How Are You Preparing For Halloween?

With Halloween just 4 weeks away, are you or your loved ones prepared to dress up? One of the coolest ways to have a stand-out costume is to skip the pre-packaged costumes, and develop a one-of-a-kind concoction through thrifting, swapping, and DIY. 

To give you some inspiration, here are some of my looks over the last few years: 

By attending a swap, I scored a chicken hat and beak. Read more about hosting a swap here. 

One year, I DIY'd an Ursula costume from thrifted pieces, with a little sewing and painting. Read a step-by-step here. 

The year I was Rock Lobster for Halloween, I was also able to resell some pieces to keep the fun going for the next person and recoup some cash. 

Then there was the year I was a time lord, the one and only Dr. Who, incorporating some second-hand pants and top.  

And last year, a combination of thrifting and DIY, let me bring a classic painting to life, and intentional use of double stick tape means I'll be able to reuse the main component as a formal gown in the future. 

This year, I've already acquired most of the components for my costume from online consignment, but am also happy I'll be able to re-use the blond wig from my Dr. Who costume. 

 

 

Fabric Napkins: Not Just for Fancy Friday

I guess there's no time like quarantine to start spring cleaning early. I got an itch to organize my linen closet on Friday night (wild party!) and came across some cloth napkins I bought years ago. I'd forgotten about them, as I don't often entertain outside of Thanksgiving. 

It reminded me of all the "nice" things I save for a nice day, like that good bottle of truffle oil, only to realize it's gone bad by the time I deem an occasion special enough. So why save the fabric napkins and waste paper napkins? Put em on the table. Done! Keep them in a convenient drawer nearby or cute basket on the table, so that they are convenient to use.When they're dirty, put in the regular wash with your clothes. 

I highly recommend getting napkins with a print on them. They won't show oily stains like plain colored (I'm looking at you, ranch dressing!).

Do you only have holiday napkins? Both new and second hand cloth napkins are super easy find. There are tons at the usual thrift stores, but also don't forget antique stores. Still avoiding stores due to COVID? Here are a just couple options:

Ebay - you may have forgotten about them as the 1990's virtual garage sale, but they are still around and bigger than ever. Just select condition "pre-owned" for your search and you'll come across some amazing finds including vintage designer options.

For example, this lot of 8 vintage Vera napkins for $31.

Or this set of 4 vintage retro napkins plus rings for $31.

I love this set of 6 floral napkins for $14.

Go for a global look with this set of 8 batik napkins for $17.

And don't forget Etsy, which is great for both new handmade as well as vintage. I'm in love with these awesome, vibrant owls from Clear Sky Home, set of 4 for $22.

This is one of those super easy swaps, that takes a small investment up front, but easily pays for itself over the course of a year.

Mind Your Bee's Wax

My friend, Tatiana, has been super supportive of my goals to reduce waste, and got me this sweet DIY Beeswax Wrap kit as a holiday gift! Don't know about wax wraps? They are basically wax coated fabric, that can replace cling wrap, and can be reused for months before refreshing.

The kit contains everything I need to make 3 assorted size wraps: fabric in a fun pattern, directions, parchment paper, 3 pieces of wax, a glass jar, and a paintbrush.

First, preheat your oven to 200℉ while you complete the first few steps.

Lay the fabric on a piece of the parchment paper on a cookie sheet. (I ended up using the same piece of parchment for all 3 wraps, and keeping the other sheets for future projects.)

Next, create a double boiler situation by setting the mason jar inside a pan of boiling water. Melt the beeswax in the jar.

Use the melted wax to paint a thin layer over all your fabric. Don't worry if it's perfect or starts to get chunky.

Next, put the cookie sheet with fabric into your pre-heated oven for 1-2 minutes. This helps melt the wax further, so its spreads evenly over the fabric.

Then remove the cookie sheet, and carefully pick the fabric up by the corners, and wave it in the air for about 30 seconds. This will quickly cool the wax until the fabric stiffens.

Finally, test out your new wrap! Simply wrap it around the food you want to package, or bowl you want to cover. The warmth of your hands should soften the wax enough so that the fabric molds into shape. Exhibit A: wrapped orange.

In between uses, you can wash your wrap in cool water with dish soap. You should be able to use the wrap many times before it starts to lose its effectiveness. Then, simply repeat the waxing process.

Not feeling crafty? Get a ready-made wax wrap, like this set of 3 for $18 from Sur La Table.

Have your own fabric but need wax? Get it for about $1.50 per wrap, available online or at craft stores.

Pat yourself on the back for reducing your use of cling wrap and having super cute lunches. :)

Shoe Sister

Remember when you were younger and had a bestie or roommate, that you were lucky enough to wear some of the same sizes? And you would share clothes or shoes and automatically double the size of your closet?

