To Catch A Thrift

Friday Finds: SCOUTMOB!

May 182012

Here at To Catch A Thrift, we LOVE to get a great deal. We also think it is important to support local businesses. Thanks to the superb awesomeness of Scoutmob (a gets-you-amazing-deals-for-FREE app, check it out here), both can be accomplished in one outing!

Scoutmob has deals for restaurants, retailers, events, and more, and we spent the better part of a rainy morning dedicated to shopping two incredible retail locations.

Our first stop was Goodbuy Girls in the 5 Points Collaborative on Woodland St. in East Nashville.

This place was adorable, and even though it was a small space, it was packed full of amazing items! They have a whole wall of cowboy boots, lots of cheap jewelry, and an exciting collection of clothes. We ended up getting a leopard print dress and a ring, all for only 9 bucks thanks to our Scoutmob deal!

Next we headed over the the Berry Hill district to check out Designer Renaissance, a consignment store filled with one-of-a-kind pieces!

We admittedly told the girls helping us there that we had known about Designer Renaissance for awhile, but had waited to make our first visit since we knew once we’d shopped there, we’d want to come back all the time!!

We found so many amazing items here. Brands like DVF, Fendi, Chanel, The Row, and more can be yours for a fraction of the price! And with your Scoutmob deal, they can be a fraction of a fraction of the price!! Can’t beat that!

Ashley ended up walking away with a grey tank dress, silver bamboo bracelet, and a Stella McCartney (ashley LOVES stella) black sequined tank for a total of $24. SERIOUSLY! Ellen purchased a beautiful sheer neutral tank that she can wear with anything.

So what are you still doing on your computer?? Download the Scoutmob app now, and get thyself shopping!

Happy awesome-deal-getting,

ashley & ellen

Happy Mother’s Day!!

gift

May 132012

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

I love Mother’s Day. Like many, I have a mom who gives and gives and gives, and always thinks of others first. It’s great that there is a day to stop and celebrate her.

Today I woke up really early and started packing, and will be making the 3+ hour drive to go see my wonderful momma for a couple of days. I am so excited!!!

I just finished wrapping her present, and while the present wasn’t free, the awesome gift wrapping was! All I needed was paper grocery bags, tape, and a sharpie. Check it.

You can save so much money wrapping your presents in unique, cost-effective ways, and it is such a fun creative outlet. Here’s to saving money, which I learned how to do from my amazing MOM!

xo!

Bracelet Stacking: more is more!

accessories, DIY, fashion

Apr 212012

One of the summer trends we just can’t get enough of is “arm candy”, or bracelet stacking. Seen all across the fashion world, wearing multiple bracelets all together has become the new statement piece. Creating an eclectic collection that tells who you are, what you like, or where you’ve been, and stacking them on your wrists can be a conversation starter, or the conversation itself.

You’ve seen them all across the web and in stores, in fashion magazines and on celebrities. Bracelet stacks like the following can however end up costing you quite a bit of money!

Rachel Strugatz of Women's Wear Daily, shown on Refinery 29

Watch, friendship bracelets, and bangles seen on fashion2012.com

Free People has incredible bracelets!

A great way to save money on curating your bracelet stacks is to use what you have! If you have old friendship or hemp bracelets from back in the day, great! Those would look awesome with a metal cuff. Old prom jewelry lying around? Stack those next to a leather wrap bracelet and you’re good to go! There are also plenty of cool bracelets to be found at thrift stores, and you can always make your own!

Here is a breakdown and cost of Ashley’s bracelet stacks:

Right Arm, from left to right:

Tagua Seed Bracelet: Street Market in Pensacola, FL – $8
Ivory Wood Bead Cuff: Francesca’s Collections - $9
Double Chain Link Bracelet: Cool Stuff Weird Things – $1
Sea Green Glass Bead Bracelet: I made, with products from Michael’s Craft Store - ~$3

Total for right arm bracelet stack: $21

Left Arm, from left to right:

Painted Metal Bangle: this one belongs to a close friend that I practically share closets with – FREE
Black Leaf Metal Cuff: Unique Thrift Store – $2
Rhinestone and Leather Lace Wrap Bracelet: I made, from supplies in my craft box – FREE
Small Green Bead Bracelet: I made, with products from Michael’s Craft Store - ~$3
Red Stone Bead Bracelet: I made, with products from Michael’s Craft Store - ~$4

Total for left arm bracelet stack: $9 !!

THAT’S RIGHT! Two arms FULL of bracelets for only $30!!

Do you like to stack your bracelets? If so, we’d love to hear how you accomplished the look for less!

Take care, and HAPPY STACKING!

xo,

ashley & ellen

Old Shoe Re-Do!

accessories, DIY, fashion, refashion

Apr 132012

We’ll be the first to admit that our love of thriftiness teeters on a fine line between collecting lots of incredible pieces that have tons of potential OR just being flat out hoarders…

…just kidding… we’re not that bad YET!

However, sometimes it’s hard to get rid of things when they still have a lot of good wearing left in them or maybe just need a little adjustment to make them completely stylish again!

Obviously, I say this with something in mind… which happens to be an old pair of shoes that never quite made it to the Spring-Cleaning Goodwill pile year after year thinking, “No, I’ll hold onto them just a little bit longer incase I decide to do something with them.”

Well, their time has come!

Before they were just an ordinary two-toned (black and gray) pair of pumps..now they are FABULOUS! All it took was a couple coats of acrylic paint plus a few layers of protective polycrylic (which gives the shine) and you’ve got a rockin’ new pair of heels, perfect for Spring!

