Treasure Find Tuesday

Everything (other than a paycheck) is cuter in miniature form.

A few weeks ago at the base thrift shop, I took in an order of old tools from a friendly older gentleman. Though I have no idea what half of them were designed to do, each piece was visually interesting. I was tempted to buy all of the pieces and hang them on a wall as art. Tools tell a story. They have purpose. They are made to withstand challenging situations. They make our lives easier. Worn tools send my mind deep into endless wonderings. Who came up with this? Why is this necessary? Has new technology replaced it? How often was this used? by who? WHEN? WHY? HOW? I managed to stop myself and finished taking in the man's order. A few of his items were pricey which helped me rationalize. A splurge on old tools was just not going to happen ... yet. I have daydreams about stumbling across an abandoned barn full of odd interesting old tools and making wall art out of wrenches, but now is not the time.

Now is the time to appreciate what I did buy. One of the last tools in his order was this 1 inch red C Clamp. HOW ADORABLE ... and functional =)

I got it for under a dollar and immediately clamped it to anything I could find in my house. I had no idea they made C Clamps this small.

Right now I am using it to keep my note cards in order. Any other ideas on where I can put my new mini clamp to use and admire it at the same time?

Treasure Find Tuesday

I enjoy order, but my eye LOVES chaos. That is why ever since I can remember I have been doing collage work.

Back in July, my sister Sarah sent me out thrifting for her birthday present. She gave me free regin "anything creative and thrifted"

We both have a passion for art. I set out to Goodwill Outlet with no idea of what I would come up with. I was taken back by all of the little scraps of paper hanging around in the bins. Who is gonna buy random hooked on phonics cards and children's books with busted spines and water damage? ME! Those scraps of paper and broken down books were inspiring.

Her birthday is 7/16 so I tore out all pages 7 and 16 from the books and used them as borders on either side of the piece.

I liked the end result so much I had to have one for my house, so I made one using our wedding date 6/27/2009.

The final products together.

So you have an idea of scale, my picture is hug on the wall to the left above the pink chair that needs to be recovered. How do you decide what fabric to recover a chair in?

Treasure Find Tuesday

I have a thing for glassware. I don't know how I get off collecting so many breakables when I know we will be moving about, but when these four heavyweight tumblers caught my eye at Goodwill I couldn't say no. I didn't go crazy for them just because pink glass is gorgeous light, feminine, and refreshing. These glasses remind me of the glasses pictured below that are a staple at my parents house.

They have light and dark green goblets. I can't believe I stumbled across light pink!

The thick glass bottoms give a pleasant weightiness. I appreciate how substantial they are, it somehow makes every sip seem more important.

This is what the flash looks like inside the glass. Pretty funky huh? Oh and did I mention they were only 79 cents apiece? Yeah. AMAZING!

If I were going to splurge on drinking glasses I would go with these recycled beauties

Treasure Find Tuesday

Last night was the Wright-Patterson AFB Officer's Spouses Club Totally 80's dinner. Chris and I were both born in 1986 so our closets lack fashion from the 80's (prob not a bad thing really). Luckily, Tuesday is my volunteer day at the Base Thrift Shop. I scored both of these track suits for under $5 in the clearance.

Our conversation before we left:

"I am doing this because I love you"

"I'm doing this because I love you ... now please unlock the car before we step outside so we don't frighten the neighbors"

Oh how happy we should all be that BIG hair is not big right now.

Treasure Find Tuesday/Halloween Wrap-Up

This post is picture heavy. I'll try to keep my chatter to a minimum, but i'll reply to comments =) Enjoy! Hope your Halloween was Spooktacular!

Wonder what we did with our pumpkin pickings? Chris' Jack was def best on the block.

Our goose-like gourds greeted people at the door.

Here is the lovely mummy I told you about earlier.

She's also got a handsome male friend. They were super easy and fun to make!

Trick or treaters had to reach into the jug for candy. The chair was thrifted for $3 so I can recover it =) . Note though that it is NOT a good idea to put food coloring directly on your hands unless you want to hear lots of "caught you red handed" jokes.

Our little pirate stood in for the statue of liberty in our mini NYC.

We had some unexpected guests pop up in our bathroom mirror!

Mom sent me these lovely spiders and some more of grandmas never ending doily collection. End result? DOILY SPIDERWEBS!

Saturday we mixed up some corn syrup, food coloring, and chocolate sauce for some bloody fun in our Dexter theme garage. We served all the drinks in here for our party which I didn't get photos of due to all the fog from the fog machine.

The pumpkin was carved out and filled with ice to chill the white wine.

Last but not least your hosts. Chris dressed up as Dexter and ... I had a little fun. I thrifted the hilarious leopard shorts and transformed myself into your crazy aunt agnes just back from her trip to Mexico. I had so much fun explaining my costume. The moment someone would ask who I was I would put on an accent and go on a tirade about how sad it is they don't recognize their own family and it's all because they don't call often enough. I am sure I freaked a few people out, but it was all in good Halloween fun.

