Salvation Army

In continuing on with my first thrifting trip of the new year, Emily and I also went to The Salvation Army. I was sort of expecting to find a few more things there than I actually did. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Blue Glass Spray Bottle = $1.99

This is obviously missing the top half. Maybe some sort of pump or atomizer. Even though it is broken and obviously needs some cleaning, I am still quite enamored with it.

Two brown decorative bottles = $0.49 each = $0.98 total

It says "SB" on the front of each of the two bottles. They obviously have a twist cap so I don't think they are very old. I thought they were cool looking so I had to snatch them up.

With Lunch In Between

Yesterday, Lauren and I were able to hit a few thrift stores around Gainesville. It was a nice getting to spend some time with her. Here are some of my finds.

I don't exactly know what this is called. A condiment caddy? I know I have seen them in stores before. I need to buy some small spoons for it. I found it at the Salvation Army. I also bought an adjustable computer chair for my craft room (for $10.00). I had a coupon for the Salvation Army for half off my entire purchase. $1.29 - 50% = 65¢.

We also stopped by Treasure Box Thrift where I picked up this tri-compartment serving tray for $4.00. It is white ceramic and has "Whittier Potteries Calif #880" stamped on the back. The middle compartment is fitted with a lid. $4.00

I also picked up these two glass liquor decanters. The taller of the decanters has a glass top but a plastic stopper. It is a "Light & Music" straus decanter made by Luigi Bormioli in Italy. I found the same decanter selling for $20.00 online. The shorter of the two has a glass stopper (which is what I prefer). Unfortunately I did not notice the etching of a sailboat on the side of it. I will just face that side to the back. $2.00 each.

Goodwill was actually our first stop of the day. Lauren picked up this ceramic perfume bottle and was debating getting it. She decided she didn't want it, so I ended up getting it. 59¢.

Finally my favorite thrift of the day. I saw this crucifix sitting on the shelf at Goodwill.

I noticed it was awfully large and seemed to be hollow on the inside. So you slide back the wooden top to reveal,

a hidden compartment. It is a sick call set made by the Jeweled Cross Company. It contains two candles, a vial (for holy water) and an instruction manual for what to do for setting up last rites for the sick or dying. $1.99.

A little bit of sillyness

Of course Libby and I had to stop by the Salvation Army last Saturday as well. They had a lot of new stuff in and their prices were higher than I thought they should be on some items.

Cheery orange butterfly whistling tea kettle - $1.69

Half apron with side pocket - $2.99
(please excuse the half naked, half limbed mannequin. i didn't want to pose in the picture myself and didn't feel like getting her dressed. she has been stuffed under a shelf for so long and won't be displayed until i move into the new craft room. i pulled her out just for this shot.)

Bellows - $5.00

Of course the most expensive item is also my most frivolous item. I have an ever growing supply of fireplace paraphernalia now that this new house has a fireplace/wood stove. I can definitely start a fire, and keep a fire going, without a bellows but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun. Of course we won't be using it much now that we have warmer weather, but it is there to use in the future.

Drumroll please....

Since I am so proud of this project, I decided to make it a post on its own. Currently, this is my pride and joy.

My old filing system was a drawer inside a warped, old, falling apart, broken down, particle board desk. This desk has moved with me several times and was beyond trashed. When we moved into the new house, we took the desk with us but it is currently sitting in the garage waiting to be taken to the dump. The drawer also wasn't very big and I constantly had to struggle with stuffing files in and pulling them out.

Moving into this new house I was without desk, however I was also without filing cabinet. My important papers are all over the house. I constantly feel scatter brained, never knowing when bills are due or where statements are.

While I was in Salvation Army last Friday (per my last post), I spotted this brown metal filing cabinet for $10.00.

It was very dirty and had a few tiny rust spots on the bottom drawer.

I have had this project in my mind for a while. Once I bought the filing cabinet, I knew I couldn't wait much longer. I searched frantically for some awesome contact paper. I searched Wal-Mart. I searched K-Mart in the hopes that there would be something there in the Martha Stewart collection. Everything was really drab and ugly. I searched online. The only thing that caught my eye was this Water Dance contact paper by the Kittrich Corporation for $10.99 (before shipping and handling). At the time, they were out of stock and I was out of luck.

Finally I decided to check out Target. I should have started there to begin with. I finally found a nice looking contact paper for only $5.00 and some change.

Immediately I rushed home and went to work. This is my hard work paid off.

I am extremely pleased with the results. I spent a few hours working on it by myself and had only gotten two and a half sides done. Matt came in and offered to help and everything immediately went smoother and faster. If you are going to tackle a project like this, I seriously recommend two people. With another person, it was a lot easier to line up the paper straight and without wrinkles/bubbles. One person would slowly unroll it and the other person would straighten it out and flatten it down.

The contact paper was more forgivable than I originally thought it would be. I was able to pull it up and re-stick it multiple times. We used the flat edge of a dustpan to help smooth the paper down. Also, any bubbles that were there we poked with a pin or the tip of the exacto knife and pushed out. The holes are so tiny you can't even tell they are there.

I originally had the idea to add four casters to the bottom of it as there is plenty of room and a lot of my house is tile. However, I wasn't sure if the filing cabinet could take it without more of a sturdy support on the bottom and also the four casters and the hardware would have ended up costing me more than the cabinet is worth. I also had the idea to paint or somehow fix up the handle and such but then decided I liked the look of it as is.

Thrifting Treasures

A few Thursdays ago, I was in Salvation Army when I came across these four corn dishes. They were each marked 75¢, but because they were running a sale during the next 30 minutes the dishes were marked down to 15¢ each.

Last Friday I stopped by Salvation Army again. This time I came across this really sweet looking brass table trivet for only 69¢. I am uncertain if I want to use it as intended, or if I want to hang it on the wall.

The same day I bought the tea trivet, I also bought some more napkin rings (shock! surprise!). I am getting quite the little collection going. I was allured to the delicate purple flowers. I can't be sure of the material, but I believe it is ceramic. A woman even stopped me in the store so she could get a closer look at them and complimented me on my purchase. I received the whole set for 99¢.

Meet the latest additions to my household.

Unicorn Napkin Rings!

I found these wonderfully tacky napkin rings at the Salvation Army last Thursday for 99¢. When I first saw them, I giggled to myself at how ridiculous they looked and put them back.

However, no matter how hard I tried I could not get these gaudy things out of my mind.

They are made out of a hard clear plastic. I found a set that is selling for $10.00 on e-bay.

I am sure I will not use them for a fancy dinner party. And there aren't that many holidays that feature the unicorn.

But I can tell you they will be used.

I need no excuse to invite my girlfriend over for brunch, but now I definitely have one.

(please excuse wrinkled napkin)