Chelsie Decorates the Spare Bedroom

After months of slowly picking away at it, we have finished decorating the spare bedroom – complete with bed. I started by removing everything from the room, relocating most of it to the empty spare bedroom in the basement, and painting it a very pale lavender-gray.

The bed frame was picked up at a yard sale last summer for $10. Originally brass, I spray painted it this bright blue. I made the duvet cover out of two King sized sheets I thrifted last summer and followed this tutorial to make a pin-tucked duvet cover. It was fairly labour intensive to mark out all the areas. My sewing machine broke at the beginning so I did a couple pin-tucks by hand (which I would not recommend), until I got up the gumption to figure out how to fix it. I’m quite happy with the results.

The throw at the end of the bed I picked up when I was in high school. The navy in the blanket works nicely to mellow the bright blue and ikat is oh-so-trendy right now – or was that last year?! The print was acquired from the living room, and the side table was another thrift find that I painted last summer and sprayed the handle to match the bedframe.

Of course the bedframe only came with the headboard and baseboard so we DIYed a frame with scrap metal and an old door. The old door we got for $5 at a yard sale last year and cut in half. It comes almost to the top of the mattress and takes away the need for a bedskirt. I’m sure you’re noticing a trend of getting things last summer. Apparently I don’t work fast – and I accumulate things slowly over time.

At the end of the bed is the dresser we got at an auction a couple years ago that I refinished. Here it is with the new knobs affixed. The canvas map of Paris is a DIY project from a couple months back and fills out this wall nicely. Big pieces of art have a way of making a small space feel more open somehow. The hooks were a Christmas gift and the four frames are from Ikea.

The chair is a placeholder for the chair that we are currently reupholstering. The colour of the placeholder chair matches perfectly – this was unplanned. I remember when I got this chair in university from Ikea with Millie and Katie, Millie and I were seriously lugging our awkward to carry loot back to our residences afterward!

The room is not finished yet though, I have big plans for this ceiling light to be replaced. I’m thinking of DIYing an artichoke-like light fixture like this one. I still need to find a doorknob for the closet door. We replaced the original solid door with this brand new door we picked up from the Restore. There is also one wall that lacks any art, but the wall vent probably makes up for that.

Chelsie Style: The Skirt that will be Reincarnated

I thrifted this silk shirt and skirt at the same time without trying either of them on. To be fair, I knew the colour of the shirt would be good, and silk is forgiving in fit. The skirt however is a different story. I don’t have any other maxi length skirts so I wanted to try out this trend. My main intention with this skirt is to make it into throw pillows for the spare bedroom. I thought I would try it as a skirt first. This skirt is HEAVY! It’s wool. I hand stitched the hem up by 5 or 6 inches (I’m not tall), but I did not want to cut off the fabric since I am still planning on using the fabric for pillows. I know it works as a skirt, which I had not planned on, but I figure I have enough clothes that I can wear it once or twice more and it can be reincarnated into a life where I can admire the pattern every day! That decorating project is still in process anyway.

The Lamps have New Feelings

I just switched up the lampshades in the living room. The previous shades I had recovered in grey fabric. I like the white shades and these are also a bit smaller, which I like.

This is what I thrifted today.

Knit Throw Pillow DIY

I thrifted this big cable knit sweater last weekend. It was $5, above my usual sweater thrifting quota, but I really wanted to make a throw pillow, there was a lot of cable knit in this, and the buttons were nice. Thus, I hacked it up.

My pillow interior is down filled and 18×18, and this sweater was more like 16×16, but the knit was able to stretch enough. Really it looks more rectangular here, which is true, but it worked out. I had to take the sides in an inch on each side because you can see that I had to hack the top a little above the armpits.

I did a 3 length zigzag stitch for the seams. Knitting goes through the sewing machine pretty slowly, so I think it’s held together quite well. I did all four sides, and the buttons are on the middle of one side of the pillow for opening/closing. I ended up tacking and hand sewing between the buttons because there was a bit of gaping due to stretching the material, but now you can not tell.

P.S. The pillow is on the living room couch now.

