Upholstery Store Castoffs Pillows

Years ago a local furniture store in town donated their old fabric swatches to school.  No one wanted them.  I took these home because I loved the colors.  I put them in my craft tote and forgot about them until this winter when I was doing some cleaning purging.

 I decided that they would make some awesome pillows.  Since the swatches were precut and all the same size, the project was ulttra simple. 

 I had enough for three pillows and a super large tote bag.  All for free.  Now that is thrifty!

Mama Thrift

Style Sunday - Channeling Kate (Hepburn That Is)

I used to wear this to class in college all the time.  I didn't think it was anything special, but a friend of my called it my Katherine Hepburn outfit.  Since I do not mind being compared to any Hepburn, I went with it.

Pants are harder to find when thrifting.  Although there are racks and racks of them, they tend to be 80's high waisted jeans.  Also pants tend to bit more worn looking.  However, if you are patient, you can find some great deals and unique styles.  Ditto for shoes.  Shoes and pants in this pix set me back $6.00.

Finding great vintage jewelry at a price you can afford is more of challenge.  You have to search, search, search your favorite thrift stores display always checking it each time you visit.  You need to put the word out that you love the stuff and you need check with your family.  I get a lot of my jewelry at estate sales on the second day (half off!)  However the above pieces were free!  The watch and bracelet came from a friend's grandmother (no one in their family wanted it...can you believe that??) and the owl necklace came from my grandmother.

Thrifting doesn't always take place at a store!

Thrift Chick

Project Surprise

We all have those projects where the vision in our head is breathtaking  and the reality in front of us in no way matches the that vision.  Once in a blue moon the opposite occurs.  The DIY gods smile upon you and what had no potential evolves into something that is quite creative.  Such was the case with Thrift Chick and my "tacky birthday gift."

A colleague of ours was turning 60.  The special ed department was charged with giving her 60 items or a really tacky gift.  I inherited the materials and room of a hoarder this year.  We have about 1000 paperclips (I kid you not.)  My assistant and I decided we should make her something out of 60 paperclips.  I scooped up about a hundred to take home.  Flash forward to the night before the big day.  At 9:00 pm, Thrift Chick reminds me we need to get the present ready.  I was too lazy   engrossed in Modern Family  busy to go out to my car to get the paperclips so we broke Thrift Chicks supply of colored clips.

A little hot glue, buttons from the button tin and a small vase and we were done.  We both looked at each other and laughed.  It wasn't tacky.  It wasn't ugly.  It was ...cute.  It even had 60 paperclips.

 

 Don't you just love surprsies!

Mama Thrift

We are linking up to:

It's a Hodgepodge Friday

Simply Designing

The Shabby Nest

Fingerprints on the Fridge

Featuring Your Sassy Sites

A Little Knick Knack

Make Your Own Vintage Bottles

Years ago, I found these hymn racks in an antique store.  I brought them home and put them up in my bathroom.

They have sat empty because I haven't been able to find anything to put in them.  I wanted something that made sense in a bathroom.  I tried old advertising, but they flopped over.  I was in an antique store when I saw some old bottles with some of their original apothecary  labels still on.  I loved the nostalgia look of them.  I thought they would be perfect for the bathroom hymn racks.  Then I looked at the prices.  They were a little too steep.  I thought I could duplicate them with thrift store finds.

 Each of these cost less than a $1.00.  They have great shapes and are flat enough to fit , but they are boring.

 I went to Graphics Fairy and found some great vintage labels and printed them on white, pink and tan paper.

 I cut out the labels and glued them on with rubber cement.  Now they looked too new, so I roughed them up with steel wool and stained them up a little with coffee.  Now they look like found vintage objects.

The aqua bottle is one I tinted using the technique found here.  Start to finish my vintage bottle project took about 15 minutes.  Now that is an easy DYI project.

