Saturday, February 06, 2010

Inspiration and Thrifting

I just finished Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule (check her out at SouleMama).  Holy cow!  What an awesome book!  It's not very often that I devour a book these days (at least not one that doesn't contain vampire love stories or adolescent wizards - don't judge), but I couldn't stop turning the page to see what super neat project waited for me on the next page.  It made me completely rethink where I get material to work with, what I do with worn out clothes, and just how I view "old stuff" in general.

Thrifting
It's a theme that runs through the entire book.  Taking old things and repurposing them.  She uses the word to cover garage sales, flea markets, thrift stores, etc.  Thrifting is one of those things I have an on-again/off-again love/hate relationship with.  There's a lot of slashes there, I know.  I have friends who go to thrift stores and find amazing things.  It's a talent.  I go to the same thrift store and spend thirty minutes to an hour walking around dazed and confused and come out with nothing.  But then a super-thrifter friend will come along with another amazing find, and I decide to try again, same results - nada.  But I've been inspired again by Handmade Home, and the items needed are mostly vintage fabric. That should be easy enough to find, right?  I'm hoping this is something you can learn, but I'm thinking some people are just born with it.  Follow along with me as I attempt to learn to thrift...
 Product links are Amazon affiliate links.

1 comment:

Jennifer Perez said...

If you ever want a thrifting buddy that also only ever does mediocre, give me a call. I find stuff... Not necessarily good stuff... Though I did get an original sock monkey for $.10 the other day (As a rule I usually do not buy used dolls but this guy was washable)... He's pretty much my only find in the last 10 years or so...