Second-Hand Smurfette

As you all know, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. You can dress as crazy as you want, and go as far as you want with makeup. And, of course, it's tons of fun to see how everyone else dresses too: some classic (like witches), some super topical (like Barbie), and inevitably the creative or obscure (my friend T went as a character from her favorite video game). 

This year, I chose to be Smurfette, which I think falls into the obscure category, now that Smurfs are "vintage" 😜 The great thing about a costume like Smurfette is you can go as far as you want to (I chose not to do my entire face blue this year), and a lot of components you may already have in your closet.

(Smurfette grabs a meal in a spooky diner.)

Instead of painting my whole face and skin, I brought the blue into my makeup with blue eyeshadow (and of course some sparkles) and blue lipstick. Makeup is an easy way to enhance your look at low cost and with little to throw away. I discovered the same matte product would work well on eyes and lips.

 

I went out 2 nights this year, so could play around with the look. In this second look, I went for a smokier eye, and darker lip, giving Smurfette a bit more of a goth vs. glam look.

Here's how I sourced the outfit:

Second-hand from thredUP, I purchased a Victoria's Secret beanie $13 (vs $20 new), Mainstream dress $22 ($50), Under Armour active t-shirt $12 ($30), Fabletics leggings $20 ($53), and Hushpuppies Soft Style pumps $10 ($55). Overall, I spent $77 for a $208 value. This is comparable cost to a pre-packaged, ill-fitting polyester costume, but I got to make it completely my own. I will keep the beanie, tee, and leggings for my regular wardrobe, gaining even more value than a packaged costume. The shoes and dress I'll either donate or re-sell.

Reused from a previous costume, the blond wig. No additional cost here, and getting more use out of an item. Staple products like wigs are great to keep for multiple looks throughout the years.

All in all, I'm excited to have had an entirely second-hand Halloween, and can't wait to start plotting next year's costume!  Did you repurpose, thrift, or DIY any of your costumes this year?

Tailoring a Tank Top

As always, my friend T is my best thrifting buddy, and when shopping a last month, she spotted this cute tank in perfect colors for me, gorgeous late summer/early autumn, moody rusts, mustards, and blues. This top was $15 at Goodwill, compared to $40 new. 

The one problem is the straps are too long. As a short person with a proportionately short torso, an un-altered tank top is a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen.

So first step is to get out the handy seam ripper. I remove just a few stitches over each strap and a few interior stitches until the strap is fully removed.

If you've never used a seam ripper, and you have any plans to try sewing, mending, or reuse old items for the fabric, it's an absolute game changer. It will help you remove inevitable bad stitches as you are learning, and will help you deconstruct items without losing fabric due to cutting off seams.

 (Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Once you've carefully removed the strap, cut off the length you need to shorten it by. I needed to remove 2" from each. Then insert your shortened strap back into the hole it came out of. 

Now, for small spaghetti straps like these, we could hand-sew them to reattach them, but I used my sewing machine as a quick option. You want to pass over the strap at least twice to lock it in place and re-close the hole we opened.

If you did a decent job of color-matching or coordinating your thread, it will be hardly noticeable. 

Now, wear your altered tank top with confidence. In the summer, I'll pair this with ankle jeans and sandals. In the fall, I'll add a blazer or cardigan and pumps. 

All in all, I'm out about 10 minutes of labor to make sure I have a top that is custom fit for me!

From Junk to Jar Gift

It started innocently enough. I've been keeping glass jars out of my recycling for possible reuse. And with the holiday season approaching, I just knew I could use a couple for gifts. Hot cocoa kit? Cookie baking kit? Sewing kit? After wracking my brain, I decided I wanted to make some snowglobes.

This turned into a long lesson on how to (and how *not to*) make a DIY snowglobe.

First step, head to the thrift shops and find cute little toys or figurines to create the scene. I left Goodwill with an awesome white glossy rearing unicorn. Dubbed "Ulrich", the unicorn started at $5, but since it was discount day for blue tags, he was marked down to just $3. This adventure is starting out strong. 

