Thrifty AND Chic?

Yes, it is possible to be thrifty and still find amazing items for your home.  You can also find gently-used clothing at an ounce of the price.  Case in point. . . I took 2 of my kids with me to the DI (which is our local version of a thrift store).  The one in particular we went to had just moved to a new, much larger building, so we were anxious to see what treasures we could find there.  I usually have the best luck finding clothes for my girls, in particular my youngest, Ella.  Ella has grown about 5 feet tall in the past year and so all of her pants and shirts are too short for her.  Plus, she needed summer dresses, and we found just that. 

Here's Ella's haul!

She will be darling in her "new" outfits!

This little Downeast Girl dress cost $1!

She informed me that she would be wearing

this on the first day of school.

Here is a set of chipboard letters

from Making Memories, $1!

I thought I might use the outside

as a stencil for some signs.

How can I possibly go wrong for $1?

Now, you might ask, "What do a cute ornate jar

with a red lid and a nutcracker have in

common?"  Absolutely nothing!

Jaggyr is just in love with nutcrackers.

He didn't go with me to the DI, so he

gave me some of his hard-earned cash

just in case I might come across a

nutcracker. . . and I did. . . and

I couldn't pass it up for .75 to make a

little guy happy.

Nutcrackers actually scare me

more than a little.  Their eyes

are so far apart, their teeth are

always showing.  I don't know, they

just seem a little creepy to me.

I got these 2 shelves which were identical,

until I painted Caromal Colours Parchment

over the black on one.

I liked how it turned out, so will

be painting the other one as well.

These shelves were $2 each.

You can't find prices that cheap,

except maybe at a yard sale.

It took me less than an hour

to paint and distress the white shelf.

Total Transformation!

This may look like an ordinary whiskey

barrel with beautiful red geraniums and

sweet potatoe vine, but what you don't know

is that I bought a hanging basket full of

red geraniums from The Home Depot

on clearance for only $5, regularly priced $26.97!

I just separated the geraniums and re-planted them.

So not only do I go to thrift stores, I

seek out clearance prices everywhere

I go!  You just need to be willing to search.

I got a package of the little flags at

Target in their $1 section and placed

them around my yard.

Below is the wood flag I got at a yard sale

for only $2.  I also used this as a pattern

to make more flags.

As you can see, we are so ready for the 4th of July!

Thrift stores truly hold treasures if you

are willing to take the time to search for them.

By now, I have a hard time paying full price

for really anything.

Next stop, Extreme Couponing!