Wall decor, anyone?

If any of you have hung out in thrift stores lately, you'd know that they are usually FULL of picture frames. Some have pictures in them (and the pictures are usually NOT appealing ie:faded, stained, dirty, etc) and some frames are empty. So why in the heck would you want to buy one of these frames, you ask? Well, I tend to pay attention to the actual FRAME, not the picture or art-work in it. It's really easy to take the current picture out of the frame, and replace it with something you would like instead! You can find some unusual frames, and sometimes a frame will even match perfectly to your current "theme" in your home.
So, if you need a picture on the wall of your bathroom, for example, you are in luck! I picked out two frames at a local thrift store for a dollar each. These frames were matted, and basically look NEW! So, I wasted no time and I bought them. They did not have a picture inside them, and so I needed to figure out what to put in them. There are many options here, but I chose to go to a local store, and find their scrap-booking section. I bought 2 different, but matching, scrapbook papers that I loved, and I was in business. Just cut the scrap-book paper to fit, place in the frame, and you are done!
The other frame I bought was a "western" looking frame, and I thought it would go great in my downstairs western themed bathroom. I looked at the thrift store for something unusual I could place in the frame, and I ran into a "Cowboys and Indians" magazine. I had hit the Jackpot. For 25 cents I bought the magazine, tore off the front cover and placed it in the frame. Done. Happy Shopping!! :)

It's almost Halloween....

.....And all of you must start thinking about costumes. My daughter and I have been brainstorming ideas for months. Just one quick tip. I know you know where I am going here.......thrift stores!!!! There are TONS of last years costumes at thrift stores. We have recently seen examples such as........devil's, vampires, bumble-bees, witch's, princess's, can's of soup, scary monsters, and everything else you can even think of. I suppose people think that if they used the costume once, it would be taboo to use it again. But the good part about that is.......YOU can go get one at a thrift store, and it is marked WAY down compared to the Halloween stores, and it has only been used ONE time. Perfect. So, while you are out preparing and shopping for this fun holiday, remember to save some cash and shop second hand!! Happy Halloween!!!

This weeks thrift store find....

First of all, I am SO SORRY I have been a slacker with this blog. BUT, alot of the reason why is this......I just don't have any readers. I want comments, people. So, if you have any suggestions about how to get this blog "out there", let me know. My other blog doesn't seem to have this problem...maybe thrift store shopping just isn't as interesting to others as it is to me. (How could that be???) :-)

Last month we finally bought Danielle some bedroom furniture. And since she had hand me down stuff for 9 years, we went out and bought it new. YES, I could have bought a whole ensemble at a thrift store, but I just wanted to buy her new. ( I know, I am not even following my own advice...). Anyway, last week I wanted to find some sort of entertainment center that matched her current new furniture. I went to about 4 thrift stores and then I spotted this one. It MATCHES, it looks NEW, it is HEAVY, and it was only $30.00. Verses at least $100.00 for a similar one purchased at a discount store. So, I feel like I succeeded. Oh, and don't even ask why she needs to have 2 TV's in her room. (And why one is bigger than the Grand Canyon for crying out loud....)

What to do if you can't afford the "real thing".

Some of my friends and family really CAN NOT relate to my addiction to local thrift stores. They just don't get it. Why on earth would I get a natural "high" off finding a great deal on something that has been "used" before? Well, I must share with you something I found a month ago.
I tend to make my rounds at local thrift stores about once a month or more, so I won't miss out on any hidden "treasures". Yes, there have been times I have missed going into them for more than a month, but I find as I drive near them my car just wants to "go there", so I usually let it.
So, here is my find, and I am totally bummed that I didn't take a before picture, because you are NEVER gonna believe what poor condition this dresser was in when I bought it for $30.00. Yep. 3-0 people. So, I got this idea as I was wandering through local Log Furniture Stores, realizing that I would NEVER be able to afford any of their rustic treasures. I thought......"You know....I think I might be able to make some of this stuff!!!". And by MAKE, I mean, try to put together something that RESEMBLES the real thing.... So, anyway, I bought the dresser, I went to the hardware store and bought some paint, and some faux wood wallpaper, and I started working. I attached the wallpaper to the dresser drawers, I painted the edges of the dresser red and Tadaa!!!!!! Done. And it looks great if I must say so myself. So, I had the picture that I put above it already, and it matches perfect, and I stole the lamp from our river place, because we barely see it anyway, and I bought a couple outdoor magazines (at thrift stores of course), and I was done.
So, after $45.00 total, I have a "brand" new rustic looking dresser. At like 1/16th of the price I would have paid for a dresser at that Log Furniture Store. Happy Shopping!!

Thrift Store find of the week

Wow. When I saw this PAIR of lamps (with shades in plastic still) at the local thrift store I knew I had hit the jackpot. I scurried over to see the price and they were $12.00. Each. I know I usually don't spend this much at a second hand store.....but these lamps were like NEW. Not a thing wrong with them. And if you look around for a good pair of lamps you are gonna spend at least $125.00 each at a store like JCPenney's. So, I bought them, and they are sitting in my front room as we speak, looking pretty. Happy Shopping!!

