What 30 Minutes in a Thrift Store Can Accomplish...

Who says that being frugal cannot be an absolute joy to execute! There is something magical in the hunt...the hunt for beauty, function, a need, inspiration, or uniqueness. There is a fun challenge to find something worn, tattered, or forgotten that has hidden potential. There is laughter to be found in objects that make no sense but show the comic side of an individual. There is a sigh of relief when the budget can only stretch so far and the needs seem to outweigh it -if purchased in a "real" store...but you find it for pennies in a "treasure" store. There is playfulness, creativity, and intrique to be captured among those messy shelves. Yes, I am a thrift store junkie and happy to be so. My kids have grown up affectionately calling these stores the "treasure" store. My trips thrifting are for everything from the normal mundane things like kiddos growing out of their jeans every other month(or so it seems) to furniture(my very favorite pieces in my house have been aquired at thrift stores) to fabric(I very rarely even walk in the door of a fabric store anymore). I will pick up clothing to make patterns from, recycle the fabric, or redesign into one of a kind pieces for family and friends. I have found beautiful frames for capturing precious family photos that I could never have afforded to get professionally framed. There is no better place to find unique storage solutions that fit both form and function from funky old suitcases to charming old enamelware pots. Even my antique blueware china was thrifted-squeal! My children eat through books and our walls are piled with treasured stories and adventured that only cost a dime or quarter but fed their imagination beyond what could be measured in dollars. With all of that said, I thought I would share one of my 30 minute trips to a thrift shop and how it takes care of so many areas of our lives.

Here is my one load of laundry and endless possibilities from my trip!

Some fabric yardages for the shop. New and old.

Two vintage slips for the shop. Such yummy colors!

A cotton top that has an amazing bold design that I will use for quilting!

Two vintage cross stitched aprons. And again-these will be put in the shop or used to repurpose.

And 4 pillowcases for the pillowcase bundles I offer in the shop. Perfect for wee one's pants, dresses, quilting and so on!

My girls love fun socks! So, they always greet me at the door to see if I have scored a new wild pair for them! Today, I found one for Bell. Oh the joy in simple pleasures!

A fleece baby blanket that will work wonderfully for the lining in my felted wool mittens!

Three new sheets to cut into fat quarters for the shop.
Two fun sets of vintage cloth napkins. I will either reuse them in sewing projects or list them in the shop. Still have decided:)

Some fun plaid shirts for the littlest and biggest men in my life:)

An old globe for a continuing project in the kiddos rooms. I made a mobile over Noah's bed from all sizes of vintage globes. The girls have requested one of these as well. Couple dollars for a broken down globe is exactly what I need for this!

This is what Noah's mobile looks like . So I am in the process of collecting for the girls.

Finally!! I have found a drum shade! I have been looking for over 6 months for one of these. I have had plans to recover one.

Here is the finished project-yeah!!!. Here is the how to on how I recovered the shade.

A beautiful ceramic bowl for the kitchen-all the more reason to eat fruit all day long!

Oh! And I almost forgot! I also found a brand new pair of aeropostale jeans(labels matter little to me as far as vanity-but I will say that quality many times is found in the better labels and are therefore a good buy) for my oldest son-and he said-hey-they will fit for at least a month:) Sorry-he refuses to allow me to take pics of him-stinker totally!