Thrift Sessions: Besties in G-rap

I hope everyone had a fantastic Valentine's day! I threw in a picture of the tulips the hubby got me; I've always loved them so much!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of a lovely afternoon of lunch, cocktails and thrifting with one of my best gal pals, Jenna. We went on her "route"--which was recently established when she moved to Grand Rapids. This thrills me because 1) I love thrifting in Grand Rapids and 2) Jenna used to be more of a retail gal, and now she is turning into a thrift addict...and I'd like to think that I'm a small part of it! Haha! :)

We both found some great thrift finds! Over the next few days, I'll be posting thrift finds and outfits from our adventure. I'm starting with some of the things that I picked up!

I TRIED to resist this vintage royal blue dress with a plunging neckline and lavender suede accents in my size because it was $5 (you know I like my dollar dresses!)...but I simply couldn't.

The beer steins and mention of pretzels sold me on this record for .50. Can't wait to put it up in the bar! It is pictured here with the vintage red gingham short sleeve blouse I bought for 1.29 the same day. It is late 60's and I can't WAIT to wear it.

Jenna spotted this little white clutch for $2 (overpriced, I think) and thought it was cute, there wasn't much drawing me to it until I saw the quadrilateral way it opens and the little sliding clip at the top. Cute and interesting! It is pictured on a vintage scarf I bought as well.

Vintage pink rhinestone clip-ons...just had to.

This crazy bird brooch HAD to come home with me for .99 cents.

Yellow rhinestone clip-ons! I know...I need to stop.

This crab tie called out to me...and I responded. I'll post an outfit shot with it soon; pictured in the background was a book I picked up for my son that is a favorite, Lous Ehlert's Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf.

Jenna also talked me into buying this glass loose leaf tea pot and at $2.50, it wasn't too hard to convince me. I'm already excited about some fun "infusions" I am planning on making this week--I was rifling through my spice cupboard yesterday while making chai and got some great ideas!

Look for more entries this week on our Grand Rapids adventure, including an outfit shot with Jenna and her thrifting finds as well!

See you then...

-C

What you need is a little Chai...

KUNDALINI CHAI

Sigh. I've landed head first into a super strength cold. I just can't win this season!

Must be stress...school, work, family, bands...I'm a little too busy.

Came home a little early for some R&R this evening and was so glad I had made a pot of home made chai the day before...and snapped these pics.

Thought I'd share the recipe for my wonderful and delicious health tonic for anyone who feels like brewing up a pot of cleansing and aromatic chai tea--no caffeine! Note that you can easily steep your favorite black tea in it if you prefer some "kick" in your cup!

KUNDALINI CHAI

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Best Kundalini Chai: A 2000 year old recipe given to me by my yoga instructor. Been making it every day since. It has amazing properties including anti-inflammatory and immune boosting. In India, they use it to treat fever. Also good for indigestion among many other things. BE CAREFUL WITH THE PEPPERCORNS. the power of 3-4 whole peppercorns is amazing.

INGREDIENTS:

About 4 liters of water

3-4 short cinnamon sticks

Small handful of cloves (6-7 individual)

1 tbs ginger

1 tbs cardamom powder

1 tbs fennel powder

1 tbs turmeric

4-6 whole peppercorns (more if you like spicier chai--but BE CAREFUL!)

Bring to a rolling boil in a large stockpot for about 15 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for another 45 minutes. Allow to steep and sit afterwards. Once it has cooled you can store it in the fridge. Stays 2-3 days unrefridgerated on the counter before things start to turn. No need to strain. I like to stir up the sediment in mine. Serve with almond milk and honey. Say, "MMMMMMM". :)

Candy Hearts with Purpose

No, it isn't an ORIGINAL idea (are there any???) and like so many other cute ideas popping up out there on crafts that you can do, it came from Pinterest, of course! Follow me on Pinterest here! I saw it in my craft feed and a teacher I work with at my school did one with her children. They decorated pencils with paper flowers--so this idea easily transitions to child-friendly crafting. I wish I had pinned the original idea so I could credit them here, but I have seen similar items many times in the past, so there are likely many floating around out there!

