Six Course {thrifty} Lunch

I saw a great idea on Tip Junkie the other day: Twelve Course Lunches for kids. I thought this would be really fun to do for Nicky, but since Nicky is only 18 months old, I thought that a Six Course Lunch would be a better option until he gets older. The only problem was that I didn’t have a six cup muffin pan so I went to the thrift store where I found not only one, but TWO brand spankin’ new six cup muffin tins for fifty cents a piece. The pans will come in handy on Thursdays when I babysit this little terror:

I always feel like lunch needs to be especially fun when I have other little kids over. I did a “test lunch” with Nicky today, and it was a great success! We both had a lot of fun with the Six Course Lunch.

So much fun, in fact, that I had to give Nicky a re-fill because even I couldn’t resist eating out of little muffin cups.

Apron Fun

A few weeks ago my mom brought over a bag of clothes she was getting rid of. It’s tradition in our family to pass our clothes and other belongings around to one-another before we officially get rid of them (’tis the way of the thrifty). In the bag I found a long, white skirt with some lace and embroidery work on it. Even though I knew I’d never wear it, I felt like it needed to spend some time in my closet. The other day I pulled it out to take a look, and I found the perfect use for it:

I cut off the bottom portion and used some red fabric scraps to make the tie. Now I have a fun apron with a vintage look and half a skirt left to make something else.

Now I just need to figure out the point of wearing an apron. Look at me! I dress pretty when I bake!

For The Little Ones

Some of my favorite things to buy at thrift stores and yard sales are toys. Toys are one of the easiest and least expensive things you can find because everyone, at some point, has too many and is desperate to get rid of them. I always tell Nicky we’re going to the Toy Store when we go to the Deseret Industries down the street. Sooner or later he’ll figure out that I’m conning him, but for now, the toy aisle at the D.I. is pure heaven.

It’s so easy to find used toys in like-new quality. Most of the time, the toy simply ran out of batteries and the parents never replaced them so it ended up donated because it wasn’t exciting anymore. That’s when I swoop in with a soapy towel and a fresh back of “AA”s. Sometimes, when I’m lucky, the toy will still have battery power. This toy was working perfectly when I bought it, and Nicky has played with this religiously since he was 6 months old:

I couldn’t have spent a better dollar. Here is a recent $3 purchase I made:

These currently retail for about $30, and I actually considered buying one for Nicky’s Christmas gift last year. For obvious reasons, I’m very glad I didn’t. I did have to put new batteries in this one, and the results were spectacular.

Another awesome toy I bought recently was a tool bench:

It was yet another perfect find because Nicky, like most boys, is fascinated by his Daddy’s tools. The bench was only $4, and I also found tools to go with it including wrenches, screwdrivers, a drill, a hammer, a saw, and this bad boy:

The blade really rotates, and it was only $1.50. My overall total for the bench and ten tools was $11.50. I get butterflies just thinking about it.

I have a sister-in-law that always nags me about how many toys Nicklaus has. The funny thing is that her kid, who is the same age, has just as many - if not more - and she pays full price for them. But that’s a family issue I won’t get into right now.

In summary, if you need some cheap entertainment for your child, take a cruise down the toy aisle at a thrift store.

You May Blame My Husband

Thanks to all of you who entered my first giveaway here at Thrifty & Nifty. A winner has been selected, but first, allow me to remind you that I’ll definitely be doing this again so if you didn’t win this time, hang in there.

To select the winner, I had Scotty choose a number between one and ten and he chose seven. The seventh commenter was Lindsey, so congrats, Lindsey.

Stripping For Comments: Summer Fun

At Fluent Brittish, I recently started a feature called Stripping for Comments.

S- Shower

T- The

R- Readers

I- In

P- Prizes

What better way to use my thrift shopping skills than to host my first ever Thrifty & Nifty giveaway? The item up for grabs is a bright, cheerful plaque displaying one’s love for Summer.

These metal cut-outs are really popular in Utah right now. I found the original plaque at Deseret industries for $1.50. It was obviously painted and assembled by a Beehive (aka: a 12-13 year old Mormon girl - they have specific “crafting tendencies” that stand out). I pried the metal plaque from the wood it was attached to and gave it a good scrubbing (it had acrylic paint all over it). I attached it to a new piece of wood, ran some wire and ribbon through it, and Voila! C’est magnifique!

