Thursday, July 28, 2011

On the hunt for Sport's Equipment- I struck GOLD!

Sorry for neglecting my post but my baby, Thing 2, had his 1st Baseball All-Star tournament this past week(end) and I had doctor appointments and just didn't fit any blogging in. Forgive me?

This past weekend I hit up Value World  (VW) with my printable 50% off coupon from http://www.coupons4indy.com/ and found not 1, not 2 but 5 pairs of sliding shorts for baseball. Friends let me tell you, that's a rare treasure indeed, to date I've never found any and the regular price is $20-$50 depending on brand and quality. I got all 5 for under $5, YES, that's right, $5 BUCKS!!!

I was lucky and found before baseball season started a protective shirt for Thing 2 at the same VW for $2...I thought they run around $20 so great deal, yeah?  Well, All-Star coach bought his son the exact same 1 for $40, SCORE!!! At another VW, I got him a $40 bat for $1.50 and the best thing, he started hitting consistently better.

And my final deal of the day, which isn't a Thrift Store find but definetely frugal...my all white "uniform" to match my baby. Shorts $6 and Shirt $4 Wally-World (Walmart), then took it to the awesome Avon Sports Apparel to have the name/numbers pressed on my shirt, $13 plus they gave me (2) neon orange t-shirts to promote their business, FREE is a definite SCORE too... Go see Fernando (play mental ABBA song now) and get your parent booster shirt hooked up, only took about 10 mins

I was wearing a navy blue Hawks shirt but it was sooo hot outside, heat index 110, on Saturday that I went with all white too...I have a secret for getting his uniform clean...I used the recipe to make your own home-made laundry soap from Erin Huffstetler @Frugal Living.

I used 2 TBSP each of: Fels Naptha Soap, Washing Soda, Baking Soda and Borax...mixed that with HOT water in a bucket, added uniform & hand scrubbed red dirt & grass stains out. Then dump the entire mixture into the washing machine & add 1 load serving of Tide w/Febreeze (you probably could omit the Tide but it was already so late & I didn't want to wait to rewash)...viola' comes out pretty white. (pics taken Sunday & the smiles are there because we hadn't lost yet)

In this rare photo of brother's hugging & liking each other (that's Thing #1 in the gold tee), you can see how dirty it was from Saturday's winning game. We celebrated by eating dinner at Culver's Butter Burgers & Frozen Custard, MMM soo good. 

Homemade laudry soap costs about $5 to make 10 gallons of detergent that works very well & has a clean smell.  It even revived some pretty dingy shirts I used it on!
Easy to make too & I bought all of the ingredients in the laundry/cleaning aisle of Kroger's grocery store.


COMING SOON: Treasure Hunting in Sunny Madiera Beach
What will she find??

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Birds of a Feather...

Last night at church my dear friend Miss LoLo showed me her lastest Goodwill find....it made me green RED with envy... she found a Reed Krakoff red hobo style purse... it was just hanging on the regular purse rack for, drumroll please, $2.99.  I'm sure if there was "Purse Story" movie,  it would have been sobbing, I'm a Designer Purse Princess...why am I here amoung these common K-Mart bags, SNIFF
The leather was soo soft and it had buckles & the zipper had a latch closure to keep out pick-pockets or well me at first..almost as secure as Fort Knox


Her daughter looked up the name online and found out the bag retails for around $1,000, yes I said  A COOL GRAND!!!   Miss LoLo just bought to use as a book bag...I told her to carry & brag for a while then sell it and go buy another one :)

I looked it up and found 1 very similiar on Macy's currently in Black or Bone, Macy's Reed Krakoff bag   
(please excuse the reflection in the shiny tag...does the camera make my fingers look fat?)


Not to be outdone...I found a brand new, personal size "Nut Butter" maker still sealed in the box...$4 ...I just love fresh Almond/Peanut butter but I only use a couple tablespoons at a time so this size was perfect and Almond butter is $6.99/lb... Miss LoLo spied my find and wanted it..so we played "Let's Make a Deal" ..she's making me one of her Peanut Butter Pies, they are The Bomb. I think I got the better end of the deal :) MMM, MMM, MMM

Monday, July 18, 2011

A Day Late (well an hour) ...

