Thrifty Thursday: Name Brand VS. an Alternative

Today's Thrifty Thursday post is about buying name brand vs the not so name brand. A month or so ago some of my friends were talking about the Zoku Ice Pop maker. I was in awe, I loved everything they were creating. Then, I found out it was $50. No way I could justify $50 in popsicles!

So, I was excited to find the Hamilton Beach Ice Pop maker at Walmart for $20 less, which we love BTW!
(You can view it here: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hamilton-Beach-FastPop-Ice-Pop-Maker/15758919)

So how do you know the lesser one is good enough? How do you know when you are paying the big bucks, you aren't just paying for a name?

• Do the research: do a search and find what the item's alternatives or "knock offs"
• View the ratings: sites like Amazon and Walmart.com are great to find reviews on products.
• Check the return policy: Stores like Walmart have a pretty decent return policy. If you buy something and find you don't like it, you can return in. Before investing in any item, make sure you know the return policy.

What have you bought that was an alternative to a higher brand? What about an item that you found you can't possibly use a "generic" for?

Thrifty Thursday ~ Dresses for less than $16!

I know, you are probably tired of hearing about Blogher but I promise this post can relate to any ladies that fancy a pretty dress for less than $16. However, if you are attending Blogher and you have not grown tired of the fashion topic yet, you get the pleasure of previewing my dresses that I will be wearing at Blogher.

Goodwill ~ $1

Here is my Wendsday evening cocktail dress. I was extremely excited to find this comfy dress which flares out (perfect for my mommy belly) for only $1 at Goodwill. It even had the new tag from Macys which had a price tag of $69.00! Initially I was faced with the dilemma of how I would fit in 2 cocktail style dresses in my Blogher schedule (see second one below). Well I knew exactly where I would wear this when I found out I am co-hosting the Angie's Kettle Corn Meet and Greet pre-Blogher event (you should come btw: http://angieskettlecornmeetgreet.eventbrite.com/)

Ross ~ $12.99

This is my Thursday evening dress, I love the fit. The pleats in the middle again hide my mommy belly and it is extremely comfortable (and breathable) since it looks like my Thursday evening is packed!

Kohls ~ $6.80

This is my Friday Cheap Sally Dance Party dress. When I set out to get a dress for Friday I knew that i would obviously be dancing and I didn't want to go with a strapless dress in fear of flashing the world. This dress is comfortable, flashy and practicial for dancing. Also, anything with rosette flowers are a win for me.

Kohls ~ $9.80

Here is my Saturday evening dress. I bought this two years ago and I can't give it up, it fits nicely and I love the pattern. It's comfy yet dressy which is perfect for my Saturday evening!

Let's talk comfy day time dresses:

Ross ~ $15.99

This dress I bought specifically to wear at Blogher during the day. It's cute, comfy and I love the paisley art work. Perfect for San Diego.

Kohls ~ $12.98

I got this dress last year before a cruise to Mexico. It wouldn't be right if I didn't wear at least one Beach attire dress while in beautiful San Diego. I typically don't like "Maxi" dresses because I feel like when the wind blows under them it makes my body shape look funky but this one is doable.


$5 ~ Goodwill

I really like this dress and it fits nice however, I need to jazz it up. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them! I am thinking maybe a half cardigan in a white or creamy color.

Thrifty Thursday: Dollar Tree Finds

I wanted to share a few finds I found at Dollar Tree!

Polka dot plastic trays and matching plates, star shaped ice tray and plastic buckets. The buckets are great for organizing kids room or using for storing drinks at a party! I'm going to try to do an ice cream party this summer and the polka dotted party items were perfect. Dollar Tree also had blue colors too. I was able to find matching balloons at Hobby Lobby!

Thrifty Thursday: Easy DIY Old Suitcase Upcycle Project

How to upcycle an old suitcase into a photo table/display with simple supplies like spray paint, glue gun and fabric.



Get out your hot glue guns! I'm going to show you how I was able to turn an old hard Samsonite suitcase into decor for my bedroom; a photo table.

I found a few old suitcases at the GoodWill Clearance center, I was very excited because I have been wanting to do some decor with them. Thrift stores are a great place to find them, I have also had success finding them at yard sales.

Basic Supplies:


Old Suitcase (you can see I ripped out the inside fabric)
1-2 years of Fabric (depends on size)
X-Acto knife
Hot glue gun
Dryer Sheets (this is going to help with a musty smells, put a couple sheets behind your fabric before gluing it in)
Spray Paint ~ I used Krylon Brushed Metallic, you can see my thoughts on it below)
*Ignore that lace in there, I thought I was going to put it on there but I decided not to.


I took the suitcase outside and spray painted it.

I used this


I'll be honest, I didn't care for this paint because it seemed to not coat it well. Now, it could have been the type of plastic I spray painted but it seemed to not spray right to begin with.


After letting it dry, I took and stripped out the inside fabric. I then took my fabric and measured out how much I would need to cut off by placing it inside the suitcase.

