A Goodwill find = INSPIRATION!!

I. Love. Thrifting.

My husband could tell you that... and he doesn't quite get it. BUT on my birthday, he agreed to come with me to our local Goodwill. I found a cute lacey Anthro-esque jacket for me, and Kyle found some brand-new-looking Polo slacks! Kyle also undercovered a decorating jewel...vintage-y looking KEYS! (I absolutely love keys right now and haven't been able to find any cool ones...these look like the "Secret Garden" keys!!!) And finally. The best find: this cute little wooden squirrel!

Isn't he awesome??? I immediately fell in love with this little guy and knew that Parker needed him in his room! The finish is TERRIBLE, but I knew I wanted to paint it anyway so my handy electric sander fixed him up for me! More on this guy another time....

I have the best hubbie ever. My sweetie-poo, Kyle gave me a jigsaw for my birthday this year! Now, I know what you're thinking, "That's one of gifts that you give because you are the one that really wants it..." Yes. But I have been DYING to try one out for some fun projects, and this little squirrel was JUST the inspiration I needed!

Before, I ventured on my jigsawing journey, I knew that I must practice "Safety First." So, here's proof. And I needed an excuse to put a goof-ball picture of me in the post...

Here's my AMAZING present! His name is Fred.

With a little (ok, a lot) of help from Kyle, I made my first ever...

Wooden squirrel!!! :) I needed to stay pretty safe with my first project and do something that I could pretty much just copy. I'm so excited with how squirrel #2 turned out!!

Here's a closer look... my sander helped me smooth out a few weird curves and round off the feet, nose, and ears. I'm planning on painting him green or grey... nothing too fancy. I'm a big fan of the simple, silhouette type look right now.

Next jigsaw adventure?? A Kara Paslay inspired bust/silhouette. I can't wait to try it!

Stay tuned for more birthday fun! Kyle made 25 the best birthday ever! :)