Swedish Mora Clock and Thrifty Finds!

Well, we are battening down the hatches here and awaiting the arrival of the Frankenstorm.  The Federal Government has already closed along with dozens of schools in several counties.  High winds, periods of heavy rain and possible flooding is predicted for our area but so much worst for the coast.  Definitely a bit unsettling!  I decided to get a post up because I'm betting we will spend a few days without electricity... I will not be upset if I'm wrong about that - ha!

About a year ago, one of my favorite blogs, "Dear Lillie," posted pictures of her daughter's Pink Cinderella birthday party.  Not only did I love the darling decorations, I also fell in love with her Swedish Mora clock:

It's absolutely magical with this party theme but it totally works with her everyday decor.   And so began my obsession with these clocks :)  Authentic Swedish Mora clocks are very expensive and even some reproductions can be pricey.   I soon realized that it may be awhile before I'd own one.   I keep an eye out  while thrifting and check Craigslist often, etc.  No dice.  Ebay has a few but still too pricey.   Fast forward to Saturday, Dan and I were out running errands.  I stopped by HomeGoods to look for bathroom accessories for the master bathroom and look what greeted me just as I passed through the double automatic doors:

*SWOON*  As I walked toward it in utter amazement, Dan said, "Lis, there's your clock!"   It was $149.   I do try to be thrifty whenever possible but considering an authentic clock can be several thousand dollars, $149 seemed a bargain.  She (Mora sounds girly to me) is sitting~ahem, standing~ in our family room cause I love looking at it.

I thought it would be fun to share some of my Halloween-themed finds considering this may be my only Halloween fun this year what with Frankenstorm and all!

There's a witch thing going on in the Jackson house this year so when I spied this primitive and worried looking little witch jar, I knew she'd fit right in:

I love her expression!  She was 99c at GW.  This cast iron compote dish is pretty freaking cool:

It actually has a nautical figural them going on in there.  The stem is really awesome too:

It sits on the shelf next to the little witch and holds faux glass eyeballs :)  Speaking of eyes, how 'bout these "thousand eye" egg cups:

See how the hobnails have little bubbles inside?  Here's a closer look:

These are Westmoreland double-sided egg cups.  I paid $2 for each of them at GW.   This next find came from SALVO:

Vintage Viking owl fairy lamp, $1.  This was another one of those fortuitous finds.  I saw the chimney only and snapped it up; I knew what it was and wanted one.  I figured it was at the SALVO because it's bottom had been lost or broken.  Then, while perusing the glassware in another part of the store, I picked up a couple of mugs to look at them, and there was the bottom!  I did a little dance :)

This also made me dance:

A blackbird-in-a-pie pie vent, (99c at GW).  SHUT UP.  That does it  -  I am officially announcing that I am a pie vent collector.  That's right, I am collecting pie vents.  They will be able to retire as I have no intention of actually baking a pie but they are so. stinkin. cute.

I'm linking up (as long as FRANKENSTORM permits it...):

Kathe With an E, You're Gonna Love It Tuesday #28
Cap Creations, Thrifty Love
What-about.co, Perpetual Parades, Favorite Thrifty Finds 
Sir Thrift A lot: Thriftosaurus
The Thrifty Groove:  Thrifty Things Friday
From My Porch to Yours, Treasure Hunt Thursday

Have a great week and if you are on the East Coast - BE SAFE!!

Antique Glass and Unicorns - The Stuff Perfect Thrifts Are Made Of!

Hi All :)  I am really excited because my ceramic Victorian boot makeover was featured at Cap Creations this week - WOOHOO!   This is the icing on the cake - Thank you Cap Creations!

