*** Hobby Lobby NEWSFLASH ***

Yesterday afternoon Hooby Lobby went 90% off on all fall/Thanksgiving stuff!!!!

Don't walk... RUN! :o)

And now starting on a few of the finishing touches...

And yesterday I also put everything back on the mantle. It's very cute now! Want to see it?

In the center there is my mirror that I got on a garage sale a few years ago for only $2! I was very happy!! It's already distressed and everything.

I got this sign at Goodwill about a month ago. I thought the color would work in the livingroom and got it just in case it fit in anywhere. And it did!!

I bought the star after Christmas... 90% off, baby!! The empty picture frames were from an auction... Got those free! :o)

These are for the curtains... I saw them on clearence at Menards. They used to be 25-something... I got them 1$ for each pair! Whoohoo!

They were a very light oak color, but I spray painted them with cream. After it was dry, I decided that the cream was too stark, so I rubbed stain on it. What I wasn't expecting was for it to distress the areas when I rubbed the stain in harder. They turned out SUPER COOL!

Don'cha just love when that happens?! :o)

I love my saws!

Okay... As I've been working on the livingroom... I've noticed how many saws I have. And really... I LOVE them all! Well.. most of them! :o)

Here's my miter saw... Between that and my radial arm saw, the ceiling was a breeze when it came to cutting the planks! I love my miter saw! Got it on ebay, brand spankin' new! Most girls get things like sewing machines on ebay? Me? I go for the saws, baby! :o)

Now... this circular saw has been around for a long time! About as long as I can remember, actually! So technically... I guess it isn't MY saw... but it's been a faithful 'ol thing! Our dogs always had a thing for chewing off the chord. I'm not sure why... Think it tasted like chicken, maybe? :o) Whatever the case, dad kept fixing the chord over and over till it was like 2 inches long! I kid you not!! Well.. it went several years before they touched it again. Last fall though, someone left it within reach of some hungry or just plain bored dogs and... You guessed it! They ate it again! So, it is now eqipped with a new chord and still works as good as ever!

My jigsaw... nothing impressive... don't even use it that much.. but... It's nice to have around! Just haven't used it enough to get attached to it or anything yet! :o) lol

Okay... So I really don't have any feelings for this one... I despise it, actually! Because whenever I have to use it, it means sore shoulders! But... I suppose it's a good thing to have around for those occations when none of the other saws will suffice!

I also have my radial arm saw which I absolutely adore!! I actually bought it from a thrift store of all places! It's been great! Can do almost anything! It does the job of both a miter saw and a table saw! I went to look and see how much they were at a Menards once... But when we asked where they were, the guy looked at us and said, "We don't sell those anymore... Too many people were cutting their arms off!" lol!

And mom... if you're reading this now... ummmm.... *cough cough* Don't worry! I'm very very cautious! :o) I mean... All saws are dangerous if you don't use them right. Even my hand saw!! Or the steak knife!! :o)

Anyhoo... better get to work... the floor is next! Yay!

A Start on Christmas Decorating...

Well.... We've started Christmas decorating around here! I absolutely love decorating for Christmas! Here's a glimpse into a few of the nooks and crannies we've beautified so far! :o)

Remember this old doctor's bag I got for 1.00 at an auction? Well here it is again! Filled with pine cones... Vintage ornaments... And other Christmas odds and ends. It's one of my favorites!

This is the curio cabinet in the dining room. It's so pretty with pine boughs, poinsettias, Christmas garland, and of COURSE twinkle lights!!! :o)

When I bought all that Christmas junk a few months ago at the rainy auction... There was an entire box full vintage ornaments. I am having so much fun with them! I'm arranging them here and there in crystal bowls and other fun containers I've accumulated. Which is a lot! :o)

The fireplace mantle is now complete and Christmas-y!

Merry Christmas Ya'll!!!

No... I'm not decorating for Christmas yet... but...

I’ve been seeing so many cute Christmas decorating ideas from my blogging buddies and here’s just three that I finally found the “stuff” to do!

I picked all this up that that auction a few weeks ago. I got all the leftover Christmas stuff for 3.00. This is so cute... It's a candy dish, filled with colorful Christmas light bulbs.

There was a huge box of vintage-ish ornaments… Christmas light bulbs… and lots of other junk. Really junk! It was so bad, I sorted through it by the dumpster! But these took me a grand total of 5 minutes to throw together… If that! :o)

(I also got the glassware in a pile of leftovers for 1.00. Total cost of each project was maybe 1.00 at the most! I love them!

