We've Moved AGAIN, to Aberdeen Proving Grounds

Blogs are challenging, I really want to post every day, but the 3 kidlets have kept me busy. Now that school is about to start and we are settled in our new cottage, I am going to try and blog every day. We've moved across Maryland to Aberdeen Proving Grounds. An army base on the Chesapeake bay, or as my Son reads it....CheepSkate Bay.

I love our new place, it's more roomy than our rented Townhouse in Mt. Airy.  I will post some pics of it soon, not that cute to look at, since we are talking Military housing. But it's clean, neat, and we feel really safe living on base.  I've found two thrift stores in the surrounding area. Will post some pics on those as well. Somewhat disappointed with the offerings around here. Garage Sales are scarce too. Luckily I need nothing, so it's not such a bad thing to cool down my shopping madness.

Kids are fighting on the couch, so gotta Scadaddle!

Newest Garden Glass Plate Flower

This one has a modern look, at least I think so. I may paint the rod a green color, but who knows. It will weather in the garden which might look cool.

Excited About Spring Gardening & Decorating with Glass Plate Flowers

Found a fun blog about gardening. http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/ Check out the succulents, absolutely amazing. I put together my first Plate Glass Garden Flower. So easy and so pretty.

I used 3 plates, and one piece of art glass. Drilled holes in all and screwed into an old wooden curtain rod I found at the store. It may have cost me 12-15 for all. I try not to pay more than $3 for any one plate. I know I paid $2 for the scalloped plate, and I think $3 for the piece of art glass. I love it, and I'm going to put it in a planter on the patio. I've been arranging other designs, will have more to post soon.

Vintage Buttons for the Entire Family...Guaranteed Washable.

OK, one more post today. Found these Vintage Buttons in original tin container. Don't need them, but had to have them. Must share with my fellow crafters. Cost me $1.75.

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Happy Hump Day!

Erica

Why won't my kids brush their teeth?

Elias woke up in a foul mood today. He's 10, and I think his early hormones are raging. I beg, I plead, I ask, I conjole....but they try everything to get out of brushing their teeth....Why?  I buy Spongebob Squarepants toothpaste because they say that it's the only kind they like. I buy Whiz Bang toothbrushes. The only way they brush their teeth is if I stand over them and supervise. They are 10 & 6, when are they supposed to be able to follow directions and just brush?

Ok, so that's not thrift store related, it's just a frustrating mommy thing I'm struggling with this morning. Here's a thrift store tip for all those getting their garage sale fix at the Goodwill. The thrift store employees always seem to abandon carts of goods that are schedule to be put out on the floor. Best place to find cool stuff is go through those carts. I always take a look. Never be obnoxious, just gently sidle up to it and sift through. Brand new, un-picked through junk. It's where you find good stuff.

Today we're off to the Post-Office, gotta mail a baby gift to my Cousin. Ace Hardware for glass flowers supplies, and perhaps the local Mount Airy Thrift.....never know what you're going to find.

Finally finished a Project. Turned Potato Bin into Dog Food Bin

Ok, finally got something done. With the weather, sick kids, and active 11 month old. I usually can't spend any time on one project. Forget about sewing! My goal is to get Ollie on a schedule. So far I'm under his spell and cave to his every whim. I really don't even feel guilty about it. I'm 36, he's my last baby. I want to make every second count.


 So to the point you say:   Before Picture on Right....

After Picture....TaDa~

I accidentally scuffed the top after painting it. But no biggie....it's going to get way more scuffs than that. At least with this one, I'm in control. What I like about this is all her odds and ends go in the bottom drawer. My sister is making a vinyl decal with Annie's name for the top. So it will be totally Radical!! ;)

Painting a Thrift Store Garbage Can the Wrong Color

I make many mistakes in my quest for craftiness. This being the most recent.

I purchased this orange Ooops paint at Walmart $3.33, thinking it was a cool orange. After putting three coats on this, it still looks like Garbage, no pun intended. So now I must find a color that will cover this orange color. By the way, Walmart paint is cheap, and it doesn't cover well. But I guess if you're willing to put many many coats on, it works fine.

On the brighter side, I found some treasures yesterday at the Westminster Goodwill, and the Rescue Mission.

I found some great green plates for $.98 a piece, a tin Candle Holder $2.98, and a cool handmade Barn Hanging for a $1.00. The best piece was this little side table for $13.00. It's exactly what I needed next to my sofa. I'm going to paint it a Bronzy Taupey color. Hopefully it will turn out.

Ok to finish my long post. I did overpay for this, it was $75.00, but half-off, so 37.50 with tax, but I still love it. It's an old mirror, with lots of dings, dents, and scratches. I can't get the mirror clean, but who cares....it's Patina!