So Dan and I were able to do some thrifting Saturday morning.   We found a Savers in Woodbridge and wanted to check it out.  I'm so happy we did because look at what I found:

I haven't been able to verify this yet, but I believe it to be a Bryce Higbee Teardrop row (1905) spooner.  I found this picture from this website: Reilly & Jenks Antiques of a child's mug in the same pattern:

And, I have a piece of Bryce Higbee in the opposing pyramids pattern (featured in this post):

Sooo maybe?  It's pretty exciting to think that it could be 100 years old! And there it was, sitting all humbly on the shelf at Savers.  The silver price tag stated the price was $5.  But, it was a silver tag so it was 50% off.  Awesome.

Next, I found this:

Vintage Fenton amberina dolphin candlestick - mint! - $3  Look at the color and detail on this piece:

Fiery gorgeousness yeah?  I had one more super find at Savers and it was this:

This pedestal for Lily.  It's really a cute table with a solid wood base.  The top is not so lovely so I'm hoping that I can replace it with something else - it was only $5!  We hit a few other thrift stores but didn't find anything else.  Our final stop for the day was our trusty Goodwill and found these:

Aren't they precious!?   They remind me of when I was young and had posters of unicorns all over my room!    I decided these would come home with me.   Darling vintage Enesco porcelain unicorns = 99c each; transporting myself back to the 80s = priceless.  The book was an extra treat.  It goes so well with the nostalgia :)

I'm linking up!

Kathe With an E, You're Gonna Love It Tuesday #27

Cap Creations, Thrifty Love
What-about.co, Perpetual Parades, Favorite Thrifty Finds 
Sir Thrift A lot: Thriftosaurus
The Thrifty Groove:  Thrifty Things Friday
From My Porch to Yours, Treasure Hunt Thursday

Have a wonderful week!

Practicing Thriftcraft

Hello Everyone!  I starting decorating for Halloween this weekend using some thrifted finds and a little craft magic.  I have decided to call this practice "thriftcraft" Ha!

Back in April, I spied this cool ceramic Victorian boot.  It reminded me of one I had seen used in a Halloween vignette online. Unfortunately, I saw that cool idea B.P. (before Pinterest) and have no idea where I saw it. *sigh*   Anyhoo, this is what was sitting on the shelf at GW for $1.99:

....and here it is today:

I used Rustoleum's Universal spray paint in "hammered" gloss black.  Once it dried, I added the arrangement.  The black vine branches, striped fabric daisies (with bling in the center!), and green beaded twigs came from Hobby Lobby (40% off) and the glittered spiders ($2.47) and green feather accent ($1) came from Walmart.  I didn't use any floral foam since the branches and flowers were wired but I did hot glue the spiders together with thread in between so I could hang them from the branches.  The "buckle" is actually a Tim Holtz bookplate.  I used a little double-side tape and double, double, toil and trouble, my glam witch boot appeared!

The small round picture frame was a GW find too.  It was pretty rough so I gave it a coat of Rustoleum's hammered black paint also.  I cut out the witch silhouette using my Cricut and the Happy Hauntings cartridge. 

There are two - well, three - more thrifted finds used in my almost-complete Halloween-decorated mantel.  The two vintage crystal lamps and the clock:

The lamps were $75 for the pair.  I was undecided about them at first because 75 smackeroos puts quite a dent in my thrift cash ...ah, but alas, I went back and bought them.  Not only do they work, they are in excellent condition.  I bought them at the Family Thrift Store in Richmond.  The clock was $10 from GW.   It works and the pendulum is my favorite feature!  I am not finished with the mantel just yet so there will be more to come.

I'm linking up!

Kathe With an E, You're Gonna Love It Tuesday #25
Cap Creations, Thrifty Love
What-About.co, Showoff Friday
What-about.co, Perpetual Parades, Favorite Thrifty Finds 
Sir Thrift A lot: Thriftosaurus
The Thrifty Groove:  Thrifty Things Friday
From My Porch to Yours, Treause Hunt Thursday


Have a great week!

Master Bedroom and a few Thrifty Finds!

