Tag: thrift

Low Buy Challenge Update

February 26, 2019 / / 3 Comments

Hello Everyone!

Today I have a video update on my low buy challenge. 

I did make some purchases over the last 2 months, some were to replenish what I used up and other purchases were new to me. 

This challenge has been a lot of fun for me. I have been using what I own and trying to find new uses for what I already have. 

I am excited to continue on my low buy journey and I will keep you updated throughout the year

Low buy challenge update

Are you participating in a low buy this year? And how are you doing with it?

The post Low Buy Challenge Update appeared first on Take Time To Create. 

Craft Supply Thrift Haul and Tips and Tricks

July 26, 2017 / / 1 Comment

Hello Everyone!

If you are like me you love to get a bargain, especially for craft supplies. Craft supplies can be very expensive, but you can find some great deals at creative reuse centers, or thrift stores.

Recently I went to my favorite creative reuse center, Who Gives a Scrap, and I have a craft supply thrift haul video for you.

Also, I wanted to give you a few tips, tricks and hints when shopping for craft supplies at a creative reuse center or thrift store.

Before I get into the tips, the biggest piece of advice I can give you is to buy what you need. If you buy everything that looks good, or interesting, you will be over run with stuff very quickly!

And always ask a person working at the store before trying out something when you trying to determine if the item still works or has ink left in it.

Things to look out for when shopping for Fabric:

  • Size- is it the size I need
  • Condition- are there any rips, tears, or stains that can’t be fixed or worked around

Things to look out for when shopping for Punches or Scissors:

  • Test to make sure they work! Try them out on a piece of paper

Things to look out for when shopping for Paint or Ink or Markers:

  • Open it to make sure the paint is not dried out, and there is still plenty left
  • Smell it, sometimes paint can start to smell a little funky and you don’t want that, lol
  • Scribble the markers to make sure they work, you don’t want to purchase dried out markers.

Thrift haul

Things to look out for when shopping for Books:

  • Check for pages torn out, if there are missing pages it might be a vital instruction that you are missing, lol
  • Check for overall condition, can you still use it?

Things to look out for when shopping for Embroidery/Cross Stitch/Needle Point Kits:

  • Check to see if it is unopened, if that is the case then you are good to good
  • But if it is open, check to make sure it has the floss, instructions, and anything else you need to complete the kit.

Thrift haul

Things to look out for when shopping for Charms or Jewelry Making supplies:

  • Check to make sure there is enough to complete  your project
  • Check the condition of the beads and tools, if it is not in usable condition then pass on the item.

There you have it, my tips, tricks, suggestions, and hints I use when I go thrift shopping for craft items. Any reputable thrift store, like Who Gives a Scrap, will have quality items that work and are ready for you to use. Keep your eye out, you never know what bargain you can find!

What tips do you use when you go craft supply thrift shopping?

The post Craft Supply Thrift Haul and Tips and Tricks appeared first on Take Time To Create.

 

How to Reupholster an Office Chair

August 23, 2016 / / 2 Comments

Hello everyone!

An office chair has got to be one of the most pieces of furniture that a person can own. You spend a ton of time in your chair so it should be comfortable and good looking. I had a chair that was wonderful, it worked great and I had it a long time. But it broke. So I had to search for a new one. After searching high and low I found one at a surplus store. It was in great condition and for only $15, I thought it was a steal. The only problem was the green fabric covering it. The color was ok, a dark green, but it was itchy and that was not ok. So I decided to recover so it didn’t drive me crazy sitting on it for 8 hours a day.

How to Reupholster an Office Chair

I think it turned out very cute. I found the fabric at Who Gives a Scrap. I talked about this awesome donation center last week. You can revisit that post here. They had this great upholstery fabric for only $2. Can’t beat that price. Here is how I went about recovering the chair.

Materials:

~Chair (this one wouldn’t be too bad if it wasn’t for the itchy fabric. Now I know why they had it for sale at the surplus store.)

How to Reupholster an Office Chair

~ Fabric (The stripped patter is cute and for only $2 I could pass that up.)

