You Ain't Nothin But a Hound Dog

Hey all! 

Remember I mentioned the great Etsy Team I've become a part of a few minutes ago in a recent post ?

Their first challenge that I've been able to be a part of had to do with Musical Interpretation.   Fun, no?   In other words, express somehow in crochet your favorite song, musician, band, etc...  

Click here for my entry.

An adorable baby or toddler hat, crocheted to look like a cute dog!   This is a custom made to order item.  Can be done in just about any age group, from Newborns on up!  I think this would just look ADORABLE on a little one!  Here's another couple of photos. ....

He just looks guilty LOL!

Edited to add to a FANTASTIC Linky Party hosted by Creations by Kara - Be sure to visit it

here

Do it!  Now!  You won't be sorry LOL~

I'm linking this post up to a great little Blog Party..

on Everything Etsy.... I Made It Thursday!

Stop by yourself and check out all the talented peeps!

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share!

Smiles and Hugs, Joyce

...Thrifty Finds

Re-edited to add that I am including this post over at Tales From Bloggeritaville for her Thrifty Thursday linky party!


Recycling last week's post in doing so, but after all, this blog is partially ABOUT recycling!

First I want to say hello and welcome to my new followers.    So, Hello and Welcome To My New Followers!   Seriously, there are almost 20  40 of us here now, and that's definitely not a bad way to start a blog.   Next I want to say this:


I. Am. So. Excited.

Wanna know why?  Well - do you??    Okay, I stopped by a little thrift store this morning.  I cannot BELIEVE that I have never been there before.  Oh. My. Goodness.

I should have known what to expect, being the penny pinching cheap girl that I am.  It was an absolute Treasure Trove of old stuff, just waiting for a makeover.   Soon to be new, beautiful stuff!   I will no longer be a slave to full price.  Or even half price.  Heck, the most I spent on any one item was $1.00.   ONE DOLLAR!   And that was for a PAIR of stuff.

I scored the following:  One white SUPER heavy and fat vase (dying for a coat of paint), Two black wrought iron candlesick holders, One heavy silver pedastal, One brown wood chunky candlestick holder, Two lengths of fabric, and One other thing.  Not sure what to call it.  I am gonna pretty the bunch of them up.  AND, I'm gonna show you how.  

But first, today's finds...........

Bad lighting, sorry....

See all those white stickers??   Those are price tags.  They say things like 35 cents.  1.00.   50 cents.  You get the idea...

This is a planter of some sort.  I have no idea yet what I'm going to do with it, but I loved it's shape.

Yup - it's "A Genuine Old Thing".

Here's a pretty pewter candlestick holder (which will never be pewter color again once I have my way with it)

35 cents. 

Another holder or pedastal - this time wood

Honest to goodness dust and everything.  She SO wants to be pretty again.  You can just tell.

Another planter or vase.   Again, I love the size and shape

50 cents.   I could probably even bargain with this poor woman who owns the store too - I feel like going back with a wagon and loading up.  I might even see if she wants to come home with me someday and just pretend to be my grandmother for a while.  She's just that cute.

I think these two cuties would look nice dressed for Fall.

Now, how's all that for a Cheap Frill!?

I called this post Thrifty Thursday, and it actually gives me a really good idea.  Each Thursday (beginning whenver I can actually figure out how to use links and whatnot) I will be hosting an online Thrifty Thursday party.   Link up and share your most recent, or most favoritest ( it's my blog and I can use bad grammer if I want to) thrifty find!

A fun way for you girls (and guys) to show of your own treasures.   Very good exposure for your blogs or stores too, plus just a great way to meet new friends.  

Stay tuned - I have great plans for my old junk....

Smiles and Hugs,
Joyce

French Farmhouse Storage Bin

...Otherwise known as Repurposed and Upcycled Cheap Junk from The Christmas Tree Shop.

I don't know why I'm calling this French Farmhouse.   I think it's because of the rooster.  Aint' she cute? (I'm not sure people are very "into" roosters anymore, but that's okay )  And also maybe because it makes me feel better than to just call it a cheap tin bucket from the Christmas Tree Shop. 


Anyways, I wish SO MUCH that I took a before picture.  Maybe even some during would have been nice.   I have other ones of these lying around, so I will be sure to take both before AND after photos next time.   It was already decoupaged in some manner with a baby print.  Meaning a print for a baby's room.  I scooped up a bunch since they were only about a buck or so each!  I thought that they would look cute in my daughter's playroom.  They did not.  Way too much pastel.  Pastel OVERLOAD even.

Anyways, I'm always looking for cute storage solutions in my kitchen.  My kitchen counters are a haven for any stray piece of paper, mail, bills, food, toys, you name it.  It ends up there.   This controls a bit of the clutter.

So easy and fun.  What I did, was take the above mentioned bin/bucket/tin can and painted it black.  Should have done this outside with some spray paint (next time I'll know better) but this worked just fine as it turns out.  It needed many coats, but I used an inexpensive CHEAP bottle of acrylic craft paint.  It dries very quickly.  (Here I should note that:  It dries very quickly UNLESS you are expecting it to dry very quickly - after the first few coats I tested this out and ended up with black fingertips)

Even though I do seem to have a strange and vaguely satisfying love affair with plain black paint (I'll explain at a later date), this needed a little something extra.  So I grabbed some fabric that I had leftover from My First Window Mistreatment and basically tied a large farmhouse-y bow (I don't know what it means either) around the middle.   Added this cute Rooster chick with some craft wire.   Then SHE wanted to be a little fancy too.   So I attempted attaching a bit of fringe along the bottom to dress her up a bit. 

And took a bad photo with a shadow from my head in it apparently.

The handle is a pretty creamy white, so if the Rooster ever doesn't want to watch me prepare dinner or pay bills, she can turn the other way and it still looks kinda cute.

It's now sitting on my counter FILLED with coupons, business cards and my address book and I'm One Happy Cheap Girl.   :)


Smiles and Hugs,
Joyce

The RePurposed Wrapping Paper Post

Hi again!


While my crazy five year old is doing laps around the kitchen island (I'm not lying, she REALLY is) I wanted to post another cute "repurposing" tip.




Recycling wrapping paper and using for handmade cards! This would work great with the loads of wrapping paper you'll have everywhere after Christmas, holidays, birthdays, etc..... And since so designs many are themed, they are a perfect embellisment for some handmade cards!

http://http//tipnut.com/recycle-wrapping-paper/


I'll post this quick tip and come back later to show you some examples of how I've used this. And you know I'm dying to try it out myself! Nothing but the cheapest for the Cheap Gal. And just THINK of all that gorgeous paper that would otherwise be tossed!

Note: I just had another great CHEAP idea! This would probably not be practical in every instance, but if somebody gives you (or your child) an especially *special* gift, or even if you know that they spent alot of time and effort on the wrapping, use THAT paper as scraps for a unique and super-special Thank You card! I am so doing this! Boy, I love myself sometimes....