My favorite pair of boots lost a button, so I emailed Born to see if I could buy a replacement button. They told me to mail my boots to them and choose a new pair! A brand new pair of Born boots!!! I am not being paid for this post, I'm just a really happy customer. Sometimes it pays to spend a little more on a nice brand like Born, because of their great customer service.

I wanted some boot cuffs for my new boots, so I went to the thrift store and found a brown sweater with some cute buttons. There are a ton of tutorials on how to make these so I will just list the simple steps I did.
1. Cut the sleeves off to desired length.
2. Sew a zig zag stitch on the bottom to prevent unraveling
3. Remove buttons from the sweater and sew them on the cut sleeves.

256th Penny Pinching Party - Vintage Case

I found this cute vintage case at the thrift store for $1.50.

It is the perfect place to keep cards and letters and it looks great sitting out on my bookcase.

Link party opens every Wednesday at 12:00 am

An InLinkz Link-up

Halloween Mantel and Decorations

I didn't use to decorate very much for Halloween, but it has become my 5 year old son's favorite holiday and he has been begging me all year to make Halloween decorations. We had a lot of fun shopping and decorating together, making Halloween one of my new favorite holidays.

The rat and black candlesticks on the mantel are from the dollar store and I made the banner with fabric from Joann's Fabric. My son has been learning patterns in Kindergarten, so I had him lay out the pattern for the banner and used it as a teaching tool.

These are the candlesticks I bought from the dollar store; I just spray painted them black.

I found a tutorial for a felt bat garland on Pinterest and had my daughter make it. I have been teaching her how to sew, so this was a great project for her.

I sewed easy envelope pillow cases and slipped them over my existing pillows.

I used the rest of my fabric to make a table runner and banner for the dining room.

I found these frames at the thrift store and the candlestick holder and plate at the dollar store.

 I spray painted them black and used them in my entryway.

The cost of all the supplies and fabric was under $40 (the fabric was most of the cost), but the fun I had with my kids was priceless. We love Halloween!!!

Quick Desk Remodel • 113th Penny Pinching Party

Back in March 2010, I wrote a post about a desk I found for $10 and painted for my daughter's room:

Girl's Room Desk

In February 2011, we moved into a new house and my daughter wanted an all new theme and different colors. With $6 worth of sample paint in 2 different colors, I was able to transform her desk in about 20 minutes. I had a feeling she would want to change colors when I first painted the desk which is why I painted the desk white and the drawers pink.

Before

 After

Currently

A few years ago I did the same thing with a dresser for my son's nursery:

Bug Nursery

The dresser had been white with yellow drawers, so when I decorated the nursery I only had to paint the drawers and not the entire dresser.

After photo of dresser with black drawers (the drawers were yellow, but I don't have a photo).

Classifieds • 111th Penny Pinching Party

I love the classifieds. I have found some great finds and love selling things I no longer need. I am not afraid of buying something, since I know I can turn around and sell it if it doesn't work for me. When we bought our home back in February I bought some bar stools to use temporarily, until I found the ones I really wanted on sale.

I bought all 4 of these for $20 through my local classifieds (I only needed 3, so I used the 4th as a plant stand).

About a month ago the bar stools I wanted went on sale. 

I got these at ShopKo for around $70, which is the lowest price I have ever seen them (they are on sale for $124.99 right now). They work so much better in my kitchen because they fit under the bar and don't get in the way. The backs on the other bar stools made the kitchen walkway small and cramped, but they were great temporary stools.

I used my local online classifieds and listed my $20 bar stools for $50. I got a call a few minutes after listing them and sold them for the full $50 about an hour later. Last month I listed a dining table for more than I bought it and sold that too. If you do your research and know what things are selling for, the classifieds can be a great place. I only buy things I want and actually use before selling, but I do know some people buy and sell for a living. It is just my way of having what I need until I find that great sale and buy what I really want.

Oh, and before and after photos of my kitchen makeover are coming. You can see my new floor in the picture with the bar stools.

Dresser Turned Entertainment Center

I'm joining the "I'm a Flea Marketeer Party" over at flea market style and I'm linking up my all time favorite thrifty find. I found this dresser in the classifieds and it made the perfect entertainment center with a little work. I LOVE repurposing furniture and other things. It has sorta become one of my favorite hobbies lately. Things that I create or repurpose have so much more meaning and character than anything I could pick out of a catalogue (They are a lot cheaper too).

