Tchotchkes & Frippery

I haven’t been thrifting much lately. College is starting...

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:11:35 -0500

I haven’t been thrifting much lately. College is starting soon, so I needed to save my money for books and tuition, you know. I have gone a few times since my last post, but I forgot to take pictures. Woops!

Anyway, I decided to treat myself to a trip to the super cheap charity shop a few blocks from me. I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than 10 bucks at this place at a time, and it’s certainly not because I don’t buy much there. Today I walked away with only 2 treasures, but I’m in love with both of them.

Printed George blouse. It was marked $2, but it was 1/2 off! I can’t wait to pair this with some cute cardigans.
“The Hound of Baskervilles” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A common enough find except that this copy is from 1902! It’s a second printing! I couldn’t believe my eyes, holy cow. More than that, it was just $1, and it’s still in readable condition, it doesn’t crack when I open it.

And don’t forget, you can follow me over on my main blog, a-forest-grew, where I reblog pretty pictures and make stupid posts at 1 AM.

A new Goodwill opened in my area! Let’s ignore the fact...

Thu, 17 May 2012 19:39:00 -0500

A new Goodwill opened in my area! Let’s ignore the fact that I haven’t posted in forever and get right to that, shall we?

Dark wash Old Navy shorts (they have an inseam and they’re not mom jeans! Unheard of!) - $2
Dainty printed tee - $3
Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson (my pretend BFF) - $2
Freudian Sips mug - $1

Wait, wait, what was that? Freudian Sips? Oh, I think we need a closer look at this, don’t you?

Yes, perfect, fabulous.

(originally posted July 24th, 2011) Here’s the first...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:42:22 -0600

(originally posted July 24th, 2011)

Here’s the first thriftspiration post! Basically, this is for pretty retro things similar to what you might find in a thrift store to help you identify your next treasure.

(originally posted on July 22nd, 2011) This tray is like the...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:42:15 -0600

(originally posted on July 22nd, 2011)

This tray is like the holy grail of thrift store finds. I can’t quite put into words how excited I am about this tray, so instead I’ll point out some of its awesome features. Wicker-covered sides and handles; funkay retro pattern; unusual color; wipe-clean vinyl-like (oilcloth, maybe?) material for actual usability; in great, usable condition.

$1.00

Left: Why is there so much sweater? Right: Success! Or Billy...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:41:29 -0600

Left: Why is there so much sweater? Right: Success! Or Billy Mays.

This sweater caught my eye a few weeks back in my local charity shop. The pattern was cute, I loved the colors, but it was two sizes too big! I’m a bit bottom-heavy, so I can’t pull off the oversized sweater look like some girls can. Like many too-big shirts and sweaters before it, I wrote it off and moved on.

Then I found craftycarmencita’s tutorial for altering sweaters. I figured altering sweaters would be impossible; I thought they’d unravel to shreds as soon as you cut off the excess. But no, it’s totally doable! Her tutorial gave me confidence, so first I tried it out on a too-big cardigan that had been sitting in my closet for over a year. It was a complete success! It barely took any time at all. So today after class I stopped at the charity shop and picked up this sweater for $2. A bit of stitching later, and voila!

Keep this in mind the next time you find a cute but too-large sweater while thrifting. Even if you’re a complete novice at sewing like I am, you can do this! Sweaters are much more forgiving than Tshirts since the stitches don’t poke any visible holes (so you can pull the stitches right back out if you mess up).

Okay, it’s not just ceramic tchotchkes in general that I have...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:41:15 -0600

Okay, it’s not just ceramic tchotchkes in general that I have a weakness for, I have a particular attraction to ceramic cats. Yes, yes, go ahead and mock me! The majority of ceramic cats in the world are quite ugly and tacky, but for every five laughably hideous ones, there’s one that’s just perfect. I consider myself lucky to have found this one. Look at how the paint is crackled under the glazing, this one’s pretty old! But that’s apparent just in the way her face is painted. This little kitty now lives on my bookshelf next to some teeny ceramic bunnies.

$0.50

I found myself completely unable to pass up this big glass pear....

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:40:53 -0600

I found myself completely unable to pass up this big glass pear. Sure, I could imagine it sitting in a bowl with other glass fruits at someone’s grandmother’s house, but I didn’t buy any other glass fruit and I didn’t buy a bowl. I think this makes an excellent and unusual decoration on its own.

$0.75

I’m a sucker for little ceramic tchotchkes like this (hence my...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:40:28 -0600

I’m a sucker for little ceramic tchotchkes like this (hence my url!), so at $0.50, I couldn’t pass this little guy up!

feckyeahthrift asked: tell me about your favorite corner of your abode

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:40:00 -0600

I’ll do you one better and show you!

