I'm a thrifter.
If you haven't already determined that, I'm making it official. My hobbies include yard saling, thrift store browsing, craigslist searching and then giving my finds new life. To me, the hunt is worth every bit of the treasures I discover. And I get it honest. My mom was always the proponent for our early Saturday morning journeys. At the time, I was HIGHLY against getting-up-super-early (on my day off) to-buy-other-people's-old-junk when I was younger. I was, and still am, not a morning person, plus the wonderful trait of motion sickness that I so lovingly inherited from my father, would no doubt rear it's ugly head more often than not each time we set off on a new adventure. Most times I would sleep in the back seat missing all of what my mom had found. But at the time, it's was the better option to sticking my head out the window/door at every stop.
At the time, I'm sure I was cursing my mother for "dragging" me out of my cozy bed on those painfully cold mornings, but now? I'm more appreciative of it than ever. It's a gift. And if you aren't convinced it's a gift, try it out yourself. Some people just can't see beyond what right in front of them.
So in honor of the upcoming Mother's Day, I tell her "thank you." Whether she intentionally passed down the thrifting gene or not, I'm glad for it each and every day.
Recent Find: During an after work visit to the Salvation army this week, I stumbled upon a group of wooden shoe forms (or lasts as I found while searching online).
My initial thought was "huuuuurraay grab dem! hurry, hurry!"
I can imagine my reaction to seeing something I really want is similar to an addict is addicted to a controlled substance. I snatched them right up and tossed them in my buggy. As I hurried home, I was running all possible decorating ideas through my head. Unfortunately, my brain was foggy from the day's activities and being the instant gratification girl that I am, I immediately had to do a Pinterest/Google search for "shoe form/last decor."
The search turned up multiple inspiring pictures, but ultimate it led to:
Those beautiful people are my grandpa and grandma at the beach. You can't see it in this picture, but one of them wrote on the picture "me" and "her" with arrows pointing to each of them (seriously, how stinking cute???). I love this picture of them! I had it displayed in another part of my house, but after being inspired by my Pinterest search, I decided to move it to be displayed in the shoe form/last. I simply bent the back end of the form up and it was an instant photo holder. Love!
The second inspired project I did was turning a pair of the forms into hooks. I grabbed some of those Command Strips,
and stuck them to the back side of the form.
After that, I just tacked it to the side of my jewelry/bookshelf.
WHAT? How simple and cute? They are purfect (pun intended) for hanging two vintage purses I scored at Goodwill last weekend (which is a much better place for them than where my vintage purse collection is housed now....my closet).
These hooks would even be great for hanging necklaces or coats! The possibilities are endless. Just make sure you apply adequate strips to the back so they don't come crashing down in the middle of the night only to scare you half to death or worse, break something irreplaceable. If you are having trouble thinking of what to do with your recent finds, google it. It doesn't make you any less creative to look for inspiration.
So, there you have it! Two super, duper simple projects using my latest thrift find, shoe lasts. You can't get more instant gratification than either project. No sewing, painting, or hammers needed! And I have one more set of forms left. Maybe I'll give them to the Fox; they are men's lasts after all....
Happy early Mother's Day to my mama, my big sis, my sis-in-law, my niece and all other moms out there! And Happy Derby Weekend, too! Be back soon!
