Category: thrift shopping

February 26, 2012

My Latest Thrifting Finds

Here’s the latest stash of goods from my last thrift shopping adventure.

I just fell in love this cute embroidered pillow. With a good cleaning, it’s now my husband’s new “snuggle pillow.” He likes to hug a small pillow when he’s sleeping, especially when I’m not around. His old one was looking a little…um…worn.

Speaking of embroidery…it’s kind of become an obsession. This beautiful embroidered picture is now hanging in our office.

This beautiful hand-knit blanket is the perfect size for a toddler bed! And the colors were perfect for the Peanut too. I guess I have to give my husband a little lesson in dryers though. He has since felted a few of these knitted squares. Oops!

I’ve kind of been on the lookout for a small glasses case. As I sifted through the thrift store stash, I unearthed this cutie. The vine design was worth so much more than $0.50. Yay!

I also picked up an atlas and some pretty vintage papers for my art journal. It was a productive trip, I’d say.

December 19, 2011

Christmas Around Our House Part 2

Just give me one men’s plaid XL shirt at the thrift store, and this is what I can do with it:

1. Christmas wreath: starting at the sleeves of the shirt, I cut a bunch of fabric strips. I hot glued each piece down to my thrifted straw wreath (50 cents!!!) as I went, overlapping pieces the whole way. Then, I took three more strips and made three rolled roses. To make the red “foliage,” I cut a bunch (maybe a dozen) of squares out of some spare red fabric I had. Fold them in half once, then in half again, and glue them down. You can round the top edges to make it look softer.

2. Christmas garland: starting at the hem of the shirt, I cut long strips of fabric about 1-2 inches thick. I tied three pieces together and braided them. I connected two braids in the middle to get enough to go around the doorway. Don’t mind the little ornaments. Haha! Though I think it would be neat to hang bulbs from the garland at intervals. Hmmmm. Might try that when I get home.

3. Christmas Forest: The three tall trees I thrifted a couple of years ago. Recently, I found two foam cones at the thrift store. I wrapped each in extra fabric strips from the shirt. I wound the strips around and used sewing pins to hold them down. I made the star ornaments several years back with felt and embroidery thread. I hung the last two stragglers on my trees with matching gold buttons for an extra touch.

4. Framed Christmas Greetings: I thrifted this frame for a fun DIY photo shoot at my wine and cheese party last year. I strung two fabric strips from the back of the frame and hot glued them down. I cut out 9 total 2×2 inch squares from some green scrapbook paper I already had. Then, I stenciled in the letters. Then, I just stapled the letter squares to the fabric strips. Voila!

Call me the crafty thrifter, this was so much fun! I loved the project, because it formed a color theme throughout the house. The color-coordination makes all the decorations flow together. I still have a little fabric left, so I might have to drum up another project. We shall see.

October 1, 2011

Some Soule Mama Inspiration

If you don’t already know about her, you have to check out this awesome mama/writer/pioneer/artist… I just got done going through her Handmade Home book. I am completely smitten with the concept of handcrafting things for your home that nurture your family, entertain your children, mother your sick, and personalize your space. I swoon a little bit every time I read through the pages and gaze longingly at the pictures. I am reminded again and again what the purpose of my life is at this very moment, for my three-year-old and husband–to nurture my family and carve a loving home.

I did, however, actually complete one of the projects in the book. Yay me!!! Mind you, my sewing machine had tragically been sitting unused for at least five years before this. I suddenly had a strong desire to make something that had a certain purpose in my home that I couldn’t find any other remedy to.

My husband has this annoying habit of grabbing a second towel to put on the floor for his feet. It’s sloppy, but I didn’t have any better solutions. We had tried a carpet square, but the second that that started, um, smelling, I had to throw it away. It was unwashable.

Enter the washable bath mat. Hooray! This was also the least intimidating sewing option for my rusty skill. I found a microfiber cloth at the dollar store and a pillowcase at the thrift store. I cut a piece of the pillowcase fabric the same size as the towel, sewed ’em both together, and voila! I got a tiny bit lazy and skipped the part about layering towel pieces over the top, so it doesn’t look quite as cute as Amanda’s. But it works!

In putting together one’s sewing toolkit, Amanda also suggests finding a sewer’s user manual. She says new or old, the basic sewing principles have not changed much. Guess who was a little giddy when she snagged a vintage copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Sewing Book in mint condition? Oh yeah. And that $2 price tag tasted oh-so-sweet.