Floral arrangements from a thrift store??

I know. This sounds terrible. But on top of sounding terrible, it sounds complicated. And it is...in a way. But here's the deal. It's not that bad. And I have actually learned to LOVE this idea, and I use it often. (OK, my secret is out)
So, now that my friends and relatives think I am horrible for sending a "thrift store" arrangement to their hospital room......let me explain. I didn't go into some thrift store, and buy some dingy old dried flower arrangement, that looks like Aunt Betsy made it in 1965, and the dust has turned to....well....OLD dust and send it to your hospital room. But I WILL tell you what I DID do. Here goes.

Every one knows how expensive floral arrangements are. I know this first hand because I have owned a flower shop. And don't let this fact convince you that in order to make a "thrift store" flower arrangement you have to be a previous floral shop owner. Because you don't. So, anyway, I start my focus on the container being purchased at the thrift store. Why?? Because everyone I know that has received many floral arrangements has no idea what to do with all the vases, baskets, and ceramic containers they received them in. So, what do most people do?? They donate them to a thrift store. So as you shop around a bit, you will find a section with baskets, vases, and containers that actually say TELEFLORA, or FTD on them. This is where you have hit the jackpot. You have just purchased a genuine Teleflora flower container. For like 1 dollar. Yeah!!! So, now is the time you need to decide how creative you want to be.

If you purchased a basket, I recommend going to your local grocery floral department, or Lowe's or Home-Depot, and buying a couple of small green house plants....(in dirt), one being trailing Ivy, and the other being whatever you feel like. It could be blooming, or not. You can then place a plastic liner in the basket...(like a thick portion of your garbage bag), and fluff them up a bit, top off with some wet moss you purchased at Michael's, and you are done. AND....if you really think this is too intimidating, just get on your computer, go to www.teleflora.com, click on flower baskets, and you can literally view tons of examples, and just copy them.

If you purchased a vase, you need to get a bit more creative. You can then go to your local grocer's floral area, and buy some "cut" flowers, and get creative and place them in the vase. Remember teleflora's website, you can get some great ideas from that!!!

If you have purchased a ceramic container, you need to go to a store like Michael's, and buy some wet floral foam, and then place it in the container, buy your cut flowers and get to work. Check on the teleflora website, and don't forget you need some greenery along with the cut flowers. Leather fern is the one I use most, and you can sometimes buy it at your grocer's floral shop. Just ask for it if they don't have it out.

So, now that you have your arrangement made, what do you do with it from there? Here's my favorite tip that I KNOW works, as I have delivered flowers for my own floral shop and for myself. So, if you have a relative in a hospital room, this will be a piece of cake. All you need is a floral card (the small 1.5" by 2.5" card that says..."get well soon" or some other message. Sign your name to it, and get a floral pick (the plastic pick that holds the card) all from your local grocer's floral area. Also grab an envelope that the card goes into, so you can write the recipients name on it. When you have attached the card with the envelope and the pick, all you need to do is bring your arrangement to the front desk of the hospital your relative is in, and drop it off. The little lady at the desk may ask you if you would like to deliver it yourself, if she thinks you are NOT delivering for a floral shop. So just act like you have done this a million times, and odds are, no-one will ask you anything.

You can do the exact same thing with funeral arrangements. Just drop them off at the funeral home, but make sure you have a "funeral" sympathy card attached, and these cards have a space on the back for your address and other information so that they can give it to the family.

Well, I hope all this was helpful, and I hope you haven't totally changed your opinion of me.....but I truly LOVE to save money. And if you go to your local flower shop to have a "get well" delivery to the local hospital, it will cost you $50.00 or more. Yikes. The only advice I can give you is this. Make the arrangement look NICE. Make it look like it CAME from a floral shop. Otherwise, you might be better off just paying the $50.00 and calling it good. Oh, and feel free to email me if you have any questions or need a bit more help, I would be happy to do what I can to make this easier for you. Happy Shopping!!!

Familiarize.....

What kind of businesses are selling products in your area? This is a key question to think about when you are trying to decide what type of products your local thrift stores might carry. Here's an example of one of the industries near my area. It is Coldwater Creek. You may be familiar with it. This company is an awesome local business that sells clothing, bedding, jewelry and other unique items, mainly by their mail order catalog or online stores. Their products have been a really big hit all over the world, and they are pretty sought after even on online auction sites. And I have had alot of luck selling Coldwater Creek items on EBay!!

So, what I am getting at is this.......Since the main office and supplier of Coldwater Creek products is a local business, I can actually find alot of their products in the local thrift stores. I can shop around and usually find at least 3 different items with Coldwater Creek tags on them in each thrift store....per day. And the closer you get to the business' location, the more product you will find.
So, get to know what hot local companies are in your area, and odds are you can find their products in YOUR local thrift stores. And the best part is, especially around here, they're pretty plentiful. Happy shopping!!!