Root Beer Floats on a stick....

{A summer business venture??}

My boys are on a kick to make some money this summer.....they want to start some type of a business.  They were thinking of a weeding and watering service while neighbors are on vacation.

My little guy has always been an entrepreneur....here at age 4 he was trying to sell his artwork on our street....his Daddy bought out the store!

Recently, we've had a new neighbor move in...another homeschool family, and their son is also a "businessman."  So when our neighborhood had a yardsale last weekend and the boys found a slushee machine for $2.00, they got busy!

My kitchen looked like a fruit punch explosion took place, but they made a total of $4.00 and are ready to set up a wagon to pull around the neighborhood on hot days....slushee making sounds a lot better to them than weeding in the hot sun!

So when I saw this idea today at  Smilemonsters, I thought immediately of my boys!

Homemade rootbeer floats on a stick!!!  YUM!!

She used rootbeer, sweetened condensed milk, and milk to make these wonderful looking Root Beer and Creamsicles.....yum!!!

For Jo's completely recipe and how-to, go HERE.

Looks like I'll be running to the grocery store today to pick up some supplies!

What fun things are you doing with your kids this summer?



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Guest Post: Sisters of the Wild West

We are so excited to be guest blogging here at Thrifty Decorating. 

 Thank you so much for letting us be guest bloggers. 

HI!!  We are Amy and Emily.

The "Sisters" of the Wild West.  

We are newbies to the blog world, and we are LOVING every minute of it. 

A few facts about us:

*we drink diet dr pepper like water

*we take turns blogging (kind of...its a long story)

*we are highly competitive from playing sports our entire lives

 *we compare notes on who's posts get more attention

*we have 11 kids between us (Amy 4 girls & 2 boys) (Em 5 BOYS)

* We love to craft any chance we get...Especially when we are together!

Here are just a few of our projects.

These are our Pottery Barn Knock-Off Pillows. 

We made a little competition for ourselves to see who could

make the better knock-off.  You can see how we made the pillows here. 

Please check it out and cast your vote. 

We like all kinds of projects, especially some makeovers.

We made over this Goodwill find and gave this jewelry box a major upgrade!!

I got this old vintage stereo cabinet off of Craigslist for FREE!  I painted it with Chalk Paint.
It is SUPER amazing paint.  Please see the full tutorial

We also like to do some sewing.

You can get the full tutorial for this Chevron Handbag HERE

Thank you SOO MUCH for letting us share some

 of our projects with you today!!   We love making new friends... 

So please stop by Sisters of the Wild West.

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Amy and Emily also have a link party on Sundays where you can link your own great ideas and go browse other great ideas!

Thanks so much, Sisters of the Wild West, 
for stopping by Thrifty Decorating!

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Guest Post by Sparklinbecks and a Giveaway!!

{Win a vintage-inspired apron....}

So in my introduction of Rebecca, I need to tell you that she used to be in our youth group!!  Ugh...can I be that old that our former youth group members are now bloggers with 3 children??

Rebecca is a really gifted seamstress and has created many beautiful projects like this jewelry holder...

{Necklace Organizer}

...or how about this DIY birdfeeder?

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Hi! My name is Rebecca and I am a blogger over Sparklinbecks. I am so excited to be guest blogging here today! I love reading Thrifty Decorating, and its an honor to be here!


My husband and I are very frugal and love being creative in our own ways. It's amazing what you can create from different things! I love yard sale and thrift store finds and enjoy turning them into "new to me" things!

Today, I would like to show you how to turn a flat sheet or curtain into an apron over at my blog Sparklinbecks!

Using a flat sheet (because of the finished hems), an old curtain to use for trim, and ric rac and two d-rings I had here, I made up this thrifty little tutorial so that you too can make this apron.

Come by Sparklinbecks for a complete TUTORIAL with instructions and pictures.

Not a seamstress? Want to try to win it? I am giving it away this week at Thrifty Decorating!

For one entry:  Leave a comment here and you can enter to win it!

Follow me at Sparklinbecks and leave a comment here that you did so and receive a second entry!

Follow Thrifty Decorating and leave a comment here that you did so and receive a third entry!

On Friday, May 27th, we will announce the winner!

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Thanks so much, Becca!  Am I allow to comment??  I want to win one!!

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Old Window Hairbow Holder

{Old window idea....}

I LOVE old windows!  In fact, you can read about how I use them for STORAGE, CHALKBOARDS, and  WALL DECOR.