Trifting and Upholstering some Mid Century Mod Chair

We found this old chair at the thrift store about a month ago. I always keep my eyes peeled for these. Sometimes I find them and then think, I don’t really need another chair. But chairs are useful. You can sit on them. I can put them in the basement. They are easily re-arrangeable for larger gatherings. You can make them look cool.

I told S that we should get a shopping cart and cart it around while we shop. He thought I was crazy. Lo and behold, some lady started stalking us throughout the store admiring said chair and quizzing us on it. I gave S a ‘see what I mean’ look, and he realized I was right. Sometimes it takes men a little longer to clue into realizing we are right, but this was nice because it was immediate gratification demonstrating my accuracy.

Here is the little metal plate with the chair maker name. Their history is found here.

And thus, I reupholstered it, and here is the result. I wanted to get rid of the upholstering on the back part, but it was riddled with nails from what I believe were previous recovering jobs. The wood is a bit beaten up, but still in good shape, so I opted not to refinish the entire thing (S wanted to).

Right now it is sitting against the wall in the kitchen. We are kind of making a sort of gallery collage on the wall. You can see the chalkboard I gussied up here on the top right.

Garage Sales are my Summer Thrifting

I can’t get enough garage sales in the summer! I have picked up furniture (chairs, tables and mirrors), home accents, clothing, and small appliances. For success you just have to have a bit of a creative vision and a rough list of things you are looking for. Pretty much like thrifting, but the findings can be so diverse.

We tend to go out around 8 on a Saturday morning and make the rounds nearby local towns and countryside. Afterward, as we are running errands or visiting people throughout the weekend we will stop by at random sales we spot along the way. It always seems like the most unlikely places that provide the greatest finds. On Sunday evening at 8pm we spotted a yard sale on a rural road and picked up an antique chair! You never know what you will find.

I found this side table painted dark brown and gave it makeover, my offer of $2 was accepted. Never to be the solidest or heaviest table, but I love the front cutouts. The ceramic horse is missing an ear and had normal colouring, but a coat of glossy yellow Tremclad gave it a fresh modern look. This horse left it's country home for $0.50.

Reasons to love garage sales:

• You can barter for lower prices
• Later in the day = better prices, so don’t feel bad for sleeping in
• Cheaper prices than thrift stores
• You never know what you’ll find!

Do you live for the garage sales in the summer, or do you prefer to sleep in on the weekend? What is your best garage sale find? Do you have names for different kinds of garage sales? (We assess and drive by Kids Crap sales) Have you picked up furniture from the side of the road? Let’s have it!

Thrifted Lamp Makeover

About a month ago I posted about these trophy style lamps I bought, and I’m pleased to say, my DIY transformation is complete!

I took off the old accordion shade, leaving behind the frame and the inside of the the shade, then I gave the shade new life and shape with this gray fabric I picked up from a local thrift store. The lamp base was sprayed with white glossy Krylon. I am really enjoying the look and feel of these lamps. They are providing a much brighter light than the previous living room lamps, which though very nice, have now been relegated to the bedroom.

And now for the inferior before picture.

Millie will be happy to see that I’ve finally settled on two new fabrics for my next living room decorating projects. The first one will be for the ottoman/coffee table, and the second for the sofa pillows.

I have really been drawn into decorating lately, and thrifting and garage sale hunting for the home.

A final note to Canadian eyeglasses wearers, Clearly Contacts is giving away 10,000 pairs of free glasses tomorrow. You’re welcome! (I got mine two weeks ago when they had the same promo).

Chelsie Daily Style – White Balance, Thrifting, and My Escape

Behold ye eyes, I have discovered white balance.

I bought this dress yesterday during the end of my thrift week. This was one of yesterday’s Value Village dress finds. I also bought a nearly new ivory silk/cashmere blend dress (is it ever soft!). Though the prices there were higher, this was evened out by dollar week at the thrift store across the street from work, which I visited three times, with success.

Needless to say, this week I was trapped in the dressing room for ten minutes as I tried on a vintage wool coat. Needless to say, the top button wouldn’t come undone. Cue me trying to saw the loop off with my keys (unfortunately I lost this handy key tool Katie’s dad got me to airport security a while back, that would have been my saviour!). The loop would not break! Neither would the button come off. This was some quality coat. This was probably a sign that this coat should not be mine, but I persevered and tried taking it off by pulling it over my head. Finally, the sheer strength of my scull, (and maybe some of the fraying care of my keys?), resulted in escape! Why wouldn’t I purchase it for $1?!

