Tag Archives: budget

Vintage Chic

Well, as many of you know, Saturday was our 10 year anniversary. We are officially celebrating next weekend at a beautiful cottage for a weekend away. I am so excited that a  friend and very gifted photographer is going to come do a photo shoot for us! We have been collaborating back and forth and I think this will be an awesome anniversary present to each other!

Please check out her website and follow her blog at www.taramelissa.com.

Here’s just a few of the happenings around here from the weekend.

The beautiful roses Dave surprised me with Saturday. He had the boys come in from playing and each one-handed me a single rose, and then he came in with the rest. Why do I deserve him and why does he love me so? Creamy white roses are my favorite!

Early Saturday morning, I met up with one of my besties and we hit an annual rummage sale that we love. Here are a few of the thrifty findings…

These alabaster book ends were only $2.

These two vintage necklaces I got for 50 cents.

Shiny gold canister 25 cents.

After the rummage sale, I did a quick trip to Goodwill to check out their vintage rack for the photo shoot coming up. Here’s just a snippet of what I found.

Let’s just say I got 5 vintage and –awesome add you– outfits and didn’t spend even $20!

Best of August Round-up

Howdy, Everyone!

It’s that time again to round-up the best of the month. Here’s the best of August!

1. Living Room Mini-Makeover Reveal

2. Pink Fashion & Beauty

3. Pinterest Boot Noodles & Sharpie Mugs

4. DIY Mirrored Table

5. Fall Tablescape

6. This is Why I Thrift

7. Six For Fall

8. Gallery Wall For Less

9. DIY Large Scale Fabric Art

10. Dressing Up My Beauty Products

11. DIY Metallic Leaf Art

We are rolling into a lot of great projects in the months ahead with lots of festive fall ideas and holiday goodness! September promises to be quite blissful indeed!

On a side note, today I have been married to my Dave for 10 years! I am one lucky girl to have him. We are celebrating with a trip next weekend that we have been looking forward to for so long!

Have a wonderful weekend! Happy Labor Day!

Today’s fallspiration:

This is Why I Thrift

Plain and simple. I would rather spend as little money as possible on stuff. The world is full of too much stuff! We have so much stuff we just haul all our old or even brand new stuff to the nearest thrift store when we grow tired of it. I am not complaining, even though it kind of sounds whiny of me to go on like this. Don’t get me wrong–I love stuff, especially when it is stuff for my home or a design. I just think as consumers we are overloaded with stuff to buy. So, I was wondering while writing this how many times I said stuff. Seven times, yeah, I just did that!

Back on track.  This is a problem for someone like me. I love to create beautiful spaces with creature comforts. I just don’t want to spend a lot on my personal belongings. So, whenever we are working on a project for our home, I always thrift before I run to the nearest retailer. There are exceptions, but most things can be purchased the thrift route.

And this is why:

Today, I set out with 2 things in mind.

1. Some sort of plate or stand to hold my sink side items.

2. Some kind of tray and items to make a coffee station by my coffee maker.

Here is what I found, and why a quick trip to the thrift store is so worth it!

1. Stainless steel paper towel rack. $3.38. (This was picked up a couple thrift trips ago.) It retails at Target for $19.99.

2. Glass Hurricane $1.38. $9.99 at Target.

3. Marble stand $3.38. Researched the same diameter, marble, and thickness and this would run you anywhere from $20 to $30.

1. Pampered Chef Woven Selections Tray $3.38. These are a retired series and this one for example goes for $25-$75 on Ebay.

2. 2 Fiestaware white mugs. $.38 each. These are sold in all the major department stores now for $13.99 each.

3. OGGI tight seal canister $2.38. This is $23.00 dollars online and at nice kitchen supply stores, like Chefs, and KITCHENS.

Let’s compare the damages:

If I bought all these items at retailers: $125.96 plus tax. 

My price from the thrift store:  $14.66 plus tax–$15.69.

Good quality items, and easy on the wallet.

Have a great weekend!!!!

Weekend Adventures and a Little Decorating Too!

