Thrifty Treasures Monday: Book Page Projects for Less Than a Penny!

Hello, folks! Sorry it’s been a week since I really posted! Last week was pretty crazy, with the Fourth of July on Wednesday, and then traveling to Indiana for my bro-in-law’s beautiful wedding on Saturday! While I reaalllly wanted to stop at some thrift stores down in Indiana (actually more like southern Chicago-- they have a MUCH bigger selection that up where we live!), we were a bit too busy with rehearsals and wedding prep! Not only was my hubby the best man, but Big Boy and Little Princess were the ring bearer and flower girl! :)

She LOVED having her hair and nails done! Love my girly-girl!

So needless to say, I didn’t get any thrifting/rummage-saleing done last week :/ Instead, I thought I’d show you some quick book page decorations I whipped up for the Fourth of July, using the vintage book I got for a quarter last week! :)

Since these were LITERALLY last minute decorations, I didn’t spend as much time making them “fancy” as I might have otherwise. I just used regular scissors to cut each page into two triangles, then used blue and red Sharpie markers to freehand the block letters on.

I used a hole-punch to punch holes in the upper corners, then strung them onto off-white twine. (I found that the triangles are easiest to string when you fold them in half like a taco, with the holes lined up against each other, and slide the triangle into position on the string, before unfolding it.)

I also made a few of these book page buntings to spread the festivity around the house in a not-so-blatant fashion. J It took about three pages, folded accordion style and taped together, to form one semi-circular “fan”. If I had more time, I would have made enough of these to string together and form a banner! But as it was, they added just the right touch of neutral patriotic flair to my kitchen :)

The best part is, I still have nearly 500 more of these pages to play with! So I dug up some more ideas for cool book page crafts…

Source: 100layercake.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

GORGEOUS paper roses!

Source: creationsbykara.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: thewonderfulworldofwohler.blogspot.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Definitely gotta find me a lampshade to cover...

Source: alyssabeth1.blogspot.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

This is my absolute favorite! I can SO see this as a gorgeous sunburst mirror!

Hmmmm… looks like my “MUST-MAKE” list just got a LOT longer! But the good news is… at 500 pages for 25¢, that comes out to about 1/20^th of a cent for each page! Now THAT’S what I call a thrifty project!

So have YOU made any cheapo projects lately? Feel free to post your link in the comments below!

Happy 4th- America's Still Beautiful!

Thrifty Treasures, 7/2: Ironstone and Old Gates!

Hello, blogging friends… welcome back for another edition of:

You already got a sneak preview of a couple of this week’s scores when I showed you my $5 console table makeover:

I found both the pitcher on the left and the soup tureen on the right at GOODWILL! Wahoo! Even better, they were on sale!

The ironstone pitcher was originally marked $2.99, but was half off—I guess most people have trouble seeing potential underneath crumbly florist foam and plastic grapes?
*shrug* Well, not me! :)

I fell in love with the ironstone soup tureen (complete with lid and ladle) when I first saw it at the beginning of the week—it was half-off of $5.99—but I knew that on Thursdays our Goodwill marks all half-off tags as 99¢! So I waited (and almost broke down and bought it for $3, just because I wanted it so much… ), and lo-and-behold, it was still there when I walked in Thursday morning! I almost felt like I was stealing as I scooped it up, headed straight to the cashier carried it around under my arm as I did my compulsory store walk-through, and walked out with this beauty for 99¢!

My time rummage-saleing on Saturday was also productive, and I found several goodies, most for only a quarter each!  (These are just the home décor items—I figured you don’t care to see clothes I get for the little Monkeys…) :)

Didn’t I tell you I can’t resist baskets? These were unmarked, at a particularly pricey garage sale—but when I mustered up the courage to ask the lady how much she wanted for them (because I couldn’t afford anything else at her sale! LOL), she said I could have them for 25¢ apiece! Lesson learned: don’t be afraid to ask about unpriced items—you might just be surprised!

Another thing I can’t resist: old books! Even when they’re coverless— this one will be perfect for making all those book page projects I’ve been drooling over, but haven’t had the guts to cut up a “nice” old book for! (And for 25¢, I couldn’t say no!)

 The large lidded jar was my most expensive purchase of the day, at the grand price of $2.00. According to the paper I found inside, the lid is supposed to be filled with lamp oil and a wick put in the hole… but I think I’ll just use it as a regular apothecary jar! :) It’s the largest one in my collection so far, and I can’t wait to fill it with shells, or décor balls, or pinecones, or Christmas ornaments… I guess you get the picture :)

I couldn’t resist this pair of cute little green glass bottles with cork stoppers—and definitely not for 25¢ apiece! Now to get some sand to fill them with…

But the absolute Favorite Find of the Day award goes to:

This awesome weathered gate! Believe it or not, it was sitting in a “FREE” pile at the end of someone’s driveway. Seeing one of those around here is rare enough… the only stuff people set out by the road here is their trash (as in banana-peels-and-dirty-diapers-trash, not even old-lamps-and-broken-furniture-trash!) I can see this as an incredible wall-hung photo display—similar to this one madefrom a crib mattress spring (only even cooler with the weathered wood framing it!)! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go find a place to hang it…

So how was your thrifting this weekend? Do you find any good curbside “trash”?