"Giant kitschy things" is on my "thrift list" and this amazing plastic picture frame is perfection. That calendar to the right is average desktop size to give you an idea of scale. It's massive. I wanted to take a picture with it foe scale but ran out of light.
When Jill suggested using it to hold for photo ops I couldn't put it in the cart fast enough, hilarious idea. I like the thought of mounting a dry-erase or chalkboard behind it, too. Very fun conversation piece.
And THEN there were the smalls. Tempting me at every turn! I'm trying my best to resist anything but the best ceramics but this deer had a sign saying it was .50 cents and I gave in thinking, "I know you will be nothing but trouble, I feel in bones..."
Later looking at the receipt we suspected the deer was rang up for the wrong price. "D'oh" (get it, doe!) said Jill. "Oh Deer," said I. Later when I got home I thought, "I wish I'd have been a buck." (Get it, buck?!) Anyway, I need you to get this deer away from me. It represents a failure on my part to resist kitschy glassware! It's perfect for Christmas, you know you want it! E-mail me to buy it, she's inexpensive.
The second "Failure" was this adorable cat cup. I'm a sucker for unique pottery and knew this piece would be particularly photogenic. I like the idea of it as a terracotta (Terra-cat-a? The pun won't quit.) planter for a succulent or cacti.
And if no one buys it from me soon like they SHOULD because it's beautiful, I will put a cactus in it and keep it for my future curiosity cabinet.
I'm trying to be as minimalist as possible so books are on my "forbidden" list as well. I can always check out what I need from the library and I'm limiting my home collection to frequent-reference and inspiration books. I've been dying to finish "The Artist's Way" for 5 years now, it's usually on-hold at the library. From what I've read so far it's an incredible way to reboot your creativity. I don't quite believe in essential oils as internal healers but I'm intrigued by aromatherapy and their power used topically so the essential oils book was practical, and something the library book might not have. I love getting older/out-of-print science/health books from the thrift store because I'll sometimes find useful diets or information that really works that I haven't read anywhere else. (Like the acne-clearing diet.) That's a lot of useful information for $1.00 for both books!
The Church Bazaar also yielded a string of blue Christmas lights for 50 cents. I went back-and-forth on this one, not a necessity, but I'll enjoy them in my antique mall booth, bedroom, or on our future tiny Christmas tree. The blue is a nice change from the usual white.
Just being silly with my existing kawaii ceramics. Friends!
The 50% off thrift store also had a "fill a bag of clothes for $5.00" sale that Jill and I were excited about. I found 10 pieces. All of these clothes are still hang-drying so I'll come back to them in future post(s). I'm doing some clothing line experimenting behind-the-scenes and will write guides and DIYS on it soon.
I bought a lot of "extra" but the main point of the trip was to hunt for clothes and records for a christmas gift DIYs you'll see soon. I'm between sizes and was tired of borrowing bits from my roomie to keep clothed.
To make up for my recent lack of control at the thrift store I took a few boxes of things to the thrift stores. I want to make a few "curio shelves" to hold my collections as well and craft with what I've already got. I may go back to being on break, it's hard to stop myself from buying unnecessary bits for fifty cents here and there. Damn you, shaky will power.
Find anything good at the thrifts lately? Do link your haul posts in the comments below.
Linked to: [Nifty Thrifty] [Thrifter|Maker|Fixer] [Sir Thrift a Lot]
I like that little weird cat planter. I would have bought that from a thrift store too! I like weird pottery, pretty pottery....
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for it but I'm trying to resist save for the most special items. The kitty doesn't quality for me after-the-fact, but not bad.
DeleteI love your dream frame! Place it over a mirror and you'd feel like a superhero every time you looked into it :)
ReplyDeletehttp://sequinsandsavings.blogspot.co.uk/
The mirror is an excellent idea. I can't wait to use it for my new sidebar photo :D
DeleteAwesome finds! Don't feel bad or regretful about your purchases - sometimes you just need to surround yourself with things you love. When my husband came to America and couldn't find any work for over a year, we were living hand-to-mouth and it was quite bleak. But whenever I found something I loved at a thrift store or garage sale and could afford it, I bought it. At the time I though, what am I doing, can I even afford this even thought it's only a few bucks? Ultimately, I realized that they made me happy, and that's all that mattered. And they have a treasured place in our home today. In fact, the ONLY regrets I have are the few things I let go because I gave in to the "Oooh I shouldn't get that" thoughts.
ReplyDeleteOne day you'll live in a home of your own that's bigger (even if it's only a little bigger), and you'll be glad you got what you did. Because as we thrifters all know you'll be damn lucky to find the same thing twice! When we were living in one room at my mother's house, trying to save up for our own place, we kept all our belongings in storage and they were perfect for when we found our home. :-)
Also, I love your thrift hauls! They're very inspirational and it's always fabulous to see what other thrifters find!
As for me, I recently got some amazing mid century things, including a bed & dresser for our son, a couple of unique lamps (I think I'm now officially a Lamp Hoarder), and an adorable plant stand plus macrame plant hangers. Really fabulous - I haven't had so much luck thrifting in years!
Aw, thanks for sharing the story. In my case I already have a decently large apartment filled with art, planters, boxes of toys, shelves of books..my car and hallway are filled with things that need to go to an antique mall booth. I need to be careful with what merchandise comes in especially so I try not to hunt much while I steel-up my will power. BUT agreed on just letting go on the special items (like the frame, int his case). I have some special thrifted items that will come with me no matter where I end up one day. :D I'll be doing more haul posts on practical home/clothing finds to come as I hunt them down.
DeleteLove that yellow frame! super cute. The cat cup is also adorable as well. Great finds!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteWelcome back to the strange land o' thrifting. That giant frame... that's worth the trip alone.
ReplyDelete<3 Jackie @ Let's Go Thrifting
Indeed it 'twas. I'm mad at myself for breaking my rules but it's fun to be back. Realized I left three things I found out of this post. D'oh. Next time.
DeleteAs always I love the knack you have for making things look fab together, love the monster draped in blue lights :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks :D
DeleteBlue Christmas lights for .50. Can't beat that with a stick!
ReplyDeleteNope! I desperately wanted to put them back but it was such a good deal... :P
DeleteI feel you on limiting the amount of junk you drag home, it's so hard but a clean house and organized spec make it ALL worthwhile
ReplyDeleteIt really does, indeed!
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