Sorry no posts this weekend, wasn't feeling the greatest & still have a mild migraine today....(just called in a refill of my migraine medicine & thanks to a Catalina Coupon from Meijer, I'm getting $20 just to get it filled at CVS)

So today scrolling thru Facebook statuses, I see on Goodwill page that Jenna of All Thrifty States will be at the Greenwood Point Goodwill store at 1:30pm... Wonderful right?? yes, except it's 2:45 and that store is a good 30 minutes away and my head is not liking the HOT weather we're having right now.

From what I've read on Jenna's website, we might be soul sisters...Jenna's page, liking the Goodwill Guy. She's on a mission to go Thrifting in all Fifty (Thrifty) States, AND she's traveling in an RV named HaRVey.. anyway, check out her page and go on over and "Like" her on Facebook click here  and to get hooked up of Goodwill's sales & Friday Coupons go over & like there page click here

I just created a Facebook page to so please go on over & LIKE ME, please :)  click here

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Treasures at Kroger? Yep, of the Edible Kind

Well now you know, this blog isn't going to be only about Thrift Stores but how & where this Single Mom gets thrify at. Today I'm doing the Happy Dance (BLOG style) over my finds at Kroger the other day.

I just needed bread & maybe milk if it was on sale so I didn't even grab a cart or basket (that's how the boys know if I really mean a quick trip, IN/OUT) Dre usually will screech,
"No-huh!!!! it will not be quick, you grabbed a cart"
(B-U-S-T-E-D, when did my 10yr old get so observant & smart??  Well, since he misses the dirty clothes on his floor, it must be Selective Observance reserved only for mom's shopping habits

But I digress.... here's what I got & how much it cost at Kroger at Southport & Bluff (No, not the same day the lady locked her kids in the car & tried to fight the good Samaritan who tried to help them on the hottest day we've had so far)
  • Driscoll's Red Raspberries for $1, snagged 1 for homemade Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream (post & recipes to follow)
  • Kroger Cole Slaw mix $1 (gonna try "You're Talking Too Much's" recipe (click here for Cole Slaw recipe link) and she also has a recipe for some good ole Southern BBQ using a Boston Butt
  • (2) Loaves of  Kroger Value Brand Wheat Bread marked down to $.29/each (it's the freshest, fluffiest bread even though it was marked down)
  • Kroger Hot Dog Buns marked down to $.39 (we don't usually go through a whole pack before the go stale anyway so it was a bonus score)
  • Bakery French Bread loaf marked down to $.59 (had some of this with dinner tonight, using rest for a French Toast Strata that Sheila gave me a recipe for, LOVE You She-She)
  • (2) Half-Gallons of Kroger Brand Skim Milk $.75/each, normally we drink 2% but skim if just fine on cereal anyway
Total Spent $5.35, thank you Kroger & their Orange & Yellow markdown stickers makes the deals easier to spot!!

Shoppers Note: They did have a Boston Butt in the markdown meat section but it wasn't big enough so I would have to have another one so I passed it up this time. No other buy me deals for meat this time :(

The boys have already ate the 1st loaf of bread with Nutella & Jelly sandwiches, I made a tuna sandwich & that bread was tasty even for wheat.  (I'll share my cheap supplier for Nutella another day)

For those that care, here are the regular prices for the same items
Raspberries $3.49
1/2 Gallon Milk 1.75
Bread $.88
Buns $.99
French Bread $2.49
Cole Slaw $1.99
Regular Price Sub-Total $14.22 + $1.03/tax =$15.25
66% Off Sale and they're not even going out of business

(disclaimer--Kroger did not pay me to blog about them, but if they want to send me some gift cards or giveaway prizes, I'll take them)

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Yes, but can she really hunt down the treasure?

