Tagged: thrifting

March 6, 2013

thrifted curtains and sunshine

Would you look at the sun streaming in through that window!

Today was an amazingly sunny day. It was certainly brisk (high of 40), but no wind and no clouds. Add in the fact that the birds are finally chirping, and it’s starting to feel like spring!

I enjoy having photo documentation of each of my dorm rooms, and, really, each place I’ve lived. I can look back at pictures like this one and remember exactly how I felt in that room; how I felt during that year; how I’ve changed.

So today’s streaming sunlight reminded me to capture my Last Dorm Room Ever, and it will now live on in perpetuity thanks to the internet. But also, I wanted to share a picture of my beautiful thrifted yellow butterfly curtains!

I like the fabric because the butterflies are screen-printed, which allows these curtains to just barely pass my “are you sure this isn’t too granny-kitschy” test. I also, of course, love the orange accents. But I’m especially happy because I’m pretty sure these curtains were handmade: machine-sewn, carefully pleated, and then blind-hemmed by hand.

Add in the fact that these 4 panels fit my windows beautifully, and the set was 6 bucks… I’m sold. Nothing makes a dorm room feel more like home than happy curtains.

Happy Wednesday-Friday! (yes, today is named “wednesday-friday” because it’s a mini-Friday for me… no Thursday class!)

(click the images to see them larger!)

October 20, 2010

the haul (rummage sale 2010)

This weekend was Fall Break from college, and, with the greatest luck, it fell on the same weekend of my favorite rummage sale. This was the 72nd Annual Ladies Board Rummage Sale held in Leesburg, VA, and it’s one of my favorite events ever. This is the third time my mom and I have gone, and it’s always so much fun.

tiny owl candle dish (25 cents) that i couldn't leave behind

They collect donations all year, and all of it is crammed (yes, crammed!) into multiple horse barns for the two days of the event. Prices are reasonable, and awesome stuff is everywhere just waiting to be uncovered.

a portion of the rummage sale fabric haul

Plus, since Saturday was the second day of the sale, everything was half price after noon. And clothes and books went from pay-per-piece to fill-a-bag. My favorite!

not the sewing machine.. just the book

I got this sewing book, along with a few kids’ books in German, a photography book, and four Vonnegut novels, for three dollars.

tin plate with ducks on it

And who can pass up a tin plate that’s in perfect condition? (especially since i had never before witnessed such a thing!) (& especially since it was a quarter!)

what is a hassock? this, apparently.

My two dollar hassock, which is a word I’ve never heard but am quite endeared by after meeting this little guy. Apparently it is a small type of footstool that many grandmas have. Would you know what a hassock was if I asked you?

The leather has a tear, but of course I wouldn’t have kept the green leather if it was in perfect shape. I’m excited to upholster it sometime in the spring; right now I’m thinking a heavyweight but bright solid fabric with white piping, but I’ve changed my plans multiple times since this little guy came home.

Not pictured here: a bag full of screenprinting frames (!!); a necklace with colorful, chunky wooden beads; multiple pounds of clothing for wearing, reconstructing, and scrapping to fabric; and lots of belts. We spent a total of $21 altogether. I think my thrifting needs have been satiated for the next year or so… and they better be, because I have plenty of projects lined up now!

June 19, 2010

a use-what-you-have kind of summer

coral reef fabric This blog is filled with posts about me setting resolutions with the seasons and breaking them every chance there’s a sale… I keep promising myself I won’t buy fabric, and then I do anyway! Because buying fabric is fun, therapeutic, and inspiring.

But wading through bins full of that fabric is often much the opposite: it’s exhausting & utterly overwhelming. This summer, though, I’ve been determined to fight that overwhelmed feeling and make my way through my piles of fabric. Throughout my quest, I’ve been realizing that I have some really awesome stuff!

I frequently envy the many pictures of thrift shop or flea market finds that pop up on my favorite blog feeds. Often this envy is what sparks my desire to venture out into the world of fabrics to further saturate my stash. But through my current stash reorganization, I came to the conclusion that I, too, have fabrics and trims that are to be envied.

Today I’m cutting out a tote of this crazy-cool coral reef fabric, and reveling in my stash (and stash-busting). Now that I know what I have to work with, I have the power to make this a use-what-you-have kind of summer.