What I Wore - Freely Floral Tiny Prints Collaboration

Hi everyone!

I am excited to be back in the blogging world after a very long unintentional hiatus. And I am even more excited to share this really fun collaboration post with you all! 

In December I was contacted by a lovely member of the Tiny Prints team and asked to do an outfit post inspired by one of there many cards or labels. I searched through the site for hours trying to find the perfect one and i found it! So here we go!

Freely Floral Thank You Cards By Tiny Prints

The second I saw this one it reminded me of this dress, which is one of my favorites!

Dress - Thrifted - Vintage

Shirt - Thrifted - Magazine

Tights - Walmart

Shoes - Marden's - Piper & Blue

Necklace - Claire's

Belt - Yard Sale

Headband - Walmart

Gloves - Claire's

I really wanted to match a piece with pink and white poka dots with this, but I just didn't have anything like that, so i went with this black shirt, I felt like it really made the colors in the dress pop, and gave it a slightly edgier look. I have also totally fallen in love with white tights! I love how they look on, I had major doubts about them when i first got this pair but now I'm hooked!

I loved looking through all of Tiny Prints wonderful stock. If I ever need invitations or labels or anything of the sort I will definitely go there to find them! They have so many styles and themes and the website is so nice and easy to search through! I always had thought that Tiny Prints was just for baby and kids things, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was aimed at other things and age groups too!

I'm going to try to get back in the swing of blogging, but my internet is still pretty sketchy so we'll see how it works out. But I have some post ideas swirling around in my head so I hope I can do them soon!

Thank you to the folks at Tiny Prints for giving my this fun opportunity!

Have a great day everyone and stay warm!

Lexi 

Buttons!

Heylo

A couple of weekends ago I went to a church sale and I got a tin that was chock full of wonderful buttons! a mix of vintage and modern and even some antique ones! There are seriously hundreds of them. When I dumped the tin out to start sorting them I was shocked at the vast array. And the best part? The whole lot of them was only a dollar! 

I can't wait to start using them on projects! Anyways here are some photos of when I first dumped the tin out.

Have a wonderful day!

Lexi

What I Wore - Monday Monday

Hi 

Well it's Monday...How did that happen? I swear time seems to be moving faster and faster. Anyway I had a great weekend! Friday I got a bunch of new listing up in my Etsy shop, Which for me I find to be rather time consuming but it's totally worth it. Saturday I went yard saling in a different town then I usually do, and oh my goodness it was great! I found so much stuff! I got enough vintage clothes to fill a laundry hamper, I might end up selling some of them at some point. I originally opened my Etsy shop to sell vintage clothing but then never ended up doing it. But yeah Saturday was one of the best yard sale days I've had this summer, maybe I'll do a haul post. Sunday my mom, my step dad and I drove 2 hours to go to the Bangor Fair, and lets just say this year was kind of a let down, it was smaller then it used to be, and there weren't as many animals in the agricultural part of it. After since we barely spent anytime at the fair we went candle pin bowling, which is a blast. I've never played regular bowling with the big pins and balls, but I think it would be dangerous for me to try, it's all I can do to not hurt myself playing candle pin. Then me and my mom went and won a bunch of tickets in the arcade. And yes me and my mom often act like children together.

Anyways onto the outfit photos!  

Dress, Yard Sale, 1$

Shoes, Marden's, Piper & Blue, 2$

Tights, Kohls (I think), 1$

Belt, Came with another dress

Glasses, Walmart, 1$

Headband, Family Dollar, 2$

Necklace, Marden's 1$

Okay so let me start by saying please ignore the mess! And I swear the plastic flamingo lights have a good purpose (they don't, yet).

I picked this dress up a few weeks ago and it is quickly becoming a favorite. There are only 2 small issues with it, someone replaced the zipper rather poorly and I'm scared I'll rip it out. And the straps have a tendency to fall down my arms. Both are easy fixes if I'd just get motivated to sew again. But in any case I love the print and the fit, it is just perfect.

 I know some people might cringe when I say I buy something at Family Dollar or Walmart, but as I've said before I don't care where it comes from just as long as I like it. Family Dollar has the most adorable selection of headbands and they are super cheap, I wear headbands a lot so I like having a good variety to choose from and I just cant justify spending over 3 bucks on one. And as for the sunglasses, they have a high UV protection, they are a great style, and they were only a dollar. I break my sunglasses constantly so I can't really justify spending more then 5$ on a pair, Walmart has a great selection and they are often very very cheap. Sure you might have to dig around stores like Family Dollar and Walmart to find something you like, but it's worth it in the long run. I don't really understand why people feel ashamed to buy clothes and stuff from those sorts of stores. Maybe it's just because I have very limited selection of what stores are close to me or maybe it's because I'm a cheap Yankee. Either way I like getting good deals and i don't care what store somethings from. 

