Thursday Thrifting

Haven't posted my thrifting finds lately. I have been trying to be good but I have had a couple of really good days!

Here is the haul from a couple of weeks ago. I collect the pie dishes with the recipes in them, my problem at this point is I don't remember which ones I have! So if it is a good price and I don't KNOW I have it I go ahead and get it. This Raspberry Cream Pie plate was only $2.99. My dream is to someday have them all displayed in my house and any extras or doubles I have can then be gifted.

I also bought the old wooden rolling pin for $1.99. The paint is peeling and the handles are a little wonky but I loved the look of it enough to buy it as a decorative piece. I have seen these types of rolling pins go for way more at antique stores, so I thought for the price it will look awesome in my someday kitchen.

The two cake plates are matching and were $3.99 a piece. Steal! I love cake plates and as I may actually set a date and get to plan a wedding here sometime in the hopefully near future these will be put to good use on a dessert table.

The clear pasta container has been on my radar for awhile. I have a pin saved on pinterest where someone used this type of container to store their cupcakes liners. I am notorious at losing track of cupcake liners, shoving them in strange places and generally either squashing them or not knowing what I have. As I find my stashes around my kitchen and elsewhere I have been adding them to the container and now I know where they all are, what I have, and they aren't getting squished anymore! Huzzah!

Harder to see in the picture is a simple wooden napkin holder. I'll admit right now that I don't buy napkins but hoard them from take out. (Most notably chipotle). We end up eating in the basement in front of the tv a lot and the napkins have just been strewn about on the coffee table. Now at least I have them contained. Baby steps towards classing the place up a bit.

So a good haul all around. Yay for good thrifting days!

Find yourself some treasures lately?

Spring Thrifting

I should be spring cleaning (Christmas stuff is still up outside!) But I have been unmotivated while snow remains on the ground. At least I am getting back to some of my normal routines now that I am learning to balance life's distractions a bit better.

After a less-than-great day at work I had the huge urge to hit the thrift shop up. I have a couple of projects in my head that I want to get off the ground and the thrift shop seemed like a good start. Well I didn't really find the project supplies that I wanted but I did make a good haul!

 

A bright knit hat (much like my favorite purple!), a vintage slip, a French scarf, and 2 bowls for $3.70!

This is still the cheapest thrift shop in town. It takes a bit of digging and the turnover is not the best but it is worth it when you find something!

Love this scarf! I will have to spend a bit of time washing everything. I have plans for the slip- getting really into vintage lingerie at the moment. And it might be FINALLY getting too warm for the hat but I am sure there will be chilly days yet.

Happy Thrifting!

Thrifting: Holiday Outfit Edition

Nothing seems to make my heart sing quite like sequins. I think that when I was in school and a die-hard tomboy the years of shunning all things 'girly' has now swung to the other end of the spectrum. Now I am the girl with sparkle everything, way too many dresses, and an obsession with pink. Hmm. Cycles I tell ya.


Combine thrift store finds AND sparkles and you have a most winning combination in my book!

The perfect Christmas green sequin shirt! All the stores are all a glitter this time of year for the holidays coming up and I love snagging a thrifty-vintage find. At $3 this top also be easy on my tight holiday budget! It came complete with shoulder pads but I took those out!

This lovely dress also had elbow pads. Not quite a sparkly beauty but the cute print and small details on this dress make it a great find in my book!

Both of these outfits look slightly frumpy on my tiny dress form. They look even better on someone with the curves to fill them out a bit ; )

Are you already planning holiday outfits?

I Heart: Pattern Sales!!!!

Another pattern sale! How can I resist? Patterns that are $17.95 on sale for 99 cents!!!! Be still my heart. Now though I really do need to get a box for all of my patterns because I am beginning to forget which ones I already have. I think that means I need to start sewing! This time it was all costume patterns. They are my favorites and I was shopping with other people who didn't want to spend another hour at the store as I pour over the pattern books!

And yes- that pattern on top is CLEARLY a 'Snow White and the Huntsman' pattern. That is a movie I did not like AT ALL which was disappointing because I love Snow White stories. Anyways the outfit is so darn cute that I couldn't resist getting the pattern. I also just sort of love the patterns that come out for the movies that were released this year. Maybe I can use it for the Oscar party next year.

Now for the good part: Drumroll Please!!!!!

Cost: $102.70
On sale for:  $6.38!!!!!
Savings of: $96.32

Boom. Happy Haunting! (And sewing!)

Vintage Luggage Set

Do you remember that show Pan Am? Well it didn't do very well but it made a lot of people covet those super cute pan am bags.

