Frugal Finds: Sunday, August 28, 2011

It’s been a busy last couple of weeks in the FR (Frugal Refurbisher) household, including visiting family, family visiting and general life overload. However, I was still able to score a few frugal finds over the past two weeks.

Usually, my frugal finds are usually consisted of goods from thrift stores, discount chains and outlet stores; however, this installment of Frugal Finds will be focused on department store clearance hunts with added extra percent off incentives.

Kohl’s

Two weekends ago was Florida’s tax break weekend, which not only meant savings by not having to pay sales tax on clothes and other items, but also meant that stores were giving extra incentives to bring in business. Kohl’s is one of my favorite department stores to shop for because their sales are phenomenal.

This shopping trip was planned, not only because of the tax break, but also because I received one of their awesome extra 30% off coupons for being a credit card holder. Oh yes. Extra 30% off everything! Woot.

I got up early that Saturday morning and meandered across the way (oh the joys – and wallet dangers – of living so close to this store) to begin my shopping adventure. And an adventure it would be.

The trick to shopping frugally at certain stores is to head straight for the clearance and reduced racks. Although at Kohl’s you can also find really good bargains at sale price (with extra off coupons), my goal was to rummage through the clearance racks.

Over two hours later, I ended up with a cart full of goodies, including:

• A wicker bowl for $4.19 + tax

• A ceramic sea shell dish for $2.79 + tax (I thought it would be perfect for our beach-themed guest bath)
• A faux-leather storage ottoman for $13.99 + tax (This was a purchase for my mom, but I think maybe I should have picked up one, too, for this amazing price!)
• A pair of black wedge peep-toe shoes for $12.59 (no tax)
• A pair of NIKE running sneakers for $18 (no tax)
• An outfit for $30 (no tax)
• Two NIKE jogging/lounging pants for my husband for a whopping $7 each (no tax)!!

Unbelievable bargains! Not to mention I also got $10 Kohl’s cash to use the following week, which I used to buy some undergarments and a summery top.

Dillard’s

Although I love shopping at Dillard’s, it is usually way out of my price range. However, a few times a year they have an unbelievable extra 40% off all clearance sale. Sometimes I find good buys and others I don’t. It just depends when I hit the sale and which store location I hit up.

Oh, and as heads up on getting the scoop on when they have this sale, sign up for their mailing list and/or become a credit card member.

This time, I heard about the sale the day before it started. And I knew I had to go to find a new purse since it was definitely time for a new one. (I kept switching in between my old ones in which two were starting to fall apart)

Off to the purses I went as soon as I stepped into the store. There were so many to chose from, including two beautiful Coach’s that were instantly calling me. But, I had to resist the temptation. Even with the sale, they were still out of my current budget.

In the mix of a beautiful rainbow of colorful bags, slings and wallets, I found this gorgeous purple feaux crocodile Gianni Bini. Ahhh. Love at first sight. Not to mention I really wanted a cross-body, but this baby is multi-functional! It has a removable shorter handle to wear on either your shoulder or your forearm. And with multiple compartments and nifty storage areas, I am in LOVE!  Oh, and the price? 

This beaut was originally $109 marked down to $34. My final price = $20 + tax. Whhhaaaattt a deal!

I also meandered upstairs to the home department since the hubs and I have been in search for a nice, comfortable duvet cover for our bed that won’t cost us this week’s groceries. At first walk-through, I didn’t have much luck for finding anything under $100 (and that’s with the extra 40% off!). After picking up a few little things (including a paring knife for $1.47 and a bubble glass goblet for $2.49), I nearly stumbled into a display of 65% or more items. Lo and behold, right on that shelf was this beautiful black and grey duvet cover…in our comforter’s size and for sticker price $38!! 

I snatched that baby up faster than you can say bargain, especially considering after the extra 40% off this baby was only a few coins over $22.  Oh, and I must not forget the original pricing of our newly prized duvet cover, which sold for $179! Wow!

What are some of your department store frugal finds? Do you have any tips or tricks on finding the best deal?

Mmm...Sangria and the Art of Refurbishing Wood Decor

Not the drink (although, I wish), but the color!

Yesterday, I finally decided to refurbish the canoe tray I got last weekend for $2.49 at Goodwill.

Remember me?

Around 9 a.m. I started sanding down the tray to remove the old finish. I used a P120 grit sand paper. Compared to the massive coffee table from a couple of weeks ago, this was much easier.

Next, I painted the tray with two coats of Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch grey primer, since I was going from a light to a dark color again.

