Goodwill Quickie Redo!

No "before" pic -- sorry, y'all! I found this cute chicken wire basket with a red gingham liner at my Goodwill for $2. The "Breads" plaques on either side were smudged and dirty, and I wanted to repurpose it for storage in the office/craft room. What to do?

First, I looked closely at the basket to figure out how the plaques were attached. They seemed to be wired on through tiny holes drilled at top center and bottom of each circle.

They were easily removed, and I pulled out my trusty fleur de lis stamp and Stayz On permanent ink 

to add a new design to the blank back sides of the plaques. 

I really like clear acrylic stamps for when placement is key -- makes it soooo much easier to line things up. Got both the ink pad and the stamp at Michaels. Magnifique!

Now for reattaching the plaques :-) The existing wire was too brittle and broke as I removed it, so to replace it without spending money, I stripped the paper off some bread bag ties and used that wire -- perfect fit! This is one of my favorite frugal tips for crafting -- just soak a paper bread bag tie in water and then use your fingernails to scrape the wet paper off. The resulting wire is helpful for a lot of things: small jewelry repairs, adding ornaments or small decorative items to Christmas garland, etc.

This little project gave me a finished product in less than 15 minutes and the basket looks great sitting on the bookshelves in the office/craft room holding blank CDs, staples, etc. Cute AND easy -- I like it!

A Tale of Two Lamps

After my success with the beachy-chic lamps I remade, I was on the lookout for a pair of lamps for my den, too. My only requirements were that they were inexpensive, 

a good size for a side table, and that they matched. 

I didn't have any luck in my local Goodwill, but my hubby and I found a pair of brass lamps in the Conway Goodwill store on our way home from Ft. Smith back in the spring, and for $6.50 each, I felt they were a good deal.

Side note: do any of you make it a point to visit the thrift stores when you visit larger towns? I love doing this because you get a much larger variety of items! We have a Garmin navigation system, and whenever we travel, my husband knows I love to plug in "Goodwill" as a destination and see how many pop up (patient, patient man!). We visited 6 in Houston alone! Try it sometime :-)

Back to my lamps! These were heavy, real brass. Besides being very yellow, there were some areas of corrosion that I knew would have to be covered. 

I chose to use Rustoleum's Hammered spray paint in an oil-rubbed bronze finish to both stop the rust and update the finish. I know those of you in Bloggyland love this spray paint, and it worked perfectly for me, too!

You can see in this "before" shot that I've already taped off the sockets and cords to prep for spray painting.

Here's a during shot. Look at the difference one can of spray paint makes! And wow, my grass was really tall! But the flowers/weeds are pretty, right? Tee hee.

Finally, the "after" shot -- much better than brass!

To finish these lamps off, I again chose a $15 Better Homes and Gardens shade from Wal-Mart (I swear I'm not plugging for W-M, but there's honestly few other places to shop around here!), 

but this time in a khaki-colored square shape with a canvas texture.

 I debated using a drum shade again to echo the curves in the lamp base, but I wanted to try something different in this room (since I already used drum shades in the master bedroom), 

and I really like how the warm colors play off one another! 

The tassels were a two-for-$3 deal from Tuesday Morning and they are a fun accent that brings a little flair to my lamps. And honestly, I couldn't make them for a buck-fifty each, so in this case, purchasing them ready-made actually saved me money.

Would I do anything differently with these lamps? Nah, not drastically. 

I love their shape and the oil-rubbed bronze paint color, and for now, the shape of the shades is working for me. I might change 'em up later, but hey -- isn't that the fun of decorating? 

One thing I may do as time goes by is to accent the details on the lamp base with some gold Rub n' Buff, which I've never used but am verrrry curious about. 

I might also add a few charms to my tassels for a bit more personality and punch.

Here are my questions, blog readers! Have you ever used Rub n' Buff? How hard was it? Where did you buy it? Let me know your thoughts and experiences, and have a great Thursday!

I'm participating in

Thrifty Thursday @ Tales from Bloggeritaville

Time Travel Thursday @ Brambleberry Cottage

Show and Share Day @ Just a Girl

Fall Nesting Party @ The Inspired Room

I Made It Without My Hubby @ Shanty 2 Chic

Under $100 Linky Party @ Beyond The Picket Fence