What A Successful Thrifting Trip Looks Like In The Never New Home

Let me paint you a picture of a pretty much perfect thrifting experience for me. 

Friday morning, my friend Leanne calls to ask if I want to go thrifting at Talize. And....of course I do. Even though there are boxes and boxes still that need putting away- thrifting is my zen time. So I went.

I had in my mind that I would like to get some black boots and perhaps a black purse, as well. Last fall I found some great grey wool boots (seen here) and the year before that I had snapped up some very cute and comfy brown boots (seen here).

Alright...back to my morning.

Not only did I find some great black boots, but I found a purse as well. I also found an adorable sweater, a leather skirt (that I totally stole off of a mannequin), and a super cute dress. That is what I would call a successful thrifting trip.

Here are the items that I found:

Leather skirt (stolen off of the mannequin)-   $14.99

 Penguin sweater (I'm pretty much in love with this)- $6.99
Acid wash jeans- from a previous Talize score- $7.99 (also seen here)

 

 Black boots- $14.99

Black Purse- $17.99

Flowery dress- $12.99
Black flats- A previous Bibles For Missions score- $9.99





And there you have it, friends. An extremely successful thrift shopping day in my books.


That being said...if you add it up- it's also in the books of one of my more expensive trips. But I think with everything I purchased, I still got a steal of a deal.



Thanks for reading!



Blessings.




 

My Repurposed Mason Jar Lighting From Teal And Black Splattered Ugliness

A few weeks ago I posted a photo of these rather hideous lights that I bought at the Re-Store on Instagram and Facebook. I made note of how excited I was for the plans that I had in store for them.

I promised my followers that I would definitely blog about the finished products.

Well, here I am- a few weeks later- after waiting for a couple of weeks for internet at my new home, posting all about my 'new' mason jar lights.

The first thing that needed to go was the paint-splattered look on the hardware of the lights. I removed all the excess fixtures and taped up the bulb sockets (not sure the correct terminology- I kind of just make this up as I go along...).

I used my new favourite spray paint colour- Rustoleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze. It has a bit of a vintage-y vibe to it, which is the look that I wanted.

I had envisioned these with mason jars (which I had laying around in my basement- WIN) covering the light bulbs. But when I went to put the mason jar lid onto the arm of the chandelier- it was just a smidge too small. So frustrating.

I decided to try sniping the lid in several points and opening it up to slide it over the hardware. this seemed to work, and was surprisingly stable once it was bent back into place. 

My next hurdle came when I realized that my jars were to small to fit over a normal lightbulb. Ugh. So, out I went to find smaller lightbulbs. I found some at Dollarama for $1.25 each.

But then, looking at the snipped-up jar lid...I was not happy at all with the result.

 

  

It was actually my mother that suggested just spray painting the lids, as well. And that worked

just perfectly.

 I do still need to add some chain/ wire to the chandelier that I will put in my new kitchen. Now that I have figured out a breakfast bar area (blog post to come), I can install it just where I want it.

But here is the finished/ installed photo of the smaller of the lights. I put it up in my front entrance way and just love it! 

 

 

 

PLEASE try to ignore all of the wood trim. Painting all of it white is on my very, very long to-do list.

Thanks for stopping in and reading, friends! Hope you enjoyed my repurposed light how-to.

Just another reason to try thrifting! You get to completely customize your own look and have a completely original home. Not to mention the money saved! The lights cost me under $35 for both of them and the spraypaint/ lightbulbs were maybe another $20 total. Not bad for 2 'new' light fixtures, I'd say!

Not too bad, at all.

Blessings.

My First Thrift Find For My New Home

I closed on my very own detached home on Monday. 

It's in a beautiful area of Hamilton, right around the corner from the last place that I lived/ rented. 

Although I was beyond thrilled to be able to purchase my townhome on my own 2 and a half years ago, when I went through a viewing of my new home- I felt like I was going back home.

I have a little over 2 weeks to rip up carpet, tear down wallpaper, paint, put down flooring....so we'll see how much gets done before move-in day.

But this post is about my first thrift find for my new place. And I love it.

I picked up this wire stand with a basket at Talize a week or so ago for $6.99.

I searched for a bit for a "Welcome" or an "Our Home" sign, or something similar- but couldn't find anything. Then I found a plain cork sign at the Dollarama. I figured that would work well, and just wrote "Welcome" on it myself. 

   

I added a potted mum plant, and now I have an adorable welcome piece for the front of my new home.

Cute, yes?

And totally worth the $6.99, I would say. :)

Happy Thursday, friends. 

Thanks for reading. 

Blessings.

Back To School Thrifting- 13 Items For $30

Again, this is a time in my life when I will be unable to post as often as I would like. 

I have purchased a detached home that needs a lot of love (work), and will be moving in the next few weeks.

I promise to keep you updated on the recycled/ reclaimed items that I will find and use around my new place...and also post about day to day thrifting as often as I can.

I've been so busy with the sale of my home that I almost missed National Thrift Day!!! I mean, that is crazy. I probably enjoy that day more than my own birthday...for real...

On my way home from work Wednesday night, I was about to leave Waterdown, ON when I remembered that Value Village was having a 50% off sale to celebrate National Thrift Day. I quickly ran into Waterdown's Value Village at 830pm and decided that I would just focus on my oldest son's back to school wardrobe. My middle and youngest are quite well stocked with hand-me-down's anyway.

In a flurry, I picked up 13 items and was pleasantly surprised when the cashier asked for $30.05.

Here is what my 30 bucks got me:

A fall jacket (London Fog).