When painting small items or doing small projects like this one, I like to use the sample size bottles of paint. That way, you do not have to spend a lot of money on a color you may or may not want to use again. 

For this project, I bought a $1.97 sample size of Glidden paint in SANGRIA!

After the primer dried (about two hours), I started with my first coat of Sangria. Since this tray was an odd shape, I had to paint it in sections. I started with the top section and then worked my way around, allowing each layer to dry for at least an hour. I repeated these steps four times to achieve the desired color.

Then, I turned each side over and repeated the layers. I let the tray dry over night.

(The color is not this hot pink in real life)

This entire process took approximately eight hours, but each step only took about five minutes each.

In between each step, I was able to clean the kitchen, do a couple loads of laundry, go to the library and lunch with my husband, watch Beverly Hills Cop and score two more roadside finds: a dark brown/black particle board plasma TV stand and a large wood framed mirror.

After the tray dried, I pulled out a bag of earth-toned pebbles I bought at the dollar store a few months back and scattered them on the tray. Then, I took three votive candles we had lying around and placed them in between the pebbles.


Total cost of this refurbish: $4.45! (not counting the pebbles and candles I already had)

Frugal Finds: Sunday, August 7, 2011

Thrift stores are not the only places to find cheap home décor items. Scoping out the clearance racks at outlet stores and deep discount chains like Big Lots, which I mentioned in this post, are great places to score great deals.

Today, I found this week’s frugal finds on the clearance racks at Home Goods.

Ceramic White Multi-Purpose Container
This beautiful white ceramic piece looked to have belonged to a jar. The top portion was broken off, but that was no concern for me. When I first saw this item, I was in awe at not only the price, but that it was in perfect condition (no cracks, chips or discoloration) for an item on the clearance rack.

When I got home, the first thing I did was remove the metal ring around the top. All I had to do was loosen the metal piece clamping the ring and, voila, the ring fell off.

Now, I have a beautiful multi-purpose ceramic container that can be used:

• As a planter
• To put our keys in on the buffet counter (pictured)
• To store paper clips, rubber bands and other miscellaneous office supplies
• To store paint brushes and other painting supplies
• To store hair accessories
• To store fashion accessories, such as chunky bangles/bracelets, watches or brooches
• To store miscellaneous craft or sewing supplies, such as beads, buttons or spools of ribbon and thread

The list is endless. I love this little container. And guess how much….$1 buck-a-roo!

Wowza.

White and Green Leafy Ceramic Jar
This white and green, leaf-like decorated ceramic jar was my other frugal find for the day. I am not quite sure what it is supposed to be used for (other than just decoration), but I love this guy (yes, I do tend to personalize my frugal finds by gender. Not quite sure why).

You can either simply display him in a bookshelf, on a kitchen counter or in a china cabinet to add a little flare to your décor. You can also remove the lid (it is ceramic, too) and use it as a vase by putting in a couple of flowers, such as daisies, and display it as a centerpiece on a table.



The astonishing discounted price of this item was a whopping $2. I snagged him up faster than you can say cheap.

What are some of your favorite stores to find great buys on the clearance rack?

Frugal Finds: Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

On Sunday, I made one of my regular visits to one of my local Goodwill retail stores to scope out some frugal finds. It was just my luck that they were having an extra 50% off all of the wares items (dishes, home décor, etc). Here are a few of the treasures that I picked up:

White Ceramic Buddha Sculpture

This cute little guy was only $1.49 and has a new home in my bookcase. 

I am not sure if he was originally a cocktail cup or is for burning incense (a quick search online revealed that they are used for both), but he looks brand spankin’ new wherever he came from.

Wooden Trays
Next, I picked up these two really nifty wooden trays. One is a long canoe shape and the other is in the shape of an acorn/leaf with three compartments. I will be refurbishing both in the upcoming weeks, so stayed tuned!


Sailin’ Away. Only $2.49 for this baby.


No Nuts About It. This acorn/leaf tray was only $1.49 and is made of a really good quality dark wood (it's a little darker in person).

If anyone knows what kind of wood this may be, please give me a shout.

You can’t beat these treasures for only $5.47!

What are some of your frugal finds this week?

1, 2, 3's of Refurbishing Roadside Furniture

Last weekend, my husband found this beautiful, solid wood coffee table out by the furniture drop-off (aka, outside the recycling/dumpster area) at our apartment complex. He ran up the stairs to get me to check it out before someone else grabbed it.