Snow, Snow Days, Kids, & Keeping my Sanity

Like the rest of the country, the last few weeks have been challenging. My kids have gotten so many snow days this winter, they feel like they've won the lottery. Finally they are back to school, and I can sit down and blog. It's been so challenging trying to find something for them to do. I hate to admit it, but the PlayStation 3 has been a great help. Now that they are off a'learnin, I can get back to what I like to do :)

I've complained a bit about the Thrift shops around here, prices seem higher than Spokane, and they certainly aren't very accommodating like Spokane. For instance, no military discounts? Huh? No returns to Goodwill? Back in the Kan, you had 7 days to exchange it if it didn't fit...etc. Yes, I am a returner, my kids know to never take tags off until I say so. I hate to waste money on something if it just doesn't work out.

Well I'm eating my words a bit. The Goodwill in Frederick on Market Street has been awfully kind to me in a round-a-bout way. Bought a pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans there, so cute, plus sized....for $5.81. Took them home, and when throwing them in the wash, checked pockets, and there was a $10.00 bill. Yippee.

Thought that was a fluke, but the next week, last week. I went in there again, just for grins and giggles. Found lots of fun stuff. Bought a wallet, since mine drops credit cards out the side. Took home the wallet, $1.95, and found a gift card for $37.00 at Kirklands (a store I've never heard of).

So here's a heads-up to all my fellow Maryland Thrifters, the Frederick Goodwill doesn't check pockets...it's like a treasure hunt. Not sure if it's a coincidence two weeks in a row? I think it's the Junk-Gods taking mercy on me since I'm so homesick for my old shops.

Westminster Thrift Stores

Went to Westminster MD yesterday and explored. Hit the Goodwill and found a cool Wooden trash bin $15 that I'm going to paint and fabulize. This goes with the other bin I found for $3 that I'm going to paint to put Pooch food in.

I will post pics when they are done. Still trying to figure out which colors. Probably Taupe, maybe white, hmmmm...not sure yet.

Really nice people at he Westminster Goodwill. Found this vase, didn't have a price, plus had a chip, but they sold it to me for .98. I know it's not worth anything with the chip, but I just like the prettiness of it. If I knitted, I would put knitting needles in it. Thrift Junkie Justification!

Arrrggghh, I still have two pieces of IKEA furniture to put together. Give me strength to dowl and screw all day long. Sounds dirty, the dirty version would be more fun than IKEA assembly. Hope y'all have a great day!

Erica's Consumer Reports #3

Finally got all the furniture, Holy *h%$, Way more work putting it together than I anticipated. We just came off of a 5 day run of sickness in the household....So I have a pile of IKEA boxes in my living room waiting for me. Antibiotics are finally taking hold on the germs around here, so I may be able to finish the furniture by Sunday.

IKEA is genius, it doesn't use written descriptions in the instructions. Just pictures since they're located all around the world. Their stuff is time-consuming, but easy to assemble. I had to assemble the top part of a dresser- bookcase combo from Pottery Barn. It was horrible, the instructions sucked! I injured myself by pinching my finger (not their fault). But the cool thing about Pottery barn was the dresser with drawers came assembled. Still not sure if it was worth the extra money, but I'm happy with it so far. Photos coming, I can't find anything right now....And Baby Oliver won't let me put him down.

My Dream House

I read about this guy in Huntsville Texas who makes low income homes out of recycled materials. Not recycled materials that are re-manufactured and neatly packed for you. These recycled materials are direct from job sites and the Dump. He has a true picker mentality. The article says he was so disgusted by all the ugly low income trailer homes, and he wanted to show people you can make something beautiful from tossed building materials. This fellow is my hero. I want to live in one of his houses. It looks like a work of art.

Read the articles, one from NYTimes; http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/garden/03recycle.html

 

The other from Yahoo News; http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//110113/photos_ts_afp/a941d9c5de806778da3062134a2da91f/

Good Stuff!

Wallpaper Borders are the Devil

We are renting a townhouse in Mount Airy. It's very nice. I have one big complaint, the wallpaper border in the kitchen is so ugly. I'm going to email the landlords and ask if I can take it down.  Here, see for yourself.

I want to poke my eyes out every time I look at it. If you can't see the caption it says "My Kitchen and Me Welcome Thee"....Ugh gag me with a wooden spoon why don't ya?

Frederick Maryland Hunt for Thrift Stores

Monday I tried to find the Salvation Army thrift stores in Frederick Maryland. Apparently there aren't any, because after driving for over an hour, all I could find are the Salvation Army Churches. This made me very homesick. Luckily Annie didn't care, and Oliver slept the whole way. Annie is our Lab Mix, and this is a picture of her while I'm refueling at Starbucks. Another pet peeve of mine is the Starbucks here doesn't have dog treats for Annie. Can you see the disappointment in her face?

The houses in Frederick are just cool. Here's some pictures from my journey.

Consumer Reports #2

Got the first pieces of furniture yesterday that I ordered Saturday. That must be a record for online shipping for me. 3 days! Score Pottery Barn.

Super Easy to put together....Of course a bed would be. Two side rails and screwing in the slats. A monkey could do it. Took us all of 10 minutes, and Noah loves it. He said "I have never had a new bed before".  Once I get his room cleaned up and put together I will post a picture of the finished piece. It's really nice. I still choke on the price $399.00, but to be fair I did look on Craigslist for 3 weeks, and tried to hunt down some secondhand pieces at Thrift stores around here. Not as easy to find as the Northwest. Coffee's ready...