Happy Monday! Usually, I post a DIY on Monday, but I am saving that for tomorrow. Our weather was too perfect this weekend to stay home and work on projects. We took the kids out for a little adventure. Here’s a glimpse into our fun on Saturday.

We had a day full of climbing, hiking, exploring caves, and jogging trails.

I am always amazed at how beautiful my little piece of the world can be. You can see cornfields for miles and then something like this right in the middle of all that!

Sunday we explored some new flea markets. I found some things to finish our entryway.

I don’t really know why I like birdcages lately, but look what I found! This was $5, and it had to come home with me. My other one needed a buddy.

Putting it all together:

We also purchased a couple of canes for $2 each. The large chevron vase I purchased on clearance from a local retailer for $7. I plan on using it to hold our umbrellas and the canes add a nice touch.

Now this is what you see when you walk  through my front door.

Re-think Your Space

TGIF, right!?

I have a couple of tips & tricks for you! Today is all about re-thinking your space and shopping your house to find creative solutions.

This week has primarily been all about the living room mini-makeover. When designing a space, lighting is so important. The wrong lighting or lack of lighting can be major a problem .

Well, for the most part I am happy with the ample lighting in my living room except for one place: the corner by my fireplace. It is super dark and we sit there a lot.  Eventually, I would like to do some overhead lighting,  but until that day comes, I need to find another solution.

Here are a few things I did to bring flow and add light to this part of the room. I am a big fan of shopping your house first, especially before you run out and purchase more stuff. I really like to get creative and re-purpose items or just makeover something I already have.

First, I had these photos on the wall.

Rather than replace the wall decor here, I just painted the mattes with my navy blue paint.

Sorry about the lighting in these photos. Here is how I addressed that problem:

I really did just shop my house and get creative. I had this lamp, but it wasn’t the right height. So, I used a picnic basket and another old basket and made a table with it. To make sure it was sturdy, I placed a solid structure inside the upside down basket. I just added the books with navy and gray binding and the gold seashells as an afterthought.

Problem solved!

I love to have little nooks and corners in my house that are interesting, don’t you?

Have a great weekend! We are going to continue taking out our old kitchen floor!

Other post you may like:

   

Thrifty Finds!

Hi, Everyone!

You know I had to get my thrift on Tuesday! We made a quick trip over to the thrift store and found some good things to use in our decor for the living room mini-makeover!

Our finds courtesy of Goodwill again:

hammered metal charger–LOVE

Glass Hurricane

This was one of my favorites, a very well -made wood woven bowl! Love the texture!

Churchill Fine English Tableware Made in Staffordshire, England. Gorgeous!

Cheapo Ornate Birdcage…this is getting a little tweaking!

Happy Thrifting! Check back to see how I use these in a room design!

Other Blissful Posts You May Like:

   

Transitioning the end of summer into fall

Navy!

Hello, friends!

I shared with you a month back a design board for my living room. I have been slowly adding in the navy over the summer and just wanted to show you some changes. I am still going to paint my navy accent wall, but I wanted to show you some ideas to bring color into your rooms through accents. This is great if you are unsure if you want to commit to going all in!

My spring and summer room:

Yellow!

Some subtle changes to transition from late summer to fall:

Navy!

Get a colorful rug:

My brother-in-law, a Marine, sent this to us from Afghanistan.

Paint photo frames:

My DIY seashell art with the painted frame.

Buy pillow covers for existing pillows:

Navy greek key pillow cover. Easy way to change a look and not have to buy a million throw pillows! Light on the wallet too!

Add a colorful blanket or throw:

Paint a piece of furniture:

Plans to bring it all together:

Just painting one wall with a pop of color will transform this room. The whites, gold and silver metallics, and navy accents around the room will play well off a navy accent wall. Can’t wait!

Happy Tuesday!

Dollar Store Bliss

Howdy, friends! I took yesterday off from blogging to do a much-needed house detail. My son starts school Sept. 4th and I need to start getting my home back into school mode. I think I went through over 200 pieces of artwork that my son had created. He is definitely a gifted artist for an eight year old! Quite amazing, actually, and I need to display his art in our home. I am so proud of him. So, most of the day we spent going through his art and deciding what we would frame for a gallery wall. That will be fun to show to you when it is done.

