kirstencan

Fifteen Dollars

So, the other day at Target I found the CUTEST jumper for Princess (I'd link to it, but I don't see it on their website).  I didn't buy it, but I thought I might go back and get it later.  It was $15 - a great deal... or so I thought...

Now here's a good example of why I love to thrift.  I went to a thrift store the next day, and got these clothes for Princess:

A nice hoodie, which she needed, a cute cord tiered skirt, and two long-sleeve t-shirts.  Grand total:  $15.  The same price as the one jumper.  Not my best deal ever (and not as good as this other time I spent $15) but still...

I don't always shop thrift - sometimes you just need a certain color/kind of top (to go with the thrifted skirt), or cute stripy tights.  But it's worth checking the thrift store first! Especially for kids - when they outgrow/ruin stuff so quickly!  I always check for good brands and things in good condition. 

There is also the thrill of the hunt. :)

For the same price (or less!)as buying a cheap shirt at Target (which usually has ugly graphics - esp. for boys) you can buy a quality, name brand shirt at a consignment or thrift shop.  Hooray for that! 

My favorite thrift store is by my mom's house (Bonus!  I don't have to take the kids!) and I always manage to find good stuff there - I passed on a cute plaid Tommy Hilfiger skirt for her, too.

What are you waiting for?  Go thrift!

(I know, I know, I'm preaching to the choir, right?)

I done good.

I haven't been able to go yard-saleing (sp? since that is a made up or new word, i have no idea how to spell it! :) much this summer, which is okay, as there is less on my 'list' this year to keep my eyes open for.

Today I decided to stay really close to home, and be back in 45 minutes.

I hit 2 sales.

I scored.

First up, this cute quilt (Target, I think) for Thomas' bed.  $5 including matching sheet.
It's already been washed, dried, (rolled on) and put on the bed.  Love it. I almost didn't even ask how much it was, as Aaron's mom (quilter extraordinaire) is planning on making him one, but for $5 this can be the spare/extra/rotating quilt.

Sorry for the next photo - it's hard to get good pictures when the kids are trying to grab everything.  I snapped this quick and then threw everything in the wash.

Gymboree swimsuits for the kids (+coverup for Princess), sweatshirt and gymboree jacket for Thomas, and one of the best finds, 4 black leotards (Capezio and Bloch!) for Princess.  She needs them for the fall, when she goes back to a more classical dance program.  I was way excited about these.

Another perfectly timed find:  quilting rulers!  Sadly, I just broke both of my rulers.  Serves me right for keeping my crafting area so messy.

These are the exact sizes I had and needed!  Woo hoo!

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Next is a cheapo digital kids' camera.  Which is also kinda odd timing, because last week Aaron came home from the library with two books for kids about photography.

Needless to say, Princess is thrilled.

Now here's one of the only drawbacks of being a total bookworm.  I found some great books today - but we had most of them already.  But I mean, Princess Academy - how could I leave a 25 cent copy of Princess Academy?  or brand new - probably never opened copies of The Quiltmaker's Gift and Olivia (Olivia!).  It would be like leaving good friends on the side of the road.

I couldn't do that, now, could I? :)

Alright, so I did good, right?  Finding stuff I actually need is the best.

Finding everything above in only 45 minutes for a grand total of $14.50 - that rocks.

Saturday's Finds

Saturday I took a quick ride around town to check out some yard sales.

And I'm glad I did.

First up, at this little quasi-estate sale (people who were selling either their family member or neighbor's stuff for her, she was still alive), and apparently this little old lady (whose stuff it was) kept popping into the sale and upping all the prices - she really believed that everything she had was an antique and worth a lot more than it was - which was frustrating to the sellers - but I scored.

This tin of vintage buttons called to me - I got it for $3.00.  Well, $3.25, if you count that cool silver brooch that I added to it!

I love these red and white flower buttons - they are seriously gorgeous. 
I haven't sifted through the stash on the bottom yet, but will one of these days.

I even love the cards - what great names!

And I picked up this small dresser there, too.  This is a horrible picture of it, but you won't get better, as I bought it to stick in my closet and organize my crafting supplies (hopefully soon, I'm driving my husband crazy).

