Affordable Curtain Rods

Curtain rods are expensive. Curtain rods never seem to be the right size. The last curtain rod I bought was from the lumber store. It was 8ft long and 20 bucks. It was nice but heavy and thick. I found an idea on Pinterest for a 10 ft rod that cost less than 2.99. It is light weight, it is thin, it can be easily spray painted and it is cheap. It is electrical conduit.  In big box stores you can probably get the rod for 1.89 but in my small town things are marked up a bit. 

Curtain rod holders found at the thrift store and painted black.

Spray painting the rod.

Apricots are in Season!

Thanks to many generous neighbors with apricot trees we have been able to dehydrate a bunch of apricots. They are my favorite. I am going to try and make some fruit roll ups out of some of the softer apricots.

DIY Floor - cheap, clean and fairly earth friendly

If I knew I was going to be doing this project ahead of time then I would have saved paper bags so I could have a "recycled" floor. I am more of a "I am going to do it right now kinda gal" so I had to buy brown paper. Luckily, I was able to buy brown paper rolls (I found them in the paint isle I guess they were used for protecting borders and carpet while you paint). They were less than five bucks a roll and I needed one and a half rolls. I will use the rest for gift wrap. I also bought a huge bottle of Elmer's glue and figured whatever I don't use I can use for arts and crafts.

The best part of this floor is the fact that you don't need a saw. When we laid laminate wood floors in our old house we were constantly cutting pieces to fit around the corners and it was very time consuming.  Another benefit was the fact that I didn't have to prep the concrete. I basically swept it.  No mopping or anything.  The spots that had paint on them (because I let my four year old daughter play Pollock while I was finishing the ceiling and walls) were easily covered up by putting extra paper down.

So far it has cost me 26 bucks.  The biggest cost will be buying the polyurethane to seal it.  I like the light color so I decided not to experiment with stain. I might however put a few notes that my husband and I have written to one another and a few pieces of art down before I polyurethane.  I figured it would make it kinda quirky and cool. 

Step one bucket with 1/2 glue and 1/2 water.  I did all the edges first.

the paper made edges easy since it had a straight edge to begin with

 Place torn pieces on top of one another to add texture

Some area's are still wet making a drastic color difference. It blends better once dried.

Thrift Store Stools

For three dollars I bought two stools from the local thrift store.

They are similar to these that I found online for 70 dollars each.

Spray paint and polyurethane

sanding and stencil

a high gloss finish

Come, sit and stay awhile

Carpet, Flooring, Dye - Oh My!

We need new flooring in one of our rooms which is currently just concrete. I cannot decide what to do. I have painted a concrete floor before which turned out great but I was in Houston and could easily rent a floor sander (buffer). Daron and I have laid laminate flooring before and I have considered carpet tiles - the cheap ones not the pricey ones. I would like to try the vinyl "wood planks" and have found them at a good price. I know eco friendly is bamboo and sometimes vinyl but cha ching, cha ching, cha ching!!! What to do?

Getting back to it

Well once winter came I quit writing for Sage What.  We moved and are now settled. I am planning to start up again with the blog.  I will have plenty to write about with the new house, new yard and new garden. 

Made in the USA mostly...

I have been looking for years for a nice chest of drawers and side table for Addy's room. I have looked at stores, thrift shops, garage sales you name it. It was coming down to sheer desperation.  Addy was getting ready to go to preschool and we had clothes piled in baskets which inevitably ended up on the floor.  I took advantage of the fact that Daron was with us on this shopping trip and  showed him the set that was on sale at Stout's Furniture in Hurricane, UT.  It was a deep blue color but the headboard was made for a twin bed and we recently purchased Addy a nice full size mattress. I was happy to see that the decision wasn't any easier for Daron than it was for me.  We were just about to throw in the towel and forget the whole thing when Daron spotted a blue leather recliner in Addy's size.  "Hey Addy come here."  Now picture me running in slow motion hurdling couches, end tables and recliners as I yell "Nooooo."  I was too late.  Daron was already twirling her around in it saying "Isn't this neat, you could watch football..."  Needless to say the brilliant salesman said Daron could get the chair and foot stool (of course) for 125 dollars (as opposed to the 300 original price tag that was conveniently misplaced - I would say it would have made a difference if Daron had seen the price but probably not!) if he purchased the chest and side table. I was thrilled that the furniture was Made In The USA except of course the recliner. In my mind I figured they canceled each other out. 

I was so happy to find furniture Made in the USA

I love this furniture and felt good about our purchase

Not made in the USA which was a total bummer but Addy and Elmo are happy.