That's a Nice Pear...

I'm a bad blogger! I have been very uninspired and it shows! Add to that a broken computer, a very sloooow net book and a new iPad (not very blogger friendly) and you have the perfect storm of bad blogging! To all of my 26 followers, I'm sorry! We finally got a new family computer and I will do my very best to be inspired and inspiring. Thanks for hanging in there with me! Meanwhile I have noticed a theme in some of my Goodwill finds of late...Pears. I found the print about a year ago and blogged about it here. The silver pear came later and the studded bronze I picked up the other day. I saved the print for myself but the other 2 went to a good home, a client of mine who has a son named Per! She will love them more then I ever could!

A Mini Make-Over!

When school lets out and summer begins, I am always excited to spend lazy days with my children, going to the library, strolling to the store for fresh fruit and spending cool summer nights on the back deck with my wonderful husband, sipping margaritas. Ha! About 2 days in, I am racing off to work leaving a list of chores for my kids, while trying to figure out how I'm going to keep one of them occupied while the other is at camp, then coming home to discover that the library books are over due and I forgot to take anything out of the freezer for dinner! I love summer but summer is certainly not easier! My point is this: I have had very little time to work on any projects, visit Goodwill or blog about it! I did do a mini-make over on this college bound little dresser a few weeks ago. It was languishing in a spare bedroom at our lake house, getting little or no use. When my son moved to a smaller place I decided this could be the new home for this compact gem. My son is fairly immune to my many attempts at transforming cast off second hand furniture, so when I asked him how he would like me to overhaul this, and keeping in mind that it would likely end up stashed in a closet, he said it was up to me. So I pondered, and sanded, and pondered and primed and then just pondered. After being completely uninspired by anything I came up with, I decided to do a much smaller version of another dresser I had transformed. Can you steal an idea from yourself?

A bird in the hand...

I found yet another reason to haul out my new sewing machine. Yay! While at the Goodwill a while back, my sister found this needle point wall hanging and commented that it would make a great pillow. That was all I needed to hear! At the time I was looking for any excuse to sew more stuff! Because the needle point is so old fashioned and quaint I wanted the back fabric to be more modern and graphic. I like the contrast and that it's reversible. I just wish I had added some pink trim or tassels...maybe next time!!

Drama-dary!!

I hit up the "Goodwill" yesterday with my sister. That is always a fun time! We stroll down the isles cracking each other up with the random things we see, and then find the most outrages, dated and crazy clothes to show each other! It's so fun! Mary is a "Goodwill" Pro! She goes for the clothes (she owns a clothing resell shop) and I gravitate towards furniture, so we don't compete. Later that night I talked to her and asked what she did with the rest of her day and she said "went to another Goodwill!!" What a life! Oh...and I got this great stuffed camel...totally random!

Rock It Resell

When I was pregnant with my daughter Clare, my sister Mary began her own business. Beside the fact that I was proud of my baby sister for having the smarts (and the guts) to do this, I was thrilled with the fact that it was a consignment shop for maternity and children's clothing called "Baby and Me". What perfect timing! Along with her friend and partner Anita, they have since opened 2 more "Baby and Me" locations. They have a thriving business and in this economy it has continued to grow. They have lately taken on a new endeavor, in a new market. Last October they opened their 4th consignment boutique called "Rock It Resell" which serves their "aging" demographic: young people and adults. Another coup for me as my children get older and I haven't been pregnant for years! I had the privilege of helping them design their new shop and it was truly an honor and so much fun. I loved every moment of it, from roaming Goodwill looking for fun art and props, to taking a "field trip" with them to Anthropology to get ideas. Between multiple thrift shops, IKEA and "HomeGoods" we got it done and it looks so great! It is a space I am very proud of and when I go there, not only do I get to see my sister and shop for amazing clothes at a great price, I get to hang out in a place that I had a hand in creating. I love it!

Form Over Function!

Do you remember this dresser I got back in July? It was a mega-bargain at Goodwill and I could not pass it up despite the very clear lack of need for another chest of drawers of any sort!! As you know that has never stopped me before! Well, I have finally finished, found a home for, and photographed said dresser, and here it is! It was a bit of an experiment for me, I hadn't done much decorative painting before, but how hard could it be? Right? Turned out it was easy and fun. I just cut out a shape and traced it on and started painting. The hardest part was knowing where and when to stop, I could have covered the whole thing but I thought less was more in this case. I got new drawer pulls and its better then new, except for the fact that the drawers stick so badly I can barely open them! Oh well, it looks great!! Form over function!

Deco(r)

I am often asked which Goodwill I shop at, and my response is always the same: All of them! I am lucky enough to have 13 Goodwills within a 10 mile radius of my house. I haven't visited them all (yet) but it excites me to know they are out there! My approach to a Goodwill shopping trip is the same regardless of which location: furniture first, I'm always on the hunt for old chairs or dressers to paint. Next I head over to framed art, where I have discovered some of my most interesting and valuable bargains. From there I look at bedding, I have found brand new, still in the package, Pottery Barn and Ralph Lauren bedding there. If time allows I look for jeans, designer jeans get donated to Goodwill all the time. But rarely do I walk down the isles with the wicker basket collections, the endless rows of vases or the little porcelain statues but on occasion I do, which is where I found these lovely deco brass bookends. I think they are so graceful and elegant and I love that they are not just pretty but have a job to do.

...not far from the tree!

Another Goodwill transformation! My daughter has a tiny bedroom, just enough space for a bed and a desk and that's about it! She was stacking up books on her nightstand which quickly became cluttered with all the things that 10 year old girls clutter things up with. (I was once a 10 year old girl who collected clutter, so I know this all too well!) When I spotted this tall, narrow shelf at Goodwill the wheels in my head started to spin. For $4.99 I could make this into a book shelf that would fit in to a tiny corner of her bedroom and organize the clutter at least for a while. I sanded it down and primed it and after much consideration and conversation with my daughter, decided to keep it simple and paint it white! To make it a bit more interesting though, I painted the inside grey, the same grey as the wall color, I think it adds depth and a more modern touch. We'll see how long it stays uncluttered, but if she is any thing like I was it won't be long!

I Heart Spray Paint: Part II

I got this tiny Foo Dog at Goodwill for $4.99 and with some leftover silver spray paint gave him a new and more dramatic life! I came up with some super clever titles for this post: Everybody was Kung-Foo Fighting, I Pity the Foo, Foo Man Chu.....ugh...I know! Instead I wanted to once again exalt the wonderful transformative virtues of Spray Paint! I heart it so much!!