This is the eventual majestic snowglobe:

Ulrich comes home with me, and the next step is choosing the right jar to put him in. I try the largest spaghetti sauce jar... then the largest pickle jar... and to my dismay, none of my many saved jars are big enough. I rack my brain... maybe a large Adams peanut butter jar. I would totally use more peanut butter, and could divvy it up into some of my smaller jars. So I measure Ulrich, and I'll need a minimum 3" jar opening, and 7" height. 

On to the grocery store with my measuring tape. I go from aisle to aisle, measuring the pickled artichoke hearts, and the bulk dill pickles, and finally getting on my knees in the grocery store to measure the Adams peanut butter. Nothing is larger than 6" tall! <sob>

Finally, I cave, head to Michael's, and purchase a giant, half-gallon Mason jar. Lesson 1: the knick-knacks for inside your snow globe need to be much smaller than you think!

Now that I've aquired my jar and unicorn, I can start assembling. Ulrich is adhered to the lid with some waterproof silicone sealant. Pro tips: 1) make sure your adhesive is waterproof, 2) apply in a well ventilated room (such as a bathroom with the fan on), and 3) make sure you know the curing time (this one takes 24 hours).

You can decorate the lid if you want to cover any branding or just to embellish for fun. Metallic or sparkly nail polish work great.

Once your scene is secure and cured, you can start adding liquid and "snow". To make your snow fall slower, you'll add some glycerin. Glycerin is a moisturizing, vegetable-based product that is used in soaps and lotions.

You'll only need a small amount, so save to use by itself as a moisturizer, or add to other DIY bath and body projects.

Next, figure out what you want your "snow" to be. Pay attention. I learned *all* the lessons. :-D

The first thing I tried was some rainbow mylar confetti that I had leftover from previous events. What glorious unicorn doesn't want to be surrounded by rainbow? Lesson 2: test your glitter for color-fastness. The mylar was not color-fast and quickly became a purple soupy mess.

I next tried some fine silver glitter. Lesson 3: Fine glitter combined with the water and glycerin will clump.

I finally landed on some course white and irrisdescent glitter. Next: to get the proportions of water, glycerin, and glitter right. One online source suggested 1 cup water to 1 tbsp glycerin and 1 tbsp glitter. This was substantially to slow-falling and too cloudy. I suggest you start with 1 cup: 1 tsp: 1 tsp. Close and shake your jar to test, then add more glitter if you want, and more glycerin if the snow is falling too fast. 

With a white unicorn and white glitter, we needed a pop of color. I painted on some rainbow stripes on the back side of the jar, and when dry, sealed with Mod Podge.

If you are concerned about the jar leaking, you can also glue the lid onto the jar, using a little of the same waterproof sealant from above on the threads.

The final result? Ulrich in a snowy magical wonderland.

Hopefully my lessons learned above will make your snowglobe journey much smoother! Looking for other ideas?

Safeway had these adorable candy jars available around Halloween. These could be created for any season by painting a seasonal character on and filling with your favorite candy. Or leave some of the jar unpainted and put in a small candle.

Alternatively, my brother received this yummy homemade granola as a gift. Minimal jar decorating needed, outside of a personalized label.

What are your favorite ways to reuse glass jars?

Second-Hand Socialite

It's time for the annual second-hand/DIY Halloween costume post. A few years ago, I aspired to be something glamorous and epic for Halloween. And at the last minute, I made a fatal mistake in my DIY-ing, and had to change direction entirely. 

This year, I was out thrifting with my friend T, and kid you not, the Goodwill gods directed me to 2 identical ballgowns, new-with-tags, and in my size and the adjacent size. 

It was meant to be that I should revisit the idea from years ago.  Introducing, painter Gustav Klimt's muse, the socialite Adele Bloch-Bauer. She was the subject of several of his paintings, and the 2015 film "Woman in Gold". 

This is the pre-altered dress. About 6" too long for me, but otherwise a perfect fit and very comfortable. My goal is to not damage the dress with my costume embellishments, so I still end up with an evening gown. 

Beyond this being a generally great gown, the price was fantastic. As mentioned, it was new with tags, so I know the original retail price was $357. The Goodwill price was $50, which was already a great deal. However, I noticed the other size was marked $10 less. ALWAYS ask the question. So I bring both dresses to the register and ask if I can pay the lower price, and they agree! So this gown came home with me for $40 (89% off).

