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{guest post: crafted niche}

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October 31, 2011 By | 1 Comment

Hi guys! I’m Dana and I call my little neck of the woods Crafted Niche. I’m so excited for the opportunity to guest post here at Nifty Thrifty Things today. .…while Vanessa’s away, I guess we’ll still play!

I purchased my first home in the spring of 2010 and have LOVED decorating, repurposing, and BUILDING ever since! Earlier this year I (finally) realized power tools don’t have to be scary and now I can’t get enough. I’d love to have you stop by and meet my gang — Me (of course!), my 3 awesome dogs, and a horse to boot. Come see how this single girl attempts to find her Niche!

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the things you’ll find at Crafted Niche…

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery! When my sister first laid eyes on Pottery Barn’s version she knew she had to make one for herself. Watch how we created our wood-slat version from start to finish! PLUS — you can download the design at Crafted Niche so you can make YOUR own version to!

These chairs cost me a whopping total of $9! I found them at a local auction and got to work painting them with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and recovering them with an awesome grain sack. They needed a little something extra so I added numbers to the backs of the chairs. Now they pair perfectly with my $10 kitchen table! Stop by and see the awesome transformation.

Last, but not least… just in time for my favorite time of year! I’ll show you how to turn a Dollar Store foam pumpkin into a literary masterpiece. Ok… not REALLY a literary masterpiece… but you COULD read it if you wanted to! Using pages out of an old encyclopedia, I mod-podged this pumpkin’s way right into my living room. Try it out and make your own — It’s SO easy!

Thanks again Vanessa for letting me stop by Nifty Thrifty Things! It’s always great to meet new friends. I hope you guys will stop by and say hello!

…and Vanessa, I hope you’re having a GREAT time in Texas. I can’t think of that state without singing “The stars at niiiight are big and briiiight. CLAP CLAP CLAP Deep in the heaaaart of Texas!”

Dana @ CraftedNiche.wordpress.com

Filed Under: Guest Blogger | 1 Comment

{nifty thrifty sunday #29}

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October 30, 2011 By | 14 Comments
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Welcome to this week’s {nifty thrifty sunday}!

How is everyone’s weekend so far?
It’s the first weekend back in Houston for us and we’re still kinda fighting the jetlag. But we’re really enjoying our time here so far! :)

Here are some of my favorites from last week’s {nifty thrifty sunday}:

{1} Design Par Deux: Junior Rolltop Desk Before & After
{2} Simple Girl: Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Icing
{3} Home Frosting: Reindeer Plaque
{4} Saved by Love Creations: Rolled Paper Bead Necklace
{5} Family Ever After: Banana Lime Coconut Muffins
{6} The Salvage Collection: Henry, the Dresser

If you were featured today, feel free to grab the button from the button pageat the top navigation bar!

{nifty button}

 

Filed Under: {nifty thrifty sunday} | 14 Comments

{guest post: a mom not a professional nor a perfectionist}

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October 30, 2011 By | Leave a Comment
Hello Nifty Thrifty Things readers!
I am absolutely positively beside myself to be guest blogging here today.
I will be sharing with you a few of my favorite projects and recipes
but first let me introduce myself…
I am Mexican Puertorican married to a Southern Georgia boy and raising our 3 precious boys in Ecuador. How about that for some culture!  I am a missionary, a counselor, an artist and I love to cook.
I wanted to share this project in particular because I love responding to our house guest “It was made from Reynolds wrap” when they ask “Where did you buy that metal mirror?
The full tutuorial is here it only cost $3 and it took me 30min to make. Using basic things I hand at home like Reynolds wrap!
The second project is another easy and affordable project that is great with Christmas around the corner and this chilly winter weather. The details are here for this fabulous

No Sew Ruffled Scarf in 5min seriously only 5 minutos!