Look how sweet the old-time pictures are.

To top off all the great feelings and motivation that came from making something practical with my own two hands, I even thrifted a new sewing machine cover. Ok, I think it was intended to be a toaster cover, but it fits over the guts of the machine perfectly. And the sunflower print was much too perfect to pass up.

September 30, 2011

My Vintage Romance

I am currently taking Rachel Denbow’s Style Your Space e-course. Those girls over at Red Velvet are the coolest, and it was hard to choose which e-course to start with. But I am pretty inept when it comes to interior design, so it made the most sense to start there. I’m only about a quarter of the way into the online class, but I have to say, I am looking at my home in a whole different light.

I enjoyed Rachel’s story about her vintage romance and her bff Elsie’s recent story and tips for thrift-shopping, which made me want to explore my own second-hand story.

It all began when I was a tiny little girl spending the night at my grandma’s house. Grandma volunteered at a local thrift store and the staff there appreciated our voluntary afternoon help so much that we often left with fistfuls of items that never had a chance to make it to the racks. Many of the treasures I don’t remember, but I do still wear the vintage nightgown I once found. But the thrifty legacy my grandma afforded me has shaped my entire existence.

Grandma would admonish us for buying her anything new for Christmas or her birthday, because she’d always say “I can get that at the store.” And indeed she could find anything there. Her closet was lined with the cutest “dancing outfits” she’d go out with her boyfriend in and the most darling matching clutch purses. Her reading material, including the latest issues of her favorite magazines, were stacked neatly in thrifted baskets. Even her well-kept furniture looked like it came straight from a modish 1950s department store. She may have even laid the foundation for my active lifestyle, because we never visited grandma without the requisite stop at her local YMCA.

I spent my school years begging my mom to take me to Goodwill. After making sure no one saw me enter (someone did once and I never heard the end of it), I entered my zone. I abhorred anything mainstream, so this was the place to get a completely personalized look.

In college, 100s of miles from home, I scouted out the thrift stores before anything else, scooping up some mismatched vintage plates and ephemera for my dorm room. A friend took me to a thrift store in her hometown where I found the requisite college shot glasses (despite drinking very rarely). Another friend and I snooped around for cool T-shirts we could re-size. My all-time favorite is an “I Have Kaleidoscope Eyes” from the Beatle’s song. When I first starting working out, after transferring back to my hometown, I scoured the thrift store for workout clothes and came away with a nice starter athletic wardrobe. And I squirreled things away for my own home one day.

Some of my most interesting memories come from the thrift store. My sister and I watched two guys get arrested in one. They were just browsing, making hilarious comments, so I’m not sure what they got called for.

Before I even knew what “vintage” was, I would raid my mom and dad’s old collections of 1970s clothes. I wish I remembered what we did with them. I just knew I loved the look and I knew I didn’t want to wear the standard-issue Abercrombie look everyone else was wearing.

Now I love to search out nightgowns, sheets and curtains to re-purpose into other things. Craft supplies. The racks I turn to again and again are the dresses, skirts, crafts, books and scarves. I peek in the toys for my son and only grab things if they’re in mint condition and include the play pieces.

I am also highly likely to donate a bag on the same day that I shop. It’s too easy to accumulate too much, so I make it a point to go through some things and pitch a few things that don’t suit us anymore before I go in and buy more.

I’ll have to show you some Rachel-inspired changes around my home as they come. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your romance story!

September 12, 2011

Vintage Flower Theme Around My House

I’ve noticed that I have a vintage flower theme going on in my house. I just love the petite fragile flowers in hearty shades of pink and red. Here is a little peek:

This is a set of three antique postcards standing along the ridge of my cupboard.

I found this giant flower at the local pharmacy of all places. It was on clearance for like $2.50. I have it hanging between two art pictures on my dining room wall.

This is a pretty vintage flower print on a closet door in our room. I’m not usually a fan of wallpaper, but just this tiny little snippet of it on a tiny little door was just enough. The door needed some TLC and this was an easy and charming fix.

Here’s a little trivet I picked up at a flea market that I keep on the dining room table:

My mom bought me this set of adorable jars at an antique stores. I still don’t have anything inside of them. I just like to look at the little pretties:

And finally, a thrifted botanical print that hangs over the stove:

Of course, there’s a lot more where that came from. Perhaps I’ll do another post with even more flora.

