Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Thrift FAIL


I'm a sucker for classic sandals like these Bass Sunjuns. I swooped in to grab this pair at my local stare last month. They were in near mint condition and I waited for the perfect day to wear them. It was an art market where two of my percussion groups were scheduled to play. I unloaded the drums and was walking to the tent when one strap popped out...glue fail...oh, well, at least they are not falling off my feet...5 minutes later...second strap pops out...aaaacccckkk ! I have to march around the market carrying a drum in a few minutes ? What to do ? I tried to rig up a knot which rapidly slipped loose, so I put out a frantic call to some friends at the market and a kind friend offered her Chacos sandals for me to borrow...what a lifesaver !!! Moral of the story...bring along an extra pair of shoes when you are taking your untested thrifted pair of shoes on their first day out :-p

Monday, June 27, 2011

Vintage Embroidered Tablecloth

This tablecloth was a beautiful find on a recent trip to one of my favorite stores. It has a small hole and some dark spots, but they could be artfully covered with the right table setting. I love the embroidery...it has a real southwest feel to it.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Dancing Feet



Being an avid thrifter is a bonus when you're also a dance fanatic. I practically spent my whole childhood in the ballet studio...age 5-13...and my love of dance never went away...in fact, it has pretty much returned with a vengeance in recent years, so keeping an eye out for sweet deals on dance shoes is an important element of my thrifting sessions. Here is my collection of never worn (at time of purchase) dance shoes I have collected over the years...black and pink ballet slippers, jazz shoes, tap and ballroom also. I didn't include the pair of rhythm tap shoes my friend gave me for free, since they weren't thrifted, but all in all, I think I saved myself a few dollars over the retail dance shoe prices ;-)

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Routine thrifting



Yes, I'm keeping up with my routine, no, I haven't posted here in awhile, and yes, I have found some cool stuff ! Yesterday I stopped at four different stores...didn't buy a thing ! Which is good...means I've become very selective ;-) But last week, I spotted these sweet drinking glasses and snapped them up at 75 cents each. Other recent sweet buys include a brand new silver leather "spy" coat...need to find a place to wear it !

Facebook recently changed their group functions, and now it's alot more fun to share photos of thrifty goodness with other folks in this group, Thrift Store Confidential .

Monday, February 21, 2011

10 cent bins !!!

I am a super lucky thrifter because in my neighborhood, there are two thrift stores that regularly sell items for only 10 cents apiece in their bins. Every Wednesday, I hit the one with the largest bins, and battle the crowds to claim my prizes...a pile of usually 20-30 items for under $3 total. Since I began losing weight over a year ago, I kept going for personal items in smaller and smaller sizes...I have way too many shirts, skirts and pants now, so I'm focusing on pieces to cut up and re-use, plus I'm collecting silk pieces for a fellow artist who does nuno felting .

My 100% wool sweater collection has grown sizeable in just the last couple weeks, so it's time to start hacking them to pieces and restyle with my new serger my incredibly generous aunt bought for me two months ago. What should I make ? Well, fulled purses is my first thought, but tonight, I found this blog post in my google reader for glove construction . A-ha ! My soft and lovely 100% merino wool sweaters will make nice gloves ! I found my inspiration, so wish me luck !

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Team Upcyclers

Last week I was scouting all the Etsy street teams, looking for good groups for a friend to join, and I spotted the Etsy Upcyclers street team...first thought, yep, that's me...so I sent in my request to join. Few days later, I received a very friendly welcome from Collagical . It looks like the team is active on Twitter as TeamUpcyclers and Facebook as Upcyclers . I haven't had a chance to go through all the team members' shops yet, but it looks like there is a lot of creativity in recycling going on.

100 Likes

My Facebook fan page has reached 100 fans ("likes") so I am offering a celebratory discount of 20% off all total orders of $10 and up. Just type in "100likes" in the "note to seller" box on the order page. Thanks, y'all !

Monday, January 24, 2011

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse


Catch phrase of the 21st century for the DIY crew, but I think everyone should get on board. It's creative and artistic besides being good for the environment.

I like when something I've reconstructed shows up in an upcycled theme treasury. Here's a halter top I made from a vintage maxi skirt. The fabric is so bright, it was overpowering as a skirt, so I cut it down into not only this halter top, but a purse which I sold a couple summers ago...and believe it or not, I have a second skirt in my collection ! I found them at the same time...not sure if they were worn by twins or what, but boy is it a loud print.

Back on Market Publique


085, originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

I joined Market Publique a couple years ago, and sold an item, but didn't keep it going. Fortunately, my account is still open, so when I spotted a Geoffrey Beene label inside this dress, I decided that was the place to list it. This is just the strangest dress, I think...the design is very severe with the little "space suit" sleeve caps and square patch pockets, but the fabric is just short of being in the lingerie category...so I can't figure it out...Geoffrey ? What were you thinking !?

I've renewed all my prior listings, so I now have 12 items listed in my Market Publique profile. A nice mix of glamourous as well as necessary pieces.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

New Year's Resolutions !

Ivory Collar Dress

Blue Daisy Print Dress

Red Velvet Dress

Gold Embroidered Black Dress

"I, do hereby solemnly swear to list one new vintage item per day, minimum, in my Etsy shop, until everything is listed" (which may take the next three years or less if I ramp up the effort to list two or three per day :-D ) So far, I've listed five new items and today is the 6th of January (tonight's to be posted later). I kinda cheated and a couple slipped over the deadline and came in after midnight, but I'll give myself some slack since at least, I'm listing new pieces, not just renewing the old stuff repeatedly. Enjoy these new offerings and stay tuned for something new each night....just follow me on Twitter for each update !