Thrift Store Shopping With A Purpose

Last week when Dwain and I had our friends children stay with us, Piper and I went thrifting and she found some lovely outfits and my favorite item was a little plastic glitter rainbow purse. It had a nice long chain on it and Piper adored it. 

I found some great items that met my list of requirements for the week. 

1. ✔ I have always wanted a grand cake stand but I could never afford the prices at the antique malls. It had to be vintage and heavy. I could only ever find the stands without the top. When Piper and I went to St. Joseph's Thrift Store (my favorite place, by the way) I found my cake stand. It was sitting on a table and it was amazingly beautiful. The topper is extremely heavy and you definitely need both hands to pick it up. The top weighs five pounds. I know this information because I weighed it on my cute Counselor family scale! The cake stand and lid price on the tag said $35.00, then 15.00 and then unbeknownst me, when I carefully took it to the register, I was informed that the store was having a half-priced sale! Whoa! I finally got it for $7.50! I dusted off my shoulder in pride, truly proud that I had not only found a perfect crystal cake stand but got it for less than ten dollars!

2. ✔ Counselor scale. I had the very same scale right before I moved here but I arrived with some missing boxes. Unfortunately, the scale was inside the missing box. I actually found the exact same scale at Gramma's Attic and since that particular thrift store has their items at a very fair price (I'm talking inexpensive, really!) I snagged it for $6.00. You can even negotiate the price and they always agree to what you are willing to pay. Now that's my kind of thrift store! Isn't the scale just adorable? The bunny and rocking horse decal are in great condition! I put my handmade Laura Ingalls doll on top of it. She's cute too! I found her about twenty years ago at a rummage sale.

3. ✔ Sidedoor window curtain. Yes, I have one of those front doors that has that retched side window attached to it. I can't stand it but unless Dwain and I plunk down $1235.99 for a brand new door and sidedoor window, I'll have to do with painting it over (the whole door and molding)and making it look new but being thrifty at the same time. I'm embarrassed to say this but I had a pink flat sheet covering the sidedoor window. Well

 lucky me, St.Joseph's had a lovely dark oyster colored panel for that long but short width window. It was brand new and still in it's original plastic zippered bag from T.J. Maxx! I got it for $2.50/$1.50!

4. ✔ Valances. I was very lucky to find two sets of much needed valances for my home. Our front living room window is quite large and we have cloth vertical blinds hanging but the window needed a touch of something other than the rack where the blinds hang. I found five pieces white muslin with tabs for $4.00/$2.00 and I think they are adorable! The next valance I found is a single piece and it is quite long. It is floral with pleated fold that shows a sections of homespun inside. I can tell that this valance was custom made by an upholstery seamstress. The fabric reminds me of Brunschwig and Fils.  Yeah, I still like that type of decor, just not a lot of it! It was $2.00/$1.00 I am going to put that piece in my dining room window or maybe even in my kitchen. Stay tuned...

5. ✔ Something cute. I always look for something that tickles me pink after I have checked off my list of wants and needs. I love looking in their spinning rack for high end perfumes and cosmetics. This time I found a sandwich baggie with some silver metal letters. It was $2.00/$1.00!

I grabbed them, put them in my cart and when I got home, I filmed a short video on Viber for my sisters, Laurie and Cyndi to show them my bounty. I didn't even notice that the baggie had writing on it. When I dumped out the letters, I saw: a, g, m, e, I and a small i. Hmmm...oh! It spells Imagine! Wow! How cool is that? Then I tell my sisters on the video, "Hey girls, guess what? The letters spell I.m.a.g.i.n.e!" My sister Cyndi had no qualms in telling me, "Hey dingbat, the bag you just took the letters out from, says that the letters spell out I.m.a.g.i.n.e." she said, cackling. 

I had to laugh.

The collage below shows some beautiful papier mâché clowns that my best friend Shannon gifted me with last weekend. I was so incredibly touched by her kindness and maybe it was her way of thanking me for taking care of her children. She didn't need to thank me because it was definitely a good change of pace for Dwain and I. I would do it again a hundred times over. 

The precious clowns are vintage and have a stamp that says MEX so I'm assuming that they were possibly made in Mexico. Ay carambia! They are truly colorful and fun. They are also very fragile and I will be their guardian until I bequeath them to my niece Mikaela. I hope she likes clowns. I don't like real clowns, never have but something like this is much different. What a treasure of a friend I have for thinking of me. I truly love that woman!

I am almost finished with my green shelf (now a pale grey) that I bought two weeks ago. I just have to run to Hobby Lobby to find the perfect drawer knob. Hobby Lobby has the penultimate selection of beautiful decorative knobs. That is the only place I purchase knobs from. Go take a looksie. You will be astonished with the choices you have!

Until next time! Be a thrifty treasure hunter and save the landfills.