For today, I am going to share some pinspiration. I have had these ideas pinned forever and told myself before summer was over I would try them out.

1.

2.

I had to jump on the sharpie bandwagon! I’m a sucker for a cheap and easy craft. I just did what the instructions said: write with a sharpie, bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

I made some very simple coffee mugs for my Bliss. office:

Next– boot time! Fall is just around the corner(whoo-hoooo!) and I get to pull all my fabulous boots out of their hibernation! I like to see what I have when putting outfits together. Last season, I had a lot of boots playing dead on my closet floor. This idea is genius to me. I just bought some pool noodles from the dollar store. Thank you again, Pinterest! Now, my closet will be so fab for fall!

I used my mug while sipping coffee deliciousness as I blogged this morning. Amazing how such a simple little word on a mug puts a smile on my face!

Happy Wednesday! Are you pinspired now?? These were super easy and do not require any skill at all. Just a couple bucks and a trip to the dollar store!

last post—

DIY Large Scale Fabric Art

Happy DIY Monday!

One of the biggest mistakes I see over and over again in home interiors is art on walls that is too small. Art is a statement piece and often a focal point of design. Scale is very important in design and the wrong art or wall decor can work against the look you are trying to achieve.

Today, I am going to show you an easy way to add high impact with wall art. This can be as high cost or low cost as you want to make it.   Art can be expensive, especially large-scale art.

The Problem: Well, I wanted a statement piece for my dining room remodel, but with having to lay new hardwoods, countertops, and a back splash my decorating budget is small right now.

The Solution:  Make my own!

So, I just built a canvas frame and stapled fabric around it. This is easy, inexpensive, and not very time-consuming at all. You have the control on the size of the art too.

Supplies

1×1 1/2 in.  pieces of wood (I used 20 ft. for this project)

wood screws

drill

staple gun & staples

fabric

iron

I wanted to go large on this one. Fabric can be expensive, and I opted to use a store-bought shower curtain from a discount store. If you don’t want to splurge on fabric this is a great alternative. Think outside the box. Shower curtains, curtain panels, and table cloths at big box retailers come in some really great patterns these days.

For my space, I have been itching to bring some gray zebra print into it. I am sticking to a neutral palette for this room. I want it light and bright. I plan on adding pops of turquoise through accessories, but I needed some pattern. As I was doing my weekly grocery shopping the other day, I just happened to stumble into the home goods area at my local Target. OK, when I say stumble, that’s misleading. I “stumble” into it every time I grocery shop. I couldn’t contain my excitement when I found a gray zebra shower curtain for only $19.99! Thank you, Target!

Love the finished product!

I can’t wait to finish the chair rail and wainscoting! This is not usually the order in which I finish a room, usually the decorating comes last, but if inspiration strikes…

My 8-year-old was excited to use a power drill for the first time, and I got to say, he did a mighty fine job!

My wonderful husband, Dave (AKA DIY partner in crime), showing my son how to use the drill.

My son drilled most of the screws in the wood frame. Never too young to learn how to use tools!

I did this whole project for $25!

The wood and screws came in under $5.

The shower curtain $20 + tax.

yesterday’s post–

Best of July Round-Up & the Latest Thrifty Finds

It’s a double-header at Bliss today! Here are my top posts for July and my Thrifty Tuesday finds!

Hello, August!  Before we go into another month full of DIY, crafts, and design fun, here is a round-up of this month’s most popular posts. My Great Eight are:

(that was totally inspired by the Olympics, you know, the Fab Five, the Magnificent Seven…)

    

    

   

If you missed any of these, just click on the photo and enjoy!

My Thrifty Tuesday, was a good one! I love it when you go out looking for something and actually find it, especially while thrifting!

I needed some medium-sized storage baskets: FOUND SOME! $1.38 each

If you like the moss balls a tutorial for them is under crafts.

I also wanted something to make or use as a monthly menu board: Perfect! $2.38

I am looking for accent pieces for our kitchen and dining remodel. These will get a face lift, but I can use them! $3.38 each

Have a great Wednesday!

xxx Kristin

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