Thrift Finds

So, if you are like me and on a budget, you are probably not able to go out and buy a new dining room set or fancy full priced things. This isn’t the only reason I love to bargain shop. It’s just so stinkin’ fun! The only draw back is: you have to get up super early for garage sales. This must be why I’m starting to prefer secondhand and thrift stores. Lately I’ve been shopping at one very close to home. This week I went by because on a certain day of the week they give 25% off. She had these SUPER old metal chairs outside, that she sold to me for $5 a piece! I’m not going to show them to you now, because I’m going to do a before and after later. Once I started taking them apart, to reupholster them, I realized how bad a shape they were in. When I started taking the seat off, it practically fell apart. Jeff is going to need to build me a base for them and then I will finished them off with foam, batting, fabric, etc. The metal is in great condition. I’m just going to lightly sand, then prime and paint them. So, stay tuned for that before & after. I don’t know if these chairs will go with the rest I’ve been picking up to go around my table (they’ve all been wood), but I really love the eclectic look in the dining room.

case in point:

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this look. My plan is to gather random chairs and paint them all white and distress them a little. So far I’ve collected two that I know I’ll use for sure at my table. Stay tuned for those before & afters!

Okay, so on to the thrift finds. Pics are as follows…

I think these are the prettiest little teacups I’ve EVER seen. The artist in me gets all giggly when I look at these. I could stare at them for DAYS! The were $2 a piece and then 25% off! Yippee! I’m trying to convince beg my hubby to let me have some open cabinetry in the kitchen, so I can display these puppies and other awesome kitchen finds. We shall see how that goes. :P

I found a couple of tea tins, also made in England, to hold my loose teas! I’m diggin’ every one of the loose teas I bought from The Barons Tea House. If you are ever in the panhandle of Florida, you HAVE to stop by. We just went in to purchase the loose teas, but you can also have lunch there. They have the typical tea fare that you would find at any tea house. We have already made plans to have tea there on the next visit to my Maw-Maw’s. Teas I recommend: The Baron’s special blend (excellent sweetened and iced), Bavarian chocolate (great in the morning or for dessert, barely needs sugar), Rainbow Rooibos (a red tea from S. Africa, helps with allergies), and Lady Hannah’s Fruit tea (doesn’t actually have tea in it, but is a blend of fruit). Lady Hannah’s and the Rainbow Rooibos are naturally decaffeinated. If you haven’t tried loose tea, you need to at lease once in your lifetime (I can guarantee you won’t only do it once though)!

I LOVE old mason jars. I would like to buy more to store my dry goods in for my pantry; it would look like this…

or for crafts, like this:

But my first plan (since my pantry is under construction) is to do this:

but I’m going to hang them off my porch! I would love to buy some more old mason jars, but these were $4 a piece! Maybe I can get lucky and find them at a garage sale one day.

So, I have no idea what this is. I do know I fell in love with the lion heads, and it is copper. It’s starting to get a nice patina on the inside. This only put me back $5 with 25% off! :) I also purchased a copper watering can, that was in pristine condition, which would never do! So, right now I’m working on a homemade remedy to patina it too. I forgot to take a before picture, but when it’s through curing in the sun, I’ll post an after picture.

These are just a few of my recent finds. Like I said, I have four chairs to refinish, so I will be a busy lady for a while. Stay tuned.

Cheers!