How to Reupholster an Office Chair

~ Staple gun, screw driver, glue gun, ribbon for edging

Instructions:

~ The first thing I did was take off the arm rests with the screw driver. I could have taken the whole chair apart and this might have made the process easier, but I decided to work around everything except the arm rests.

How to Reupholster an Office Chair

~ Then I measure the fabric and started stapling it on. The way this chair is constructed is a little weird. It has a plastic back and the original cover was Velcroed on, but I didn’t want to go that trouble so I decided to staple over everything.

How to Reupholster an Office Chair     How to Reupholster an Office Chair

~ I got the top part done then I went to town on the seat of the chair. The stripes made it easy to match the top to the bottom. I stapled everywhere then I went back and added more. I wanted to make sure everything held.

How to Reupholster an Office Chair     How to Reupholster an Office Chair

~ Once everything was secure and stapled on I hot glued on a tan ribbon that coordinated with the fabric. Then I put the arms back on that that was it. It took me a couple of hours to complete but it was worth it to not have an itchy chair.

How to Reupholster an Office Chair     How to Reupholster an Office Chair

Once I finished my son loved it so much he has asked me to do a chair for him. But if my chair is ever missing I know who to took it. Smile

How to Reupholster an Office Chair

DIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie

August 18, 2016 / / 2 Comments

Hello Everyone!

I found this fantastic store in town, it is call Who Gives A Scrap. (BTW I love the name!) Anyway, this store is so awesome it has all kinds of craft supply donations that are up for sale. The stock is always changing so you never know what you will find. If you follow me on Instagram you already saw my haul, but this what I scored yesterday for about $25! The item I am most excited about is the bead loom. I have tons of pins on Pinterest for the bead loom and now that I have one I am excited to learn how to use it. Does anyone have any experience or tips on how to use a bead loom? Please share if you do.

So many new things to play with and to use for my crafts and DIY projects. Even our cat, Starlight, approves. haha.

DIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie

 

The other day my sister and I were having a Craftersation on Pinterest. (A Craftersation  is a craft conversation between pinners on Pinterest.) She has the best Pinterest boards and I think she has pinned just about everything on the internet, haha. You can follow her here.

Anyway she pinned this really cute cell phone case made from an old tie so I pinned a different version of the same thing. And on it went for while. We have a lot of Craftersations, it is a fun way to stay connected and see what each other is interested in even though we live almost a thousand miles apart.

When I was at Who Gives a Scrap I saw that they had some old ties that would be perfect to make a cell phone case out of. After I got home yesterday I made my version of what I saw on Pinterest.

Here it is all done. I am in love with it!

DIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie

Materials:

~Old Tie

~ Needle and thread, or sewing machine

~ Button or snap

Instructions:

This is one of the ties that I picked up yesterday. Isn’t it wonderful? I fell in love with it on the spot. For this project the wider the tie the better. Skinny ties from the 80s won’t work, but those ties can be use for different projects.

DIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie

Next just measure how much space you need for your phone. The pointed part will be the flap, so factor that in. You will have to pick out the stitched that keep the flaps together so you can slide your phone in.

DIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie

For this step I glued the ends together and the center flap closed using Fabric Fusion. I used clothes pins to hold it together while the glue dried. The glue worked just fine, but when I do this project again I think I will sew it all instead of using glue, I think it will be stronger and it will look better. You can hand stitch or use a machine.

 

DIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie      DIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie

Next I hand stitched on these buttons I had in my stash. They are so cute, I got them from Patterns of Time. They have so many great items on their website, when I ordered last it was hard to narrow down the items in my shopping cart to a reasonable amount, haha.

DIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie

The case was all complete I thought it was very cute just the way it was but I decided that it should become a purse instead of just a case. This Tie Purse is perfect for me when I go out for an evening and my skirt doesn’t have pockets and I need to carry a phone and my ID and a credit card and some cash, it will all fit into this cute purse.

To add the straps all you do is hand sew the remaining part of the tie onto the sides of the case. And that is it.

DIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie

Have you made one of these before? I would love to see it if you have. Stay tuned for more projects made from items I got from Who Gives A Scrap, that place rocks!!

DIY Cell Phone Case From Old TieDIY Cell Phone Case From Old Tie

There are no affiliate links in this post. All opinions are my own.

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