Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Thrifty Thursday #126, Plus a Tablescape

Hi! It's Thrifty Thursday! I am your host, Leigh. Thank you so much for stopping by and additional thanks to those who also participate in Thrifty Thursday! I am most delighted to have you join in..for it's YOU who makes it a "show and tell party".

(You can click on any pictures for a closer view)

*Thrifty Thursday takes place each Thursday and is hosted here at Tales from Bloggeritaville, but the party is a progressive one, visit the links to see all the Thrifty Thursday links to see the thrifty treasures participating bloggers have to share.

*Don't forget to copy and paste the Thrifty Thursday logo button to your computer so you can add it to your side bar and your Thrifty Thursday post. That way visitors will know that your are participating in Thrifty Thursday.

Last April, my college aged son was displaced for a short time by the tornado that came through Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I wrote about that day HERE. Fortunately he was safe and his apartment was spared, despite the close proximity in which the tornado came to his place. It was by the grace of God, and nothing less. However, there was no power and roads around his placed closed. School ended up closing early, sending students home. When my son came home, he discovered that his bedroom and his den had a major leak in it, leaving the ceiling and walls wet, falling and molded.
 
Our insurance company deemed his room unliveable. Dangerous because of the mold.
"Bama" couldn't come home either. It was tough. He ended up moving in with my parents, his grandparents. But after a year away at school , he wanted to be with his family as much as we wanted him home. Eventually the room was repaired and he actually came home for a  couple months, before returning to school last weekend.

Because he is home less often, my husband proposed we make Bama's den into a children's playroom. (Bama still has a bedroom to come home to)
Needless to say the idea went over "swimmingly" by our two younger children.
And when I found out that Big Daddy intended to move all electronic games downstairs, well I jumped on board too. I could actually watch a tv show, and not have to compete with children who wanted their Wii.

We needed to do it on a budget.

We needed to be thrifty.

Big Daddy wanted himself and the children to design the room. I'm not going to lie. I had the  issues with it.
No, control. No say.
It was tough, but I caved.

And this is how it came out:



They decided on a futon, so children could have sleep overs.
When they mentioned the futon, I did get involved though.
(I have control issues)
We chose a white leather futon, one that didn't "look" like a futon.
It was modern, with no arms. And I liked the steel legs, lending to the modern feel.
They decided on a  black, white and chartreuse green color scheme.
They insisted on beanbags for gaming chairs.


They DID ask me to help with the artwork.
I pondered and pondered about "FUN" and "FAMILY"
And then it came to me.....

Our Dogs:

(Left to right, top to bottom) Charlotte, Jeffery, Miley, Lucy and Jane.
I used a "Andy Warhol" approach and used wild colors for the ink.

I did this by uploading my dogs photos to the website, PICNIK
Click create, then effects. I chose the "Heat Map 2.0" and played with that, until I got the effects I wanted. I chose a three different effects.
Click SAVE & Share and save them onto a folder onto your computer, this is where I later uploaded them onto a photo processing site.
I used Walgreens for printing services. And printed them in a 12x16 size.

We love them.
Almost as much as we love our dogs!

The Total Cost:

Our Dogs Photo Poster: (5) total $ 65.00
Frames from Walmart online: $ 20.00 (it came with 6 frames)
Walmart Futon: $147.
Walmart & Target Blankets, pillows:$ 60.00
Beanbags (2) Walmart $200.
Lava Lamp Target $30, and we inherited an authentic one
Floor Lamp Walmart: $20.00
Chartreuse rug: $10

Big Daddy and the children did well.

And thrifty.

**************************
Tablescape Thursday
Now, onto to Tablescape Thursday, which is hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch.



An individual place setting this week. This is the last full week of summer as my children know it and we have stayed on the go.....no elaborate place settings, just family time, mostly consisting of paper plates and grilled burgers. But...life is good!

(click pic to enlarge)



What is a tablescape without the food? I invite you to stop by my food blog, PLATES & PLACES, tomorrow for Foodie Friday!

Thanks to all of you for stopping by and participating in today's Thrifty Thursday. Please use Mr. Linky below to link up your blog.

I encourage you all to spread the love and visit the other thrifty Thursday participants, for that's what half the fun is. Aside from seeing a cool treasure it's making friends!
You can always visit me on FACEBOOK,

I love me some friends: be they new friends or old friends!
XOXO
LIVE*LOVE*LAUGH
LEIGH


Thrifty Participants:

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your family did a wonderful job in the design of the new game room. The colors are really nice. Your idea of pet pictures in a Warhol-esque design is fabulous!

Also love those sweet little bird napkin rings!

Marlis said...

love the new futon! it looks spectacular as does the whole room. Totally fun. Great napkin rings too.. xo marlis

Tami said...

Great space!
Love the wicker charger and what a cute bird napkin ring.

Hugs,
Tami @ A Girls Gotta Nest

Pamela said...

The space turned out great! I know how you felt though. I am not good about giving up control either!:)

The Tablescaper said...

So fun and colorful. Just full of life. Great job. Love those napkin rings.

- The Tablescaper

Miss Kitty said...

The space is really fun (and in the end, you did get to have a "say"). My favorite special touch is the dog Wharhols. Do you mind sharing how you did those? Can you order them online? I think I have an effect in Photobucket that does that to a picture but are yours on canvas or paper?

Bianca said...

The room looks fantastic! well done on keeping the costs so low:)

Bianca

CoopDeVilla said...

Thank you for hosting such a fun party. It's my first time visiting your blog/party and I now am a follower. Oh, and I love the doggy photos, very clever.
Hugs,
CoopDeVilla

Diane said...

Wow, the games room looks fantastic. Love the colour combo, love the overall look...your family is very talented! Thanks for hosting the linking party, always a pleasure to be a guest. Diane

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

The room looks great! It is stylish but comfortable enough to really enjoy! I LOVE the prints of your dogs! I would love to get some big prints of some of our beach pics! ♥

Curtains in My Tree said...

I absolutely love the dogs pictures so graet hanging together like that. also the Andy color is great also. I also like pinnik

thanks for the party today I haven't been over for a while

trying to loose weight and I'm too hungry to play LOL

Cass @ That Old House said...

Leigh -- you hubby and kids did a GREAT job! I love the happy bright look of this room; perfect for kids, and it can grow up with them.
Luckily they had you as their go-to advisor, too. The dog prints are adorable; our Dion wants his mug captured now in Warhol beauty!
Cass

Daffy's Dream said...

Very colourful. The room look great now.

I would like to invite you for free giveaway at http://daffysdream.blogspot.com/2011/08/first-free-giveaway.html

daffy

Tammy said...

Thanks for hosting another great party!

JudyBug said...

Love the bird napkin holder!

Kristal said...

Hi Leigh,
Sorry I haven't stopped by to say 'Hi" earlier. I participated in your party last week but might have messed up with the linky thing. Anywho, it's been fun and thanks so much for hosting it! I have lots of fun and lots of ideas of things I want to do in the future.

I absolutely LOVE what you did with the room and most especially the dog photos!! We have two dogs right now. We had to put one down a few weeks ago and it broke my heart. She and I had been together for 16 years!! I had her longer than my husband ~ LOL!! I think this would be a great tribute to her.

XoXo,
Kristal