Southampton Rosette Tunic Apron

My latest creation is this light canvas tunic apron, bespeckled with rosettes. It's perfect for picking berries and apples.... or just trying to keep your clothes free from spit-up, crumbs, cooking grease and laundry detergent drips. And with the linen pockets, you'll always know where your pen/kleenex/cell phone/lip gloss is located.

I've long been in search of just the right tunic apron. Remember this one? Only this time I used a real pattern. Vintage McCall's M5551.

In my attempt to get a fresh, anthro-inspired, outdoor pic of the new apron, you can clearly see that the only item difficult to see is the apron itself. Booo. At least I missed the rain by 20 minutes. Instead, I'll just tell you about the chocolate brown linen dress that I thrifted for $5 and the apple basket for $3.Here's a little close-up of the sweet print. It reminds me of Jane, so I've named it the Southampton Tunic Apron. They probably pick berries in Southampton, right?

This is headed to my shop soon, along with the tote and some other goodies in the works.

To view a variety of inspiring creations, please visit:

Thrifted Finds: Time To Knit And Sew

After several months of considering to buy the Pottery Barn clock on the left, I stumbled upon the clock on the right at my local thrift store. It works perfectly and even came with a battery. Patience = Savings of $40!
I hesitate to admit this, but I was a crafter that had no glue gun. For shame! After a yard sale outting on Saturday morning, I finally joined the ranks of millions of other crafters by adding the glue gun to my tool box... for .25 cents, including the glue sticks. Also, worth the wait.

Just as the doors opened at 9 a.m. sharp, I entered a church rummage sale. About 10 seconds later, a woman announced that everything was 50% off. The prices were already excellent, so this was a pure bonus. I beelined it to the craft section. Behold, there was yarn. Not craft yarn, but real merino wool yarn. Each skein still had original tags of between $6 and $9 on them. My final price was .25 cents each. Gee, I wish that knitting and I were not foes. My eyes caught a pile of fabric in the back corner. Like a moth to a flame, I floated to the light. My arms were so full of wonderful colors and prints, that I grabbed a box. It was quickly filled. Upon checkout, the man offered to charge me $4 for the box. I agreed. He then gave me the 50% discount... final price $2 for the whole box.

There is a time for thrifting and a time for crafting. Oh the joy of trying to fit it all in to one day!

Yard Sale Crafting Goodies

I did not intend to find a yard sale, it was only two houses away. Tell me who has the will power to pass up a yard sale only two houses away?? Not I.

Even though I can usually assess a yard sale in the first 30 seconds, I've also learned it might be worth a few more moments of browsing... after all, my daughter was only playing with the internal car lights, not honking the horn today.

Riding out the overpriced holiday decor paid off. I picked up a smallish box of ric rac, hem and bias tapes... at .05 cents each I didn't put the box back down. (So there were 26 packages, I realize that I have a problem.) The lady running the sale glared at me, "It's not .05 cents for the WHOLE BOX!"

I smiled in return, "Oh, I know (since they were all individually marked .05 cents) but I like to sew."

She relaxed, "Well, then, you might like the craft stuff around the corner."

Bingo.

Loads of pipe cleaners, wooden beads, craft sticks, wooden clothes pins with instructions for doll making, pieces of fabric with samples and sizes measured out... were all marked at near giveaway prices. The woman obviously valued holiday decor, but not crafting goods. I also scored manila envelopes, cards, patches, yarn, elastic and stationary. Filling up a whole box, I happily paid $7.50 for a years worth of crafting supplies. I thanked her for myself and my toddler.

I only stopped there after cruising by "free estate sale leftovers" sign a couple of blocks away. Another major score with...
organizational freebies! I never have enough of these. Plus I nabbed a free Fiskars scissors sharpener.

I'm juuust figuring this out... if I locate the organizational supplies first, the craft supplies find me!

Footstool Re-do

It's only been 2 years in the making, but I finally recovered this footstool. It was nearly purchased at a yard sale, until the woman just gave it to me. Love it! The tapestry fabric never really fit our decor...

and I guess this cowhide underneath the tapestry didn't fit her decor. It wasn't going to work for me either, but I did find some apple green fabric, on sale, that suits our living room perfectly. Staple gun + new fabric = Happiness. Even Dear H gave it a thumbs up!

Also, I recently thrifted these books because, well, I'm pretty sure that I've needed them many times and just didn't know it. Plus, they'll come in handy for the sewing class that I started tonight. They're both very thick, but at $2 a piece I couldn't pass them up. Now if I could only learn everything in the books just by owning them...

Recent Thrifted Finds: Jane, Charlotte and Polka Dots

Thrifting has paid off once again... I found a Jane Austen biography along with a novel about a Jane Austen fan. (These will be added to the 10 copies of Pride and Prejudice in my collection.)

A miniature mug for my miniature girl...

