Find! Affordable holiday gifts

A reminder that "Annabelle's Garden" is ready for the holidays! The Red Rooster in Milton has beautiful home decor and gifts, and the booths in the basement feature very nice antiques and secondhand steals.

Find! Outdoor slipcovers

Is this a "Find" or a "Project?" A little of both.

I bought a really great wooden outdoor patio set for a steal a couple summers ago. Only problem? They came with hideous, bright yellow, plastic-y cushions. I can't afford new cushions, but couldn't bear sitting on bright yellow plastic another summer.

Last summer, I bought a few old bedspreads at tag sales. This spring, I cut them into pieces and sewed them into slipcovers! The sewing is imperfect (I sort of cobbled together my own makeshift pattern), but I love the results. They're easy to throw into the wash too, so I don't panic every time it rains.

The pillow in the background is an old flour sack. (I've got a few, thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law, who knows I love 'em.) It's stuffed with a king-sized pillow, and makes for a comfy spot to sit and enjoy the flower garden.

Find! Painted dresser

OK, so I didn't actually go out and find this piece in a flea market. Instead, it has been in our family since I was a little girl.

My grandma is an artist, and a rather bohemian one. She has painted milk cans, garage doors, furniture, tablecloths, and any number of other things. She has created her own style of "rosemalling" (traditional Norwegian artistry), and I love the fanciful designs on this dresser. She painted it for my sister and I when we were little girls. The twin robins and twin rabbits always captured my imagination...

I can't think of a more perfect piece for my son's nursery. It's bright, colorful, unusual - - and painted with immense love.

Find! Flea market hutch

It's finished! The hutch that Linda and I found (for $100) last fall at the Roscoe Antique Mall in South Beloit has finally been restored. (And I can check a major project off of my "to do" list!)

To the left here, you see a photo of the finished hutch, which is providing much-needed extra storage in my living room.

Below is the "before" shot...

I spent less than $100 refinishing this piece, spending most of the money on a large piece of beadboard (for the upper back), and a nice piece of trim for the top. I also bought new hardware, paint, glaze and a polyurethane topcoat. Total price for the hutch: $200. (When we were shopping, the best deal we saw was about $400, and most were priced at $600 and up.)

The glaze (above), which was recommended by Linda, really makes this paint job "pop." In my mind, it's the difference between a professional finish and an amateur one. Once I got the blue-green paint on, the hutch looked clean and fresh, but really plain. This glaze was easy to apply (just paint on and rub off), and it got into all the nooks and crannies of the beadboard and the egg & dart trim. I would recommend it to anyone looking to add depth and interest to painted furniture.

The closer image (to the right) shows the egg & dart detail on the edges of the shelves that made this hutch stand out as having potential (despite its ugly hardware and cheap metal shelving).

Find! Ten dollar curtains

I still can't believe I paid only $10 for all four curtain panels in my living room.

Linda and I were hunting through a local antique store (not one of our usual haunts), when I spotted these hanging in an attic room. These curtains were hanging up in the windows, and were not even tagged for sale. But my intrepid mother-in-law talked the owner into not only selling them, but practically giving them to me. (In fact, we learned the owner was scaling back her merchandise and seemed happy to part with them... a valuable lesson! It's always worth asking, even if the item isn't tagged.)

Find: Stop by the store

For those of you who don't already know, my mother-in-law, Linda, runs a great little booth in the lower level of the Red Rooster in Milton, Wis. It's called "Annabelle's Garden." Typical merchandise is painted furniture, decorative items, and re-imagined flea market treasures... all marked at unreasonably low prices. (Her friends and family are always telling her to charge more!) Linda's been scouring the state for flea market and junk store treasures for many years, and her eye cannot be beat. If an item makes it into her booth, you can be sure it's both stylish and unique.

If you're ever in the area, stop by the Red Rooster: a great gift/home decor store located in the charming old feedmill. You'll find 3 floors of shopping, some of it individual booths rented to "locals" like Linda. Plus there is an excellent used bookstore and coffee shop in the same complex.

Flea market find: Hutch

My latest find is a much-needed hutch for additional storage in the living room. (With yet another kid on the way, we will need all the hiding spots for junk that we can get.) Yes, this one needs a bit of work, but it has beautiful egg-and-dart trim, good lines, and it's a solid, heavy piece.

My plan is to have Aaron remove the clumsy hardware; put a new piece of crown molding across the top; and cut a new beadboard back for the upper part. (So handy to be married to an ex-carpenter!) Then I'll sand the thing down and paint it a gorgeous blue/green/gray that my mother-in-law helped me choose. She's also experienced at "antiquing" a piece, so I'll ask her advice on the final steps... which may include sanding and/or adding a hint of brown stain.

And yes, I will definitely be replacing the "Star Trek" style pulls with something a little more tasteful and traditional! I'll keep you posted on my progress, and post a photo of the finished project.