Oliver

Is there anything cuter than a baby. I don't think so. I'm a baby person, I am completely and totally in love with my 10 month old.

He woke me up this morning at 5am, hungry and wanting breakfast. He's my littlest and last guy, I think if it were a different time, or I had a different husband **wink**wink, I would have had 5 or 6 kids. My husband graciously gave me the last one, he would have been happy with 2, but he knew I really wanted another baby. Bless his heart. Then he promptly got fixed so we would never have the conversation again. Now Oliver is off to the races trying to get over to the stairs. I guess I'll begin my parenting duties, and save his life.

Goodwill in Frederick Maryland

My boys and I went to breakfast at Waffle House in Frederick, then hit the Goodwill on the way back to Mt. Airy. We've never been to a Waffle House before. It's an old school breakfast joint. I wanted cheese on my hashbrowns so they just melt a processed cheese slice on it. It wasn't bad, it was good, just usually it's grated cheese :) The kids loved it.

The Goodwill was great, it's well priced. Half off clothes on Sunday. And it had lots of furniture, would of been helpful to know that before I spent gobs of money of furniture for our bedrooms. Live & Learn! I need to set up my sewing room today to get 'crack-a-lackin' on projects.

Erica's Consumer Reports

I have an idea....I have ordered $1500.00+ worth of furniture from IKEA, and I have ordered $1000.00+ worth of furniture from Pottery Barn. We didn't bring our bedroom furniture from Spokane, and I haven't found any good furniture finds over here thrifting. So we are buying new. Unusual in our household. I'm curious if Pottery Barn is worth the price. The Barn order consists of a bed, dresser, and nightstand for my 6 year olds room. The IKEA order consists of 2 beds, 3 dressers, 3 nightstands, and one bookcase for our room and my 10 year old's room. I have to put it all items together, so same there. I will let you know how long it takes to ship, how hard to put together, and overall quality of items. My dad always said "Buy Cheap, Get Cheap", I have proven him wrong in the past, but that has always been secondhand.  Will he be right with the new stuff? What do you think?

vs.

West Coast Ellavines: Now for the find of the week!

West Coast Ellavines: Now for the find of the week!: "Found this little number at the thrift store for a great price! Can't wait to get started on it :)"

Art Glass from the Salvation Army

My new collecting passion is art-glass. I want to start making flowers out of them. My husband saw this and said it looked like a woman's body part. He has no artistic vision :) This was $4 at the Salvation Army. He has a point, but I still think it has potential.

It's My Birthday!

My greatest presents ever....My three boys!  Of course the oldest wants to stay home from school and go thrifting with me and baby. Heck no, I love him, but God Bless School :)  I'm hoping to get a Kindle for my birthday, but no biggie if it doesn't come this year. I went to New Market yesterday, but forgot the camera. Not much to see anyhow. Lots of Rowhouse Antique shops, but nothing interesting for me. It didn't look like it was even open, must be hoppin' in the summer.  But not much traffic in the winter.

Today we are going to try and find the Salvation Army in Frederick. Will take pics and let you know what I think. Maybe I may find a birthday treat.

Ebay is out, Etsy is in! I need to special fabric to start making makeup bags to sell in Spokane and on Etsy.

Mount Airy Thrift Store

This cute little Thrift Shop is right downtown in Historic Mount Airy, Maryland. Their prices are not rock bottom. They do have some nice collectibles, and a great picture selection. There's lots of Glassware. And a really good, affordable, clean kids section. They have lots of volunteers so everything is orderly and easy to get at. I think they will dicker with you if you find something you can't live without. I will find out. I met one friendly lady named Deb...and James is the a young man that will carry your finds out to the car. Awesome service.

Moved to Maryland from Washington State

My name is Erica, I'm a mom of 3 boys. We just moved in the last 3 weeks to beautiful Mount Airy Maryland from snowy Spokane Washington.

Back Home in Spokane my sister Kersten and I had a little shop called Ellavines Whimsey Inc. The name Ellavine is from my Great-Grandmother. Her name was Ella Ellavine Lee. She was an amazing woman from Norway. We took her name as the name of the shop because she was a creative do'er, and we are too. My Poppa and Grandma Jeanne could never resist a bargain, and always picked up pieces secondhand to fill their lovely home. We learned early to decorate on a budget.

I plan to share some of my tricks and tips on how to find the best deals and greatest items at Thrift Stores and Garage Sales. I've been doing it for over 12 years, and must say am working on perfecting my skills. I will be talking about how to dicker, what to look for, what makes it a bargain. And what you shouldn't ever buy secondhand.

I want to explore the east coast, and share some good picking spots. I'm also planning on posting finds of the week. My friends back home now will have to look at my goodies digitally rather than stop by the house to see them.

The adventure starts. I'm off to New Market Maryland today with my little Guy Oliver. He's my hunting buddy. I start them young.  Carpe Diem!