Thrift Haul! A return to Thrifty Thursdays

A few weeks ago I had to run an errand all the way out to Babe's school in Clermont.  I say "all the way" because Clermont is a good... 45 minute drive.  So while I was up that way, I stopped at a little thrift store called Angels of Mercy.  It looked to be either a mom/pop shop or a church owned stored.  I love coming across those because they always have great finds at great prices if you're willing to take a while and pick.

When I got to the door there was a sign that said "all clothes on hangers 50% off" 0.0 and naturally I thought Thrift Store Win!  I ended up not buying any clothes because I have no real closet space, but I did kindly load myself up with a few other things.  Books being a huge portion of this haul.  SO Angels of Mercy has a books/media room and while drifting about in it I saw another sign... "Bag of Books- $2" and considering one paperback was $0.50 and a hardback was $1 it only made sense for me to get a bag.  Even if I only found like 4 books it would have been a good deal.  I ended up with 11!  Slight overkill, but whatevs!

After the book room, I ventured over to the bags and purses.  I got one tote for $4.  It's huge and bright yellow... my own bit of sunshine ^.^  It just needed a bit of a clean, but other than that it was in great condition.  I'm now carrying it as my work bag and lemme tell you I love me some big bags! (I almost said I like big bags and I cannot lie... ::rolls eyes at self::  -___-)

I also picked up a few things for the kids at work: a couple puzzles and some crayons.  Just cuz I'm nice like that.

All things considered, I spent $9 before tax for 11 books, 2 puzzles, 2 new boxes of crayons, and a large tote/weekend bag.  Oh! They gave me a free loaf of bread too. :)  This thrift trip really brought back my love for independent thrift shops.  I mean, I do enjoy shopping at Goodwill, Salvation Army, and St. Vincents Du Paul's, but there's just something about mom/pop/church thrift stores that feels so nice... Am I crazy... probably not ^.^

Recently Thrifted: Pretty Awesome Haul

Hey y'all :)

Remember, way back in the day, when I use to do "recently thrifted" posts???  Well, no one probably remembers that because I don't think I had any readers back then *shrug*.

Yesterday, I got a surprise day off.  Meaning I was at work and due to a bunch of cancellations I got sent home after an hour and a half.  I took the time to have an introverted (not talking to anyone I don't want to, listening to music, thrift store hopping, dog park sitting, evening napping) day.  It was GREATLY needed.

So now I want to show you what I thrifted in my adventures yesterday.  There were a couple pieces that I'm stupid excited about.  Aaaand... let's get going ^.^

I went to four thrift stores: Goodwill, The Christian Sharing Center, Super Dollar Thrift, & St. Vincent De Paul.

Goodwill: Cookbook $2.99 & Hardback $1.99

Goodwill: Paperbacks $0.99

Goodwill: Square photo frame $0.99

I'm glad I found a new cookbook because evidently there was some sort of house elf that stole the ones I had.  -_-  So now I'm looking for cookbooks with lots of dessert recipes since that's what I'm into cooking-wise.  The grey Bartlett's book is a collection of readings for weddings.  I'm hoping to find a few things to incorporate into our wedding.  The frame was a great find for me since one of the enhancements I make at JCP is a 10x10 collage and those frames are super hard to find.  Well unless you pay $18 for them in the studio... So $0.99 was pretty awesome ^.^

Christian Sharing Center: 18" Ruler $0.79  Circular Knitting Needles $0.99

These are the only things I picked up at the Christian Sharing Center. I resisted the urge to buy the few balls of yarn they had. :)  Whenever I see cheap craft supplies, like that ruler, I always pick them up because they are always handy.

Super Dollar Thrift: Merona Suede Loafers $2.99

I also bought a room lamp for $6 at Super Dollar.  I'm always excited to find shoes in my size (size 10 shoe problems) and these loafers are so cute and in great condition.

St. Vincent De Paul: Scarves $0.99 each

St. Vincent De Paul: Ann Taylor Blue Suede Loafers $3.99

The last stop was St. Vincent De Paul where I found these amazing pieces ^.^ I'm imagining these scarves with a huge twistout. I can't wait!