Before

After

To see my full post about this dresser turned entertainment center click HERE.

My Love-Hate Relationship with Yard Sales

Saturday I finally had my Yard Sale that I have been planning all Summer long. I am such an organized person that I had to clean every single room in my house from top to bottom and find every unwanted item to sell. I had to price every item and organize it all into sections. This is why it takes me all Summer to prepare for a Yard Sale. If I didn't have to be so organized about the whole thing I could have had the Yard Sale 3 months ago and been done, but I am a planner and have to plan, plan, plan, stress, stress, stress.

I have had a lot of Yard Sales and here is what I have learned:

Make big, bright signs with arrows directing traffic straight to your house. I live in a quiet cul-de-sac, but 2 blocks away is a main road with lots of traffic. With the right signs my Yard Sale gets very busy. I use the same signs every year.

Price everything before the Yard Sale so you don't lose customers or have to think up a price on the spot. Here is a picture of everything in my garage after it is all priced and ready to go.

If there is no one at your yard sale have someone walk around and pretend to be looking. No one wants to be the only one at your Yard Sale being watched by the owners.

If you have a baby or young kids, have Yard Sales frequently. No one will want that high chair or stroller 10 years from now, but you can get good money from it if it's only a couple of years old. I have a 6 year gap between my last 2 kids and I had sold all of my baby stuff when I got pregnant with the last. I was so glad I did because things had changed a lot and I got to enjoy new things. If I were to try to sell those 11 year old strollers and baby items now, no one would want them. If you need them again you can always check craigslist and find them for the same price you sold them. That way you never had to store them and you can even get newer used items than what you had with your older kids. Does that make sense?

Display everything and don't make people look through boxes. I used my ladder to hang baby clothes up. I used my picnic table from the back yard and displayed things on the table and benches. I also used a work bench with a long board on top and sheet covering it all to display items. Even cinder blocks with boards on top can work.

Use craigslist and your local online classifieds to place adds the day before. Use pictures in your ads and list items that you will be selling. I had 5 cars pull up at my house at 7:00 am just from those ads alone. I hadn't even put up my Yard Sale signs yet. These are some of the pictures I used.

And the biggest lesson I have learned from having Yard Sales:

Don't buy so much stuff! By having a Yard Sale I am forced to evaluate everything I have ever purchased in my house. I hate selling stuff that I paid good money for and never used. I remember this lesson every time I am at the store about to buy something. I ask myself, "Will this end up at my Yard Sale next year?" I actually made less money at this years yard sale than I have in years past and that is a good thing. Most of the stuff I sold was clothes my kids had grown out of and baby items my baby had grown out of. Not making a lot of money at a Yard Sale is really a good thing. A couple of years ago I made around $2,000 at my Yard Sale and another $1,000 on craigslist and ebay for the rest of my stuff for a total of $3,000. I don't buy very much these days and made a grand total of $350 this year and will probably make another $200 on ebay and craigslist when I am done.

Making less money is a good thing for me because that means I made smart buying decisions throughout the year. These days I pass up many items on sale or clearance and only buy things that I really LOVE. I would rather pay more for something that I love than something that is a good deal, because if I love it I will use it (or wear it) more. Occasionally I find something that I love on clearance and then I am in heaven. Just remember that when something is on clearance you are not saving $9.99, you are spending $4.99 (or whatever the price is). And always remember that LESS is MORE. Less clothes that you love is much better than a ton of clothes that you kinda like.

10 Things I Hate About Having a Yard Sale

1. Spending 3 months going through my house top to bottom and cleaning out all of the clutter and unused items.

2. Storing the yard sale items in the garage as I collect them. This is a growing pile of stuff that gets bigger and bigger and takes up more and more space in the garage.

3. Having to spend days and weeks pricing every single item. I hate yard sales where things are not marked and I am not the type of person that will ask the price. If I don't know a price I just walk away so I make sure that at my Yard Sales, everything is priced. Lots of work!

4. Hearing my husband complain about the Yard Sale because he thinks it is tacky and embarrassing to display all of our stuff for the neighbors to see.

