Thrift Shop Hot! What to look for right now...
In my previous post, "How To Upcycle Thrift Shop Finds Into Trendy Home Decor" I shared some great tips for upcycling common thrift shop finds into swanky home decor and crafts, including silver plated serving trays, vintage scarves, maps and globes, picture frames, and old cashmere sweaters.
Now I'm going to share with you some MORE items commonly found at thrift shops that are perfect for upcycling into fun home decor and crafts. Again, these items are great because not only are they inexpensive, but they are very much in style as current home decor. Check it out!
What should you be looking for right now?
1) Vintage Pie Tins & Cake Pans
I always see lots of old pie tins (aka pie plates) and pie pans when I go thrifting, and they're usually inexpensively priced from about $1 each. The neat thing about old pie tins is that you can sometimes find ones with bottoms that are embossed with vintage advertising.
What to do with them?
Hang a collection of them on a wall as you would china plates, making a display that works well in a kitchen.
(Click here for more wall-display grouping ideas)
Or, collect a few and construct a tiered organizer or pedistal server using thrift shop found candle sticks in between. These are great for displaying items and for chic organization! Check out the photos below for inspiration.
Vintage pie tin
Pie tin mirrors
2) T-Shirts
Usually there are so many t-shirts at the thrift shops I visit that the shops organize them by color instead of by size. Why are they a great deal? T-shirts are abundant at thrift shops and also cost next to nothing. They come in a wide range of colors and patterns, so they are great for repurposing and upcycling into all sorts of things.
What to do with them?
T-shirts can be quickly and easily repurposed into many different items; shopping bags, quilts, and they can even be used to cover throw pillows. My favorite thing to do with them is to restructure them into entirely new shirts. I love to do this with my old concert shirts and have made quite a few for myself!
Craft an easy to make recycled t-shirt tote bag
Make an awesome recycled t-shirt rug
No-sew t-shirt hula hoop rug
3) Vintage Framed Art
I always make a point to flip through the wall art at thrift shops. As I always say, you never know what you might find! As well as looking for unusual and unique frames, I'm always on the lookout for interesting artwork too. Some things to look for that make great collections are vintage framed needlepoints, old paint by numbers art (see the first two images below), as well as original amateur art paintings and "sofa art" (that's mass produced paintings that are created for the furniture industry.
What to do with them?
Display a unique collection as a gallery wall in your home, or, if you're the artsy type, try your hand at creating an altered thrift shop painting by adding an interesting or unexpected element to an already existing scene. See below.
Paint by numbers collection
4) Vintage Costume Jewelry
Vintage enamel flower pins, brooches, old clip on earrings - you get the picture. These vintage treasures are abundant at thrift shops, flea markets and estate sales, and the great part is that you can often find them for sale by the bagful for just a few dollars.
What to do with them?
Not only are these great to wear as-is, they're also perfect for upcycling into new items for yourself, your family, and your home. Check out the photos below for a few examples of how some creative folks turned old costume jewelry into unique accessories.
Create a vintage brooch bridal bouquet
Frame made with vintage costume jewelry by Kat Smith via Etsy
5) Old Books & Outdated Encyclopedias
Just like road maps, encyclopedias become outdated and are replaced with new, up to date versions. Thrift shops are the best place to find old obsolete encyclopedias, dictionaries, and the like.
What do you think?
What's your favorite way to repurpose thrift shop finds?
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Have a great week!
Laura
Article copyright ©Laura Beth Love 2020 and may not be republished in print or other media without express written permission from the author. For any link corrections please leave correct info in comment area.
Originally published July 3, 2012, refreshed and updated for relevancy
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