So yeah. These are the things I picked up yesterday during my surprise day off thriftaventure.  The cookbook will surely get some play this weekend as Lamar has planned a potluck for the young people at church.  Time for me to become the dessert girl again ^.^

Thrift-tastic Tips! Part 2

Hey hey!  Here, as promised, is part two of my thrifting tips.  If you missed the first installment, don't fret, you can read it here.  So on to the last half of my thrifting tips ^,^

Calli's Thrift-tastic Tips pt. 2

6.  Try it onTrying the different items on is something you should do if the thrift store has a changing room.  Aside from seeing if it fits, you can see how the pieces you like work together, you can also see any potential trouble spots (pulled seams or stretched out parts).  Oh! Tip 6-B, if the shop doesn't have changing rooms, wear something that you can try clothes on over... leggings, skinny jeans, fitted shirts, etc.

7.  Be patient & take timeThrifting takes time.  Time to sort through clothes that may not be organized at all.  Time to think about how to style different items.  Time to check for imperfections.  Time to make your way through the store.  It is not really something to do on your lunch break... unless you're not planning to buy, then lunch thrift away!  Be patient.  Some days are better than others.

8.  Don't be afraid of little imperfections
Missing/loose buttons? Loose stitching on hems?  Almost unnoticeable stains?  Odd paint job?  These things can be easily fixed with a needle and thread or a bottle of fabric dye or a can of spray paint.  Don't let those little things discourage you from taking home a piece that you'll love.

9.  Smell it
This tip applies mostly to handbags and things that cannot be easily washed.  Smell them!!!!!  Finding a beautiful tapestry tote buried in the bottom of a box of bags and snagging it for only $2 and getting all the way home only to realize that it totally REEKS of cigarette smoke is a sad sad story indeed.  It leads to a lot of googling how to get rid of smoke smell and days of sadly walking past it unable to use it yet...  So guys, sniff sniff.  (And if you know how I can get rid of the smell, please leave a comment.)

10.  Think outside of your box
Thrifting is a great way to try out new styles, patterns, and combinations without spending a whole lot.  And the great thing about fashion is that it's cyclical, so for the runway conscious, lots of things that designers are presenting tend to nod back to fashions past.  This makes it easier to take inspiration from current images and recreate them.  Try new things.  If it turns out that the pink pencil skirt wasn't for you, you only spent a few bucks on it.  Use thrift stores as gateways to explore uncharted fashion territory.  You never know what you may actually find and love.

---------------

Well guys, those are my last tips ^.^ I hope you like them & keep them in mind the next time you grace a thrift store.  Writing these has really made me want to get out and thrift, lol. Maybe I will... 

---------------

Lastly, my lovely Lamar wants to add a bonus tip to the list.

11.  Go with realistic expectations
Keep in mind that you aren't always going to find amazing things on your thrifting trips.  Of course there can be name brand pieces that retail for $$$ hidden among the other bits, but those gems are few and far between.  It also depends a lot on where you live and who is most likely to donate to that store.  So keep your eyes open for the gems but don't miss out on the great pieces right on the racks.

Thrift-tastic Tips! Part 1

(I know, cheesy title, but I really couldn't help it *shrug*)

One of my bloggy friends (Erica) recently posted about wanting to get more into thrifting and asked her readers if they had any tips to share.  I wanted to leave some in a comment, then I realized it would be better just to do a post about it.  And I haven't done a Thrifty Thursday post on here in quite some time.  So here we go! (I just had a Joker flash back...)

Calli's Thrift-tastic Tips ^.^

1.  Learn the discount days
Most thrift stores have specific days when you can get discounts on top of the already low prices.  Sometimes they'll have different percentages off based on tag color.  My favorite store here does 50% off a different tag color each week and on Mondays those tags are $0.99.  Another store here, assigns percentages from 10% - 90% off to everything in the store.  If you don't see anything posted, always ask. 

