It All Started With Goodwill

I had intended to post this earlier, but I had midterms this week, enough said. 



Anyway, I got this bag on sale at Goodwill for 50 cents.  It’s a roomy straw bag and proved to be extremely useful, I used it carry home the other goodies I got that day.  It just needed a personal touch.


A few minutes with a glue gun resulted in this.  I added three rows of two different kinds of lace along the top.  The thinner lace I got at the same time as the bag (so much for my “no more craft supplies” resolution).  I used it to cover the straps in order to both make them pretty and hopefully to make them stronger.  Only time will tell if it worked.



I thought it had been a while since redid a t-shirt, you know how much I love it.  So here’s the before.  A large size one that I got for less than 25 cents.  It has stains in odd spots, a pocket I don’t like, and is too big for me.



Here’s the after, after a lot of cutting down to size.  As I usually do with these, I added lace along the new neckline and along the edges of the sleeves.  I put the elastic about an inch from the sleeve hem to give it that sort of ruffled look. 

If you look closely, you’ll see that in addition to the lace edge on the sleeves I added a row of the same lace I used on the straw bag.  It’s also along the bottom of the t-shirt.  I usually don’t do anything special with the bottom hem when I alter t-shirts, so I thought I should try it this time.  Otherwise it would be like I’m mass producing these shirts and where’s the fun in that?



Now with this one you can see just how crazy I am about that lace.  It’s a simple little purse made with two squares of fabric and a zipper and lining.  The difference is that before sewing those little squares I covered them with rows and rows of the lace. 

So it’s sort of like a little beaded purse except with lace instead of beads.  It was easy to make but extremely time consuming.  Almost as long to make as would have been if I did bead it.  At least the results were worth it.  I think I will make another one in black, but maybe I’ll wait a while.

Here’s the updated list:

• Doll dress
• White purse
• Shoes
• T-shirt
• Heart bag
• Pins
• Cuffs
• Straw bag
• Parasol
• Dress

Three down, seven to go.  I should have the next one up by either Wednesday or Thursday.

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Finally Remembered

…To take pictures that is.  I have made several trips to different thrift stores over the past few months, but I never mentioned most of them because I would forget to get the camera out until weeks later. 

This weekend there was another half-off sale at Goodwill that I felt I had to attend due to the number of great items I spotted while browsing before the sale.  It’s an odd habit of mine, I see something I like, see the price, hate the price, come back for it when it’s on sale.

Here’s what I got:

Pink and green felt, more green than pink but for good reason.

A remnant of really soft fleece in a cute floral print.

A decent amount of a orange print, already have plans for it.

Four really cute plates, they’re microwavable and dishwasher safe.

An 18 inch doll, she’s a Springfield Collection doll (those ones they sell at Michael’s and Joann) and she was only a dollar.

A Fisher Price Little People camper, it make animal noises and I know a little guy who would love it.

An 18 inch Cinderella doll, perfect for a certain princess loving little girl and it was only 50 cents!

The total cost was just a little more than 6 dollars.  Not too bad right?  Let’s see if I can beat that next time.

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Bad News, Good News, and Good Deals

First the bad news.  The Goodwill Store closest to me closed up last week. 

Now the good news!  A new one opened up.  It’s farther away, but larger and better organized.  Today they had their grand opening.  It was great but unbelievably crowded.  They gave out bottled water, orange juice, chips and donuts to everyone who came and several people got free gift certificates.  Not me, I got there too late.  I did score some excellent deals.  Here they are all together.

• 9 My Little Ponies
• 1 non-name brand pony toy
• 2 packages of bobbins
• 1 pack silk pins
• 1 really nice seam gauge
• 1 pack dressmaker’s chalk pencils
• 1 pack doll hands
• 1 wooden crochet hook
• Several knitting needles
• Some ribbon
• 1 girl scout cookie badge
• 1 Hello Kitty bento box
• 1 triangle shaped pendant thingy
• A ton of vintage buttons
• More 9 and 7 inch zippers than I know what to do with.

Total Cost: $5.00.  Hours spent among my fellow thrifters: priceless.

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Packing or Procrastinating?

I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects.  I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects. I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects. I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects. I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects. I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects. I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects. I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects. I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects. I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects. I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects. I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects. I will not procrastinate on my unfinished craft projects.

