New listings on one of my favorite stores

 

 

Up cycled Bo Ho Bag

Stop by and see the happenings at poetcharms.etsy.com .

 

 

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/153069442/boho-bag

 

Vintage table cloth being re loved.

ON THE CUTTING TABLE

 

I just couldn't do it. It would have taken a life time to soak the stains out of this well loved vintage table cloth. I'm usually good at soaking items to give them new life. Even things everyone else would have thrown away years ago. My success rate has been great with soaking. This, however, I couldn't do. Instead I used it as a cutter for new projects. It was my goal to give myself time to get back to some sewing and I finally did this past week. There was so much that I salvaged from this table cloth.

 

 

The four corners of the table cloth were in almost excellent condition and I attached them to white muslin and cotton batting to make four place mats. I backed them in yellow checkered gingham. I had recently reclaimed a bed skirt for the eyelet lace trim and saved the 100% cotton fabric from it. From this I managed one dozen twelve inch napkins and just simply appliqued salvaged fruit pieces to them.

 

 

I made two fry pan handle pot holders and there will be two round pot holder/hot plate pads. So far that's twenty new items from this table cloth. I went through my stash and the two new curtain panels I found a couple of weeks ago with a bright colorful trim will be turned into aprons. I searched through my stash of fabric and found some fruit print fabric that I'll use for pockets and ties.

 

 

These items are not going to be sold or given away. They are for me. The next rebuild in my life is to get back into traveling and these will go in my camping, glamping, trailer or may I just call it my dream chest.

 

There was a trip to a neighborhood sale and I found two items. I spent all of $4 for both. I also got to the thrift store and found a few items. I know I took time for myself this past week and the stats on my stores show it, but it was a great mental health week and I did something green and kept stuff out of the landfill. It's back to work today and I would love for you to stop by and visit my stores and visit my Facebook page and check like to see my future updates. Have a great week.

 

butterflyplace.etsy.com

butterflyplace.storenvy.com

 

https://www.facebook.com/TheCraftZone1

 





Bringing brightness to my day.

I was feeling rather gloomy and needed a trip to the thrift store. I didn't expect to find much and wasn't really caring whether or not I did. Just need to stop and it was less than two tenths of a mile from the grocery store. Why not look. I had an exciting time just by myself walking up and down the aisles. I found the blue elephant Napco planter, two made in Sweden brightly colored wooden hot plates that have handles so they can be hung, four tall wheat print glasses, a vintage porcelain owl and the cutes Japanese squirrel. The squirrel was claimed by my daughter for her vintage nick nack shelf and for some reason I can't stop enjoying his eyes.

Continuing down the linen aisle I couldn't believe the bright colors. Vintage and new sheets, reproduction vintage circus fabric and rainbow stripe fabric. How could you not feel better with all these mood lifting colors. Some of this will be used in sewing projects and some added as inventory to my on line store butterflyplace.etsy.com. It was a spur of the moment decision to go and well worth the trip. I can't wait to just do it again because only I can change my mood. Have a wonderful week everyone.

Great haul of thrifted linens.

Great variety of items.

 

 

Both new and vintage.

 

Even orange and yellow for the thrifted bathroom.

 

Thrifted bathroom. This dark room needed to be brightened up and I found the shower curtain and focused the decorating around it. Even the switch plate covers were painted yellow. We'll put the old one's up when we move out. Sure beats dark and brown.

Went to a local Savers thrift store last week because they were advertising a sale where if you spend $50 you would get 50% off selected items. Linens and home decor was one department. Well of course I didn't expect to find anything, but to my surprise I found a great bundle of new and vintage items. There was a NIP (new in package) red sheet set. I am always looking for red to do quilting projects. There were vintage sheets, Tommy Hilfiger 100% cotton sheets, four king size rainbow and white stripe fitted sheets and the orange and yellow velour hand towels and vintage wash cloth that are already in the thrifted bathroom. I see my store (butterflyplace.etsy.com) inventory  growing in the next few weeks and I have enough now to finish a couple more quilts for charity. I'm trying to have twelve quilts done for he hospital pediatric unit by the end of the year.

 

Last but not least and not included in the 50% off sale was the vintage mushroom and gold index file box which I'm sure was a great file box for recipes. This is already listed on my store. I don't know if I'll get out thrifting this week. Maybe I'll find a yard sale or two on the way home for work. I have lots of listing to do and with all the linens I have some cutting and sewing to do. Whatever the universe brings I'll enjoy. Have a great week everyone. 





Finished quilts and afghans for charity

Just finished the sixth blanket for the Linus Project. It was the twin size crochet basket weave pattern afghan that needed all the loose yarns worked in and trimmed. It will keep someone nice and warm. It is made of all the leftover balls of yarn that have accumulated over the last year. It feels good to have it done. There are two smaller afghans and three quilts. I have several more that I would like to start working on so that I can have a dozen before I contact them to deliver.

I also spent more time today working on preparing items for my store. butterflyplace.etsy.com. All the pictures are taken and edited and now it's just a matter of finding the time to get them listed. I haven't done much thrifting this past month. Most of the items have come from the boxes moved and just the stash hanging around that needs to be downsized.

