Tag: thrifty decor

Milk Glass in the Kitchen

I’ve been collecting milk glass and using it throughout the house for years now. (Too many years to count!) Back when I began collecting, I could find pieces at the flea market and thrift stores for twenty five or fifty cents. While the days of that pricing are long since over, I still find pieces in the wild for a dollar and up. The milk glass I collect is most useful if it can serve multiple purposes. To that end, I like to use it in unexpected ways. Here are a few ideas for using milk glass around the kitchen:

Use a large vase to keep favorite cooking utensils handy next to the stove. See that wooden spatula in the back? I bought it at Tamarack in Beckley, West Virginia. It’s handmade, sturdy and obviously, very useful. Also, I had to buy it because it was labeled “cookie shovel”, and when life gives you an opportunity to own such a magical item, you take it.

Turn a wide-bottomed bowl over and place a large plate on top to create a DIY cake stand. If you’re concerned about stability, a few dabs of hot glue or sticky dots will hold the two pieces together. Gather soaps, brushes and dishcloths by the sink. My sister brought me that tiny bud vase from Mexico. I just love it!

Because our kitchen is tiny, and we need all the drawer space we can find, we keep our eating utensils in containers on the counter. We tried this using drinking glasses until we knew that this set-up would work long term.

A cake stand makes a useful and decorative display for citrus. I’ve seen onions and garlic presented this way as well, but I think lemons, limes and oranges are prettier. It’s that whole “I love color; not into neutrals” thing.

No milk glass? No problem! Use what you have. Fiestaware is great for this use. With a mix of Fiesta plates and bowls, you can have a cake stand in every color of the rainbow.

How about Grandma’s china? (Perhaps we shouldn’t use the hot glue gun on that?) Mix and match dishes and bowls for a boho look. I used a small, vintage Pyrex bowl in this aspect.

Mason jars make perfectly charming utensil holders.

Use your imagination to see your things in a whole new light. You’ll be amazed at what you can create! If you try try this quick project, I’d love to see your results. Let me know in comments, or email me at: arthurized dot home at gmail dot com.

Disclosure: In addition to occasional sponsored posts, Arthurized Home uses clickable affiliate links. That means that I may receive a small commission from sales at no extra charge to you. As always, my opinion is 100% my own, and I only recommend things that I truly love or use myself. Thank you for patronizing the brands that support Arthurized Home!

Copyright 2019-2021 © Arthurized Home – All Rights Reserved. This post is the original content of Arthurized Home. If you’re reading this on another site, it’s unArthurized.

Retro Camp Decor for Summer – Bedroom and Bathroom Refresh for Under $50

What was your favorite thing about going to summer camp as a child? I loved swimming in the lake, doing crafts, visiting the canteen and crushing on the hot lifeguards. They all seemed so wordly to my ten-year-old self. I hope they’re not all bald and paunchy now. I’d be so disappointed. Anywhoo.

As I decorated the summer Hoosier, I began to realize just how much camp decor we have. I don’t normally do themes, but figured it would be fun to give our bedroom and bathroom a quick and inexpensive refresh for the summer months.

The Hudson’s Bay blanket featured in the fire starters post became the jumping off point for the color scheme. These blankets are traditionally wool, but mine is acrylic and very lightweight. It’s all we need for a bed covering in the summer.

I used the back side of a Christmas pillow for the bolster.

The map pillow is made from a bandana given to my husband at one of his favorite trail races.

Several years ago, one of our sweet nieces embellished this vintage paint-by-numbers scene with a daring saying. I just love it! I’ve had the cottage arrow for ages, and recently found the red arrow at an antique store.

This fan was inherited from my husband’s great aunt, as was the plaid throw under the picnic basket. The fan is not safe to use, so I cut the cord off of it. Don’t want anyone to lose a digit.

I love this birch canoe for displaying bracelets. And yes, I would totally pack all of these for summer camp! #soextra #dontjudge

Did you play jacks as a kid? This decorative jack is a dedicated place to park our rings while doing yard work, sports, working with power tools or other dangerous pursuits. See also: Keep your digits, above.

Now, on to the bathroom:
The vanity holds a variety of products for pampering hands. The jar that looks like grey sand is “Man Grit” (bought locally, I couldn’t find this online) an amazing-smelling hand scrub for hubby. The jar with the wooden spoon is “Moonshine“, my favorite “sugah” scrub from Charleston Soap Chef. Their “Sweet Tea” product is fantastic as well. That hunk of turquoise is a SoapRock, one of my gift-giving favorites. Roanokers can find them locally at Present Thyme.

Beach towels hung on hooks lend a bathhouse feel to the bathroom. The green, pink and aqua stripes are a cheerful nod to 1950’s decor. I made the “Cabins” sign from a child’s canoe paddle.

I bought the upper tennis racquet from a thrift store. I noticed the previous owner’s intials written on the frame and thought “It looks like it’s written in pencil, I’ll just erase it.” Later, I decided to keep the initials because it is part of the history of the piece. Then it hit me. They’re the same initials as my brother Matt, who we lost to cystic fibrosis when he was nineteen. I was meant to bring this one home.

Almost all of the decor was on hand in the Arthur Archives, thrifted, gifted, or from the flea market. Pa Kettle loaned me the dart board and croquet balls, which he refers to as “crochet balls”!

Because I’m nosy, and love to know how much things cost, here is a breakdown of what I spent, and where I found the items I purchased for this makeover.

Total spent on the bathroom: $22
$2 vintage tennis racquet – thrifted
$20 for two, colorful beach towels SOLD OUT – Tarjay

Total spent on the bedroom: $27
$3 picnic basket – thrifted
$9 red arrow – antique store
$6 lake cottage painting – antique store
$9 ’10’ sign – antique store

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little tour and are inspired to give your own decor a refresh. Now, I just need a cabin in the Adirondacks!

Disclosure: In addition to occasional sponsored posts, Arthurized Home uses clickable affiliate links. That means that I may receive a small commission from sales at no extra charge to you. As always, my opinion is 100% my own, and I only recommend things that I truly love or use myself. Thank you for patronizing the brands that support Arthurized Home!

Copyright 2019-2021 © Arthurized Home – All Rights Reserved. This post is the original content of Arthurized Home. If you’re reading this on another site, it’s unArthurized.