Cleaning Silver

So I never did get around to buying a silver polish, that I mentioned before, considering all the silver things I have been picking up at the thrift store lately.  I did however look into buying some, but I just didn't find anything that I thought looked right for my project.  So I looked online and found a recipe to make homemade silver polish and well, it was so great I thought I would pass it on to you.

But before we get to that I have to show you what I found!!!  I was in the thrift store once again, and I had wandered through the store, had a few things in my cart, and was headed back to the housewares section when I saw a lady who works there, with a cart full of stuff she was about to shelf.  I browsed her cart from a distance when I found this silver thing screaming at me to take it off her cart before she puts it on the shelf and someone else walks away with this beauty.  So I did, I snatched it off her cart and felt wonderful for having it in MY cart.

I didn't know what I would do with it yet, it was just too pretty to pass up.  But moments later it hit me.  My daughter's birthday is coming up!  perfect!!!

Would you have snatched this beauty?

Here is the recipe I followed to clean this set up. (Don't you love google?)

Home made Silver Polish Cleaner

A big pot for all your pieces

Bring water to a boil

Put a piece of aluminum foil in the bottom of the pot

Dump in 1 tsp of baking soda for every 2 inches of water

2 tsp of salt

Let boil

Place silver piece in boiling water and let sit for a few minutes

Remove and place another piece in the water

Dip silver in a sink of warm soapy (not too soapy) water quickly and remove

Dry and rub with a clean dry cloth

Voila!

It worked great!  I love homemade recipes!

Here is the end result:

Now, you may be thinking I am nuts to give this to my daughter who is a toddler, or you may be thinking it's great!  But can I just say that my girls LOVE playing tea party...

and when I bought my older daughter (P) a tea set for Christmas that was SO cute, it ended up like this...

Am I crazy for buying ceramic!!!  Poor tea set.

This ceramic tea set was $8.99, and the silver one was only $9.99!

I figure at least a silver one will last, and it is extremely cute as well!

Her birthday isn't for a few weeks, otherwise I would have caught a few photos of her using them.  I'll have to post some later, after the party.  I can't wait.  She may just love to play it it now, but I think this will be something she will love to keep later!  And if she doesn't, I will!!

Happy Monday!

I am linking to the parties on my sidebar.

Our Fence!!

This may not be exciting for you, but it is SO exciting for me!  We have a fence!  We rented the basement suite of this house from my brother in law 4 years ago, and mentioned putting a fence in back then...

With 3 little ones at the time, and living in a basement suite that was tight, it was so nice to be outside...

We LOVE being outside.  But I had to keep a close eye on the littles ones every second.  A year went by, then another...

Finally after 3 years renting we bought the house off my brother in law, and moved to the upstairs.  Now was our chance to do what we wanted.  We put the posts in right away.  But... as summer went on, it seemed like everyone of our friends had all these projects that they wanted my hubby's help with.  Our fence stayed as posts for a year.  What's one more year?

Finally Spring this year has arrived, and guess what is on my mind?  Let's finish the fence!

It took a lot longer than I thought it would.

Full day after day of work, kids eating whatever they can grab from the fridge, watching the younger ones in the process, wanting to help drill, running around and playing ball while boards are being put up....

After a few days of work hour, by hour, I can see this lovely space coming through for me.

The process was a mess!!!

And left us with more work to be done! (what happened to the grass? -hmmm)

I am so thrilled to no longer be finding dog poop that kiddies can bring in the house on their shoes, dead grass spots from dog pee, cat poop in my gardens where my vegetables grow, garbage blown all over my yard because we are the only ones without a fence, and finally a little privacy from all the cars driving down the alley and looking at those crazy people with the toys all over their lawn.  Sheer bliss, to have a little nook where we can enjoy being together.

I'm going to love the summer!

Bulletin Board

My little niece is having a birthday party.  Thank goodness for the advance notice, because I really enjoy making gifts.  I like to test my creativity.  So here is what I came up with for her 5th birthday.  Actually, this project I saw at my favourite store (Homesense), and I thought, "that is a cute idea, I bet I could make it for less".  So this is the version I came up with.

I started with a cork board that I found at the thrift store, along with this picture frame.  It's funny because the lady I was paying at the till was going on about how soothing a lighthouse can make you feel (which is the picture in the frame).  Well, she was rambling on, and on, so I stepped in and gently (so I wouldn't crush her feelings) and told I just wanted it for the frame.  She just said, "Oh, well that's nice too!"  So does she really like lighthouses, or was she just making polite conversation, or does she just want to get rid of the thing altogether so she's making it sound better than it is...?  Anyways, I bought it.

When I got them home (sorry for the bad lighting, but I did it at night) I ripped out the picture from the frame (Anyone want a lighthouse?), and broke the frame off the cork board.

I measured the inside of the frame.

And cut it using a utility knife.   I cut the backside, and the front, so that I wouldn't ruin the cork.

After I had the cork board the size I wanted I got this stamp from the dollar store that I liked the pattern of, and I used a paintbrush to put it on the board.

I didn't blot it because it hardly left a mark on the board when I did try to blot it.

I just used whatever pattern to put it on the board.  I wanted the cork to be predominant, so  I scattered the stamp in an orderly way.

After that, I primed and then painted the frame for the board a aqua blue that I had leftover from the project here.

Now... onto make the pins for the board:

I bought these hair elastics at the dollar store.  I thought they would add just the right amount of glam to the board.

