Tag Archives: thrift shop finds

Thrift Shoppin’…. Again!

Lately, I have been spending more time than usual checking out the local thrift shops because I have been on the look out for something very specific. I recently converted my “house center” into a “Boston Pizza” restaurant in my Kindergarten classroom. I have been working on this project for several weeks and it has all come together quite nicely, but there are a few things I have not yet completed. I will share an entire post on the center because I do think this could be really great for early years teachers, child care workers or mom’s of little ones. It has only been up and running a few days, but it is a big hit! However, one of the projects I have yet to complete is the “large” size pizza. I really wanted to create a center that would be durable and so I wanted to create the pretend pizzas out of wood. I found both “small” and “medium” circular pieces of wood, but am still in need of a finished piece of wood that is 12″ in diameter. Here is a picture of the wood pieces that I purchased on a previous thrift shop trip. You can see that the larger was some kind of a “lazy-Susan” or something and the second is the base of the little stand in the background. I am looking for any kind of circular wooden piece that is light in colour and has no splinters or rough edges. Both of the ones I previously found work great.Thrift Shoppin'

I have looked at cutting boards, lamp bases, stands, serving platters, stool tops, etc, but still can’t seem to find exactly what I am looking for. At this point, I would even consider buying something new if it met my specifications. Anyways, my search continues to bring me into thrift shops on a pretty regular basis.

I was so excited about my last two trips to the thrift store, that I just had to share. This shopping trip took place near the end of our Christmas vacation. I generally don’t buy clothes, but found a few goodies that I just couldn’t resist. Check out how far $17 can go!

Forever 21 sweater dress.
A sweater and a blouse. I love the stitching on this top!
Pretty summer tank style blouse for myself.
A very solid wood frame, 2 old embroidery rings, sunflower embellishments, piping, rick-rack, a fastner and a few zippers.
A cool chain for Shay.
A hooded sweater for Eden.

Now, I have to admit that I thought this trip was fabulous…what great deals! That was of course until my most recent shopping trip. Do you want to know what you can buy at a thrift store for $12.20? You won’t believe it…..

A large glass bottle with a cork stopper….will you look at the little star etched on the side?
2 unopened wooden coffee mug stands and a pair of leather garbage mitts.
and 6 beautiful scarves!

Remember, I entered the store for one purpose….one 12″ round wooden tray/circle. I don’t go to this particular store very often, so I was pretty much doing a quick once over to check it out. The scarves were neatly hanging at the end of an aisle and one of them caught my eye, so I decided to look through the large assortment and came up with 6 great scarves. My daughter is into scarves too, so we often share and I knew she would love the colours as much as I did. Just one wash away from some great new looks!  I honestly don’t know why I bought the mug stands, but I thought I might be able to use them for storage at school or my scrapbooking room. They are brand new and were only 30 cents each. I figure they’re cheaper than the logs in my firewood pile, so technically I could burn them and still feel like I came out ahead. I could not believe my luck when I found the black leather garbage mitts that were not only in great condition, but also only one dollar. I managed to squeeze my non-injured hand in the left mitten and figured they would fit Shay perfectly. He loved them at first as well, but was a bit troubled when he couldn’t get his thumb in the hole of the right mitten. 

Thrift Shoppin'

Leather garbage mitts…what a buy! Not really.

Oh well, you win some and you lose some. I don’t suppose I should re-donate them, I don’t think there are too many people out there with two left hands! Even with my one little oversight, can you believe all the stuff I nabbed up for under $30 in total? In fact, when I gave Shay the chain, he told me that the chain and the sock monkey I made him were his two favourite gifts even though he didn’t get them for Christmas. He kept saying how spoiled he was and that I shouldn’t spoil him so much. Funny, he was much more excited and appreciative of the two gifts with a combined dollar value of less than 3 bucks. I wish I would have known that before we blew a wad of cash on him for Christmas. I’ll keep that in mind for next year. Sentiment goes along way with that boy!

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Thrift Shoppin’

The other day when I was trying to find a match for my wreath fabric, it just so happened that both fabric stores were in the vicinity of two major thrift shops. I love a great deal and while some get their fix at the mall, for me it’s Kijiji and thrift shops. I was already out and the bonus was that I had no family with me, so I was able to make the pit stops and check-out what the local thrift stores had in stock.  Between the two stores, I spent $35, but I am so impressed with what I got that I just had to share.

Keys to Thrift Shopping

I try to go every few weeks or so, as stock is constantly changing. I often have a list of specific things I am looking for, but when I don’t I am always looking for items that are well made, sturdy and have a nice shape or design element.  Generally, I peruse the following:

  • furniture (I rarely find good deals, but always look. I find that many of the items are over priced based on their condition and quality).
  • glass wear ~ I can often find things like vases, decorative “jars” with lids, pedestals, etc.
  • wooden accessories ~ salt and pepper mills, spoon racks, serving trays, fruit bowls, etc.
  • wrought iron

Saturday’s Thrift Shop Finds:

This was purchased at my first stop for $25. I got three great wrought iron pieces. The top left piece is a stand for a plant pot and the two below are wall mount plant holders. All of the pieces are well made and very sturdy.  I also picked up a great molded picture frame. I will be painting this out at some point, but don’t have a specific plan for it. Just loved the size and shape. I got a set of three matching pedestals of varying heights and a glass bowl. I love setting a nice table with a tiered look, so these pedestals will come in handy. I think they might actually be candle holders, but they are completely flat on top, so they can serve a variety of uses. I already have a plan for the little “welcome” sign. I love the shape of the wood and it will save me some time and energy.

When I stopped at the second thrift shop, I picked up the following items.

The first little collection is a set of things I bought for school. I am in the midst of creating a Boston Pizza center in my classroom. I plan to convert my play kitchen into a pizza center and went thrift shopping specifically to find wooden serving trays or dishes. The larger wooden tray is actually some kind of “lazy Susan” gizmo. It actually has a base that rotates. I am not sure, but regardless of what it is/was, I will be removing the base and converting this into a “medium” pizza for my center. The little set next to it “killed two birds with one stone” so to speak. The handle can be removed from the middle and the wooden base will become my “small” pizza. The salt and pepper shakers will be used on the table in the “pizza restaurant”.  The second photo shows a large wicker tray. I was specifically looking for something to sit under our fig tree pot. It has a very large pot and it is difficult to find a base that is big enough. This tray is huge and I am not exactly sure how it will look, but for a few bucks I thought it was worth a try.

Macklemore’s Thrift Shop ~ A Parody

When I was planning this post, it made me think about when this song came out. I loved this song when it was first released and my kids seemed surprised that I let them listen to it.  I knew there was some offensive “language”, but I had heard worse. It wasn’t until weeks later when I was singing in the car, that my daughter rolled her eyes and asked….”What are you singing?” I replied, “What come on sing-a-long….”this is TEAM awesome”!  She proceeded to explain to me that the song did not say TEAM awesome, but something far less appropriate. Oh. I shouldn’t actually be too surprised by my lyrical mishap as I am actually quite notorious for this. In fact, it wasn’t more than a few years ago that I learned that there was a song called “Dude Dresses Like a Lady”. Now just imagine my surprise when I thought back to my youth and how I had loved to sing along while “Do the Lucky Lady!” played on the car radio. Ugh. I really should just stick to listening to my pod casts and not even try to be “hip”.  I thought you might enjoy this Macklemore Parody.  (Not squeaky clean, but not too bad.)

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