……………………

I can just keep telling myself that, but knowing me it probably won’t do any good.  I still have those last few projects from my list and I haven’t even touch my sewing machine in so long.  Been mostly working on packing.  The movers are coming Saturday and I still have so much to pack.  It’s strange, every time I try to pack I keep on finding stuff I don’t want.  Stuff that don’t fit anymore or I just can’t stand or whatever, plenty to send over to Goodwill.  Speaking of which, the bad news is my favorite Goodwill store is closing.  Apparently they are closing several locations in the area and opening a few bigger ones.  There is one huge one nearby my favorite one, but it’s a little more out of the way for me.  It could be worse I guess.  The good thing is that where I’m moving to has two Goodwill locations nearby and several independent thrift stores too.  Plus my favorite fabric store is within a few miles, on a nice day I could walk to it.  Yay!  Now excuse me, I should get back to work.  So far I’ve finished a couple suitcases worth of clothes and about 4 boxes of craft supplies.  All the essentials.

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Thrifters Helping Thrifters

I just had to share this story.  Today I went to Goodwill for their half off sale.  I only got some stuff to use for moving, nothing special.  Anyway, while looking at some stuff on a cart I overheard a woman talking on her phone.  She was asking about ideas for a wedding shower gift.  Apparently it was today and she needed an inexpensive last minute gift.  At that moment I spotted a beautiful pair of wine glasses that were on sale for $1 each and just screamed wedding to me.  I handed them to her and asked if they’d work then walked away grinning to myself about what a great thing I did.  I overheard her tell the person on the phone how great the glasses were.  What was really cool was when I went to check out and ran into her again, she thanked me for finding the glasses since they were perfect.  Yay!  I helped someone.  That’s one of the great things about thrift stores, most of the shoppers are willing to help out other shoppers.  That’s probably why I didn’t really hesitate to help her, I have been helped by others in the past so it’s returning the favor.  Now if only people did that more in other stores, the world would be a friendlier place.

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More Goodwill Hunting

Goodwill had another 1/2 off sale yesterday, so I loaded up on more supplies.  As if I really needed any more supplies.  Anyway, here they all are.

At the top is some white cotton fabric that was $1 and a remnant that was 50 cents.  It appears to be the makings of two small sized sailor collars and a matching doll sized one.

As for the rest, starting from the right:

• A large spool of a pinkish sort of thread that was 50 cents.
• A baggie with some lace, a zipper, and a tassel that was also 50 cents.
• A baggie with 8 zippers, a belt kit, and gold trim that was $1.
• A spool of thin satin ribbon in a red-violet shade that was 35 cents.
• A baggie with several spools of thread, (some wooden) for $1.
• A baggie with a spool of white satin ribbon, a length of brown satin ribbon, and some cameos for $1.

Not a bad haul, wouldn’t you say so?

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Prettied Up

I know I said I would have this up yesterday, stuff happens. 

Anyway,  Remember that porcelain doll I found at Goodwill a few weeks ago that was in horrible condition, but had a certain charm to her? (See Another Hidden Gem)  Well, I finally fixed her up.  

Here’s the before photo.  Her hair was so tangled up, she was a bit dirty too which probably didn’t help the cracks on her face, and the outfit was horrible.  Is that suppose to be a dress?  To make matters worse, the color from the pink ran off on the white parts of the outfit, and no shoes to boot.

Now the after shot.  I cleaned her up a bit and combed her knotted hair, she actually has some lovely curls and the bangs are quite pretty.  I made her a new dress from a nice blue cotton fabric, the color really sets off her eyes.  The matching hair band really finishes the look, and I recycled part of the old outfit to make her bloomers.  I couldn’t really do anything about the cracks on her face, but I don’t think they are quite as noticeable now with all the other improvements. 

Here’s the updated list:

• Skirt
• Lamp shade cover
• Sewing machine cover
• doll makeover
• dress
• scrunchies
• head bands
• costume
• bag
• vest recon

Four down, six to go.  Next one will definitely be up by Monday at the latest.

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Another Thrifting Experience

I went to Goodwill today for their 1/2 off sale, it was a blast.  I found plenty of goodies to mess around with at great prices.

I saw the pretty fabric on the left about a week ago and I was surprised it was still there.  I’m not sure yet what I want to do with it.  I also found a baggie full of different types of lace, a major lifesaver since I’ve been out of lace.  The best is the huge spool of elastic on the right of the photo.  I needed to get more quite badly and now it will be an awfully long time before I run out again.  Yay.