Those super cute bags were also super expensive- at least for my shoestring crafty budget. Still it was what I really wanted to get for my friend Krista for her birthday. Thrifting to the the rescue! One day of visiting every thrift store in town uncovered these gems.

Then to personalize them even more I made a 'Pan Am' logo for the red bag. I took a picture of the logo from the internet and took out the name. Then I downloaded the same font and used that to put in her name "Krista". I played around with a couple different ways of getting the new logo on the bag but I ended up just tracing and painting it with some craft paint. To finish it off I tied vintage ladies ties to each bag.

And there  you have it a super cute personalized gift that cost way less than the store bought option. Plus we did some upcycling and made it 'handmade'. Epic win all around.





Anyone else make any cool gifts recently?

Cheers.

More Halloween Shopping

Hit a couple of stores up yesterday. Fabric store was having a pattern sale!!!!!!

 I picked up these beauties for 99 cents each!!!!! If I had bought all these patterns at full price my bill would have come to $142.60! That is insane. Which is why I always stock up.

 Also picked up some Halloween school type items. I am making little gift bags for my friend's first grade class.

Then I hit up a thrift store and got all these beauties for $1! I have a weird fascination with old photo books. The others were just cool. The gray book underneath is probably going to be sacrificed for bday party decorations. My friends are having a literary themed bday party next week that I am helping with. Everyone is supposed to come dressed as their favorite literary character. Cool idea but it is harder than it seems right now I am between:

Dorian Gray
Sherlock Holmes
Jane Eyre
Crazy wife from Jane Eyre
Nancy Drew
or Mary from The Secret Garden

Also have a couple more 'kid books' ideas like going as a giant palm tree and being 'Chika chika Boom boom' or a giant red mitten with beanie babies spilling out of it and being 'The Mitten'.

Halloween Shopping

Not to be confused with 'Halloween Thrifting' this post is about things bought at a plain old store. Of course most of this haul was from the dollar store. There is something strangely satisfying by getting an entire shopping basket full of skulls and severed hands...

I was a little mad that I found 'grow your own body parts' at the dollar store. You may remember from an earlier post that I bought some at the craft store for $2 each! Boo. But this way I stocked up a bit. Also 'grabbed' a couple more severed hands (get it!) some severed fingers, a brain, a heart, 'spooky curtain' and the good old bag of cheap plastic spider rings! Good stuff. Some will be used for decor and other stuff will be used for this weekend's zombie costume. Oh yes, I said ZOMBIE COSTUME. Zombie pub crawl is this weekend and going to be just as epic as last year! (Ok, it could be a little less epic..)

Annnnnnndddddd I spent too much at the fabric store. Got some super cute stamps for a buck each but then I splurged on some vintage-inspired Halloween fabric. Projects to follow : )

Happy Haunting!!!

Halloween shopping

Here are some of the first purchases of this haunting season. While I love me some Halloween DIY there is something about buying Halloween stuff that makes me super happy.

 These technically count as diy items since they will be used in some crafty goodness. And you are right those are indeed 'grow your own' body parts. Hehe.

 Mini baking dishes! Only $1 a piece and they are oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe. Score.

 These last two are my faves.

Also over on Pumpkinrot there is a rumor of pumpkin spice waffles at Target. I must investigate.

Etsy Update!

Marie Antoinette and Lon Chaney hanging out.

Finally the day has arrived. After much sketching and making and tweaking I am finally ready to start my new section in my etsy shop- Dolls. My first etsy shop had dolls in it and I believe I sold one or two! I have gone long gaps in between my doll making but now I am back at it and ready for more!

This first series that will go into the shop is basically "Halloween Themed Marie Antoinette Dolls". I have been playing with different doll making techniques and I have been really admiring the folk art/ primitive doll work of many talented online artists. I was particularly taken with the painted dolls. Ever since leaving my ceramic job I have been missing painting. I had forgotten how soothing painting is to me and that is why I am particularly in love with these dolls since they combine my love of sewing, painting, 18th Century fashion, and Halloween/costumes. Whew. Who knew it could be done? Well I had hoped so. This first doll is actually based off of one of my original embroidery projects.

The Halloween Ball

 She is headed to the ball in classic orange and black. She wears a mask to hide her famous identity but she can take it off to reveal her true self if the need arises. Made from muslin, stuffed with polyfil, and then hand painted.

 The next doll is an homage to 'The Birds'. This doll would be perfect decoration during the spookiest holiday but would also be a fun gift to the die-hard Hitchcock fan. She is also made from muslin, stuffed with polyfil, and hand painted. The craft store birds were hand sewn to her once she was dry.