It’s thrifty, it’s nifty, and it can be yours. To enter to win the Summer Fun plaque, leave a comment on this post telling me your Top 5 Obsessions. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on Tuesday, July 8.

To see what my obsessions are, check out my guest post at Hola, Isabel.

Interview With a Chair

Britt: Welcome to Thrifty & Nifty, Chair. I’m so happy you were able to make it. Let’s start off by talking about your sense of self-worth. I feel it’s important for each of us to recognize the good in ourselves, and, from what I hear, you’ve been having some self-esteem issues.

Chair: That’s right, Britt. Lately, I’ve been feeling unloved… forgotten… abandoned.

Britt: I’m sorry to hear that, Chair. I want to encourage you to value yourself. If you were to put a price on your countenance right now, what would it be?

Chair: Oh… about three dollars.

Britt: Three dollars? That’s it? Boy George, Chair! You’ve got to be worth more than that.

Chair: Nope. Just three dollars.

Britt: I understand you’ve been through some hard times; your children were controlling and abusive. Is that correct?

Chair: Yes. The children were incredibly possessive and often took advantage of me. I’ve been thrown around, tipped over sideways, climbed on, and even….. (sniff)…. I can’t say it…

Britt: There, there chair. You can tell me.

Chair:THEY WROTE ON ME! There, I said it. I’ve been vandalized!!! Bwah… ha… ha… ha.

Britt: Tissue?

Chair: Yes, please.

Britt: Well, Chair, I have some good news for you. I didn’t bring you here today just to talk about self-image. I want to take action… get you feeling better about yourself. I’ve arranged for you to have a makeover to help you fall in love with yourself again.

Chair: Really?!? You would do that for me?

Britt: Well, Chair, we can’t all be Oprah, but I’m willing to do this for you.

Chair: Thank you so much!!

——————————————–

Britt: Well, Chair, are you ready to reveal your new look? Come on out!

Chair: (smiles) (blows kiss)

Britt: How do you feel?

Chair: I feel so good! So young!

Britt: Well, I have another surprise in store for you. I’ve secured a position for you in the Brittish household where you will serve for many years as…..

(drum roll)

…. the Time Out Chair!!!

Chair: (gasp) OMG, OMG, OMG! That’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of. How will I ever thank you, Britt?

Britt: Just keep my kid in one place for two minutes fifteen times a day. That’s all I ask.

Necklace Organizer

Several months ago I bought a red piece of wood with nails in it from Deseret Industries for $1. It sat out in my garage for a long, long time (as many things do), but today I finally brought it in the house and did something with it.

I needed a place to hang my necklaces (as opposed to allowing them to lay jumbled together in a gigantic knot at the bottom of my nightstand drawer), so I used my piece of wood to make a necklace organizer.

I painted the wood green and covered it with 12×12 scrapbook paper using a spray-on adhesive. I then sanded the edges of the paper so they adhered better to the wood and tied a ribbon around the middle to cover the seam (the wood is longer than 12″ so I had to double my paper).

Four nails later, I had a funky, new place to store my necklaces. I hung the organizer on the back wall of my bedroom closet, and I think it will serve its purpose well.

The over-all cost was less than $2.

Where It All Began

When my mom started dragging me around to yard sales every Saturday morning, I was less than thrilled. We’d wander from yard to yard digging through people’s dirty, old stuff only to find nothing. After weeks of finding nothing more than a bread pan and an old Betty Crocker Cookbook, I finally found the item of my dreams, the item that made me fall in love with second-hand shopping: an old window frame.

I was so nervous to ask the seller how much she wanted for the window frame because I’d seen them in antique shops for $40-60. I was so nervous, in fact, that I walked to the car to leave because I thought it wasn’t worth the panic (I have social anxiety).

My mom made me go back, though, because she wanted to look at more stuff. The seller started chit-chatting with us giving me the perfect opportunity to ask her about the window without vomiting on her. Imagine my excitement when the lady shifted her weight and said, “Oh… a dollar.”

A dollar!

That was over four years ago, and I still get excited when I think about it.

The wreath? Not such a good deal. But the window is one of my Top Five Nifty Thrifty Purchases, and it planted a new obsession in my soul.

A New Look For Old Stuff

One of the best ways to be thrifty and save money is to continue using items you already have.

Last August I bought a new sectional sofa, and I continued using my old throw pillows on it because, as much as I wanted new pillows, I couldn’t bring myself to pay for them.

