I love your junk.

I never was a yard-saler until this year. Boy have I been missing out! You can get things dirt cheap (yeah, even free! Can't beat that!) and its not all junk. In fact garage sale items are a lot like people. Most of it has been well used but is still fully functionable...just a little scratched up. But with a lot of spit and polish and a little love and adoration that old used item can look young and fresh again! (Ok...horrible analogy.)

Here are some of my finds from the past two weeks and what I've done to help those people items look their best.

This sad ugly mirror was screaming for attention so I took it home

and dressed it up in white spray paint and some big fabric rosettes. It is very happy now and feeling at home in my entry way. And its got my back making sure nothings running down my face or frizzing off my head when I'm off to somewhere important where I need to impress. Like Winco.

I found this glass plate and cup and had seen some inspiration I knew I wanted to try. Totally worth the 25 cents.
Paint the cup and bottom of the plate (don't paint the top, it makes it hard to wash off!) and let it dry a few hours. Then glue the cup to the plate (I used Gorilla glue) and then stick some dictionaries on top and let it sit over night. Then stack delicious things on top.

I have a giant plain jane wall in my kitchen that wasn't being utilized. This hook thing was the perfect solution . It still had the $13 tag on it and I snagged it for a buck. I spray painted it white and there it hangs displaying my favorite aprons. I just started this wall yesterday so its not finished...I'm thinking move the left apron over and add a thick white framed chalkboard under the hooks? Yes, I think so. 

I've been collecting picture frames for awhile now so I could make a photo wall in my bedroom. Its done now but I couldn't get any good pics so I'll post about that later. But here's my Main Man Helper that took all the garage sale tags off and sprayed window cleaner on them for me (I previously spray painted them). For all you who have 3 year old helpers you know how helpful they can be. Like they totally re-define helper.

I admit. He is worth every penny. 

I have always wanted a little reading nook in my bedroom but in the past have barely had room for our bed. Finally a little reading space! And this $7 chair was just what I was looking for. It was in perfect condition but yes, I spray-painted it white. Watch out kids! I might just spray paint you next!

You can catch a glimpse of my photo wall! This is not complete either. I want to put some white floater shelves above the chair for those books I'm going to read while I cozy up in my new reading chair.


Well that's all folks! I have a few more items in my garage that are just waiting to be sanded and painted. Cute things. I can hardly wait to get on those projects!
Do you love or hate yard sales?? I've been on both ends of the fence but I'm discovering the potential behind
 1)You can't go wrong with solid wood furniture. It can be sanded, refinished, painted and made to look like new. Just don't get the imitation wood laminate or plywood unless you don't plan on doing anything with it. Not the best to paint and you can't sand it.
2) Make sure its in workable condition...meaning you can make it look good again. No cracks, tears, stains (if you're not going to cover it in new fabric or paint), or weak joints that you can't fix.
3) Go yard-saling with an idea of what you need and then find things that can be a solution. If you just go to see what you can find you might get something too big, too small, or impractical for your needs. Then you end up just storing junk. No fun!
4) Lots of people price items higher than they expect to sell it for because people tend to haggle (is that even a word??) at yard sales so don't be afraid to offer a few bucks less than the tag says. Unless the item is only 2 bucks. Then try to add a few other items and take a few bucks off it all :)

I'm not claiming to be an expert yard-saler or anything (although that is what I want to be when I grow up) but these pointers have helped me get a little more bang for my cents buck.

Did you go yard-saling this weekend?? What did you score?