Mama Thrift

Style Sunday - Mother Does Not Know Best

When you are on the hunt in a thrift store, you sometimes find things that make your heart go pitty pat.  Sometimes your shopping companions do not share your excitement.  When I showed Mama Thrift this dress, she laughed and said it looked like a house dress from the seventies.  She didn't like the material or the style.  I told her I had a vision. (of course, I always have a vision)

 The motorcycle boots were a from a thrift store I visited two years ago.  I paid $5 for them.  They are great and authentic, but are such a pain to get on and off.  No zippers. or hidden elastic. I have to tug and tug.  Of course this year, this style has become the trend.  There were tons of similar boots out there....they all had zippers.  I was tempted to let go of these and get some a bit .less.... authentic

Once I do get the boots on, I love the outfit.  It's a bit biker, a bit preppy, a bit odd and overall very comfortable.  I guess I will hang on to the boots.  Now excuse me, I have to go show Mama Thrift how wrong she was about the dress.

Thrift Chick

Valentine's at The Snug

I grew up in a large city so when we moved to our small rural town, I had a bit of a culture shock.  Suddenly my shopping and eating options were drastically reduced.  However, there are a lot of advantages to small town life.  A lot of interesting experiences can be had in a small town.  Our Valentine's date is the perfect example.. 

This is The Snug Cafe

    It is a small diner in our town that has been around since 1927.  You know the kind of place with paper placements and furnishings that haven't changed over the decades.  It is a landmark in our town.

    The Snug seats about 50 with booths on one side and a counter on the other.  It is open for breakfast and lunch.  This is the kind of diner where the majority of customers are regulars and call each other by name.  The staff are like family and the food is like your grandma used to make.
    Last year The Snug changed hands and the new owners decided to start a new tradition.  They opened the restaurant for Valentine's dinner.  Reservations were required and seating was limited.  When we arrived, this is what greeted us.

    That is one of the owners.  The booths were draped in linens.  Everyday glasses were joined by fine stemware.  Lighted candles gave a romantic glow.

  We were then served a five course meal.  We started out with bruschetta.  That was followed by roasted eggplant soup.  Our salad course was accompanied by a loaf of nutty homemade bread (my Valentine was sweet enough to give me the bigger half because he knows I could love on bread alone.)  Our entree was a baked potato, asparagus, filet migon and lobster tail.  For dessert we had a choice of cheesecake or creme brulee.  Everything was homemade right there in this tiny diner.  It was so yummy. 
   The owner kicked off the night by introducing everyone right down to the dish washer.  The chef and the owner mingled with us constantly checking to see how we were enjoying our food,  To top off the night, each lady was presented with a rose.  It was so fun and unexpected.
   You know there are wonderful four star restaurants in the "big city" that have classically trained chefs with menus written in a language I couldn't pronounce let alone read.  I am sure their food is sublime and romance abounds.  But give me The Snug any day.  Laughing with my sweetie over a great meal surrounded by friends wins out every time.

Hope you has an equally fun Valentine's Day!

Mama Thrift

Style Sunday - Bookworm

   One of Mama Thrift's favorite clothing found at thrift stores are "dad" sweaters from the 50's and 60's.  She loves the retro cut and feel of them.    She says they remind her of her grandfather.  She found this gray sweater in a Salvation Army.in a nearby town.  It is made of wool and the black stripes are some kind of soft velvet or velor.

     The sweater was $3.50 and the corduroy skirt was $2.50. The black boots are also a rare thrifted find.  Footwear size 10 are pretty hard to find at thrift stores.  If you wear size 6 or 7, there are bargains galore out there.  

      The glasses were a .25 cent find in the budget room in our local antique store (You heard that correctly...our antique mall has a budget room.  It is like a garage sale of antiques.  So fun)  Don't you love patterned tight?.  Sometimes I wish I was a little girl again.  There are tons and tons of fun patterns in girls tights.  Anyway this is one comfortable outfit.

Thrift Chick