Saturday my friend J. came over for brunch and I got this jacket at a consignment store for a mere $1. Dollar sales at consignment stores – yes! And it fits perfectly, even in the sleeves! I love how the water dripping from the trees icicled by the lighthouse on the shore of lake Ontario.

My addiction this week? Sweet potato pie. Yum. I may have created my own recipe, and it’s delightful. I think I’m going to try making it into a cheesecake. I don’t play by the rules of baking with proper ingredients or measurements. I’m a rebel like that.

Chelsie’s Scarf Adventures with the Red Blazer

Scarf teaser.

I’m keeping it real with the clean laundry in the corner. I wore this gray sweater dress with my red blazer and I’m loving the result! It looks like I’m wearing a cozy infinity scarf (full disclosure: I’m actually wearing an infinity scarf now!). I paired it up with my leather earrings (self-made from recycled old belt).

And finally, a thrift expedition almost two weeks ago resulted in finding these three scarves. $1 a piece. First up, the Vera scarf from what I believe to be mid-70′s. I was loving this geometric green print. It reminds me of tree bark and finger prints in hexagon shapes.

Up next, the silk Liberty of London scarf. The red and blue in this really pop, and the busy pattern rocks. This scarf is super soft too.

And lastly, the GIANT Diane von Furstenberg scarf. Seriously, look at the size of this thing! I mean, I can probably make a wrap dress out of this. I think my favorites are the Liberty of London and the Vera scarf though.

Chelsie Daily Style – The Story of the Naked Jeans

There once was a girl named Katie. Katie was tall. Katie did not own a lot of pants. Katie discovered the Tall Girl store that sold jeans in her length. She got a pair of jeans called NakedBlue. Then she tried to buy more jeans online. Chelsie tried helping her search for NakedBlue jeans too. The moral of the story, you do not find the brand NakedBlue, or jeans when searching for these on the internet.

With such unsuccessful results, Chelsie questioned the reality of Katie’s so called NakedBlue jeans. Then, one day she saw a teen mannequin at her local thrift store wearing a pair of jeans and quickly disrobed it. She has done this on two occasions now… plus one more if you can the past weekend. But who’s counting?

An old lady comes up behind her and says, “That mannequin in naked, it should have some clothes on,” tsk tsking the mannequin jokingly. Chelsie lowered her head and shook it mock embarrassingly. Upon looking at the brand and size of the jeans finding they are her size, she realizes that they are no brand but NakedBlue.

• Jeans – Thrifted (NakedBlue)
• Blue Shirt – Gap
• Black button down the front and the back vest – A local boutique
• Necklace – A new age store – A girl in residence in University once thought it looked really cool and asked where I got it, but upon learning that it wasn’t ‘real turquoise and chrystal’ said it wasn’t good enough for a gift for her sister. Snot.
• Bracelets – 1. Gift from Katie, 2. Kensington Market
• Boots – Clarks

Thrift Store Finds

Remember when I introduced you to my little blue deer? Well, she has some new friends…

I particularly love the lime green bull, and I’m proud that I can now spray paint objects without also spray painting myself. The only problem is, now I want to paint everything…

I also had some thrifting successes that thrill me both because they’re awesome and because I keep finding much pricier versions in stores. Mwahahaha, thrifting prevails again!

For example, my fortune cookie pendant:

It reminds me of this one, but mine has a pterodon charm attached, which makes it even better.

And check out this owl trivet.

Why, would you look at this almost identical one from Modcloth? Although mine has colored glass, so I think I win.

Finally, I found this owl dish. I think it was made by the same company that made the trivet, since they’re both stamped “Taiwan” in the same font and use the same colors of glass (and  I found them at different stores in different towns!). I can’t find it on the site anymore, but Modcloth used to have an identical one for sale, except with no glass inserts (like this one).

Thrift Finds!