This week has been a learning week. My daughter and a great California gal are teaching me more about the Internet and how to make it work for me. The challenge has been a newsletter for my etsy store. They've helped me create a mailing list on excel and create buttons for my page. They make it look so easy, but teaching me has been an experience for them both. I can still learn. How exciting.

This has been a slow week.

Although I was able to thrift and find a few items it has been very slow here this week. I've had Internet issues and hope to get them taken care of soon. My finds this week included two pair of reclaimed tab curtains that are already taken apart to reclaim the fabric. A bright pink and orange sheet for fabric, a floral ash tray from Japan, a mushroom print trivet from Japan, four plastic coffee cups with the same exact print as the trivet only made for Sears, a whimsical frog and mushroom wall hanging and last but not least a set of Georges Briard Christmas coasters. Some of these items need some maintenance and others will be listed shortly if not already on my etsy store: butterflyplace.etsy.com.
When I moved a few months ago I put merchandise in boxes and marked them as store inventory. Since my service was slow or not available at all this week I shopped in those boxes. This morning I have begun to take the pictures of these items. It feels good to empty out and move on. Some items I asked myself why I kept them, but I quickly found ways to donate them and move them along to other homes. I cannot believe the items that I have accumulated and kept in boxes. So onward and upward to find them new lives with new families and continue the recycle, renew and reuse aspect of life. Have a wonderful week everyone.

Juvenile Linens are just coming to me. Interesting.

I had absolutely no intentions of stopping at an estate sale, but I did. Found one item and one item only and couldn't resist. This vintage twin size set of Cabbage Patch Kids sheets were just too cute. Okay so it was after noon on the last day of the sale and it was on my way back from running errands and the universe directed me there. At least the one item that I found was a great find and of course since it was the last day and after the bewitching hour I got them for a lesser price. Thank you universe.

The elastic on the fitted sheet is showing it's age (1985) but otherwise they are in excellent condition. The set includes one flat sheet, one fitted sheet and one pillowcase. Still lots of room to be enjoyed or upcycled into something new. This set is all Cabbage Patch girls so I imagine they may have made sheet sets with just Cabbage Patch boys. I sure hope so. That's how my week is going and what I've found. I have many more items and will keep listing them on my Etsy store. See you there. butterflyplace.etsy.com Have a wonderful week everyone.

Last weekend of April and the thrift finds were fun.

My favorite find of the weekend were these vintage nursery curtains and valances. I was with my daughter and she quickly scanned the linens and found the valances. I on the other hand took my time browsing at an older folks pace and found the four curtains that went with them. She quickly said that I could have the valances to purchase with the curtains. I just love the cuteness of these curtains and can see them being upcycled.

I also found two Tommy Hilfiger 100% cotton sheets to upcycle. I love 100% cotton. Some yard goods, an owl planter which will be spray painted, a clear glass owl bank, a Joys of Jello cook book and what's not in the picture a package of vacuum cleaner bags. I don't think I've paid full price for vacuum bags in years. Why should cleaning cost full price? I can't wait to do some more work listing items on my store. I am getting close to my goal of 400 items and may be there this week. I just wish that the total showed on my store. I count the duplicate listings but Etsy does not. Visit and see how I'm doing. butterflyplace.etsy.com Have a great week everyone and I'll see you around my sites.

Reclaiming usable fabric.

I have spent a great deal of my life putting used or well loved items to use in my own life and am  changing the world one person (me) at a time to waste less. I can see the use in most anything, but have to hold my tongue when I see the mass production of useless stuff. This fabric was reclaimed this week from a worn out bed skirt. The flat part that sits on the box spring was totally gone, but this wonderful eyelet fabric was in excellent condition. Can you see this in a shabby chic makeover?

After cutting marketable pieces of reclaimed linens for my store (butterflyplace.etsy.com) I kept cutting the smaller pieces into four and a half inch squares. Quite a variety for sale to someone who quilts or for me to use making quilts for the Linus project.

And then there's the even smaller pieces to sell as a bundle of scrap. Best for Charm quilts it includes all the cuttings larger than one and a half inches to full fat quarters. Most of the fabrics are cotton and polyester, but there are many 100% cotton and with such a large variety the sky and some imagination is the limit. So that's what's been done with reclaimed linens this week and hopefully I can get more listed on my store and continue to keep stuff out of landfills.                                                               

Thrift finds for the past week.

What a wonderful week thrifting. It's becoming so natural and relaxing and the finds are just falling into place. Even setting a thrifting budget has worked. It's great to be able to choose what I really think will work on my store. I've taken a four day weekend to work just for me and have fun. Also to celebrate turning 60 and finally knowing how wonderful life really is. Knowing what is fun to do and not asking myself any more where I belong. I am and that's all. Enjoy life and visit my store on etsy. butterflyplace.etsy.com  Have a great weekend everyone.