It turned out to be a fun and quick project that I made for my son's teachers at the elementary school as a present for Valentine's day. Both of the glass jars are upcycled (you can find so many interesting shapes and sizes at your local thrift store--in Muskegon, MI they would average .49-2.00) and likely you could find something new at Dollar Tree or a similar dollar store, but why not recycle? They are a cinch to make!

After getting the glass, I simply filled with candy hearts and made these fabric flower topped pens by wrapping the pen caps in ribbon, creating the fabric and satin flowers, and hot gluing!

(Check out lots of search results and tutorials for fabric flower making HERE.)

If you don't want to make fabric flowers, just purchase silk or plastic flowers, snip and glue them on to the pen caps with hot glue or even floral tape!

They turned out so darling and who doesn't need a few cute pens for their desk?

You will need:

Glass Jars

Fabric Scraps

Buttons, extra decorations

Pens or Pencils

Ribbon (if you care to wrap tips before gluing)

Candy Hearts (these two jars used 3 small bags to fill)

Hot glue gun and glue

Estimated Time: 1 hour

Estimated Cost: around $7.00 for two provided that you have fabric and hot glue on hand already).

Stripes and Polka

FUN FUN FUN! That's all I can say about this zany combo that I pulled together from my closet last night. Every inch of it, with the exception of the boots (which are clearance sale "Faded Glory") are vintage items that were thrifted. From the bangles to the high-waisted navy and white polka dot pleated skirt, the entire outfit cost is approximately $9. Add the cost of the boots for $15 and you have a total of $24.

I love taking risks like this. You may surprise yourself in what you can pull together--get a little brave and try it out! If you do a fun stripe/polka dot combo or pattern mixing (great tips in my blog Well Red and Mixing it up), I'd love to see it on the Thrift Trick Facebook Page!

Stay warm (if you live in Michigan where I do, it was pretty chilly today! 19 degrees while I was out snapping pics, and lots of snow!

Prada Spring 2012

Of all spring designers and campaigns, can I just say how utterly fabulous I think Prada's collection is? WANT IT ALL!

I really just wanted to post a feast for the eyes if you hadn't already noticed the runway pics or the ad campaigns in your Style and Vogue magazines! The only thing I will say is that the flames on the red car in the shoot are horrendous...but then again, the hubby is hot rodder/machiner/mechanic...so I can't help the discrimination, haha! I'm also not digging the flame heels--a little too whimsical for me. Then again, I'm just burnt out on flames in general and despite their over-the-top retro appeal, I just can't get into it.

As far as the clothes go...I may have to DIY/recreate/Thrift Trick some of this! The fabrics/textiles are droolworthy.

Calendar Recycle #2

You might remember me talking about the adorable 2011 vintage pinup calendar I was "craft upcycling" from one of my recent blog posts, Quote board: Project GIFT #1.

I decided to put more of its colorful, sexy pages to use by lining the back of my fish tank (which used to have vintage horror posters like "Attack of the Killer Squid" and most recently, Christmas wrapping paper).

I think my fish like their sassy new view: Miss October and Miss November!

What if I'm BAD with money?

It's true.

I'm terrible with money.

The funny part is that I'm frugal and thrifty as you could ever imagine. Sure! No problem! But, that old adage "necessity is the mother of invention" applies. I grew up poor. I HAD to be thrifty, inventive, creative! So it comes naturally to me! I don't need any help on how to live well CHEAPLY. It's what I do!

It's just that I never really learned to SAVE. I'm 32 and my birthday is approaching fast in March. For the most part, I live paycheck to paycheck and have no real savings with the exception of a fleeting glimpse around tax time each year. I've worked a steady job since I was 12--so this shouldn't be the case!

It also wouldn't be fair to say I squander ALL of my money (though the thrifting bits add up). And yes--there are some creature comforts betwixt the bills--the weekly trips to Starbucks, the upgrades this year for my laptop and camera--but for the most part, my family and I live fairly modestly. What gets me is the occasional "impulse" buy, late charges, and who knows what else? (See the next paragraph).

WHERE all of the money goes--well, I don't know. Which is why, I'm sure, the first step to budgeting is to actually record your spending. Well, make no mistake--the idea of recording all my spending completely intimidates and petrifies me.

I fear, however, before I can actually start any plan of ANY sort, I need to tackle this.