Last Saturday's finds!

All right... Here it is as promised... Pictures!

Yeasterday was the first time we saw the sun! Unfortunately it was short-lived. *sigh* Today was cloudy, cold, and windy. BUT... I did get pictures yesterday just before dark!

I bought 3 tables for 1.00 each... I'm so happy! :o)

There's this one.... One with a white enamel top (you can see a bit of it on the left hand side) ... And another smaller side table that has wonderful spindle legs as well. I'm very happy with them! (I have to be at 1.00 a piece!)

I know.. I know... You're thinking, "ANOTHER TRUNK?!" I'm thinking the same thing too! But it was only 1.00! It would have been absolutely wrong to let it go for that! So.... Just what to do with another one!

This was very cool! One of my highest bids with a whole $6 spent on this single purchase. It's and antique scale... Bet I can re-sell it for more than that. I think it's pretty nifty! :o)

Our porch is absolutely packed with junk right now... Poor mom. But there's so many ideas that I'm just bursting with now!! There's this old Conoco can I got for $1. Not my style, but I can re-sell it for more than that. I also bought 3 of those slow/stop signs... I've got ideas! Muaahaahaa!

I got a TON of enamelware. These pitchers were the most expensive at $2 for one and $6 for the other. I've never seen one for under $25, So I was tickled at these two! (The old guys just weren't interested! lol) I love that blue/white pan too.... Pretty EXCITING!

Anyhoo.... Just thought you might like to see just a few of my great-super-exciting-new-purchases!

It's been a busy week!!!

I know... I know.... It's been FOREVER since I've blogged! This week has been CRAZY busy! Our candle season is in full swing leaving little to no time for my trashy behavior! ;o)

I've been wanting to post pictures of all the wonderful junk I got on an auction last Saturday, but I haven't been able to even take pictures. "Why?" you ask... Well, it has not been very good weather lately. I have not seen the sun since last Friday. *sigh* But as soon as it pokes it's sunny face through the clouds, pictures will be sure to come!

So... despite not having any pictures... I will share with you the adventure I embarked upon last Saturday.


I awoke to the dreary, drip-drop sound on my window early Saturday morning. I was thrilled! Rainy auctions are great! Nobody comes! Yay! Makes for exciting buys, it does!
This particular auction was located a mere 2-3 miles from our house. Oh joy! We made our way there and to my great satisfaction, the only people there were all guys. Old guys. (With the exception of one particular fellow who was somewhere around my age... He had the most serious case of plummer's pants I have ever seen in my entire life! No offence to the plummers out there who might be reading this! ;o) lol)
It had the makings of definately being my kind of auction! ;o) My only grief being the fact that those old guys are a bit difficult when fighting over tools. But reguardless of that fact... I got absolutely adorable tables for a mere 1.00... Beautiful enamelware for next-to-nothing... It was great! I even bought a drill press. Which in itself brought about a conversation that still has me laughing! It went something like this:

I was over in a corner looking through a huge pile of some Christmas junk I had just gotten when behind me I heard a group of guys talking.

Guy 1: Hey... I need this drill press moved so I can get my truck in here. Anyone know who bought it?

Guy 2: Yeah... Ummmm.... I think a girl bought it.

Guys 1, 3, and 4: No way.... Come on.... Who really bought it.

Guy 2: No! I'm serious! It was some girl! She had her son with her. (Note: *Ahem!* That would be my little brother, Caleb)

It was SO funny! I guess I'm just not quite the "normal" gal, am I?!? lol You should have seen the looks on Guy 1, 3 and 4's faces when I turned around, smiled at them and sweetly said, "Oh! That's mine... Would you like it moved?" Priceless!!! :o)

I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as it clears up outside!

Of Copper Wire and Pitchers....

A while back I had posted about my pitcher that I had jazzed up the handle..... Well..... I had gotten the copper wire at Mangelsen's in Omaha. However it was over 5.00 for just a bit of wire. So I got to thinking.... (Uh-oh! Me thinking! That's dangerous!!) And I figured there just HAD to be a cheaper way to get wire!


Well, fast forward to now..... And.... TA-DAA!!!! I found it!

MENARDS.... My hero!

