it has now been 18 days since i started my life as a handcrafted thrifty mama.
as i tippity type, 18 days seems rather a little amount of time, somehow it feels longer...
i'm pleased to report that so far it's been going 'pretty peachy'.
i have resisted the persuasiveness of Mr Tempter,
i have left Target with only cat litter in hand,
and
i have drawled over anthropologie's emails that appear daily in my inbox,
but i have not broken.
the biggest reward thus far, is the lack of money being drained from my purse.
when we are out and about, especially in the likes of Target, our #4 will ask
"can i... pretty pleeeease?"
now, i just have to say,
"but i can't... remember it's against my thrifty handcrafted rules"
and that's it.
he accepts it,
understands it,
shuts up about it,
how perfect is that!
so i recommend this thrifty lifestyle, if only to have the brilliant excuse to say "no" to everything tacky, mass produced and overpriced in the toy department
and best of all, not having to listen to
"but mom... please" for several hours afterwards...
that all being said, thrifty finds have been at an all time low.
sods law really.
fabric and 'vintage notion' finds, are non existent and so i must rely upon my trusty stash to see me through for the time being...
i have several projects i am working on around the shed,
all of which involve
glossy paint,
handcraftedness with yarn
and thriftiness with accessories
i have perused the aisles of vintage on etsy for
wallpaper scraps
and
mirrors,
coming up trumps...
whilst waiting for these pieces to arrive i have got busy with a couple of things on my 'wish to achieve' list... and yes you are quite right, i did not get busy with the laundry and washing 'used dog'...
i got busy with covering the seat cushion of my 70's armchair.
the fabric i used came from a thriftstore house coat i picked up a while back but didn't want to cut into... i had visions of wearing it around the shed to feed the chickens in.
however, after several months of loving it from a far in my fabric pile, i actually tried the thing on...
sadly, i was not the vision of 'bohemian thrifty goddess' i had imagined i would be, thus immediately taking it off and locating my scissors.
the color is the most perfect sludgy vomit green, mixed in with pops of turquoise and purple.
it needed to be seen... if not on me, then in our shed.
i'm quietly amazed that for a twenty minute quick sew job. no proper measuring, just a black crayola maker and my trusty Miss Ethel, the cover actually fits...
tomorrow she brings you part two, where she embraces 'thrifty luminous' yarn ~ Tif
footynote: and if like our #4, you may question my 'cat litter' buying ways... i pointed out to him, that i cannot 'handmake' cat litter and i do not believe it is possible to find such an item 'used'. to which he shrugged and said "fair enough"...
14 comments:
i have to agree that finding vintage fabric is quite hard.
also, the chair cushion looks fab!
I am sure that someone told me once that you could use shredded newspaper! But maybe I will keep that to myself. Maybe the consequence of using it would be truly nasty.
Pomona x
i knew it pomona!!! i just knew someone would know a 'cat litter' alternative...
i don't think i can do the shredded paper, not with little olive's paper loving ways.
perhaps i need to see cat litter as a 'grocery' item :)
It's definitely a grocery item in my eyes. You are safe. It's a bit like buying toilet paper really isn't it? Does one expect us to use leaves? I think not.
you simply cannot know how many times i have come home from thrifting with, say, the perfect housecoat for myself, only to find, upon looking in the mirror with said housecoat on my body, that it was not quite so perfect. i then have to re-purpose it in some fashion, so that it no where in the least, resembles it's first life.
Yes, pet care items make the 'grocery list' indeed. The bearded one so thoughtfully remembered to pick up soap for the shower, he seemed rather pleased with himself when he exclaimed, "It's handmade soap!" To which I of course replied, "Well done dear, well done." We may turn him in to a convert yet.
Now, if I can just get the 4 year old to stop grabbing the shiny plastic at the shops.
Lovely cushion!
sarah, that's fab... 'leaves' puts it all into perspective. thank you!!!
Hi Tif
The cushion is beautiful - I adore the vibrant (vomit) green, and I never thought I would use the words "vomit" and "adore" in the same sentence!!!!
Like you I am noticing how little money I've spent in nearly 3 weeks. In fact I had the same £10 note in my purse for over a week until I met a friend in town for lunch yesterday and on browsing every Charity Shop in Bath I came away with 2 hardback books and a lovely wool cardigan for my £10. Happy as Larry, that's me! (I think my bank Manager is a little happier too.....)
Can't wait for part 2 !
Denise x
I absolutely LOVE the cushion. The pops of turquoise are just my thing really, and I'm glad to see you keep on adding in little bits of brightness!
Someone I know who is super thrifty (read tight)used to recycle his cat litter! He removed the 'lumps' and then washed the litter and laid it to dry.Then re-used.
Bizarre I know!
Oh this is FABULOUS! Again! I so love stopping by. Thank you :) K
Good going Tif~ that sounds like a great way to break kids of the 'can I pleases' in the store...
I have heard of the shredded newspaper litter too but think you could safely put it on your 'grocery list'....
I really like the pillow on top of the 'vomit green' one too :)
I need to tell you....
Yo have one of the most beautiful blogs I've ever visited.
I'll follow you!!
I think you have a lovely blog! Anthropologie...I don't think I could handle daily emails - such pretty stuff! Much of their stuff is import, which I think most of the time is a fancy way of saying made in china. Just another reason to love thrifting :-).
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