Ugly Christmas Sweaters at Goodwill

For the third year in a row we have had an Ugly Christmas Sweater Afternoon Party with our team members at Goodwill. We have a lot of fun creating and wearing our Ugly Christmas Sweaters and having popcorn. We give a little prize for "Best" Ugly Sweater but mostly it is bragging rights! 🙂

Here is our Party!

This year's Winner is Stasia and her ode to the movie "A Christmas Story".

Hot Tip: Like our background? It is a shower curtain! 

There are lots of easy and inexpensive festive holiday shower curtains out there, and they make a great backdrop for photos! 

Find your perfect ugly sweater at Goodwill. Visit our website for store information: goodwillswmi.org/our-locations

Happy Treasure Hunting! 

Fun Ways to Wrap Goodwill Gift Cards or Any Gift Card!

Do you have a thrift store loving person on your gift list? Perhaps a frugal friend or penny-pitching college student or treasure hunter? Get them a Goodwill gift card!

You can get a Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Michigan Gift Card in any amount at any of our stores. (Find our locations HERE)

We have put together a round up of fun ways to give your Goodwill card or any gift card!
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 thetipgarden.com shows you how to give a yard gift ball (you can often find the yarn at Goodwill too!)

Source - Thetipgarden.com

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Cute DIY snow-globes. Find little Christmas trinkets and even jars at Goodwill and follow along at hip2save.com to create these snow-globe gift card holders.

Source - hip2save.com

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How about candy sleigh treat with a Goodwill Gift Card! Sweet! We found this idea on dearcrissy.com

Source - dearcrissy.com

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These are repurposed sweater mini mittens, but they would be adorable gift card holders!
cremedelacraft.com has the DIY details!

Source - cremedelacraft.com

Thank you for supporting Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Michigan! 

When you donate and shop at our stores - you are supporting our mission! 

We provide employment, education, training and support services to individuals and families so they can become self-sufficient.

Happy Holidays!

Velvet is having a moment and we are ready!

Do you love velvet? It is a favorite for little girl dresses and beautiful dress shoes for the holiday's, but right now it is having a moment throughout the season and for everything! Dresses, jewelry, shoes, accessories... velvet in blue, black, red, and more.

It's On Elle Online

Source: Elle

We see it on Ivaniasmode.com

Source: Ivaniasmode.com

And on Thefashiontag.com

Source: TheFashionTag.com

This DIY Velvet Dress Tutorial fabricwholesaledirect.com is representing TWO fashion trends for 2017 - velvet and bell sleeves!

Source - FabricWholeSaleDirect.com

You can treasure hunt for velvet at our stores and search velvet on Shopgoodwill.com

This Brooks Brothers blazer is up for bid right now. It is unused with original tags "Brooks Brothers" Black Velvet Blazer in size 10. The chest is 38 inches, sleeves are 24, waist is 33, width between the shoulders is 16 and the length is 28 inches. Material is cotton blend and lining is bemberg cupro. Follow the link to purchase it online: shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Brooks-Brothers

ShopGoodwill.com

We did a quick treasure hunt for velvet at the Goodwill Half Off Store - 420 E. Alcott Street, Kalamazoo, MI and found these velvet delights...
This velvet dress with a few sparkles could be matched with boots and a jean jacket for that glam trash look that is trending right now.

Mix this velvet blouse with a pair of jeans and you will feel pampered and comfortable.

We spotted this black velvet skirt and matched it with a three different tops... and we are now convinced that a black velvet skirt is a staple piece!

Hot Tip - If you purchased all of these items- the dress, skirt, all three tops, and the sweater at the Half Off Store - your total would be less than $20! Now that is treasure hunting!

Goodwill makes it affordable to try a bit of this glamorous velvet trend! 

Five Upcycling Ideas for Winter from Things You Might Find at Goodwill.

So the winter months are upon us. This is the time of year when a lot of people reach for their knitting needles and crochet hooks, dust off the glue guns, and dig out the craft paints. We have a round up of fresh ideas to use your crafting skills and upcycle a thrift store find.

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ONE - This vintage planter pin holder is one of those "why didn't I think of that" ideas! So cute! Get a step by step tutorial on bluewillowhouse.com

Source - BlueWillowHouse.com

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TWO - This is a labor of love - but, WOW! You can find a dollhouse that needs a make-over like this at Goodwill, you might just have to treasure hunt for a while. Go to penny-pennystreasures.blogspot.com to see how she did this incredible transformation.

Source - penny-pennystreasures.blogspot.com

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THREE- There are many ideas for upcycling thrifted salt & pepper shakers on Pinterest. We love these little ponies with a touch of gold. Find full instructions on blog.etsy.com

Source - blog.etsy.com

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FOUR - This is a beautiful winter wreath - so unusual and stunning. (And it was found at a Goodwill store!) Visit stacynashprimitivedesigns.blogspot.com to see many more of her ideas.

Source - stacynashprimitivedesigns.blogspot.com

FIVE - Upcycle a cheese dome. These are called water-less snow globe, great name and what a fun idea! Visit sadieseasongoods.com

Source - sadiesseasongoods.com

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Looking for unique vintage items? Have you visited Goodwill Industries of SWMI on ShopGoodwill.com?You will find amazing treasures, antiques and colletibles. And often new items! Find things like:
Bulk Vintage Jewelry Bags

Vintage Pyrex

Vintage Portable Aircraft Receiver

Check out ShopGoodwill.com today! You never know what you will find! 