I bought about 4 ft of copper wire for 2.50! I know it looks too thick... but....

It is actually 7 strands of copper wire! So it's 4 ft. long... Multiplied by 7! All for $2.50!!

YAY! Just thought I'd let you all know the cheaper route to go should you make your own fun pitchers! I already got 3 more (Besides mom's that she wants me to do) to use as gifts... Just waiting to be jazzed up! :o)

My Treasures!

Well.... I went through all the "junk" today and certainly found some treasures!!!

This is the bigger stuff... I'm excited about the sythe. I got it for $6 (You can imagine the comments I got on that one! ;o) It seems I was "The cutest Grim Reaper they'd ever seen!" lol) And a lady beside me said there was one down the street in the antique shop for $45!

I got the antique stool for $3. I'm going to ask my great-uncle Jake if he could make a new seat for it since this one is broken in half... (He does beautiful woodworking) And I'm going to see if Dad can take the rest of it to work and sandblast it. (Dad, If you read this before I get to ask you... Just pretend like you don't know! ;o) Love you!!! lol)

Ive already primed the green box. It has the cutest handle... I fell in love with it. And it was chock full of exciting junk too! And only $1 at that! Yay for auctions!

And I got all of these glass insulators in a box for $5... Not bad! They were so pretty out in the sunlight!!!

I was so tickled about this crate! That's where I found my best treasures!!! And only $1!!! It doesn't need a thing done to it! No paint jobs... Fixes.... It's darling just the way it is! Awww!!!

These were a few of the itsy bitsy treasures. I grabbed the irons (That's not what you call them, but I can't seem to remember what it is! ;o) lol) for $7. That was my biggest purchase. There was another guy who seemed set on them too. They're REALLY heavy, though!

Then there's the glass knob and 2 skeleton keys that I posted last night.

And a TINY leather pouch with a "5 cent trading coin," a Boys Town pendant, and an old army dogtag for Leonard Lyle Davis. Pretty cool!

AND.... These really old goggles. They look like the type that they used for driving in cars or really old airplanes. Anyone know anything about them? They're leather.... With straps that tie in the back... And the little plastic lens. They're in awfully good condition, whatever they are! ;o)

Anyhoo.... Those are my most exciting purchases, anyway! I hope there'll be an auction again soon!!! :o)

Spur-of-the-moment-FUN!!!

Well... Mom and I had one of those spur-of-the-moment evenings! (I love those!)





We were at home.... Just got done working on candles all day... Saw in paper that there was a little auction across the river a mere 15 minutes away... And decided to go! It looked small, and junky. But that's the kind I like! We got there and sure enough... Junk! Yay!

Boxes of nails, screws and other junk going for .25 each! Another Yay!

Here's just two things I found amongst one of my .25 boxes! HAPPY DAY!

When I said it was junk, I meant it! We loaded the car so full we could barely fit ourselves in and came home. We parked out by the dumpster to unload! ;o) lol I sorted stuff for 5 minutes before it got too dark to see. I'll resume in the morning! Can't wait to see what other treasures I might find! YAY!

I'll let you know what I find!

Just a few more projects...

Here's a few projects I worked on this week...

The shelf and the stool, I painted black and then distressed them.

I also made another lamp out of books. They're all calculus, algebra, geometry, ect... books. They'd be a fun one for a teacher! :o)

I got this lamp at a garage sale a few weeks ago. There was just something about it.... The doiley lampshade... the adorable picher base.... I might switch a different shade with the base and use this one somewhere else... but I'll see.

After all... I've spent $2 in worse places, right?! :o) lol

Projects... Projects...

Hey Ya'll!

Here are some pics that I've worked on lately! I'm really kind of into red accents right now. I love them! They just "pop" in a room. In fact, my dream kitchen right now is taupe walls and deep red cupboards. *sigh* But not "orangey" red... more towards the Burgundy red... Like the red I'm using now.

Anyway... back to my projects!

I got this trunk at a garage sale... I know, I know... ANOTHER trunk?!?! I think my obsession with glass bottles has turned towards trunks. I just got 3 on an auction this spring for 1.00 each. Another one on an auction for free. And now this one. But it was only 5.00!!! "And hey... I've spent 5.00 in worse places, right?!?" :o) (That's my pat answer to myself whenever I see some more junk that I don't need! :o) lol) It really was quite the steal! I'm very happy with it!