You probably didn’t mean “corner” literally, but my favorite spot is a corner. I’ve got a comfy chair, a nice view of my stuff, my computer, a tray for eating (out of frame), and I’m only a swivel away from my TV. That little light behind my picture frame provides for a cozy atmosphere in the evening, perfect for wrapping myself in a blanket and watching a movie on Netflix or just tumbling. :)

Thanks for the interesting question!

(and yes, a lot of what you see here is thrifted! The rest was very cheap or a gift)

Would you get a load of these knit bangles? These have to be the...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:39:04 -0600

Would you get a load of these knit bangles? These have to be the cutest bracelets I’ve ever seen! It cost $0.50 for all three at my favorite little charity thrift shop. The big yellowy one still had its original tag on it, and it cost $7.50 at Old Navy! What a fantastic deal!

I love bangles, but I usually don’t wear them much because it bothers me when they’re constantly slamming into my hands whenever I lower my arms. The soft knitting makes that a non-issue! I absolutely adore these colors too, so I think these bracelets might have been designed specifically for me.

If you like them and know how to knit around things, you could probably make some like this for yourself! Just pick up an unloved bangle for a quarter or two at a thrift shop, pick out the perfect yarn, and you’re good to go! If you don’t know how to knit but you’re handy with a glue gun, you could probably achieve a similar effect by wrapping the yarn around it in tidy lines. The bangle underneath these is a light black so that if any of it shows between the stitches it just looks like a shadow. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to hit any bangle you plan on knitting over with a quick coat of light black spray paint, especially if the bangle’s a bright color and/or you’re using a dark yarn, Be sure to use a spray paint appropriate for the material your bangle is made out of.

I get really excited about old, pretty books. They’re often too...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:39:00 -0600

I get really excited about old, pretty books. They’re often too fragile to be properly read, but something about them is positively beautiful to me. So I was quite happy to find this 1960s copy of Jules Vern’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Around the Moon. The image on the front cover is partially worn off this old library copy, which is unfortunate, but adds a bit of personality to it. Imagine how many people must have read it for that picture to rub right off! The printing on the spine is still in tact, giving a tease as to what the cover must have looked like. Because it cloth, it doesn’t threaten to shatter into little pieces when I dared to open it and flip through. The pages feel so thin, though, that I don’t think I have the courage to read this copy.

This cool old book cost me just $0.25 at my favorite thrift store!

The last sweater from the $4 bag sale! I was a bit surprised to...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:38:47 -0600

The last sweater from the $4 bag sale!

I was a bit surprised to find this American Eagle Outfitters cardigan. I’m not really concerned with what the brand of any given item is, but this is a rather expensive (at least by my standards!) one. Checking out the AE website for reference, I see that their cardigans run $30-60. Considering I scored this adorable collegiate cardi for just about $1.33, I’d say I did pretty good!

strtrknaxdunivrs asked: Re: Your post: “I found this unusual little ring holder…” WOAAAAAA!! I RECOGNIZE that! I’m pretty sure my mom has the exact same ring holder. I just can’t believe I found some little trinket from my house out in the depths of the internet. Very cool.

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:38:09 -0600

Wow, that’s pretty cool! Would you happen to know where your mother got it? I’m curious about its origins!

(For other readers who are curious, you can see the cat-shaped ringholder in question here!)

My favorite little thrift store was having a great sale bag...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:37:42 -0600

My favorite little thrift store was having a great sale bag today! You could stuff however many clothing items you wanted into a paper bag, and as long as they all fit in the bag, it was $4 for the whole lot! They recently moved out their winter merchandise, so it was sweaters and cardigans galore! I only found three, but they were all originally marked as $2 each, so I saved $2 (or got one free, depending on how you would like to look at it). Not bad!

This adorable grey cardigan is marked about a size too large for me, and indeed it is a bit… roomy, but not nearly as much as most things in this size are on me. I’d say it’s only about half a size too large for me. It hangs pretty nicely (it doesn’t add 10 pounds or anything like that!) and it’s so soft. It’s 100% acrylic, but it feels like cashmere! I’ve been wanting a nice grey cardigan for quite some time, so this was a perfect find. I’m so in love with it! I can’t wait until it’s washed so I can wear it.

This vase is so happy! Its bulbous pale yellow body and...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:37:19 -0600

This vase is so happy! Its bulbous pale yellow body and asymmetrical opening make for a cute, modern and cheery contrast to my light gray walls. Best of all, it was only $1!

