Category Archives: Thrifting

$16 DIY Play Tent

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img_5394We wanted to build a cool tent for the girls. I looked all over Pinterest for something we could build. I found all sorts of great ideas. The first plan was a frame made from pvc pipes but I couldn’t find what I needed locally so I moved on to plan B.

img_5417This was so easy to build. I went to our home hardware store and found a nice young man to help me locate the wood I would need. We decided on two 2×1″ 8 foot pieces of lumber which they cut in half for me. So I ended up with 4 2×1″ 4 foot pieces. Then we went to another aisle and grabbed a four foot 3/4″ dowel. The frame cost me $14 and change.

I then went to our thrift store and found a nice pink single flat bedsheet for a couple of dollars.

To build the frame take a 3/4″ spade drill bit and after marking 6″ down from the top of each board drill holes in all four boards. Make sure they are centred. Make and X with two boards and shove the dowel through it, do the same on the other end.

img_5386We don’t have carpet so the wood just slides open so we screwed the frame together. If you want to be able to store your tent you can also add a stiff strap across the top of the Aframe at the width you want it so it can fold up. Or use bolts instead of screws for easy removal.

img_5535Next measure your frame. You want to measure the distance of the dowel between the two AFrames (red line), this will be how wide you want to hem your sheet. Next measure from the bottom of the AFrame up to the dowel and double that number (blue line), and add 3.5″. This will be the length of your hemmed sheet, and bottom pocket. My final hemmed measurements were 40.5×92″.

img_5537 Continue reading →

Spray Paint Fun

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I love going to the thrift store and finding awesome items. I love even more taking those items and spray painting them to add a pop of color. So for the last few months I have been waiting for nice weather to spray paint some items I had picked up over the Winter. So here are some photos for your enjoyment.

Doll Desk with Chalk Board Top

desk before

desk after

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Headband Holder for Girls

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after

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mirror (still need to put it together)

mirror before

mirror after

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Touched up the Pink High Chair (This was originally painted 2 years ago but I needed to touch it up. You can see the whole process of the chair here)

high chair beforehigh chair after

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Process

Quote Board Craft

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quote board

I found something similar on pinterest, but for the life of me I cannot find it. I found this frame at a thrift store a while back, and it was a gross brown wood color. I have had it sitting around for a while now wondering what I would do with it. So when I saw this great idea for a quote board I knew what frame I would use.

I just painted the frame with some craft paint that I had. If it had been Spring/Summer/Fall I probably would have used spray paint. It is a fairly big frame and I didn’t have a piece of paper big enough to cover the back so I used a random piece of fabric and taped it around the back board that came with the frame. I decided to tape it so I could switch it out later if I wanted to. I took a piece of cardstock and drew a rough speech bubble and cut it out, than I used a hole punch to make the trim. I taped the quote bubble onto the fabric and put the frame back together.

I really like it. I reminds me of summer and pink lemonade. It is hung between the kitchen and dining room. I like being able to write little messages on it to Stefan or just funny things that Capri says. So go thrifting and pick up a cheap glass frame and make something pretty.

$3 Thrift Store Finds

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IMG_1790Today I went to our super sketchy thrift store with my mom. It is called Nu-2-U and is apart of the Hospital Auxiliary and is run by volunteers. It always has super random stuff and is really cheap. I ended up getting 15 things and only paying $3…but there is a story to go along with it. I needed to find some pants that actually fit Capri so that was my main goal of the trip and I was able to find a pair of cords and a pair of jeans that should hopefully fit her. They have kids clothes marked at $1 for a grocery bag full, but I really didn’t need more clothes so I just got these pants and a pair of super awesome shoes for CapriIMG_1795.

I got her a pair of Keds, and I love them. They are so cute and will only fit her for a little while (but that is okay because she has some rocking Converse in the next size up from another thrifting time). I felt like she was a big kid in them and that made me sad. She is beyond adorable.

IMG_1786I also got a really cute plate for Capri and this really cute fabric. I have no idea what to make with it but I love it. I love getting cute dishes for Capri to use that I won’t be upset if she breaks. She has a little plate she uses now (again thrifted) but it is getting a bit small for her big appetite, so this is a bit bigger.

So just before leaving I decided to check out the book section because I am trying to find some old Dr. Seuss books to make a collage out of for the playroom. Well I was looking andIMG_1794 could not find any Dr. Seuss books but I did find an Amelia Bedelia and a Madeline book which I have on the girls book wish list. I also got them a new Christmas book, a whale book, a Sesame Street book (which we have 16 of so far in our Sesame Street series). As I was looking a lady was asking the volunteer if they were taking donations at the time, and said she would bring all her stuff in. I asked her if she happened to have Dr. Seuss books and she told me that they did but was not sure when the ladies at the store would unpack everything. So I bought my stuff for $3 and went out to my car.

photo(15)The lady and her husband were parked right next to me with a pick up truck fill with stuff to donate. They handed me three Dr. Seuss books (Hop on Pop, In a People House, and Bears on Wheels) and told me to look around at what else they had. I found this cool art thing that is a piece of metal with holes in it and painted and a Cuisinart coffee maker and hot water maker. I am not really sure what I will do with the art work, I am thinking of putting it in the playroom.

I think I did really well; if you add up the things I bought it would have cost well over $200 new and I only paid $3.

Consignment Shop Finds

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IMG_1361This past weekend we took a trip down to Halifax to stay with my parents for a few days (really because it was my birthday and I wanted my mom to make me an ice cream cake). But while we were down there I was able to hit up a couple of consignment shops.

The first one is a big sale that happens at my church a couple of times a year. A lady from the area organizes it and people bring their stuff in to sell and get a commission off of it. I had a few things in mind that I wanted to be on the look out for and I was lucky enough to find a lot of what I was looking for at the one place. For $10 I scored a pair of brand name baby legs, rain boots and two pairs of Robeez shoes. If I had bought those all new it would have cost me roughly $88. So not bad, and my mom bought them for me anyway. growth spurts

IMG_1376The next day my mom and I went to a place called Growth Spurts (they have been open for 3 years downtown Halifax and just opened this store in Bedford). They have super nice stuff there and I was able to get the other things I had been looking for the night before plus a couple of more things. I spent $73 at Growth Spurts and got a Melissa and Doug train, a Melissa and Doug hammer thing, a set of soft blocks, a pink sleep gown and a stroller. So if we had gotten all of those retail we would have spent around $147. So not a bad weekend for thrifting. IMG_00000012And the stroller is exactly what I wanted. It is super light weight, has a huge basket, and has asnack tray and parent tray.

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