Empty distressed picture frames are "in" right now and I must admit, I love them! Just randomly arrange them on a shelf or mantle. Have an arrangement in my head for the livingroom... I'll be sure to post pictures when I do it!!! :o)

Random letters are "in" right now too and they're growing on me as well! I got these at a thrift store for 1.00 each. So I brought them home and hit them with a coat of spray paint and then distressed the edges. I love how they turned out!

I got this lovely box at a thrift store as well for 2.00. Let me re-phrase that... I got this now-lovely box at a thrift store! :o)

It was black, ugly, and chipped. But I don't know... There was something charming about it. I loved it's little glass knob. And all it's pretty details. So I got it figuring, "hey... I've spent 2.00 in worse places, right?!?" :o) lol (Told you it was a good answer!)

But I hit it with 2 coats of my new favorite red spray paint... Sanded the details to bring them out... and TA-DAA! I LOVE it!!!

So that's just aa bit of what I worked on this week!

More coming soon! :o)

Garage Sale Finds...

Well... We went garage sale-ing last Saturday! Which means I'm only 4 days behind with my posting! :o) lol

It was FUN! I got some good stuff too!

An old lamp for $5. I probably wouldn't have spent that much if it weren't for the really pretty lampshade. It was just an ordinary mauve ceramic lamp that even had cracks around the base. Which was okay, because all I wanted was the lamp hardware!! It made breaking the lamp in the dumpster easier!!! :o) lol (BTW, the lamp hardware is already being used in a project! Stay tuned for pictures when it's finished!!!)

A BEAUTIFUL comforter set. I'm talking gorgeous!!! Mom's guessing that it was well over $200 new. I got it for $20! This lady had it in her spare bedroom and was thinking that no one had even slept in it. They were moving and it had to go. It looks brand new! I forgot to take pictures before I stored it. It's gold, with a few Burgundy rosebuds here and there. It has the bedspread, a dust ruffle, and shams. The only room it matches is Mom's room, but she didn't want it because she... "Already has a comforter." So I packed it away for "someday, when I have a house of my own." Did I mention it was GORGEOUS?!? :o)

And... I got this:

The lady I got it from said that it was an antique adding machine. But I did just 5 minutes of research before I fell asleep a night or two ago and I think it's technically a "calculating machine." And definitely antique! I got it for $10.

And, can you believe it... It still works!!! :o) I'm wanting to check and see on resale value, because it's got to be more than $10, but I honestly don't know!!! :o) Even if it isn't, I've spent $10 in worse places, right?! :o) lol I really think it's pretty neat though!

The sad part though... It looks like it used to have a plate on the front which probably had names, numbers, or something on it, but it's gone now. I wish it was still there because, #1 it would make researching a lot easier... and #2 it probably isn't worth as much.

Oh well... I like it! :o)

Funny story here too... Last week I was at Target grabbing some groceries for mom, when I browsed through the clearance section. I found some adorable white baseball caps. One said "bride" and 4 more said "bridesmaid." I grabbed them thinking if I ever got married or was a bridesmaid again, that would be awfully cute to go out for ice cream or something beforehand wearing those. So I got them! I brought them home and when I showed them to mom, she looked at me in kind of a strange way... Then the questions started coming. "Why? Do you think you're going to get married anytime soon?!?" "Do you know something I don't know?!?" "What's going on?!" LOL I just about died laughing! She was serious!!! LOL

Okay, so that was early last week. Later that same week, (Saturday) when we went garage sale-ing, we came to one that had a sign at the end of the lane. It plainly said that there were only girls baby clothes there. I asked, "Should we move on?" "Move on?" She said. "Of course not! We're here... Let's check it out!" "But mom, there's only baby clothes! We don't need any baby clothes!" But nevertheless, we checked it out anyway. Pretty soon I hear, "Oh! Look at these little shoes!! Aren't they adorable?! Oh! This dress is TOO darling!" Finally, over $20 later, she finally pays for her big bag BRIMMING with little girl's clothes and shoes. I shake my head, wondering what on earth she's doing. As we walk to the car, I ask her, "So what are you going to do with all that stuff? Do you know someone that's going to have a baby?" Get this... She said, "Nope, they're for my first grand baby!" Honestly... It took me FOREVER to stop laughing! When I could finally talk, I started asking HER questions! "Why? Do you think I'm going to get married anytime soon?!?" "Do you know something I don't know?!?" "What's going on?!" LOL

Yup... It was good for a laugh! Now, I guess the race is on! Who has the first granddaughter... Micah or Me! :o) Of course... Considering the fact that he has a "significant other" and I don't, does give me a disadvantage... BUT... Maybe he'll have all boys!!! Muahaahaahaa! I might have a shot yet!!! :o) LOL Then... What about Caleb?! Who knows! Maybe he'll beat us both!!! :o) LOL

Anyhoo... Better get a move on... But... Try to hit a few garage sales for me this weekend! :o)

Remember my lamps??