Before

Lately I’ve been wanting to update my living room a bit, and since everything in the room is really neutral (other than my ugly forest green carpet left over from the previous owners - bah! So hideous!), I wanted to add something with a little more color. I’ve been drawn to chocolate brown and green lately, and I found the perfect fabric at Jo-Ann (on sale for 50% off! Woot!)

After

I re-covered the ivory pillows in green (after cutting off the beaded fringe - anyone need beads?), but the red pillows had a more unusual shape, so I gutted them and used the batting in my new brown pillows, leaving them slightly lumpy, but things will work out in the end.

They are so fun, and they completely changed the look of my living room for under $15.

Supplies to Help Improve Used Merchandise

One of the more challenging aspects of thrift shopping is that the merchandise often requires a little bit of work, cleaning in particular. That’s why thrift shopping takes imagination, you have to see an item for what it can become, not for what it is.

People always ask me, “How do you find all this stuff? When I go to the thrift store, all I find is crap.”

The truth is, without a little TLC, most of the stuff you’ll find in a thrift store really is crap. The majority of the stuff I find in thrift stores doesn’t walk out of there in ready-to-display form, I have to put some work into it.

I try to keep my updating process simple by only purchasing things that I can re-finish during “nap time.” My son, Nicky, takes short naps, so about an hour is my standard unless it’s something I’m deeply passionate about.

To give you an idea of how I update thrift store purchases, here is a list of some of the supplies I keep on hand and what I use them for:

Sandpaper

I always keep a package of multi-grade sandpaper in the house for use on wood items. I have completely sanded-down and re-finished a few pieces of furniture, but I’m not a fan of the work, so you’ll probably never anything like that posted here. I have an electric sander, but I usually only sand by hand. Mostly I use sandpaper to soften edges and remove a little bit of paint for an “antique look.”

Stain

Stain is a very dangerous substance (causes cancer and birth defects and is highly flammable), so I use it rarely, but I love the look of stain over acrylic paint. It adds a nice variation to the paint color.

Spray Paint

I like to use spray paint on metal and small surfaces. The cheap stuff ($1 or less) works fine on most indoor projects. For outdoor projects, it’s better to use a rust-resistant spray paint, which costs a little more. The more unique color you want, the more you’ll pay for it. I use white, ivory, and black on most of the things I spray paint to keep it inexpensive.

Acrylic Paint

Acrylics come in a variety of colors and work well on wood.  Acrylic paint also washes out of clothing (use Pine Sol and a toothbrush), so I use it on as many projects as I can (am clumsy).

Latex Paint

The problem with latex paint is that it comes in large quantities and can be very expensive. I’ve used leftover paint from my walls on various projects, but I rarely purchase latex for a specific project. I keep a can of black and a can of white on-hand, but otherwise I try to avoid it because of the cost. There are some projects where latex paint is the best option, so it’s best to adequately evaluate how badly you want the item and how much work you’re willing to put into it.

Glue

Glue gun, super glue, tacky glue, wood glue, glue stick, etc. I think you can all figure out what I use glue for: to stick things together.

Basic Hardware

I always keep a variety pack of nails, screws, and wall anchors in the house. I also keep a few packages of picture hangers to hammer into the back of things I want to hang on the wall.

Basic Tools

I spent $14.99 on a tool set for myself, and it was one of the best purchases I ever made. First of all, my tools are purple, so my husband is repulsed by them and I never have to worry about him taking them (ok, that’s not true. He borrowed my tape measure, and I’m still waiting for him to give it back). Secondly, I use them all the time for random tasks throughout the house. It’s hard to imagine how i lived before I had my own tools.

Staple Gun

If glue or nails won’t do it, hopefully a staple gun will. Staples work well with upholstery and wood projects.

Cleaning Supplies

It’s a given: most things you bring home from a thrift store or yard sale are filthy and dirty. Not knowing the hygienic history of an item can be really bothersome so a proper cleaning is a must. In reality, a simple wash with hot water and dish soap will do the job, but if you feel that’s not enough, then go ahead and do what you gotta do. I usually use dish soap or Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap to wash up my thrift store purchases. I’m not a huge Germ Freak, so after a basic wash, I usually don’t have a problem with used items, but you have to do what you’re comfortable with.

I recommend always considering how much money you’ll have to invest in a project before it’s satisfactory to you. Sometimes the time and money isn’t worth it, but often times, it can be very rewarding. Use your best judgment and only purchase what you’re willing to work on.