2 Clever Blog

Happy 5th!

Dear Think ::

Happy 5 th of July!  I hope you are having a blast in Hilton Head. 

Eat some hush puppies at the Salty Dog Cafe for me. They are amazing and they put maple syrup in the batter. (photo from our trip in 2007)

On Tuesday night I went up to our church girls camp to give big hugs to all of the girls from our youth group.  The camp is only about 45 minutes away from me and is about 2 miles from Camp David.  It is always fun for the girls to see all the helicopters come in and see secret service on their hikes. 

On the way there you drive through this little town called Thurmont.  It is quaint and cute.  We saw the most amazing garage sale ever.  Tables and Tables of historic treasures.  I only had 4 dollars with me and three other people so my time was as limited as my funds. 

I purchased this hand embroidered pillow case for $3.00 - it was the perfect 4th of July purchase.

I also found these salt and pepper shakers.  I think I will put them in my sewing room to hold my small little buttons.

look at the great bone top encased in silver.
But as much as I love these $.50 for both shakers when I saw these yellow topped ones I knew they must be mine.


These shakers made by Avon were the ones I had growing up.  Other than the ones my mom brought out at Chrismtas these were are set my whole life growing up.  Seeing them brought back a flood of memories of standing in my kitchen in Las Cruces New Mexico.  The many nights we had tacos, tostadas compuestas, stir fry and even Spam. (Money was tight we ate lots of Spam) 
Isn't it funny how something so small and cheap (also $.50) can bring back so many memories.

Have fun adjusting from coming back from the beach (Not!)

Mr. Pink gets the day off tomorrow too, so we are soaking in any time we get with him these days.

Pink ::

not just a vase

 

Think::

today on my Goodwill visit I found the most perfect paintbrush container.  Since we have a constant painting project going on with one of us 4 girls, we have decided to just leave the brushes out all the time in the kitchen.  They were in a small 3" cup but now they have a new $1.99, amber, glass home. 

Do you love it?

Pink::

Hanging at Home

Pink :: And so begins my home documentation...

I posted about this idea back in 2007 on my personal blog but never showed the finished project. I had been using an old wooden mens pants hanger in my laundry room to hang up my spot removing list for years. My neighbor who had worked retail was selling more hangers at his garage sale so I bought all 10 of them. I thought it would be a great way to display art or photos in an easy-to-change manner. 

To make it look official and not like laundry gone bad, I used dark bronze/black oval drawer pulls screwed right into the drywall for the hangers to hang from. (There is a screw thingy that is two screws put together without a head so you can screw on the drawer pull and then screw it into the wall without one side unscrewing the other. I have the bag they came in around here somewhere but its late and I'm too tired to dig around for it. If I find it later, I'll post it.)

Here is what is currently on the wall beside my front door. 

My front door is mostly glass so you can see these inside when you are ringing my doorbell. It's a narrow wall so I hung 3 knobs but I think a 3x3 grid on a bigger wall would be striking. I'm displaying for the Post-Easter Spring season my eeboo Counting Bird Wall Art cards. (Fabulous illustrations. Entire post about my eeboo adoration coming soon.) I have the cards 4 thru 10 tucked around in different rooms.

 

I've used this set up to display photos, Little Think's artwork, packaging, ornaments, fabric pieces, etc. whatever I have felt moved to showoff. Here is the photo from my original 2007 post showing a photo of Mr. Think as a little boy digging at the beach. Just printed it from my computer and hung it for the summer.

We all have our "hang-ups" right? Show them off!  :: Think

Easter Tree Tradition!

  

Dear Think::

I am starting to dye my eggs for my Easter tree.  The girls and I make this every year.

Here is what we do::

• blow out a slew of eggs.  This is always so fun and we have serious headaches after wards.  We have learned that there is no need to make super tiny holes.  Make it easy on yourself and make them larger than a pin hole.
• I blow the eggs first and then dye them.  It is probably easier to do it the other way first but after years of making this tree it is just my system.  You will want to wash and dry out those eggs really well or you will have one stinky house after a few days. 
• dye the eggs with regular dye kit but use a tea bag for each cup to give them more of a washed, natural feel.  I boil the tea bags with each dye tablet and then put the blown eggs in warm water.
• if possible find branches that have buds on them and fill your vase with water and watch them bloom.  I also think the greener adds to the natural look of the tree.
• The vase I use is a old pitcher and bowl I found at Goodwill in Nashville for $7.00.  I often think I don't have room for it in my house and think I will get rid of it, but then think "What will I put my Easter tree in if I get rid of it!"  You will note on the bottom photo that the handle was cracked and glued.  This did not detour me from buying it and I think adds to character of my container.
•  
• don't use cutesy ribbon. (not that you have any of that in your house)  Go to the yarn section of a craft store and find some really interesting and wonderful fibers.  This is also much cheaper than ribbon and easy because it is so small.  If you can find wool embroidery thread that is wonderful too.  On this egg above I used a wool brown thread and then tied a bow on top to cover my large hole for blowing with the yarn
• 
• tie some yarn in bows and add them to the tree as well as on top to hide the large holes that make blowing them so much easier. One year I even added some funky flower beads to the top and the bottom.
•  We add small bird nests and have even added a few natural looking birds over the years.  
• I fill the bowl up with some ceramic eggs, so that is why those look extra shiny!