For $2, a full 3 yards of turquoise polka dot fabric, because a certain mini girl has renewed my love of all things dotted...

Lastly, this bright skirt for spring. Red is usually not my thing, but I'm trying to mix it up... and look at that scalloped hem. Love it!

Thrifted Clothing For One Week

There are some who say good clothes can't be found at a thrift store. They want name brands, clothes that fit and/or are the right style. I am here to show you that all of those things can be, and are, found in thrift stores. I've put together a whole week's wardrobe from my recent thrift store purchases (and a few new items).

I have a specific style right now... tunics, cardigans, leggings - all in gray, brown and black. I love the ability to reach (nearly blindfolded) into my closet, pull out three items and have them work together. No matter what.

I have great difficulty finding what I want at a conventional store. I almost always find items of clothing when I thrift. Take the above outfit, for example:

tan tunic sweater dress $5
navy Land's End cardigan sweater $4
gray leggings $6 new
white fur scarf $2
navy leather purse .55 cents

Outfit Total = $17.55

black tank dress $3
gray cardigan top .55 cents
black leggings $6 new
mustard yellow scarf $2 new on clearance

Outfit Total = $11.55

navy dress $4
white t-shirt - already owned
gray leggings $6 new
plaid scarf - made by me in the last post

Outfit Total = $10.00

perfect condition gray cashmere sweater $3
gray Banana Republic wool blend lined skirt $10
teal ruffle scarf - gift from this friend

Outfit Total = $13.00

khaki green skirt $5
white t-shirt - already owned
Forever 21 white sleeveless lace up shirt .55 cents
khaki green cowl - made by me here

Outfit Total = $5.55

beige tunic sweater $5
beige skirt $4
dark gray leggings $12 new
tan basket weave purse .55 cents

Outfit Total = $21.55

white tunic dress .25 cents
beige skirt $4
leggings $12 new
white crochet cardigan sweater $3
light blue pashmina - already owned by me

Outfit Total = $19.25

Regardless of your style, I know that your local thrift store has something for you. Enjoy your search!

My Outfit

So I snapped this pic as I was walking down the hallway tonight (thus the poor quality.) It's a shot of my new khaki green thrifted coat. The price was a steal, at half off, for $3.50. It's lined and in brand new condition. I was already wearing an army green colored sweater, then the khaki jacket... so I decided to quickly (seriously, like 3 minutes) make a matching cowl/neck wrap from here. (These would make great gifts!) Did I mention that I love green?

This is the second pair of jeans I've worn today. Unlike my daughter who changes her clothes, on average, 7 times a day, I try to wear only one outfit.

But a colicky baby can have other ideas. After burping him, my low back felt damp. Somehow, my baby managed to spit up on the back of my jeans - under my sweater, which was dry. Maybe we shouldn't have named him Henry, but Houdini.

Thrifted Owls, Acorns and Famous Australian Children

So I went thrifting, but did not thrift famous Australian children. More on that in a moment...

See my new jammies? I own nothing like them. But when I saw them, they made me laugh, so I had to *splurge*. It's funny because they're actually a children's size, but I knew holding them up that they would fit. In perfect silky turquoise condition, the pants and shirt fit indeed. Extra bonus: all children's clothes were 30% off!

Look at those prints... it reminds me of this owl. I am loving Seattle thrift stores!

Just days ago, I mentioned to my dear H that I wanted salt and pepper shakers. What a curious item for me to want to own, seeing as how I never use salt or pepper. Ever.

Accidentally turning down the wrong aisle, led me to more squirrel/acorn goodness. Behold these simple wooden acorn salt and pepper shakers - unused. Score!

I also bought Charlotte 22 books. At .79 cents a piece, we can go a little crazy. Ok, a lot crazy. I've always maintained that I'll never skimp on books for the children. We don't mind being the "book people down the street with no t.v." ;)

Speaking of books, my husband recently announced the birth of our son, Henry, to an acquaintance. She asked about any older children. Yes, there's Charlotte. "Wow," she replied, "just like the Australian tv show!" WHAT?!

We thought we dodged that bullet by not naming our son Wilbur.

A quick google search helped us find the series of books by author Bob Graham. His series that was turned into a hit tv show. (With no tv, we just didn't know!) See more here. My dear H surprised us by secretly purchasing a copy for us to keep. Yep, more books. We just can't have too many...

And Charlotte (in the book) wears glasses, just like my Charlotte. Gotta love it!

Thrifty Workspace

Recently, I came upon this oak sewing cabinet on craigslist. (I've been searching for a cabinet for my freearm machine for nearly 2 years!) The cabinets I found were never quite right... either they weren't made for a freearm machine, or they were just plain too expensive.

This cabinet (with an electric lift) was $50 and included a vintage Elna sewing machine! Since I prefer my trusty Singer machine, I enlisted my dear H's help. He fired up the power tools, removed the Elna machine and mounted the Singer. Isn't she lovely?