Strictly Fabric Thrifting

This latest thrifting adventure was strictly fabric. Downsizing has made it a little more difficult to store larger items. Fabric can be folded and stored conveniently on a shelf. This fabric will become inventory on butterflyplace.etsy.com my online store. I will, however, continue to sell off my lifetime collections since they are already being stored. It just makes sense to sell of what is already here before purchasing anything else. It's amazing what we accumulate in our short lifetimes. I hope you take the time to visit my store.

Blogging my thrift finds and enjoying afternoon tea.

Trying to stay dedicated to building my store is harder than I want it to be. Coming home from work tired and aching doesn't help, but I am determined. This bundle of thrift finds includes linens, fabric, glassware, music box and boots. The boots will be used for my personal use. What a lucky find for me. I have fashion boots and work boots, but a great pair of heavy duty just be outside in a northeast snowstorm pair of boots kept eluding me. Finally at a flea market I found a pair worn only once for $6. I was thrilled. Lots of room for the extra sox. All other items will be listed on my store. butterflyplace.etsy.com. Some fabric added to pieces I have and some grouped in various ways after cutting, ironing and packaging. I will research the glassware and music box and list them also. All in all with the lifetime supply that I already have and the thrifted items I find I am continuing to add to my store inventory.

Back to work. Etsy store weekly listings.

This is the collection for this week. Hopefully I can get my eight items to list on my store from them. My goal is eight items listed a week. One a day plus a bonus. So far this year I am reaching my goal. Sold nine items this week so if I can do more I will. Stay tuned to butterflyplace.etsy.com.

The Finished Chair

Okay so the ninety nine cent chair is now worth so much more, but even the expense of fixing something up in exchange for comfort is worth the time spent and the price of paint. It took my daughter time to recover from her surgery, but once she felt up to spray painting she was right back at it finishing another project. Here it is. The chair is done and ready for use. We are both pleased with the result.
Don't ever be afraid to use vinyl paint and auto chrome paint. The results are amazing. They were new to both of us even though spray paint is one of our favorite things to work with. We highly recommend them. If you see that vinyl chair or vinyl anything and think it would look good upcycled then by all means give it a try. What can it hurt?

To Be Continued...Thrifted Chair Part Two

I didn't think that I'd get to the new pictures until this weekend, but as usual I get more done than I expect in a day. I am a bit tired today, but I think the weather has something to do with it. Nothing but clouds and rain. We saw some sun, but it's in and out. Today is my day off and I decided to keep working, but to pace at a more human rate. Done mostly little stuff today, but it all adds up to big stuff at the end of the day. So now it's time to show you the progress we are making on the 99 cent chair. It still has a way to go before completion, but we can visualize how it will look when it is done. I hope you can see it too. The improvements are slow, but any job worth doing is worth doing well. We will be repainting the chrome body, the vinyl is going to be white and the arms will be white and we found butterfly vinyl to decorate it. It will look wonderful in our computer room. I can't wait to actually see it done, but I can see what it will look like in my mind now.

To Be Continued...Thrifted Chair

I've been so very busy building my on line store that I haven't taken the time to blog. That extra income is helping so much right now. Any how on one of our thrift trips a while back my daughter needed to sit down for a while. She'd been having back problems and it was getting to her. This chair is the result of her needing to have a seat. It was very comfortable she said and had me try it. Spending hours on the computer working is hard on your you know what and we decided to take it. Of course the price was just right too. As you can see from the pictures it was quite marked down. The progression of mark downs only meant to us that no one even tried to sit in it. It was a bit soiled so maybe that's the reason. So for ninety nine cents we purchased a new office chair knowing that we could upcycle it with vinyl paint and maybe some decorations. It is currently in pieces in the garage being worked on. It is showing great progress and we found the most wonderful vinyl butterflies to apply to it. We'll keep you in suspense for a bit longer. I will take some pictures of the progress and blog again over the weekend.

Upcycled Candles From Other People's Junk

Have you ever wondered how to decorate cheap with candles. I've been successfully doing this for years with other people's junk that I upcycle. This is the in thing to do today. Glad it's become popular. These are two reclaimed Ball canning jars that can be hung with their own bail wires or set on the table.

These now white wall sconces started out as two goth black candle holders that with a quick spray painting in white made them two totally different holders. New life for less than five dollars. While out rummaging through another sale I found a number of tulip candle holders for fifty cents each and decided that these two pink ones would make these sconces perfect for my bedroom. I quickly attached them with E600 glue for a simple finish. Two wall sconces for just under six dollars.

One thing I like to do is go to the final day of church sales. This is the time that you can fill a bag for less than five dollars and what fits is yours for that price. I found these old metal objects that I am thinking are hand rail holders. Technical name I do not know, but my daughter and I used them in two different ways. She mounted hers to wood plaques that she purchased and I mounted mine to stained scrap wood. I attached votive glass and she just set the candle on the metal. Tastes differ, but for the seven wall sconces the price was well under $15. Can't beat that.

Check this out! I was featured on Apron-iCity!

How excited was I to learn today that I had been featured on the Apron-iCity website. She feature my post on the Embroidered Aprons back in December. If you have a chance check out the website, for all things apron related. What a great day!