I think my best thrift finds are kind of serendipitous, when I’m not really looking for anything at all.

Thrift store finds of the day.

In the corner, my eyes were drawn to the display. A brown velvet double button coat was on a display, reminiscent of an old regime military coat. This thrift store doesn’t sell display stuff until after a certain time has elapsed, and I feared the wrath of the old ladies who enforce the thrift store law. I didn’t want to risk asking if this item fell under their code, so I suavely looked both ways before yanking it off the display. Throwing caution to the wind, I climbed the shelf the get to the item, that was just beyond my reach, and pulled it off the hanger. Looking again to see if I’d been found out, I found the coast to be clear.

The coat was a tad large, but still quite wearable. I’d been wanting a military double button  coat for a while, and this fit the bill.

Also fitting the bill, the fill a bag for $5 sale. Coats at my favorite thrifting haunt are $4 a piece, and I thought it might take up most of a plastic bag. So, I aimlessly wandered the aisles to see if I could fit anything else in a plastic shopping bag. I didn’t find much at first, and I wasn’t looking too hard. Most of the clothing comes from closets of the elderly and retired and as such, is not much of a prize.

My eyes caught on this odd looking nylon bag. At first I thought it was a baby snowsuit. Reminiscent of a snowsuit, the material is a soft nylon with polyester fill. Like a soft duvet. Curiosity got the best of me, and I took the hanger off the rack. A skirt, I thought?! How unusual. I looked at the tag, Armani Exchange. Maybe it’s their idea of some sort of runway style clothing that really doesn’t transpire into daily wear? I decided to try it on for a laugh.

Lo, and behold, it fit perfectly, and the duvet style lightness and the soft lined nylon bag is oh so cloudy feeling. I presumed it would be warm to wear in the fall. It fell to mid shin, and while I worried about it looking marshmellow puffy, I didn’t seem to scream ‘Stay Puft Marshmellow Man’ when I tried it on.

So, for an extra dollar, I took it to the cash, deciding it would be worth it, all the while hoping  law enforcement at the cash didn’t decide that the coat would be full price because ‘coats are not covered by the laws of the $5 bag’. I breathed again when I learned that it was, part of me relaxed, and I stole away with my $5 bag.

Katie Daily Style – Thrifting Karma and a Lace Necklace

• Sky blue t-shirt – Target
• Navy pleated skirt with “ship” panels – thrifted
• Brown belt – thrifted
• Lace and pearl necklace – self-made
• White sandals – SAS

This past spring I found an amazing skirt at Goodwill: heavy, navy cotton with tall white ships appliqued all over the bottom half . The skirt was perfect…except it was slightly too small. I could wear it up around my natural waist, but it wasn’t going any further south. Because I prefer to wear most of my skirts on my hips “like those young men who wear their pants below their underwear,” to quote my grandmother who will remain unnamed (but she knows who she is), I knew I wouldn’t wear it that often. I took that as a sign that the skirt was really meant for someone else, and I put it back on the rack.

A few weeks went by and someone else bought the skirt, and I kept kicking myself for giving it up. But it seems I made the right decision and the thrifting karma gods smiled on me as a result. Guess what I found at Goodwill last month? A brand new navy skirt with ships on it for $1.50. Booyah and cue the happy butt dance!

I think this skirt might even be a bit more versatile, because the ships aren’t quite so in-your-face. It’s a little hard to tell, but the ships are on the white fabric making up the inside of the inverted box pleats.

I love the fact that the ships are hidden and only pop out when I walk or sit, along with the pale pink, grey and light blue colors that comprise the image. The only problem is that I’ve apparently lost a little weight and my grandma’s predictions are dangerously close to coming true. So today I tried paperbagging it around my natural waist, but I’m still not completely convinced that the paperbag style works on the short-waisted and big-chested like myself. Oh well, you never know until you try.

The lace for this necklace came from a big bag of doilies my mum bought at a yard sale. I love the shape, and if there’d been two of them I would have made earrings. However, I also love it as a necklace. Plus, combine the pearls on the necklace with the ships on my skirt and I feel like a sneaky theme dresser.

Do any of you have thrifting karma stories?