Let me know if you make one this year.  These photos are from a few years ago so I will let you know what changes and new things we come up with this year.

Spring is almost here! (at least for us that is)
Pink::

Have you seen me?

Think::

Ok, so I know it sounds kind of pathetic how many times I go to Goodwill, it is like I live there.  In my defense it is next door to the kids school so if I get there 10 minutes early to pick them up, I just run in.

Today I found these.  4 chalk sketches of a darling family. They were all scattered in the print section but I had to put them all together to take a photo.  My oldest pink was home from school so she was with me and I kept saying to her, "oh this is so sad, it is so sad"  A lady was standing next to me and we kept looking at these framed sketches together.  We both agreed how sad it was that these were being sold in Goodwill and not at home with a family member.

I wanted to buy these so bad.  I thought about it for about 10 minutes.  They were $8.99 each, (which I thought was high for strangers.)  It was like I didn't want to leave them there.  Can you even imagine how beautiful this would be hanging in the house of their great grandchildren?  They are all so beautiful and you can tell they are all related.  I wanted to buy them even to do some hunting to find a blood relatives home for them.  But I knew what Mr. Pink would say if he found them, "What you bought another families sketches, when we don't even have ones for our own kids?"  If I had a huge home with a place to hang them maybe?  I don't know I am torn. 

What would you have done??  Do I got back and fetch them?

falling victim to my budget
Pink::

To any eavesdroppers if you know these people tell me I will run and buy them for you!!!

2nd hand is always 2clever!

 

Think::

So here I go again showing off my 2nd hand finds at my local Goodwill.  Glass punch bowl $5.99.  I have one already but am always looking for these to give away as gifts

I can never turn down a blast from my past - these were all that I wore in 5th grade.  Who knew they are now $70 a shirt.  So in pink for $3.98, I could not pass it up.

I have never seen a full nativity set at any thrift store so I was thrilled when I found this set.  It is marked on each piece Mexico.  Each piece was sold individually from 99 cents to 59 cents, so I think the whole set was about $8.00

 

But what I really had to show you was this silver candelabra that I found.  It is tarnished like no other but has such great potential.  You can see a few spots where I have cleaned it up a bit.  It is marked with Reed and Barton 860.  I looked it up on-line and it sells for $1499.00 on Replacements.com  It is so heavy and amazing I can't imagine selling it but if I knew it would pay for our family to take a trip together, I just may do it!
I will show you a post photo once I finish cleaning it with my old toothbrush.

So, Think and anyone else listening, I challenge you to buy  something 2nd hand this year.  With the current economy this is the perfect year to find  ways to buy 2nd hand.

• Make yourself very familiar with every thrift store in your area
• Make Craigslist a visit before you buy anything large
• eBay
• check out freecycle.com - this makes my trash digging legal and so much easier.
• ask your friends to see if they have what you are looking for that you could buy from them.  I bought 2 American Girl dolls from my friend this year and gave them to my girls from Santa and it saved me hundreds!

I would love to see what 2nd hand treasures you can find out there, so feel free to share them at pink@2cleverblog.com.  And don't forget to check our running list of finds just to the left of this post.

So today I am in Denver and you better believe I will search for a thrift store to search through.

Happy Hunting!
Pink::

15 minutes and less than $15.00

 

****I Forgot to show you these set of 8 plates I got too, perfect for Kentucky Derby celebrating.  plates .79 cents -  mugs 59 cents.  Are they not darling?

Think::

I am always thrilled when I get to the girls school 15 minutes early to pick them up because that means I can run into Goodwill to do a fast swoop to see if I can find anything.

Here is what I wanted to buy, but knew I had no room for them.

This awesome yellow couch with bees!  It as $60 (I would have offered less, but still bought it as $60)  If had just 3 more feet in my house I would buy this!