2.  Have a plan, but keep it flexible
Going into a thrift store can initially be overwhelming, especially if it's not a particularly organized one. Having an idea of the types of things you want to find can help you stay focused as you're on the hunt. I say to keep it flexible because there are always hidden surprises that will jump out at you while you're looking for specifics. 

3.  Look past the hanger & see the possibilities
Frankly, some items at the thrift store can be really grubby.  People will donate craptastic clothes, or dirty clothes, or whatever.  Don't immediately toss these aside.  They may have great bones, and with a little effort and DIY finesse, they can be given new life.  Marisa Lynch of New Dress a Day is the QUEEN of this.  Check out her blog, it's mind-blowing. Really...
 
4.  Look for quality staple pieces
If you have a favorite clothing item (jeans, sweaters, silk shirts, etc) look for them at the thrift store.  I think the best thing about thrifted jeans is that you don't have to break them in (yay!).  You can fill the basics of your wardrobe in without spending a lot of money.  For instance, I love silk blouses, but instead of completely blowing my money on one shirt for $70+, I can get thrift them for less than $5. And if I go on a discount day, I can get them for 50% off of that or even $0.99.  (I did that last week. 6 silk blouses for $0.99 each- score!)
5.  Use the buddy system, but beware the "Yeah! Yeah!" friend
Having a friend with you can make the hunting go faster especially if your friend knows your style. I can't count the number of things that my thrifting buddies have pulled for me that either I'd missed, looked at but wasn't sure, or just hadn't made it to that section yet.  But as helpful as a friend can be, beware of the friend that tells you everything is awesome and genius and SUCH a great idea.  That's how you end up with a random poncho or something in your closet with the tags on it for 6 months... (don't worry I don't have a poncho, lol) 


Those are my first five tips and explanations, I'll post 6-10 next week on Thrifty Thursday.  Let me know if you like these tips and if you have any to share.

~Peace

So I Went Thrifting... [belated Thrifty Thursday post]

Hey, good morning :)

On one of my thrift store visits, I decided to browse the aisles and take pictures of the things that made me smile. Often times, when I'm stressed or worried, visiting a thrift store is the best remedy.  I don't know what it is about second-hand shops or little hole-in-the-wall charity stores, but moving through the rows of donated things searching for treasures just makes me feel better.  Sometimes I can actually feel my muscles relaxing... I know- weird... But hey, whatever works, right?

So here is a little photo dump of thrifty things that made me smile.

I recently saw an awesome letter wall... maybe I'll do one...

View Master! Oh childhood... ^.^

Hanging owl lantern

Some sort of cat-like head statue... It remids me of MirroMask.

I really wanted to buy this set of glasses. But we have no space :(

Vintage Merry Mushroom Tea Kettle

Carved sewing supply box. Sooo pretty!

So yeah... my favorite thrift store was pretty much teeming with awesome little treasures... I'm considering going back and getting the tea kettle... but I'm going to ponder it a while more. If it's still there on Monday, I think I'll get it.

Thrifty Thursday #6: Silk Superstar!!

Ello there ^.^

Today was a rather stressful work day for me... Mostly spent fretting about being an accountant who is not truly educated to be an accountant.  Plus the 2+ days of rain has definitely not been kind to my mood.  Pray for me in this accounting job please.  Thanks.

Anywho, after work, I went thrifting. I wanted to find a new dress. That was my goal, however I didn't find one that I liked enough.  But, I was victorious in the silk blouse department *fist pump* and I snagged an awesome pleated skirt too :)  Here are the pics:

Lovely sleeveless floral blouse.

Another micro-floral blouse.

Striped/dotted blouse.

Graphic pleated skirt.

Ok, that's it.  Oh wait, I got a t-shirt that says "hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die."  NOW, that's it ^.^  I enjoyed my trip to the thrift store. It was very calming. I went alone and listened to pandora the whole time.  Well, as much as I want to stay up and browse more blogs and listen to more Ani Difranco and watch youtube videos about yarnbombing, I must go to sleep... Good night. I hope your day was a nice one. Peace.

Thrifty Thursday #5

Hey there!