I used pliers to pop the backing off the jewel.

And thank goodness, I have finally located my glue gun.  I found it in my bathroom drawer of all places!!  I glued the jewel onto a thumb tack.

Okay, the reveal:

Stamp, jewel, picture... perfect!  Although I am not giving her the picture.  This one is my daughter, I put it here to show you what it could look like with a photo, or you can use it for artwork.

Cute.  So the one I saw at Homesense was just as good as this one, and it didn't come with pins.  It was $19.99.

Let's compare costs:

Cork board: $2.49

Picture Frame:  $4.99

Stamp:  $1.00

Pins: $1.00

Primer and paint colour:  Already had on hand.

Total:  $9.48

I win!

The good thing about my niece being little still, is I can get away with giving her things to decorate her room (which did I mention is a blue theme) because everyone else will probably be getting her toys!

I am linking up to the parties on my sidebar.

Lanterns

"These are a few of my favourite things..." - Sound Of Music.  Didn't you love that show?  

So I am in the middle of so many projects right now (and they are BIG ones).  None of them are completed, so I can't post them just yet.  But I thought I would write a post about one of MY collections.  As I have posted some trendy collections of owls (you can check out here), and a collection of chandeliers (you can look at those here), also a few mobiles I thought were cute (you can check out here).  But lanterns is what I love, and I am slowly growing a collection.

It started with this one: 

I got it at Superstore a few years after I got married, and I love the moroccan style because when I light it up and the room is dark, it leaves the neatest shadows around the room.

This next one, I found at a garage sale and the lady asked how much I wanted to pay, and I said "50 cents".  She said sure!  What a deal, and I love this one because it holds a taper candle that sits right in the middle.  I light this one a lot.  I love the shape.

My brother was moving and was getting rid of his lanterns, so I bought them off him for $10 each.  They are patio lanterns, and they are huge, they go down to the floor.  I love them.  Right now I have one in my dining room, and the other in my bedroom.

This green one I found at Homesense. I LOVE that store!  It was on clearance, and I loved the colour of it.  It's so fresh looking.  I got it this Spring.

A few days after I found the green one, I found this white one at the local thrift store for $3.99!  It's sitting on my dresser waiting for a candle.

These star lanterns I took a picture of when we (hubby and I) were in Mexico this Spring.  They had a whole bunch of them hanging from a tree on the street.  It was very pretty.

And these lanterns were in Mexico also, and they are made from coconuts!  I wanted to get one for my sons room.  They plug in!  I thought they were neat too.  

So, there you have it.  Am I obsessed with lanterns or what? 

They are so pretty and create a nice light which creates a nice mood.  Ooooh!

What about you?  Have any lanterns kicking around the house?

Garage Sales Weekend!

So, Saturday was the first official day I have actually been able to get out and hit a few garage sales... Okay, more than a few!  A lot!  Want to see what I got??  Brace yourself, and don't call me crazy.  No irrational purchases here!  Just all things wanted and needed.  Well there is one irrational buy, I'll explain shortly.

Sidewalk chalk: $1
(my girls love these!)

Bauer rollerblades: $3 

(amazing condition- my son won't take them off his feet they are so fun!)

Life vest: $1

(perfect for my toddler for our summer of swimming!)

Cute Umbrella: Free

(who doesn't need one of these, they break so easy- free is my kind of price)

Baby swimming pool: $1

(I was going to get one anyways, now I saved about $11)

Floating boat: $1

(We are going to use this on our holiday when we go floating down the river)

Do you think I am crazy yet?  Or do you see anything you would have bought?  And yes, my van was getting fuller, but wait... there's more!

Nightstand: $5

(I was squatting in front of this and deciding if it would look good in my bedroom -with a makeover of course- and I noticed this lady hanging around me and eye-balling this.  I kept touching the drawers to let her know I was undecided but interested.  I was apparently taking long when she finally asked me "When your done deciding and your not going to take it, I will" Panic, and answer "I'm taking it!" So in the van it goes too.)

Oh, but here is the funny part...  I went to another garage sale and saw this one and decided this suits me more, so what did I do?  Bought it,  and now I feel bad for the lady who wanted the other one.

Nightstand: $5

(This one needs a makeover too, but I have already wiped it down and it looks so much better already.  I also moved it into my bedroom and      I love it!)

So my van is getting pretty full, yet I am still going strong!

Platter: $1

(Sweet treats are waiting for you!)

Thingy: $4

(I am not sure what to call this but it's oh so cute, and I have a home for it in my bedroom.)

Small suitcase: $1

(Besides the dirt that needs to be wiped off, it's in excellent shape!)

Two chests: $1 each

(They are going on my bookshelf to store something I want to hide)

Two winter coats: left one: free, right one: $2

(And just in time, the one I bought at a garage sale three years ago is ready to be tossed.  Two new ones and for $2 - why thank you!)

Lastly:

Barbie house: $7

(Now my girls have a few too many dollhouses, but this is by far the best one, so I'll have to get rid of my cheesy homemade one, and make room for this one - impractical?  They LOVE it! And $7, how on earth could I pass this up?!)  

By now, my daughter that was with me was being piled on, and I decided it was time to go home!  

Grand Total: $34

(Definitely not how much I usually spend, but oh so worth it, and I think I may be done garage sale-ing for the rest of the month, I need to return some bottles to the depot to earn my next outing!)

Find anything you like?  

My kids sure did!

Don't you feel like you were right there with me?!

Enjoy your Monday!