I wanted both dolls to have a bit of old world charm to them. They are both currently available in my Etsy Shop. More dolls to come soon (look for them early next week as I wrap up a couple of other projects).

What every girl needs...

...A GIANT CHAIR! Yep. I am 'that girl'.

Favorite antique shop: Northfield, MN

 I went to college in Northfield, MN and there was one antique shop that I always enjoyed going in. One of those little stores that are just piled high with gems. Not my favorite antique store in the world (that title is currently held by a store in Eau Claire, Wisconsin) but certainly a place I stop at every time I go back to Northfield.

A couple of weeks ago some of the girls from senior year were going to meet up in town, have lunch, and then wander around campus a bit. I beat the other into town so I stopped to shop and this is the gem I found!

I have been really into Snow White for a long time. At one point it got a bit ridiculous though. You know when you have a favorite something or other and everyone gets you gifts based on that thing? Well that is what happened with Snow White. My room went from pink with unicorns to blue with Snow White. I had sheets, comforter, pillow, and curtains with Snow White on them. I had books, dolls, beanie babies, happy meal toys all relating to the famous fairy tale. Most of the obnoxious stuff is gone now. The room is redecorated and some of the memorabilia has been put into storage. But as much as I have been 'over' Snow White for awhile now she still holds a special place in my heart. A couple of years ago at our local Gold Rush I started seeing these Snow White statues and I was instantly in love with them. They came in an array of different colors and slightly different styles but they were all beautifully aged and lovely. They were also SUPER expensive. This was a bit of a splurge for me but she was the best price I have seen thus far and I absolutely love her! She has a lovely blue dress, rosy cheeks, and still a hint of glitter.

After just a bit of research I found that these are called "Chalkware" and in the 1940s these would have been prizes at the carnival games. It wasn't until the 1950s that the prizes moved more towards the stuffed animals we associate with prizes today.


I also bought this (not quite all there) croquet set. Someday I will have a collection of old/vintage croquet sets and I will have a massive garden party/tournament. It will happen!

I heart pattern sales!

I love sewing patterns. I am nowhere near the point where I can make my own and I just can't help but see a neat little paper package and be overwhelmed with joy of the possibilities ahead. (Funny though how after you cut away all that 'extra' paper you can NEVER fit the pattern back into that envelope!)

Anywhoo I have a super big week ahead of me and I needed some patterns. Lucky for me they were on sale! For $1.50 each! YES  I WENT OVERBOARD!

So instead of getting one 'little house on the prairie' costume pattern I got three... no judging!

I really hope the leggings pattern works out because I will be unstoppable if I can make my own leggings. (Rough dress count the other day was upwards of 40-yes 40- so I need some more leggings to avoid my Marilyn moments)

The best part was the price. Buying these patterns full price would have cost me $137.15!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I only paid $12.50. BOOM! Now I really need to get sewing... I will be updating later this week with my Warrior Dash costume and hopefully a 'little house' dress.

Cheers all! Stay out of the heat!!!!!!

retail therapy. sad but true.

I am going to admit right now that I give into retail therapy. I am usually so thrifty that when I finally say heck with it and spend a little it makes me happy. Does this make me an awful person? Does this mean that I have succumbed to consumer culture? Probably yes to both of those but I don't even CARE!

 The Splurge: Hot pink eyeliner, hot pink blush, and an octopus ring. All of them were on clearance. Total was less than $10. Woo crazy, I know!

I am pretty much in love withe the ring. I have it on right now and it just makes me happy. I haven't bought a new ring in a long time. I usually wear the same two or three. This has definitely made it onto the regular rotation since I am hoping to get my next tattoo this summer (that involves a rather large octopus!!!!).

As far as the makeup goes I am the girl who loves makeup but doesn't wear that much on a day to day basis. When I saw these I had to have them though! Especially since my bff has finally decided what she wants to do for her birthday coming up... four of us were all bridesmaids in our friend's wedding last summer and we had these hot pink dresses that we wore. So naturally we are going to dress up in these dresses and go see the movie Bridesmaids! It comes out the weekend of her birthday. Who doubted that those dresses would come in handy? I am so excited for this. We will probably also go out to dinner before the movie and then the bars after. I don't even like going out that much anymore but it will be fun to see how obnoxiously pink I can be and this makeup is going to help.  I also think it is going to show off my new red hair rather  well. Oh did I not mention that I dyed my hair bright red? Well that's another thing I do. Big life change? (Losing job.) Big hair change, this time bright red!

Living life people. That is what I am trying to do.
Cheers!