It's true, I'm new to blogging but I have been a Treasure Hunter for as long as I can remember (my mom drug me around with her) and just like spinach & asparagus, I love it as an adult.


What's in the bag, lady?  Well, I'm glad you asked (shopping bag was a sample from http://www.4imprint.com/, they have wonderful marketing tools and they are very, very economical & easy to work with)

This is just 1 of the bags of booty from my 4th of July Goodwill Super Saturday sale, I weighed the contents & a couple other things you'll see in the next pic, it all weighed 7 pounds. Now, you're probably wondering why does it matter how much it weighs, right? Well, at Goodwill Outlet (Indy has 3 of them) they weigh most everything by the pound. Regular price is $.59/lb but on Super Saturdays it's only $.39/lb. YES, I typed that correctly and for you quick mathematicians out there, I only spent about $3 for everything I'm getting ready to show you. MWA HA HA
OK, gonna start from the top down
  • Black wrought iron 2 decorative plate holder (was bronze/coppery)
  • Full tin of Mostly Memories Sample candle Grandma's Kitchen smells like cinnamon oatmeal cookies
  • Yankee Candle Shells on Sand Candle holder #0903258521
  • Ceramic Bee candle holder (small candles in the wings)
  • Partylite taper candle slightly curved in spiced vanilla
  • Small off white shelf (held all of the above)
  • Small Embroidery Hoop
  • Silver 5X7 picture frame
  • Smaller plastic hoop
  • Rooster Coaster (inside hoop, going to upcycle this for my kitchen)
  • Willow Tree Angel-Happiness missing her foo-fahs on her arms
  • Suchard Hot Chocolate Syrup for Tassimo 8 disks fully sealed
  • Wooden Bobbin Holder??
  • Lime Green Ceramic Pot w/matching tray (2nd one not pictured)
  • 5 Walnut colored wooden mini-candle sticks
  • Evil Pig from Toy Story, Faceless LegoMan & Golf Ball (for my boys)
  • Medium Espresso Shelf/Ledge w/4 Hooks (held all of the above)
  • Salter Digital scale (perfect for weighing food or packages)
  • Black Paisley Vera Bradley Makeup Bag
  • Heavy Duty Ladder/Bike Wall Hook for Garage
  • GNC Pro Performance Shake Maker w/steel mixing ball (perfect for Shakeology Shake)
  • Leather Tool Belt Pouch
  • Tied to the Top of the chair resting against the back is Tan W/Black Flocked Design w/satin sash
  • Not in this pic but (8) sealed in original plastic Original Chocolate Factory candy/dessert molds w/instruction book
ALL OF THAT for  Three Dollars, let the hating begin...it's ok..next time I go 'A Hunting, you can come too

I had already painted the plate holder black and found 2 Rooster Plates to go in them from another adventure, they came from Value World originally from Home Goods w/price still on $2.99 each, VW had them marked $1.21 but I used my 50% off coupon and got them both for $1.21, they were supposed to go in my kitchen that I'm doing French Country Roosters.....But Alas, as I was trying to get the right placement to cover the phone jack, both of them crashed to the ground and broke, cutting my leg w/shards (Who knew Terra Cotta could be so sharp)

Now don't fret, they broke in big enough pieces I think I can Super Glue them back together, if not,
well it was only A Buck Twenty One :)

Well, Can I Hunt or Can I Hunt,

Amy, The Thrify Treasure Hunter signing off for today

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

AnDreis Terry Goodwill Interview

I'm interviewing my oldest son, AnDreis (pronounced Ann Dre SSS) before going into the 4th of July Goodwill Outlet Super Saturday Sale. The first part of what he is saying is, "Goodwill, where you always find some treasure.."
I found a wonderful coffee table for $4, had to take it apart to get it to barely fit in my little Ford Focus but I made it home with all my Treasures intact....I saw a tutorial from Red Hen Home a few weeks ago, http://redhenhome.blogspot.com/2011/06/another-coffee-table-please.html and thought it was very cool then ran across my find and knew it was fate.  Red Hen used her image from The Graphics Fairy http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fabulous-french-ephemera-chocolate-and.html 
I will post my version hopefully soon!  Also, I am learning to link stuff & give the proper credit, so if I do something not quite correctly, please let me know in a loving way :)

Let Me Introduce myself...