My goal is to try and use a calendar to record my daily spending (it seemed like it would be less overwhelming than a journal in my purse, or an app on my ipod). I KNOW I won't stick with something I have to tend to every five seconds. Therefore I'm hoping that, in between having limited amounts of cash and check records to reference, I'll be able to very closely estimate spending and record it each night.

Can I tackle 30 days of record keeping? Perhaps it sounds pathetic but I'm worried that I can't. Pray for your gal and help me gain the momentum and strength I know I will need to overcome my

MONSTER.

Only then can I even HOPE to continue onwards to all of the billions of budgeting ideas out there, from envelope systems to Dave Ramsey Baby Steps.

WISH ME LUCK!

Little Bits

These precious little bird clip ons were part of my last outfit post,Vintage Montgomery Ward. They were all .49-.99 on my last thrifting adventure at Hope's Outlet on Sherman in Muskegon, MI. It's a shame that the fantastic gold marbling didn't show up in the light green earrings below. They are so beautiful and delicate--I love them!

Vintage Kitchen Thrift Sesh

I don't even need to point out how adorable and sunny these salt and pepper shakers are. They make my food taste even MORE delicious because they were only $1.49!

"Whistle for your beer!" And it works! I fell in love with this ceramic mug instantly, and the price was fairly easy to swoon over...49 cents.

Another .49 cent mug in its cute rainbow glory...and this one is another Otagiri! I'm so lucky, I tell ya. Remember the cute as a button Otagiri Owl Mug from a few months back?

Both of these mugs (the mushroom and the Koala) were .49 cents.

I probably have one of the best mug collections out there at this point, but I'm slowly encroaching upon hoarding territory. Someone hold my hand through this whole reselling process, please!

I be scared.

Vintage Montgomery Ward

I bought this vintage print Montgomery Ward dress this weekend for $1.59! I love the print. Red flowers with navy, green, and tan. Knee length and lent itself perfectly with brown boots and/or a tan comfy cardigan. I wore this with one of my own Vintage Upcycled DIY Statement Rings and bright teal nails! So fun! Also, delicate black and gold clip-ons with tiny birds on them. One dollar, thrifted of course! Wore it all day long at school (I'm a full time student right now) and really enjoyed being able to take pictures outside in the dark with my new camera. I can't wait to keep practicing!

Viewpoints...and JAVA!

Some of my very favorite things are in my kitchen...and many of them are gifts! Take this cute "Chantal" red teapot from my friend Jenna! It is used everyday, more than once, to boil my french press and tea water.

Refocus your lens on the sign behind the teapot and you'll see a gift my mom brought me this weekend on her visit!

I love these vintagesque, Ann Taintor-style tin signs. Before I hang anything up in my house, it has to meet my requirements: be cute, be true, be vintage (or "esque".) This is not to say that I am entirely discriminate about hanging things. :)

I HAVE, after all, gotten a few, "Holy $*&@, you have a ton of stuff on your walls". More on the random things suspending around the house later... As far as the sign goes, it fits all three categories and I actually replaced another, smaller coffee sign with it. Thanks, Mom!

Primarily, I'd say this sign fits the "true" category, because I am a self-proclaimed java junkie in the worst way! How about you?

Quote Board: PROJECT GIFT #1

I made this cute quote board for my friend Kerra from a recycled calendar! She was actually the one who bought me the adorable vintage pinup calendar plus a candle and had it delivered to my house for my birthday. So sweet! Well, the awesome Gil Elvgren illustrated calendar was seriously too fantastic to just toss out at the start of the New Year...so I couldn't wait to begin upcycling it. I'm sure you will see more of it around shortly! And who better deserved to get something cute from my first effort than the sweet gal who gave it to me? :)

I bought a vintage frame at a thrift store for $1. I then did some cutting and arranging.

Used my home printer to make this little design with personalization!

Used gold vintage wallpaper behind the polka dots and the pinup! Left some white space at the bottom to write with!

It's great to use picture frames as dry erase boards. They are a touch fancier, clean up much nicer with no staining, and you can put anything you like behind the frame--a family photo, neat picture, or a printed grid from your very own design/printer.

All in all, it's a great (and quick) DIY project that is super fun to give away if you have beautiful, deserving friends. I'm lucky to have an abundant supply of those!

Naturally, the final step was to pack it up in some cute brown paper and vintage fabric ribbon. Voila!