The third project is guess? Yup, EASY and AFFORDABLE!
With Wall Decals being such a huge hit right now in home decor I found a $3 way to make it happen in our home. The details are here for using Contact paper to make your own Wall Decals.  My creation: Tree with two Love Birds.
A lot my recipes and craft projects come from these 3 mottos “necessity is the mother of invention”, “Ain’t got no money” and “Too cheap to buy it”
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{guest post: happy in red}

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October 29, 2011 By | 3 Comments
Thank you so much Ms Vanessa for the opportunity to guest blog here at Nighty Trifty Things.
Let’s get properly introduced here (yes mom, I’ve remembered my manners!). My name is Esther, also known as Happy in Red.
I am living in Utrecht, a wonderful and very old city, slap bang in the centre of The Netherlands. I grew up in the South of Holland, near the Belgian boarder, but moved to Utrecht after I got my degree in journalism. Even though my roots are back down south, my heart definitely belongs to Utrecht.
Also, here I met my love and we recently got married!
Happy-in-Red
Wonderful city, right? (And the newly weds aren’t bad either…)
I’ve been working as a journalist and web editor for quite a number of years now and I love it. Writing is the most wonderful thing to do and every day I feel privileged that I was able to make a profession out of this. I love writing in the broadest sense of the word and that’s how I also got introduced to blogging.
Earlier this year I got slightly annoyed with how shopping streets are starting to look the same in every city. And I thought how much fun it would be to be able to make or restyle your own clothes or to recycle old or thrifted stuff. So that we don’t end up all looking alike. So I did something about it! I learned how to crochet, took sewing classes and I felt like sharing my experiences!
And this is how Happy in Red was born: a combination of my love for writing and making stuff.


Bags
What I love to do best is make bags. I have a serious bag addiction and now I know how to sew them. Which sounds dangerous, but it isn’t. It’s a great way of making people an original gift. I just love to use lovely new and thrifted fabrics to make brand new bags. These two are rather new creations of mine, aren’t they cute?
Bags-Happy-in-Red




Crochet pumpkins
I love to crochet (it’s very calming!) and since it’s really autumn now I thought it’d be nice to have some nice fall ornaments in my house. And therefore I crocheted some pumpkins. Cute aren’t they! You can make them yourself as I’ve written out the pattern.
Crochet-pattern-pumpkins
Jam, jam, jam
Just like my your lovely host I love to cook! This autumn has been very generous, fruit-wise! I had so much fruit laying around and after having baked pies, muffins and cakes, I still had so much fruit laying around. And since I would hate to see it go to waste I made some jam! Apple-strawberrie jam, so fresh and sweet! I highly recommend it you know! So check out my recipe for jam!
Apple-strawberrie-jam
Thank you for reading about my projects and I hope to welcome you on my blog sometime!
Esther (aka: Happy in Red)
Filed Under: Guest Blogger | 3 Comments

{guest post: the cards we drew}

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October 28, 2011 By | Leave a Comment

Hi Nifty Thrifty Things readers! I’m Abbey! My blog is the Cards We Drew. I’m so excited to be over here guest posting for Vanessa today!

I started my blog a few years ago during my pregnancy as a way to keep my family and friends updated on my progress and then see pictures when my son was born and growing up. As I started planning my son’s first birthday party last year, I started discovering more and more great blogs and crafting and now I’m hooked. I also blog for DimplePrints and show off amazing party ideas. I have definitely developed a passion for blogging and crafting and I’d love it if you stopped by my blog sometime just to say hello!

I’m currently in the middle of converting the side room in my basement into a craft room. You can see my latest progress and filing cabinet makeover HERE. It’s a huge work in progress and I have tons of fun projects coming up that you can visit as I work to finish this room.

Another one of my favorite crafts on the blog is my Bookpage Rosette Wreath that took me MONTHS to finish, but was so worth it. It took 595 pages of rosettes and was true labor of love!
Another project you can find on my blog is a DIY Headboard, which literally transformed our bedroom and saved us hundreds on a headboard.
Lastly, the most viewed project on my blog currently is my Candy Corn Wreath that I’m using for my son’s Candy Corn themed 2nd birthday. Be sure to check my blog on Halloween for pictures of his party!
Thanks so much to Vanessa for having me and please come visit me over at the Cards We Drew!

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