Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The Winds of Change

I think things are changing.

Not only with me, but with our society in general.

Going away are the days where "new and plastic" were the things to be coveted.

Making do and fixing up old discards is now the "cool" thing to do.

Maybe it's just the economy? I don't really know for sure.

I know I've changed.

Used to be that if something broke, I'd throw it away and go buy something else.

Wrong color?

Go find one in the right color and buy it.

But, I've been bitten by the bug.

The "do it yourself" bug.

And, I have to tell you...

I like it.

A lot.

The Goodwill in my small town used to be two stores, side by side.

Three years ago, they had to close one side and the corporate office told the staff there that they had six months to "make it" or they were going to shut them down.

Fast forward to present day...

I have trouble finding a place to park because the parking lot is usually full.

Winds of change?

I wonder.

The following is the project that made me realize just how far I've come-

I have a corner in our newly remodeled family room where the electric panels are just screaming..."look at me!"

Ug.a.ly.

See?

Also, see how we haven't put up any molding yet?

We only like to finish a project 90% of the way.

That's just how we roll.

I thunk and I thunk which made my brain hurt sadly, that didn't take long and I decided what I needed was a ficus tree.

Not my first choice, but I needed something cheap.

That could take a beating.

Because that is where the toddler destructo team spends a lot of their time.

I priced a nice new ficus tree and they were over $100 smackerals.

And then I went to Goodwill.

They had one for $40.

Yeah, right.

So, I waited.

And they lowered it down to $20.

That's more like it.

And then, when it was the "color of the day", it went half-off.

So, I picked it up for $10.

Now, we're talkin'.

I just didn't like the wicker basket.

Here it is sitting in our yet to be remodeled front room.

The old me would have gone and bought a pot to put it in.

The new me remembered a nice pot that had a large chip out of it.

It was still sitting on the side porch, waiting for me to remember that it was there and actually throw it away.

See the big ol' chip?

Since it was the perfect size and color, I decided to see if I could fix it.

I used wood filler first to fill in the chip and after that was dry, I spread a thin layer of Plaster of Paris over the top.

I then sanded it down till it was smooth as a baby's butt.

Here is the world's worst picture.

I masked it off and painted it with the closest color that I had.

You can't even see where the chip was anymore.

I then ripped the tree out of the pot.

See what a big mess I made?

It was a little too big for the new pot.

This kind of reminds me of when I try to put my jeans on.

But, since I can't have my plant lay down on the bed while sucking it in...

I had to take a serrated knife and trim a bit off of the sides.

Kinda like plastic surgery with a quack doctor.

It did the trick though and it slipped right in.

Here she is, all dressed up in her new pot.

Best of all, I was able to reuse what I already had.

Which is very satisfying.

Winds of change?

I think so...

8 comments:

Questions said...

You used wood filler on a ceramic pot? That is so AWESOME! That's an idea I'm going to keep handy for my own future use - thanks!

Patricia L said...

That looks great. I have a problem w/ only getting 90% finished with projects too-- just ask my tiny row of top cabinet doors in the kitchen. :)

PS I think I found your blog through I.C., but you know how it is...click,"oooh", click,"oooh" click

weshattuck3 said...

I got a big potted faux plant at GW this week too! I was very excited, because I can't grow live plants to save my life.
That pot looks amazing, you are so clever!

Debbie K (aka Midnight Rambler) said...

Great job, and I'm another 90 percenter, and in fact, my doorways inside look very similar to yours. In fact, they are bang on duplicates, and I haven't done the baseboards yet either, and the new floor and paint was done ahem, cough, cough a year and a half ago. I think it's time to go get some new boards, since we tossed out the beat up ones that were there. Most of them split anyway when we took them off. Must have been the gazillion spikes the builders secured them to the walls with. Wouldn't want those light puppies falling off ya know!

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

wow! what a transformation! Glad you got such a great deal! Our Goodwill doesn't do color sales.
:(
nope, Rose and I have not met irl, maybe someday!
thanks for your kind words!
have a great weekend.
gail

Rose @ Confessions of a Curbshopaholic said...

OMG Becky, You had me rolling on the floor once again! The analogy about squeezing into jeans was too perfect!
I never would have thought to fix the pot, I would have just turned it around and used it as is! I have several broken pots that I've curb shopped and use them in places you can't tell they're broken. I'm gonna have to remember how you did this fix.
And you should be darn proud to get 90% completion on projects, I get stuck somewhere between 50 and 75 most of the time.....
Rose

Nike said...

I am so, so with you. I love that being smart is suddenly cool again. The "frugal" is the new "well-to-do" and "DIY" is the new "shopaholic."

Love the commentary, too. Man did I need a good "perspective, perspective" moment tonight. So thanks.

coryshay said...

I hear ya! I've recently taken up garage saling and that makes my local thrift store seem so expensive! Ha! Great project!