Chelsie Daily Style – Dalmatian Salvation

• Dress – Thrifted Club Monaco
• Belt – Forever 21
• Onyx Necklace – Made in Puerto Rico
• Clutch – Nine West
• Shoes – Rockport

I found this dress last week at the thrift store across the road from my library. It has two ruffles at the bottom, and it has a white nice cotton lining inside. I altered the straps slightly because it was previously an elastic and ruffles off the shoulder variety . I figured that wearing straps might be more versatile, and tone down the late 80′s early 90′s vibe that this dress was giving. A couple stitches to hold the front straps in place, and the back created a nice cowl. The dress is maybe a size too big, but I thought that made it nice and airy, and nothing a belt couldn’t fix. Glad I was right.

Dragonfly on my dress. It devoured the misquito as it sat on the skirt of my dress.

Katie Daily Style – Dressed on the 4th of July

• Blue shirt – Target
• Red skirt – thrifted
• Black, blue and red floral scarf – thrifted*
• White sandals – SAS
• Rhinestone scarf clip – thrifted

Urglepants. I did it. I didn’t mean to, but I went and dressed in red, white and blue on the 4th of July! It wasn’t intentional, I just really wanted to wear this scarf and built the rest of the outfit around it without thinking. Now, I don’t want you to think I’m unpatriotic, not at all. But growing up on a military base in an area of Massachusetts where you can’t walk two steps without seeing a plaque commemorating where Paul Revere’s horse took a poop, it’s easy to get red-white-and-blued out. Outfit angst aside, you can be sure I’ll still be celebrating with the best of them. First up is dumping all The Rocket Scientist’s tea in the bathtub while declaring the Stamp Act illegal, and then I’m up to the roof to shine flashlights in the neighbor’s window so they know the British will be coming by sea.

So Happy 4th to all! Let me leave you with a little story that always makes me giggle. Years ago, my grandma tried to join the D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution). No easy feat, as you have to prove you have an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War. Well, my grandma did have an ancestor, and she got pretty far in the application process before they realized that her ancestor had fought on the British side. You’d think they’d have figured it out sooner, her having that cute British accent and all. Way to try and subvert the system, grandma!

*I got this scarf from the Saver’s in town, which will be closing its doors tomorrow. It’s bittersweet that on today, while celebrating the birthday of this country, I’m also mourning the death of the best dressing room mirror ever. I don’t know what about the combination of particle board walls, bare bulb overhead lighting and funny mirror angles made it work, but I’ve never looked so good as I do in that mirror. R.I.P. Gorgeous Mirror Katie.

Chelsie Daily Style – I’m Pink, with Pockets!

• Sweater – Consignment Forever 21
• Bedroom Pants – Cactus Clothing
• Necklace – World Market
• Brooch – Antique Store

Yesterday I realized that I don’t have many dressy summer shirts for work, so I have a shopping mission. This shirt fulfilled one part of my mission. I’m sure Sarah and Katie will recognize this necklace as they were there during it’s purchase. I was also surprised by how dark a lot of my dressier clothing is, so I wanted to keep it light. It was difficult to keep it outside of the black.

This is my thrift find of the day from yesterday. I got this $3 purse for $1 when I got to the cash. The thrift store was having a bag sale, one bag of clothes for $5 – including purses. The cashier decided that this small purse would have taken up 1/5th of the bag. Nice!

Katie Daily Style – Divine Intervention In Skirt Form

• Blue pinstripe men’s shirt – thrifted
• Rope belt worn as a necklace – thrifted
• Ribbon belts – thrifted
• Purple tie-dye skirt – thrifted and self-dyed
• Blue ballet flats – Old Navy

Garrrr! I came so close to wearing a completely thrifted outfit, a la Jentine smugness, but the shoes! The shoes thwarted me in the end!

This outfit happened because I went to Arc yesterday, they had belts on sale – lots and lots of belts – and I am weak. And for once they weren’t all a) made out of seatbelts, b) so worn that you can only wear them on the hole the previous owner wore them on because the belt has a permanent dent in it, or c) covered in glued-on glitter! That’s a big step for Arc, and I’m proud of them.