Not even 60 seconds later and another couple was scoping it out. Luckily, they thought it was a TV stand and decided not to take it. We, however, snatched (well, more like hauled) that baby and brought it up to our apartment.

Although I LOVE saving items from the dumpster and finding FREE goods, I am super paranoid about the possibility of bugs or other germs living in them.

We took the table straight up into our patio and I sprayed it down with a flea, tick miscellaneous pet spray…just in case. The last thing we wanted was to infest our home with fleas.

At first, we didn't think the table would need much work. Maybe some sanding and a coat shellac. But, since it was pitch-black night when we brought her up, we had no idea that she was in such bad shape. Plus, her natural wood finish would not match our already black and black/brown furniture.

So, I decided, with the help of this post, that I would sand her down, prime her and slap on a couple coats of black paint. I thought I could do this in two days top. However, I failed to calculate the intense summer heat, 110% humidity and that my hands and arms would hurt and cramp up. Bad.

Two hours each night after work was the max I could do before I could no longer move my arms. This was going to be a long journey.

Time to Get Busy!
First, I wiped down the whole table with some disinfectant wipes to remove any residue (there was some sugary sticky stuff on the top).

I then used some wood filler (I used Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler) to fill in all the knocks, scratches, cracks and dents. A couple of the legs had also taken a beating and this stuff worked great to mold them back into shape. 

This took a whole night and made me realize just how in bad shape this baby was in. I left it to dry over the next 22 hours.

Next, I used an extra course sand paper (I used P60) to sand off the excess woodfiller and any other snags and imperfections to get a somewhat smooth surface. This process made me feel like a wuss. I could definitely feel the burn doing this step.

I know now why a lot of tutorials suggested using an electric powered sander. If you have one of these or have access to one, I highly suggest using it. For this size of a project, your hands will cramp up if you are not used to this kind of work.

Then, I brushed off any excess residue, from the sanding and any environmental elements, so nothing would get stuck in the paint. (If you have animals, I would suggest not petting them and put on clean clothes before starting any of the painting steps. The hair will fall onto the furniture and will somehow make its way into the paint. I found this out the hard way).

Next, I applied a thin coat of grey primer (you should use grey primer when painting an item a dark color). After the first coat dried (about an hour or so), I took a medium and fine grit sand paper (I used P100 and P200) and gently sanded down any imperfections. This made the surface very smooth.

I then swept off any residue from the sanding and applied another coat of primer.

When applying the paint, you want to make sure that you do not clump a lot of primer onto your brush or painted surface. Since this piece had a lot of nooks and crannies (see the shelving and drawers), it was very easy to have drippage. There were a few spots that I did not catch and they dried, leaving a tacky drip line. Luckily, I was able to sand it down a bit.

It was now time to apply the black paint. I was almost there. I could see the home stretch. At least I thought. Even though this paint is amazing, it is very thin and requires a lot of thin coats. Again, since you do not want to create drippage. 

In order to keep this project as frugal as possible, I decided to untarnish the existing handles. The top of the handles looked fine, but the underside was either extremely dirty from hands or just tarnished. I found a recipe here that said to mix equal parts salt, flour and vinegar to remove tarnish. Believe it or not, it worked!

I mixed about 2 tablespoons of fine sea salt, apple cider vinegar and all-purpose white flour until it became a paste. I then gently rubbed it on all the pieces of the handles, spending most concentration on the underside that was grody. I let them sit for about five minutes and then rinsed them off with warm water. 

I also gave them a little bath with liquid dish soup, gently scrubbing them with a dish brush. Just in case. I dried them off and let them lay on a dish towel overnight to absorb any moisture.

After six days of hard work, I was pleasantly surprised with the final outcome. Again, here is the before shot:

And, for the after, can I please get a drum roll please.

Here is the before of our living room with our old, outworn (yes, that is clear packing tape on the leg) Ikea table:

And, here is the after!

I LOVE it! It was totally worth all the hard work!

Interested in refurbishing your own hand-me down or roadside furniture find? Here are some items you may need:

• Large garbage bags or painter's mat to protect the floor of your workspace. (I cut open two large garbage bags) 
• Disinfectant or baby wipes 
• Towel or brush to remove sanding dust 
• 1 course grit sand paper (I used P60) 
• 1 medium grit sand paper (I used P100) 
• 1 fine grit sand paper (I used P200) 
• Wood filler (I used Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler) 
• Putty tool 
• Paint brush (I used a 2in good grade) 
• Primer (I used Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch Gray Primer) 
• Paint (I used Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch Semi-Gloss in Black)

Frugal Finds: Sunday, July 17th, 2011

So, I thought that I would also post any frugal finds that I come across in addition to the frugal refurbishing projects. Since this weekend was pretty busy, I did not have the chance to work on any refurbishing projects (although, I did pick up a deep discounted item that will eventually become a refurbish project. More to come on that at a later date).


