Vintage Jewels

So my sister (Jenna),and I decided collectively that maybe it would be a good idea to go to Michael's Craft store when they were having a giant sale....and on top of the sale we had a 20% coupon for our entire purchase. (Of course) We walk in and think that we will only be there for a half hour...low and behold they are locking the doors and my sister and I quickly dash out with our purchases.

(Here is what happened in between) We walk in and decide that after we get was on our list we will check out if there are any other sales or crafting objects.

Ribbon (check)

Thank You Stamp (check)

Polyfill (check)

Glue (Check)

Spray Paint (check)

I am pretty sure that is all we needed completing this in a pretty quick amount of time. We then go to the jewel making isle, where I personally have never ventured. I am not a beader, but I start seeing pendants, that caught my eye. ( I may have drooled a bit) Then my sister came over and just as we usually do. We started comparing ideas...figuring this could go with that...and almost walking out of there with another $50 dollars worth of stuff.

Long story short...we will be making jewelery in the near and decent future...my sister actually bought a pendant. She made a necklace tonight.

To keep with the topic of jewelery check out some of our finds from this weekend of estate sales. There are some really to die for things.

Girls get all the fun....check out my etsy shop to see all the pics, if they haven't sold yet.

Some of my favorite finds..thrifting!

Who knew thrifting could be so fun??? Seriously! Ben and I like to do it pretty frequently, and come up with some pretty cool stuff. I found one pair of awesome boots...black, knee-high equestrian boots by Donald J Pliner..his boots normally go for anywhere from $200-$500. My favorite part is that the stamp inside the boot says "made by the sea in Italy". The boots were at Stars Antique Mall in West Moreland. If you have never been, you should check it out! Amazing find at only $25!!! Because I don't wear heels anymore, I have decided to get the most awesome boot collection ever..I have a pretty good start on it so far :)

And, I found this ultra-cool brown "leather" jacket at Value Village..it comes from Madrid, so anything from Europe is automatically way-cooler than anything here..just under $20!!!! I have never seen anything like it, and I can even zip it up! Now, that is a plus!

Onto the housewares..I found these little nifties at the bins...the more proper name is the Goodwill outlet in Milwaukie, just off McLoughlin. I came upon a little casserole

baker, otherwise known as a Dutch oven, in this really cool orange-red color..on the bottom, "made in Belgium", and numbered. I also found this cool little butcher block. Now, I'm picky about what I get at the bins..but, if you can deal, they

have some amazing finds! Ben showcased his stuff he found on his post yesterday. The cool thing about the bins..you pay per pound, except for furniture, or other items as

marked. So, my Dutch oven cost me about $6..I checked online after I got home, and it turns out it is Descoware, a brand of enamel cookware made in Belgium until

about the 70's...pretty sweet! These little babies go for anywhere from $40-$75 online..I just had to share, because it's just so fun, and like treasure-hunting every day!

Adventures in thrifting. Again?

Today my sister and I looked out at the beautiful weather and decided that it was the perfect day to go thrifting. We stopped at two places, both of which had really great treasures. Some of which I will list on etsy, others which I will upcycle and recombinate to make a bit more modern.

Here is what we found at the first thrift store:



I couldn't say no to this amazing, intact book from the 1970's with an array of paper dolls and the outfits from the celebrities in the movies.



I know, I know everyone is probably like "owls are everywhere", but this one was so adorable I had to get it. It has so much character and vintage charm.



Teacups, teacups. Tea party? Hmmm...maybe, but I might have a crafty project in mind for these teacups. They are everywhere and have so much potential to be practical!

We moved on from the first thrift store and low and behold we ended up close to our home. I stumbled upon this small leather lunchbox....or at least what I thought was a lunchbox?



When I opened it I realized that it was a vintage 8 track carrier!!!! Amazing! I am going to stencil this object at a later date!






I found an amazing vintage print that I will upcycle for a pillow project. It is going to be fierce.

And last but not least...


I found more books, that I could make into journals!!!!! I was so stoked to stumble upon these amazing hardback children's books. I could in no way resist their charm.



In short I have a love for thrifting because to me it is like a fabulous treasure hunt. Or like a box of chocolates you never know what you gonna get.

Thrift me a deal!

(I love cheesy titles to my blogs that is all I have to say. Who wants a blog, that when dealing with the topic, it is just named the Subject, boring. I am not writing an essay, this is real life and not so formal)

Okay....so I got on a bit of a tangent.

Earlier this week my sister and I, decided that it would be a good time to go thrifting. Just woke up to the amazing sunshine outside, decided that this was our day to find a find. I think the best way to go thrifting, is to walk in without any expectations of finding something. The reason I say this...in my experience, (and I would say I would be rated platinum member, on the thrifting status.) it is a treasure hunt, so walking in with an open mind and editing eye. (Editing eye- go through all your potential purchases and ask yourself, are you buying this cus it's cheap? Or are you really going to use/wear it?)

Well I walked into the local Value Village, and look what I found!!!!

Only the most amazing pants ever. They were in the women's section of course, the reason being is that I always find more fun things on the women's side.

Think golf shoes, newsie cap with pom pom, sweater vest and polo.

The beauty is that I also found some tapestries and a couple of wonderful fabrics that will be used for future projects.

I think my favorite thing that I found this weekend though, was a, 1950's Light Pink Hostess Ice Crusher. My sister and I stared at the object at first and were confused as to what it was. We thought to ourselves this has to be wonderful relic from the past, so we snatched that up and went on our merry way.

Here are some pics of the ice cruser, hope you like them.

I love thrifting. I wish I could tell you the reasons. The biggest reason is that things are affordable, and the merchandise is always changing so you never get board of the same thing. As a creative person, I can look at something that appears lifeless and see what can be done or improved upon it to create something beautiful.

Finished ten more journals today, here is a sneak peek at one of my faves.


What I love about it is the inside.


You will be able to find this and more on my etsy shop.

And ACTION!!!

Well it is official, my first blog posting. I have been putting this off for quite sometime because I wanted to ensure that I created something that represented me and what I am hoping to achieve in the best way possible.

This whole thing began because I have an obsession with thrifting. If you are unsure as to what thrifting is, well I would say that it going to consignment shops, garage sales and thrift stores and look for fashions and home goods that can be modified to fit into todays world without looking old or outdated.

I have a sense of being able to see something and look at the silhouette or the fabric, and see the potential that lies within it. It takes a bit of vision, and definitely quite a lot of elbow grease and trial and error to make something old look new. That is the beauty in the whole process. Of course I love how something looks when I am finished, but the best part of the whole thing for me is the transformation.

Here is my first official piece, pictured below. I found this at a thrift store and knew that with a fresh coat of paint and a little work this would be a treasure.

before

after

I decided it would be fun to try a great little treatment on the top as well, I want to create something that I would call a combination of French and Modern. Here was the result.