Some of the stuff to the right is from Big Box, mostly the bottom beads and the seed beads in the middle. The rest came from the craft store. Yeah, there is a difference in price, but the craft store has a better selection. I have crochet cotton, but not that color blue, and needed it for the mermaid doll, who up till then had been topless. Thought about giving her the side-drilled shell beads as a bikini top but they were kind of... risqué looking. The white and blue glass 'pearls' are for a crown in her hair, I just liked the blue glass ones that are translucent. I will give her a necklace too, mermaids love treasure. Maybe a bracelet as well. Seed beads and gold or silver thread are good for that. The brass heart was on sale, marked down to 39¢. I am thinking Christmas ornament with something crocheted around it, I have a star and a moon like that.
Below is the rest of that haul. Except for the silver tone chain, it's all from the craft store. The findings are both copper, and I saw the pendants (they were on sale) and had to have them. SOOOO pretty! I need an omega or neck wire, the bottom one is heavy and will make a chain droop. I saw the feather/leaf pendants and thought, "Earrings!" That's why I grabbed the sparkly green and gold lined E beads, figuring I have other larger beads here to intersperse with them. I'm seeing a lot more copper jewelry findings now. I wear copper now and then, though I am primarily a sterling silver gal.
Lee is always my patient partner in crime, and he generally drives the getaway car. *G* He likes crafts and thrifting too, but I let him go into one of the stores alone and hunt for more baseball cards. We had a quickie lunch at a fast food joint, and then headed onto the highway. On the way back home, we got off a couple towns away from mine where there is a small strip mall that has a thrift shop. You know me and my thrifting by now, I always find something.
I like good looking tins for storage, but don't usually buy what is inside them. Got this one for craft supplies because of the upright shape and the Peter Rabbit pictures. The three Corelle dessert bowls are not my color or pattern, but they were 99¢ for all three and we don't have many in that size anymore. I never have enough spoon rests, and that one is small, which is nice in my space-cramped kitchen, and plastic is great because my mother is one of those unfortunate people who gets the 'dropsies'. Less than $3 worth of stuff there.
I crochet, but haven't learned to knit - yet. I have been collecting old needles for a while though, figuring it is cheaper that way. I could not pass up this (it was bagged) bundle for $3.99, my big splurge of the day. About 2/3 of them were matched, though a lot of the plastics had taken a 'set' and were a bit wonky looking. Note there are some afghan hooks in there as well as most of a hairpin lace tool. I can have someone make me a wooden base for it, and it will be useable. The unmatched needles go in a flat owl vase on the office windowsill until they find a mate. I liked the little curio box because it is made to hang on the wall. Another place for some of my tinier collectibles.
Thrifting is not only good economics but most of the shops I frequent support charitable groups and their work. So I am giving back to the community with each purchase. And, what is in the shop is not taking up space in a landfill. That makes me feel a lot better about what I bring home. *S* In fact, the OH and I agreed that we really couldn't afford a vacation on our anniversary this year. When he asked me what I wanted to do instead, I said, hey, let's hit a bunch of thrift shops and make a day of it. There is a restaurant supply place a drive from here that sells used small wares that I enjoy browsing through (I love to cook and bake too) and we will hit that first, and then backtrack to several of the bigger city charity thrifts. Then maybe have an early dinner at one of the buffet places. He liked the idea, and I can't think of a better way to spend the day.
Did a lot of housekeeping today. During one of my breaks I sat down and threw these earrings together. Those are the leaf/feather pendants you saw above (they are some sort of plastic) and the E beads I bought as well as the copper eye pins and fish hook findings. The other beads I have had for a while, and just had to pore through the box for them. Don't look too closely at the bottom join, it needs a crimp bead or tube, but they are wearable and hang almost to my shoulders. I have long hair, so I think they will show nicely. Green is my favorite color BTW. I think they came out pretty good!
I have a storage tip for you for all these little bitty craft supplies that makes use of something most people wind up tossing. When I open those little bubble packs and baggies that things like beads come in, they are often wrecked beyond reuse. We have several people here on prescription meds and so pill bottles tend to pile up. I rinse them out to remove any medication traces and get rid of the labels (some peel right off and others need soaking or scrubbing with 91% isopropyl alcohol) and then dry them and reuse for all my itty bitty craft supplies. Things stay organized and accessible, but they aren't easy for little fingers to open and spill all over creation. They can be relabeled too, which is nice if you have lots of stuff like I do. LOL Hey, and you're saving the planet at the same time, what could be better? Oh, and if you make stuffed animals, a pill bottle with a good fitting lid and some beads, stones, or jingle bells inside makes a good 'rattler' noise if you bury it in the stuffing. A lot safer than some things I've seen.
See, you even learned something today by reading the blog! *G*
This is the latest crochet project in all her glory, The Ugliest Little Mermaid. Actually, she doesn't look that bad, I'm just not happy with her face. The nose I sewed on using the same yarn her flesh is made from, but split from four plies to two. It's just a bump, but that's enough. The mouth is the second attempt with embroidery floss, I had to cut the first one off because it looked weird and would not tease back out. This one is OK. The eyes are floss too, a French knot for the center and I tried to chain stitch around it. I might do more work on them tonight.
Her bandeau bikini top is the blue crochet cotton thread you saw above. I went by memory of her tail color (didn't think to bring a yarn sample) and it's not that far off. I kind of winged it, making the two discs for the 'cups' and slip stitching them together, and then made the band to go around. It slipped up over her tail and hips, and fits snug enough to stay in place, but it is removable. I have no experience working in thread, and hadn't ever used my set of steel hooks so this was a maiden attempt. I think it came out OK. I used a size 4 (American) steel if you are wondering.
That's the back below. Working on that and the face taught me one thing - I need better lighting! Time to get that Ott Light I bought last spring set up.
Next, after I do something about her eyes (maybe lashes would help) she gets all decked out in her jewels and then she is finished, Hmmm, maybe someone will get her for Christmas this year, I wonder who????? *BEG*
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