I picked up this strange little hand painted whale at Goodwill...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:37:02 -0600

I picked up this strange little hand painted whale at Goodwill for fifty cents. His mouth is open and his inside is hollow, but he’s very small, I don’t know what could fit in there. It’s been suggested that he’s a sponge or scouring pad holder, but I think he’s too small for that… Beyond that, why is he white with black lips? His weirdness only makes him better, in my opinion. He now lives on my bookcase.

This pastel Aeropostale sweater is a bit out of the ordinary...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:36:39 -0600

This pastel Aeropostale sweater is a bit out of the ordinary compared to what I usually wear (lots of neutrals and muted colors), but it’s just so cheery and cute, I couldn’t pass it up! My camera isn’t always good at showing the subtlety of colors, so this photo looks a bit brighter and more saturated than the sweater truly is, it’s quite pastel (but not eastery). You can’t be sad wearing this sweater!

Aeropostale sweaters generally sell new for around $30-$40, so the $3 I paid for this at Goodwill equals an enormous deal! Not that I’d ever pay $30 for a sweater to begin with, mind.

The first time I saw these alligator (or crocodile? I’ll admit I...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:36:13 -0600

The first time I saw these alligator (or crocodile? I’ll admit I don’t know the difference, just that there is one) salt and pepper shakers at Goodwill, I forgot the cardinal rule of thrifting: take it out of context! Thrift stores are full of tacky, junky… well, junk. It’s easy for otherwise cute items to be lost amid the sea of porcelain teddy bears and blend right in. So the first time I saw these, I laughed at how weird they were and moved on. When I went back the following week, they had been moved to a counter near the cash register by themselves. This time I got a good look at them, out of the context of the tacky tchotchkes, and realized they were quite the treasure. Are they weird? Absolutely! But from their vaguely pinkish tones to the water lilies stuck to their backs to the fact that they’re alligator-shaped shakers, they’re absolutely unique, cute, and above all else, totally awesome. A few of the lily petals are broken on the pepper shaker, but it’s not that noticeable - in fact, I didn’t notice it until a few days after I bought it!

goodwill-goodies: From the gallery of “vintage inspired” living rooms on apartment therapy. So...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:34:33 -0600

goodwill-goodies:

From the gallery of “vintage inspired” living rooms on apartment therapy. So many easily thriftable things don’t seem terribly fabulous at first, but become so with a little bit of alteration (& by that I mean spray paint), or by being put into context. This photo especially made me recall things I see at Goodwill all the time. At the store, they might seem sort of neat…but maybe not particularly special. In context (& occasionally spray painted), they have the potential to be gorgeous.

Context and minor alterations are a VERY important thing to take into consideration when browsing thrift stores! Amongst an assortment of tacky, junky knick knacks, a little vase can also look tacky and junky. But removed from this unfavorable context and instead put with tasteful decor, the same vase could be quite charming. If something catches your eye, don’t ignore it. Pull it off the shelf if you have to, and try imagining it in various rooms of your house, on shelves, tables, against the backdrop of your walls. It may turn out to be nothing but junk, or it may reveal itself to be an adorable addition to your abode!

Likewise, the ceramic owl with a great shape but a stomach-churning paint job can be fixed with a quick application of spray paint. I can’t count how many ceramic animals I’ve seen spray painted to be one solid, glossy color. As long as the figurine has plenty of details to begin with (to make it identifiable without the painted details), a solid color can take it from grandma-ish to super chic!

It’s hard to say where my Avon bottle collection started. I...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:33:31 -0600

It’s hard to say where my Avon bottle collection started. I found one in the trash, the first two pictured I found at goodwill, and I discovered that a pretty bottle I bought at a yardsale when I was a kid was also Avon. Unmarked bottles that I find at thrift stores, after some investigating, turn out to be Avon.

I never set out to collect them, but without even trying, that’s exactly what I was doing. I became curious and began looking up other old Avon bottles online, and quickly fell in love with almost every one I saw. From the charming and cute shaped ones to the pretty glass ones, I was hooked. But what was even more alluring was the low, low price tags. Finally I committed to it and found this cute frog bottle on eBay.

The bulldog wearing a deerstalker was the first to catch my eye at Goodwill. Shaped like a pipe, how unusual! It once contained Avon Oland aftershave, and you can still smell it if you open it up. Dreadful scent, but awesome bottle! It cost fifty cents.

The giant pocketwatch was instantly charming. It once contained Avon Wild Country aftershave lotion. It smells even worse than Oland. It cost fifty cents.

The cute little frog once contained Avon To A Wild Rose solid perfume. Like the others… smells awful. But I don’t buy them for the scent! I don’t remember how much it cost, but it was a few dollars. Maybe 3-5?