I managed to catch these photos with my little point and shoot Nikon. I touched them up in iPhoto. Pretty decent, huh? It helps when you've got gorgeous little models.
My little guy and beautiful niece, enjoying the California beach.
Arapata looks so picture perfect, doesn't she?
Her total model pose!

My HUGE AMAZING Goodwill score!

Ok, so I know that I linked onto this party before, but what I scored today at The Goodwill (yes, I call it that, too! hehe) really needed to be posted on this party! Thanks so much, Thrifty Decor Chick for hosting it! In fact, I joined blogspot after a year of reading other people's blogs SOLELY for this party! LOL! What can I say? It spoke to me?? :)

Everything you're about to see was $1 or less each item. EVERYTHING. Yes, even the snowboard, solid wood desk and gliding rocker w/ottoman. (The PAIR was $1!!!) I kid you not, this was probably the best day I've EVER had at a thrift store! YAY!!!

My total? $53 for merchandise + $5 cash donation to the Goodwill= $58 out the door! With amazing deals such as these, I felt like I NEEDED to donate something more than the bags and boxes of stuff I'll be dropping off later this week!

This party not only reaffirmed that my passion for thrifting is not exclusive to me, it has given me so much inspiration for new projects! Thanks ladies! Keep posted for the before and after posts and guides for most all of these items! I'm so excited! Now where did I put that spray paint???

A Poster Collaboration for a Play

A dear friend of mine wrote a play that is being produced at a festival in New York this summer! I'm so proud of him so I of course jumped at the chance to design a poster for him to use to advertise and promote the play!

Devan's older brother, Ryan, provided the sketch of the two men and I worked my Photoshop skills and, voila! Promotional Poster!

If you are in the New York area July 17th-20th, be sure to check out the festival and his play!

Customized Luggage via Paint Pen

My family needed new luggage, and it's important to note that while I love simple black on most things, that love quickly evaporates when I'm at the airport baggage claim, sifting through EVERYONE ELSE'S black luggage on the carousel, trying to decipher which black bags are OUR black bags. But seeing as I am almost ALWAYS on a tight budget, I needed to go for affordable, which meant mass produced, standard black.

So, armed with a black Sharpie, a gold paint pen and inspiration from a wonderful graphic from Lewa's blogspot, I took to four $29.99 rolling duffel bags from Ross and made them easily recognizable. The Sharpie was used for plotting out the general design, as I was too lazy to search for a pencil or chalk. The gold paint pen really did all the work.

My four year old thinks they're awesome because he adores "wishing" dandelions.

I love the graphic (Thank you Lewa!) because:

#1 Its simple lines and circles meant I could actually freehand the design.
#2 Seeds blowing in the wind really seem like an appropriate theme for travel luggage.

Goodwill Party - Egg Basket, Candy Dish, Bread Box

A wire basket from Goodwill, grabbed for $0.69.

Just washed and filled with eggs, ready for scrambling!

A discolored brass-ish candy dish for $0.99 that I cleaned up and spray painted a creamy white.

These Dollar Tree birds ($1 each) were sprayed with the same creamy white and are perched on top of a rehabbed bread box awaiting some crumbs. (Thanks for the bird inspiration, Kimba!)

The box was $1.50 on half off Saturday and was a gross dark, gunky, glossy brown. Deconstruction, sanding, paint, reconstruction and a new knob transformed it to a this black and white beauty. I'm terrible at taking "before" pictures, but I vow to really make a better go of it from now on! :)

Goodwill Party - Earring Lamp

Ok, so I'm famously bad at taking "before" pictures, but here's the backside of a little votive holder I picked up at Goodwill for $1.50 on half off Saturday. I wanted to use it to decoratively display and store my collection of earrings I never have time or occasion to wear anymore.

And yet, I continue to buy them...*sigh*

I thought the mesh would be perfect to space out the earring hooks.

I added a little shot glass where the candle should go to hold my small studs.

As you can see, the glass fit perfectly and is really easy to remove when I want to sift through them to find a pair. Sadly, as a frenzied mom, I tend to use these more than the rest.

The little decorative elements of the original lamp were perfect for me to stash my few rings.

And, finally, you can see how the "shade" part turned out. I absolutely love this. Even though I don't get to get gussied up as much as before kids, seeing this in my vanity area makes me feel almost as if I DID get to wear them and I still get the sense of being a young, hot thing. :)