Party Finds

I dashed out for a quick thrift run today and accidentally spent three hours in one store. Oops. I wish I could say that hardly ever happens. But the truth is, I get especially hung up on the books and today there were lots of wonderful children's books and it takes time to comb through the racks. I found some real gems, which I will share with you in a later post.

What I will share now are the fantastic props and supplies I found that I will use for some upcoming family birthday parties. I found this General Store sign, which I couldn't resist even though I already have a homemade version. This one I will probably age a little bit to make it look older, but it is much cooler than mine. It will be used in my younger daughter's pioneer party someday.

When I was purchasing this piece, the young cashier asked me if I was buying it because I owned a general store. No, I said, half wondering if he were for real. He looked up at me equally puzzled until I offered up that it was for a party. "Oh," he nodded, "a speak-easy party, like in The Great Gatsby." Uh, no, I laughed, telling him it was for a Laura Ingalls inspired pioneer birthday party. He wisely ceased the small talk after that. In retrospect, I guess I should be flattered that he thought I'm so cool as to be having a speak-easy party!

Anyway, our second pioneer party is at least a year off, and for now I am working diligently on plans for my daughter's woodland fairy party, which will be held next month. I found this autumnal floral ball to hang from a tree branch.

I also found two green apple plates, which I will use with a little cup to serve sliced apples and caramel dip at the party. Maybe one plate will hold red apples and the other green?

One of the activities I have planned for the fairy party is having the kids make fairy gardens that they can take home. I have begun collecting little natural objects like seed pods, twigs, and acorns so they will have a large supply of materials to choose from when constructing their gardens. It is amazing what kinds of structures can be made from such simple materials and a little string and glue. I love seeing what a child's imagination can come up with and for the most part, I discourage adult interference. But I lost my breath when I saw this beautiful tower that will be perfect in our more permanent fairy garden. It is made from wood so technically it is all natural and won't offend the fairies. And it will provide much needed sturdiness--so much of what we create in our fairy gardens just can't fight off the elements but this little structure should be able to withstand a New England winter.

And then there is this pirate flag. I am sure that in the next couple of years, we will be having another Pirate Party, probably for my little boy. This flag definitely out-classes the plastic Oriental Trading number that I had flying from our playhouse for our first pirate party. And only 99 cents!

Last week, I organized my party supply closet so I am off now to slip these things into their proper storage spots. Love that I am finally getting my party supplies organized--it's a wonderful feeling! Linking my finds up to Sir Thrift a Lot, who is celebrating his one year anniversary this month!

Weekend Thrift Finds

Sadly, it has been a couple of weeks since I got to go on a thrift excursion. The young ones have made it clear: they like what I find them at thrift stores, but they don't like going! Their strong opinions have made it hard for me to get out but yesterday I took advantage of a moment of peace and went out for a quick fix. I could only make it to one store, and unfortunately, it seemed both overpriced and picked over, but I take what I can get, folks.

Here are my spoils:

I spotted a set of four of these glasses and quickly shot off a text to my friend Kristen. She collects this pattern but I wasn't sure if she needed goblets. She messaged right back that she wanted them, so into the cart they went.

Next, a very sturdy and cute basket for my daughter's Little Red Riding Hood Halloween costume. This will serve as part of the costume as well as the treat bucket. I also picked up a skirt for the costume, but plan to doctor it up a bit so I am not sharing yet.

Then my favorite find of the night, more vintage Christmas cookie cutters!

These are in pristine condition--obviously owned by someone not fond of baking. I needed many of these to help reach my goal of having 4 of each one. I still need quite a few but this bag included several of the ones that are harder to come by, like the turkey. On the flip side, I now own seven Santas, so if you have any interest in owning one, please send me a message and it is yours.

Also in the bag with the cookie cutters was this cake decorator. I have a few of these but this one is newer and in better condition.

The book section was pretty sparse but I pawed around until I found a few I wanted to take home, including these two children's Christmas books.

The Christmas carols book reminds me of one that I had as a child (and still have, sans its cover), and I love that it includes my favorite old English carol, "The Friendly Beasts."

Finally, I found these sweet little wooden buckets, which will be employed in my next Little House on the Prairie party somehow.

A few good finds, and I returned home in a better mood than I had left. Retail therapy, thrift style. Linking up to Sir Thrift a Lot.

American Girl Playset: The Thrift Version

My girls are absolutely bananas about American Girl dolls and all the endless accessories and clothing you can buy to outfit your doll and her world. I shudder to think how much money we have spent at this store over the last three years! But it is wholesome and imaginative play and I would much rather have my kids playing with dolls than many other things that they could be interested in. However, all the little purchases of an outfit here and a playset there add up and it is time to draw the line: no more American Girl purchases except for very special occasions, like birthdays and Christmas.