I've always been a pretty frugal shopper, but since it's come down to furnishing our much bigger (and pricer) apartment these past few months, I've had to resort to the most skillful ninja-like frugal shopping. This weekend's adventures were in search for:

• A functional, not too tacky shoe rack for the front hallway
• A bedroom mirror
• A rug for the dinning room carpet that meets the kitchen

All items were successfully (and frugalfully - is that a word) found.


Bedroom Decorative Mirror
This item is probably the one I am most proud of for not only finding on deep discount, but also that it is so freaking awesome. I love this mirror. Plain and simple.

It's probably one of my favorite items in our home.

So how much was it?

Not only was $9.97 a freaking steal for this mirror, but it was an ADDITIONAL 25% off! Can you believe it? With tax, I still ended up paying less than $8. Still can't believe it.

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Over the past year, we have become huge fans of a new Big Lots discount chain near downtown. It's HUGE and really nice and organized. We even bought our huge, comfy Ashley Furniture couch there for an unbelievable $269 with some of our wedding money. 

This weekend they were having another one of their friends and family additional percent off sales. We knew we had some things to get, so we couldn't pass up the sale.

Shoe Rack

We have a huge problem piling up our shoes by the front door. In our last apartment, it wasn't so bad, because they were kind of hidden underneath the bar area. However, our new home doesn't really have that space, so we've kind of gotten in the (bad) habit of kicking them off right at the entrance of the living room after the entrance hallway. Can we say TACKY? 

I found a really awesome shoe rack/storage bench online a few weeks ago, but it's entirely out of our budget at the moment, so we needed something extremely cheap that wasn't too much of an eyesore.

I found the above silver metal rack for $8, which was a decent price. But, that price got even better after the additional discount. Oh yeah! 

The total price, with tax, was under 7 buckaroos. Eventually, when we find a better solution for this area (or we break the habit...), this will be great for our closet.

Dining Room/Kitchen Entrance Rug

Since we have cream white carpet, everything seems to show up. And we have a little dog who LOVES to sit and beg at the edge of the carpet that leads into the kitchen whenever we are cooking. 

I found this brown (it's actually a darker/latte color in person) SHAG rug for $6. 

This was another one of my best buys this weekend. Not only does it look quality made, but it's freaking comfortable. They had two bigger versions for $10 and $17, and I'm seriously contemplating going back and getting one of them for our bedroom. (Oh how cream white carpet has started my obsession with rugs...)

Oh wait, did I forget to mention that the rug also had an extra discount? Yes! Cost of this baby was only $4.80, plus tax. 

So, all in all, great buys found this weekend. Setting out with a shopping goal and having patience can really help you find the best deals when the pocket is a little tight.  You may not find your deal at the first, second or third store you shop at, but when the sale is right, you will find it.

Framed Card Decor

Do you like to save old cards from birthdays, holidays and anniversaries? Or, do you simply hate throwing away cards because they're so beautiful? If yes, then this project may be just your cup of tea. Every year I try to unhaul some of my clutter (or, as some may call it, crap kept due to pack-rat syndrome). This weekend's goal was to clear and sort out the office closet, which, in a sense, became the walk-in closet where everything got thrown into after the move.

Now that we've been here three months, it's really time to get this thing completely cleaned out and organized.

Stuff was put into piles, garbage bags and to-be-donated boxes. In the process, I was finding it really hard to throw away some of the cards I've received recently. Instead of adding them to the pile of miscellaneous office stuff and paperwork, I decided that if I loved them so much, I should put them somewhere where I can see them. Thus, the following idea was created:

Framing Cards for Instant Decor
Select a card of your choice and decide which section you would like to frame.

Pick out a frame that you think best compliments the card.

Take out the glass in the frame and place it over the section of the card that you want to put into the frame.

With a pen or pencil, outline the glass. Try to make sure that the glass is in an even position before marking the area.

Cut on the inside of the marked area, making sure that the ink or pencil line is not showing.

Put your card into your frame and voila, instant decor!


This project is also perfect for a kid's room using birthday cards or for holiday decor using holiday themed cards.