I'm Back...

Hey Everyone,
I am trying to get back into writing at least once a day. I have been really busy lately as always! I started the toddler bed I am happy to report that it is coming along nicely I have a whole idea for this "big girl" room now.  I am thinking grays, soft blues, pinks, yellows, and antique white. All pretty neutral but that makes it relaxing I don't like super bright colors it just doesn't go with my personality or my decorating style.  I like clean and crisp looks.  After a few days of painting the rails to the toddler bed and realizing I wasn't getting very far I had a bright idea I decided to spray paint the rails...amazingly enough air loom white by Rustolium and Innocence by Behr are a good match.  I actually don't really like Behr paint that much it was my first time using it and I am finding it very thin and not great coverage it makes me mad because paint is too expensive! One of these days I am going to order some Annie Sloan and be in paint heaven.  Oh and have I mentioned that I love love love Purdy brushes. They are absolutely amazing very much worth the price. I just bought a new brush and it is fabulous it makes everything look so smooth and not a lot of brush strokes. The bristles are very soft and when you wash them all the paint comes off and the bristles return to being very soft and easy to work with. I previously have tried cheaper brushes but they are throw aways you can't really ever use them again and the bristles are very hard and leave a lot of brush strokes. If you want a good brush go with Purdy they are amazing!

That's all for now have a great day!

Bad Blogger

I have been the worst "blogger" lately. I have just been feeling tired after my sister- in-laws visit and have been taking a few days to myself.  I have been looking on Pinterest a lot and gathering new decorating ideas for Autumn and Christmas. I love decorating for the holidays it just gets me into the season.  I am hoping to find some good stuff at the yard sales this weekend. There are a lot according to Craig's List. I am sad that the yard sale season will be over soon. I will use all that extra time for crafting and projects but I love treasure hunting it's so much fun.
On a different note, I NEED readers! I am feeling uninspired partially because I don't have many reading I am hoping to get some projects up ASAP so I can link them to bigger blogs and grow my audience.  If you  have any other thrifty friends that would be interested in reading my many ramblings and projects and DIY tutorials send them my way. I want this to be an interactive blog and not just a "I write and maybe someone reads it blog" I'll do my best to self promote hehe!
Thats all for now!!

It's been busy around here

Hey Everyone,
It has been such a busy couple of days since we had some family in town and I decided to start a blog and I have a family to take care of. I have successfully ignored housework for a few days so today I will have to play catch up BOO! Also this week I am starting on the toddler bed set for my daughter YAY!! I am so ready for this one. I am going to remember the "before" pictures before I get started this time. I can't wait for her big girl room to get underway.  It would be nice if the toilet training would also sink in because I would love to not have a changing pad in her room anymore to make the transformation complete.  I have been doing lots of couponing today too, it's just another part of my thrifty ways.  There are so many great deals and coupons out right now. I spotted a $5 off Benjamin Moore paint Woohoo!! If you don't coupon everyone should give it a try...I follow Southernsavers.com and she makes everything so simple. Try it out today and save some money!

1919 Antique Fan

This fan is such an amazing antique to have on my distressed dresser. This fan is a Westinghouse from 1919 it is rusty and old. My dad found this in a junk pile and kept it for years then the other day when I was complaining of not having a really OLD fan he said well I have one but it doesn't work and it is very heavy and rusty! That was all ok with me since it is just a styling prop. Although I am thinking that maybe my husband could rewire this and get it to work…hmm we'll see. I have learned to style my house the very thrifty way of shopping your own house or even your parents house. A lot of times older people have amazing things sitting in their garage, storage, or basement that they don't want or have forgotten about. I suggest asking if you could look through stuff they don't want then using the treasures you find to style vintage looking furniture.

Saturday Sales

Hey Everyone,
Yesterday was Saturday which always means YARD SALES!! My mom in law and I go every Saturday just about.  We always enjoy finding new treasures for our homes. At the end of the yard sale season I plan to do a big post on all the things we have found for our homes. It is so much fun to get new things at a small price.  Yesterday, however we were on a mission for everything BABY since my sister in-law is due in November we were on a hunt to find her some great bargains for our newest family member. We did find a few things for ourselves but I didn't find any potential projects or housewares (BUMMER). Whenever I would see a potential project the price would be too high and no matter how great my negotiating skills they wouldn't come down on price :(. O'well maybe next week. I did however get some great clothing items.  If you are an avid yard saler you know that people give away stuff that is practically new it is just crazy to me.  I got 14 pieces of JCREW, Banana Republic, and Gap clothing for $5.  If you ever look on the inside white label on these clothing pieces from these stores you will see the collection and the year they came from, all of mine were from fall 10. That was a great find for me a girl always needs new brand name clothing. I am thrifty not rich but I love to always look great.  Additionally, I did find some vintage Samsonite to add to my luggage collection ($1.50 scored 3 pieces).  We found a lot of big items for my sister-in-law which included a double stroller for $30 plus an extra carseat for $5.  Lots of little onezies, socks, and tiny pants so cute! Well that concluded our Yard Sale Saturday! It wasn't the most eventful but we all came home with something :).

