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!

Should I Say all the Silly Quotes Going Through My Brain....Nope!

Well, as many of you know, Monday's are my hunting day. But-yesterday was an off day and i did not go. I had a few kiddos sick and thought it would be good if i just stayed put. Well, the day just seemed to be aimless-lots of odds and ends that just didn't seem to ever end or get done for that matter. It was one of those days that just seemed a good day to come to an end. But, today was a good day. The kids were all back to their studies. Bell had a great time with her speech therapist(a sweet friend of ours). The kids all got signed up for swim lessons-just in the nick of time-I might add-AND-I got to go hunting!! Not my normal day or time, but it was actually quite a nice change! I may make it a new habit. The stores where much quieter actually, my drive home was as the sun was setting and the kids were just getting ready for bed when I returned home. BUT-I had to get these pics right away and share because I found some real extra fun ones this time!




These are some fabulous prints I am going to use in my quilts, clutches, and bibs. All of these are clothing!!





Here are a few more pieces of clothing to use for my quilting projects. Love Love Love the prints!!! I will not be able to get them through the wash fast enough! It is the only time I absolutley cannot wait for that dryer to buzz!







These are two embroidered flour sack towels...they are just adorable! Market Totes!!! They just seem fitting for a trip to the farmers market, don;t they!





I was finally able to find some vintage wallpaper!! Soooo Happy-just the sweetest print. Almost as cute as vintage sheets-almost.


AND FINALLY!!!!! THIS IS ONE OF THOSE FINDS THAT MAKES THE HUNTING WORTH IT...







iT IS THE MOST GORGEOUS QUILT-HANDMADE BY SOMEONE LIKE YOU AND ME-I JUST CANNOT FATHOM WHY THEY GAVE IT UP!! IT IS IN MINT CONDITION-NOT A FLAW TO IT! I EVEN RECOGNIZE MANY OF THE PRINTS USED IN IT.



I LOVE THE DESIGN QUILTED ON IT. HUM...INSPIRATION FOR ONE OF MY QUILTS WAITING TO BE QUILTED;)

AND

HERE

IS

THE

PART

THAT

MAKES

ME

SQUEAL

WITH

DELIGHT

-YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THIS!!




AND WITH THAT, I WILL SAY GOODNIGHT!

Monday's Fun Finds....

I so enjoy reading blogs of friends and customers that have a day to share their newest treasure found while hunting in their favorite thrift and antique stores. I am always able to feel their excitement for the simple pleasures in life. I cannot tell you how many times I come home wanting to share something found that fills a need, makes me laugh, or makes our home a bit more cozy. I love the chance to dust off something forgotten or neglected and give it new life. I will second what so many of my friends who share this passion will tell you. It reminds them of how Christ has picked us up out of a grand mess, seeing His plan for our lives that has been covered by years of neglect, wounds, and struggle, and will make us lovely sometimes for the first time with his love and gentleness. Now, what I do with little treasures from a thrift store obviously could not even compare to what He does for me in my life, but it does give me a small glimpse of the excitement He must feel and the joy He must find in seeing us bloom. So, with all of that said, I am going to start sharing my Monday finds. I have mentioned before that Monday is Matt's day off, so every Monday morning is my time to get out of the house alone and have some time to think, and be alone-oh yeah, I said that already. Hum, yes, that in itself is a treasure:)-I love being with my kiddos every day, I cannot imagine it any other way! But, I have finally gotten to a place where I can say without any hint of guilt somewhere in there, that I need some time away from them and THE HOUSE and that it actually does help me to be a better Mom, wife, and person. My mind is able to think on things that never pop into my head at home and I get to interact with strangers which can either challenge or encourage me. Monday mornings are sacred to me, they are slow and refreshing with the added bonus of finding treasures to create with! The wonderful benefit of being my own buyer for the shop is that i come across things for my own family without filling up my schedule with shopping trips. Here are some of my latest finds.
This clock I found a few weeks ago and almost cried when I came across it. I was standing in a very long line that is pretty normal in the first store I hit on Monday morning. But while I was waiting I spotted this behind their counter. At first I thought, "I really do not want to pull myself out of line to get this" and attempted to put it out of my mind. But, this was one of those times I would be haunted if I did not grab it. The reason that I was so taken with it is because, Joslyn, my second grader has really struggled to understand how minutes work on the clock, and I have struggled to find how to relate with her learning style in this subject. But this clock was exactly what we needed for her to visually understand and connect what I was teaching her. The numbers rotate to show four different forms to help them understand time in whichever way it is given to them. This one was a big "thank you Jesus" moment for me. Teaching our kids sometimes bears a heavy wieght on my mind and when that lifts for something like this, it is AWESOME! I had already determined in my mind that i would pay anything for this, but to my surprise, it was only $5.00 and in mint condition! My only wish is that i had had it for our older two when I was teaching them how to tell time!