I expected disappointment from my girls, but I underestimated them. Instead of pouting about not getting more stuff, they decided to use their creativity and resourcefulness and make some stuff of their own. They borrowed my laptop, logged onto my Pinterest account and began to peruse the many wonderful DIY American Girl ideas and tutorials that exist in blogland.

And here is where the thrift comes in. If you've been reading along for any length of time, you know that I always comb the arts and crafts sections of thrift shops for supplies. My cabinet contains beautiful ribbons, trims, laces, vintage pipe cleaners, wood pieces, paints, fabrics, threads, and so much more. Additionally, I save little things that I think might be useful for making things, like bottle caps and lids of various sizes, and weird plastic and foam pieces that come in packaging. I know it sounds like I might be a hoarder, but I promise you I am talking about a baggie full of these things, not boxes and boxes full! My daughters had a ball pulling out some of my things and brainstorming what they could use them for--my older daughter exclaimed that her head was exploding with ideas!

Here is the couch (inspired by this tutorial found on the AG Doll Play blog) that my older daughter made with fabric from my stash, an empty clementine crate, and trim that I thrifted.

I just promised I wasn't a hoarder but I freely confess that in the past, I've had a hard time actually using some of my vintage notions. It is only recently that I have learned to let go and enjoy using all the little beauties that I've so carefully collected over the years.

And here are a pair of doll slippers she made, also inspired by something she saw online (possibly this).

Any Janie and Jack fans out there? If so, I'm sure you'll recognize the little ribbons that used to come on every tag--well, of course I couldn't throw those away!

And I've saved the best for last. We all fell head over heels in love with the art studio also pictured on the AG Doll Play blog, which is packed full of the most creative ideas for making things for the dolls.

We copied the same structure (scored foam core covered with scrapbooking paper, in this case leftover AG paper from another project) for the walls, as well as the "Art Studio" banner and string of artwork.  My daughter enjoyed making the art. If you look closely, you will see that the middle painting was awarded a blue ribbon! (This is another idea borrowed from the original model, although that version utilized the "Best in Show" blue ribbon from the AG dog show set, and we couldn't find ours. We made do by gluing together several thrifted vintage blue foil Christmas stars and some ribbon--I think it is almost as nice!)

The art stand was also thrifted; it was originally a recipe stand and I paid around 10 cents for it. The trash can (don't you love the trash piling up inside the receptacle? My daughter thought we needed to be very realistic!) is a pencil holder from the dollar store. The trim on the walls, as well as the cording on both garlands were both thrifted vintage sewing notions. The poster on the wall behind the stand is actually a ticket stub from a small doll museum in Paris that I kept as a souvenir of my visit. The little ceramic cat was painted years ago by my daughter at a party.

On top of the pretty blue art cabinet (a box leftover from a Melissa & Doug craft) is the Best in Show trophy from the AG Dog Show set, a repurposed cap holding paintbrushes, and a few jars holding art supplies. The tall glass container in the back is holding a homemade colored pencil made from a toothpick--more are in the process of being made.

 

On the cabinet shelves are a stack of vintage Paris images that will be used by the dolls for inspiration--these came from a wall calendar my sister gave me a few years ago. The bowl of thrifted wooden apples came from our doll house, as did the little vintage house, also thrifted.

The drawing table is made from two thrifted candleholders (for table legs), scrapbook paper and more thrifted trim. I believe the flowers are also from the Dog Show set, and my daughter made the pencil and still life.

All in all, this playset cost about $2 to make. All I purchased for this was the foam core backdrop and the trash can. Everything else came out of our craft cabinet or our doll play collection. And we had such a fun time making it! Thank you to the super-creative folks behind the AG Doll Play blog for these wonderful ideas. We are now working on our second playset--one we thought of all by ourselves!!--photos to come soon.

Vacation Thrift Finds

After a week of blissful R&R in Vacationland, I am home and ready to take on back-to-school fever, which has hit our household in full force. Although this is one mom who is sad to see the end of summer, I am relieved to know that all three of my children are excited about school, even the two who are entering new schools with all the challenges that accompany such a transition. I must say, it is amazing what a new backpack, lunchbox and water bottle, crayons, colored pencils, and a notebook can do to turn first day jitters into "I-can't-wait" excitement.

While in Maine, I spent most days on the beach enjoying glorious late summer weather or at the lobster pounds eating, well, pounds of crustaceans, but I did make a brief trip into town to check out the thrift shops in the area. I wasn't in the mood to do any serious shopping, but I still found a few little treasures to tuck into my suitcase.