My name's Amy and I live in Indianapolis, home of the Colts, Pacers and Indianapolis 500. I'm a single mom of two boys, AnDreis who's 10 and Adrian who's 8.

I'm a Second Generation crafter and Thrift Store Treasure Hunter. My mom taught me well by her example and I find myself becoming more & more like her now that she's gone to Heaven. When I'm creating or treasure hunting, I feel so very close to her, I guess that's why I like to do it even more now.

For as long as I can remember, my mother has always made something- in the late 70's she macramed the heck out of some planters to sell for extra income (she was a single mom too) and made Square Dance dresses when we lived in Florida, apparently it was really popular and she had a great stream of orders. I remember all those ruffled skirts..the ruffles & ruffles & ruffles. I also remember hard-sugar easter eggs that she decorated along with Candy Bar crosses. In the '80 she made soft-sculpted dolls, cabbage patch babies and then she fell in love with stenciling and Tolle Painting. The '90 brought flower arrangements and still more Tolle painting.  For the last 10 years of her life, she fell head over heels in love with Stampin' Up and making cards.  I started scrapbooking & created a profile on TwoPeasinaBucket.com/dredrian, showed it to her and she took it over.  Her beautiful creations are still there in cyber-space if you want to check them out. I go & pull pics of her cards to send to her friends & family on their birthdays...it kind of makes us all feel like she's still here & got a "Glinda" made-it card for their birthday. I loved Glinda Ray Querry-Chasteen very much, RIP 6/14/42 - 12/24/08...although I miss you so badly, I wouldn't wish you back from heaven for anything.

Sorry, had to get the sad stuff out first, now we can move on to the crafty transformations of all my LOOT I find Treasure Hunting at Thrift Stores.  In my area, we have Goodwills & Salvation Army along with my very favorite gettin' place, Value World.  Over the years a few of my best places closed up- Unique Thrift Store & Council of the Blind...oh how I've missed them, between those 2 places is how I dressed by boys for the 1st 5 years of their lives (and me too).  Many a holiday was spent in their "WHOLE STORE 50% OFF" for hours, lines around the building, had to bring your own cart...I've seen shorter lines on Black Friday, seriously

Now I have to settle for Goodwill's 1st Saturday of the Month 50% off sale ($.59/lb at the Outlet) and scrounge for Value World coupons to get 50% off there, thankfully they put them out on http://www.coupons4indy.com/ and go on Sundays with my full punch card.

July 2nd was Goodwill last Super Saturday (I have a video interview w/AnDreis Terry, my shopping hostage for the day, once I figure out how to load it here) OH MY GOODNESS did I get some fantastic stuff: raw materials to stock my forthcoming ETSY shop and some wonderful decorations for my house & yard. I hestitate to post the pics because I know it will create so much ENVY :)

I also am a Freecycler & free Craigslister as much as I can, people have been soo generous...and I like to call the things I find that were a specific wishlist, my BOAZ Blessings.

Both boys play basketball, soccer, football and baseball..Adrian loves them all & it awesome & God has seen fit to bless him with Athletisism (cuz it sure didn't come from me) Anyway, he was needing a bat and God provided me a find at Value World for $3, mind you I just browsed Craigslist the day before & I wasn't gonna touch a decent one like he needed for under $50, so I did the happy dance all the way home & make sure to give God the glory for it. I think God puts stuff there for me to find just to show me how much he really thinks about me (well, all of us).

Well, I think that's enough for now...please bear with me in my learning curve, constructive criticism is always welcome, be warned not so nice posts will be deleted, I don't like drama, I only want positive, creative juices flowing over here...

Thanks,
Amy/TTH