Polo Shirts into Geometric Throw Pillows

It has been a long time since I posted regularly, so I'm playing catch-up on a few posts that I started at the end of the summer. My roommates and I have moved to a new house since then (more on that later) so most of the photos in this post were taken at the old place. I'll be showing you more of the new house as it comes together. In the meantime, here's a project with a little summer color to brighten up your winter days.

This past summer I found myself adoring the brightly colored and geometric pillows I saw in catalogs, blogs, and stores. And though I love the classic, baroque pattern of the throw pillows on our couch, they are a little heavy and dark looking for the warmer months.

Wrap Your Gifts With Thrift

Though the holidays are behind us, I thought I'd share with you a project that was well received this past season of cheer. With all the time and money that we put into finding the perfect gifts for our loved ones, we naturally want to present those gifts in wrap worthy of their purpose. But after all that shopping, who wants to spend another fortune on gift wrap?

If that sounds like a sales pitch, I'm starting to view sharing advice about thrifty living as a pitch for better living. You just might be able to have your cake and eat it too.

Don't worry, I'm not going to suggest something like wrapping your gifts in newsprint and fastening it with staples (I had a friend who wrapped gifts intended for his girlfriend this way). Instead, I'll describe my strategy for finding quality and creative gift wrap supplies for cheap at the thrift store.

Thifty Find: Clutch Purses

Fashion trends tend to repeat themselves. What's in fashion now is probably going to fashionable again down the road, whether fifteen, thirty, or fifty years from now. I think this is one reason bargain-hunters like me get so addicted to thrift store shopping. If it was popular ten-plus years ago, chances are you can find it in a thrift store.

Right now, popular fashion strikes me as a whole mess of later 20th century revivals. We've got some Mod style from the 60s, maxi dresses and sky-high platforms from the 70s, skinny jeans and high waisted shorts from the 80s, and flannel shirts and floral prints from the 90s.

I'm also seeing a lot of clutch purses.

The clutch purse first appeared as a fashion item in the 1920s and 1930s, but the ones I've been seeing in all the trendy shops like H&M seem very 1980s.

To me that means bold colors, boxy shapes, and fun textures. A few minutes of searching the purse rack at the thrift store and I found two!

DIY Blues: Closet Your Inner Shopaholic

The title makes it sound like this is a gloomy entry, but stay calm and read on.

There's one place I shop that's even cheaper than the thrift store. And by cheaper I mean free. It's my own closet. It makes me feel like a bit of a hoarder to admit it, but there are plenty of clothes in my closet that I forget about or that I don't wear very often. So sometimes when I get the urge to shop, instead of heading for the thrift store, I head to my own bedroom.

Last time I did this I pulled out these three items:

Thrifty Find: Dark Brown Lace Top

This top was one of those things I found when looking for something completely different. I was trying on skirts and found it on the re-stock rack while waiting for the dressing room. It turned out to be the only flattering thing I tried on!

The top was $4.99 at Goodwill. No label to tell me who made it, but it is good quality material, so it could have been from a store like Macys. I wore it over a black shirt and pants for work, but I'm searching for the perfect skirt or dress to pair it with.

Frugal Fourth of July Party

We had a pretty un-festive Independence Day last year, so this year I decided we would make up for it by throwing a party. With a large lawn and huge deck on the roof of the garage, our rental house begs to be used for entertaining. It wasn't long before red, white, and blue decor started catching my eye at the thrift store. This post is about all my finds for our party, and how awesomely little I spent on them.

My first find was at the Salvation Army. Back in April they had crates of little fabric American flags. I got a pack of a dozen medium-sized ones for $3.49 and another pack of 120 mini flags also for $3.49! I used the boyfriend's staple gun to attach the flags to the fence along our lawn.

Mid-Century Makeover

A little while ago I came across a sort of holy grail of thrift store finds. It's one of those items that I've always pined for but never found. One of those items that I figured had been snatched up by collectors and re-sold by trendy interior designers to their meticulously stylish clients. In other words, I never dreamed of finding one.

I found a vintage student's chair.