Burlap Rocks

I found a great source for burlap bags- Mike's Warehouse. They were only $.98 each. Now I'm looking for ideas and inspiration! I sent Leigh a few and I know that her creative mind will come up with some great uses for them! I shared this lamp shade I made for my guest room a few weeks ago.I used the plain back side of the bag - but now I want to do some things with the fun graphics from the front of the bags!

Another burlap idea I came up with started with a very, very ugly desk. You know the kind - cheap and fake wood....

Son #3 had it for his computer and it fit in this nook in his room/new guest room. He left it behind when he left the nest. At first I was thinking- out to the curb- but, it did fit the nook! So off to Hobby Lobby for some burlap - black- for a change. Then I took my last piece of leopard remnant and sewed a slipcover. I used leopard for the top and cording with 3 yards of a burlap skirt.

I have also shared the bench that I redid with the matching leopard seat. The mirror, chalkboard, lamp, shelf and boxes are all thrifty purchases that I had tucked away. Mirror from Big Lots and chalkboard from thrift store were both repainted and hung from leopard ribbon. The thrift store lamp got a paint job and a leafy shade for fall!

My guest room will get it's first visitors next week when my daughter and her hubby come for a visit. She is flying in from Alaska to meet him on his 2 week R&R from Afghanistan!

Check out more burlap ideas at Leigh's place!

How Do You Clean a Flamingo ????

I can only imagine my neighbor's conversation today!

"Dear, what IS Swampgirl doing now?"
"It looks like she is either strangling her plastic flamingos or trying to brush their teeth!"

I was only trying to clean them. With a toothbrush. As I held them by the neck!

With all of the unusual rain we have had this year we also have black mold/mildew on everything....including my flock!

It has gotten much worse in the last two weeks!

I tried everything I had in the house and found that this did the best job! I am not doing a commercial for this product, but it did work much better than any of the other 5 things I tried!

When you spray it on-

-it foams up where the mold is! Then I grabbed them by the neck and scrubbed them with an old toothbrush to get in the grooves!

There- much better - but the neighbors are still laughing. I have also used this product on some of my outdoor cushions. While they still have a few stubborn spots, they do look better and it did not fade the fabric. So the answer to a stressful week is to take out the stress on your poor innocent yard decorations.............

A Thrifty Tassel

This week, instead of a thrift store bargain, I have a thrifty craft project to share. I have been experimenting with making tassels over the last year. Some I have liked....some...not so much. They are not cheap and I hate to waste ribbon on a flop!! This one I like! The thrifty part is using things I already had and using 50% off items from Hobby Lobby.



I have also struggled with the top of the tassel. You have to be able to hang it so resin tops do not work and everything I liked that is "Fallish" is resin! You need to be able to drill a hole in it or find something that already has a hanger. I found a Styrofoam acorn pick that I could poke a hole in!

Most of the ribbon came from my stash- I bought $2 worth of plaid and gold - and I have enough to make one more tassel. I glued the ribbon to an empty thread spool. I stuck the wire pick of the acorn through the hole of the spool and bent it to secure it. I also used the glue gun to make sure it was not going anywhere!

To cover the space between the spool and the acorn I glued more gold ribbon -looping it up and down. Then I sewed the little tassels on the gold ribbon because they were left over from other projects and not attached to any braid. Finally I tied the this burgundy ribbon in a bow and used that same ribbon to make a hanger.

Total for the project: $6 for 2 tassels

Don't forget that Leigh hosts the Thrifty Thursday party here!

Eli Reporting In

We have had a crummy couple of weeks here at the Swamp! The boy has been sick and Mom has spent entirely too much time taking care of him. We pugs have been neglected. Thank goodness for the emergency food supplies in the pantry because this is all she has been bringing home from the grocery store.....

And we were not even allowed to lay on his bed since Lulu never left his side!!

On the bright side- he did not have the flu - and he has returned to school- and Mom went to Kroger for dog and cat food. If she would just stop cleaning everything and spraying Lysol everywhere!!!

Thrifty Thursday

I worked on a very thrifty project over the Labor Day weekend for my guest room. What could be more thrifty than shopping in your own house and redoing something that you almost forgot you had! Here is the before:

This little stool has been many colors antique green, shabby blue..... I'm sure my Mom knows where it came from. I have had it in my sewing room for the last few years under piles of projects! When I was trying to come up with a way to redo a desk, I thought this would help give it a more "vanity-like" look. Out came the black spray paint left over from the lamp project. Then I covered the seat with a fabric scrap given to me by a good friend. Here is my after picture:

Lulu has claimed it as her own! Cost of my thrifty project = FREE!!!!!

Check out the other Thrifty Thursday posts at Leigh's place!

Guest Bedroom Redo

I have a small budget ( $0 ) and a room that needs a redo! So I am going to make a guest room out of son#3"s old room using as little money as possible!
Luckily the room was redone 2 years ago so it is not in bad shape. I will not paint and the window treatments will remain for now. I have already bought the bed, a quilt and one sham. The sham was the only one left to match- don't worry I'll make it work! We will purchase a box spring and mattress. But, the rest will either be free or very cheap!!!!!Here is the before picture. I have cleaned the thrift store bed. Ignore the lovely blue bed rails. They will be covered anyway.....and that was all they had that fit the bed...and they were free... The table and tablecloth are left from the son and they match the shades. The rug was also left behind, as was the nightstand that is behind the bed. There are also 2 suitcases that may be used and a toy chest under the window! Let's start with the lamp... last week I had a moment of inspiration while reading Leigh's blog. She had a similar lamp. I dug through the attic to find this beauty..not! I bought it years ago for the shade. I was going to throw out the lamp, but you never know.....so I put it in the attic. It is paired with a skeleton of another shade. It was my Grandmother's. The silk dry rotted so I put it in the attic because...you never know!

Sad...........I know!

First, I made a pattern and cut out a piece of burlap (from the coffee bag's back that I bought long ago).

Then I monogrammed it.

I used hot glue to attach it to the frame and added black ribbon to cover my flaws!

Then I spray painted the base! I like it!!!! My only cost was the can of spray paint!

Thrifty Thursday

I'm a little late to the party because I have not been thrifting much in the last two weeks. One of my favorite shops moved to a bigger location so I had to check out the new store today! I only bought a suitcase there today, but I enjoyed sight seeing. I also stopped by Mission Thrift and they were having a big sale!

I had seen this little girl last time I was in there, but I talked myself out of her. I made a rule that I could not put any more clutter in my beachy bathroom unless I took something out!! Today she was 50% off so for $1 she came home with me. Lulu gave her the once over before I found a spot next to a beachy print.

I broke the rule again when I saw this creamer at TJMaxx shaped like a shell on the clearance table!

Now I have to get rid of 2 things in the bathroom!

I also came home with a project piece! I do not need another project - but we do need a bed in the new guest room/son #3's former room. So I have stalked this bed for a few weeks. It was not marked down as I hoped. I just have not found anything with more potential. Stay tuned to see how it gets a face lift!

Don't forget to check out the other Thrifty Thursday treasures at Leigh's place!