Recently, I had an old window in my daughter's room.  It was one of the first windows that I tried to repurpose myself.  Let's just say that I've learned a lot since them!

I've been wanting a place to put all of her hairbows, ponytail holders, headbands, and more ponytail holders.  So I refashioned the window into this hairbow holder!

I began by ripping apart the window and using a staple gun to attach chicken wire to the back.  It was really easy to do.  I just trimmed it with my hubby's wire cutters.....actually kind've fun!

The problem.....we don't just have hair clips.  We have ponytail holders, headbands, and more ponytails holders.....none of which she ever actually keeps in her hair!

I wanted to organize those too, so I ran to our local True Value hardware store and grabbed some hooks that twist right into the wood. They cost all of $1.25 for 5 of them!!

To "fancy up the window" a bit, I went into my stash of fabric and made some twisted fabric flowers.....and just attached them with hot glue!  Love that stuff!

It's now a functional decorative piece in her room!

How do you organize your hair accessories??  A better question..how do you keep bows in your tomboy girl's hair???

Click HERE for places I party.

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The end of the world as we know it???

So, do I fold my laundry and put it away or just not worry about it since the world is ending tomorrow?? 

Oh...to ignore paying the bills, brooming up the multiple piles of grass that are constantly getting tracked in and going ahead and eating that whole container of Turkey Hill Skinny Minty ice cream and not worrying about any consequences....all because tomorrow...it's over??

As silly as it sounds, a lot of people I've talked with are slightly nervous about tomorrow's end-of-the world prediction.....I mean, things have been pretty bad if you look around the world...

.....horrible floods.....

.....earthquakes......

....wars and rumors of war.....

So when a kooky old man starts saying that he has mathematical proof that the world is ending May 21st, it even makes the sanest person scratch their head and say....."Could he be right?"

Here's an except from my husband's blog No Argument for God, I'll let the real theologican answer instead of me!

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Of course I remember back when Harold Camping did this the last time - back in 1994 he prophesied that the return of Christ was in the fall. I remember the guy I was interning with circled September in his Daytimer as "rapture season." And yes, Harold was wrong then.

He is a nice old man who knows a lot about the Bible - I would love to be neighbors with him. Its just that he forgets that when Jesus said He was returning someday, He said that no one would know the day or the hour.

Mark 13: 21 - “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it."

and again later . . .

Mark 13:32 - "However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows."

 

 

This last one is actually an expression that grooms would use about their wedding day. In ancient Israel, the man who was engaged would go back to his father's house and work on his "Chuppa" or bridal chamber for about a year. This was to be where his bride and he would live. The groom's father would inspect it and only when it met the father's specs on quality would he receive permission to go and bring his fiance back to the house to be married. When people would ask him when the big day was, his answer was "only my Father knows the day." Jesus, it seems, is preparing a place for us right now. And at just the right time, the Father will give Him a nod to put an end to the wait and the Earth can end its separation from God.

So . . . sorry Mr Camping. There are no mathematical formulas for figuring that out. You are a kind old man who knows a lot but it seems like you have gone overboard with math. 

 

 

But its not too late to rope yourself in and try to bring the Kingdom of God to this Earth through the way you live your life - the graciousness of your actions, the way you forgive, the justice you help maintain, the poor you provide for, the fatherless you defend . . .

 

Let God decide when its time to come back.

 

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Rats.....I guess that means I have to put the laundry away......

 

 

 

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Spraypainted Patio Furniture Redo...

{Trash-picked patio...} 

I'm a trash-picker...it's just the honest truth.  My kids know that if I slam on my brakes it has nothing to do with the car in front of me, but the garbage on the sidewalk!

My husband is also a trash-picker....we make a good pair!

A couple of years ago we were on vacation in Ocean City.....separately, we both rode our bikes past 5 porch chairs sitting in the garbage.  Knowing how little (ABSOLUTELY NO!!) extra space we had in our car, I didn't even want to ask....but then he said..."Did you see those...?" 

He didn't even need to finish his sentence before I yelled...."CHAIRS!?!"

So, amidst the 5 bikes, suitcases, bedding, food coolers (because I never buy food at the shore...it's TOO expensive), boogie boards, miscellaneous sand toys and 3 children in a 5 seater car, we added 5 lawn chairs!  It wasn't pretty!

At that point, the chairs looked like this...