Let's bring that back! You're never too old to have a wardrobe buddy. For me, I'm lucky to have an aunt who's a stylish gal, and likes to give me some of her hand-me-downs. A recent closet cleanout meant that I could be the recipient of some sweet summer shoes:

bøc sandals, compare at $50 new.

Crocs sandals, compare at $30 new.

Born sandals, compare at $80 new.

Overall savings $160, and I have some great comfort sandals to take me through the next couple summers. Thanks, Aunt Tricia!

KonMari Krisis

We know that thrift stores are only able to sell about 25% of their donated goods at their regular retail stores. What about the other 75%? The leftovers are divided between:

• outlet stores to be sold at a deep discount,
• textile recycling (but this can be a challenge with blended fabrics), 
• being sold in bulk and moved on to developing countries, which can hurt their own textile industries and economies,
• ending up in the landfill anyway.

This all goes to say that donating isn't a perfect solution. New Years Resolutions to tidy your home only make it worse, and with this year's Marie Kondo Netflix special even more people are making serious resolutions to go minimal and get their house in order. What this means is thrift stores can't keep up, and leftovers end up in the trash anyway. In fact, Australian charities are paying $13 million a year to send unusable donations to landfill. 

How can you help?

If you are cleaning up:

• Upcycle, repurpose, or mend items - would you like that skirt better if it was shorter, or that bookshelf with a coat of paint?
• Directly give to friends or neighbors - your stuff may spark joy with a new owner!
• Directly give through neighborhood groups like Buy Nothing or Freecycle. Direct giving guarantees a new owner better than hoping it sells at the thrift store. 
• Clothing swaps - find joy in new-to-you items while finding a home for your old items. 
• Slowly downsize not by getting rid of large quantities at one time, but by simply not buying new things, then getting rid of items when they wear out

If you are looking for a deal:

• GET THRIFTING! Take this as a blanket license to go wild. Someone else's New Year's Resolution is your jackpot! Inventory is up on all categories of products: 
• Clothes
• Used books
• Housewares
• Crafting supplies/upcycle projects

Reuse: Outfit 2

Gotta love this sweater. It's a deep orange, which is *my* color, and perfect for pumpkin spice season fall.

And then there's the back. I just love the reversed look of the buttons on the back.

But the best part? This is an Ann Taylor Loft sweater that would typically run $50-60 in the store, and I got it for... FREE. :)

I mentioned swaps in my Halloween post. They can be quite informal with just a few friends or neighbors and no real rules, or, you can go all out like the event I acquired this sweater from.

My friend Stacey is much more ambitious and connected to her community than I am. But, if you have a space available to you with some square footage, you can make this happen. For her, she runs a personal training business and had a big open gym room to use.

The next step is to invite your network. The only real consideration here is to invite either people of similar sizes, or a lot of people representing a wide range of sizes. The aim should be that everyone can do some "shopping".

To keep things fair, for each sack of clothes you bring, you get tickets to spend on pieces you want to bring home. Once several people have arrived, or at a set time, let the shopping begin! Any pieces remaining at the end of the swap can then get donated. Any local thrift shop will work, or if there are more professional clothes and accessories, then consider a group like Dress For Success, who helps women re-entering the work force with professional clothing.

Now, Stacey added a couple more elements to make an entirely fun evening:

• Everyone brought hors d'oeuvres to snack on while the items were being organized into tops, bottoms, shoes, and accessories for easy shopping.
• Local small businesses were invited to offer other services like chair massages. 

Whether you go small or big, swaps are a great way to refresh your wardrobe.

Halloween is just around the corner!

I've always loved Halloween. Between all the theater I did in my younger years, followed by several projects as a body painter, I enjoy the one time a year it's acceptable to dress all wacky and possibly do some wild face painting. :)

Now, if you're anything like my group of friends, you only wear a costume once, looking forward to creating something new each year. Before you know it, you have a closet full of practically new costumes just taking up space.

So last year, in a burst of "I want to be able to use this closet again," I gathered up all the costumes I didn't envision re-purposing. (I kept the fairy wings, because seriously, what photographer and painter doesn't need a set of those handy?) Then, came the swap party.

There are only a couple guidelines for a swap: each of your guests should bring any pieces they are willing to part with. All pieces go onto the table and you can either do a free-for-all or take turns selecting items you want to bring home with you. Any leftovers get donated to the local thrift shop.

(The whole swap idea came from a dear friend Stacy, who has arranged swaps for regular clothes. She donates the remaining clothes to Dress For Success.)

Results: I scored this amazing chicken hat and beak. My friends each brought home 1 or 2 items, and we donated a large grocery sack of items. And most importantly, I re-gained a closet. :)

Savings: about $20

Funny time with friends: Priceless