Hello All!  Sorry I have been MIA.  The month of September is the busy time at work and it just got the best of me this year!  Not to mention I got food poisoning and oh my gosh, was I sick!  After more than a whole week of feeling like I was being turned inside out, I was finally on the mend. AND then I got an upper respiratory infection - GOOD GRIEF!   So, I'm pretty sure I have met my quota for sick this year!!  UGH.   I am excited to be back in the land of the living and looking forward to sharing in my favorite link-up parties!

Dan and I finished our bedroom over Labor Day weekend (and we got in a mini-thrift too).  When we bought our house in 2005, we requested hardwood floors throughout the second floor.  It was an upgrade we were willing to pay for because Dan has allergies.  Unfortunately, during the final walk-through on the morning of our closing, we discovered carpeting had been installed instead.  We were told changing it out would delay our closing so we took the monetary adjustment and ran.  "We can always add it later," we said...and *7 years* later we did ;)  Here are the "before" pics:

Builder beige walls, beige carpet, beige drapes -- I don't know why this didn't seem so incredibly bland to me before :)  I did try to punch it up a bit with the black accents:  metal bed, curtain rods, cat on the nightstand...  Oh, and let's just talk about the big elephant in the room, shall we?  Literally.  The [HUGE] gorgeous 1930s? 1940s? buffet.  That was a thrift find from SALVO for $30.  Incredible, I know.  I love it and all its large-in-charge presence.  :)  

It needs a little love but until I know exactly what I'm doing, I'm afraid to touch it for fear of ruining it.  The striations in the wood is what sold me on it --ok, and the $30 price tag ;)

This is the corner of the room and where my vintage tub chair lives.  The fixture is from Goodwill ($5) and I am hopefully going to be able to paint it and make it into a chandy for Jenna.

And now...the AFTER:

The drapes need hemming and the bench legs need painting - are rooms ever totally finished?  We added crown molding, painted a "drama" wall behind the bed (Martha Stewart (for Glidden) Magnetite), painted the rest of the walls (below the crown molding) "Pebble Grey" by Glidden and "Lamb" by Glidden above the molding, painted the ceiling bright white by Behr and the flooring came from Lumber Liquidators (a laminate for 39 cents/sq ft!).  OH, and I recovered the bench with fabric I bought at Hobby Lobby.  I bought the bench at Marshall's about 3 years ago.  Here's what it looked like:

and now:

Do you see the cute little turquoise mirror above the tub chair?  That's a thrifty find ($2, GW) that I repainted with this:

Valspar Peacock outdoor spray paint

The small mercury glass votive cup was found at the GW Outlet.  Try as I might, I cannot get a good picture of my chandy now that it's hanging :(  But here she is:

See the ceiling medallion?  THRIFTED too :)

I have a couple fave finds I want to share as well.  I found these at the GW outlet where housewares are 59 cents a pound:

Three vintage Club aqua saucepans and matching lids - Sweet!  For the record, they were FILTHY.  I didn't know if I could salvage them but for the price, I decided to take a chance.  I have a feeling that's how I was able to score them - others must have passed - but thanks to Bar Keeper's Friend and Easy Off oven cleaner (used extremely carefully so as not to eat away the gorgeous enamel) they turned out sparkling :)  And finally,  these darling Hazel Atlas dessert cups in Florentine No. 2 pattern from GW at 99 cents/each:

A few months ago, I scored a Hazel Atlas sugar bowl (here).  I love the delicate floral pattern!  I'm linking up!

Kathe With an E, You're Gonna Love It Tuesday #24
Cap Creations, Thrifty Love
Southern Hospitality, Thrifty Treasures Party
What-About.co, Showoff Friday
What-about.co, Perpetual Parades, Favorite Thrifty Finds 
Sir Thrift A lot: Thriftosaurus
The Thrifty Groove:  Thrifty Things Friday

I hope you have a great (healthy!) week.  We are working on our master bathroom now and I am really excited to share that with you soon too :)