Posts Tagged ‘cheap’

Outdated Denim Refashion

August 30th, 2011
30 Comments

I scored these jeans a couple of Saturdays ago for $4. The tag said $6, but come on – the button was missing. I knew these would be a great pair of pants to refashion since they fit really well in the waist & thighs, they just had an outdated cut in the legs. I’ve been looking for denim that has more give in the thighs, because my pre-Felix skinnies don’t fit. Sure I can pull them on, but I’m the wicked witch of the west whenever I wear them because feeling like a stuffed sausage makes me angry. It’s time to move on from those pants.

Like I said – the cut in the leg was just outdated. they were too short to be cool bell bottoms & MUCH too wide to be worn with flats. I felt like I had stubby legs when I tried them on. Do you ever feel that way with pants?

Hello, missing button! I love these slanted pockets & the cheery blue stitching. Not necessarily anything that’s on trend, but I like those little details.

I didn’t do much besides take in the bottoms. I took my super skinnies & laid them wrong side out on top of these pants & marked lines just outside of the super skinnies to mark the tapering. I took in about 4 inches on the bottoms. YIKES. I feel like the skinny really lengthens my leg. One of the many reasons why the skinny jean trend can never go out.

After I was done adjusting the bottom & adding the button, I noticed that the back felt a little loose & a bit too low for me. So I added two darts (the denim was thin enough) on either side of the back seam. That made all the difference in the world! The fit of these jeans is perfect. They’re my new go-to pant. Now I don’t feel bad that I don’t fit into my pre-Felix skinnies.

To view more photos & the outfit details, click here

Thorough tutorials on how to skinnify your pants can be found here:

Freshly Picked • I’m Topsy Turvy • Cotton & Curls

Thrifty & Chic: Glasbake Soup Bowls

June 21st, 2011
13 Comments

On our way to the Tracy Aviary to hang out with friends & family, we were running early so I thought I’d check out the newest DI (for you Utah locals – it’s the one in Sugarhouse). I’ve heard that thrift shop grand openings can be pretty lack lustre. This one wasn’t terribly disappointing, although I did notice that some of their prices were a bit higher than normal. Not terrible, though.

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It was a circus there, though. An employee passed me with a rolling cart full of new donations (that’s when I spied the above bowls) and as soon as I started following her, a crowd of about 15 people swarmed around the crate like piranhas! Thankfully no one seemed interested in the bowls, so I discretely ushered them into my cart. I spent $4.50 on the set of 6 bowls. A steal in my opinion. They tend to go for $4 per bowl around the interwebs.

I’m slowly working on organizing my kitchen cupboards with matching serving ware. Right now I’ve decided that I’m going for an all-white approach with a mix of orange & olive green accent pieces. I’m wanting to totally revamp my kitchen cupboards & get them perfectly organized & matching. I’ve always had an obsession with all-matching (or cohesive) serve ware.

I’ve also decided that I’m collecting yellow containers of any shape & size. I already have 5 or six. The above yellow container was 50¢ and the southwest-inspired scarves were also 50¢ each.

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Isn’t Penelope so cute? She loved seeing the Flamingos today. I just couldn’t help but share this sweet pic my sister-in-law took. I’ll be taking pics of sweet Felix this afternoon. I’ll be sharing those with you soon. He’s getting so big!

So. . . have you found any good deals? I was impressed with your awesome finds from last week. Meredith found a gorgeous Lotus pendant lamp for $30 (we also have twinner chairs – she scored her pair for $30)! Kat found an arrow coat rack for $1 that I’m SUPER jealous of. Vintage Scapes found gorgeous vera scarves for $3. Heather found a gorgeous white coat for $10, then tailored it. You look fab, Heather!

Please share links to your fun, cheap finds in the comments! I’d love to see!

DIY Photography Backdrop

May 19th, 2011
29 Comments

I’ve had a few people ask me where my photography backdrop is in relation to our house. Well, it’s in my little studio room. I got the idea when I realized I had a TON of curtains & curtain rods hanging around from our old place. I thought a great way to clean up the look of my non-maternity maternity shots would be to add a curtain over the closet doors. Then I added another curtain to the floor to cover up the ugly carpet. I’ve been using this system for a while now, but now I’m wanting an even cleaner look.

