Hey frugal bohemians,
Maybe some of you grew up with the same family values as I did: Mama taught us girls to clean our plates, and to save up our pennies, nickels, and dimes for something we wanted. Yes, we actually could buy something for ourselves for just a few coins!
In those days of the late ’50s into the ’60s and ’70s, a dollar had value!
Today, we have dollar stores; when I was a child and on into my teens, we had dime stores, also called “the five and dime.”
At McCrory’s, Woolworth’s, or Grant’s, we kids could get a “little fat boy,” as we called them, for a nickel. He’s a soft-plastic figure molded into a sitting position, about an inch tall. For 15 cents, I got a molded soft-plastic brown pony with black mane and tail, a little bigger than the fat boys. Lol. Still have ’em!
Though we were taught the value of money at an early age, I never considered that we were poor. We always had enough, but, we had to be careful.
We were taught to take very good care of our toys and dolls. Today, I still have many of my childhood toys and they are in nearly mint condition.
As we grew into our teens, my and my sister’s allowance went toward our own music—in the form of 45-rpm (rounds per minute) records and vinyl LP (long play) albums. Still have them, too, and they are in excellent condition—even the covers.
We took very good care of things and used them as long as possible.
Having been taught not to be wasteful, those ideals are now ingrained in me.
I’m amazed at what people throw out, these days. Why can’t people at least call a thrift store to come collect what they want to discard, so that another could get use out of those items, many of which are still in very good condition. The charities running the thrift stores would benefit; someone could get a nice item for less than in “the stores,” and our dear Mother Earth wouldn’t be forced to swallow all that waste!
Lol. Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox, for now. 🙂 As you can tell, I strongly consider wasting something as a total waste!! I hate waste!
Now, that I’m sewing more and more, making useful and desirable things from discards, I’m finding that, as I save the “scraps” from projects, I find great use for them in later projects!
For instance, as I cut away denim fabric from jeans for other projects, I save the “skeleton.”
The leg side seams make great strings for drawstring bags, or shoulder straps for small purses.
These two cute bags were made from two cloth napkins each. The napkins are reversible, so, I didn’t need to make liners for the bags! 🙂 As you see, one was used as is: rectangular. The other, I rounded the bottom, as shown.
For the casings, or”tunnels,” for the drawstrings, I cut strips from another matching napkin.
Sew down only the length of the strips, leaving the ends open. I used the opposite side of the napkin for contrast.
Thread both drawstrings through both casings—one going one way, the other going the opposite way—so that when you pull both drawstrings, they close the bag by bunching up the opening.
Sew the string ends together to make two loops.
Use a vest and upholstery material from a couch cushion or drape to make a bag.
Make a bag from toddler jeans and upholstery material.
Make a zippered, fringed bag from any pair of pants or jeans.
Make a bag from a throw pillow and upholstery fabric.
Use your imagination!
Put on your thinkin’ cap whenever you visit a thrift store: Think of the possibilities, don’t just take something at face value. Many things can be repurposed.
Look for the sales. One thrift store I frequent has a rack of 25-cent items: the unsold, “unwanted” remnants from other racks. I beat feet to that rack every time!
Use something nobody wants, and make it into something everybody will exclaim about! Be original!
Till next time, be funky, be fabulous, and be frugal…making and wearing your OWN original togs!!
Blessings,
Cindy
I’ve been working on some new things, trying different projects. I’ll share those with you next time!
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