I grabbed a another baggie full of miscellaneous craft supplies.  On top is some hooks and a box of snaps, always useful.  The bottom left is a set 3 pairs of earrings, minus one.  I think they would make cute buttons or something.  On the bottom right is three boxes of something that is a complete mystery to me.  Not sure what they are or what to do with them.  In the center is a bunch of googly eyes and some cute miniatures.

Here’s a close up of the minis.  It is a tiny knitting book and a basket of yarn and needles.  Where were these when I was making the knitting stuff for the that last video (See Mountain Climbing or Knitting?).  I do love them but I am not sure if I want to keep them, give them away, or sell them on Etsy.  Gotta give it some more thought.

The grand total for all these was only $4.46, of course the thrifting experience was priceless.

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Another Hidden Gem

Yesterday I went to Goodwill with my sister and her son,  to take advantage of Dollar Thursday.  It was an interesting day, we got off the bus only to realize that my sister had left her diaper bag on it.  We had to wait for it to come back around to see if it was still there, luckily it was. 

Anyway I managed to find a couple of items.  A pair of gray knee socks, un-worn and the perfect shade of gray because it goes with everything but doesn’t make me look frumpy.  I also found this simple little doll for only a dollar.  Her hair is messed up, her dress is horrible, and she has some really bad cracks on her face.

See, there’s another one on her forehead, but luckily her hair covers it.  Why did I buy her?  First, I do have a soft spot for pathetic looking dolls (see Goodwill Barbie and Barbie Transformation).  Plus, her face is cute and the hair would look pretty once combed.  But the main real reason is that she has hidden some charm, namely her music box.  She plays “Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head”, I think that’s what the song is called.  I just happen to be very fond of that song despite not knowing all the words and all.  I would never have known they was anything special about her if I hadn’t picked her up and checked, something most people wouldn’t have bothered to do once they saw her cracked face.  It goes to show sometimes you need to look pass outward appearances to see what’s on the inside.  Or something like that.

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Loading Up

Yesterday was a 1/2 off sale at Goodwill so I picked up some supplies.

I got a baggie full of all this stuff.  A zipper, a set of wooden purse handles, several buttons including doll size ones, strap guards(?), flower appliqués, fabric roses, some unidentifiable stuff, and four different kinds of lace.  It was the lace I really wanted, the other stuff are bonuses, assuming I can find something to do with it all.

I also got a bunch of fabric.  I have something special planned to do with it, and not something on my project list either.  Still, I can’t even start on it without doing a little more research.  I guess it is a little strange to be starting a big thing when I only just started something else.
Speaking of that something else, here’s a little something from the list.  On my last list I made some doll aprons from a tutorial I found online (see Fun-sized Aprons).  While making them I thought it would be neat to use the same idea to make a doll halter top too.  I used the same pattern, but shortened it and made it wider.  It makes for an easy little summer top for this Barbie doll.  Of course it would fit her a little better if the elastic straps were a tad shorter, something I need to work on.
Here’s the updated list:

• doll headbands
• halters
• camera
• stamps
• painting supplies
• knitting supplies
• video
• face magnets

Two down, six to go.  The next one should be up by tomorrow, hopefully a littler earlier too.

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Stick to the Pattern

Don’t worry, I’m still alive and well.  I haven’t posted in a while because I have been so very busy with my externship and stuff that I haven’t had the time to blog or to craft for that matter.  But I finally finished the dress from my list, so here it goes.

Some of you may remember this pattern that I got half off from Goodwill a while ago (see Good Deals From Goodwill).  It’s Butterick 6333, and I decided to actually use it since it is suppose to be an easy pattern and I should start actually using the patterns I buy.  I have several unopened ones I scored at thrift stores and rummage sales.  I never used them because usually, when I sew I don’t use a pattern, except ones I’ve made myself which are usually simple ones that are more like templates than patterns.  I find that although the cover of a store bought pattern is pleasing to the eye, the paper patterns and instructions are a night mare.  So it is easy see why when I sew with them I don’t get the results I want.

Here’s the proof of that.  This is the dress I made with the pattern and they’re several things wrong with it, of course I would rather not point them out.  Just take my word for it.  But at least I finally used this fabric, I’ve had it for what seems like an eternity.  And despite the goof ups, it is a cute dress.  What is funny is that I didn’t stick to pattern when it came to sleeves and that’s the part I think I did well on.  It look sweet sleeve-less, and it kind of reminds me of the dress that Tinker Bell wears.  Maybe it would make a great Halloween costume for next year.  I would just need to make a new set of fairy wings since the ones I have are blue and won’t match (see Crafty All Nighter).
Here’s the updated list:

• Tube top
• Doll costume
• Card holder
• Green dress
• Top recon
• Polo dress

Four down, just two to go.  I shouldn’t have too much trouble finishing up the last two in a timely manner, I hope.

