Hi Everyone and welcome to the Blog today. I’m going to share the latest Thrift Store Haul with you and then talk a little about finding Thrift Stores in an unfamiliar area. When you’re on vacation and you get a bad weather day you can go thrift shopping. When you’re taking a slow driving vacation you can thrift shop along the way. First I’ll show you what we found today. I have to say it was pretty slim pickings. It seemed like everyone was out shopping today.
I did find a couple of wall pieces. The first I bought mainly for the frame and the fact that the white paint will probably come off with some soap and water. Not a great job on this one. The frame is a really rustic wood stock so I think it will be great for a Christmas sign of some sort. I might paint the frame or leave it natural. I’ll decide that later. The second piece was a very nice golf print of early golf players. Finally, the sign which you can actually see better in the first picture on the blog. It says Once Upon a Time and is kind of chiseled out of the board. The other piece in the third picture is a wooden box that could be sent through the mail. There is a place for the recipient’s address and for the Sender’s address. Interesting!
Next, we have 4 Mikasa, red wine, balloon glasses. Quite nice and they were about 75 cents a piece. Not too bad.
A Nordic Ware Poinsettia Cake Pan is next. I have a weakness for these and pick them up whenever I find them. This one is still in the original packaging.
I found 8 silver napkin rings and a Kitchen Aide attachment that was unopened. It goes with a present for someone in the family. The third picture is a reindeer wreath holder in silver.
This was my favorite find of the day. It made me laugh. The head bobs up nd down and the tail moves as well. It holds one garden plant and will look really cute in the yard this Spring. I may have to repaint him but we’ll see.
Finally, found this great sparkly tree in a deep navy color. Can just picture this with some silver trees and a starry background.
I also wanted to share with you the contents of this canvas tree bag which is in really good condition. Even the zipper works. It was filled with a plethora of garlands for Christmas decorating. Garlands are very expensive right now and, although these are older, they are in great condition. It took me a couple of hours to separate all the garlands as they were tied together with wire ties. They were labeled Front Right, Front Left, and Front Top with others labeled for various sides of a porch. Clearly someone had spent a lot of time putting these together to decorate the outside of their home.
After everything was separated I had 12 cypress garlands (8′ for each one), 8 holly and ivy garlands (probably 6′),
10 pine garlands (8′ long),
5 combination garlands, and some pinecones and odds and ends. The whole thing, including the bag, was $20. I will be able to use these in lots of places in my christmas decor.
Now to the second part of the Blog…..how to find Thrift Stores when traveling. I have to say that you are never guaranteed a good Thrift Store in a new place. I start by going to Google and entering in the search engine…..THRIFT STORES NEAR MY LOCATION or THRIFT STORES NEAR……..(you put in the name of the town or city you are visiting).
When you have a list which will include a map so you can kind of see how close the shops really are to your location, I look at the ratings given to each shop. The ratings are determined by the reviews each shop receives. Then I look at the pictures shown for each shop. Some you can immediately rule out. They may only be clothing stores, or children’s shops or not have much at all.
The next step is to find the closest one that meets your criteria. Go there……and this is really important…..take a few minutes and chat with the sales people. Generally, they are volunteers, locals, and have an interest in the charity the shop is supporting. I have found people to be very friendly and willing to chat. I always compliment their store and ask what other Thrift Stores they would recommend I visit. I’ve gotten some great tips this way and also gotten really good recommendations for restaurants, local sights to see, etc. A little interest and friendliness goes a long way in a new place.
Hope this is helpful to you when you venture further afield on your thrifting outings.