It is tall and skinny, and the paint is very enamel-ly shiny.  And I like the drawer pulls.

The lady wanted $75 - 100 for it, but as she wasn't there when I was, my offer of $15 was accepted quickly.

And then (OH, and THEN!) I saw this beauty at the next sale I stopped at.  This gorgeous, shiny red beauty of a Radio Flyer trike.  In seriously amazing condition - for $15.  More than I'd usually pay, but it retails for something like $50. 
Here's Monkey giving it a try - he had more success going backwards - but I didn't get it for him...

It was one of those thrifting twists of fate that I found this. 

Just this week we got some new neighbors who have a son close to Thomas' age.  He has a trike just like this (exactly, actually).  I was hoping that that would encourage Thomas to try harder at pedaling, as the new kid's a pro at it and I think bike riding would be good for Thomas (strength + movement + coordination).  I've been wanting to try one of these 'nicer' trikes with him.  And what do you know?  He got on and pedaled (slowly) away for a minute.  I wouldn't say he likes it, but I think he'll do it - especially with a new (potential) friend to motivate him. 

The best part is that Thomas really likes this kid.  I hope that the kid (and his parents) grow to really like Thomas, too.  You may guess that (although very lovable) he can be... a lot to take sometimes.  There's been a shift with Thomas' friends lately.  He pretty much doesn't have any.  Never has.  He has classmates, but until recently he had very little interest in them.  All of a sudden, he gets to school and is so happy to hang out with his little friends (who he knows the names of and everything).  And they're happy to see him, which always makes me smile.

And yesterday he was so excited to go to our new neighbor's house, knock on the door to see if his friend could play, and then sat on his front steps to wait for him.

And it's all part of why I snatched up this fortuitous little red trike.

Saturday

Setting out to read outside with a big floppy hat and American Girl tote*.

(Brothers finding out that she's reading a novelization of the Return of the Jedi*  - with photo inserts).

Hugging 'Big Thomas'*

Figuring out (sort of) how to use the Slip'n'slide at a neighbor's house.

More crafting for the playroom - here's just a peek:

(We've made a lot of progress on the playroom.  I just want to wait to finish those final touches before I show you.)

Not shown: 3 games of Pretty Pretty Princess* (I won the first two!), a handful of Star Wars figures*, Aaron figuring out the perfect toy train track configuration, and a trip to the quilt shop (yum).

*The starred things are all yard sale finds - yesterday was a big neighborhood sale that I go to every year - my first yard saleing venture of the summer!  No amazing finds, but some fun stuff for the kids (and Princess got a purple corduroy jacket -yeah!)

yard sale recap

Alright, I'm surfacing from my vacation to tell you about our yardsale.  (btw, vacation is great!  Yesterday I finished the border on my quilt, sandwiched it, basted it, QUILTED it (machine, obviously), and trimmed it. 
And cut the binding.  Almost there!)

And for those of you who couldn't care less about a yard sale (What?!) scroll down and see the cute  little crafty I made!

.....

Anyhoo, getting ready for the yard sale wasn't as bad as I thought.  My mom helped me go through the clothes (we got rid of ALL the baby/toddler clothes except what I was saving for Monkey).  Everything was marked 50 cents except the really nice stuff or outfits (which I bundled together).

This was my living room while we were sorting.  You definitely can't see it all here - clothes EVERYWHERE!  Even I was surprised at how much we had. There ended up being more than 12 overflowing boxes to get rid of. (Plus 3 of maternity clothes and then all the 'big' stuff).   I was glad my mom was there, as she encouraged me to get rid of things that I otherwise might have kept (like the MANY dresses she made for Princess - I did keep a few...).  It was a little 'OH! Sniff!' while going through some of the baby boxes, but it was alright.

For the most part, the sorting was pretty fun - and, thanks to my mom, we got it done in just one naptime.  It would have taken me a week by myself.

We discovered that Monkey fits (barely) into the amazing elephant costume that my mom made for Thomas right before he turned 1.