Hey ya'll!

Remember the really cool lamps minus the lampshades that I got a couple weeks ago? Check out what I did!

Gave this one to mom for Mother's Day (Along with a really cool tall lamp that I got at my favorite Thrift Store. It still had the tag on it! It was a VERY expensive lamp!!! Got it for 30-something!!! Yeah!) I LOVE how it turned out! I'm having mom get another lampshade like it at Wal-Mart today so that I can do the other one! (The lampshades that I'm using are the beige faux suade ones) It's just an ordinary lampshade that I added the beaded trim to. (I had the trim beads on hand that I had grabbed out of the bargin bin in the fabric section a year or so ago.) It was REALLY easy! I'm making the other one for myself. I'm excited!!!

YAY!

A Tribute to our Couch:

A Tribute to our Couch:
It’s a sad day here at the Wissmann home. Our faithful couch is gone forever. It stood the test of time. Looking back… It seems like only yesterday it arrived at our house out on the dairy farm, proudly perched and tied down to the back of the old pickup. In reality, it was over 12 years ago. We were delighted! Mom and Dad had gone to the Leavenworth KS garage sales for the day. We’ve been through a lot together. I have many fond memories linked to that couch. Ones that I will cherish forever. It will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Now seriously… lol :o) We got a new couch!!! Yay! Okay, so it’s not brand new, but it’s new to us! It’s really nice! It’s bigger than the last one, isn’t so lumpy, and you don’t sink halfway to the floor when you sit down in it! ;o) lol

We like it!

'Tis the Season!

Wow! What fun!
I love auction season, you know?!?

Auctions and Garages Sales... The best sources of fun on this planet!


A coule Saturdays ago, Caleb went with Dad down to a friend’s house to roof. That left mom and I at home… Without a little man… (Don’t get me wrong, I love Caleb! He just tires of auctions after the 1st hour.) And an auction going on a mere 15 minutes from home. What does that mean? A LOT OF FUN!!!
I got lots of fun stuff that I really didn’t need but I got anyway! Hey! It was only a dollar, right?! LOL

I got:
* A ton of older and vintage magazines - Going to try to resell on Ebay. (I ended up getting them free!)




* 3 chests… (2 for $1.00 each, 1 for .50) I've already got 2 of them full of things I don't use very often but want to have close on hand, and sitting beside my bed. They're my new side table! I love them! Can't decided where to put the 3rd. No more room in my bedroom. Having my own home someday will be such fun!!! :o)





* 2 stools… (1 for $2.00, 1 for .50) (This is the $2.00 one. They usually go for over $10 at the other auctions I've seen them at. I always wanted one 'cause they're just so cute, but never wanted to spend $10 or more for it! ;o) lol)


* 2 glass lamps – I’m hoping to find some really pretty old-fashioned lampshades! ($1.00 each)



* And 1 black antique doctor’s bag ($1.00) (It's in my room now... I want to fill it with pinecones, christmas lights, and pretty ribbon come next Christmas! I think it'll be ADORABLE!)


Also got a bunch of old books. Hard-back. Various titles. What does that mean? A NEW PROJECT! I saw the COOLEST things that this guy did with old books. Check it out! Now… Problem: I have lots of old books… But how does he do it?!?!?!? If you have any thoughts before I start tearing into these new books of mine, let me know!!! LOL
I got a lot of stuff for mom too. Every time she left and came back, I had bought her something else! It was all good though. She had asked me to keep an eye on that stuff. I won some… Lost some… That’s the fun of an auction. The atmosphere… Reading people… Deciding how much you’ll pay for something… Bidding higher than what you decided on previously… Getting outbid anyway… Got to love it!

Anyhoo… Better go…
Here’s to auctions… and junk… and all other fun!

~Nicole