Catching up....

The temperatures got warm here again, so I have been busy outside....I

feel like it keeps alternating between winter and summer.  One

day I am wearing a turtleneck & sweater and the next....shorts!

My flower beds get weeded....it turns cold....I get chased inside for a few 

days and come back outside again to....more WEEDS??  How does that happen??

I've also started a new project....here's a peek!

I'm not quite sure yet how I feel about it...this is just a test section.

Can you tell what it is?

So, I need to get caught up!

Here is the winner of the spring vinyl giveaway that was supposed to be announced Friday:

Carol @arewethereyet said...

Thanks for the chance to win - there are so many things that I would love to create. (But I never win anything - but it's fun trying!)

Yeah, Carol!  This time you won!!

I also wanted to catch you up on the fact that, yes...you may see a few

sponsored posts on my blog now.

I've caved....so to speak...to the fact that there have been some

opportunities to earn some money.  I feel that I need to take advantage of 

these opportunities.  I never expect, anticipate, or even desire for this 

to become a steady source of income, but it is fun "spending" money.

So, I will try and keep a balance and thanks for understanding!

I do try and keep my giveaways just for you....I don't get compensated for them

and I am usually looking to promote a newer Etsy shop or blogger.

If you have a product that you'd like me to promote, I'd love to help you

by offering a giveaway.  Just contact me!

Read more ...

An Excellent Site for Coupons!

I am entering "crunch" time for homeschooling.  It's time to start organizing the portfolios, 
but it's also time to plan and order curriculum for next year.

When it comes to ordering curriculum, I love Amazon, mainly because of the free shipping, but they don't always have the books that I need.  


I've had my "wish list" of curriculum sitting on the CBD website

for weeks now, but they don't offer free shipping.  I have been hoping that some 
how a "free shipping" coupon would appear in my inbox....it hasn't.

But, what did appear was an offer to review a site called Coupon Chief.

As I was browsing their site and typing in stores where I shop...places like Old Navy, Kohl's, Lowes....I kept getting amazing coupons!

Hmmmm....I had a thought...could there possibly be a coupon code for CBD??

There was!!!

The code saved me about $13 in shipping costs....WooHoo!!



Coupon Chief has the largest source of online coupons and store discounts for apparel, electronics, travel, entertainment and more!


Here are just some of the features:
* Find coupons for 1000s of retailers.
* Search for coupons and browse by product category.
* All coupons are valid and rated by community.
* Rate coupons and leave comments.
* Set coupon alerts and view your browsing history.
* Share coupons with friends and relatives via email.
* Submit coupons and earn some cash.

Here's a quick video explaining what Coupon Chief is all about!

I also loved  Coupon Chief  because you have the opportunity to inform 
them if the coupon worked. This means that when you check for a code, you 
see a percentage of the times the coupon worked and when it was last used.  

This is so helpful!

So many couponing sites redirect you and then ask for your email address and ask you to register before you can get the coupon.  

Here, all you do is click on the code and it's given directly to you!


You can also make money by sharing coupons!


To find more about this helpful site and money-saving site, visit Coupon Chief.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Coupon Chief.  All opinions are 100% mine.

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My 20 hour coffee table redo...

Well...maybe it wasn't exactly 20 hours, but it sure wasn't ONE!!

I love the blog Dear Lillie....I hate to admit that I kind've stalk her.....not really, but

I do look forward to that RSS feed email telling me that she has posted something new!

When I saw her coffee table redo, it provided me with the inspiration to finally

make over my ugly coffee table!

 I wouldn't say that I am finished....I need to do some more distressing and

I'd like to cut a board to go under the table so that I can add cool looking

baskets to hide more JUNK!!!

But, for now, it's good enough!

And here's a fun little before....

and after...

Have you ever underestimated the time spent on a project??

Read more ...

Thrifty Thursday #55

Are you feeling spring-y?  I finally put up a spring mantle and am 
dreaming of pretty airy spring colors to paint my bedroom....even though

it's 55 degrees here with a windchill of a lot less....*sigh!*

Here are some projects from this week's  Thrifty Thursday  
to give you some spring inspiration.