I am very excited to share my thrifting finds of this week with you!  I went to ThriftMart twice this week and pretty much scored some awesome things. ^.^  On Tuesday, the visit was mostly a relax-after-work trip, but I did find two items that had to come home with me.

 The first was this hairpin lace crochet tool.

I've seen them in craft stores and have been interested in learning to crochet lace, but the cost was always higher than I wanted to spend. When I found this one for $0.75, I figured why not. So, I guess there will be crochet lace in my future. Maybe I can make lacy scarves for the shop... who knows :)

The next thing I found was a Stellarscope Star Finder.

I was super excited about it because when I was younger, I use to sit on a chair out in my front yard with the encyclopedia looking up at the stars.  I memorized so many stars and constellations... but weird enough, I still can't find the North star o.O... Anywho, I was a chronic star-gazer and in a time when my life was getting to be rather stormy, the stars gave me a sense of calm. Like no matter what happens, they'll always be there.  If I looked up, found the Big Dipper, and followed the arc of the handle- I'd always find Arcturus. So yeah, the stars have a special place in my heart.

This is what it looks like when you look into the Stellarscope.

 The last thrifting score was a Speedball Silk Screening Kit.

I looked it up online to see if anything was missing from the set and, lucky me, it's basically complete- only missing the instructions and a paintbrush. Neither of which I need.  On top of it being a complete kit, I got it for half off because of the 4th of July sale :D So it was only $13 and change. Such a STEAL!

The best part of this thrift haul is that I got the last two things for considerably less than their retail prices. I looked up the Stellarscope & it sells in the National Geographic Store online for $49 & I got it for $6 with all the pieces except for a keychain flashlight.  That's roughly 88% off... The Silk Screening kit retails for $59.99 & the rubber tipped squeegee sells for $9.99.  With the 50% discount I got on it on the 4th... I snagged all those supplies for about  81% off!  I pretty much killed... I really think this was my most value filled thrifting trip (aside from furniture purchases).

I hope you had a great and safe 4th of July.

Thrifty Thursday #4

Hello there :)

I am very excited about this particular Thrifty Thursday post ^.^  I've got a bunch of things to show you from my last few ventures to my favorite shops.  Hopefully, I can remember the pricing of the pieces I'm going to show.  If not, oh well. *shrug*

Onward to the thriftiness!

I found this maroon-plum-ish colored work bag at a Thrift/Antique shop Lamar introduced me to. The shop is chock full of stuff.  It's somewhat organized... well actually it's really organized chaos.  It's called... A & J's Thrift and Antiques MJ's Thrift Store & Antiques (EDIT: I found the actual name)... or something like that.  If I find the receipt I'll correct the name.  Anywho, this bag cost me $2 and even though it has a considerable bit of scuffs/scratches, I still like it.  Maybe I can find some cute DIY way of fixing the scratches. So if anyone has any ideas- leave a comment.

These two silk blend scarves came from The Saving Way. I think I got them for $0.75 each... or maybe $0.50.  Anyway, I loved them even though I don't really know what I'm going to do with them.  The one on the left is square and the other is a long rectangle.  So I'm thinking headtie and headband... or maybe they'll end up being the lining of a crochet clutch... *shrug* who really knows. :)

Ok, here we have two rolls of fabric tape, two sets of replacement sewing machine needles, a seam ripper, and some fabric whitener.  All were found at Dirty Little Thrift Store (it's real name is Breaking Free Mission Thrift Store, but I think Dirty Little Thrift Store is much more accurate).  The thing about this store is that the cashiers price pretty much everything at the register. So all the things in this picture, the next thing I'm going to show you, and a necktie only cost me like $3.  That is stinkin awesome!

This is a storage box/book I got at Dirty Little Thrift store with the crafty notions above.  I found it and the majority of the sewing notions in a drawer in the furniture section.  That's something else I like about the DLTS- they will sell anything.  Some stores are like, 'no if you want what's in the drawer, you have to buy the whole thing...' HA! Whatever!