Okay sorry for the rant! it's just something that's been bugging me lately.

Have a great Monday (or at least try)!

Lexi  

My Yard Saling Tips

                                                                       Source: blog.enn.com via Teresa on Pinterest

So Since I am totally itching for yard sale season to start I thought I'd share some of my tips.

Honestly I don't remember a in my life that I haven't yard saled. It's tradition that every Saturday all summer I go out yard saling. It is one of my favorite ways to spend the week end. And over the years I have gotten pretty good at it if I do say so myself. And anyone could give you the basic tips, but I have a few most people don't think of, that make it easier and more fun, and will help you find sales and bargains. So here we go.

1. Ok first off, make sure you have supplies in your car. I know that sounds self explanatory but you know for some people it isn't. Always carry rope, screw drivers, a wrench, pliers, a hammer, and a junk blanket ( to wrap things in and protect the inside or roof of your car.)

2. Wear long pants. Honestly I don't do this most of the time. But that doesn't mean it's not a good idea! 

3. Have good music playing well you drive, your favorite radio station, a good cd what ever. I honestly have found that listening to talk radio well looking for yard sales, just is not a good mix, it's actually distracting and doesn't pump you up as much as music.

4. Leave early! Leaving around 8:30 is usually good, don't go to sales at the last minute (unless they are going to give everything away for free at the end of the day.) This gives you time to make any stops you need to, and get to sales first thing because that's when the best stuff is out. It's worth setting your alarm.

5. Breakfast and coffee. You know yard saling is all about having fun, get a good cup of coffee, (bring a travel mug off it) or what ever you like to drink in the morning, and get a breakfast you can eat in the care, something yummy, muffins, donuts what ever you like. indulge a little.   

6. Bring small bills! This is really important, bring lots of ones and fives, and a few tens and twenties (just in case), and don't forget quarters too! I see so many people who don't bring small bills to yard sales and that just makes the seller upset and its a pain. I personally have a jar that I put my ones in just for yard sales and thrift shops, then I can just get them in my wallet quickly.

7. Have a tape measure in your bag.

8. now as for finding sales. Check everywhere! Check your local paper, Bulletin boards, and any where else you can think of to look. Honestly the sale's pre-advertised in papers usually aren't the best unless they are charity or church sales those are some of the best. But if it's a pre-advertised sale at peoples houses, save those for last, they tend to be higher priced, not always but mostly at least in my area. The best way to find sales, is to just drive around and look for signs, it's kind of an art to spot signs, look at poles,  corners road sides. Just look every where.  

9. Don't be afraid to dicker! It's part of yard saling. and it can be hard to do, but it becomes second nature after awhile. Just don't make insulting offers, as in, don't offer less then half the price. If you feel weird making an offer on one item out of what you want, bundle stuff. make a fair offer on a few things together. People will usually be willing to take less money the more you buy.

10. Take care of yourself well out yard saling. Put on sunscreen, you will be in the sun a lot. Don't wear a lot of perfume, it tends to attract bugs. Wear sunglasses. Bring bug spray, bring germ killer, bring wipes. Don't wear light easily stained clothes (something else I dont always listen too). Drink plenty of water.

11. If you go out alone, use good judgement. If the people look like they are phyco killers or they just look creepy don't stop, if the house the sale is at looks like you're going to get dragged into a basement dungeon don't stop! Basically all I'm saying is be smart, a yard sale isn't worth it.

12. Free piles are your friend. don't be afraid to look through some ones free stuff, I know it seems embarrassing but it's worth it trust me!

13. Have a back up plan. If you don't find any sales, or didn't find anything, hit up a thrift shop or two, go get lunch, run errands on your way home, do something fun, what ever. just don't let it feel like a wasted day because it wasn't.

14. Say you find a yard sale with amazing clothes. know how to size things with out even looking at the tag, you can't try them on, so do everything you can to figure out if they'll fit, it's actually much easier then you think. 

15. Be reasonable. Don't buy every cool thing you find (unless they are totally cheap). Think a little bit before you buy things, it's easy to get caught up in the moment at sales. Being I sell vintage on Etsy, I pretty much buy anything vintage I find, because if I can't use it I know I can sell it and make my money back at least. But if you aren't an online seller, be more cautious, other wise you will become a hoarder. Not that that's always a bad thing haha.

So there are 15 tips I have for yard saling. There are so many more tips and tricks, but this is a quick little list. I know some people are still funny about going to yard sales so maybe this will help some how. And maybe it will help inspire some of you to make it one of your weekend summer traditions too. In any case I hope you enjoyed reading my ramblings about this. 

If you have any tips to ad to this, or you'd like to ask me anything about yard saling, just leave me a comment!

Have a great day everyone!

Lexi