This Week's Thrifty Finds

Now that we’ve had the occasional break in snow and cold for some nicer weather, I was able to hit up a few thrift stores in the last week or so and came away with some great home finds.

First up is this wooden pedestal. I am seriously in love with this thing. It was $4.99, which is a bit pricey for me from a thrift, but I thought I could put it to good use in my china cabinet to give height to something when I get to styling it. I just love its curvy base and dark wood color (for now, I may eventually paint it something light or bright).

I thought the top was a bit scratched, so the plan was to keep a plate on it or add some decorative paper (I picked up some fun Christmas, Valentine’s and Halloween scrapbook paper on clearance for .14-.25/sheet but couldn’t find anything I liked for everyday) but then I realized it just had some wax and other gunk on it and it cleaned up nicely.

I also picked up this ceramic candlestick because the shape seemed to “go” with the pedestal. This has a bad brown paint job and I’ll definitely be painting it. I’m thinking something in the aqua blue family so it can be used in the master bath. This was $2.99.

And while we’re working our way down the price scale, these two jars with aluminum tops came in at $1.99 for the large and $0.99 for the small. The tops look like they went through the dishwasher (a no-no with aluminum) and I’m not sure if the damage can be undone. It doesn’t bother me that much, or I might just spray paint them silver or some other color, I’m not sure yet. I actually already have two others of these: a big short squatty one that I trash picked, and one the same size as the large one that I bought new many, many moons ago. If I remember correctly it was from the Martha Stewart for K-Mart line.

I’ll probably end up using them in the laundry or pantry (the big squatty one is used in the pantry for catnip and catnip toys) but right now I have some “moss” covered “rocks” I picked up at the Dollar Tree (5/$1) in the small one. I bought two packs and I’m headed back to get more – they’re awesome and I’ll be trotting them out for my St. Patty’s Day table setting next week.

And speaking of St. Patty’s Day tablescapes, I also picked up this pretty clover green linen tablecloth for $2.90. I’m a sucker for tablecloths, and linen ones in particular. This one is nice and soft. There is a small hole near the end hem, which I can get around by just shorting it an inch or so, or most likely I’ll just put it at the far end of the table where I won’t see it, ‘cause I'm lazy that way.

Next up is a jar that reminded me of the Pottery Barn Found Hungarian Pickling Jars I had just seen in their catalog:

I thought they were so charming and was kind of intrigued that they were selling vintage stuff too, but at $139-$159/each, they’re staying in Hungary or at the Pottery Barn warehouse as far as my budget is concerned.

A few pages back, they had similar Recycled Glass Jars in the $19-$29 range, much more budget friendly but still not on my “must buy now” list.

Then I spotted this similarly shaped jar at the thrift for only .90-cents! The glass isn’t as thick or wavy and doesn’t have the subtle tint of color that recycled glass sometimes has, but for the huge price difference, I’m quite happy with it, thank you very much.

I’ve styled it with some smooth rounded river stones in two sizes (had these around from another project, from Dollar Tree I think) and a packet of my Dollar Tree “moss” covered “rocks” and I think it makes for a pretty good knock-off.

Another of my favorite finds this week is this adorable acorn shaped ceramic candle. This was $2.90 and the store had the lid and base taped together, so I wasn't sure what I'd find inside. I suspected it was a candle, but had no idea if it would be burned up and gross or what, but it was brand new inside and the original price of $16.50 is on the bottom. Even if the candle had been bad, I just loved the little container so much.

My final purchase of the week was this vintage wicker picnic basket for $3.90. I’m obsessed with these things. Seriously. They’re great as cat pedestals for storage (see aforementioned tablecloth obsession) and look dang cute piled up on shelves, stacked as end tables, stored under beds, etc. I actually collect about three different styles, but this one is the easiest to find and usually the cheapest.