I will be working on my daughters toddler bed set that we got for FREE this week I will be taking lots of pictures and posting them also I will probably be doing a big post about it so watch out for that one it will be a goodie!

Have a great Sunday and if you are a first time visitor tell some friends about me I am new to blogging and need some readers! ;)

Antiquing a dresser step by step

Hey Everyone,
I want to share an antiquing project that I did this summer. I told you in my opening post about receiving a free unfinished dresser. I was very excited upon getting the thing inside despite the fact it needed some work. My first idea was I am going to stain it and make it look beautiful just as if it came from a furniture store. That was a nice dream turn nightmare! I got it prepped for staining we decided Minwax Ebony was our color well we read the directions and tried it out on the inside on the base. It was way too dark and unattractive on pine. I went back to the big box store asked the not very nice stain/paint pro who simply did not want to help me and handed me off to some other employee that recommended Cabot Stain. I got home with a great color then preceeded to read the directions on the can and followed them exactly. Well I loved the color but unlike Minwax when I tried to wipe off the stain as the directions instructed my cloth got stuck and the entire thing was gooey. I was miserably sad as my FREE furniture was now ruined. Anyway it sat in my garage for weeks until finally I decided that I was going to sand the whole thing and start over this time I used paint and did an antiquing effect. I had done this previously on a small accent table and loved the results. I am going to take you through the process although I don't have any before pictures (Sorry!!) so imagination will come in handy here.

First, I removed all the drawers. I also removed all the old hard ware. I sanded all the drawers individually with a medium grit sanding block. Always sand with the grain of the wood. I sanded until all the sticky goopy bits of the stain was gone and I had smooth wood to paint on. I did this 4 times as there was 4 drawers. You could use a power sander to make your life easier but I didn't.
Each time I sanded I dusted off the wood with a lightly damp microfiber cloth. This works great so that the paint doesn't stick to the dust.
Next, I made the decision to skip the primer I felt like the wood was even enough to not need a primer. I would normally use a primer though. Plus I wanted some of the natural knots in the wood to show through it makes it look less perfect.
After that I got to painting I decided to go to a big box store and get a Martha Stewart indoor latex paint called River Mist in an eggshell finish. The paint has a very low odor and has pretty good coverage. Overall I liked the color range and coverage. I painted a first coat waited for it to dry (it drys pretty quickly) then I sanded with a fine grit sanding block and dusted with a microfiber cloth. I did this for two coats each drawer. Finally I started working on the body of the dresser I had previously sanded with the gain of the wood with a medium grit sanding block and dusted with a microfiber cloth. I started to paint the body with my Purdy 3 inch brush but the job was too big so I broke out the mini roller. This made the job super quick. I did the entire body for a first coat waited for the paint to dry then  sanded and dusted then repeated for the second coat. Lastly the fun part "antiquing" or "distressing" whichever you prefer I used a screw driver and a cheese knife to distress the edges and make it look old. Then I mixed equal parts brown paint and water to make a glaze and highlight the distressed parts. Then I used Rub n Buff in antique gold on the corners to give it a nice old look. After that dried for 15 minutes I went over the entire piece with Johnson's paste wax. I let it dry then buffed out. It gives the piece a nice shine while also protecting the wood and making it a wipeable surface. Also I replaced the hardware then I let it dry outside for a day before bringing it into the house. Once in the house I let it sit for 30 days so the paint could completely cure. Keep in mind that just because the paint isn't wet doesn't mean your piece has cured. Wait the 30 days without anything on it so the top is completely set and you won't have indentions of heavy objects on your hard work. It was very hard to wait.

This is the entire process I'll post a couple of pictures even though I don't have pictures from beginning to end.
I hope you enjoyed let me know if you have questions about my process.

GRAND OPENING

Hey Everyone! I want to welcome everyone to Everyday Thrift! I am so excited to write this new blog about everything DIY and turning old "treasures" into new beauties.
   I want to first introduce myself, my name is Amanda and I have a passion for being creative and saving money. In May we bought our first home and thrifting became a way of life for us. I had a whole house to furnish on a very small budget. Before we moved in I was couponing so we would have a stocked fridge and pantry which worked perfectly, best idea I've had in awhile. Then a week after we moved my mom in-law suggested going yard sales to find furniture then my whole world changed. I had been to yard sales before but mainly just for baby clothes but this time it was different I went specifically shopping for my new home. I never knew $60 could get you an SUV full of stuff from then on I have been addicted. My dad also gave us a great piece of unfinished furniture it was a dresser that needed a little work and finishing. You will read more about this project in my next post. Anyway I am very excited to have this new blog. I hope everyone enjoys reading. Be sure to tell your friends about me!!