"Junk" Stores

DO NOT OVER LOOK THESE TYPES OF STORES!!!

For every crafter and project lover these stores are amazing gold mines! You can find some of the most amazing things and yes some very strange things too. I once found an inflatable house keeper... BUT just because they have weird things does not mean you can't find something amazing. Don't give up if you don't find anything the first time around (which has yet to happen to me, so I doubt you won't be able to find anything.... don't be too picky!).

I had been looking in stores for a while for an entire set of alphabet stamps. I normally would find a set, but they would be too small, or way too expensive. One day I went with my Mom to the ARC store and I found an entire set for $2. They were in perfect condition and not one of them had ever been used. I still don't get why someone would give it away, but then I remember not everyone is into crafts as much as me.

The same day I found two metal pictures of birds for $.99 each. They same thing could be found at Hobby Lobby for about $10 to $20. They were a little banged up on the sides, but it made it look more rustic and interesting.

About a month after I started working on the theme in my bedroom (french/fur-de-lie) that my mom found this iron metal fur-de-lie for me at the Goodwill store by her.

In mid November (2010) I found a bunch of this chunky yarn. I knew right away what I wanted it for. I made this scarf for a coworker with it. Even the fringe I got at the ARC store.

The first weekend in December I was up at my parent's place in Woodland Park, CO and they have a junk store up there that's locally owned and run. I found a package in with a bunch of random stuff. It was only $.50 and I thought I knew what it was. Turns out when you fit all the pieces together it forms this star. I painted it silver, as it was just plain wood when I got it. It was great to hang in front of my sliding glass window with Christmas lights on it.

All these items and sooo many more can be found if you just take your time and look.

Remember.....Don't discounting these stores just because someone else discarded them. Treasures are meant to be hunted for and found.

K



Re-vamping Items

Have you ever gone shopping and found something you like but its not really the greatest color, or its got some scratches on it? I run across this a lot when I shop at the ARC stores. (These are like Goodwill stores, but I find they have better stuff and its priced MUCH better) Now I used to just walk past and search for something else. This started to really bug me because a lot of the time I would run across something on sale (another reason while I love the ARC stores, they have 50% off sales on just about everything and all the time) and it would piss me off to just let it go because it was not 'perfect' enough. Well not anymore!

I found a cardboard tube container and I thought it would be perfect to hold my pain brushes. It had a label from around 1970 for a wine company in California. I loved the look of the label and that's what sold me. However it was a nasty color and would not go at all in my room. So I painted it to match the colors in my room. Now its perfect. Best part is it cost me $.99 for the container and $.67 for the paint. This is what it looks like.

About a weekend or so later I found a wooden flower pot container that was about the right size to hold all my craft paints. It was pretty beat up and dirty, but the design around the rim is what sold me on it. It had an etched in design of leaves sort of blowing in the wind. I thought it looked very Greek and for some reason instantly knew what I wanted to do with it.
When I got home I wiped it down and cleaned off all the dirt. I sanded the scratch marks, but they wouldn't come out! Didn't really matter, but I thought I might be able to get them out. I was going to paint it anyway and that would cover them. I painted the entire thing, inside and out, a bright metallic blue. Then for the detail leaves I painted them metallic gold. I just painted the etched in part, so that it stood out more. It turned out wonderfully and looks even more Greek now I think. Plus it was useful for me.



Just because something isn't perfect does not mean it can't be perfect again. Just everyday household items can be spruced up and made to me useful again. Random items you can't see as ever wanting might be something just perfect.

I found an old Coke a Cola card tin from the 1960s, which I use to hold my recipes in. That actually started the theme in my kitchen. I have an old style country look and collector tins all over. I use them to hold sprinkles, to put flour in, to hold toothpicks, just anything at all.

So go out and explore what you think is useless or "junk" and see if it could have potential for something else.