Now, I know that some of you are asking yourselves..."She made her children ride 2 1/2 hours home with boogie boards on their heads and suitcases on their laps for those???"

That's because you don't see their potential!

But....to be perfectly honest, they continued to look like that for 2 whole YEARS!!  I tried some spraypaint last summer, but it look HORRID!  It wasn't the spraypaint's fault....it was mine.  I didn't know how to prep a rusty metal surface for spraypainting!

I had essentially given up hope.  In fact I was literally browsing online at Walmart and Target for patio furniture when I stumbled across this TUTORIAL at West Furniture Revival!!  Her finished product was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!  (and she "found" her chairs in the neighbor's garbage!)

Do you see this little $3.00 brush??

This was what I was missing!  If you are dealing with rust...you need one!  They are cheap, made of wire and will take off a finger if you're not careful!!  You put them right onto your drill....and poof! they get rid of rust!!  (They are also fun because they make sparks when you sand the metal!)

I wanted a quality spraypaint that would last, so my True Value paint guy who is becoming a good friend because of all my trips there recommended this Rustoleum brand....

You need to use the Rust Reformer first...and he informed me that you needed to have some rust left for it to adhere to...HA!  I told him no problem, basically all I had left was rust!

I then decided on a textured spraypaint....the rust damage was so extensive, I knew that I'd never get a smooth surface to work with!

I picked this from Rustoleum...it feels neat and was rough enough to hide all my horrid surfaces like this...

I was amazed by the transformation!  Take a look...

Can you believe it is the same chair??? (Well, actually it wasn't...but they were all rusty!)  It completely covered the ugly!!

I got a little bold and even sprayed the plastic back...we'll see how it holds up!

 I got my cushions at The Christmas Tree Shoppe and a $30.00 umbrella to match!  I'd love to show you my deck all pretty with flowers and sunshine, but sunshine seems to have left the state of Pennsylvania.....we only have rain...so no cute pictures!  Maybe I'll update next week when it's supposed to stop raining....

Cost Breakdown:

Cushions:  5@ $12.99 from Christmas Tree Shoppes

Spraypaint:  2 cans @$4.00/can.  I will eventually need about 3 sets of those cans.

Wire Brush:  $3.00

Total projected cost:  (Since I still have some chairs to do.) $92.00!!

~Compare that to at least $300.00 for a set that would have come with only 4 chairs!

What have you trash-picked lately?

Click HERE for places I party....

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Thrifty Thursdays #10

{Thrifty Thursdays #10}

Well, last week was a little crazy with Blogger going down, so I apologize for not getting to everyone to comment on their projects.  It was really an awesome week of link-ups here at Thrifty Thursday!


The most viewed link last week was this pretty laundry room makeover from Windgate Lane...

{Whistle While I Work}

If my laundry room was this bright and cheerful, I'd whistle, too!

Another wonderful idea was this Grow Box from Kim at Too Much Time on My Hands....

{Make your own grow box}

With some information from her garden center "informant," she shares how to build your own patio garden for $20.

Another "green" idea was this Water Bottle Wreath from Indie Inventions....

{Water Bottle Wreath}

With a little bit of spraypaint, you can transform your recyclables into something lovely!

How about this adorable castle playhouse from Sparklinbecks.....would you believe she made it for under $30.00?!?

{Under $30 Clubhouse}

If you look carefully, you'll see how she recycled her old crib parts for the draw bridge.....brilliant!!

Nat Sprat's monster party is simply just adorable!!

 

{Monster Party}

She also includes a super easy tutorial for how to make your own pinata!!  I already bookmarked her link for my daughter's party this summer!

I love how Simple Simon & Company turned her maternity shirts into skirts for her daughter....

{Maternity shirt to little girl's skirt}

Instead of crying over her outdated shirts, she got creative and made these adorable skirts!

I wish that I could feature all of the projects because there were so many wonderful ideas, but alas....I'd run out of space!  Instead it's time to link up new ideas!

Thrifty Thursdays

So......it's time again to share your creative....(and thrifty) ideas!

Here are some very simple suggestions for the link-up:

1. Please become a follower of Thrifty Decorating

2. Be sure to link to your POST and not your blog.

3. Please copy and paste my link button somewhere in your post

or blog so that others can link back.

4. Share some comment love....We all love to get them!!

Don't forget....once you've linked at Thrifty Thursday, you can go over to link up with Thrifty Thursday at
Saved by Love Creations!

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