First, I start with hemming the dress for my bitty 5'3" stature. I'm finally trying a zig zag stitch, because it's a stretchy fabric.

If you can learn some of these basic stitches, you can save some major cash. I had a formal dress hemmed last year for a wedding and the alterations cost $70 at Nordstrom. Halloween costumes are a great low-risk project to practice on, because worst case scenario is I only wear it for Halloween. 

Next, I use that 6 inches I cut from the hem, and reuse it to make a wrap that will serve as a faux ruffled "cold-shoulder" neckline. Adele's ruffle is patterned, so I'm painting on a design before sewing. The paint? Craft acrylics from Buy Nothing (free!) mixed with a little textile medium.

Onto the body of the dress, the painting is decorated with what I describe as eyeball shapes. For those, I started with an old bed sheet that  contained a similar pattern, and embellished with acrylic paint.

Now, when I went to attach these appliqués to the dress, I wanted to make sure I could remove them without residue, so I could rewear the dress in the future. I tried 2 products: a basting spray adhesive (did not work to adhere the eyeballs), and a double sided fabric tape, which worked phenomenally. (Cost $9)

Finally, I completed the look with this gold and pearl collar. I had found the collar at an estate sale for $5 years ago, with no purpose in mind, but knowing I'd eventually put it to good use. This collar emulates the stunning bejeweled heirloom necklace that Adele wears.

Here is the completed look! For just $54 (dress, collar, and tape), I was able to create a one-of-a-kind look:

This price is competitive with the average pre-packaged adult costume cost at Spirit Halloween, and is a $320 savings on the leftover strapless formal gown.

Now... time to start thinking of ideas for next year. :)

Eco-Friendly Shopping through Langley and Anacortes

My dear friend A and I took a much needed long weekend/girls trip up from Portland and Seattle respectively, to Anacortes. On the trip, we realized we've known each other for exactly 20 years, and what a fun way to honor that friend-iversary!

Our B&B check-in wasn't until 4pm, so we had plenty of time to slowly meander our way up there. We started with taking the ferry from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island, and then stopping in the first seaside town, Langley. What a gem! If you're seeking a day trip from the Seattle area, you can easily hit this adorable town, full of cute beach-themed shops, boutiques, and galleries. 

Here we ended up at Star Store, a "natural market and fashionably fun mercantile", and I fell in love with these LOVE bags. They have two styles, a stiff tote (which can stand on its own) and a flexible chico bag (which easily collapses into its own pouch for portability). These bags are made of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, washable, and will save you bag fees at the register! They come in fun prints like the kitties and sandpipers shown here.

 

 

The next day, our B&B host recommended we head to Commercial Ave in Anacortes, which is a several blocks-long strip of shops and restaurants. At the north end of the strip is the historic Marine Supply & Hardware store. While it still houses some marine supplies, it also now contains Alley Cat Antiques.

Antique stores are such a great way to find unique treasures - especially if you are a collector or seeking something nostalgic. While not as great of a steal as thrift shops for generic items ("I want a serving bowl"), these stores will have curated pieces and harder to find older brands ("I want a carnival glass bowl").

Just a few of the great pieces from Alley Cat: this Lladro statuette of Girl and Piglet.

Display case upon display case on Fenton glass bowls, in every color under the sun.

 

On the marine supply side of the store were these fun candles, made from upcycled beer bottles. Not only is the bottle upcycled, and but the candle is made of soy wax, made in the USA, and donates to Support the Troops. 

 

We worked our way down Commercial Ave, and entered Pelican Bay Books and Coffeehouse. They not only have a sizeable collection of used books in all categories, but they also have a cozy fireplace, coffee shop, and piano ("for skillful playing" only). We took a load off from the October rain, and enjoyed a nice beverage while perusing the stacks.

They had nostalgic collections, such as vintage hardcover Hardy Boys (for $5 per book).

As well as anthologies like this collection of Lewis Carroll complete works for just $11.

Moving on to Ink & Wool, a shop that features locally made artisan goods, as well as sustainable goods. I enjoyed the feel of these flannel cloths that are designed to replace paper towels and more.  They're super soft, and at only $16 for a 6-pack, you'll be hard pressed to compete with washcloths or tea towels.

And they come in super cute prints like rainbows and mushrooms.

Once we left Commercial Ave, we spent the rest of the weekend hiking, eating, and laughing with new friends made around the breakfast table at the B&B. We left the area rested, rejuvenated, and impressed with the options to buy used, upcycled, recycled, and antique.

(TP) Cores for Curtains

I'm always amazed at the creative ideas you can find for reuse. And when you're feeling blocked, just look to community groups for inspiration. 

Since trying to reduce my waste, when I can't prevent it from entering my home, I've started saving more and more categories of materials for reuse. This includes the cardboard tubes that serve as cores for your TP. While I've reduced some, courtesy of a bidet in one bathroom, I still managed to collect a few dozen throughout the last year or so. (Especially with going out less - thanks, COVID!) 

And despite a few craft projects of my own:

Cat Scratcher

Snowflake and Poinsettia decorations

they were still piling up.

Fortunately, on one of my local groups, someone put out a request for TP rolls! Curious what they were going to do with "at least a dozen", they came back with two responses 

Curtain spacers. If you have this style of curtains, you can slide a roll over the curtain rod between the grommets. This leaves a nice even spacing between the folds of the curtain, rather than leaving them bunched up to one side, and the roll is fully concealed behind the curtain. How clever! I don't have this style of curtains, so it was awesome to hear an idea from someone else who had it as a tried and true solution. 

Fire starters. Do you have a wood burning fireplace or firepit? Stuff a roll with some dryer lint or a little paper recycling, and you have a little perfect bundle to light under your logs. Some folks recommend adding a little leftover candle wax too.

Ultimate lesson here: there's indefinite ways to reuse these, and sometimes your trash is someone else's treasure. And you may just pick up some new tricks from a neighbor. 

Time to Start Your Edible Garden!

It may seem crazy to be thinking about a spring or summer garden in the midst of Snowmageddon 2021, but now is the perfect time to start your plants indoors.

There are so many videos and posts out there about creative ways to reuse household items as seed starters, that I thought I'd try a few out for you! Check back in a few weeks and I'll share which were the most successful.

Option 1: the salsa jar I held back from recycling.You'll want to put some rocks or vase marbles in the bottom for drainage.

Option 2: the plastic vented produce container. This one held tomatoes, but you'll see this same container used for berries too. The idea behind these is that you can close the lid, creating a greenhouse effect.

Option 3: Any old plastic tub. We eat a ton of dairy, from sour cream to yogurt to cream cheese, so plastic tubs are a-plenty. I drilled some small holes for drainage, or you could use rocks, like we did with the glass jar.

Option 4: a TP or paper towel tube. Cut down to a few inches tall. Cut 4 slits around the bottom, so you can fold into a flat base, like a box. The idea here is that the cardboard is biodegradable, and when you're ready to plant outside, you can plant the tube and all.

Once you've gathered your containers, fill with potting soil and seeds. My seeds are coming in the form of a halved organic cherry tomato. No need to clean off the tomato - it will degrade in the soil. Push the tomatoes or seeds into the soil and cover with about 1" more of soil.

Place your starter pots in a sunny window and water as needed to keep the soil moist.

Happy planting, folks! What edible plants will you be growing this year?

Perpetual Pickles

We are a pickle-loving household, and usually have a few jars in the fridge and a couple back-ups in the pantry. This sounds excessive, but how else do you have spears, stackers, chips, and cornichons, and guarantee you won't have to fight over the last stacker on burger night? 

So inevitably, we go through several jars a year, each over half-full of that delicious, dilly, garlicky brine. 

You can use up that brine in anything that requires an acidic component, like marinades. 

But why not reuse it for its original purpose? Simply chop up a cucumber into your preferred shape, put it in the jar, and in a few days, you have round 2 of pickles. (I used 1 medium pickle to fill a 24 oz jar.) Make sure your cucumber is submerged and don't forget if you put chips in a jar labelled stackers. :) 

The original recommendation I saw for this stated it would take about 2 days to make these "fridge pickles" (good term to Google for other pickle reciples that don't require the canning method), but we found that at 2 days they were still crunchy and cucumber-y. They were perfect for us at about 1 week.

Not only did we get a second use of the jar and brine, but I didn't need to experiment with getting the right spice combination to make homemade brine from scratch, when we love that classic Vlasic flavor.

Average cost of a cucumber? $0.79

Cost of a 24 oz jar of pickles? $2.49

You've saved $1.70 (68%), and reduced your glass and food waste!

September Digest

With all my online thrifting during COVID, I've finally hit my limit for clothes shopping. The closet is full and I'll need to be extra purposeful with my shopping list. Whoops! For the next couple months at least, I'm redirecting my focus to other activities, like packaging reduction, food waste reduction, and DIY reuse projects. Here are a few of the things I've been up to this month: 

1) Reuse/upcyle: I did make an exception about thrifting to finish my Halloween costume prep. I got this pile of red, green, and yellow fabric for $8 at Goodwill. No more hints, though. Toby is guarding the surprise until Halloween. :)

2) Sell for reuse: I was happy to get an appointment to sell my book at Half Price Books. Like many businesses, they are moving to appointment-only to reduce exposure. I got a pile of ancient books and DVDs out of my house, into circulation for the next user, and made $3.25.

3) Refill/reduce packaging: Last January, I wrote about a new service called Loop, which is similar to a milkman service but for health and household products like dish soap and shampoo. They were still in limited cities, but you could sign up for their waiting list. This month, I got notified that they are finally in the Seattle area and I could sign up for early access! So I created my account and browsed around through the site. Things seem a little sparse with some products, especially the national brands, not yet available in the area, but I'm hopeful they will get more selection by the time they are available for general sign-up. On the plus side, they seem to have a house brand Puretto with decent selection on staples, ranging from bath bombs to dry pasta to spices.

4) Share: For a while, I've been amused by videos on YouTube of people creating incredible ball pits for their dogs to play in. I went so far at to look at kiddie pools and balls on Amazon, and then stopped myself. Do I want to spend $40 for what may or may not be fun? Do I want to buy a bunch of new plastic? No and no. Well, Buy Nothing saved the day, when I saw a neighbor post a ball pit!

Here, I'm setting it up for Meeko: 

She is confused and tripping over it. Clearly not used to getting into a pit. Are we trying to give her a bath?? 

Finally gets one ball out and leaves.

After this experience, I can say I had my 15 minutes of fun, and now I will pass the ball pit onto its 3rd owner. I've gotta say, borrowing or sharing is the absolute best for novelty items. You can have your fun and pass it on. 

What have you done this month to reduce your waste?

Reusing Ruffles

My quarantine secondhand shopping continues, courtesy of a nice birthday gift card to ThredUp from my aunt and uncle - thanks, Aunt T and Uncle B!

(Pro tip: Don't forget to tell your family and friends about your eco-shopping goals, and you may get a pleasant shift in gifts!)

For some reason, I was feeling super feminine, likely in reaction to all the sweats and tees I've been wearing while working from home. I'm eager for the days when I can dress up at the office or for a night out again.

Not quite ruffles, but I loved the ruched neckline and bold floral pattern on this Calvin Klein blouse. I can see pairing this with a blazer for client meetings. It was listed at gently used condition for $15.98 (73% off of $60 retail).

Next up, this new with tags Ann Taylor Loft blouse. I love the delicate ruffles, and plan on wearing this as a great day-to-night option. A steal for $21.99 (65% off $55 retail). 

Cute but casual, this mustard sweater from J. Crew is lightweight and good for spring or fall. Plain enough color to go with many things, but I like that the ruffles add a little feminine touch, so it's not your everyday cardigan. Like new condition, this was $31.99 (74% off of $110 retail).

Finally, I keep adding to my collection of "day to night embellished black flats". I love that the ruffle on these Francesca's flat is functional, securing the shoe to my foot. These were like new condition for $27.99 (48% off of $48 retail).

I'm all set now for when things start to reopen... or if I decide to up my game for my office video calls. :) 

If you've been laid off during this pandemic, don't forget online consignment as a way to make some income, as well as stock up on interview duds as you reenter the workforce. All of the above came to just under $100 in like new condition, or 64% off of the $273 retail value.