This is a grommet/snap tool. It cost me $3 and is most definitely one of the most potentially useful thrifted finds. I picked this up at my go-to store ThriftMart. I'm excited to use this! Too bad none of my works in progress call for grommets to be installed... better luck next time :)

OK! OK! OK!!! I am so beyond excited about these shoes! Please excuse the exclamation marks everywhere!!! I have been looking for a woven pair of sandals for such a long time, but every time I found a pair they were too small (boo size ten feet!)  So when I saw these at ThriftMart I was like,

"Hey these are so cute!  Aww... size 9 :( ... well let's try it anyway... wait... what's this... HUZZAH THEY FIT!!!!!!!!!!!  They must have been worn by some big size 9 lady ^.^ I don't really care! HURRAY!"

They fit and they're Aerosoles so they are really comfy.  Now for the price.................... only $3.00!!! Can you believe my good fortune! The thrifting deities were surely smiling upon me that day! lol.

^.^

Well, that brings us to the end of my thrift store haul/recap.  Thanks for visiting. I hope you had a pleasant Thursday and I pray that your Friday goes smoothly so that you can have a great weekend. Peace :)

Thrifty Thursday #3

Hello there!

I'm back from a week-long "vacation" to my bestsisterfriend's wedding. Anywho, there will be an update post just to explain the shenanigans & tomfoolery that Lamar & I experienced in our last few days up north.

SO! Lamar & I went thrifting this evening after I left the office. Sadly, nothing we picked up was on sale, but everything we picked up was awesome ^.^  I got a few bags of yarn, one containing a full skein of Lion's Brand Fisherman's wool, which I've been drooling over forever, but was always $10+ each (a bit rich for my blood).  It came with 2 other Lion's Brand skeins of something or another for $9. That's much more doable for me.

The BEST part of the evening was finding an embroidered Serenity Prayer for $2.  I LOVE that prayer. I have a bracelet with the extended prayer on it that I wear everyday.  So of course when I saw the piece of fabric beneath all the bags of yarn, I had to snatch it up! It was the perfect size to frame & hang on a wall.  When we got back to my house, I pulled out the trusty staple gun & got to DIY business. :)

Frame: $1 Prayer: $2

Close-up of the stitching.

Progress Shot: Staple gunning...

Okay. I don't know if it's just me... maybe I'm just a serious weakling, but using a staple gun is HARD WORK! Does anyone else have trouble squeezing the trigger? I practically have to stand on the thing! Ugh!

Here is the finished project posted to instagram.

I'm really glad I found this piece. It came out very well & once I find my picture hanging wire/whatnot, it's going up on the wall by my bed.

That's all for tonight! I hope you are having a good week & are looking forward to a great weekend ^.^

Thrifty Thursday #2: Ultimate Score

Ok... So today isn't Thursday, but I couldn't not show this!

Found by the dumpster...

The most awesome thrifty score!!!

We put it in Roommate's room. Still playing with the idea of putting our big wall mirror on top of it so she can have a vanity.

But really... who just throws away pieces of furniture like this??
          Not that I'm complainin... ^.^

Thrifty Thursday #1

I must say that thrifting is one of my ultimate favorite things to do... ever... and not in that trendy kind of way either ;-]  I have even converted Lamar to the way of the thrift...

Anywho, yesterday Lamar & I went to Value Village for the first time. It was pretty cool & we dubbed it his store because he found all kinds of awesome things.



He picked up this crochet blanket for $5 & was all excited because now he has his own blanket. I love finding huge crochet blankets in good condition. They are so cozy... maybe one day I'll actually finish mine. Maybe...


Lamar also picked up these 4 games.  
 [Trivial Pursuit DVD Pop Culture 1 & 2; Win, Lose, or Draw; Buzzword.  We also found a Harry Potter Trivia game for my roommate. She spazzed ALL the way out when we gave it to her!]


Yet another thing that Lamar found at Value Village. I've been looking for a new work bag & this one is perfect. It's so cute & quite functional. I wore it to work today & I think I'm going to make a pocket for the outside of it. That's the only thing it's missing... an outside pocket... There's a quick refashion idea.

So that's it for my first Thrifty Thursday post. I hope you enjoyed.

What are your favorite thrift stores? What was your best thrifted find? Let me know in a comment.