Here is last weeks find...
It is delicate looking but is actually very heavy! Must be a glorified paper weight:)~ But it ended up on my desk which needed some attention anyways and it gave me a good reason to clean and reorganize it.

Here is today's find...
Now, the picture is absolutely precious! Child like faith and purity bowed in prayer with the wonderful creator! Another one that almost makes me cry. I will love looking at this everyday! But the frame was not so charming. That was the fun part~ I knew I had a beautiful frame that I had refinished in a weathered look waiting in the garage for the perfect picture! Here is the finished product-it makes me completely giddy!
And here is where I have it now. Put in a place i will pass a hundred times in a day.
The picture was $1.95 and the frame had been $1.45 when I bought it a long time ago. I love it!

I have a Birthday edition favorite finds in the works and am very anxious to show that to you, but one of the finds I bought with some of my birthday money is at the cleaners:) and the other one is a work in progress and should be finished in a few days! I actually used my gift money on me instead of the shop-haha. My grandma always gets mad at me if I spend it on something other than myself, so for this year Grandma, I will make you smile with what I did! You will be proud.

Monday Morning Treasure Hunts

I have always been a thrift shop junkie. I had one of the most fun friends growing up named Josie. She was full of life and had a great sense of humor. She seemed to truly enjoy being exactly who God made her to be and didn't concern herself with other's opinions. After school we used to walk over to the resale shop down the block and spend our time laughing at our finds. It was good to just be silly! But little did I know then, how much of an influence it was having on the rest of my life. The Lord was providing me with a passion and humor to reclaim the lost and abandoned and create new life for them. I have yet to find a friend who can make me laugh the way Josie did, how much I miss her!

I have shared with many of my customers about my treasure hunting experiences, and thought it might be fun to give a sneak peak into my studio on my treasure hunting day. I am a stay at home mom, and when I say stay at home, I really mean stay at home! Most of my days I do not leave the house. Since I work at home and homeschool our kids, I do not spend much time runnning around during the day. I actually am quite a homebody though so I do not mind this at all. Since my husband is a Pastor, his day off is on Monday and by the time Monday rolls around, I am itching to get out for some alone time! Monday is the day I make my rounds to all the thrift shops and I usually hit the floor running. The excitement never seems to fade! What I have found out about Monday in a thrift store is that it is very quiet, very clean, and freshly stocked. At least that is what I have found in my area. I am usually home by lunch with a couple large garbage bags full of treasures. Some of my neighbors must be wondering what in the world I am up too! The rest of the day in between school and family fun, I am getting everything through the wash!! It usually takes 4 or 5 loads to finish!

The number one item I hunt for, as many of you already know and enjoy, is vintage(and current) bed linens. They are my most favorite fabrics ever!!! I use them for everything!! After I get them all washed, I spend the rest of the week at my cutting table with them. They are cut into fat quarters for my creative quilting and crafting customers. I have a few pics to show the bed linens.

Here is my Monday morning finds from this week.



Here is my fat quarter wall in my studio.

I will try and share some fun projects that can be made with these fabrics this next week.