Thrifty is Nifty on a Wednesday

I have been looking all over for this. Since last year I have been looking for a wall mirror. Not just any. It had to be encased in wood. Plain too if possible. Today was that day. I only paid 4 bucks for it. (which in that store I was SHOCKED) As soon as I found/saw it. I was like Oh yes! I then picked it up and did the "are you ok" shake. To see if there was any loose parts. The mirror is in the wood frame with nails keeping it in place. There is no taking this mirror out. I wanted to take it out and then spray paint it. No worries. I can still do this. I just need to cover the mirror with paper and tape and I will be fine. I just have to decide which design I want to do on this awesome find. I always have different ideas that pop up in my head. Yet I have only one item to play with. This makes it hard on me. You see with my doll houses I am able to play and paint and get all the looks I have, out of my head and make it/see it/ play. When I have one. I dance all the ideas in my head. One has to chosen. Sometimes items like this never get finished cause I can't decide. I refuse to let that happen. This mirror is a nice size. It's also a bit heavy.

It really was too bright to be taking photos outdoors today. You can imagine the heat. Eekk! I found the above vintage pillowcases. 2 of them. A set!

I found a twin size fitted and pillowcase that matches. The glare is so bad. Sorry. There is lots of color in those sheets. I am thinking about putting all of these items in my Etsy shop. I will have to retake photos. Later this evening. When its safe out. The sun is guarding the afternoon hard.

Altered Wall Art in the making

I have been playing with my vintage magazines again. I love all the "phrases" you can find in them as well. I am not really done with it just yet. I am sure I will add more to it.

I have been house hunting for a few weeks now. We are looking for a rental and its not easy out there I tell you! I am tired of looking. And yet I must. I would love to just find the space needed. This is the time I need to really focus on that sewing area. I need one. So bad. I have some time before I need to move. I just wish I could find something that just sings to me soon. I hate having to do the dreaded search. I don't even get excited anymore. I just search, look and move on. I am sure it's around the corner? I really dislike the whole calling process and playing phone tag. Some don't list how many bedrooms so you need to call. Some don't list the rent. So you need to call. Sometimes all the calling was not even worth it. And my search continues!

Clothing Swap O Rama Rama

I attended the first annual South Florida Swap O Rama Rama. It was held over the weekend. I could not make it to Saturdays date. So I ran over there Sunday. It was held here at Trash to Treasures Creative Re-use center. If your local and not sure where it is. It is behind the Fort. Lauderdale airport on Commercial Blvd. The small private one. Right behind the park where the NY Yankees and other team sports would (use to) do their spring training. (oh ps. that park is being torn down and they are going to build a water park, FINALLY) I found out about it via facebook. They are on facebook so if you are too and want to know about future events, check them out. I decided to go last min. I just went through everyone's clothing causes we are moving soon and they are sitting in bags waiting to be donated. I usually send my donated clothing to Dominican Republic. We have family over there and they use or sell our unwanted items. So I dipped my hand into everyone's bags grabbed some clothing and off I went to the swap. You had to bring in at least one bag of clothing and $5 dollars to enter. If you had no clothing to donate you then had to pay $10.00 for entry. But once you are in you can fill your bag with as many clothing as you can shove in there. AND you are allowed to go to the car, dump out your bag and come back in for more. Awesome!

The lady with the baby. She is carrying a (that red and white one) dress I donated. I handmade that dress. I went and told her. She smiled and was like OH my really??!! I said ENJOY! I donated a few hand mades. Hey I am tired of wearing them. Let someone else rock it.

There were volunteers on hand to sew/alter or glam up your new found clothing. They worked on tips. I must say, it was really hot in this place. Hot as in sweaty hot. So if you don't see smiling faces. LOL trust me they were giving them but when your melting, who is smiling all day? I myself could only take small amounts of the heat. This weekend was horrid hot. VERY VERY hot. The humidity also takes you down. Combo of them is horrid. I feel for those gals in there. They were kicking some butt and taking names and putting up with the heat. Bravo ladies!

They had screen printing! That Yudo machine is huge. I got to check it out for the first time. I always wondered how that worked. From the samples I saw. Pretty good.

This is where I spent most of the time. I did look through the clothing but I was way more interested in the fabric scraps! And let me tell you. THERE was some good stuff in there. For me a doll maker. Oh my gosh. There was more than enough fabric in those binders to make barbie clothing, prim doll clothing and even purses. Maybe even some scarfs. They had oodles of samples and I was more than happy to help them get rid of MOST of them. I did make a dent in there. So if you went through it after me. Sorry. I did not hold back. I took everything I wanted. I scored samples of lace, trim, eyelet, silk oh gosh I could go on and on. Some pieces are so big some were so small. The doll maker in me was just so happy and smiling. SMILING all the way home. I usually go into Joann fabrics and spend way more than $5 dollars on their unwanted/unusual/left over scraps. The tubs below had donated fabric, I scored some goodies from there too!