Now I have drawer space, spool racks and double the workspace. And we have our kitchen table back ;)

In recent days, I haven't been able to sew... but the projects are piling up and this workspace is so inviting! Thanks to my dear H for making it all possible.

Bargain Breadmaker

My best bargain of the weekend garage sale roundup included this Breadman breadmaker for $5.00. I've been wanting to try my hand at breadmaking for some time, and now, for about the price of one loaf of bread - I'm on my way. There is a small manual included, but not much real breadmaking info. If any of you have breadmaking ideas or tips, I'd appreciate your input!

A few other scores include these two 4-5t sized coats for Charlotte at .50 cents each.
Lastly, I picked up this mega carton of Play-doh, 50 different colors in all, for $1.00. C's been rolling, cutting and squishing ever since! Hopefully, with my breadmaker, soon I will be too :)

Gray / Yellow and Gray / Pink

Is it gray or is it grey? Anyway, gray is my new everyday. I'm enjoying the comfortable-ness of gray with splashes of color.

The open jacket is new and (can you believe it?) store-bought, but the striped top is a thrift find, as are the sunny yellow necklace and clutch. I've been drawn to this combo more than once lately.

Then I came across pink perfection for spring...a pair of thrifted, never-been-worn, pink eyelet flats - in my size. I may have heard angels singing... They are perfectly matched with my new gray jacket, a garage sale top for .25 cents and thrifted gray linen crop pants.

Spring arrived, then backed out. It's toeing the line in our area, but I'm ready either way - with gray!

Reconstructed: Dress To A Skirt

Here's a dress that I thrifted this past weekend, but it was too big and had a halter top. I knew it could be altered without much trouble. (The white cotton crocheted cardigan is another thrift find for $4.00) Here's the dress print up close:

Cheery blue and green butterflies - perfect for spring!

I started by ripping out the seams on the side zipper, then I cut the skirt away from the bodice. I finished up the side seam (where the zipper used to be) then made a simple casing for 3/4" elastic.

If you're doing a waistband for yourself, take your waist measurement, subtract 2.5", then cut your elastic. Thread your elastic through the casing with a safety pin attatched to the front of the elastic (sort of like a mock needle and thread). It took even less time than I expected.

The inspiration for this dress purchase came from a butterfly-print scarf I've been eyeballing at Land's End in Sears. It's $29.50 here.

So when I came upon the butterfly dress for $5.25, I figured that I could make my own scarf. Then I fell in love with idea of a spring skirt. It seems that I got something better for less!

Japanese Inspired Thrifted Clothing

Ever since Thrift Candy posted this about COTON, I've been so excited that I could hardly sleep. So many inspired ideas are running through my head. When shopping for clothes, I've been aimlessly searching for something and now I know what it is!

Finding clothing has often been just a chore for me. I get easily tired from overpriced, odd-colored, ill-fitting clothing. Also, I'm just not interested in tight, sheer or clingy clothing. Every two to three years, I manage to find enough pieces -usually all at once- to perpetuate a wardrobe. The last time I bought an actual bag of clothing was just before getting pregnant with my daughter - 3 years ago. (I guess that I tempted fate there, as I really didn't have time to wear any of it because I needed maternity pants at 7 weeks!)

So, over the last two days, I've thrifted with new eyes. Here's my first nod to COTON...
This shirt and cardigan are thrift finds. The jeans were already mine. The Mary Jane's are new and the scarf was a gift (thanks Ma!) Adding a splash of color with a new bag...

Green is a favorite color of mine. This Nine West purse was only $3.25. Next up, this comfy thrifted gray sweater dress, coordinating thrifted vest, along with my own leggins and MJ's.

Finally, a perfect print skirt and green sweater. The white tank with sheer ruffle - a la J. Crew style - was already mine.

In two days, I've spent just under $80.00 and come home with 18 new items. (Some still with new tags attached.) It feels great to come home with the greatest wardrobe satisfaction ever. I'm still on a mission for that white COTON dress... stay tuned :)

Thrifted Finds: Folksy, Asian and PJ's

Long overdue to be posted is this folksy short-sleeved sweater. I originally purchased it for Acorn Pudding, but haven't been able to part with it - and posing for the pic is the first time I've even worn it! It's a sweet little cropped number (trust me, I am super short-waisted) with emerald green stripes and flower motif. Here's the c.u. Next up, my asian silk top. It's the palest shade of minty green. Just picked it up today for $4.00.

Finally, another 'should I keep it?' top. It may be a vintage PJ top. The buttons have sparkly rhinestone centers. I wrestle with letting it go because I hardly ever wear sheer clothing.

Oh, and the long brown lace hemmed tank was .25 cents from a garage sale this past weekend.

I'm on the hunt for more spring and summer goodness...