Keep Smiling

Keep Smiling

Sunday, February 8, 2015

A New Shelf and A Goodwill Jackpot!


I was helping Steve put in a new ceiling in his shop last week.
We had to move everything in the shop twice to get all the work done.
Among his stacks of wood was this topper to a cabinet 
that he had made us in our other house.

 It was 10 feet long and already had a trim along the edge.
I was already thinking about building a shelf up in my barn rafters,
and I needed it to be eight feet long.  Perfect:)

It was a win-win . . . easy to build and it helped him 
clear out his shop  . . . 
you can't beat a deal like that:)


I also made a very profitable trip to the Goodwill.
This little birdhouse, perfect for the front porch $3.99

These little girl ice skates $6.99.
Can you see them painted red with white polka dots?
Perfect for hanging outside next Christmas :)

This great stool  . . . ready for painting . . .
Just $3.99.

Last but not least, this bag of stuff for $1.99.
Look what's inside:

These napkin rings . . .
And these . . .
And these . . . aren't they cute.
Perfect for a little country cottage like ours :)

With the money I saved I bought these :)

If any of you have articles published in either of these,
please tell me in the comment that you leave.

I love hearing about my blogging friends being published.
What a dream, right :)

Have any of you been published at any time?

~~~~~*****~~~~~
Have a lovely day
&
 Keep Smiling!
~~~~~*****~~~~~ 
Your blogging sister,
Connie :)


49 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I thought those little chickens were adorable . . . I would have loved it if they all had been chickens :)
      Thanks for the visit Kathy and have a great day :)

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  2. You found some great stuff. I haven't been thrifting in quite a while. I may need to take a trip soon :) The only place I've ever been published is on my blog....lol I've never seen that magazine Green Craft. I'll have to look for it. They quit publishing my favorite magazine of all time. I loved Create and Decorate and without warning they just up and quit publishing

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    1. Good Morning Ann, I had that same thing happen to me. I loved the Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine and was sad when they quit publishing it.

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  3. Hi Connie,
    Looks like you scored at the Goodwill! My Shug and I went Saturday. First Saturday of every month everything is half price! We actually have two of them in our town now. I love those magazines and was looking through them the other day, but I have a problem with buying purses I don't need. So, I decided I best not buy the mags AND the purse. Yup, the purse won. I need to stay out of TJMaxx. Have a great Monday.

    Cindy Bee

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    1. Hi Cindy, I know . . . I shouldn't have bought them . . . the money would have been better spent elsewhere . . . I am happy that your purse won out, LOL.

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  4. Now I want to go to Goodwill! :) You found some good deals! I LOVE those magazines too!!

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    1. Going to Goodwill is always full of surprises. Sometimes you find great stuff and other times there is nothing in the entire store that you want to bring home :)

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  5. You found so many lovely treasures!

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    1. I did didn't I! That is not always the case, but a fun trip when it is :)

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  6. Great shelf and love the goodwill! Found myself in there this weekend, too.

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    1. Have you ever watched someone closely as they are deciding if they want to put something in there cart or not . . . because they found exactly what you want and you are ready to grab it if they don't?

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  7. It's always a good feeling to be able to repurpose what we already have. The shelf looks great, and I love the heart bunting ;) Cute finds at the thrift store ... I like the chickens best. Wendy

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    1. Those little chickens are cute aren't they :) I'm hoping to have time today to quilt and to paint the stool :)

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  8. The shelf was an awesome idea! Love the rooster napkin rings!

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    1. After the shelf was up and I put some of my fu-fu stuff up there, I was delighted with the extra space it freed up below for supplies :)

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  9. Hi Connie...Nice finds at Goodwill. Isn't it so much fun to be on the hunt for treasures? The shelf looks great, too. And the ice skates painted like you describe will be perfect! Have a good Monday. Here, we are inundated with snow, snow, and more snow and still some more still coming down. Susan

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    1. Hi Susan I have never been to Massachusetts but I can imagine that you get a lot of snow in the winter. This year especially, from what I have seen on the news. I know that we all will be happy to see spring :)

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  10. Great way to re-purpose that into a shelf, such fun finds and great ideas you have for them :) I have never tried to be published, I keep so busy with my projects that I do for family and close friends that I don't have time for doing items for publishing

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    1. I have not either. I just see so many bloggers that have been, and it's nice to know if any of my blogging friends are featured in the magazines that I buy :) Sometimes I am surprised to see their work and it is so much fun to join them in their excitement :)

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  11. I love Somerset Home and their online shop too.

    Great finds - I can't wait to see the skates painted with polka dots.

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    1. I had a pair that I was going to use last year, but when my Lucy visited, they fit her and there is a tennis court in their town that the town floods and freezes for skating :) It was much better to know that I'd be helping her to have a fun winter . . . so away those skates went. These are even smaller, so I know they aren't going to fit anyone in our family. I think red with white polka dot sounds fun, maybe even stick a few small branches of pine inside the cuffs.

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  12. I need a shelf just like the one you recycled from your hubby! I've never seen either of those magazines. I've been trying to catch up on reading some of the ones hubby subscribed to for me. You found some great bargains.

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    1. We all love a good treasure hunt at the local thrift shops, right :)
      Have a lovely weekend and thanks so much for stopping by.

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  13. wow, what great finds.. I love those napkin holders, how awesome.