My girls are into all kinds of home crafting projects right now, so I always dig through the arts and crafts area of thrift shops, where I frequently find unique and interesting finds to keep our crafting cabinet fully stocked. This trip I scored some vintage rick rack (one of my personal weaknesses!), pretty vintage lace trim, wooden shapes, dollhouse-sized bird ornaments, a miniature metal latch, and tiny jingle bells. I also found a large bag of raffia, which I need for preparations for an upcoming birthday party. The girls picked out some vintage buttons and tiny boxes, which they have already crafted into button boxes.

I also nabbed small yardages of two vintage fabrics. The pink one has tiny roses and daisies on it, and we are going to use it for the backing of a nine-patch quilt (made of vintage fabrics, of course) that my daughter is making. The green one I had to have because I remember that fabric from a skirt my mother made me as a young child. Very 1970s!

Also in the craft section was this unused vintage Bermuda bag, plus a pattern for making the covers, and a half finished sample. A while back, I picked up a darling vintage child size version that needs some TLC along with two vintage covers in good shape. When I get to that project, I can make a cover for this one and then give a bag to each of my daughters. Maybe for Christmas? I wish I had kept my own beloved Bermuda bag from 7th grade. I remember having several totally preppy covers for it, including one that was a beautiful madras. I'm glad I found these two bags so I can still pass on the preppy love to my daughters.

It is kind of hard to show the scale of my next find: a very large shallow stainless steel pan. I picked this baby up for a buck and I have already thought of a number of uses for it. I originally intended to use it for my younger daughter's pioneer party (a re-do of daughter #1's Little House party from earlier this summer)--with so many guests in attendance, I needed another pan for washing clothes. This pan will do the trick nicely and like I said, it will be great for other projects, too. Not to mention I can fill it up with ice and use it for adult beverages at parties. It looks a mess now, but once I get it cleaned up, I'm sure it will be a beauty.

I found a box full of vintage coloring books at a yard sale on our way home, and picked out a few for myself. I'm always searching for vintage Christmas coloring books in particular, although as my kids grow up, I'm losing a bit of interest in them. These finds were not quite as exciting as the vintage Peanuts coloring book I found a few weeks ago, but I don't see these very often and I was happy to pick them up.

I've also been looking for vintage comic books for awhile now, but have never seen one in a thrift store for a bargain price. I so remember loving them as a kid and am disappointed that my kids don't know the joy of curling up with a fun comic book on a lazy afternoon. I was thrilled to finally find one, offered up for about a quarter at the same yard sale. It is in great shape, too, aside from a slight musty smell which I think I can minimize with the help of my trusted friend, Mr. Baking Soda, and a plastic zip baggie.

And nerd alert! I bought a puzzle. I love making Ukrainian Easter eggs, and I'll admit it, I love doing puzzles so this was a perfect find. What makes it really fun is that my kids now love doing them with me, so while it is no longer time for solitary reflection, it is enjoyable in a whole new way.

There you have it, my vacation treasures. Nothing too spectacular, just enough to keep me in the game! Linking up to Sir Thrift a Lot; I missed seeing all the thrifty goodness last week. 

Before & After: Magazine Rack and Pedestal Bowl

This post's title is absolutely misleading! I have no "before" shots to show you. You are going to have to use your imagination, but I assure you it won't be difficult.

You see, both of these pieces were simply dark brown stained pieces before I got hold of them. The magazine rack I purchased for $5 a couple of years ago at a church rummage sale, mainly because I liked the cloverleaf cut-out. I always intended on painting it but only got around to doing so this past week. In my defense, I didn't know exactly where I wanted to put it in my house until just this last week, so I didn't know what color to paint it. But I'm working on decorating my older daughter's bedroom right now, and it seemed to be a good fit. We needed something to keep her 1,001 American Girl catalogs from papering the room, and we needed it yesterday! So, location decided, we just needed to agree on a color. She has her old baby glider in her room, which she uses as a very comfy reading chair, but it is a small scale pink gingham. Someday soon, I'd like to have it reupholstered, but that is not in the cards for at least a year so for now we have to work with the color. To de-babify the chair, and to make the reading nook a little cozier, we moved my favorite re-done footstool in from my room.

It has a lot of pink in it, which works well with the chair, but the pattern is so bold and modern that it helps balance the preciousness of the glider's print. Once the footstool arrived on the scene, we realized that the magazine rack was destined to be bright, glossy, cherry red.

And here is the after shot:

I simply used spray paint for this update, and we are both very happy with how it turned out. Now I just can't wait to pull up that old blue carpet in her room--fingers crossed that there are hardwood floors underneath!

And for my second show and tell, I offer you this pedestal bowl.