Snowflakes and Dragonflies turned an old chicken feeder into a spring planter.

Juniper and Roses painted and recovered this piano bench... 

...but the real surprise is found when you open it!

This desk set from 551 East just sings spring!  

I'd love to work in a space like this!

Bliss Ranch found this piece of furniture free on the side of the road and turned

it into this fabulous dresser for her teen boy!  Let me tell you..my drummer

son would FLIP for a dresser like this!

Just us Four shared these DIY frozen yogurt bites....brilliant!  I am forever finding a spoon frozen into the container of yogurt...my kids' attempts at making frozen yogurt.  I can't wait to try this out!

Wow....this menu board from Burton Avenue is just an incredible idea!  

If you were featured this week, feel free to grab one of my buttons!

Here are some very simple suggestions for the party:

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.

You can also party with Johnnie 

at Saved by Love Creations!

Read more ...

Spring Vinyl Giveaway

I love Jill over at Utah Vinyl....she makes such fun vinyl projects!

Today, I am giving away the vinyl for this spring plaque!

The giveaway is for the vinyl only and it's made to fit on a 5.25 x 6.75" plaque or board.

Jill is also offering everyone a 10% discount if you mention "Thrifty 

Decorating" when you place an order!

Here are some of the fun ideas in her shop right now....

{Spring Stackers}

{Spring Boards}

To enter, just follow Thrifty Decorating and leave me a comment!

Read more ...

My One Hour Project....Ha!

This project was supposed to take one hour...I was going to quickly paint the legs and

sand off the top and stain it...an hour, that's all I thought that it would take!

UGH!!  Did I miscalculate!!

I originally hauled this baby out of the garbage....it was lovely in all it's 70's wood glory!

So, I painted over it in black....

Then, I got tired of black and painted over it in cream with a coat of stain overtop.

Yep...you can see ALL the colors that it's been!  It was in BAD shape!

I started by sanding it....and sanding it....and sanding it.....

I wasn't getting through the layers of paint, so I decided to chemically strip it...BAD IDEA!!

I will NEVER again chemically strip a piece of furniture....it turned into a gooey nightmare!!

I called my Mom in a panic because she has stripped furniture before...what had 

I gotten myself into???

HOURS later, I had it "clean" enough to sand...isn't that where I had started???

I had a little bit of dark walnut sitting on the shelf, so I started staining.  


I just use an old t-shirt to apply the stain.

I'll show you later this week how it turned out....but let's just
say that it's take a little more than an hour!!

Read more ...

Winner of the Hemmed In Giveaway

So, I was supposed to announce the winner of the Hemmed In

giveaway on Friday night, but we've been busy with a little bit of Easter....

Does anyone else have holiday photos that turn out like this???

Seriously...one good picture....that's all I wanted!!!

And we had a mega egg hunt....can you tell my girl is a little competitive?

Her eyes never left that egg until we said, "Go!"  She was the first to 

collect her "allotment" of eggs!

So that is why, I have yet to choose a winner....but now I have and here she is...

Congratulations!  I'll be in touch soon!

Hope that you all had a joyous Easter.  

He Is RISEN....He is RISEN, indeed!

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Finally....I put up a spring mantle

I've been busy and completely uninspired....I have no other excuses.  I didn't want

to spend money (my normal mantra!) and I just couldn't motivate myself to take

down the sweater vases....I really liked them!

But alas....seasons must change and so must mantles!  So here's my spring version....

It was really quite simple and inexpensive!  

I made the spring banner from brown paper grocery bags and some acrylic paint

that I had on hand.....I had my artistic husband draw the letters and then I colored

them in with Crayola markers!

I had spraypaint leftover from my tiered rack so I just sprayed some Mason

jars that I grabbed at our local thrift shop for $0.40 each!

I stuffed some Dollar Tree flowers in the jar and voila.....

....a spring mantle for under $5.00!

Read more ...