Everything was color coordinated.

Some of my loot.

Good Stuff. You have to attend the next one. You have no idea what you will find unless you go! This is an awesome event. What a way to recycle, reuse and repurpose clothing. I was way to hot to stick around for the fashion show. I hope I see photos in facebook!

Peg Houses Part 2

I started 2 more houses. (I have one still to go). The right is aqua/green/white/yellow. The left is aqua, hot pink and white. The aqua and pink remind me of my friends Amanda's shop- House of Sweets!

Birthday Fun for a Fairy

I was at a fairy Birthday party over the weekend.

I wanted in the bounce house, it was for the kids........sigh.

I wanted my face painted. It was for the kids.....sigh.

I wanted to swing. It was for the kids....sigh.

Oh YOU best believe I got me some cake! HA!

Wood Doll Cottage House in Color

Count me in. I too am in love with yellow. I am all about finding and painting and using yellow this summer. Its so bright and happy. It matches with so many colors. I am still in the process of painting these. I have 4 started. I have 3 more to go. I am going to keep one of them. I have no idea which one. I will put 2 in my Etsy Shoppe. 4 will go with me on the craft show happening locally this Oct. I really want to make another yellow one. Just different colors. I need to play and see. Before I choose colors I do a search on Flickr with just colors and see how they look with each other. You can't imagine all the color exploding on Flickr. Look at this, this and this here. I like it when they use different colors of the same color. Look here. This look is called monochromatic. Then just pop in another color and it adds/makes a pretty detail. I may try this next. I just have to research colors.

My hot pink is hot. Yellow and pink match.

The left is aqua, white and red. The right is light blue, red, white and black. I am running out of aqua and white. Back I go to the store. First let me check all my colors. AGAIN!

Peg Doll Houses

I had to run to the store to get some more of this pink color. I also needed some more woodsy people. I know the store I usually visit for these items would not have one of the two items needed. Cause I bought all the woodsy people they had 2 days ago. Usually they take a few days (months)to restock. I was waiting 2 months for them to restock it before hand. I know some like to call them peg dolls. To be correct they are sold as game pieces. I gave them the name woodsy people cause I am creative (brilliant, haha) like that. When I hear peg dolls I think of these and these. I like mine to mimic these dolls. Remember this? I still want this item. Yes today right now. If I found this I would prolly buy it. I loved the people. If my memory is correct, they were all wood when they were first created. Then I think the heads were plastic and the body still wood and then another change making them all to plastic? That is why I call them woodsy people. Mine were wood. That is where my inspiration came from. Today I went way out of my area. It was worth the trip. Not only did I clean them out of their woodsy people. I found 3 more doll houses. How exciting for me and my love of creating them/selling/playing. These things are hard to find. I am going to make one up for a birthday gift to a little girl turning 3 this weekend.

Vintage Singer Sewing Machine, WORKS!

I really don't sing like that. Ok I do. HA! I was too excited about finding out that my sewing machine I just purchased, works. It works really well. (from what I have seen so far) Take a peek at the video and hear her purr. Today's Singer sewing machines are not the same as the old ones. They just are not. These machines were made to last. I have owned a newer singer and I prefer if your going new to get a Bernina. You will not be disappointed. But if your going vintage. Grab one of these. There is no fancy stitches. Just a straight one. I have been trying to find the year and model number for mine. I found a serial number on the front of the machine. It starts with the letter G. My friend sent me this link to try and find out more about it. I am getting closer to finding out. I also need to learn how to thread the machine. Also need to learn how to make a bobbin full of thread. I found another price tag on the bottom of the machine. $90.00. WOW! I paid 25. (first found a $60 dollar price tag, maybe they were trying to get 90 then went down to 60 then went to 25?) I now love that price even more cause it WORKS! This was to be a display piece but once you know you can play with it. Makes it hard to just display it.

Vintage Singer Sewing Machine

I had the agenda today to hit the thrift stores and buy all the used art and anything that I could use as a wall piece for art. Of course I found nothing for that project. I am really shocked at the sticker price that Goodwill marks their photographs/canvas and frames. I can go into any retail brick and mortar store and pay less for what they ask. I hate it when I have an urge to create and play and I am unable to get all of the supplies needed. Funny thing about thrifting, you never know what you are going to find when you go. I have a list of items I of course always look for. I love to see the kitchen ware. The bedding. I am forever adding to my collections. Sometimes I just stop buying/collecting things. I seem to fall right out of love with something I thought I dearly loved. Ack! For instance, mugs. I was going on this love of mugs and had to always see them and buy them. Now I really do not care to own or buy or look at another mug. I may even just sell the pieces that I have been collecting in hopes to find its mate. Of course they had to by Pyrex or Fire King Mugs. That love has passed. However the Pyrex bowls are still at the tippy top on my list. As I was saying, you never know what you will find when you are thrifting. Behold.......this singer sewing machine. I have no idea what year it is. I see sewing machines like this all the time in antique stores. I have seem oodles of them in Savannah, GA this past trip. (with very expensive price tags) These machines are always $100 and higher here. Depends on who is selling them. If they came with a table or not. I love these machines. I always wanted one for decorator purposes. Not to use. Just to show and stare. I really can't see paying a bunch of dollars for something that will just sit. I really just wanted the machine itself and not a table. I find the table ones all the time. (never just a machine) Where am I going to put a table? No room for a table. But the machine itself can go onto the wall with a shelf or at the top of my bookshelf. Today was the day to find this piece. I found this Vintage Singer Sewing Machine for $25.00. I almost did not purchase it. There was a sign on the machine itself for $60.00 and a sign on the case for $25.00. I asked about it and they said Oh no they are all 25 dollars. (there were 3 machines, only this one caught my eye) The detail on the machine is so bright. The case works and locks up. ITS SO VERY HEAVY! I have not even plugged it in to see if it works. I will have to update you and tell you. I had no idea I would be finding this today. I mean you just never know what your going to find when you go out thrifting. You also have to decide if you really want that item RIGHT THEN and there too. Cause unlike any other store, a thrift store is usually first come first serve, no rain checks, no reorders. You leave, you may never see it again. I am sure some of us know this very well.

I like how it has pops of red and blue.

I am really interested in finding out the year it was made.

Hubby will for sure call this a 50lb paper weight.

I found some vintage needle punches. There are a few of them in there and they came with different size needles.

I found more hoops. I used up all my other ones. They are on my wall showing off my silhouettes creations. Nice to find that oval one.

I really did not need to buy this glass. I do not even have any of the other ones. In the 80's Pizza Hut came out with them. Maybe I will just collect them and then sell the set when completed? It was a quarter!

I found this small aqua vintage Pyrex bowl. (aqua you know I am gushing)

I finally found a butter dish. A vintage Pyrex one. It matches the plates and cups I have. I see these all over Etsy. I could have bought one and ended this search a long long time ago. But what fun is that?

Chicken Tacos!

Now I am not going all foodie blog on you. But I really have not been doing anything but watching and learning how to cook. I am trying to make meals that are yummy and not the same meal every week. I always end up making teh same thing till its so boring no one really looks forward to it. I am not a chef. I wish I was. I am learning. I have been learning for a while now. Some days I get really into it and I have to watch as many cooking shows as I can. You learn so much. The internet is a great source. I find blogs are the best. You can find so many tutorials on those foodie blogs. I love you foodie blogs. I love you. You are helping me out so much. Do you have a favorite? I just google what I am looking for and I find them this way. I will share some of my favorites in the comment section. I don't have many but would love to share.

I made some chicken tacos tonight. I make mine all fresh. I grate the cheese. I cheat and buy pre-made salsa. Its fresh and has no preservatives. I use my immersion blender to smooth the sauce out. We prefer a thin sauce on our tacos.

I use 1 lime and grate the peel and then use the juice. I season the ground chicken breast with cumin, salt and pepper. I use fresh green peppers, (you can use orange or red to make it sweeter) onions (Viladia onions) and several garlic cloves. I use olive oil and a non stick pan to cook this. I use small amounts of the oil while its slow cooking. When the chicken gets to be a golden brown, your ready.

I confess I love avocado and sour cream a little too much. I prefer the corn tortillas. I am not fond of the flour ones. They are not as tasty to me. How about you? Prefer a taco shell? Soft taco?

I used to use that icky taco packet seasoning in the 80's who knew I was missing out and gaining weight. Ugh! You can make fresh and it taste so wonderful. You will never use that packaged stuff again.

Photo Booth Fun

I just love photo booths! We played in one this past weekend. It's all about the pose!

Vintage and Not so vintage

I found a vintage hard shell yellow suitcase! My first yellow! I also found a vintage carry on Samsonite red bag.

My friend gave me these magnets. I love them.

I found some vintage fabric and yellow spool sewing case. There are little dowels inside for at least 25 spools of thread.

Vintage Fire King Bowl

I went to Michael's Craft Store while I was in Savannah, Ga this past weekend. I am so happy I did. They had 4 of these left. I can make some Woodsy People houses again. These are actually CD holders. They are no longer ordering any of these so peek into your local store and see if they have any. I scooped up all four that I found. Locally, I checked all my stores and since last year they have sold out. I am so glad we stopped in that store.

I needed a new wallet.

I bought 2 fans to add to my collection and then I stumbled across this umbrella.

Remember these bracelets from the 80's? I do. I do. When I went to go pay for this the man said oh Happy Birthday! And gave it to me for free. How wonderful and nice was this? I thanked him so many times. I have some trip photos to show you. I just have not had the time to sit since getting home. You know how it goes when you go out of town. Laundry,cleaning and starving people look forward to your return! We had fun in Savannah. We went to the flea market and hit a few vintage shops. The sites we saw. Oh my! Back soon to share. XO