thrifty style at 73: 2011

pieces and parts

My husband's been a busy man reconstructing three unusual

pieces from a friend's garage.
She had various pieces and parts that she was ready to get rid of.

He's been sawing and shaping, painting and staining.

The little wicker stand above is my favorite of the three, I believe.

This table (above) was missing the bottom shelf. (Only a part of it was there.)

So he cut a new one!

And THIS one is the strangest of all! Not sure WHAT it is or was!

It IS made up of the prettiest oak wood you'd ever want to see though.

Maybe a plant stand????

what my chairs are wearing

Today I took a break from shopping to catch up on some magazine reading

at Barnes and Noble.

The chair above caught my eye--partly because of the way it had been "patched"

with complementary floral fabric...

and partly because it reminded me of the two chairs that sit in our spare bedroom.

First of all, know that I have a love affair with chairs!

When I found these two particular chairs, I was drawn in by their price

and the unique structure of the one below.

Both needed to be recovered.

It didn't take for me to decide on some vintage fabric

salvaged from old curtains that I'd found in a thrift store.

I had enough to cover this ottoman, too.

I've never regretted the decision to use this fabric in this way.

It fits. And the chairs have found a place in the last three houses we've lived in.

our nativity tree

Here are a few

of the simple ornaments

on our Nativity Tree.

All portray an aspect of the Christmas story,

and almost all (if not all)

were thrift store finds.

Wooden,

brass,

plaster, glass or plastic...

It matters not.
This is one of the ways we decorate at Christmas-time.

more where it came from

While at My Favorite Thrift Store, I found these treasures

in addition to the ones I showed in my prior post...

All of these books are in near-perfect condition.

The one below is illustrated by my favorite illustrator of children's books -

Eloise Wilkens.

I also found the red desk and rocking horse for pennies!

Technically, they're Christmas ornaments,

but I will use them for doll house furniture year 'round.

Oh! How I love this little desk!

Yesterday I made a quick run to a thrift store to look for a particular item - well...CATEGORY of item anyway. I have a friend who has a collection, and I hoped to find a gift for her. I was unsuccessful...

But I DID find this great Christmas apron, a couple of books in perfect shape (including a Curious George special edition) and the three pieces below.

Some of you know my penchant for collecting stray nativity characters. I thought it was "out of my system", but apparently not!

a wise man

a shepherd

Joseph, maybe?

I'll wear this apron (which is even brighter in person)

at noon today when I serve up some soup and sandwiches at our final

Community Advent Luncheon.


See the sheep on the shelves behind me? Another collection of mine!

thrift-wrapping

One of my winter projects will be figuring out another way to store wrapping paper!

When I found this shopping cart at a thrift store this past year,

I thought it would make a good place to store wrapping paper.

Now I know better.

I've pulled out various rolls of wrapping paper and wallpaper

that I think will be suitable for wrapping Christmas gifts today.

I keep my eyes open for these rolls throughout the year at thrift stores

and garage sales. I enjoy having a good assortment to choose from.

ta-DAH!

the price was right

We went for a recreational visit to My Favorite Thrift Store yesterday.

I found three Royal Copenhagen Christmas plates...

I "lost" the picture of the third--a hunter with his hunting hound.

The color was right; the season was right; the price was right!

This non-Copenhagen plate was with the lot.

It was all "right", too.

And the brass angel ornament came home with us also.

Merry Christmas!

inside our christmas cabin

Our Christmas Cabin is full of Christmas trees!
Year 'Round!
Not much changes - especially since it is
bursting at the seams with Christmas treasures.