Again, no "before" shot, but it won't take much to imagine it all a dull brown. This re-do was done without a plan. I was very bored one day and had only a few moments, so I custom mixed a dark grey-blue color using some leftover acrylic craft paints that I had laying around and added some calcium carbonate to make it chalky. It was sooooo chalky and dull, so I added a thick layer of finishing paste wax. It didn't seem to help the finish much at all, and in fact, it lifted off some of the paint, so I set it aside for awhile. Then tonight, I dug up some polycrylic for another project I was working on and decided it wouldn't hurt to try putting a layer of that over the wax. I actually loved how it looked after that. Glossy but not high-shine, and it brought out the richness of both the brown and the grey blue paint. I show it here in my sitting room, but it is now living up in my bedroom holding all my bracelets. I never wear my jewelry because it is always tucked out of sight, but this should remedy that somewhat.

I feel so good that I knocked out these two projects and can cross them off my list. Plus, they are both going to help me and my kids be more organized. Win, win! Next up, my most ambitious painting job to date: a re-do of an old French provincial desk for my daughter's room. I'd love to get it done before school starts up again but only time will tell if I can pull that one off. We shall see!

Fairy Gardens from Thrifted Finds

Last week, we had friends over to make fairy gardens. I've been wanting to do this forever and have never gotten around to doing it. While some fairy experts say to use only natural materials as to not scare away the little sprites you are trying to attract, I say use plenty of natural materials accented with a good thrift find or two!

Here is the garden I made with my son:

The wooden door with the round window cut out is from this thrift store find:

I removed the center piece before painting this piece and immediately thought it looked like a little gnome or fairy door. I tucked it away with my fairy house making supplies and think it is perfect as the entrance to our little fairy cottage.

 

Chickpeas make wonderful pebbles--this was my friend's fabulous idea--and she also brought some plastic egg cartons which we cut up, buried slightly in the soil, and filled with water for little reflecting pools.

We tucked in some thrifted greenery for a touch of color, and for our twig ladders, we used wire that came from a bag of craft supplies I picked up somewhere along the way. The pot was repurposed, so really this was a nearly no-cost morning of fun!

Here is a view of my daughter's garden with its shades drawn closed:

When the fairies want fresh air and sunshine, they pull back the hosta leaves and enjoy their homestead in all its glory:

The campfire ring is a thrifted curtain ring, and other accents like the decorative berry balls and glass pebbles were also picked up secondhand for pennies. I rescued the sweet little rusted bench from a "free" basket at an antique store. It's a beautiful store not far from our house, but when I visited last summer with a friend, the only things I was interested in taking home were from the free basket! Not because they were free, although who can argue with that, but because they were the most charming things in the shop. I felt a little guilty dipping into the free basket without buying anything, but then my friend spent a pretty penny on some treasures of her own from the shop so my guilt was eased.

For her garden, my younger daughter used a heavy brass vessel that I brought home a few weeks ago, thinking it would make a nice display piece in my sitting room. But when I actually got it into the house, I realized it was most likely an old ashtray--the kind that stood on a stand in a lobby or similar location--and after knowing that, I just couldn't put anything nice inside it and banished it from the house. It makes a very regal fairy garden, though!

See the pot of chickpea stew roasting over the open fire? The fairies won't go hungry tonight.

This was such a lovely project, and one that has continued to entertain us even after we settled the completed pots into our garden. We check every day for signs of fairy activity--so far, we can't quite tell if we've had visitors but we remain hopeful that we will have tenants very soon.

Tax Free Thrifting!

What's better than a quick thrift trip? A quick thrift trip on tax-free weekend! My family needed to do some shopping today to take advantage of our state's back-to-school tax-free weekend, and luckily for me, one of my favorite thrift stores was located right along our route so I got to pop in for a few minutes.

I can't say I found anything spectacular, but it was worth a quick stop. Along with a couple of books for the kids, here is what I found.

I have a set of six of these retro Christmas/New Year's glasses, and I was very happy to add four more to my collection.

Nabbed a few more vintage cookie cutters, including a leaf shape that I don't already have! Of course, most of the cutters in the bag were more common ones but they are still hard for me to pass up. So now I am the proud owner of yet another Santa, star, circle, and two slightly different flower shapes.

I thought these little removable plate handles were a cute vintage find. Nice that they are still in the package. I think I'll keep one and gift one. They'd be especially sweet at a child's tea party, don't you think?

My girls are wild about all things American Girl and I am always on the lookout for new things for their collection. I get especially excited when I find things that are no longer produced, or, as AG likes to spin it, have been "retired to their archives." This Molly mystery game is no longer available, and although it is missing its parent guide book, all the other pieces are there in pristine and unused condition. I'm pretty sure I can figure it out and it looks like a lot of fun.

I also found this sweet little fairy game, which is in mint condition and will make a perfect birthday gift for a little girl I know that loves all things fairy.

Linking up to Sir Thrift a Lot, who also scored some vintage Christmas love this weekend. I'm hoping I can step out for a bit of shopping this week, but I'll have three reluctant tag-a-longs every day so it may take some bribery on my part. Wish me luck!