It’s No Secret…

that I LOVE Etsy and thrifting. I love Etsy for the pure creative awesomeness that can be found on page after page. I also love that you can find unique handmade items. I love crafting and quilting so it’s no surprise that I would be head over heels in love with handmade stuff on Etsy. I also LOVE thrifting. I love rummaging through stuff at thrift stores, yard sales, antique stores and flea markets. Even if I don’t buy anything, just seeing the great old stuff makes me happy. Thankfully my kids and husband don’t mind coming along, in fact I think they rather enjoy it. Believe it or not my kids (8,6,and 1) are so well behaved that I can trust them in an antique store. They know not to touch and actually obey! Well not the baby, but I just make sure not to put the stroller too close to anything that those chubby little hands can break. My kids love spotting neat toys, books and “pretty things.”

On a recent trip to Goodwill I was looking for a cup to use as a pencil cup for my son’s desk.  I love using neat novelty cups or mugs for storing pencils and pens. As I was looking around I spotted the orange cup as seen in this picture:

I immediately picked it up and thought it would be perfect for my son’s desk. Then as I continued to browse I found the green road bike cup (perfect for me because I like to ride my road bike when I’m training for triathlons.)  As I continued to look around on the same aisle (they had everything arranged by color) I found the aqua cup. Then I thought that surely there would be a 4th cup because who buys cups in sets of 3? Unless of course the reason they got rid of the set is because they broke one of the cups. I kept looking and stood in front of those shelves for about five minutes and finally spotted the red tandem bike cup. I double checked with one of the clerks and she said she had put out 4 cups. I couldn’t believe I found the whole set!  I really had to think about it though because they were $0.99 each and they weren’t 50% off because the tag was the wrong color. In the end I loved them so much I brought them home at “full price.”

 

Curiosity got the better of me and I looked on line to see if I could find out more about these cool cups. After a few minutes of searching I found the cups on Etsy! (They are available here.) I knew there was a reason I couldn’t put them back on the shelf! They were just too “Etsy” to be left at the thrift store. The best part is that I saved $38! The set retails for $42 plus shipping. They’re really sturdy though and we all love them. These would make a really cool gift for any avid biker.

I also saved this cute Pyrex baker in the “Americana” print.

If I see Pyrex I usually try to “save” it if it is a decent price so that I can pass it on to someone else. (It will be in the shop soon.) I only collect the “Butterprint” Pyrex because my mom had a few pieces of it when we were growing up so it brings back good memories. I try not to be a Pyrex hoarder :)

Do you like thrifting? Have you had any awesome finds lately?
~ Norma