Treasure Find Tuesday

This weeks treasure find post will be extended all week show off the thrift/crafty treasures I've gotten for Halloween. I'm still putting things together for our party on Saturday. Be prepared to get spooked and inspired! Here is the first peek:

This skull came into the base thrift shop. It was love at first fright. The arm belongs to a mummy you will meet later.

There is a monster in the window looking at you wether you are inside or out! Maybe he lives in the wall... This creature is simply a piece of cardboard I saved from our move. I cut out a trace of my hand, painted it electric green, and hung it in the window. The eyes are clear contact paper that I drew pupils on with a sharpie. Perhaps we should give the creeper a name, any ideas?

Treasure Find Tuesday

I literally just bounced through my front door and sat down to tell you about today's treasure find! I was searching for a laundry hamper at ******** ****** and of course did not find what I was looking for (the first time out you rarely do). I did however come across a beautiful well kept coin purse. Nothing else made it into my cart so I just wandered into line behind some lucky people who had heaps of finds. When it got to be my turn at the register, I handed my dainty purse to the cashier and asked if he wanted to weigh it or price it on the spot. He promptly chuckled and chucked it back at me with a glorious nod that screamed, "it's yours for free!!!! Take it now and skedaddle young lady!!! It would be silly to charge you for it!!!" (without being too showy). Well yes please and thank you! I said have a lovely day and made my way to the car before anyone could ask questions. Huzzah for the kind cashier!

The purse even has a clean plastic type lining. I LOVE the print on it.

I do feel a tad scandalous - I'm going to have to make a donation ASAP

*I left out the store name in case anyone was worried about the legality of this transaction. I'm pretty sure it's all right or I wouldn't have booked it out the door without leaving a cent. I assure you i'll pass the charity on.

Teaser

It's going to be a long day at the base thrift shop and beyond.

Treasure Find Tuesday

Not everything I fall in love with while thrifting makes it home with me. Fortunately for us I take photos of "items to consider" while I thrift, so I can still share them with you. I have been lucky enough to go back to a store days later and find the treasure I just couldn't forget waiting for me ... other times ... not so much. It pays to pick up an item you love the minute you see it.

I am known at the base thrift shop as the one who asks "where are you going to put it?" when volunteers start to buy buy buy rather than sell our stock. I don't like to buy things just to buy them, I prefer to have an idea of how I am going to use the piece ... this is quite possibly why my average thrift store shopping trip lasts at least an hour. It only takes watching one episode of Hoarders or How Clean is Your House to make you want to pair down.

Here are a few treasures that hopefully found good homes:

Oh how I wish I bought this tea cup! I LOVE the bold colors, but at the time, $7 seemed too much ... the curse of the constant thrifter is getting too used to a good deal.

This piece of furniture was unique and had great storage, but at over $100 it's more of an antique ... I already have a ridiculous amount of antiques for someone my age.

Goodwill. Silk Scarf. 99cents ... WHY DID I NOT BUY THIS!? Pink, Navy, and Green are my favorites.

cool coasters

Picture this $5 chair re-covered. Drool. It wouldn't fit in my husbands car and wasn't there when I went back. Hope the person sitting in it is very happy

As lovely as it is to find treasures, we shouldn't hoard them. Have you ever let an item go or given into a friend even though you saw it first?

Treasure Find Tuesday

I don't think I ever told you I thrifted my wedding dress. A treasure find indeed! I figured I would share now since this years "wedding season" is coming to a close.

I know you are probably wondering why the look on my face is not one of a blushing bride. The truth is I found my dress while shopping for a friends gown ... and I already had one. This is my uh-oh I want this one face. After a second trip and try on, both my mom and I were convinced that the first one just wouldn't do. We took our new treasure to Olive Kane, a local seamstress. We had her take it in and make it a sweetheart.

The thrifted dress plus alterations was less expensive than my first dress.

I am so happy with the outcome.

Remember this post? Here are a some shots with the vintage shrug I thrifted. I wore the shrug while at the church and removed it for the reception. It was 104 degrees on our wedding day.

EVERYONE looked fabulous.

A Bin of Sharp Objects

You all know I have fallen in love with the Goodwill Outlet. I haven't even posted all of the treasures I have found yet. The thrill of saving abandoned objects from going to the dump is amazing. During one of my last trips I walked by this bin and had to do a double take.

SERIOUSLY! Who approved this!? I find it both frightening and fabulous. I know I missed Treasure Find Tuesday this week (Tuesday was insanity around here). My apologies, hope this post of crazy makes up for it.

Treasure Find Tuesday

Browsing the bins at Goodwill Outlet, I spotted a toy I thought my husband might like. Everyone knows grown men like toys, and it is good to bring little gifts home every so often. This is why I tend to pick up every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle I find for under a buck. This (as any true Lord of the Rings fan knows) is Treebeard! He is my husbands favorite LOTR character. Score. This toy is by far the largest I have picked up.

He has a significant weight to him too. Chris was pretty impressed with my find, but even more so when I looked him up online and discovered that he is worth $50 used and ones in mint condition are worth about $80.

We were even more pleased when we found out he can talk! It didn't take long to figure out where to put batteries. His mouth moves and his eyes light up as he says all his different sayings! This was an exciting find. He is proudly on display in our office.