Friday Tidbits

It's been a week since we were hit by the flu...I'm not yet 100% but trying to make it through my days...There has been a lot of napping and body aches, sore throats ...But getting rest is first and foremost. I got out a few Autumn things and spruced up our great room. Just small touches here and there. I guess I have a thermos collection? funny...But hey it looks pretty cool grouped together with my old metal trays. I am hoping to find some gumption to make a couple fabric/quilty pumpkins to put up there...Soon I hope. I found some fun stuff thrifting last week too! The vintage patchwork pup was one buck...I have always wanted one and had planned on making one..but there he was waiting for me to snag him up sitting in a pile of stuffed animals! I also found som vintage orange and yellow tupper ware bowls, an old cake pan, an apple basket, vintage lace for sewing projects, and some floral fabric. It was a good thriftscore kind of day.

I found this quilt last month from an Instagram shop for dirt cheap. I thought it would be a great piece for the end of the bed or snuggle blanket watching a movie. nothing fancy but worth the price I paid. 

I also made this adorable Autumn wreath for our front door to cheer things up and bring on the festive fun that comes with Fall. I love love love how it turned out with my 70's calico fabrics. 

Well I'm off to take another rest. I can hardly keep my head up and this tea is tomorrow, 

Happy Friday y'all

Summer Vintage Finds

I love Thrift shopping. I go on a regular basis, hunting for little treasures for my home and sometimes to set aside for future selling. This Summer I have found a few vintage dolls, sewing notions & supplies, fabrics, pot holders and kitschy goodness, 

sheets and useful storage items in my sewing room.

I was excited to find two quilts as well. My recent find was a Grandmother's Garden Quilt...I have always wanted one but never could afford some of the price tags on them. This beauty was $10. I saw it hanging there and was a little weary to look at the price...thinking nah, it would be to good to be true if it was affordable. I saw 10 and was like...Um, yeah! I snagged it off the hanger so fast it would have knocked your socks off. I really couldn't believe this hand sewn, colorful quilt from the 40's was so cheap! it made my day, that's for sure!!!!

We also found these adorable lunch containers for Freckles new school year. 

They are not vintage but it reminded me of little floral vintage fabric... The colors are so sweet...

And all $1.50 each from Daiso...eeep!

 I love a great bargain!

Afternoon Alone

Today I had an afternoon to myself. Freckles was at school and Mr. Darling was busy working at home. I had to kill four hours...So off I went to "Not Too Shabby" in San Jose. 

It was really nice to browse slowly through the whole place.

 I wasn't in a rush. and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was me time! 

The old chippy, rusted, charm and goodness was complete eye candy. I actually went through some of it twice just to get a good look through every cranny. And how I wanted to take many things home...It just wasn't in the budget to do so.

After a time there, I went to a couple thrift stores an found some treasures that I could afford. I spent three hours in the thrift shops, went down every isle and almost every rack. 

I found a couple large tins...One I will use in something crafty and the other will be for my garden. I also found two little tart tins which will also be used in crafty goodness. I found a sweet yellow rose ring and yellow bangle, two cotton tops which were brand new from Old Navy, a sweet sweater, a lacy skirt for my sons girlfriend, two vintage books, a lace table cloth, a vintage yellow ceramic basket bowl, two granny square tops I am thinking maybe making them into throw pillows or crochet them together to make a purse. we'll see. I also found this funky, colorful piggy bank..which I think I may be using in my garden as well. I have mental plans for my garden...Will share soon. I also picked up some colorful plastic Easter eggs, a sweet Easter basket for Freckles,With all I bought, I picked sale tags and had a 30% off coupon and left spending $40 bucks. Now that is a deal for all I got!

It was a good day for popping tags!

Thrift Shopping For Men....

As a frugal gal....I do a lot of thrift shopping. Most everything we own is secondhand. Through the years I have found a lot of great bargains that were in our budget and nice. Just because it is thrifted certainly does not mean it's not nice. We have always been on a tight budget...I grew up fairly poor....you learn to appreciate things and to be frugal with everything from buying groceries to buying clothes. I do buy things new at times...But mostly I will buy secondhand. I think even if I had a ton of money in my budget to spend. I might splurge a little, but to be honest, the way I grew up and the years of using frugality...I would probably still look out for the clearance racks and bargains. My husband appreciates the bargains I come home with. It doesn't break the bank. He doesn't mind one bit if I came home with secondhand clothing for him either. Which brings me to this post. He is not one to go shopping for himself. He does not enjoy shopping. Mainly, I have been the one to pick out his clothing over our 20 years of marriage. He feels I have a good eye and my taste is suitable. And, he always likes what I choose for him. He is a simple kind of guy. He is not one that is too concerned, or fussy with his looks or fashion. He is most comfortable in a pair of jeans a T~shirt.