Did you know you can find bulk vintage jewelry on shopgoodwill.com?

Goodwill Industries of SWMI often has bulk vintage jewelry listed on shopgoodwill.com

ShopGoodwill.com

Think of all of the crafty possibilities with these beautiful pieces! We have gathered several ideas right here:
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Vintage modern art - very unique DIY project from townlifestyleanddesign.com

Source - TownLifeStyleandDesign.com

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 Plant Pokes with vintage sparkle - Love! Love! Love! Visit bmjnyc.com for details.

Source - bmjnyc.com

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New life for a vintage ring. This is a pretty intense tutorial, but the results are amazing! Found on instructables.com

Source - instructables.com

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Upcycled key (maybe do this with your first house key?) another "gem" of an idea from instructables.com

Source - instructables.com

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Check back often to Goodwill Industries of SWMI shopgoodwill.com page as we list bulk vintage jewelry, bulk gold pieces, bulk broken jewelry, and other bulk items such as watches, cuff links, and more!

Tie Clasps & Cuff Links - ShopGoodwill.com

Scrap Costume Jewelry - Shopgoodwill.com

Gold Lot - ShopGoodwill.com

Here is how to find everything Goodwill Industries of SWMI is currently listing on ShopGoodwill.com. 

Go to ShopGoodwill.com and search by Seller and type in:
MI-Kalamazoo-Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Michigan
Search key words like, vintage jewelry, bulk, bag, costume, gold, sterling silver, etc.
Having fun treasure hunting!

Make Up Tutorials that are really really GOOD!

We scanned YouTube for some really really good makeup tutorials that you may want to try and are just plain fun to watch! Here we go.....
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Trippy Double Vision Halloween Makeup Tutorial - "trippy" is the perfect word for this makeup. 

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Comic Book Zombie Makeup - done right in a Goodwill store!  

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Ice Queen / Snow Queen - being a queen or princess is a timeless choice - beautiful! 

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Mermaid Makeup - super cute!

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Snapchat in Real Life! Dog Filter Makeup Tutorial - this is a really really good idea!

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Check out the Goodwill Halloween Lookbook for great costume ideas for the whole family.

Goodwill Halloween Look Book

Happy Halloween! 

Dressing a skeleton?

We have a Team Member here at Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Michigan that really has the Halloween Spirit at her house. Over the years she has had fun dressing up her Halloween skeletons in Goodwill dresses and such. Have a look!....
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A rather debonair look! 

 Getting ready for a girls night out. Fancy!

 Ready for a ride in a antique wagon. 

 This witch would surely be scary in the dark....

Have fun shopping for prom dresses, formal dresses, and wedding dresses at Goodwill for Halloween. And if you spot one for yourself to wear... you may want to check out this previous post:

awesome round up of halloween costumes featuring prom dresses! (you know you want to wear a prom dress again!)

Happy Halloween! 

5 Fall Ideas with Goodwill and Southwestern Michigan....

Falling in love with fall all over again in Southwestern Michigan......
We have gathered together a few ideas that mix the autumn season and Goodwill.

We hope you are inspired to make something, do something, and enjoy the blessings of living in Southwestern Michigan.
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Refashion a sweater....
Take a look at this amazing sweater refashion. Take your time shopping at Goodwill and find two sweaters and then follow along with ehow.com tutorial.

Source - ehow.com

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Try a pallet sign....
Recycled pallet projects are Hot Hot Hot. If you have been wanting to try one, here is a simple one to get you started. themagicbrushinc.com has the tutorial with video.

We love pallet projects here so much at Goodwill that we started a new event called PalletPalooza! Check out our event website at palletswmi.com and see the winners of PalletPalooza 2016 and get ready for PalletPalooza 2017!

Source: themagicbrushincc.com

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Collect plaid blankets from Goodwill...
When you are shopping through the year at Goodwill, be sure to always take a quick look at the blankets... you could have a basket full in no time! (we always thank you for shopping and donating to Goodwill... our stores are our main fundraiser for the programs we provide to the community!) streetscenevintage.blogspot.com has so many yummy and cozy ideas for fall picnics and bonfires.

Source: streetscenevintage.blogspot.com

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Yes! You can make this Apple Cheesecake breakfast in your quesadilla maker! lemontreedwelling.com has a delicious recipe using farm fresh fall apples. Find more unusual recipes to use in your quesadilla maker on a previous post Yes! You can make that in quesadilla maker!  - and if you don't have one, you can often find them at Goodwill!

lemontreedwelling.com

Southwestern has so many places to pick apples. Check out michiganappletours.com and plan on going apple picking with your family and friends.
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Plant these forever flowers.... Garden flowers are fading... but you can make these recycled dishware flowers and they will be a bright spot all year long.  birdsandblooms.com has step by step instructions and of course, Goodwill is the place to treasure hunt for the perfect dishware!

Source: birdsandblooms.com

Happy Fall and Happy Treasure Hunting!