So I ended up buying 5 belts: 3 ribbon belts (seen above), a white one to debut later, and the rope one. Now, the rope belt was made for someone teeny-tiny, much smaller than me, so initially I passed it over. But then I remembered that last weekend The Rocket Scientist and I saw a rope necklace at World Market that I thought was really cute, until I realized that the cheapies had only glued the rope into its twisty-twirly pattern, and not sewn it. Boo-urns to that. I decided I could make one, but then I realized that this belt could work instead. And since it was made for someone so teeny-tiny, I didn’t even have to alter it – just slip the sucker over my head!

As for the ribbon belts, I’ve always been one of those “What do you mean, ‘less is more’? That’s nuts! More is definitely more” types of girls, so why wear one belt when you can wear three? They worked like a big ol’ corset belt in theory, but had the annoying habit of migrating over one another throughout the day (see photo below), so I spent a lot of time adjusting. I might sew them together, but then that eliminates the option of wearing them singularly. So we shall see.

And then there’s the skirt. Remember when I was all reverse tie-dying happy? Well I dyed this skirt during that same bleach binge. Unfortunately, I have to wear it sideways because I managed to create a pattern on the front and back that looks eerily like the Shroud of Turin, and it just doesn’t seem right to have the face of Jesus on my girly parts.

Later it got cold and hail-y, so I switched to pants. And also, apparently, to a new hairdo. What do you think? It’s like a mohawk, without all that pesky shaving-your-head stuff.

Chelsie Daily Happy – Weekend Shopping

The results of my weekend (Saturday) shopping are as follows:

Print: $20, Frame (Ikea): $20

I cut the side height myself to fit the print. The right side looks practically perfect, but I can tell there is a slight flaw on the left. I will leave that for later though. This is safely packed in the car trunk until next week.

Rhino Pillow: $10 (Sale)

I loved the old looking print for this pillow, and it wasn’t a bad price.

And now for the piece de resistance…

Thrifted jacket: $1 (Dollar sale on all clothing if thrift store!)

Virgin wool with double lining

Closer...

... and around

Katie Daily Style – And So We Meet Again…

• Purple “deer” shirt – thrifted
• Tan vest – Old Navy
• Trouser jeans – Dish
• Multi-colored scarf – thrifted
• Geode necklace – museum
• Tan peep toes – thrifted

Earlier this week I took a research trip to the big city, on the hunt for a possibly awesome fossil for a possibly awesome exhibit. Because I was meeting with fancy-schmancy smarty pants, I dressed nicely: purple blouse, tan blazer, denim pencil skirt, and tan heels. I liked the color combination so much I recreated a casual version for an afternoon of thrift shopping. This scarf, with its purples, blues and tans, was made for this outfit, but I didn’t wear it for style, I wore it for sweet, sweet thrifting revenge. Revenge on Blanche, my thrifting arch nemesis.

Katie Daily Style – A Delicate Swan With Bionic Hearing And Alien Feet

• Purple maxi dress – thrifted*
• Silver drop earrings – self-made
• Silver bangles – thrifted, Mum, and Grandma
• Grey belt – thrifted
• Silver shoes – Target
• Long neck – Mum
• Elf ears – Dad
• Narrow feet – Mum and Dad

I’m kicking off my participation in Academichic’s Dress Your Best Week by highlighting three features of my body that I love: My long neck, my pointy ears, and my narrow feet.

By covering most of my body with one continuous line of color and keeping my accessories to a minimum, the parts of my body that I haven’t covered up: feet, neck and ears, become natural accessories and command more of the focus.

Katie Daily Style – Awesome Anorak

• Vintage anorak – thrifted
• Denim skirt – Old Navy
• Brown peep toes – thrifted
• Turquoise necklace – World Market

No standard outfit picture today, because I spent the day dressed like a gold miner mining for bb pellets in a giant kidney bean -shaped pool. Oh yeah, living the dream. But I’ve been excited to show off my new anorak, so here it is.

I thrifted this vintage Eddie Bauer anorak from Goodwill earlier this week, for $2.00! Trendy and weather appropriate!*

*This anorak came in handy tonight when I left a lecture and found myself in a hail storm. In May. Hrmph.