In the most recent years he has tired of wearing just a T~shirt and started to wear casual button ups or polos. That's simple enough. He does however have a preference to colors. He will absolutely not choose to wear pink or purple, nor will he wear pastels or gaudy prints. He generally stays in the earth tones. He like plaids and stripes...Which makes my job very easy. He is still a young man, so I try to stay with what is "IN"...Still keeping to a classic comfortable look. Thrifting for him can be hard at times...depending on the stock of the store. I choose gently worn with no stains or new items. Many are name brand or just nice. I also try to stay in a good price range. While thrifting I do not like to spend over $8 for a shirt. The most recent purchases I made ranged from $5~$7. Sometimes I will have a stamp card from my local thrift that gives me 30% off my entire purchase, or look for tag sales, or clothing sales. If I donate two bags of stuff to my local shop, they in return give me a 25% off voucher for my next purchase. These all come in handy while shopping for my man. 

I was able to buy him 6 button ups, short and long sleeved on sale this week for a whopping total of  $20. It was a great bargain...And he loved what I chose for him! If you are looking for a great gift or just need to stock up on some good clothes for the man, and you or your guy in your life doesn't care if it's second hand...I highly recommend thrift shopping. There are great bargains..A great place to find a whole wardrobe under a fraction of the cost for new things. The items I bought here, are in such great shape, you can't even tell they were previously owned. We are on a budget...This is how we roll. I am not ashamed... not one bit. And boy is he gonna look good!

Revamping

Freckles and I took a little trip to the Thrift shop...Momma brought home some bright, fun goodies. I have been collecting vintage sheets and linens for a while now and stashing them away for craft projects. They all have been sitting for sometime now, waiting for me to get out of this crazy funk hiatus I have been in since the last year. It has been a hard year 1/2...But I am just about feeling ready to start creating again. There were a couple false starts in the past months as I just wasn't feeling it. It is also hard to believe that my Gramma passed away just about 8 months ago. It hit me pretty hard and I lost interest in many things that I loved to do, one is I stopped making things...I feel it is time to take some steps forward and make stuff again...Gramma would have wanted me too...I know this. The past couple months I have drawn out a bit of a plan in revamping my little business...I already changed the name of my business to Frolicking Freckles a while back.... Now it's time to make it happen and bring it to fruition.  

Bare with me as I find my rhythm and find my inner creativity once again. I'm even asking for prayer in this. Depression is a real thing friends. Sometimes it is hard to come back from it. I know for certain though I don't want to be there anymore. I am broken and flawed with good intentions. But, I have to force myself out of this or I fear I would never get well. I really appreciate you all, my dear readers.....Prayer is powerful too...I could really use them right now.

Hugs.

Patchwork...

Freckles and I went rummaging through a couple thrift shops last week. As always we have our route through the aisles. We always look at the books, then we look through all the knick knacks, then we head over to the linens and bedding. I saw her hanging there, her colors so vibrant and sweet, she called out to me...I hesitated. It was a finished quilt! Surely this shop would over price something so sweet as this darling patchwork quilt hanging there between substandard blankets. I thought.....Heck with it, I will look at the price in hopes it would be affordable but doubt that it was. I am not a big spender when it comes to things in thrift shops....I usually won't pay anymore than 10-15 dollars for an item that isn't furniture.

To my surprise...She was just the right price. I couldn't believe it really. She was perfect and just the right size. She isn't fancy, and that is fine with me. I like simple things. I snagged her up real quick. Immediately I pulled her off the hanger and placed her in my basket. Oh the price, you are probably wondering what I ended up spending for her. I can proudly say she was less than $10.

Everytime I run into quilts or afghans that have been made by someones hands, I just sigh. All the hours they spent lovingly putting them together, they sometimes end up in a thrift shop. Not even handed down to someone in their family. Just cast out with no care. I guess I am just a sentimental fool. I love to adopt things that have a story. A story I may never know, but I can imagine it. It does make me wonder about the person who made it, why she chose the fabrics she did. Did the fabrics come from something meaningful, and who was this quilt for? Was it loved and cherished?  What has this quilt been through? Perhaps it comforted someone when they were sick, cuddled when they were hurt or sad, held tight when they had a bad dream or placed on their bed with pride and joy just because it made them happy. Did it bring smiles when they walked into the room?..So many questions. It is a wonder to me. If only it could tell their story. I think it would be fascinating. Maybe it had a dull life and just sat around,

 but what if it had an adventurous life? I'd be curious to know. Wouldn't you?

