Wow.  Okay it's been months since I posted (my bad internets I'm sorry)  but partly this is because I've been trying to cut back on my thrifting *gasp* Yes, I know, horrors, but the true horror is the state of my basement/work room which is piled up with stock that needs to be cleaned/fixed/photographed/andlisted.

I have been making headway with the pile though! Witness the glove explosion that will soon be gracing the etsy shop!

 Cute little crocheted gloves! 

 Buttery soft forest green kid gloves!

 Lovely gray gloves with little cuffs!

And of course everyone needs a pair of black gloves with dainty eyelet work on the wrists! 

I've also been trying to work on those crafting and hat projects that have been laying around half finished. 
I finished up this little straw boater last weekend.  I think it's so dainty and, dare I say, jaunty?  Great for the Steampunk set! 

 

The last of my recent projects is another Steampunk flavored bellydancing hipscarf. Lots and lots of fringe to shimmy on this one!

 

 

So that's what I've been up to.  What about your latest finds and projects?   I'd love to hear about them.  I'm hooking up with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday

Pop on over and take a look at all the cool finds from around the globe! 

That Touch of Mink

More holiday craziness around here and I'm just scrambling to keep up.  Last weekend my parents visited along with their exchange student Kamila.  She's from Kyrgistan and has quickly become one of the Little Dude's favorite people.  We went to Longwood Gardens to see the holiday light display and it was so much fun!  Cold, but fun.  Here's a dorky picture of the myself, the little guy, and Kamila.   If you live in the Philadephia, Baltimore, or Northern Delaware area Longwood is so worth a visit this time of year.  The lights and decorations are amazing!  And they have a great train display too!

Okay so I know it's not for everyone and all, especially these days, but I really LOVE these vintage fur collars this week.  They're all from the 60s or even earlier and they are just fabulous. 

The first one is this early 1960s mod style Gray Mink collar.  So warm and pretty.  It's fully lined/finished with navy blue wool too! 

The second collar is a brown rabbit fur that's so soft and fluffy.  I do a lot of costuming for friends and Etsy and this would look great on a Henry VIII style surcoat!

 

The last and my favorite is this amazing curly fluff wool collar.  The wool is creamy ivory tipped with brown.  I just want to snuggle it!   All three are up in my Etsy Shop this week!

 

I'm hooking up with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday  Head on over and take a look at the vintage treasures!

Holiday Insanity

The Christmas prep insanity has me in its grip this month.  Not that I've actually been able to DO much prepping as yet.  Between visiting family and family visiting us I've been lucky to keep the laundry under control and the dishes done!  I did get a chance to do some thrifting with my mom and sister this past weekend but I really came up with not much of anything for once.  The bins were slim pickings.  Don't know if that's due to it being a Saturday morning, or the holiday season?  Usually I thrift during the week so I'll hit them up Wednesday and see what it looks like then!
Here are a few things I've found recently...

The pink and red fabric below is another vintage cotton, probably from the 40s?  It's already cut out in 36" x 40 panels so maybe it was a never finished project?   It has some staining so I'm going to try to wash it before listing in the shop. 

The fab Mod fabric below is 37" wide and a cotton pique.  I think it would make fabulous napkins or pillows for a bright sunny room.  It's up in the shop already :)

Admit it, you had a pair of jeans like this fabric in the Eighties didn't you?  I know I did, and I LOVED them.  I've got two yards of this great denim up in the shop right now.  It would be an adorable dress or jacket for a little girl, or for the lady who's a girl at heart.

 

 

 

The last item from the way back machine is this plaid taffeta dress.  The perfect holiday party dress as far as I'm concerned.  Who says the 80's can't come back in style? This one's in the shop too this week. 

 

Thanks for taking a look!  I'm linking up with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday  Stop on by and check out all the holiday coolness going on! 

Long time no see!

Wow it's really been a while since I've updated this blog.  Sorry about that if anyone missed me.  I haven't gotten a chance to do much thrifting lately but luckily my dear mom is keeping me in stock.  I visited my parents house a few weekends ago and she offloaded a huge paper box of vintage fabric on me.  Some of my favorite bits are below.

I'm fairly certain that the blue fabric is feedsack cotton.  All the pieces are 36 wide by 40 long and I can find faint sewing seam holes along the long edges.  It's lovely stuff but a bit stained up.  I stuck it up in the shop to see if anyone can make use of it for quilting. The golden yellow Scandanavian print fabric below didn't even last a day in the shop.  I love the little animals traipsing across the cotton. 

 These napkins are in perfect shape, not Vera, but definitely Mod and fabulous.  They're up in the shop now.

On the fashion front I have a great Hawaiian dress to showcase.  It's so ORANGE, really bright almost neon orange, and a maxi length that looks great on everyone.

Thanks for taking a look at some of my newest goodies!  I'll have more up this week, and I'm also running a Cyber Monday sale in the shop  15% off when you use the code CYBRMON12.  There's a bunch of new stuff in the Sale section as well!

I'm hooking up with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday  and The Pennyworthy Project  hop on over and take a look at the holiday shopping goodness and other cool thrifted finds!

