Today’s trip to the Salvation Army yielded this treasure. Once more, one of those things I would like to keep. It is a 4 1/2″ filigree votive holder by Lenox. It is in excellent shape and will be my Thrifted Treasure door prize at Connections Over Coffee at Mystikal Voyage on Friday morning.
Retail price is approximately $43 with a $29 sale price. Thrifted Treasure – $1
I glittered the candle I bought last week. As well as I can remember I have not glittered anything that was not paper before. This is pretty tacky so I am not sure I’ll be doing it again any time soon. I simply poured glitter in a paper plate, ‘painted’ the outside of the spirals with Elmer’s glue and then rolled and pressed the glitter to the candle. Almost instant tacky. Maybe this will spare you spending the time doing the same thing.
I love cheese but don’t eat a lot of it. When I buy it, I always look for the smallest package in the store because I have had to throw away a lot of moldy cheese. Even the smallest package lasts a long time if I am eating it all myself. A few weeks ago a link to this Yahoo posting about uses for salt was in one of the blogs I read regularly.
When I saw the “Extend Cheese Life” hint I immediately tried it. And it works!!! I soaked a cutting from an old, soft white tshirt in salted water, wrapped the cheese with it and placed in a plastic bag. The cheese stayed much fresher. After a week, I changed the cloth and still have good results.
If you google ‘uses for salt’ there are several lists on the web. It is a great way to save money on cleaning products. You can also keep cut flowers fresh longer and make minor wall repairs. Even if you are not going to use all the hints it is interesting reading.
Have a good weekend.
I am not a fan of the ‘haul’ blogs that seem to be so popular but … today I just had to share. I went to Salvation Army this morning. Here is a picture of what $3.20 buys there.
The picture frame will most likely be my Thrifted Treasure for On Purpose Networking tomorrow. I would like to have something a little more thrilling but the thrifting gods were a little cranky this week. The frame is one of those seen at major department stores priced at $15-$20 but you can almost always find on sale at about 50% off. It looks like new and cost $0.25.
I am most excited about the ‘architectural pieces’. They have a groove in the top and are probably meant to hold plates. I think I am going place them under a very modern shelf in my entry to look like brackets. Paint and metal leaf will be involved. $1 each.
The welcome plaque – it just called my name. I predict paint in its future also, no clue what color. It has a lot of detail and is weathered on one side. A good spring door decor?
The candle, just because it is in good shape and I can always use candles. This may be a glitter experiment.
Happy Thrifting. Keep your eyes open for your own treasures.
I bought this shirt at bag day at a recent clothing sale for charity. The feel of the shirt is wonderful. It is very soft cotton and I like the way it drapes. There are two problems with it. The first is that the ‘white’ is not my true white but a cream color that really takes all of the color from my face. The second is that after I washed it I noticed a few light stains.
I decided that fuchsia would look good with the black pattern. I bought a package of Rit powder dye. Previously, I have dyed items in the washing machine. This time I wanted to really concentrate the color so I opted for the stove top method. I followed the directions on the box and simmered the top for 30 minutes.
I then used my washing machine on a short cycle to rinse the dye from the shirt. I really like the way it looks now. 
If you have never dyed anything, give it a try. Use something you already have or visit a thrift store to find an item you like but won’t be too upset if the result isn’t what you imagined. You can always redonate.
Imagine the possibilities.
One of the things that I decided to do recently is to try at least one new recipe each month. A few months ago, this was one of the new recipes. 
I was so glad to find it in House Beautiful. About 15 years ago I attended a business dinner at the home of my ex’s boss and his wife. They served this absolutely wonderful Shrimp and Broccoli with Spaghetti. I thought it was one of the tastiest meals I had ever had. My ex did not like broccoli OR shrimp. It took a lot of willpower to keep my fork off of his plate. I did not think that would go over very well in the semi business setting. He pushed everything around on his plate and the boss’s wife definitely noticed.
I tried to duplicate the dish with mixed results. Then I found this. Roasting the shrimp and broccoli makes all of the difference. Hope you like this as well as I do. I have made it several times in the last 2 months. I don’t follow the recipe exactly because I am usually making just one serving but it still turns out delicious.
This is the thrifted treasure I gave away at the montly meeting of Connections Over Coffee at Mystikal Voyage on Friday. I wonder if it should be ‘mouth blown’ but hand blown seems to be the term used when I did some online research.
I was a little disappointed that this was my give away, it seemed so plain – I usually go for something funky yet close to tasteful. This is a really nice vase though. The bottom is very heavy and there is no chance of flowers (or pens and pencils) put in it to tip over. It is about 8″ tall.
The person who won it was very pleased and already had a placed picked out to display it. She is using it for the shape and the way it reflects light rather than as a vase.
Several people expressed a wish to win this prize. Once again, a reminder that not all of us like the same things. Something I thought was a little ‘less than’ others thought was perfect.
Thrifted cost: $0.49
Estimated original cost – $20 – $25
A couple of weeks ago the childrens group at my spiritual center made these flowers in their class and gave them away. 
I didn’t know where to put it and simply wrapped it around a lamp on my foyer shelf/table. It was very random and now I really like it there. It is so summery and cheerful. Sometimes these random placements last longer than we think. This will stay until I decorate for fall. Then I like it so much maybe I’ll wrap some faux leaves around the lamp.
The entry really needed some color so this work well with the other things on the shelf.
I am late in posting about the Light of Truth clothing sale hosted by Ginny Robertson. On Friday and Saturday, I spent several hours hanging out talking to people and helping some of them find clothes and create outfits from the wonderful items donated by On Purpose for Women members and others. I did not buy a lot but some people found all kinds of wonderful things meant just for them. I did get two leopard print items (leopard is a neutral, you know) a long sleeved T and a small scarf I’ll use as a belt. I have a sister in law who will be appalled. She thinks leopard is tacky.
There was a particularly wonderful crocheted dress in a golden color of brown. The kind of color that doesn’t work for everyone but when it works, it really works. We had several people try it but it just wasn’t right. One young woman tried it on and then modeled it for the shoppers. When everyone started cheering and clapping she had to take it. She looked gorgeous.
That was the kind of event it was and I enjoyed the time I spent there.
My snob is showing. I have never been much of a fan of Home Interiors (now called Celebrating Home) items. I have visions of going to a home party in the 80s and only seeing plastic wicker butterfly wall plaques and (in my opinion) ugly pictures. Not my taste then or now. Although armed with the new plastic paints I look at some of them with a different eye now.
I had to adjust my thinking when I found this pagoda votive light in a thrift store last week. 
It is a heavy frosted green glass. The design pressed into the glass is well executed. I think it will be really pretty with the candlelight flickering in it. This was one of those things I would like to keep but I gave it away as door prize at Thursday’s On Purpose Connections Over Coffee meeting at Bliss Coffee and Wine Bar.
This find reinforced again what I know really well with clothes – don’t look at the label until you decide if you like the style, quality, materials and workmanship of the garment. Otherwise a label can influence me to pass over something or worse buy something I don’t absolutely love because ‘it’s a (fill in the blank)’.
I can’t find this item online. Judging from other Home Interiors votive lights I did find, my guess is that it cost $20 – $25. I paid $1.50!
I love thrifting.
