem larger is to incorporate a mirror into the decor. You can hang it on the wall, lean it on a shelf, or lay it on top of a table as the base for a lovely vignette. However you decide to use your mirror, make sure that it reflects something beautiful. Look around your room and pick out your favorite thing – be it the lovely flowers you can see from your window or that vintage piece of china you found at an antique store – and position the mirror so that it reflects that item.

3. Add a burst of Spring color – The great part about Spring is the wonderful color that enters our world after a dreary and monochromatic Winter. Incorporate that color into your home with simple accessories, such as throw pillows or vases. The color will awaken your spirit indoors as much as the early signs of Spring awakens the little birds.

4. Rearrange your furniture – Moving your furniture around in a room is always a great way to quickly give your home a fresh look. In fact, I rearranged my living room furniture just yesterday. It takes no money and very little time, but I feel like I have a whole new room. Even rotating all of your pieces just 45 degrees makes a tremendous impact. That’s really all I did, and I love it.

5. Bring the outdoors in – The most foolproof way to let Spring into your home is by adding fresh flowers to your decor. You can do something as simple as picking one beautiful bloom and adding it to a bud base or you can visit your local farmers market or grocery store and pick up a fragrant bouquet. Think outside of the traditional flower vases, and add your new blooms to your rarely used crystal pitcher or a collection of juice glasses. The colors and smells will awaken your senses.

The above photos are all courtesy of House Beautiful. Don’t you love that magazine? I sure hope so, because I’m giving away a one-year subscription to the Grand Prize winner of the Five Dollar Challenge! Be sure to finish(or get started on, such is my case) your Challenge projects this weekend…the big reveal is on Monday.