Thanks to Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality for hosting the blog party again. Please take a few minutes to head over there and check out everyone else's thrifty finds!

Also stop by Between Naps on the Porch, another great blog, for her Metamorphosis Monday link party. Good times; I love getting inspired by you creative bloggers out there!

Let's just start off this post with a picture of a gorgeous child, our niece, who is about to turn 1 year old. I mean, is she gorgeous, or is she gorgeous?


Moving on, when I say extravaganza, it's because I have been a tad obsessed with thrifting lately, so of course i've come across many great finds that just needed a little extra love (spray paint) to enhance their inner bling. Ahem. God, how I love spray paint.

Well, this is going to be long, so get comfortable.


Do you see that white, empty spot on the wall behind these thrifted candlesticks? Doesn't that look like a perfect spot to install a few shelves to hold my arsenal of spray paint and various supplies? Yes, I thought so, too; I'm glad you agree! Anyway, these guys became chocolate brown and now live on our mantel (is mantel spelled -el or -le?).

(That's one of them there with the yellowish gold candle. The other is on the left side. What a beaut! Did I mention they were 50 cents each?)

This little lamp was already a beauty for $5.99 at Goodwill. All I did was add a light bulb and a lamp shade! And a cat!

Love it! Makes a beautiful contrast against our brown accent wall in the master bedroom.

Remember this guy? Now he lives on my piano, also painted a chocolate brown and perched upon by a lovely orange candle.

Loved this scrolly bookend, so out came the spray paint again.

Here are the painted candle holder and bookend in their new home atop the piano.

Just look at him now:

With a fresh coat of sky blue spray paint, now he organizes all our outdoor paraphenalia (including kitty's hairbrush...) on our bar. Guests need not worry about sunscreen or bug spray at the Cockrells house, as we've plenty to spare!


This one's my favorite! Here's my nightstand I was asking for advice about. I went ahead and painted just the drawer fronts for a new look, and I love it.

I loves me some Rustoleum!

Here is the new and improved nightstand in our bedroom. I'd like to get some new drawer pulls, but I haven't yet. And let's face it: I'm also too lazy to fill the ginormous hole left by this massive hardware and drill new holes. Yep.


I thought this frame was great; look at the lovely detail!


So...add the newly painted glossy black frame to...

THIS old fashioned glass triple photo mat...no wait, this photo mat became...

This new chalkboard!
Oh, you mean it doesn't look finished? OK, THIS new chalkboard:


Here it is hung on our bright yellow kitchen wall:

Can you tell I did a faux finish on the kitchen wall? You should have seen how bright it was BEFORE the faux finish. WOW. Looks great with the Fiestaware, though, I must say.

Hubby would like to point out that I should have written chicken or steak. Sorry for the confusion.


Another interesting frame (this time I used craft paint):

I'm sorry to say that (AGAIN) I forgot a before shot of this little friend, but before (got her for about 5 bucks at ye olde goodwill) she was a rusty dark metal with a mirror inside. Just look at her now!!

This quotation is from a poem by ee cummings, read by a close friend at our wedding. Now that you know it's by ee cummings, you'll forgive the run-on sentence aspect of it, yes?


I love how the new chalkboard complements my necklace holder and new lamp.

Now, here she is (all decked out with a shade I already had), looking fabulous in our guest room:




Can you tell how tarnished this guy is? He was a mere 99 cents at Goodwill! I polished him all up, and now he lives in our bathroom, holding cotton balls and swabs.

"What? And would you go away with that camera? You KNOW I hate the flash."

Precious little bird bath for--don't hate--$1.99.


More spray paint--anyone thinking I should invest in Rustoleum stock yet--and mr. birdie makes a perfect addition to our backyard, perched (for now, at least) on the cute little flower table you may have seen in a previous post:




Well, we've reached the end, thank God. I don't think I could type anymore. Wow. Hope you enjoyed these (super easy) transformations, and hopefully this inspired you to get out to your local thrift shops to peruse the aisles!

Tune in tomorrow, as I have a master plan for a lovely cream frame I found last week. YAY!

xo, Gayla

Kelly is continuing on with the wedding memories by doing a Show Us Your Life feature on weddings! This week's focus is on your wedding party, flowers, and ceremony.

Please stop by Kelly's Corner to check out the other awesome wedding details! Good times!!

aww, mah girls! from left to right: my big sis wendy, bff kristen, me, heather-(friend & sorority sis), and my gorgeous sis-in-law, sadie (who was 7 months preggers at the time--looks amazing, huh?).

love their green ties i picked out--got them on the cheap at Stein Mart (had to go to 2 different stores, but i got 'em!). from left to right: trey (clint's sister's husband and his best friend), wes (friend from college), wesley (friend from high school), and matt (friend met through mutual friends).

roses: i gave one to clint's mom, and he gave the other to mine, to signify the joining of our two families.

my twin nieces and my nephew; presh!





HERE COMES THE BRIDE!i never noticed those twinkle lights on the step there!


this is about the best shot of my bouquet i can find; i wish it was better! i also wish i knew who i was making that face at!


here is the inspiration picture for my bouquet, but it's a little blurry. my bouquet was very similar to this, and i picked out special buttons & charms to include in the flower centers and attached to the ribbons. LOVE.

the poor aisle runner! and poor all of us trying to walk on it without tripping and falling! apparently, it would have been smart to cut the grass extra short!


i love this pic taken as my dad drops me off to my soon-to-be husband.


view of the poolhouse from the arbor.


i just had to share the view of the pasture. so beautiful, and exactly what i wanted.

how perfect are the green dresses with the nature surrounding the ceremony? i would like to take this moment to mention these dresses were bought at WALMART for 15 bucks each!

here you can see the bridesmaid bouquets: very simple. BFF kristen's (on the right) is larger, with gerbera daisies and some special charms i picked out, as she was my maid of honor, and i love her guts.

hope you enjoyed the pictures! can't wait to show off my cake when Kelly features the wedding reception!!

xo, gayla