We also discovered that Princess fits (barely) into the panties (diaper cover) from her very first easter dress.  She was about 9 months old.  I kid you not, that girl was one F.A.T baby.

Out goal was to 1: get rid of stuff - we marked everything low in order to get rid of it (high chair, swing, exersaucer, dollhouse - the list just keeps going - we had a ton of stuff) and 2: earn enough money for the playroom toy cabinets we picked out from IKEA.  It was a modest goal, but we exceeded it, so that's happy and now we have IKEA spending money (It opens here soon!) Woo hoo!

I really enjoyed talking to the people who shopped the sale.  I loved the little mexican grandma who bought some handmade baby blankets, the girl (who stole my heart because she had a speech delay) who fell in love with the My Little Ponies, the young couple who are expecting their first baby and walked their puppy around in the stroller to try it out (they bought quite a bit).  The clothes sold really well.

It was fun.

One of my concerns was handling the money.  I didn't want to be rifling through a pencil box full of cash to find change, nor did I want to set it down somewhere (which I totally would have done) and lose it.  So.... I made a Yard Sale Apron:

This is Princess modeling it.  After I made it I realized I made it way small - it looks much better on her, so from now on it'll be her craft/doll salon apron.

It was just a quicky project - made with leftover fabric from a bag from last summer and some bias tape.  I was getting a little sick of the fabric anyway...

Basically the front is divided into 4 pockets:  I figured one for 10's and 20's, one for 5's and 10's, one for 1's and one for change.  It worked REALLY well - I would highly recommend it!  Nothing fell out and it was really easy to make change.  The only problem (slight) was when Aaron manned the sale for a little bit - He just folded it up and kept it with him.

But I didn't expect him to wear it.

Book Sale

Today was the big downtown library's annual sale.**

We went with my parents and sister, so we could tag-team - we'd switch who was watching the kids outside and who was inside shopping.

Ahh, the books.

Do you see all the books?  They're all for sale!
It's a great opportunity to get hardcover books (for $1 to boot), school books, and anything for Princess - as it's nearly impossible to keep her in books.

It gets pretty crazy, with people pushing carts or hauling bags and boxes through cramped aisles.  It can be cool, though, people start chatting, and recommending books to other people...
I hung out in the Children's aisle, and the classics, mostly.

I weeded my full duffel bag (a little - just so you could zip it) because I remembered that at least one time I have written a $60 check here...

Total: $17.50.

$17.50?

Must go back in! (Seriously, I did!)

Chasing the kids at Library Square while it's Aaron's turn.
(Monkey wears his cape a lot).

Our loot - total = 37.50.

JF's, kids' non-fiction, a CD, books to cut up, cooking and gardening books, and lots of fiction.

(The tallest pile with 'Heidi' on top is all books for Princess.  Thomas listened to his new Curious George book - but only halfway - he's WAY into this new book I got him on eBay.)

Luckily, I have a big, strong husband to carry our huge bags of books 5 blocks to the car! (You don't usually have to park that far away, but there was a city event that had a bunch of streets blocked off...)

**They told me when I checked out that it's a bi-annual sale!  Apparently I've been missing the October sale - all these years!

He's Back!

He made it!

Look at Stanley all repaired and wrapped in plastic like he's new or something!

Hooray!

The repairman (who I would recommend)told me about... 9 times that I shouldn't let my husband get near it.  And he stuck a sticker on it to remind me to call him when it needs a tune-up.  (For the record, Aaron did nothing to it except take the case off!  It was the boys or me who caused any damage to it).

He even put new felt circles around the ... spool-holder-thingy.  And he told me several times that it's a good machine, which is nice to hear, you know?  I mean, it's a lower-end Kenmore from 9 years ago, but that's why I bought a Kenmore, because I thought it would last a really long time.

Now I'm going to put Stanley to work, to maybe pay for his repair bill.  I have a stack of fabric all cut and waiting for him.

**added later - I just sewed with him and Stanley is making the most delicious soft humming sound!  Much quieter than before!

And on a thrifting note, I found some awesome fabric yesterday:

The yellow is a king-sized sheet soon to be a summer skirt.  The others are all heavier, bag-making fabric.  Woo hoo!

