March 1, 2009

Are You a Thrift Store Shopper?

Except for 2 trips  to the post office drop box and a Friday night dinner out, come Saturday, I had been house bound for 6 days straight.  I get a little stir crazy when I don’t get out every once in a while to stimulate my creativity (also known as Artist Dates.)   So yesterday I broke loose and I went to visit my local Joann’s fabric and craft store and two thrift stores.  While at Joann’s I bought some rubber stamp ink pads in a various colors, a ‘Rejoice’ rubber stamp, some journaling tags, and a few other things.  I got out of there with a bag full of goodies for about $13.00, and that included a Reese’s candy bar (Shh! don’t tell because I didn’t share it with anyone.)

From Joann’s I made my way over to the closest thrift store where I found a lovely wood box with flowers carved into the lid.  I also found a primitive handmade clay vase hand carved with little hearts and bunnies.  You can’t see the vase very well because the lighting sucks.

Wood Box and  handmade vase

 

Below is a full picture of the box.  If you open the lid you’ll find that the center is actually a frame where you can add a photograph.  It needs a little tender loving care but I love it.  I lucked out with 50% off on Saturday’s sale and got both for $2.00.

Wood Box

 

From there I went to the local Goodwill store where for $3.00 I bought these little gems:

New Vases

I love these pink glasses. I have them filled with paint brushes now but I will probably use them as vases in our guest bedroom because they look so romantic.   Wouldn’t they be sweet filled with Hershey Kisses or fragrant soaps atop an antique dresser?

And in the back is a coffee (?) cup with a head painted on it that I plan to use as a vase.  Have I ever told you that I have a collection of ceramic heads/vases ?  OK before this I only had 2, so that doesn’t  quite qualify as a “collection” but this makes three. 

As I brought this little girl into my studio I realized why I had been so attracted to her at the store and why she was so familiar.  Well, it’s no wonder, not only does she look like the big sister to one of the two vases already in my collection, she was made by the same artist.  Duh!  As my girl would say, I’m such a nerd. 

Vases with Faces

All in all I got a bunch of goodies all for less than 20 bucks.  Isn’t that cool?  Are you a thrift store shopper?  If so, what do you consider a “real find”?

6 comments:

  1. I love thrift stores. Love that photo box and how sweet are all of your potential vase finds. I think the best of all scores (for me) is to find a canvas for around $2 that I can scrape off and paint on. Especially a really good gallery quality canvas. That gets me pretty excited. Now I also love finding cool interesting metal (wrought iron) pieces that I can add into my decor. Oh and great old books, foreign text and art books (you know the big table top sort) that I can use to layer in my art. And lately I have been on a silk scarf kick too. I plan to cut them up and use them like silk ribbon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, Linda! I love the box that you found that can also frame a picture. I can see you altering it into a real treasure! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. You obviously had fun on your trip to the thrift store - John

    ReplyDelete
  4. You have to know what you are doing in thrift stores, and of course I always end up picking out the stuff that goes down in value instead of up. I love those pink glasses you bought -- so pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  5. One of my friends gave me a little head cup exactly like the one you just got....the larger one! I used it in my funky little powder room as a candle holder. It was so cute, then one day when I was cleaning it dropped and broke. I miss it!! Hope you enjoy yours!!

    Hugs Giggles

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

I love reading comments so thank you for taking the time to leave one. I will respond by email if your profile includes an email address or if you leave your email address in the message. Have a wonderful day.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin