Fabulous Finds Friday: Lots of Lots
Lots of Color and Sparkle
One of the best things about thrifting is finding things in lots at great prices.
Finding cool things in bunches makes me happy dance every time, especially this week it’s all about color and sparkle.Â
Two of my favorite things.
This week’s finds are courtesy of several thrift stores and our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
I spent more than $60, an expensive week for me, but I found a lot of great stuff.
My first fabulous lot is colorful scrapbook paper at 25 cents a sheet. I’m not into scrapbooking so I hope that’s a good deal. These will be awesome for some projects I have in mind.
I spent half my lunch hour at my local thrift store one day going through it and picking out my colors…Â greens, blues, pinks, purples,and yellows.Â
I literally sat myself on the floor while looking through the stack.Â
A thrifter’s gotta do what a thrifter’s gotta do, and this gal’s knees don’t enjoy the whole kneeling thing.
I left behind a lot of browns, oranges, blacks, greys, and beiges, and some patterns that just didn’t float my boat.
When I went up to the cash the woman counted 10 and then guesstimated by the thickness of that pile that I had about 100 sheets, which cost $25.00.
I was good with that whether it went in my favor or not, but when I got home and counted I actually had 114 sheets. Bonus!
I have big plans for these fun and colorful scrapbook papers.
My next amazing lot is this plastic container filled with large faceted acrylic chandelier crystal beads.
I got so excited when I saw this lot that I didn’t even keep looking through the ReStore.
I found my treasure and I was so done. lol.
It was priced at $15, and I thought there was probably about 50 in the container. So at 30 cents a piece I was quite happy.
When I got home and counted I was so surprised that there was actually 101 chandy crystals. 15 cents a piece makes me even happier.
Woohoo!
I could see that there was another price sticker below the $15, and when I peeled it away it read $25.
Obviously no crazy fool like myself had come along at $25 so they had to lower the price.
When I told John I probably wouldn’t have paid the $25, he said… oh yes you would have.
And… yes I would have. lol.
These beads are a good size and they have a good weight to them, and many still have the smaller circular crystals attached.
My brain has been swirling with ideas for these sparkly treasures since I found them last weekend.
Easter is coming and the thrift stores are brimming with inexpensive plastic eggs, which are perfect for all kinds of makeovers. The two large bags were a dollar, and the smaller bag was 25 cents.
I also found a $1 bouquet of styrofoam eggs on wire stems in a cute basket.
I see some Easter egg projects in my future.
And from plastic eggs to plastic balls.
Two $1 bags of larger colorful balls that look like bouncy castle balls, and a a 50 cent bag of colorfully striped ping ping balls.Â
Balls of all kinds have loads of repurposing and crafting potential.
They can be used as is, or given makeover and repurposed in projects.
I have a few fun ideas for these.
I have no clue what these plastic strips are supposed to be, but for a dollar how could I resist them?Â
The colors are so fun, and they have removable paper revealing sticky backs.
Any idea what these are?
Every so often my main thrift store has a clothing sale for $5 a bag. They have such a constant stream of donations that they have to keep the stuff moving.
That’s when I go to town looking for patterns and colors that I love.
Lately I’ve been on the lookout for plaids of all kinds for a couple of project ideas, and I filled up a bag one day and the next day I filled up another bag.
All in all I got nine pairs of fun and colorful plaid pants.
And thirteen plaid shirts, and three shirts not in the pic fit John so I let him have them. lol.
The fun thing about buying clothes for projects is that you don’t have to worry about what size they are. Any size will do. It’s all about the colors and patterns.
TIP: When buying clothes by the grocery bag it’s important to roll each piece of clothing up nice and tight.
That way you’ll maximize the space in the bag, and get the most bang for your buck.
Thanks so much for reading, and until next time…
keep on keepin’ on!
XOX

Wow, great finds Tuula! Those strips look like they are for Legos to me 🙂
Tania
Thanks Tania! I have to do some googling on Legos.
Great find. I’m sure you have many ideas. How to use it all. Hope you have space for everything I’m sure you do. Will be patiently waiting to see your ideas come to life.
Thanks Rita! Luckily I do have plenty of space because I did a purge in my craft studio in January. I tend to do that every year after the holidays. Out with the never used stuff and in with newly thrifted stuff with all new creative possibilities.
I agree with Tania- the strips look like they go with Legos. That’s some serious crafting potential! Now get out there and find some Legos!
haha. I don’t think I ever played with Legos. I’m sure my brothers probably did. I do have some other ideas for those colorful strips.
Tuula, how colorful everything is! When you find all these treasures I always wonder are they just for projects in your home…..or do you have a selling venue like a craft booth or whatever? I also agree it is great to find things in bulk.
Thanks Elaine! I used to sell stuff in my etsy shop, but that’s on indefinite vacation for now. I might open it again some day, when I retire from my day job. I’ve always enjoyed creating and repurposing things for my home, so when I find stuff cheap I can’t resist the creative potential. If some day some things go back to the thrift stores that’s ok.
Tuula,
Cannot wait to see what you have in mind for your haul. Love the colors!
Thanks Nancy! It’s always fun to find stuff in lots. It really gets the ideas flowing.
The strips are for legos. The strips have sticky backs do you can attach them to a wall, table etc. if you collect the mini LEGO figures you can display them with the tape. Great finds.
Thanks Gloria! I don’t do the lego thing, but I thought they were cool. I look forward to repurposing them.
What a haul Tuula! I can’t wait to see what you do with most of the items especially the scrap papers because I too have about 5 inches of them and I don’t scrap book either lol, I hope you come up with some great ideas to inspire me!
Hi Pam! I have a few ideas for my scrapbook paper so I hope they’ll inspire you too. 🙂
Wow!!! $60!!!! I’m really impressed with all the cool stuff you got for that!!! I can just see those chandelier crystals on a yard ornament! I love mine that I got from you!! Girl! You are gonna be BUSY! And I can’t wait to see all you will do!!!
Thanks Dona! You’re so right. I’m definitely going to be a busy girl 🙂