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More Goodwill Friends

Today I had an interview for my externship, at a great little animal clinic in Gilbert, AZ.  I think it went fairly OK, except for the fact that I was almost 30 minutes late.  After I got off the bus, I accidently went the wrong way.  I had to call and tell them I was lost, what a great first impression. 

On the bright side, the place is conveniently located across from a Goodwill location I hadn’t checked out before.  Oh the goodies I did find. 

Each of these baggies hold two Bratz dolls in near perfect condition.  Priced at 2.99 each, they were quite a deal.  You’d pay almost that much for the shoes alone, especially considering how hard it is to find the shoes.  I am only keeping two of them, my mom wanted the rest.  She still hasn’t mentioned what her plans are yet, I think either she wants to sell them or give them to her grandchildren as gifts.  It’s funny, the one with the green shirt and short plaid skirt looks like the girl on NCIS.  That is one of my mom’s favorite shows.  Maybe she will keep that one.

I also grabbed a bag with various ribbons in it.  It was half-off at only a dollar.  I love the printed blue trim with the lacy edge, I think it would be great for making more headbands.  I’m not sure what I am going to do with the big blue wire-edged ribbon.  I am bound to think of something eventually.

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Barbie Transformation

Some time ago, I blogged about an old doll I found at Goodwill that I wanted to fix up as soon as I finished my recent project list (See Goodwill Barbie).

Well here she is before…

...And after.

She doesn’t look half bad now.  I scrubbed her down and washed and conditioned her hair.  I decided to chop off her hair since it was so ratty and stringy before, I also gave her some bangs to highlight her face.

I made the dress with some ribbing from a top I cut up and a scrap of of an old skirt I thought looked pretty.  The necklace is made with a wire ornament hook and some seed beads.  And to finish the look, I tied a ribbon around her head to flaunt the her hair cut and side part.

Such perfect results from such humble beginnings, but now I’m not sure what to do with her.  Should I keep her and display her, or should I give her to one of my nieces.  Or maybe even to my nephew, his birthday is this week and he actually likes Barbie dolls.  His mother may object though.

For now I can just enjoy basking in the glory of a job well done.

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Goodwill Barbie

I’ve been checking out the articles on this website, a lot about fixing old dolls and making clothes for them.  That’s where I got the idea for the sock clothes I made before (See Sock Couture).  I may have been influenced quite a bit by it all.  The other day, I went to a different Goodwill location in search of something I never did find. 

I came across this:

She was sitting on a shelf looking all sad and pathetic.  No clothes, messed up hair, I took pity on her.  She has the most interesting face for a Barbie doll, plus she was only 99 cents.  Who could resist?  I’m going to clean her up a bit and maybe make some clothes for, that is as soon as I finish my current list.  I think I’m going to name her “Amie” too, how’s that for a name?  It was the first one that popped into my head, that’s usually how I come up with names for everything.  Sometimes I come up with some unusual names that way.  I named a stray cat Max once, okay except it was a she.  Anyway, look forward to seeing “Amie” all dressed up.  Maybe in future she’ll be joined by a few more Goodwill friends.

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Good Deals from Goodwill

I stopped by Goodwill on the way home from work today on a quest for something I need.  I didn’t find it.

I did find a few craft items that were real scores.  First were these two patterns that were 1/2 off.  They came to about 65 cents total, and they so cute, especially the little girl’s.  I do have a few nieces who would look darling in little dresses and scarves.  Maybe I could make matching ones for all of them.  Then again that might be a little too Sound of Music.

I grabbed one of those baggies full of crafts supplies for about 4 dollars, and boy am I glad on did.  It was full of great stuff. 

Here’s what came in it:

A tomato pincushion (I love these), three packets of hand needles, some safety pins, several threaded bobbins…

This beautiful vintage needle set (it was a promotion item from Kroger)…

Some straight pins and flower pins that I could possibly embellish…

  

And a whole bunch of sewing machine needles…

And more of them…

And some more of them.  Lot’s of different kinds too.  I may never have buy needle again.  Of course I am going to share them with my Mom and sister, they don’t know that yet.

So the moral of this tale of shopping, go thrifting for your supplies and you will be rewarded greatly.  Either by good finds or good conscience, this time it was both.  Happy hunting.

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