 
This with new knobs and a refinished counter --- ahhh!!  $40.00

So what I did buy...

I can't show you the other side of the plates because they are a birthday gift for one of our eavesdroppers but the back is almost just as cool.  They seem really old and incredible.  $2.10 for all of them

This cool $.79 cent vase will be a house warming gift for our family this weekend who just moved into a new home.  Not sure if she reads this, but even knowing I only paid $.79 cents, the vase is still really cool.  It had 2 gas receipts rolled up inside from 2001, I had hoped it was money.  Which is if was I would have returned to Goodwill.

As I type the littles are going crazy with a few packs from this amazing score.  $1.99 for 75 Cinderella trading cards.  Who knew they made Cinderella Trading cards.


 These were $.99 cents a bag.  I have no idea what I will do with them but I could not just leave them there to be used to hold curtains or whatever they are supposed to be for, they have a more creative destiny in my house.  Any ideas?

The last thing is this Pottery Barn (I swear it is band new) bumper pad for $4.00.  I am not sure what it will become but I am may sew some of these on some white t-shirts for the girls, put some in a frame, make some spring bags.  Not sure but I this just had to come home with me.

Pretty good finds for 15 minutes and less than $15.00

Now I am off to wrap the vase to make it look worth more than 79 cents.

Happy Day
Pink::

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

What a haul Pink!::

My Goodwill never has furniture like that in it. I'm dying to see the front of that plate since the back is so inspiring. Charming vase. The trading cards made me pine away for my long lost Charlie's Angels Trading Cards I had. Sniff! And I'm loving the tshirt idea on the bumpers. Could do that with lots of stuff.

The curtain rings are cracking me up because my mom used those as frames for her grandchildren years ago. She painted them and wrote their birthdates and weights and then put their newborn photos inside. She then hung them with ribbon from a piece of wide ribbon.

Other ideas::

You could also make a cute banner with them with letters inside. Paint them red and spell out Happy Valentines Day. 

Have your girls paint them fun colors and make a fun ring toss game for a birthday gift.

Or use them to hang up scarves in your closet.

Or glue them randomly on top of each other to make funky modern wall art.

Glue a photo or picture on a little art canvas and then glue the ring on painted the same color as the canvas background to make a cute framed art for a child's room.

Glue them together in a grid for a cute trivet.

Wrap them in fuzzy pipe cleaners or fluffy trim, put paper behind and use as gift tags on presents.

Shrink down your littles artwork and use the rings as frames with a magnet for your fridge.


I'll add more if I think of anything else...

Jealous as always ::Think

treasure shopping

Dear Think::

Yesterday I had a great birthday.  I dropped the littles off to school and then just drove  20 minutes north to historic Fredrick.  I always want to go and never do.  I have only been a few times but always have kids or husband who don't care to treasure shop**(see below) with me.  I am organizing the photos of my day to compile but just can't wait to show you this. 
I found this at my favorite thrift shop on Patrick street (my last visit I bought a pink plaid Burberry Hat for $.75 cents)
It is a gold pin with monogram of CPB.  I bought it for $2.00 no tax.  Most people would not purchase it if it didn't have their own monogram on it but I was like "total score".  The sales lady assumed I found a find with my own initials, little does she know only 2 of the three letters are in my name. 

I wore it all day today on my lovely cashmere sweater I got for Christmas (i gave it to myself) from JCrew for embarassingly cheap.  Along with my favorite yellow scarf from the GAP.  The longer I wore it, the more I loved it but then thought maybe I or we know someone with these initials - and if I love how much would someone who actually had these initials love it.

So if you know a gal or if any eavesdroppers have these initals (first name C, middle name B, last name P) let me know.  I will wear it for a few more days and then send it on it's way.  (I think it says 12kgold on the back)

Off to organize my photos from treasure shopping.

giddy
Pink::

**Treasure Shopping is going shopping with nothing in mind and really no money to spend or intentions to buy anything, but finding joy in looking for something that others would walk past or ignore.

Goodwill to Men

Hey Think::
Oh my are you feeling the Christmas excitement or what?  I have been baking lots of yummy goodies, we went caroling last night in the back of the bed of the truck and I have been making pre-school treat bags for the Christmas party.  (no mention of Christmas allowed in our public schools)
To also bring cheer to my week I made my last stop to Goodwill before Christmas.  I always go thrift shopping before Christmas to find one big thing to set out by the tree.  A few years ago it was one of the old spring horses (which are now outlawed for safety) for $10.00 and it was the perfect toy we kept in our basement for a few months and then returned it back to Goodwill.  It had a great Christmas morning "Wow"

Well, today did not disappoint.  I found the above framed somethingmajigger that seems really old and very cool.  $1.99

Then I found this awesome doll High Chair for $2.99.  Which will be set out for Christmas morning holding the second hand American Girl doll I bought from a friend getting rid of hers - woo hoo!  Is this not so cute and the tray lifts up and down.   Would you leave it that color or paint it?