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I totally get washed out in white. PLUS a white backdrop is harder to expose for & get correct white balance for. I’m still a major rookie at the photography thing. In the back of my mind I’ve been thinking a middle-grey curtain would be so much better to shoot. Yesterday it clicked. I thought I’d go to Home Fabrics, a place that my friend had told me that offers discount home & upholstery fabrics, and see what they had. Despite their lack of grey fabrics (they mostly have tan & burgundy) I was able to find some printed grey cotton for $5 a yard. It was originally $10 a yard.

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I needed cloth that was 57 inches wide – which just so happen to be the exact width of this fabric! All I had to do was hem the two ends & I was ready to rock & roll. Did you know that if you rip fabric, it’ll rip in a straight line, exactly perpendicular to the selvage? That’s how I was able to get an even hem on both ends. Making this back drop took about 15 minutes & $22.

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I slide the fabric to the edge of the curtain rod & use bulldog clips to secure the extra off the ground when not in use. It’s a pretty slick system. Much better & cleaner than my last method.

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Backdrops are so yearbook/1990, but I love that I can focus on taking pictures of me & the kiddies without worrying about the background/ugly carpet/styling. What do you think? So, if you take outfit pictures or kiddie pictures, what kind(s) of backdrops do you use?

Thrifty & Chic: Bow Purse + Giveaway – CLOSED

July 1st, 2010
281 Comments

This post is brought to you by Tai Pan Trading.

One of my blogging friends, Jenni, always has rad giveaways. She works for Tai Pan Trading, a Utah-based wholesale home decor store (which has the awesomest stuff, btw) so she frequently features new items in stock & gives them away. Two weeks ago I won one of her giveaways & scored this incredibly sweet bow bag:

My old purse was starting to look really ratty when I won this purse; the timing couldn’t have been better.

I love how small this purse is while still fitting everything I need: wallet, keys, phone, business cards, pens, usb drive & poopy clutch. I also love that it has two detachable handles, a drop handle & a messenger bag-style handle. The messenger bag handle is perfect while riding my bike & wrangling Penelope. This purse normally retails for about $29.99. Not bad, right? I’m used to spending about $30 (give or take) for a purse. What about you?

Head over to your local Tai Pan Trading to drool over and buy their many wonderful purses. If you’re not near one (sucks to be you), you might want to try these alternates online:

Bow Bags

Watermelon Bags

Let me know if you find any other bags on the internets that are worth adding to the list!


Thrifty & Chic: Them Boots

March 15th, 2010
9 Comments

I’ve been slowly collecting thrifted boots for some time. I love boots. I realized how much I loved boots around my senior year of college when I discovered that walking through snow in boots wasn’t nearly as miserable as with flip-flops. It was also then, that flat boots were starting to get not-ugly.

I’ve got 4 1/2 pairs of thrifted boots. The half is because I lost (I don’t know how) one of my black cowgirl boots. Just one. One! Grrr. The other boot just sits there in the closet taunting me, You know you want to wear me. but, wait. . . my mate just randomly disappeared in the abyss of the basement. OH! Too bad. Looks like you’re going to have to wear the SAME boots you wore yesterday. HA. HA! Sometimes I have little temper tantrums about that while I’m getting dressed. Sometimes Chris thinks I’m a 12 year old trapped in a 25 year old’s body. Sometimes he’s right.

Usually it’s during the summer when I find the best boots, but this last week was an exception. Do you want to see the break-down of each boot? Here we go. . . (from left to right)

  • The taunting single boot – $6: These were the first thrifted pair of boots I ever bought. I love the detailing on the boot and the uber-pointy toe.
  • SF throwbacks – $8: I always complained how bad the thrifting was in San Francisco, but I found these gorgeous babies there. They weren’t that expensive, either.
  • 80s Yugoslavian Boots – $6: These suede babies have such cool detailing on the side. I just wish they weren’t black so the details would be more pronounced.
  • Old School Riding Boots – $4: Whoever owned these fab boots before me was a real cowgirl, because they were worn in as if they were always in horse stirrups. Seriously.
  • Black Beauties – $6: Like I said. I love my newest addition. They’re beautiful and delicious to the touch.

I love my four pairs of boots. I added the fourth to my growing collection just last week in the same shopping trip where I scored the hideous dress. I think these boots are gorgeous. They’re in excellent condition, made from top notch leather. I really like the leather details on the back and that the boot rises higher in the front. They’re also surprisingly comfortable to wear, even with a broken toe!

Are you riding the boot trend? I personally love my thrifted boots, but so many of my friends are freaked out by the thought of wearing previously owned shoes. Are you the same way?

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