Thrifting with a friend is always more fun.

Most of today's blog actually comes from last Monday's thrifting adventures with my friend Dawn.  She came down to visit and since it was her birthday we went on a shopping trip to the thrift stores. It's always a great way to get more bang for your birthday buck don't you think?  She found lots of great lace curtains and bits for Steampunk costume projects, as well as that great black and white comforter in the background. 

Here's a photo of our "epic" haul at the end of the day.  Even though I TRIED to behave myself I must admit that four of those overstuffed bags are mine.  But how can I resist when it's such good stuff, and cheap to boot?  On the practical side I found 3 work shirts and a pair of linen pants for myself, as well as two shirts for the little guy and a pair of nice khakis that he can use for church or dress up occasions.  Then there was the couch throw, which I don't have a picture of.  It's green microfiber and down filled. I can't have down or feather pillows or blankets on the bed because it makes the mister all stuffed up, but on the couch is okay.  I was enjoying it this weekend when the temps dropped and we didn't want to turn on the heat yet. 
A while ago I posted a picture of a Steampunk hip scarf in progress. It's finally done and here are some pics to show you.

Everything on it was thrifted, which I'm pretty pleased about.  And it makes a very nice jingle jingle.

Stuff I found for the shop this week includes a whole stack of ladies gloves.  They're beautiful and in colors you don't often find.  The Tiffany Blue ones really caught my eye. 

And of course I'm still working through the pile of handkerchiefs.  This week it's a yellow and green lot. 

 More Gloves! I especially like the crocheted ones, so dainty and ladylike!

 

And of course I can never resist a vintage sheet. These two caught my eye this week. They're both up in the Reneesance Etsy Shop waiting for the right person with the right project to come along!  

 

 

 

I'm hooked up with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday  and  A Living Space Go on over and take a look at all the goodies!  

 

Thrifty Crafty Weekend

I had the day off on Friday so I managed to make it to my favorite place, the Goodwill Outlet.  I really tried to focus on things I thought I could resell quickly, and that wouldn't hang around in my basement too long.  It's a bit of a mess down there! 

I love the bins because it seems like a lot of vintage things just get taken directly to the outlet and never make it to the stores!  Like these handkerchiefs.  There was a whole stack, or really a series of stacks, of them in one bin that must have come from someone's collection.  I pulled them all out and I'm selling them in color coordinated bunches.  Lots of great crafting opportunities here.  I've seen people on Etsy turn them into buntings, quilts, and even curtains!   As always I couldn't resist this great fabric 

I've also been doing a bit of crafting myself.  I finished up this pirate hat that had been laying around half done for a month.  The hat was thrifted and then I added the ribbon and trim.  The feathers are either from a craft store, thrifted, or bought from a lady I know who has peacocks on her farm.  she collects the dropped feathers and sends them on to me!

 

My other project has been a bellydance hip scarf, made from some of the lovely doiles and laces I have laying around.  Here's an in progress teaser shot. I thrifted a brocade sash belt with lovely beaded embroidery on the ends.  Then I'm adding the crochet lace dresser scarf as the base, and the drapery fringe was rescued from an ugly thrifted drapery.  Still cheaper to buy the drapery than to buy the fringe at a fabric store!  I have to add lots of shiny jingles but eventually it will be showing up in the Etsy shop as well! 

 

Thanks for taking a look at my finds!  I'm hooking up with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday  Head on over and check it out!

 

And if you're interested in keeping up with the newest goodies posted to my etsy shop then please hop on to facebook and like Reneesance Hats and Vintage!

 

Finding Vera

I finally found a set of Vera napkins a few weeks ago!  This is very exciting because previously I have only found the occasional polyester scarf, and not any silk at all.   The set of four napkins has a great bamboo design in brown as you can see. 

 

They had some staining on them, so into the oxyclean bath they went.  But alas, the stains on polyester proved very stubborn and even after more than a week I could still discern trace spots on the napkins.  So instead of my hoped for $20.00 I listed them for $10.00 with spot photos and they sold in a day or so anyway!  Even slightly stained Vera is something special I guess. :)

 

 

This fall weather we've been having is my favorite of the entire year. Mid-seventies during the day, cool nights, light breezes.  I love it!  And of course it gets me thinking cosy jackets like the one below.  This jacket has been hanging in my closet for over a year.  When I thrifted it there was a belt loop hanging by a thread and part of the front patch pocket was unstitched.  It's been languishing in my mend pile since then.  I've been trying not to thrift too much until I at least list all my old stock so last week I pulled it out and fixed it up.  The pumpkin and kelly green plaid is autumnal and yet still so cheerful don't you think?  This one's still waiting in the shop for the perfect owner. 

 

 

 

 

 

Other little bits and bobs I listed included parts of the piles of fabric that have been patiently waiting for me to get around to it!  This piece of poplin has a great crisp hand to it, and there's enough to make an adorable sundress! 

 

I'm hooking up with Apron Thrift Girl: Thrift Share Monday  Hop on over and take a look at all the great thrifty finds!  You might find something you can't live without!