 
 

Then my big splurge was this $5.99 Coach bag.  I love the over the shoulder wear on the hip.  Do you remember the movie Kindergarten Cop.  Well the girl cop with the red hair, she wore one like this in the movie and I always remember thinking I loved it.  (don't ask me why I remember that kind of stuff)
Anyway, I think with a good leather conditioner and clean up it will be really awesome.  Do you know if I could stain it red with a leather stain??

Off to get some shut eye so I can hopefully finish my Christmas Cards tomorrow.  I am head to Arizona for the weekend to get out of these ice storms, so I only have one day left to finish them so they will get to anyone's house before Christmas.  Not likely but I will try.

Good Night
Pink::

2nd hand Turkey Treasures

Good Morning Think::

As I was making AK's simple peanut butter sandwich (no jelly or honey just PB) this morning for her lunch, I made a discovery.  I keep the unhealthy white Wonder bread on top of the fridge.  I got on a chair to pull it down and decided to look in that cabinet that I can never reach - aha! 
I found the 12, wooden, handpainted Turkey napkin ring holders I had bought 10 months ago at my favorite boutique....Goodwill.
they were $.29 each and they are awesome. 
I love how one  is different than all the rest, I wonder why that is.
Anyway I love them.
The little girls are now playing with them in their doll house as I type.
We are not having Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year so I will need to start using them for the next week at dinner.  Hey that just might make the  Ramen noodles we are having tonight for dinner look fancy

Thanks for sharing your pie reciepe.  I am going to make it this year and think of you.

Basking in my $3.48 purchase
Pink::

 

You are never too young...

Dear Think::

Would you not agree that you are never too young to learn how to use a can of spray paint?
Photo above is me and SJ painting her chair yellow, her favorite color.  These chairs are Ikea LATT

So we finally tried to make our basement look like a room in a house and not a storage pit. Since everything, seriously almost everything is second hand, I never have any problems painting it another color.  I think we painted almost every piece of furniture we had down there.

 Here are some of the before photos

Here is this AWESOME frame I took out of my neighbors trash.  I still have not told them, in case they will want it back.

Our Goodwill toy box that we painted - what a shocker PINK!.


I hope this makes you anxious to see my after photos.

Pink::

My Goodwill Finds

How do you do it Pink? ::

So I ran to my Goodwill after I saw your Goodwill post but my trip was not a fruitful as yours. Never is. I don't think I'm as patient are you are. I don't want to dig through stuff. But here is what I did find:

Cute Target felt bags. Perfect for when E wanted to be a Bat this year so a picked up quite a few of them. But now she as moved on to something else. (of course) Still cute and at 25¢ each I couldn't make them myself any cheaper. Will find something to do with them I'm sure. 

   

Dwell Studio Crib Sheet.  I LOVE  Dwell Studio  and was thrilled when Target started to carry them. Even better to find this unused for $2.99! Whether I ever use it in a crib or not, cool fabric for 2.99 a yard is a steal and I can think of lots of projects to use this for.

 

Way cool hanging lanterns. Hold large pillar candles. Can hang or sit on table. $2.99 each. Perfect for next summer. 

But my favorite find this trip was this little guy: 

Isn't he cute? He was 79¢ and is about 6" tall out of cast iron. Has feet on the back of him so I think he was a trivet maybe? He has a rough part on his right eye like he was attached to something but broke. I think he is just darling perched over a door for halloween. But he might just get to stay out even after the holidays if he behaves himself.

Your Goodwill Understudy :: Think

Good old Goodwill

Dear Think,
Since I used to love to always show you my deals and steals from thrift stores (my favorite place to shop) I am excited to be able to share with you what I found the other day.
This great Smith & Hawken wreath from Target for $2.99.  Did you know that Target donates many unsold and unused items to Goodwills.

Had to get this yellow dress for SJ - she is my yellow gal.  $3.98 - little pricey but could not pass up polka dots

CB will be getting this new gingham dress with cute fish applique.  $3.98


I was most excited about my new rug for $9.99 - brand new and the perfect thing to catch all my spills by the sink.

Seriously when is the last time you checked out your local thrift shop...

See ya.  Off to run my second Marathon.

Pink.