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

Super Thirft Store Finds

The one good thing about moving to Oxford, AL {ok ok, so there might be more good things, I can already hear Heidi snickering!} is the hugest thrift store I have ever been to.

Meet my BFF: STS (Super Thrift Store)

I kid you not, this thing is like Super-Walmart huge. They have a ton of different things and I never leave empty handed {not necessarily a good thing!} My one pet peeve about the place is that they way over price their furniture. So while I like to look at the furniture it hardly ever gets to come home with me.

• Here are some recent thrifty finds:
• cloche top ($0.75)
  
• pedestal base ($1.75) (I found these in different places within the store. The top doesn't quite fit into the base but that's fine with me)
• a little foam house ($0.25) (for terrarium decor)
• vintage pillowcase ($0.25)
• picture stand ($0.25)
  
• purse, Liz Claibourne ($1.75) (mine is falling apart)
• bag of craft goodies ($1.00)
• large picture frame with glass ($4.00) (more than I really wanted to pay but I had been searching for a while for the perfect size)

The only reason I bought the craft bag was this:

I have fond memories of playing, sifting, looking, and sorting through my mom's button box. So I'm starting my own collection for my kids to play with, and for crafts of course! There were a few other goodies in the bag including orange acrylic craft paint (perfect for Halloween) and tons of ribbon.

That very same day I transformed the cloche (and one I had previously found for $3.50) I gave them a coat of spray on primer then finished them off with 2 coats of Heirloom White Spray paint. I also took the little house off it's base but it's too big for any of my current moss terrariums.
Have you found any recent thrifty treasures?


Happy Thrifting!