Thrift Store Scores – The Creative Salad

DIY Life on Earth Memory Game Magnets

We love the Eeboo Life on Earth Matching Game. When I spotted another copy of the exact same game at the thrift store for $1, I bought it right away. Instead of having two identical memory games, I thought it would be fun to turn this set into attractive magnets for the fridge.

I love the images on the cards, which are paintings by one of our favorite children’s book illustrators, artist Melissa Sweet. A perfect reuse project!

We took each memory game card and stuck two strips of magnet tape to the back of each piece:

Our magnetic strips came from a craft resale shop (that befits our local hospice), but you can either purchase magnetic tape or reuse any magnets that you have in the house (such as those free ones that come in junk mail).

Simple, inexpensive and so attractive — we now own Melissa Sweet magnets!

I love the vivid colors and biological themes gracing our fridge!

I think this project was a hit.

The Art of Finding a Thrift Store Score

I love finding a good thrift store score. We have two fantastic locally owned and operated non-profit thrift stores near our house where I do much of our shopping for books, toys, kitchen items, magazines, music, and craft supplies.

Why pay full price for something of equal value and often in similar condition that costs a fraction of the price?! It’s more eco-groovy and budget-friendly to shop at second-hand shops.

brand new $4 coloring book we bought for 25¢

Here are my tips for finding a thrift store score:

1. Shop often – pop in, do a quick walk around, and head out. The more often you stop by, the more likely you are to spot a gem. You’ll also be familiar with your thrift store’s pricing structure and be more likely to know when something is a real steal.

2. Only buy something you’d be willing to pay full price for. I know this sounds counterintuitive. I find it keeps me from buying things I don’t really need simply because they’re a good deal.

$12 Ravensburger puzzle we scored for $1

3. If you’re looking for a particular item ask if they have it in the back. Many thrift stores have a giant inventory that’s constantly being moved into the store. I’ve had luck asking about Pyrex dishes and giant embroidery hoops.

4. Shop with an open mind. Don’t like the color of that picture frame? Paint it. Love the artwork in a particular book but the front cover is ripped? Frame pages or do an art project with the inside pages. Not sure about something that costs $1? Either buy it and donate it back later if you change your mind, or skip it and know that someone else will bring it home and enjoy it. Either way, you really can’t go wrong.

Rivers, Roads and Rails game for $2 instead of $20

There are some items that I always am on the lookout for: Ravensburger puzzles, wooden Scrabble letters, I Can Read books, Pyrex dishes, Gap kids clothes, games by Gamewright, eeBoo and Family Pastimes, empty coloring and activity books.

Curious about other great deals I’ve found? See the entire list of Thrift Store Score posts here.

Handmade Watercolor Postcards

At our local art supplies store I spotted a packet of blank watercolor postcards for sale. Instead of purchasing them, I bought a large pad of (deeply discounted) watercolor paper. We traced a 4×6 inch postcard on one sheet and found that we could fit four postcards on each page. Instead of paying $5 for 15 postcards, we can make 120 for approximately they same price.

Does this count as a thrift store score?!

Tracing our postcard template

Erasing the pencil outline of the traced postcard

Using water color pencils and glitter glue to decorate the postcards

Dried and ready to mail

Our daughter has been busily working on making postcards to send to her friends. Whether they make it out of the house and into the mail remains to be seen. I have a feeling they may end up in our pretend post office instead.

Postmaster Leyba has some beautiful, handmade watercolor postcards to deliver!

Bamboo Tray Score

This is not exactly a thrift store score, but it was such a great deal it might as well have been.

I found this bamboo tray at greendesign, an eco-goods store in Princeton, NJ while on vacation.

Marked down from $25 to $2 because of a slight crack in the grain (that’s barely visible on the wood-stained side), I love the size and shape. Also, I like that it’s constructed out of a renewable resource.

This multipurpose tray can be used for tea parties, picnics, and serving all sorts of tasty treats from the toddler’s play kitchen.

After all, if I expect my daughter to embrace the habit of sharing, I had better lead by example. That means I can’t keep it all to myself.

Bummer.

Interested in procuring a tray for yourself? Pick one up on sale at greendesign in Princeton, NJ or purchase one here at the Bambu website.

“Puzzling” Makes a Return

Hello, September! Our Summer Postcard series for the month of August is over and we’re back to regular posting. That was fun. Hopefully I’ve reclaimed my daily blogging rhythm as we head into the fall…

After a nearly year-long hiatus, our daughter’s puzzle obsession has returned with gusto. Today’s challenge for our three year old?

This 100 piece Ravensburger ocean puzzle that we recently found at a thrift store for $1.

We worked on sorting the pieces by colors and textures together and then she flew through assembling it.

Such fun. A perfect morning homeschool activity.

And quite honestly I don’t think she looked at the box top once. That being said, I might have used it to point her in the right direction once or twice or ten times. Cause mama’s are helpful like that and sometimes *we* need help.