After cutting the correct amount, I took the hot glue gun and put glue inside and then quickly placed the fabric on the glue, carefully gluing the sides as well. Let it dry. DONE!



I actually painted another suitcase too, put it below this one to use as storage of sheets and pillow cases. I then put this one on top, opened it up and put pictures of my grandparents/great grandparents in there to display. I am working on putting more photos in there too :) Oh and of course there is a picture of baby "me" with my parents.

Of course it's also fun to use suitcases just as they are as storage:

I found this "hat" case for a buck at a yard sale, I use it to hold all my fabric remnants.

These I found also at the Goodwill Clearance center and use them for storage under my antique vanity:


Where I like to linky linky:


http://athriftymom.com


http://todayscreativeblog.net/get-your-craft-on-10/

Thrifty Thursday: Kitchen Finds; Red Canisters and Vintage Pyrex Bowls

Here are a couple of my recent finds at Goodwill from this past weekend. I fell in love with these bowls about a week prior, but I didn’t want to pay full price (I know, but I am cheap). So I was so excited when I saw them on Saturday still there for half off! I got the whole set for $13.50 which for vintage colored Pyrex, that is a smokin deal.

I also fell in love with these canisters. I actually swore off the traditional canisters but these would of course go great in my kitchen and I loved the pattern. I also liked the way they sealed up and didn’t take up a lot of room.

Best of all, the whole set was only $3.50!!! That is around a dollar a piece!

What have you found at your Thrift store lately?

Technorati Tags: Thrifty Thursday,Thrift Store Finds

Thrifty Thursday: Vintage Finds + a Few Bags

Thrift Store Finds for this week:

*feel free to click on the images to enlarge them*

I'm obsessed fascinated with vintage, some say I was born in the wrong decade. I went to Sun City off the rec of a blogging friend to go to the Thrift Store mall. This place is awesome and has at least 8 thrift stores in it and most of them benefit a charity. If you are local and would like to check it out, it's at Peoria and 107th ave. Of course you should only venture on over there if you are looking for older items as they typically do not carry "newer" stuff and it is pretty much an all day adventure so make sure your afternoon is free! I got everything above from this "mall".

As you probably saw on my Grandma's Treasure post, I love classic glass items. I also love lace, vintage or not I love the look of it and I am one who believes you can never have enough lace.

I really love the "white milk glass" bowls and vases. I actually had one I bought with this thrift store run and when I went to take it out, it broke. I was so disappointed as it was my favorite find of the day. However, life goes on and I am sure I will find more.

While at Goodwill recently, I found these vintage wooden spools of thread:



I simply bought them just because they just look awesome and were only $1.50! Remember that apothecary jar I made a few weeks ago? Well I now have a new filler for one of them!



At Salvation Army this week, I found a Franklin Covey leather briefcase/bag practically new for only $6! These retail between $80-$150! I say practically new because a few of the pockets still had tissue in it and there is no wear on it at all! I love it because I can use it for the conferences I attend and it will hold everything I need with it's many pockets including my laptop!



Here is the inside:



The cute purse was too good to pass up. I found this at the Goodwill by my house on 50% off day for only $1.50!!

Thrifty Thursday: Apothecary Jar DIY

Pottery Barn Knock Off DIY: Apothecary Jar
(click the images to enlarge them)

This week I did a "knock off" craft where I made the trendy Apothecary Jar, similar to the ones seen at Pottery Barn for between $39 and $69! You can easily make these by going to your local GoodWill and piecing it together for less than $5!

First, my essential tools:
E6000 glue, this stuff is awesome and lasts forever. Best part is you can get it for around $3 at Walmart! I also love Pledge multi-surface when working with a glass craft. It's easy to spray and wipe my gluey handed fingerprints off. One more thing I forgot to take a photo off was an Elmer's Painters pen, which typically runs between $3-$5.

Piecing together the jar:

I pieced together two jars, one with glassware from a yard sale and the other at Goodwill. I could not buy these pieces seperately, because it's important to make sure you know the pieces will all fit together. When looking for your pieces, look in the bowl section, the vase section and the candle holder section. You could even piece one together from your local dollar store!



For my centerpiece Apothecary jar, I used a wide mouthed candle holder for the base. I took the E6000 glue and glued the bottom of the candle holder to the bottom of the glass vase (this vase is more like a tube, no bow in it). I then took another candle holder and placed it on top as the lid. Easy peasy! I let it dry overnight and there it is, my $4 Apothecary jar!



My Ribbon and Lace jar is actually 4 pieces that I put together at a yard sale. The bottom is a small sundae jar, the middle is a bowed vase and the top is a small glass bowl. The very tippy top is actually a top to an old jar that I found in my Great Great Grandmothers house. First thing, after cleaning the jar I wrote on it Ribbon and Lace. I really like the Elmer's Painters pens because they dry but not too fast so it took me about 20 times before I was able to keep this writing on there. I took the sundae jar, turned it upside and glued the bottom of it to the bottom of the vase. I then took the small glass bowl, turned it over and glued the glass jar lid to the top of it. I let it dry overnight and here it is, my $1 dollar Apothecary jar!

