Weird and wacky in the world of thrift

Another of my recurring features are the Weird and Wacky, previous year's posts 2016 and 2015. This is my 4th and final post for the Aprilalternativechallenge - the weird and wacky in the world of thrift, beginning with a few owls,

some friendly frogs,

a strawberry shortcake and her creepy clown friend.

Adding in a tissue box cover.

I am not sure what the following creation is but it is resplendent in it's glue-gun gone wrong adornment.

Stuffed guy and his fish pal joining the party.

Welcomed by the cork wreath.

On my regular thrifting there was fabric, a quilt book How to Make an Amish Quilt and Olaf. I have begun collecting certain Ty Beanie Babies, ok, the ones I think might be collectible, some that I attach atop baby shower gifts, and some I just keep for myself.

Another retro item I have added to my secondhand thrift shopping list is vinyl records. Of course, they have to be in good condition and something I would eventually like to listen to, like jazz from the 60s/70s.

What is your Must Have collectible?

Pink Saturday and prettying up a picture

The letter I have chosen to highlight this week is "P" for Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly at howsweetthesound. This is one of my ongoing features I revisit from time to time and third in the series of the aprilalternativechallenge. Leading off with a Pattern of the Day, a Baby Doll's Wardrobe from 1957. I scored that and five other doll clothes patterns from the 50s/60s at the Salvation Army Sacramento store.

A slew of floral pinkness.

Well constructed needlework shadow box picked up at the Goodwill boutique thrift store ($6). I couldn't pass it up what with the letter "T" and all. I took the glass off the front for a clearer image.

Pink remnants to be included in a quilt creation, dreaming of visiting Paris again one day.

My go-to art spot at hospice thrift didn't leave me disappointed. The hibiscus flower needlework just needed a frame and the washed out butterfly framed print (half off) needed an update, (grand total $5.12). The frame was in excellent shape and there was no staining on the mattes.

I hated to remove such a pretty backing but it was torn anyway.
The needlework was protected in hard plastic so I removed that. I separated the mattes from the print and also removed the brackets on the back of the frame. I took the glass out of the frame and thoroughly washed it and rotated it to install the new piece.

The green of the two mattes were so close, I just centered the picture and affixed the back with the bendable prongs. I love this new piece of artwork, it is perfect for spring!

Have you found frames and pictures that were meant for each other?

In other news, the 2017 New Quilters Blog Hop continues with the following participants in my "hive" posting on Monday, April 17th. 
alicesamuelsquiltco.com
domesticfelicityblog
chaostheoryquilting
lizgmorgan.blogspot.com aka My Sew Called Life

An "A" letter day for the April Alternative Challenge

My first post in this 4-post April Alternative Challenge is an "A" letter day focusing on aprons and thrifting. Last year, I participated in another April challenge where one of my posts focused on aprons-and-advertising-tins. 

This year's apron is a black and white one that I purchased thrift in the past couple of months.

Cesar Chavez day off, a state holiday here in California, meant a visit to one of my up country thrift shops known to me to be a great source for fabric remnants. I was not disappointed, in fact it was a fabricpalooza!  Ermahgerd. While I love receiving those mystery fabric collections that I purchase from online auctions, being able to pick and choose the remnants helps flesh out my stash.

Fabric and clothing totaled $30 but a half-off frequent buyer card brought the total to $15.

Sally Stand-In is wearing the Coldwater creek knit top and White Stag maxi skirt (along with my Pebbles & Bam Bam pearls) as part of the lot.

What delights me most when I have a successful day of thrifting is outfits, like the one pictured above, that come together in a magical sort of way.

Detail of the skirt.

I am hard on irons, I drop them or they fall off of the ironing board.  When I saw this retro gem, sturdy cord, wonderful hand grip and low center of gravity, I shelled out a whopping $3 for her.

I have been delighted with this old-fashioned iron. I don't use steam so the intact steam part will remain unused.

A spring-inspired fabric wall hanging/table runner will be featured in an upcoming post.

There is still time to join the aprilalternativechallenge, a blog and Instagram challenge I am hosting in April. Any and all linkups are welcome. 

Signups and my son's quilt

Signups begin today over at the April Alternative Challenge, a low pressure challenge I began hosting this year. I had participated in another online April challenge but rules had changed. This low pressure challenge is tailored to highlight a blog or Instagram's best posts, 4 at the least.

On to quilting news, I auditioned squares for my son's quilt. He chose the square in the middle. Gratuitous shot of my flowers in bloom.

Thrifting hospice rewarded me with bowlful of Beanie Babies (25 cents each).

Here I was complaining I couldn't locate my Princess Di Tys, the Great Thrift Shop Beyond sent me two!

Look for some fun posts next month, one being thrift shop weird and wacky.

The April Alternative Challenge

I am going to do this!  Host an April challenge at http://aprilalternativechallenge.blogspot.com/

SIGNUPS WILL BEGIN IN MARCH 2017.  Date to be announced.

Join me in this weekly challenge - suggestions for posts, choose a letter to highlight during that week.
WEEK 1:  April 2-8 - any topic, any letter beginning with A through G
WEEK 2:  April 9-15 - any topic, any letter beginning with H through N
WEEK 3:  April 16-22 - any topic, any letter beginning with O through U
WEEK 4:  April 23-28 - any topic, any letter beginning with V through Free Pass. 

Link up, just once, but there are rules, (sheesh) here comes the legalese part. I, as the one and only moderator, reserve the right to remove any and all links that include the following:
Adult Content
Advertising of any kind
More than one link to the participant's account(s)
Other random and arbitrary rules I decide at the last minute.

Pretty please keep it Family Friendly and post the 4 times during AAC.

The main point of this challenge is to be able to meet new bloggers by visiting the linkup page.  It is not so much what you write but that you participate.  We want to find you - and you want to be found!

Come on, join the Alternative!