April 16, 2010

Vintage Stealers

Does anyone else feel a little bit ripped off when people sell “handpicked vintage” items? I guess in a way, it makes a little bit of sense. The “pickers” find labels and styles that are highly saleable and buyers don’t have to do the dirty picking work. However, for people like me, with little cash to spare and a love of all things thrift, it seems like stealing to buy a $1.00 dress at the thrift store and turn around and sell it for $30.00 in a boutique. My potential to buy and recycle an old piece of clothing is now gone and I’m looking at price tags that rival brand new clothes with vintage-inspired designs.

I see this quite often now on ebay, Etsy, and those little vintage boutiques that are popping up everywhere. A vintage designer label or valuable antique is a whole different story–they deserve a little more respect and reverence. But cute handmade skirts, children’s storybooks and quirky glass cups, please don’t take them out of the reach of the rest of the recession-strapped population. We would love them!

February 22, 2010

Skimp Your Way Thin

You hardly need to spend anything to get fit. If this is your excuse, you can’t use it anymore. Motivation is probably the biggest stumbling block of all. But money should not matter.

I am the queen of working out on a budget. I am also the type of person (Gemini?) who gets very bored very easily with workouts. I need something different all the time that doesn’t cost me anything. It sounds impossible to please me, but it is not. For eight solid years, I had and loyally used my gym membership, but due to recent money constraints and logistics, I had to quit. I was really worried I wouldn’t be able to work out at home, but it has actually worked out quite nicely and I have been able to maintain my faithful habit. The only hurdles I have at home are a 1-1/2-year-old who enjoys sitting on me during ALL floor exercises and a pup who sometimes compromises my form by getting underfoot. Oh, and the dishes and other distracting messes, but I’ve learned to hold off until after my workout.

Here is my list of budget-friendly workout helpers:

1. I have rummaged, thrifted and craigslist-ed my way to a stocked workout video collection. I don’t think I’ve paid more than $1.00 for a used workout video. You can never predict what you’re going to find, so you have to practice being open-minded when going the second-hand route.

2. I also got a sweet treadmill for just $100 at a rummage sale. We have gotten WAY more than our money’s worth.

3. A $2 thrift store stair stepper is great for step aerobics and also works as a makeshift weight bench for chest presses, leg lifts and all sorts of other exercises.

4. I have a $1 jump rope that gives one of the best workouts ever. I compiled a list of jumps to try on my sparkpeople blog.

5. I got some inexpensive weights at the store. A 5lb and 8lb set will do for a lot of women. I found my husband found some 15 pounders on craigslist for $15.

6. I have magazine subscriptions to Self and Shape Magazines, which cost something like $12 each for a full year. I have hundreds of workouts pulled from these magazines, and filed away by workout type, that I can always turn to. At best, you can log on to these or other health-related magazines’ websites to learn something or print workouts. Self has some really good workout videos you can follow along with as well. As a side note, Self Magazine was one of the first major health motivators for me way back in 2000. The upbeat, anyone-can-do-it attitude really got me revved to start a fitness program.

7. If you’ve heard it from me before, you’ll hear it from me again. Sparkpeople is one of the best free health sites I have ever come across. Here you can log workouts, log what you eat, and look up health articles on almost any topic. There are health calculators, health calendars, community forums and so many things I can’t even list.

8. Free workout videos in a variety of different practices and time limits are provided by exercise TV. Also Yoga Today provides a free hour-long Yoga workout every day and offers over 200 downloadable videos for cheap.

9. The library is a rich resource for workout videos, health books, healthy cookbooks and more for free. Or check out their CD selection for fresh workout music.

10. Check out your local video store as well. We have a local one where educational videos, which includes workout videos, are free to rent.

11. For parents, playgrounds offer a really nice workout opportunity that allows you to play like a kid again. Do a Google search for playground workouts to find something like this.

12. A good pair of running shoes provides plenty of workout hours, whether you prefer free local trails, the sidewalk, the treadmill, or the track.

13. For around $300 each, my husband and I each bought a kayak. We have definitely gotten our money’s worth out of these too. We barely have to plan when we want to go out for a row and we can drop them in the water almost anywhere that’s open to the public. For the cost and the experience in nature, it sure beats slaving away in the gym!

14. I also recommend a set of stretch tubing and a fitness ball. For around $10-$15 each, you get more workout options than you can imagine for your money. If you’re lucky like me, you might happen upon these at a rummage sale or inside a workout DVD itself for even less!

Home gym Complete!