You really can add anything to these that you want! You could easily make one as a gift and fill with treats!

I'm linked up at two of my favorite crafty ladies blogs:

Thrifty Thursday: Craft Ribbon Organizer

I'm a crafter and I have a love for ribbon. I'm trying to organize my craft area with a little bit more detail and I had a great idea when I saw this basket at Goodwill for under $.50.



My ribbon seems to get tangled when I store it in a box but I didn't want to mount a ribbon holder on my wall. I took skewers and added the spools of ribbon to the skewer. I then took the ribbon and threaded it through the holes of this storage basket which you could probably find at a dollar store.

Truly easy and a great way to organize ribbon without tangles and it's easy to store!

Thrifty Thursday: Cooking Sheet Craft Organizer

I recently had an idea to do something with an old cookie sheet. It looked horrid, I didn't want to use it for cooking but I could still use it! I decided to make a craft area organizer. I found this pink lace fabric at Goodwill. I also found these little spice magnet tin organzers at the Goodwill Clearance center I was really excited because I got 8 of them for less than a dollar!!

I spraypainted this with one coat with a can of $.97 black spray paint from Walmart. Spray painting may be my newest obsession. It didn't need to be pretty so I didn't primer it or anything. I then took my hot glue gun and glued the sides and tacked some of the lace in the middle.I had to do one side at a time since the pan was cool and the glue was hot, it hardened really fast. Since the glue was hot, I used the back of a ball point pen to tack it all in place. I then glued the ends to the back and tied a ribbon through the hole on the top.

It didn't take long to dry, and I put some of my favorite crafting accessories in the tins and hung it above my crafting desk.

Thrifty Thursday: The Non Picture Frame

I recently did some upcycling up picture frames from Goodwill. Who says frames have to be used for pictures?

Jewelry Organizer

This is an old picture frame that I purchased at Goodwill. I painted it with wall paint (it was a sample size). I then took 20 gauge wire (found at Walmart in the picture hook area for around $1.60) and ran two wires across the front and stapled it in the back/sides. I then took silver hooks (they screw in, found at Walmart for around $3 for 50) and placed them at the bottom. This was really easy with a cordless drill and a staple gun.

Floral Wall Art

I fell in love with this frame at the Goodwill Clearance center, it probably cost around $2. It actually almost matches another frame in my kitchen! I decided to do some 3D art with flowers. This Sprite bottle I acquired a few years ago out of a junk yard. I used 20 gauge wire to hold the Sprite bottle up.

I purchased these daisies in the dollar section at Walmart. This could be a cute idea to also do with real flowers, it would be easy to change the water.

Isn't this old Sprite bottle adorable?!


The Holder ( I really couldn't think of a better name)

I found this frame at Goodwill for around $2. I loved the embellished metal and knew it would be a cute holder. Initially I was going to make it my perfume holder for my vanity but then I had it out and somehow change ended up on it and I thought well that could be our "catch all" as we came in the house for change, keys etc.

Did you catch last week's Frugal Weekender? Check out what the kids and I did with some old photo frames, a couple costumes and a camera
http://www.supersavingsense.com/2011/04/frugal-weekend-photo-shoot-w-fun-props.html

Thrifty Thursday: Revamping the Mason Jar for Spring

I really heart Mason jars, there are so many uses! I picked up some from my Goodwill store here in AZ for about $.50 and did some Spring Crafts. All of these Jars took less than $2 to make (considering price per usage of jar)

This is a hanging light (you can see my fake candle right?)

Supplies:
Ribbon from Hobby Lobby
Mod Podge
Blue Flat marbles from dollar store
Tea Light (battery operated)
Pink acrylic paint

I used a crop - a - dile to punch holes in the top (if you don't have one, you need one). I then put ribbon through the top twice. The ribbon on the jar is adhesed with Mod Podge.

Easter Jars, it's the Easter basket in a jar! Great for teachers or neighbors.
Supplies:
Candy
Ribbon from Hobby Lobby
Elmer's pop up dots
Fabric Flower (sorry I don't remember where it came from, it was in my craft area)
Paper diecut (cut from the Cricut Tags, Bags, Boxes and more cartridge)
Shredded paper

May Day Jars, these are also great for teachers and neighbors that kids can make too!
Did you make May Day Baskets as a kid? I loved doing these in the plastic strawberry pints and filling them with goodies.

Traditionally for May day, you fill baskets with with flowers, candy, baked goods etc and leave them on neighbors or loved ones doorsteps on 5/1.

Supplies:
Acrylic paint
Paper
Fabric Flower
Ribbon from Hobby Lobby
Elmer's Spray adhesive
Synthetic flowers from the dollar store

I sprayed the paper with the adhesive after the paint had dried and placed it on the jar. I then tied ribbons on the jar.
Tip: I love to stock up on acrylic paints when they are on sale.

*I am not associated with any brands above, these are just items I love to use and wanted to share!