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

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!