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You’re going to shoot your eye out!

June 20, 2012
I loveeee me some ladders.  I found these two giant ladders at a year sale a couple years ago.  I even had to cut them down some so they would fit in my daughter’s room! They were $5.00 each!!  Yes I had to be picked up off the grass and carried to my car along with the ladders.

I have these two in my living room displaying some of my favorite quilts.  I bought the one on the right at a yard sale (remember this Karen!?!?!?!) and the one on the left at Metrolina Antique and Flea Market.  Oh I can’t remember how much I paid for either of them because I have been out in the sun allllllllll day and my brain is not working, but I’m thinking not much because I am cheap frugal.

I had this ladder in my little downstairs bathroom.  I bought it at a furniture consignment shop for $15.00.  After my bathroom makeover a couple of months ago, I painted it robin’s egg blue and sold it for $38.00!! 
Ladders seem to be harder to come by lately and if you do see one, it usually costs a fortune.  I was in Habitat Restore the other day and this sweet ladder was laying against the wall.  I couldn’t find the price tag so I thought maybe someone in the store was using it.  I found the sales chick and asked if it was for sale.  She immediately found the sales tag which was right in front of my face.  $3.99!!!  I couldn’t believe it!!!  As I was loading it into my cart the sweet lady told me rather sternly that it was not a ladder that I should be getting up on.  It was not safe.  I smiled at her and told her I had other plans for it but thank you so much for her concern!
As I continued to walk around the store, I am not lying when I tell you that I had TWO more people approach me about the safety of this ladder!!!!  One sweet concerned citizen was an older gentleman who reminded me so much of my grandfather who just passed away that I had to say a little prayer on my way out thanking God for the sweet angel he had just sent.  I was so touched that people were actually taking the time to voice their concern for me.  Yes I skipped out of Habitat with a new outlook on life.  It’s the little things. 

I cut the ladder in two, peeled off the stickers, and sanded it down.
I know, enough with the blue paint.  I can’t help it.  I have a neighbor who every time he sees me, he just has to say something smart like, “whatcha doing today, gonna paint something blue?”  or “that would look sooooooo much better if it was BLUE.”  Instead of painting the ladder with a paintbrush, I just wiped on the paint with a couple of paper towels.  I was going to distress the heck out of it, so it really just needed a hint of color.
I tricked my neighbor and went with a little two tone action!

Showing off my new fabric that I love so much, I can’t bring myself to cut. 
 Oh and it’s blue too!
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Bathroom makeover under $25.00!

March 26, 2012
This was my bathroom Saturday Morning. 
 It was red.  Really red.  The kind of red that made you feel a little angry.  I also had a lot of stuff in there for such a small bathroom.  A ladder for towels, a small table and a stool.  I would leave the bathroom feeling a little claustrophobic.  So basically my bathroom made me feel angry and claustrophobic.  Not a good combo.  It was time for a little redo, but it had to be inexpensive.

I decided on a grey paint color for this bathroom.  I went to Lowe’s and grabbed the first grey paint chip I saw.  Vintage Grey, I picked this color totally for the name!!!  $22.00 bucks at the cash register and I was on my home to transform this angry space.

 First I knew I wanted to get rid of the ladder towel rack.  I liked the ladder but it was too much for this small space.  I went out in my garage and grabbed this piece of wood that I had pulled out of my neighbors trash several months ago!  I loved the distressed white paint.  It would go great with my Vintage Grey paint!

 I cut it down a little and then sanded off all the flaking paint pieces.

 Hardware for the back.
 I was so excited about this towel rack.  My first impulse was to run back to Lowe’s and grab some hooks.  However if you live around here you know exit 25 is NOT the place to be right now with all the construction.  Plus the money on paint was all I was going to spend.  I looked around the house to see what I could use for hooks.  I thought about old knobs, bent forks, door stoppers, but when I remembered these birdies that I bought at a yard sale (box of about 30 for $5.00) I knew I had found my hooks!
 A little drill action and this towel rack was complete.
Yeah!!!!  So excited about this new look for the bathroom!  And I love my little non costing anything birdie towel rack! 
My next impulse was to run out to find some pretty bathroom towels. Again not wanting to leave the house and trying to use what I have, I grabbed this big ole bolt of fabric.  I found it at an antique shop for dirt cheap.  I was going to make curtains and skirts, and bags out of it until I got it home and realized it had a big water stain in the middle all the way though the bolt!!! 
 It made good hand towels though! 
I added a couple of accessories from around my house and the bathroom makeover on the cheap was complete.  I love it so much I even ate dinner in there Saturday night!

It’s amazing what a little paint can do!!!  I no longer leave the bathroom feeling angry and claustrophobic.  I leave the bathroom feeling calm and peaceful, like I just got back from vacation.  Worth every bit of that 20 bucks!
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Ladder Love

May 21, 2011

I realized the other day that I have a lot of ladders in my house!  I love ladders and if i see one at a yard sale, flea market, or thrift store I always grab it up.  I love the wood and they are so easy to paint.

These two ladders are in my living room.  They are displaying some beautiful quilt tops that I found at the Sleepy Poet (thank you Haley for telling me about this place!!!).  If you haven’t been to the Sleepy Poet, prepare to spend several days.  I had to take some tylenol after walking around for hours!  I found the brown ladder at a yard sale for $5.00 and the blue one (that has also been black, red, and brown) was $15.00 at Metrolina.

Ladders are great for displaying linen, fabric, pictures, or anything else you want to hang.  I bought these quilt tops to cover chairs, but now that they are hanging on the ladders i don’t have the heart to cut them up.
Ladders are also great for hanging towels. Especially if you are too lazy to hang a towel rack after you’ve painted the bathroom!
I almost had a heart attack when the guy told me these to GIANT ladders were $5.00 each.  I think he had to help me up off the ground after i collapsed out of joy.  I still don’t know how I got them home.  I had to cut about a foot off of each of them just to get them in Lilly’s room.  I painted them blue and hung them side by side so she could have a place to keep all her treasures.
I found this one in Bristol, Va while I was home visiting family.  I loved it but oh my!!! I needed to add some color!
I painted it blue, distressed it with sand paper, and then added some antiquing glaze.

This ladder is at Sanctuary of Davidson right now and I am bringing it to Metrolina Antique and Collectibles show June 2-5.  I hope someone loves ladders as much as i do!

And the winner of the button bird is………….
Michelle McConnell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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