Well we may never know. I am just glad I got to bring this colorful piece into my home. It will have quite the adventure living with us, I would hand it down to my daughter and she would have stories to tell.

Happy Weekend!

Sunshine

Freckles and I went thrifting over this last weekend. We decided to make one last stop at a Salvation Army in my area, one I don't usually go into because it usually doesn't have anything good. In the past I have found some linens and afghans at a great price but then they started to raise their prices on them. An Afghan would be $15.00 on up. It made me a bit queasy inside...That is really outrageous for a thrift shop to charge such a price. So, I stopped going. As soon as we walked in there it was lying on a coffee table with a price sticker marked at $5.00. A mirror for five bucks...You better believe I snagged it up real quick. It had potential for being pretty... The detail is quite pretty and the frame/ mirror are in perfect condition. I knew right away it had to be painted a happy color, which I would then hang proudly in my home. The rest of the store that day had no other treasures and after scouring through the afghans and linens, I decided with those high prices and the junk they sell, I will not return. However, I was HAPPY to find the mirror. We went to the craft store, bought a can of vibrant yellow and sprayed on the sunshine. it is gorgeous... I kept thinking how it looked like sunshine to me and this song kept playing in my head. A song I remember as a very little girl by the late folk singer, John Denver.

Funny... I had to play the song today, sure brought back memories.

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy 
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry 
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely 
Sunshine almost always makes me high 
If I had a day that I could give you 
I'd give to you a day just like today 
If I had a song that I could sing for you 
I'd sing a song to make you feel this way 
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy 
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry 
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely 
Sunshine almost always makes me high 
If I had a tale that I could tell you 
I'd tell a tale sure to make you smile 
If I had a wish that I could wish for you 
I'd make a wish for sunshine all the while 
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy 
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry 
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely 
Sunshine almost always makes me high 
Sunshine almost all the time makes me high 
Sunshine almost always 
~By John Denver ~

After spraying sunshine all over the place, I found the perfect spot for it in our living room. It brightened up this cheery little corner of our space. It's fits in perfectly.

Have A Happy Sun Shiny Day!

****

"Is as the light of the morning when the sun rises, A morning without clouds,When the tender grass springs out of the earth,Through sunshine after rain.'"

2 Samuel 23:4 

Granny Homestyle

One thing I have fallen in love with over the years is Granny style goodness. You know...The doilies, the artwork and those beautiful granny square afghans you spot here and there. I have been fortunate enough to find many Granny Ghannys, some I have kept for myself and others I have sold in my Etsy shop. Lately I have run into them hanging on the racks of thrift shops all the time. Sometimes I will pass them up because of the high price tag some shoppes want for them...Which is ridiculous. But then there are times I just pass them up all together. Then there are the times I run into the nicest looking ones, and I can't pass them up because  the price is marked just right for my pocketbook. Just as the other day...I was strolling through the Thrift Shop with Freckles and we spotted a Granny Ghanny that would match her room perfectly. It's a beauty....Freckles asked if I would please, please, please get it for her room. Of course I said yes to this one. The colors are perfect...Filled with robins egg blue, yellow, cream, orange and some brown. Perfectly perfect for Freckle's room. Then I found a happy, bright one for me...I couldn't pass bright and cheery colors up. I also found a red afghan...Not Granny square, but colorful

 

The same shopping trip, I found another orphaned salt shaker. Cute as can be and smiling up at me, telling me to bring it home. I picked up a couple old tin pie pans, tin measuring spoons and cupcake pan....Along with a couple cheery sunshine yellow Tupperware canisters. I remember seeing these when I was a kid.

 

 

 

 

So, we left with a nice bag full of Granny Goodies for our home. Freckles is thrilled with her Granny Ghanny, which does look great in her room, just as we though it would. We'll take some pictures of her room soon...So you can see just how cute it really is.

I really do love the Granny look...
Especially the cheerful Granny elements from a Granny's cottage of yesteryear~ but with a modern Granny Chic twist. You can even find a lot of Granny inspiration on Pinterest if you like the look and want the vintage Granny look for yourself. Start checking your local thrift shops
 for great vintage treasures and bargains to get you started.
Happy Granny Shopping