Solid Oak Aged Mantle

I took my 2 daughters with me to some thrift stores in the next county over last week.  I was, of course, searching for treasures.  We went to our local Habitat for Humanity Restore and found something awesome!

What could this be?  This item contains various mouldings, including dental.

It is a mantle!  Not just any old mantle, though!  This baby is 7-1/2 feet long!  Holy crap!

When I bought it, it was painted a glossy white paint (multiple coats).  I knew exactly what I wanted to do to it, and that included painting it.

Normally when you re-paint a piece of furniture, you have to sand, strip or prime to get the old finish off before you can even think about starting to paint.  Not the case when you use Caromal Colours textured basecoat.  Look, it even comes in gallons now!  This paint bonds to nearly anything, A-N-D you get right to the fun stuff without delay!

I painted this Peppercorn directly over the old white finish.

The picture below is after I had sanded.  The right side of the mantle is pre-wax, the left after applying Liberon Walnut wax.  The difference is unmistakable!  Pre-wax has a very chalky look to it, and after wax really sets the color and makes the Peppercorn pop!  Applying the wax really is simple, brush on, buff out with a clean cloth.  Not only does the wax seal the paint, it makes the color outstanding!

Just look at the finished product in the pictures below:

I never knew I loved dental moulding so much, but I DO!

I needed to take a picture of the mantle somewhere that you could grasp how truly large it is (and Jaggyr just couldn't help himself. . . he wanted to be in the pic)!  This thing is huge and heavy!  Did I mention it is Solid Oak?!  Well, it is!

Afterthought:  See the pumpkin growing on the right side of the sidewalk?  That was where a pumpkin sat after Halloween last year and the seeds took root.

This beautiful piece will be with me at the Bella's Vintage Flea Market this Saturday at Wheeler Farm from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Please come and join us!  I would love to see you there!

(Don't forget to enter to win some of this amazing paint!  Check out my giveaway post for rules on entering).

Thrifty AND Chic?

Yes, it is possible to be thrifty and still find amazing items for your home.  You can also find gently-used clothing at an ounce of the price.  Case in point. . . I took 2 of my kids with me to the DI (which is our local version of a thrift store).  The one in particular we went to had just moved to a new, much larger building, so we were anxious to see what treasures we could find there.  I usually have the best luck finding clothes for my girls, in particular my youngest, Ella.  Ella has grown about 5 feet tall in the past year and so all of her pants and shirts are too short for her.  Plus, she needed summer dresses, and we found just that. 

Here's Ella's haul!

She will be darling in her "new" outfits!

This little Downeast Girl dress cost $1!

She informed me that she would be wearing

this on the first day of school.

Here is a set of chipboard letters

from Making Memories, $1!

I thought I might use the outside

as a stencil for some signs.

How can I possibly go wrong for $1?

Now, you might ask, "What do a cute ornate jar

with a red lid and a nutcracker have in

common?"  Absolutely nothing!

Jaggyr is just in love with nutcrackers.

He didn't go with me to the DI, so he

gave me some of his hard-earned cash

just in case I might come across a

nutcracker. . . and I did. . . and

I couldn't pass it up for .75 to make a

little guy happy.

Nutcrackers actually scare me

more than a little.  Their eyes

are so far apart, their teeth are

always showing.  I don't know, they

just seem a little creepy to me.

I got these 2 shelves which were identical,

until I painted Caromal Colours Parchment

over the black on one.

I liked how it turned out, so will

be painting the other one as well.

These shelves were $2 each.

You can't find prices that cheap,

except maybe at a yard sale.

It took me less than an hour

to paint and distress the white shelf.

Total Transformation!

This may look like an ordinary whiskey

barrel with beautiful red geraniums and

sweet potatoe vine, but what you don't know

is that I bought a hanging basket full of

red geraniums from The Home Depot

on clearance for only $5, regularly priced $26.97!

I just separated the geraniums and re-planted them.

So not only do I go to thrift stores, I

seek out clearance prices everywhere

I go!  You just need to be willing to search.

I got a package of the little flags at

Target in their $1 section and placed

them around my yard.

Below is the wood flag I got at a yard sale

for only $2.  I also used this as a pattern

to make more flags.

As you can see, we are so ready for the 4th of July!

Thrift stores truly hold treasures if you

are willing to take the time to search for them.

By now, I have a hard time paying full price

for really anything.

Next stop, Extreme Couponing!