5. Having to do all preparations for the Yard Sale by myself because of husbands disapproval of the whole event.

6. Fighting with my kids over what I am getting rid of even though they haven't played with some of the things for over 2 years (old Sega Genesis with games as an example). Suddenly they become the most important items to them in the world!

7. Getting up at 6:00 am to haul everything outside and listening to my husband grumble about the whole ordeal while he helps me set up the tables and carry things outside.

8. Kids coming to my Yard Sale and playing with things and messing them up and losing parts that I have carefully placed in bags to keep together.

9. I understand how to bargain, but some items I won't bargain on because I know how much I can sell them for on ebay or craigslist. Some people get mad and walk off because I won't go down in price on these items. I go down in price on a lot of things and at the end of the Yard Sale I even give some things away for free. I am just smart about my prices and some people get offended by that.

10. Having to haul a bunch of stuff that didn't sell to DI (like Good Will) and list the rest on ebay and craigslist.

10 Things I Love About Having a Yard Sale

1. Spending 3 months going through my house top to bottom clearing clutter and ending up with before and after photos like this:

2. Having a clean and organized house.

3. Having my kids be at the yard sale and see the money come in from the items they didn't want to sell. Being able to give them the money for their unused toys and see them learn a valuable lesson. They were so excited about having the money to buy things they had been saving up for that they didn't miss the old toys anymore.

4. The money. Even my husband gets excited about this part and agrees that it was a good idea to have a yard sale. He never thinks we are going to get much money for our junk and is always surprised when I pull in 2-3 times as much as he expected. I am good at bargaining and negotiating. I know when people are bluffing and will actually pay full price. Some people just ask for a lower price, but are willing to pay full and I can sense it.

5. Having my mom and grandma come and sell stuff with me and spend the entire Saturday sitting outside and talking with them during the Yard Sale. I love to see the things my grandma brings. This time she brought this patch repair kit that is so old it doesn't have a bar code. She also brought this vintage leather coat from the 60's or 70's. I marked the price up (She was going to sell it for $2) and told her I would list it on ebay if it didn't sell.

6. Getting paid to git rid of stuff I don't need or want.

7. Helping my kids set up a little drink and snack store of their own. We live in a cul-de-sac so Yard Sales are the only times my kids can have a "lemon-ade" stand and they love it.

8. After the Yard Sale and after I take unsold items to DI (like Good Will) and sell the rest on ebay and craigslist, we can finally park both cars in the garage again!

9. All of the money I get is tax free and I can get a tax deduction for the stuff I donate.

10. Spending the money! This year I earned enough to pay for the new trailer hitch on our mini van and the bike rack I am now going to buy to put on it. Now I will be able to take all of our bikes to the canyon for some great family bike riding adventures!

Thrift Store Lamps

Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality is having her Monday Yard Sale link party again today. I thought I would show off my lamps. Ever since I re-did my living room and found these side tables (click here to see) at the thrift store, I have been looking for the perfect lamps to put on them. I really wanted something natural and more earthy looking in a dark brown color. After looking for a couple of months I gave up and bought these lamps (click here to see) and painted them. Soon after I found the exact lamps I wanted at Savers.

I paid about $10 each and then started my search for the perfect lamp shades. I loved the idea of Rhoda's burlap lampshades and thought about making my own when I found them already made and on sale for 55% off at ShopKo. I paid $8 each for them, which is a real bargain for lamp shades.
Now the only thing I need to complete my end tables are some decorations. How about some books stacked with a figure sitting on top, that seems popular.

Well this will have to be good for now, I'm all about being practical and having a 2 year old and nick nacks do not mix. I actually really enjoy seeing his toys all scattered about the house knowing that this time is so short and precious.

Oh, and the dinosaur and most of the books are also from the thrift store :-)

May's Thrift Store Treasures

Here are some of my favorite finds from the thrift store this month:

I found these red leather Steve Madden Mary Jane Mules yesterday and they are in perfect condition. I adore them and they are my favorite color! I love shoes that just slide on and they are so comfy! A bargain at $7.99

I found these Dr. Martens a couple of weeks ago for $5.

I love these black leather boots for $7.

