Add a little butterfly flair around your space!

Spring is wonderfully here in Southwestern Michigan! And when we saw these paper butterfly embellishments, we had to add them around the office and bring a little of that springtime flair indoors.

The Graphics Fairy (one of our favorite sources for vintage graphics and more!) posted a blog using these wonderful paper butterflies.


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We simply followed the Graphic Fairy's blog directions (see her website for full instructions):

1. Copy butterfly images from the Graphic Fairy's website (search butterfly and choose your favorites!) Make sure to make two of each image in the exact size.
2. Cut out the butterflies, fold and glue.
3. We used a glue stick and dabbed glue along the edges of the wings and pressed the glued edges into glitter that we spread onto a sheet of paper.
4. Add a glue dot to the back of the butterflies and embellish away!

Here is where our butterflies landed:

The receptionist vase of flowers....



And her computer monitor....

and her office door....

There are many more possibilities with these beautiful glitter butterflies.

• Add onto a wood skewer or popsicle stick for a plant poke.
• Add to a barrette.
• Stick on a spring candle.

What are your ideas?

Happy Treasure Hunting!

Staring at a Blank Wall?

Are you stumped on how to decorate a blank wall? You might be staring at a large wall, like in a room with a vaulted ceiling, or a long wall, like the hallway, or just a wall that needs to make a statement and need some inspiration. Our solution - empty picture frames! Goodwill is often the recipient of kindly donated pictures and picture frames. So we have grouped together some amazing ideas for decorating your space.
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We were inspired to do a blog on picture frames after seeing this idea put into practice by a new restaurant, Café Sabo,  in Paw Paw, Michigan (We have a Goodwill retail outlet right down the road!). They had a long hallway and beautifully filled the walls with empty picture frames in all shapes, colors and styles, and a few other objects tucked here and there. All of the pieces were bought at Goodwill!


Café Sabo

This is an eclectic style, and you don't have to do much to the frames other then maybe a little cleaning. Just group them as they are.


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Of course, painting them all one color will really pop and it doesn't matter if the style of the frame is modern or decorative. Love how some of the inspirational quote is "framed".


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Place your frame over something to highlight it like this stencil....


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Or a few branches...

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Or a bunch of fun little treasures...


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Empty frames can serve as a unique headboard.
Group frames together:

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Hang a single, elegant, decorative frame:

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The trio of white frames fit in nicely with this breezy charming bedroom:

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The wall behind your fireplace mantle can be a decorating challenge, and picture frames work well here too!

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So let the treasure hunt for picture frames begin!  This is our Alcott (Kalamazoo) Store's bounty of frames this week!

 

 

HAPPY TREASURE HUNTING!

Milk Glass for Spring

Milk glass may be a common find at thrift shops and garage sales, but we have a round up of some uncommonly beautiful ways to decorate for spring with this inexpensive collectable.
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This cheerful mantlescape treats the milk glass vessels as art pieces leaving them unfilled.

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The yellow flowers in the bright white milk glass make a beautiful table setting at this wedding.




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One bouquet of inexpensive grocery store flowers plus milk glass vases equals a colorful happy kitchen!

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We love this! These are sidewalk chalk eggs filling the milk glass!

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We hope you are inspired to bring out your milk glass for spring, and perhaps treasure hunt at your local Goodwill for more pieces.

A couple thoughts about milk glass:
How can you tell the difference between cheap and good milk glass?
Inexpensive milk glass will have a thin, pasty gray look. Like Fat Free Milk! This type of milk glass was commonly sold through florist for flower arrangements, and so it is plentiful and does not have a lot of value.

Good milk glass will be heavy and have a rich, thick color. Like Vitamin D Milk!

HAPPY SPRING AND HAPPY TREASURE HUNTING!

Add a Little Flavor to Your Life: Collecting Salt and Pepper Shakers

Fellow Treasure Hunters, are you a fan of novelty salt and pepper shakers? Those lovable bench sitters, bobbers, carriers, go-withs, hangers, holders, huggers, kissers, longboys, mechanical, mini's, nesters, nodders, rockers, sitters, stackers, tallboys and turnabouts?

Yes, those are just a few of the different kinds of salt and pepper shakers that avid collectors know all about.

Here are a few pictures to understand the salt and pepper lingo:
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BENCH SITTERS:

HANGERS:

LONGBOYS OR TALLBOYS:

These examples are from the Novelty Salt and Pepper Club. Yes, a club for novelty salt and pepper collectors! How cool is that! Be sure to visit their website, it is a lot of fun and very informative.

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We are fans of these gems because they are fun to collect. They can be found at garage sales, thrift stores and antiques shops often at a low cost. They are full of personality, and they don't take up a lot of space.... unless your collection has gone wild! Like Ruth Rasmussen's collection that now resides in a gallery in Traer, IA. The Traer Salt and Pepper Shaker Gallery boasts "Over 16,000 different sets of shakers and still growing!"

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Not impressed with 16,000 salt and pepper shakers? How about 80,000? Collector Andrea Ludden has her shakers split between two places. 40,000 can be viewed at the The Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

 and the other 40,00 at the Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers in Guadalest, Spain.

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We currently have two shakers sets available on shopgoodwill.com.

Denby Memories Salt And Pepper Shakers

Hand Painted Black Americana Salt Shakers

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Be sure to look for more shakers at your local Goodwill on both the Treasure Chest shelves and the housewares shelves. Follow this link for store locations: goodwillswmi.org/our-locations/

If you have a salt and pepper collection, would you share it with us? We would love to see it! Send your pictures and information to marketing@goodwillswmi.org Thanks and

Happy Treasure Hunting!



Monsters, Aliens, and Creatures, oh my!

Have you seen these awesome paintings around the web?

Some very creative artists are picking up thrift store paintings and altering them by adding monsters, aliens, and other fantasy creatures. We think it is like, super cool.
Here are a few we found around the web and a couple links to view even more.

 

 



twistedsifter.com
http://twentytwowords.com/thrift-store-monsters-adding-fantastical-creatures-to-second-hand-art/
http://makezine.com/2010/03/08/altered-thrift-store-art-some-perso/

Next time you are Treasure Hunting at Goodwill, wander over to the paintings....perhaps one needs a little altering....
This one is currently for sale at the Alcott Retail Outlet in Kalamazoo, MI. What creature do you see coming down the mountain?

Things to make with vintage linens

While we wait for winter to let go, how about trying a sewing project or two? You can find vintage linens or vintage-look linens at your local Goodwill. Look for sheets, pillowcases, handkerchiefs, tea towels, table clothes and napkins. We have a great round - up of ideas and tutorials.

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PJ Bottoms - Cute look sewn from vintage sheets!

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Window Covering - Vintage Napkins sewn together . This could be a perfect solution for a small window.

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Flowers - Perhaps making a few of these would hurry Spring?

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Bunting - These are fun to make! Bunting will make any occasion special. You will use them for baby and wedding showers, birthday and welcome home parties, decorating a space for a holiday, the list goes on and on! 

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Wreath - Making this colorful wreath would be a perfect use of your vintage linen scraps.

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Pillow Case Skirt - This idea came from Spoonful.com and there is no sewing involved!

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Skirt - How about sewing a new Spring skirt? This is from a circle table cloth!

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Votive Wraps - These votive candle holders are simply wrapped with vintage handkerchiefs. If you re decorating for a Mother's Day brunch at your school or church, these would make a pretty giveaway!

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Happy Treasure Hunting!