Thrift Stores + Spray Paint = Unique and Fun Halloween Decorations!

I love Halloween!  I love thrift shopping!  And I love spray paint!  Put them all together and you get this post!  LOL

I found this very pink princess castle at Savers for only $3.99!  But in my head I totally saw HOGWARTS!  The brick walls, the turrets, the large doors.  So to the horror of little girls everywhere, I pulled out the black spray paint!

I didn't use a plastic-specific spray paint.  I just went to the shelf in the garage and grabbed my favorite spray paint ACE Hardware premium enamel.  I love that fact that it covers very well and dries so quickly.

As soon as I was done I was SO excited!  My vision had become a reality and yes, it really did remind me of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from Harry Potter.  Yes, I am a proud #potterhead.

I placed it behind my sink for now but once I decorate for Halloween in full,  I will post more pictures.  I am quite excited about how it turned out.

I have posted the following before but I thought they were worth a revisit for this Halloween spray paint specific post....

Everyone knows I'm a Disney addict.  And so when I saw this pretty white candle holder at GoodWill, in my head I thought HAUNTED MANSION!

I found these glitter Halloween clip ons at WALMART for only 97 cents each.  Oh the possibilities.

Here is the result!  I really like the way it turned out.  I also found the candle for .99 too at GoodWill.

I found this awesome candlestick at GoodWill and the candle for under $5!  I took it apart and painted it black and rubbed it silver.  I found glitter decals at Michaels and I really like the way it looks on my foyer table.  It is very regal like something found in an old Hollywood scary movie.

Last week I stopped in this random thrift store and found these lanterns.  Obviously, the previous owner used them outside and they were pretty beat up and rusted.  They were only $3 each!  So I cleaned them and spray painted them and they turned out like new.  I am so excited because nothing screams Halloween to me like a spooky lantern.

 I have also had these on the shelf in the garage and I have contemplated just donating them because I never knew how I would put them to use.  SO glad I let them sit there.  I spray painted them to match the lanterns and decided to put them to use in the foyer.  I have more work to do on them but they look very cool!  Very old school Halloween.

I found these rusted look candle sconces on clearance at Hobby Lobby in the summer department.  They were ridiculously cheap and of course they found their way into my cart.  I decided to spray them black for Halloween!  They work perfectly at my front door and I!  I placed some flameless candles that flicker - my candles must have that spooky flicker - and they look very inviting.

I hope to post more Halloween pictures in the coming weeks with decorations and ideas.  I would head to your local thrift stores and look for random things you can spray paint for fun and unusual spooky decor!  Good luck and Happy Haunting and Happy Hunting!

Ugly carpet gone ... I painted underlayment to look like tavern floors!

I'm going to share one of my favorite home improvement tricks on the cheap!  I'm on a limited budget so I can't exactly go out and pay thousands of dollars on hardwood flooring for every room in my house.  And yet the dirty and dated carpeting has got to go.  What is a girl to do?

I recently made over my cluttered guest room which was covered in Victorian wallpaper and green carpeting.  It all needed to go.   The rug found at Target was perfect - perfect color, price, and size.  But I didn't want to put it on top of the ugly green carpet in the room.  So I decided to removed the carpeting altogether.

Then I removed the padding below, the tack strips around the perimeter, all the staples and nails so the underlayment was nice and smooth.

The first thing I do is to paint the flooring with a brown porch and floor paint.

Once dry, I take a long straight edge and a Sharpie marker and make lines across the floor to simulate planks.

Next, I take basic black paint - even craft paint - and mix it with water in a bowl.  I then dip a rag into the paint and water in the bowl and wipe it on the floor.  I blot it and swirl it with a towel which I also use to towel to wipe the excess.

After the floor is covered, I simply let it dry.  Then I sweep it one more time in order to prepare it for the poly coating.

Then I simply add two coats of polyurethane.  To me, they look amazing.  I throw an area rug on top and I must say you really cannot the difference from actual hardwood floors and they actually cost me nothing other than one afternoon of work.

The icky, green carpeting is gone and the room feels updated and clean.  And if eventually I do have enough money for wood flooring,  the surface is ready to go.  But I must admit I like the painted underlayment so much, I don't feel the need to spend the money to get the same look.  :-)