Come Thrifting With Me!

 This weekend I decided it was time to empty out my change drawer and go on an adventure to the thrift store.

I ended up with $9.94 American, $5.12 Canadian, 1 Lewis and Clark bicentennial souvenir coin, 1 Kennedy half dollar, 5 Euro cents, 1 arcade token, 1 plastic dime, 2 buttons, and a handful of confetti. I'm rich!

Let's see what I can get with this...

 First stop: Butte Rescue mission bargain center. This isn't the most clean or well-organized shop, but there are always hidden gems. On Saturdays they have a bag sale day where you can get anything that fits into a shopping bag for $1! This is a great stop because all of the proceeds go to the Butte Rescue mission.

Jessica came along to help!

 This is my favorite time of year to thrift shop because the Halloween stuff is starting to come out. There's always interesting stuff to be found in the costume rack.

 Don't be limited to just your gender's section! There's tons of cool stuff in the Men's section and in stores like this things are often in the wrong spot.

Sometimes shoes at the thrift store are kinda gross, but sometimes they're like new! Use your own judgement.

 Don't overlook the non-clothing sections. I love finding music and home stuff for super cheap. My car only has a tape player, so I always look through the tapes. You'll be surprised by what you find!

Records are usually super cheap and fun to look through! If you don't want to listen to them, there are tons of DIY projects you can do with them. I might post some soon!

 Sometimes I find cool coffee mugs that make great containers. Or you could actually use them for coffee...

I love looking through the kitschy figurines. This is where my unicorn collection was born!

Next stop: Goodwill. Most Goodwills are well-organized and clean. The downside to this is that things are considerably more expensive ($3-5 for shirts, $10 for dresses...). Look for the color of the week: everything with that color tag is 50% off!

Again, I beelined for the Halloween stuff.

These frilly pink dresses are really cool- very Virgin Suicides-esque. Unfortunately, they weren't my size!

Stop number 3: Paula's Curiosity Shoppe. This one is more of an antique/vintage store in a cozy little uptown location. The prices are a little higher, but you can't beat the presentation!

It's such a cute little place!!

Unfortunately, one of my favorite shops was closed on Saturday. I will have to do something else about it later!

Here are my finds for the day:

There was a whole bunch of square dancing stuff at the first shop we went to. I got this lavender dress and a super foofy skirt (I think "foofy" is my adjective of the month)

This skirt is actually pretty huge on the waistband, but a little alteration will fix that! Emily and McKenzie, don't be too surprised if I show up to KLKP next year in full square dancing attire.

I also found this adorable little deer figurine:

Also, the CDs at Goodwill were all on sale, so I ended up getting six of them! Unfortunately my camera died before I could photograph them.

I got a dress, a skirt, a little deer, and 6 CDs all for under $8. I would say I made good use of my spare change!

So to recap, here's a list of 7 tips and tricks for successful thrifting:

1. Look for deals and sales: the goal is to get the best possible price for what you want. Keep an eye out for bag sales and half off days.

2. Shop for a cause: Lots of thrift stores are connected to charities. Frequent places that you support, like your local rescue mission or Salvation Army.

3. Explore other sections: don't miss out on cool stuff in the men's area or the home section.

4. Get the right fit: Try to find clothes as close to your size as possible, but remember that you can always alter items to fit you better.

5. Have fun! Thrifting is a way to find interesting new stuff that you wouldn't see otherwise. Don't stress out if you don't find something in particular. Sometimes there are dry days where you can't find anything, but maybe next week you'll find the best thing ever!

And remember, shopping at thrift stores doesn't only benefit the shopper. It's environmentally friendly and doesn't support sweat shops. In fact, I feel that it gives meaning to the work that people have put into making clothing without supporting huge corporations. Reuse as much as possible and always donate your old stuff.

Thanks to Jessica for joining me, and also to Emily for recommending this post. A new post coming Friday or Saturday!

KLKP 2013

A few weeks ago, Maggie, Tom, and I left for a two-week musical adventure in Southwest Saskatchewan. Our aunt and uncle run an all-ages music camp there and we have been going for 5 years now. A week before the actual camp, they organize a camp specifically for kids and run by teens and young adults who work on their teaching and kid-management skills. Maggie and Tom went on as counselors and I got to work as an art intern with the director of art at the camp. It was a great opportunity and I learned a lot!

The kids had square dancing lessons every day!

 This is the final artwork display that the kids put on. There assignment was to create their own island country, complete with a map and a flag. I was so happy with how creative (and cute!) they all were.

The kids made block prints with foam and printed on canvas to create their flags.

This is the group Maggie was in charge of. I seem to have lost my picture of Tom's group!

After Kids Camp was over, we spent a few days in Forget Sask. (pronounced four-jay), where my aunt and uncle live. It's a really cool teensy-weensie town with a population of about 35. Most of the people that live there are musicians, so it's teeming with talent and creativity. They have their own summer arts festival, a music store, 3 venues for concerts, and regular jams and house concerts. It's a really great atmosphere! This, paired with my aunt and uncle's beautiful home with a jacuzzi and pool made it a lovely and relaxing few days.

I didn't get any pictures while we were there, but Maggie took some lovely pictures of the landscape!

The super flat farmlands in Saskatchewan are a big change from the mountains in Montana!

After our 3 days in Forget, we packed up and went back to Kenosee Lake for the start of the actual camp. It was a super fun time this year!! Maggie and I played fiddle and Tom played guitar. Our instructors were all incredible musicians and teachers. Tom had Ken Hamm, Maggie had Karrnnel, and I had J.J Guy. I would strongly reccomend checking out their websites if you are interested in traditional fiddle and/or blues guitar! Also, check out the website for KLKP to learn more about the camp and its wonderful instructors!

Again, I didn't take many pictures (heh heh... not thinking ahead...) So here is a random hodgepodge of photos that I happened to take:

Instructor concerts and other performances are held every night of the camp, followed by square dancing! (which is actually really fun!)

This is our lovely bunkhouse! Four of us (Maggie, Ashliegh, McKenzie, and I) stayed there. Home away from home!

My friend Emily's fiddle group, High Strung, performed one night. Emily is the one on the far right!

Maggie's fiddle group performing at the final concert

Some super cute baby birds!

A few more pictures from the trip are coming soon, and then I will be back to regular posts!