I have always wanted a jogging stroller but they are soooo expensive. I picked this one up for $20 and then looked it up on the internet and found out that it is a $400 stroller. I love rollerblading and have already taken my toddler out a few times. We both love it! I love having breaks; it is hard to stop on roller blades.

I couldn't resist getting this for my daughter. She styles her dolls hair in it every day. Only $3!

My son is turning 11 next month and going into boy scouts, so I was thrilled to find this shirt. It would have cost me about $25 to get it at the scout store. I was thrilled to get this one in perfect condition for $5.99. I also found this beautiful red leather wallet that I looooove for $3!

I just found this really great blog that I am instantly in love with and had to link up this post. I am hoping that Jen from Balancing Beauty and Bedlam will inspire me to be able to shop for more than just shoes next time. Go to her link party to check out other thrifty fashion finds.


Here are some other great links:
Shabby Nest Frugal Friday.
Southern Hospitality
Thrifty Decor Chick Goodwill Party.

Inexpensive Trophies

Last month when I was at DI I found these trophies for $1.50 each. There were tons of trophies to choose from, but I chose these because they were blue and gold and would be perfect for cub scouts. My DH is the Cub Scout Master, so I am always keeping an eye out for scout related items. I knew that we had the Rain Gutter Regatta coming up and these trophies would be perfect. Official Cub Scout trophies are expensive just like scout shirts are. While at DI I also picked up 3 cub scout shirts for $8 each. These cost around $25 at the scout office and I thought they would be great for new cub scouts coming into our pack.

When my DH saw these trophies he thought they were ridiculously big. I had actually bought the smaller of the trophies and I was thinking how excited a young boy would be to win such a large trophy. I did think for a moment about how the mother would feel about storing such a large trophy, but my son never wins these races so I knew it wouldn't be my problem.

Last night we put the trophies together and made them much smaller. We have enough leftover parts to make several more trophies for the future. My DH made some labels for the trophies and I used my xyron machine to turn them into stickers. I think they turned out pretty official looking.

Now go over to Reinvented and Poppies at Play for thier link parties!

Thriftying for Side Tables

After I refinished my new dresser/entertainment center I had more space in my family room. I decided that the sides of the couch were very lonely and needed side tables. I then began searching KSL Classifieds and craigslist 5-10 times a day for several weeks. Anything I found was just too expensive and I soon forgot about my side tables.

I decided that my baby was not such a baby anymore and I should start taking him to the library and let him choose books. As I was leaving the library I saw Savers (a local thrift store) directly across the street calling me. It had been a while since I had been thrift shopping or any shopping. I am not one of those Mom's who can run around shopping with a baby, so I stay home bound for the first year or so. Now that my baby was a toddler I felt up to the challenge. When I got to the furniture section, I couldn't believe my eyes. 2 beautiful solid wood country rustic looking side tables for $9.99 each!!! I also found a couple of toys. Every time we go to Walmart we have to play with the Imaginext Dinosaur that chomps and roars when you press the tail. My toddler loves it, but I never thought it was worth $12.88. We found one in perfect working condition at Savers for $2.99. I also found a cool globe game that I thought might be fun for my older kids if it worked after putting fresh batteries in (Also $2.99).

When I brought the side tables home, I thought they could use some cleaning. I didn't have any furniture polish so I made a furniture polish/cleaner with olive oil and vinegar (The vinegar cleans). I used about 1 cup of olive oil to about 1/4 cup of vinegar. Here is the finished, cleaned and polished table next to the unfinished one: (When we got home my toddler immediately started loading his things onto the tables).
I put new batteries in the globe game and it worked. I looked it up on the internet and it sells for $50-$60! On ebay it sells for $20-$40 used. I also looked up my end tables and found out they were from RC Willey and cost about $200 each. Total spent for 2 toys & 2 end tables = $26. Retail Value = $463! I saved $437! Not to mention all of the free books from the library (It gets so boring reading the same book all the time.)
I found a couple of baskets that I already had that fit perfectly in the bottom of the tables!!! I sewed some liners out of leftover fabric I had that matched my blanket and curtains.
It is a great place to keep the library books so we don't mix them up with our books.
I am now addicted to going to the library and Savers every week. It is for my son, he needs books to read, right?