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    1. Hi Becky, thanks! It's always fun to find a cute bargain :)

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  14. That shelf worked out perfectly! That's great! What great finds you got at Goodwill! Those skates look like new! They'll be great for decorating with! So many fun finds! Makes me want to go thrifting! :-)

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    1. Every now and then a fun trip to the thrift shops is good medicine for the soul :)

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  15. What a beautiful shelf, Connie, and even better embellished with your lovely bunting! And what a great lot of new stash you bought - those napkin rings are adorable, and so right for your gorgeous cottage.

    Thank you for your visit and above all thank you for your prayers. So much prayer has gone up for me over the last week or two around the world. A real answer to prayer is that the cancer has not spread. I still have to have surgery and I'm really not looking forward to that. Hopefully will get an apointment to see the surgeon this week, and that surgery won't be far behind - I just want to get it over now.

    Shoshi

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    1. Dear Shoshi, you are in my heart and my prayers. I will be watching your blog for . . . Good News:)

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  16. Love how you repurposed the shelf and so glad you found some thrifty, cute stuff at Goodwill - one of my favorite stores! I've been published, but nothing "big time". Yet. ;-)

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  17. The shelf is perfect!!! How clever and I like your cheery banner too! Love the idea of the skates!! Why did I get rid of mine years ago! Nope! Never published and don't even dream to be! LOL Thanks for sharing! Nancy

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    1. Hi Nancy, it would be much sweeter if these were skates that I'd skated with as a kid . . . I'm sure those old things are in some junk heap somewhere, LOL.
      Oh, the fun we used to have. I was so blessed to have a neighbor with a man made pond. He opened it up to all the neighborhood kids. All we had to do was keep it shoveled. I spent many a happy hour skating around that pond. I never did anything fancy, just had lots of fun. Do you remember playing crack the whip on the ice?

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  18. Very handy shelf to display treasures. You make great banners!
    warmly,
    deb

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    1. Hi Deb, I have a good time making banners . . . you can go plain and simple or have fun with lots of fancy embellishments, they pure fun :)

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  19. What fun!. I am with everyone else in thinking the idea of red and white polka dot ice skates for Christmas sounds adorable. Of course, I would also choose those little chickens to give to my sister-in-law for her rooster decorated kitchen. My middle brother passed away two years ago today and it would have cheered her up. I will add a prayer to yours for your friend Shoshi that she will get her surgery and treatment quickly.

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    1. You are so sweet and thank you so much for joining me in prayer for Shoshi. I greatly appreciate it :)

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  20. Connie, I kind of remember playing crack the whip. I grew up on a farm and I skated in the fields where the water froze! After leaving home though I skated on a regular pond. I loved skating. Would be afraid to do it now as may break a bone or two. Falls seem much harder now-a-days! Must be the gravity as gotten stronger! LOL Nancy

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    1. Hi Nancy, I think that you have hit the nail on the head. . . let's put the blame on gravity, LOL.
      Putting on shakes at our age would be inviting a trip to the emergency room.

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  21. Hi Connie!
    You found some great "goodies". I love the shelf and the pennant, too.
    Have a great week,
    Dorothy

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    1. Good Morning Dorothy, thank you so much. I do have fun shopping the Goodwill :)

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  22. What fun goodies you found! It's so much fun to hit those thrift store and find some cute things! Those skates will be adorable painted red with polka dots! Great idea!

    I hope you have a lovely week and a Blessed Valentine's Day too!

    Blessings,
    Amy

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    1. Good Morning Amy, thanks so much for stopping by to visit. Thrifting can be a fun adventure . . . when you head out in the morning you have no idea what you may find . . . this was a good day:) Here's wishing you a lovely Valentine's Day, too. My hubby and I have been in love for so many years that each day is a day to celebrate our love, so we don't do that much with this holiday any more . . . when we were young it seemed more important to do something special . . . Now saying that . . . I also must say, that I would never turn down a box of chocolates or a pretty bouquet, LOL

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  23. hello Connie, thank you for your very kind comments on my blogg :) I see you are a very clever lady and have alot of followers to prove it, I love your making and music playing, so I have followed them both. bless you and thank you Connie xxx

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    1. Good Morning Deborah, it put a smile on my face to see that you are my newest follower. You're so sweet and talk about talented, well your little critters are adorable. I especial like the ones perched upon old vintage blocks. I can see them decorating the nursery of some very loved child.

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  24. Hi Connie, thanks for following my blog and for you comments about my rabbits.
    It is so nice to talk to new people on here. I have added you to my blog reading list also :)
    I love your finds here, such a lot of bargains!
    I was looking every where for ice skates at Christmas, but they were all so expensive
    Lauren xxxx

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    1. Hello Lauren, it is a pleasure to welcome you to my blog. I love making new blogging friends and following their creative journeys. I know that we will be great blogging friends . . . have a sweet day, Connie :)

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  25. The new shelf looks perfect! I haven't been to my local thrift store in a while -- tomorrow is the day! You found so many wonderful bargains!!! The birdhouse is perfect and love the skates - but have you thought of leaving them white and painting red dots?!? The gate is great too, by the way! I can just see clematis or honeysuckle climbing up it. Very cool. Guess that was your latest post! tee hee

    Thank you for visiting me. I haven't been around in a while. After working all day I find it hard to fire up the computer..... oh, but I do miss my blogging buddies!

    Hugs,
    Kay

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