Decorating Secrets from the Dumpster Diva

  • Spring Is Here!

    Last weekend called for some decorating therapy! After I sold an old desk on Craigslist and the empty spot it left behind begged to be filled. It might be awhile before I can find just the right buffet that I want for this spot, so in the meantime, I covered a folding table with a linen tablecloth and began. All I needed was a foundation to begin.

     

    I hate storing my pretty serving pieces away. I love to put them on display! Otherwise, they'd only get used for holidays. When I'm not using them for a buffet, at least I can decorate them. The boutiques do!

    So, can I tell you a little about a couple of my favorite pieces here? I am a tight wad. I hardly ever pay full price for anything. That's why I love estate sales. One person's discards is now my delight! I'll start with my new cake stand, front and center. I've wanted a silver vintage cake pedestal with a glass dome forever. Not wanting to fork over $200+ for the one I wanted, (my taste has never matched my pocketbook) I finally came up with a way to create one. The pedestal is actually made out of 2 garage sale finds: a silver serving platter and a silver bowl turned upside down. I glued them together and now I have the silver vintage pedestal I've wanted for a fraction of the cost! I got the glass dome at Pottery Barn where they sell the pedestal and cover seperately so I didn't have to buy both!

    In case you hadn't noticed, burlap is all the decorating rage this season and it is sooo cheap. Just a little scrap over another vintage tray created a shabby layer to spotlight my mother-in-law's scale I asked for after she passed. It's one of the few treasures I was able to fit in my suitcase and salvage after her death. After years of sitting on the shelf, the crystals were yellow, but I took them off and ran them through the dishwasher and now they are a spotless reminder of someone I loved. A couple of succulent tealight candles found at The Rink are complimented by a dragonfly matchbook and add just the right touch of green to an otherwise too brown palette. Can you tell I'm into the small little details?

    Ok, one more burlap treasure. I've seen these pillows at boutiques for $50. Girls...they're burlap! I can make 3 pillow covers for $5 and slip them over pillows I'm tired of! Here's a pic of my inspiration pillow I found online. I made a stencil with an exacto blade and painted it on a piece of burlap. If you mess up, that's okay. Just use that one for practice and once you get it down, cut another piece. I used a 20" square for mine but you can make any size. There's such a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction I get from making things and from sharing my ideas with you!

     

    I found my next treasure at Dillard's. Like I told you earlier I rarely pay full price for anything, but I thought this piece was so versatile and inexpensive. Each tier swivels in and out, so each plate can either be stacked neatly underneath the top for easy storage or spiraled out for more display. For 40 bucks, I get a lot of decorating options!

     

  • Inspiration

    Last weekend I really needed to make something. For me, there are times when creating is a necessity. It's therapy! For some of you, you totally understand what I'm talking about and the rest of you are just scratching your heads, but there is a refreshing that comes from creation.

    I love what the word inspire means: to breath into; to infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit as by a divine or supernatural influence. In fact, inspire comes from the Hebrew word naphach which is the word that Genesis uses to describe how God breathed the breath of life into Adam. God fashioned Adam and life came forth. Adam was His masterpiece, his inspiration.

    I like to think that when I create something that my inspiration comes from heaven and life comes forth. Maybe that's why I feel so refreshed. Maybe that's why creating is a necessity for me. What about you?

     

  • Fun with Paisley

    Check out my weekend project. It was super easy. I've had this closet door for awhile in my office but I got tired of the flowers and wallpaper "couture" stickers on it, so I removed them and decided to do a little paisley action.

    The paisley design is a stencil. I laid it over my project and misted bronze spray paint over it. Misting gave a faded and vintage coverage which made it look like it's been this way forever, all worn and antiqued. Then I added a drawer pull and a tassel to embellish it a bit.

       

     

     

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It all came from a garage sale!

This Dumpster Diva/Garage sale queen celebrates decorating and vintage remixing. Lately, I've discovered that I have a lot of sistas!! So I thought I'd share a little peek into some of my favorite finds. Scroll down and check out my my pics.

where I spend my days

You should have seen my office before I cleaned it up! My space hardly ever looks like this. Usually there are papers EVERYWHERE...because for some reason, I have to be able to touch them and see them. If they are all filed away, like they are in the picture, I don't feel in the grove.

I love decorating and everything in my office either came from a garage sale, thrift store or estate sale. Things are somehow more special to me when no one else saw the value in them. Like my "desk" for example. It was covered with a sheet and .25 cent glasses at a garage sale. All I saw were the legs, but it was love at first sight. I casually asked the owner how much she wanted for the table. "Oh, that thing?!! You can HAVE it when the garage sale is over." It had been sitting outside for so long it was the color of a ten year old fence. But after a little paint and sandpaper, it's just the right shade of shabby chic.

The bookcase was another miracle. I had always envisioned a bookcase to go on top of this table, but finding just the right one when I was in the mood to look was about as lofty as thinking I could do a triple axle the first time I went skating...but it happened! The day I went looking for a bookcase, I found one...for $5!!! It was brown in its former life. But that's why I love spray paint. I bought so much at WalMart one summer, the clerk thought I was getting high.

zebra chair
Oh...and my chair...$7 at an estate sale. I LOVE my chair. More spray paint and a little fabric for the cushion, and ta dah! It's my fav and it spins and reclines too.

 

             

I really do think God loves to decorate! After all, He remixes the earth very season.

Here are some of my favorite decorating verses:

 

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.  

Proverbs 24:3-4

 

How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!

Numbers 24:5

 Click on any of the photos to read how-to-descriptions. 

shabby

shabby

bronze bust

bronze bust

mirror

mirror

frame

frame

cafe

cafe

coffee

coffee

diamonds

diamonds

heritage

heritage

bracelets

bracelets

vintagecouture

vintagecouture

hope

hope

couture

couture

Sing

Sing

Door Charm

Door Charm

Glitter

Glitter

dresser

dresser

Initials

Initials

Pink

Pink

chalkboard

chalkboard

Provincial

Provincial

Stencil

Stencil

Candle

Candle

tablecloth

tablecloth

Clip ons

Clip ons

tea

tea

tea time

tea time

Victory Tea

Victory Tea