~ Thrifty Mermaid ~ Inspirations and Creative Endeavors of one Mermaid by the Sea...

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Soccer Thursdays

Ahhhhhh, Soccer Thursdays have become a tradition in our young marriage. It is Miller's night to play soccer with his buddies for a few hours and it is a few hours for me to have TV time! I know, probably would not be a bad idea for me to have an exercise commitment instead but....Hey, we live in a studio apartment and thus, we have ONE television! That means most of my time is spent watching soccer, wrestling and westerns! I've started spoiling myself on Thursdays by declaring it a no cook night (for me!) and I usually rent a movie to watch as well. Tonight I watched Tyler Perry's "The Family that Preys." I liked it, it was deeper than last week's pick of "The Women" with Meg Ryan. Of course, I love Tyler Perry anyway, it was different to see him not playing Madea. I think he is brilliant. I love how he reads people and portrays them in his movies. So now that my Miller is home, wrestling is on....and I blog....

Tonight, Miller spoiled me! (There he is in my favorite Ecko shirt!) He made me dinner before he left for soccer. Jamaican brown stew chicken and dumplings. Yummy! He has taught me how to make it, but anytime another Jamaican is over for dinner they say, "Erin you cooked!" They only need to take one look at the dumplings, that are supposed to have a little dent in them, (I still haven't mastered yet), and know it was me that cooked and not Mr. Miller. (sigh) I am a few long miles away from being a domestic diva!

While Miller is watching all those programs on television that don't keep my attention for long, I get some crafting done. My latest project is an altered composition book I'm swapping on swap-bot. It is a writing prompt journal.

This is the cover:

I love the felt leaves. I actually scored them in a bargain bin at AC Moore for $1.50!! I know I'm going to have a lot more fun with those...they add a dash of dimension to any project.

I had a bit of fun with the first of ten pages I'm supposed to decorate inside. This is a list of writing prompts I borrowed from http://creativewritingprompts.com/ I used a Dymo old fashioned labeler. Click...click...click....click...click lol It gets a little addictive!

On the next page I practiced my doodling! (That just doesn't sound right! lol) I used a black glaze marker to do all the outlines and then I used some kiddy Crayola markers to color them in. The inspirations on this page are from Sark's "Inspiration Sandwich." Her books are so much fun, they remind me of reading Shel Silverstein poems when I was younger.
This is the page I just finished (yes, I've more work to do...) This is an image I love of an old fashioned girl by the sea. I used a word search pirate puzzle as a background and went to town. This is a collage to spike inspiration. I learned something though about putting glitter glue on shiny stickers--when they dry, they slide off! I had to use glue dots to put them back in place. :o)

Now that my hubby is home...I get to go snuggle with him while he watches wrestling. Really, I do miss him when he's gone :o)

Friday, February 27, 2009

A Thrift-tastic Day!!!

"What?" Did you say it is sixty degrees outside!" That's right! Get cleaned up we're going thrift shopping!!! Yippeee! My handsome and messy nephew didn't go with us today, but I thought this picture was just too cute to pass up posting here!

It was a GORGEOUS day outside today! A wonderful hint of spring being on its way! My husband joined me today for a little venture to a couple of my favorite thrift shops!

Our first stop was at Saint Joan of Arc Thrift Shop in Orleans. (63 Canal Road, 508-255-4476 Year round: Mon. thru Fri.: 10-4 Sat: 10-1) This is one of my favorite Cape thrift stores! I seldom leave out of this large and tidy store without something... Today was no exception! While less than usual I did find a few things...

I love these Anne Geddes baby bunny cards, they are blank inside, but I think they'll make perfect Easter cards! I got four cards with envelopes for $1.00. I also got a pack of glitter Easter stickers for .50 cents. I also got a pack of vintage note cards for .50 cents. I am excited about the Easter items, I love ALL holidays! This is a good start...


Next, we headed up 6A to another favorite thrift shop, Our Lady of the Cape Thrift Shop in Brewster. (Luke's Plaza-Corner of Rte. 6A & Lower Rd, 508-896-5377 Year round: Mon. thru Fri.: 10-4 Sat.: 10-3:30) It was a fortuitous visit, indeed!

I nabbed these three shirts, two of which were new with tags!!! They were each $4.00. The white crochet top is from Silhouettes, short sleeved and perfect for spring. The pink one is Denim 24/7 from Roaman's, it is embroidered, light weight and perfect for spring as well! The third shirt is the glitzy one with pink, gold and cream stripes perfect for a night out! Those of you who, like me, fit into the Big and Beautiful category, know you're striking gold when you find stylish plus size clothes at a thrift store! So this collection was a bonanza! (dun dunna, dun dunna, dun, BONANZA!) lol Obviously, this find alone would've made me happy! But there was more... I got a package of these clever note cards (7 cards for $1.00), they have pasta recipes on the back of them! I thought they would make fun cards to accompany a housewarming gift or to send along with cooking, kitchen or recipe theme swap on swap-bot.com.
Speaking of swaps, I am currently in a tropical theme swap on swap-bot.com. I thought this ceramic spoon rest ($1.00) would be perfect...although it may be hard for me to give away (blush)! I love all things tropical and this cute little Caribbean cottage coupled with the palm trees and hibiscus, make it hard to part with! We'll have to see how generous I'm feeling when its time to wrap up the swap...
My last find to report is this lot of zippers! There were 11 in a Ziploc bag, all different colors for $1.00! Now that was a steal. I also snagged this Scrapbook Etc. magazine. I am particularly excited with this issue because it has an article on doodling. I love free-hand work on scrapbook pages and in collages. I'll have to share if there are any original ideas!

All in all, it was a great day! We finished by grabbing lunch and sharing it while gazing over the view across from the Chatham lighthouse. It was a beautiful, beautiful day!

There is a pretty good list of Cape Cod thrift shops below, it also includes some of our wonderful flea markets. I can't wait for it to warm us so I can venture out to those! I know there are a few hardy souls who sell their wares at the Wellfleet Drive-In Theater even during this time of year on the weekends...hmmmm...perhaps that would be something to do tomorrow! Of course, that depends if I can get off the computer at a normal hour and off to bed... Sweet dreams all!

Cape Cod thrift stores & flea markets: http://www.capecodtravel.com/attractions/familyfun/at_fleathrift.shtml










Thursday, February 26, 2009

Adventures of a Newbie

Today has been a learning experience for me! Besides some random blogging on myspace, this is a whole new wonderful world to me! I've had a great time today reading blogs of other thrifters and crafters. I have had such a great time, my eyes are bleary!

I've decided to share the projects I've recently finished for swap-bot.com swaps. Seeing someone's crafts lets you get to know them a bit, so I figure this is a good way to introduce myself to people who might browse on by...

This is a necklace and earring set I made for a swap partner who loves skeleton keys. I really loved the way it came out, it was originally a Valentines Key chain ($1.00 at the Christmas Tree Shop), I altered easily into a pendant by removing the key ring and adding a split ring in its place. I ended up buying a couple more after Valentines Day for only .25 cents a piece to make further projects!

This is a matchbox I made, it has decorative paper, bead and fiber embellishments. The second pic also shows some of the fun stuff I filled it with, including a pair of glass heart earrings I made. Please forgive the photography here--I need to invest in a new digital camera (blush), too bad they don't show up often on my thrifting routes!


I am excited to go off thrift shopping tomorrow, hopefully I will be able to share some great finds tomorrow night!