For quite some time I’ve had this desire to do something creative – something new. It was kind of like something bubbling under the surface that I wasn’t quite sure what to do with. After I left my job in November I bought a few art supplies thinking I might do something with them, but they’re still in a box.

Then a few weeks ago a new antique & collectibles “mall” opened on our side of town. Individual dealers rent booth space and sell their wares. Mark’s parents own a couple booths at their central Phoenix location and so they also rented one out here and said we could put stuff in it. I had a few things in the house that I put in there,  just little decor items, that sold pretty quickly. Then I started to think about some crafty stuff I’ve seen on Pinterest. I bought some really cheap wine & martini glasses that I’m putting chalkboard paint bases on (so guests can write their names).

Then my thrift store shopping got the better of me and I decided to go BIG!

I’ve always loved furniture and refinishing or painting it and I immediately saw the potential in this beauty. At $100 I couldn’t pass it up. By the time I’d walked out of the store I’d also bought four cool retro 60’s chairs that had tons of possibilities.

The problem was, I was falling in love with the armoire and already figuring out how I could rearrange the furniture in my living room to make room for it. While it’s built for a TV on top I’d just add a couple shelves and use it for storage.

I showed Mark some of the really cool stuff people are doing with vintage furniture and how much they’re selling them for (kind of amazing). One of my FB friends saw the picture of the armoire that I posted and said she had the exact same one she’d bought in a really pretty custom blue and paid $1,000 for it. Wowzers, yeah, maybe I should sell it.

I think I convinced Mark of the viability of my new obsession, because he took me out yesterday and showed me some new thrift stores that he likes.

At the first stop we headed back to the furniture section, and guess what I found?

Hee, hee. It’s a bit bigger than the other one and even has two drawers and a shelf in the bottom. Half off – $125. So one for me, one to sell 🙂

After 3 or 4 stores, we ended up with a van full of stuff and Mark had to go back and pick up the armoire and a table and chairs in his dad’s truck.

So my garage is full of stuff that is going to be revamped and made into some fun stuff. I’ll post pics as I’m finished but here’s some of the stuff I’ve got piled up to work on.

Here’s a few of my “inspiration” pieces.