Thrifty Tablescape Thursday

Ok, I'm taking the plunge. I posted for Thrifty Thursday last week, which is hosted by Tales From Bloggeritaville and decided to put some of my treasures from last week and a few more I found yesterday and see what I could come up with. So here goes with a halfway done tablescape for Tablescape Thursday, hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. Make sure to visit both of these lovely ladies and see what everyone else is up to!

Bear in mind that I've never set a nice table in my 51 yrs so I don't know what I'm doing, and I just moved into my home a couple of weeks ago, so can't find things, have no decorating done, nekkid walls - you get the idea.

I found this little pretty at a thrift store in MN several years ago. It reminded me of the 'fudge dish' of my mother's that I remember fondly from my childhood, so I had to have it.


I filled it with grass and tucked in some Easter candy instead of using a basket.


Not even sure what to call this. It's made of heavy wire and has two tiers that hold eggs, so for only a dollar or two, I figured I'd find a place for it.

These cute little fellas were .99 each, but when I got to the register I realized that one had a large chunk out of one ear, so I decided not to get him. The cashier reached around and tossed the injured one into the trash, so I told her if she was just going to dispose of the poor little guy, I'd take it anyway. She said it was against policy to give an item to a customer, so she charged me .05 for him. He was definitely worth that, and as long as I keep him turned a certain way, you can't even notice that he has a slight disability. I have a soft heart for all animals, and I guess that holds true for decorative ones too.


Did you get a new Easter bonnet this year? I found this pretty lavender bonnet at the $1 store, and the ceramic postcard is from a dear friend (wonder if she will read this and recognize it!).


Here's the bunny cake stand that I picked up last week for a song. He looks like he's holding up the world, when in fact he's balancing a glass egg tray filled with bright pink and yellow marshmallow peeps, candy filled eggs, and speckled malted milk balls.

I think he deserves a treat after all that work, don't you?

I was most excited about this find. These dishes were a whopping $1.49 each, but alas, there were only three of them. I thought they were beautiful and would look nice on the pink tablecloth, so in the cart they went. Please don't look too closely at the napkin, because it isn't really a napkin yet. Oh, and the 'silver' is a mish-mash of whatever I grabbed in the drawer, and I haven't a clue where my crystal is yet either.



On the other side of the thrift store was a full sized sheet in at pattern almost identical to the plates. At a cost of $1.50, I think it will easily be re-purposed into napkins that will coordinate perfectly with these dishes. The little flower on the plate in the photo above will probably get attached to something to make matching napkin rings.

Pretty good match, doncha think?


Free daffodils from my yard snuck into the vase I got last week for $1.50.




So here's the table, although it's not put together very well. I need color and artwork on the walls, paint the table and chairs, add the old dressers that I'll use as sideboard and/or china cabinet and maybe it'll be a 'real' dining area one day.

Thanks for allowing me to 'play' this week, and I pray each of you has a blessed Easter. He is Risen, He is Risen indeed!

Waste Not Wednesday

Dear Ms Molly let me sleep in until 4:00 a.m. today without getting up in the middle of the night needing to go potty. Now 4:00 a.m may be middle of the night to most of you, but she usually gets me up between 1:30 and 3:00 and then I have a tough time getting back to sleep, so this morning I counted my blessings for sure!

After our morning ablutions and breakfast, Molly settled down to gnaw on her favorite squeek toy. I noticed that it was getting pretty ragged and she was able to pull stuffing out and knew that the sqeeker was likely to be the next victim, and that was something that she shouldn't be messing with. She let me know that she wasn't happy when I snuck it away from her.



Rather than waste the squeeker, I thought about how I might be able to fix it so it would no longer be a danger to her. An old denim jumper that I had been saving to do something with was the solution.

Now remember, I've just barely figured out how to turn this silly sewing machine on and don't really know how to sew, so the result is nothing even remotely glamorous. I simply cut a piece large enough to go around the whole squeek toy, folded it and sewed two sides, turned it right side out and inserted the old toy and stitched up the last side.



Voila - heavy duty squeek toy that didn't cost me a dime. Molly seems to like it well enough, and I guess that's what counts.

Since Wednesday is sale day at the local Salvation Army Thrift Store, I popped on out to do some errands and see what deals I could find this week. I hit a couple of jackpots and even splurged just a bit, but no hints yet - you'll have to come back tomorrow for Thrifty Thursday to see what treasures I came up with!

Honest Scrap a la Marie Anne

A very sweet lady lives that lives over in The Little House in the Desert blessed me with this award and to accept it, I have to share 10 things about myself (honestly!) and then choose three others to pass it along to.

1) I love the Lord, and although I fall so far short of where He wants me to be, I haven't given up, and more importantly, I know He hasn't given up on me.

2) I retired from the Marine Corps in Jan 1997, having served more than 21 years and attaining the rank of Master Sergeant (MSgt/E8).



3) I've held many jobs since retiring from the Marine Corps, but the most rewarding was working as an assistant with special ed kids on the school bus. Yes, I rode the short bus, and I'm proud of it!

4) I have two grown sons, both living in Charlotte, NC.

5) I just bought a house! It's not fancy, but it's mine, and I'm so grateful that I have this opportunity.

6) I adopted sweet little Molly just after moving into my house.



7) I've lived in 8 different states (NH (born and raised), SC, NC (several times), MA, HI, MD, MN and finally OH) as well as Japan, and have visited London, England and Seoul, Korea.

8) I enjoy reading, crocheting and dabbling in the garden (see my other blogs!)

9) I just got a sewing machine from freecycle and want to try to make some simple things for my home. Wish me luck!

10) I love my online friends to pieces!




The three I'd like to pass this award on to are:

Martie at Mom 2 Four Girls
Cindy at My Recycled Bags
The Kansas Hooker

Springtime Thrifty Thursday

(All photos are clickable for better viewing)

I stumbled onto some great bargains at the thrift stores yesterday so thought I'd take part in my very first Thrifty Thursday sponsored by Leigh. Pop on over and see more than you bargained for!

First up is this precious bunny cake stand which carries the mark of Bella Casa by Ganz. Since most items were 50% off at one store, I only paid $2 for this lovely little fella that's all ready for Easter.










The vase in a lovely shade that's between blue and lavender was only $1.50 and the cute little egg candle was $1.00. I know I'll get a lot of use out of the four clear bread plates at $ .79 each.



Approx three yds of pale sage green fabric was a steal at $1.75. As soon as I figure out how to work the sewing machine (that I got free - see earlier blog post), I'll probably make dinner napkins. There's more than enough for that, so I might re-think if that's the right purpose for it.



More fabric at another store, and I think I may have paid $3 for this piece. It is a bit heavier material, so it will probably be transformed into placemats, which should work well with the dinner napkins that I paid $1 for the set of four. The napkin rings were $1.50 for the set of four, a big savings over the $2.50 each that the original sticker said.


And last but not least, this funky little chair that I fell in love with. I had picked it up and put it back twice last week, and when I saw it still at the store yesterday, I knew it was meant to come home with me. It has the original vinyl seat which someone covered, and I will cover it with something more suitable for my tastes - not sure what that will be yet. This little gem was only $2. How could I pass that up?



Oops, I almost forgot - Molly was the best bargain of all! For a modest fee of $56 which included first shots, license and a certificate to get her spayed, I got the sweetest little puppy I've ever known, and supported my local Humane Society at the same time. It doesn't get any better than that!