2 hoodies.

 2 pairs of jeans. 

2 pairs of shorts.

 

5 long-sleeved T-shirts.

1 short-sleeved T-shirt.

There you have it, friends. Save money, recycle, and get a new wardrobe for your child for $30.

I just wish that I had remembered to look for shoes....

Blessings.

My Thrifted Backyard Oasis Chandelier

Now that I am a single mom again, I do relish the ability to make things girly and pretty around my home.

I really wanted to add a relaxing backyard oasis feeling to my kijiji-ed plastic patio furniture.

First off, I knew that I wanted some light and airy curtains. I had a set of those white mosquito-type netting curtains that I have seriously had in my possession FOREVER. Since I haven't bought anything at Ikea in about- oh, 5 years or so- I don't even remember what my plan was for them. But I still held on to them.

Then I found a matching set at Bibles For Missions Thrift Shop. They had priced each panel at $4.00, and I was quite happy with that. 

I attached them to my portable sun cover with some twine and I feel like it dressed it up significantly.

 

I then headed over to the Re-Source Thrift Shop

to look for a chandelier. Partly because I've seen a good selection of lighting there, and partly because it is the closest thrift shop to me.

I found this 'vintage' (a nice way of saying ugly??) light fixture for $12.00. I figured if I removed most of the busyness of it- it would do what I needed it to do. And that was just look pretty.

And after I had taken off the outer 'shell', given it a couple of coats of white spray paint, and cut off the wires (since I had absolutely no way of hooking it up to an electrical source anywhere in my backyard) I was extremely pleased with the result.

I attached the base of the light to my sun cover with white zip ties- which did the trick nicely.

But when I reattached the chandelier to the base, I realized that it, unfortunately, sat way too high.

So out I ran to Home Depot. I picked up some white links and presto, with a bit of elbow grease- I think my backyard Oasis is complete.

Thanks for reading, friends!

Blessings.

My New Obsession: My Facebook Trading Group

A couple of weeks ago I started posting the wedding items that I had purchased or had made myself,  that I never ended up using- items that I now feel it's time to get rid of- on facebook Buy-And-Sell groups, kijiji, etc...

Shortly after my postings went up, a friend of mine mentioned a trading group to me- and I was immediately intrigued. As someone who only purchases second-hand, bartering has long been one of my favourite ways to acquire the things that I am in need of.

For those of you not familiar with how bartering/trading works, here it is- plain and simple. People will trade goods (clothing/ furniture/ household items, etc) or services (hair cutting/babysitting/ home maintenance) that they no longer need or that they have to offer, with someone who has a good or service that they do need. The only rule is no money will be exchanged. 

Many people ask for/offer consumables (food they don't like/ food from their garden, etc.),  wine and beer is a popular item that people ask for, clothing, shoes, records, funiture...the list is endless.

Here are a few of my sweet trades so far!

I had these wood slices that I was going to use as part of my wedding centerpieces. 

 I traded 10 slices for a couple of bottles of wine.

One bottle I then traded for a very cute pair of boots:

And the other bottle I quickly traded for a cooler that I was in need of for my upcoming camping trip with my boys.

Do you get the picture? I traded something I didn't need and ended up getting items that I DID need! Bartering is the best!

Here are some other sweet items that I've scored:

These adorable "light bulb" iron candle holders. I traded three chocolate bars for these beauties.

These two canvas pieces were traded for a bag or tortilla chips!! Serious WIN! LOVE these.

 And this gorgeous coral lampshade... I traded a couple of bottles of beer for it (white lamp base found at Value Village for $4.99).

So friends...why buy new (and contribute to the pollution, inhumane working conditions, and garbage issue that we have on this planet), when you can trade your items or services?

I know I will continue to do so!!

Blessings.

  

How to Repurpose An Old Placemat Into An Adorable Purse!

So, I'm pretty excited about this really fun DIY idea! I saw the tutorial for the placemat to purse DIY pictured above on Pinterest and just HAD to search for more!  

Some are as easy as gluing the sides together and some you will need a sewing machine to achieve... but here are my fave repurposing placemat to purse DIY's:

Although many of the tutorials are basically the same idea, this tutorial from Lil Blue Boo does require a sewing machine and basic skills. 
Read tutorial HERE. 

This tutorial from Something Is Done is similar to the one above, but I do like the added strap idea. 
Read this tutorial HERE. 

This is another similar tutorial that I found on Craftaholics Anonymous. I really love how she incorporated the tassel detailing.
Read this How-To HERE.

This tutorial from The Kipi Blog uses a sewing machine and a zipper for closure. Very, very cute.
Read how-to make this clutch HERE.

This tutorial on Repeat Possessions was definitely the easiest of the ones I liked. No sewing. None. You just need glue and a repurposed belt for this simple DIY.
Read how to make this clutch HERE.

I found another somewhat simple tutorial on Average But Inspired. No sewing machine is required and I like how she used thread in a contracting fabric to hand sew the sides.
Read the tutorial for this clutch HERE.






And last, but certainly not least, of my favourites:

This hand-sewn cross-body purse was made by Paper And Stitch from 2 placemats and a leather strap that she had lying around from a previous purse-to-clutch revamp. AND she made it for under $10! It looks really easy to do and I just love the way it looks!




Well, thanks for reading friends!



I hope you'll let me know if you try any of these tutorials! I'd love to see the finished product!



If you don't have any placemats lying around, you can buy them for super cheap (and recycle at the same time) at any thrift shop!
Read the cross-body purse tutorial HERE.




Blessings and happy thrifting!