THRIFT STORE SCORE...

Today I had an appointment around the corner from my favorite thrift shop.  Sooo...I absolutely HAD to stop in there.  Right?  I was saving gas and wear and tear on my car by stopping while I was in the neighborhood.  Right? 

Besides the fun I had combing through my favorite haunt, I managed to check three things off of my master "To Buy" list...at thrift store prices rather than retail prices!  SCORE!  In addition I picked up a few other crafty goodies that were just calling my name, lol.

First thing on my list was a small CD case.  I had read about a fellow quilter who used such a case to keep her small rulers organized.  What a GREAT idea!  This pretty blue one was only $2.99  Second thing on my list was a pack or two of ring binder index dividers to organize some household files.  I found two packs of 10 dividers each for $.49 a pack with an additional 50% off.  My kind of pricing!  The third thing on my list was some type of folders/page protectors/binder indexes to organize my quilting and sewing patterns.  I found 7 packages that each contained 5 "tabbed" binder folders for $.99 each with an additional 50% off.  The folders should work well to hold any templates that go along with the patterns.

I shudder to think what all of these items would have cost in a retail store!  Hopefully my deal on indexes will help me get my glut of paperwork (both household and crafting) organized...once and for all!!  Sigh.  I've been saying that for years...

When I had finished looking for "needs" I wandered over to the craft/fabric section.  I found 1.25 yards of cotton fabric for $3.75.  I have drawn up a design for a wall hanging that has been in my mind for a while.  I will definitely need some brown fabric to complete the project.  Then I dug into the button box.  I found 5 "cards" of buttons for $.99 each, with 50% off and 3 "cards" of buttons for $.49 each, with 50% off.  When I think of the amount of money I have saved simply by keeping a good "stash" of buttons I'm amazed.  Recently, I needed a button to mend a pair of pants and didn't have the right size in my stash.  I went to JoAnn's to buy a replacement.  Oh. My. Goodness.  Buttons have gotten ridiculously expensive!!!  So I add to my supply whenever I can.  I would have liked to have a dig through the "single button" box to look for something really unusual, but I didn't want to spend any more money.  I was determined to go home with money still in my pocket.  Next time for sure!!!

On the way home I stopped at Chick-Fil-A and bought myself lunch with my free gift card and got a free drink with my "calendar" card.  All in all it was a GREAT day!

Toodles...

A THRIFT STORE SCORE AND A THRIFTY FIX FOR MY FAVORITE TRAVEL EPP BOX

 

These days I am pinching pennies and turning to my favorite thrift store to meet my needs, particularly when it comes to my crafting and sewing room decor. 

Several years ago I purchased a WONDERFUL travel sewing box at our neighborhood garage sale.  I think I paid only $3.00 for the box.  

It is wonderful, with a padded handle, strap, prongs to hold my thread, little containers to hold bobbins, etc.  

 The bottom is large enough to hold a ton of supplies for my EPP, and can also hold the travel stitchery kit I use for my embroidery!  It all fits wonderfully (although the embroidery stitchery kit is not show above) and makes taking my handwork in the car a breeze!

The only problem with it...the handle and strap are attached to the lid of the box...and the only thing holding the box closed is a plastic latch, which doesn't close all the way and will probably break off from frequent use.   I can understand the handle being attached to the lid, but why didn't they attach the strap to the BOTTOM part of the box?  

 I searched through my scrap containers and found some green material that I thought would work well as a strap to go around the sewing box, like the bands you put around suitcases to keep them from opening in airport baggage claim.  I didn't have anything to hook the strap with so I searched the sewing area of my thrift store to find the above latch...for $.25! 

I came home from the thrift store and pulled out my material and quickly sewed up a strap.

I am really happy with the way it turned out.  It should prevent any opening of the box...and the material is a pretty good match to the pattern on the box!  Free material and a $.25 latch.  Definitely a thrifty fix!

While at the thrift store I found a pretty metal basket to hold my packages of rick-rack.  I was using a clear plastic jar (from peanuts), but I really wasn't happy with it.  This is much more "my style" and there is still room for a lot more rick-rack in the basket... a good thing in a sewing room!

I also picked up a skein of green yarn for my queen sized bobble afghan.  It isn't a perfect match to the green I started out with, but since it is separated from the previous row of green by a lot of other colors, I'm hoping the match is "good enough".  Of course I will keep looking in case I find something that matches better, but I couldn't let this one go by as it was close enough to be "passable".  I also picked up 12 skeins of embroidery floss for $.25 each.  They had two full shoeboxes of embroidery floss and I could have spent a LOT of money, but I tried to pick up colors I thought I might use in the future.  I will try to pick up a couple more skeins the next time I am in the shop.  

All in all it was a great thrift shopping day.  Unfortunately the store moved the "craft" items and the new location is HORRIBLE...way too crowded given the number of people who shop for crafting supplies.  I heard several other people complaining as we had to keep scootching up to the shelves to allow a person to fit down the aisle.  If someone had a cart we would have to move completely out of the way so they could get through.  Hopefully if enough people complain they will move the crafts area back to where it was!  Browsing was SO much easier in the prior location!