Thrifting: golden braids and old lady tables

Yesterday was a beautiful Saturday here in the south. It's unfortunate spring hasn't sprung everywhere yet. We're definitely enjoying this warm weather. My friend, Sarah, and I drove up to Columbia, South Carolina, an hour from Augusta, for a little thrifting and adventure. We hit a few thrift stores we went to last time, and a few that we had driven by and were on our list. 

Since Sarah is moving into a place soon with her kids there was much thrifting to be done. And thrifting is my fabric shopping. It's a great way for me to find new sources of inspiration in the fabrics I buy. I'm currently shopping for fabric for a new addition to my lingerie: two piece sets! I want to make comfortable little bloomers with a tie back bra to match. I've been buying a lot of silks and super soft cotton. A large women's blouse or cozy cotton printed tee are the perfect size. I was in thrifting heaven at His Store, a thrift store where all clothes are only $1!

Hilarious wall hanging! A girl on the phone with her puppy nearby. I love love love how her ponytail is free flowing and not attached to the fabric. I think I want to replicate this technique with an updated outfit and different colors. It reminds me of this Etsy seller's work.

Check out these amazing folding tables I found! They're not in perfect shape, there's a little rusted and bent. But they are perfect for me since I will be using them in my backyard. With a rag and some cleaner and my strong arms to straighten the delicate metal, they'll be just what I need!

They have beautiful painted flowers, birds, and butterflies. If my wicker furniture doesn't already make passers-by think this house is inhabited by an old lady, these will surely do the trick! They'll be great stands for cocktails and food when I have guests or just enjoying the sunshine.

 

Who remembers these things?! Butane hair curlers. The first cordless curling iron. My sister had one when she was a teenager and I remember it being a really big deal when she'd let me use it. The butane refills didn't last long and they were really expensive (or they just seemed expensive because as a kid you never have money ha).

Another white lamp for Sarah. She has a thing for milk glass lamps, and white glass lantern lamps. This one was only $5! We found her another huge one for her living room. You can never have enough lamps. They're so much homier than overhead lighting. They really make a house a home. I recently fell in love with and watched the entire series of "Pushing Daisies". The Aunts on the show have so many lamps in their house, I just love it! I need to take a cue from them and get more for my house. (But not be a hoarding old woman. I've been getting freakishly close lately!)

$1 wall hanging! For my wall of chaos on my stairway (pictures soon).

 

Another packed car, kind of. I bought Matt a sweet 60s bachelor lamp. It's something a man with leather bound books and a liquor cabinet in his office would have had. Plus I got bags and bags of clothes. It's hard to say no to clothing when it's 50 cents or $1 and I can definitely make something out of it. I have been exercising a lot of "No, Sally, you don't need that" in my head, and I've actually been putting things back I don't need. Yay! Overcoming hoarding tendencies, kind of. 

This was the small and probably one of the more interesting things I bought. It was at His Store last time we went and I remember thinking to myself that it was junk and it should have just gone in the trash instead of on a table at a thrift store. But an idea struck me yesterday when I saw it. It's a small business card holder, I think. It says "Table Grace. Before we eat we bow our heads and thank thee God for our daily bread. Amen." It's very dirty, rusty, and not much to look at.

Since I have my first art show in almost a year next Sunday, Social Canvas, I needed a new business card holder. It has the prongs holding the little piece of paper, and I thought what a perfect little holder. I could put my card in that one's place and paint it. This was a perfect little thing to repurpose. And such a quick fix!

First, I cleaned it, scrubbed all the grime and dust off it, removed the paper, and dried with a towel. Then about 10 seconds of spray paint. I already had the paint from a previous project. I do not advise using spray paint indoors. Or on such a small piece of cardboard. Step outside and use a big newspaper if you're using spray paint. I'm just weird and the smell of spray paint doesn't bother me. I actually kind of like it. Plus I've been using spray paint for years and years and I don't make too much of a mess.

I allowed for it to dry then bent all of the prongs upward using my small pliers. I trimmed a business card to the perfect size. Then Tacky Glue! I don't trust just those prongs to hold the paper in place, and tacky glue works wonders on crafts.

Dabble a little on surface. I like to use a paint brush to cover the entire area needing glue. Carefully, I sat the card on the metal surface and left it for about 5 minutes. I then came back and bent all the prongs back down. 

It is so beautiful. And I'm not just saying that because there is a picture of me on it haha. It will be great for shows. A shopper will clearly know that they can find cards in this tray. Plus you can never go wrong with gold! 

Oh, and the winner of the Earth Day Giveaway is: Tess! Congrats. 

I hope you enjoy your reusable snack bag. Email me with your contact info, Tess. 

Another giveaway for Mother's Day next week!