I Heart Craig's List!

I got this buffet yesterday!

I've been looking for MONTHS for a cabinet/buffet/dresser that would look nice and help me organize better.  I really wanted to get a used one if I could.  We have extra paper, school supplies, etc. because of homeschooling.  It's getting a little  very out of control.  Now I have a place to put things!  And, because I can put some photos or something on top of it, I can clear off the shelf in one of our bookcases that is now holding my frames.  An extra shelf!  Hooray!

It came with this hutch, too.  I think it'll go up in my craft room bedroom to hold supplies. I need to go through and organize up there in a major way.  Aaron even just moved his clothes out of his dresser so that I could use his dresser for FABRIC!  How great is that!

This buffet worked out perfect (for me) because it was in the town where my mom lives, so she could go pick it up for me.  That's been one of my problems looking - if I  have to haul my kids to go see something I won't have room in the van for the item!  So I'm happy my mom was (once again) able to make my life a little easier!

My  next project will have to be a quick runner for the top of it.   So, my weekend is full of organizing/birthday projects - fun, fun!

Have a great weekend!

On Toys

I have SO much to do, including a lot of Christmas crafts and some overdue gifts plus Halloween costumes - so of course not much is actually getting done.  Oh well.  I did finish this gift - I'm fairly certain the future-owner of this shirt does not/will not read my blog. 

I've made this stencil before.  I love it - from stencilry.org.

So, speaking of Christmas, I'm starting to want to do some serious playroom-purging.  I'd like to pare down some before the kids get new stuff to put in there.  They always tend to be one-step ahead of me on that front.  Princess hasn't played with her Strawberry Shortcake doll for a long time - I was thinking I'd be safe getting rid of that - or at least putting it away somewhere - and then, when we made her Viking Boat who did she pick to sail it?  Ugh.
Thomas did the same thing with another toy yesterday.  One that I was keeping my eye on to see if they'd notice if it went AWOL.   What to do? 

Part of my problem is that we have good toys!  Not necessarily expensive (a lot from yard sales and gifts) but ones that have been thought about and are generally good quality and more than just a character toy.  So it's hard for me to get rid of them, sometimes.  Also, we don't know if we'll have another kid or not, so it's hard to get rid of all the baby toys without knowing that - and yet our storage room is overflowing with the clothes and toys....

**Later - My mom was here today and I left her with the kids and went to a thrift store  - made big headway on the Halloween front  - so that's good.  The stripey top is a Hanna Anderson PJ top - first time finding that brand used- yay!   The books are for Christmas gift tags, and I was excited about the pattern, except it's incomplete and the wrong size.  oh well.  Also saw 2 people from my neighborhood there.  That's how cool they are! :)

oh, my pretty pretty fabric!

On Saturday I had the 'morning off'.  I left to go hit that big fabric sale, and on the way stopped by a few yard sales.  Didn't find anything before I got to the store, but here's what I found at the store:

Happy, huh?  This store has only 1 or 2 sales a year - and they just put tons of bolts of cloth in the back rooms and they're all $2.99 - 3.99/yard.  This is nice quilting fabric, so it's a great deal.  You know you want to see them close up - go on, click!  I really like the bicycle print, and there are a few that deserve their own picture:
I got this cute pirate fabric - only a 'fat eighth' left of it - I think I'll applique it onto some shirts for the boys.  And then there's: Olivia!  I love this fabric, and could only find 1 'fat quarter' of it!  it is so cute, and must be put to some good purpose!  I also got a couple of yards of this gorgeous pale green material with a map of paris on it!  (or some other french city - haven't studied it too closely):

On the way to the bridal shower from the store I stopped at one more yard sale and  had  decent success at this one:  I spent $5, and got a couple pairs of pants for Princess, a few (cool) odds and ends and some fabric and trim.  This lady sold me the fabric (the bright blue and the tan), trim, and vintage embroidery transfers (kittens!) for $1.  Not amazing, but it's cool enough.  So, I was off to the shower on a high note - where I had fun, chatted with neighbors, and the bag (last post) was really appreciated.  A nice morning.