The great thing is that the options are endless! This process was so easy! You can do ANY design/print/portrait you want on ANY shoe! My only recommendation is to match the finish as best as you can with the rest of the shoe (ex: my shoe was shiny so I used a glossy finish!) This helps make it look finalized and like it came from the store!

xo,

ash & ell

workspace makeover

DIY, furniture, home decor, refashion, tutorials

Apr 052012

When the area you work in is boring and dull, being efficient and creative can be difficult. Ashley’s workspace was looking a bit drab, so we decided to give it a little sprucing!

The desk had been given for free, and had some potential:

A great way to update furniture quickly is to simply take a can of spray paint and coat the whole thing! We sanded the wood in some spots so that once painted it would have a worn/antiqued look to it. We used Krylon’s Indoor/Outdoor Satin Spray Paint in Jade.

After the desk was all colorful and pretty, we decided that what better to go with a “new” desk than a new, handmade seat cushion?!

Ashley’s first attempt ever at refashioning several years back did not turn out, (an attempted skirt, before I fully understood how to press seams OR sew elastic ) but she held on to it because the fabric was just to die for, and knew it’d be usable someday!

To make the seat cushion:

Cut two equal squares of fabric, slightly bigger than the seat it will go on.
Line up squares wrong sides together.
Pin ties in between fabric squares, to where middles of ties are sticking out past fabric, and the ends are laying into the square. I used macrame cord, but ribbon, fabric strips, etc. would work great too!
Stitch 1/4″-1/2″ from the egdge 3 sides together, and 1.2 of the fourth side, thus leaving a “hole” to stuff batting or pillow fluff into.
Flip right side out.
Stuff with batting or pillow fluff.
Using needle and thread close up the hole as neatly as possible.
Tie to Seat and sit oh-so-comfortably!

Now it’s not hard to imagine enjoying working here!:

Happy working!

ashley & ellen

speaking of spring…

what's happening

Apr 012012

Hey guys!!

Spring is in the air in Nashville! Some days it even feels more like summer.

We spent this beautiful afternoon giving our blog a “Spring Makeover”. We even have a new tag line! (You can try to guess it over on our Facebook page).

We are so excited about our “new spring look”, and cannot wait to show it you! We will have it up and running in the next couple of days.

Speaking of “new looks”, you should go check out the blog post Ashley wrote here. It’s all about spring cleaning your closet and planning a “new look” for Spring!

Spring has been busy so far for us, and for Nashville in general it seems.

Nashville Fashion Week took place this past month. Ashley got to be at some of it, and even got her picture in a street style album!:

photo by Adrian Morales of snappylifestyle.com

Seriously, a very-shallow-but-nonetheless-substantial dream come true!

So far our spring has been AMAZING.

How has yours been?

and how many times can you say SPRING in one blog post??

xo,

ashley & ellen

turning thrifted trinkets into jewelry

accessories, DIY

Mar 262012

One of the easiest things to find when sifting through thrift stores are TRINKETS. You’ve seen it, it looks like junk and like too much work to look through. But trust us, this is where you can find some of the best stuff! Adorable pendants, buttons, pins, earrings, watch faces and more are just waiting to find a creative home. All you need is a little patience and a sharp eye and you can be on your way to creating our favorite form of wearable art: jewelry.

For this post we assembled simple pendant necklaces with chain we’d collected over time from our thrifting trips, and photographed them on our DIY jewelry stand that we showed you how to make here. Also included are some vintage earrings we found and a to-die-for pin.

"Red, Red Rose" Pendant Necklace

"Pretty as Nature" Pendant Necklace

"Summer Butterfly" Pendant Necklace

"Girl" Pendant Necklace

Also, check out these vintage earrings! The purple and blue ones are clip-ons, and the gold roman-soldier earrings are for pierced ears.

Vintage Earrings Set of 3

How adorable is this pin?? The rain drops hitting and sliding off of this gold umbrella have rhinestones in them…

"Rainy Day" Pin

You can purchase all of these item in our online shop!

…or…

We hope you go out and find some great stuff!

xo,

ashley & ellen

DIY wall art

DIY, home decor, housewares

Mar 082012

We are currently making over the “room” J finished for me into the To Catch A Thrift studio (read more here). Along the way we are getting to do so many fun projects! Our latest one involved making something to hang over my work table, aka WALL ART.

I think the first place we saw DIY wall art was on Elsie’s blog A Beautiful Mess. Since then I’ve seen many variations on other blogs, and of course, all over Pinterest. ps- we love Pinterest, don’t you?

We were wandering through the Berry Hill Goodwill awhile back, when we came across this:

A little rustic, a little woodsy, a little not my style at all, $4.99, so of course we bought it!

Taking something you see as “bleh” and turning it into something you love is what we love to do!

And looking closely, the colors in the painting were beautiful and many, and the serenity of the scene depicted seemed fitting for someone like me (ash) who stresses easily! Looking at nature (live or through art) is seriously good for de-stressing!

Okay, back on track here…

Using the following tools:

Krylon Indoor Outdoor Gloss Spray Paint in Regal Blue

Mega Slim Black Alphabet Stickers from Joann Fabric & Craft Store

We turned it into THIS:

We LOVE how the regal blue color of the frame makes the painting pop!

If you are curious about the words, they are song lyrics from one of Ashley’s favorite songs: “Slow Your Breath Down” by Future of Forestry. (Listen here, Lyrics here. Do it, it is soooooo good!)

Such an easy project, and took less than a couple of hours!!

What song lyrics would YOU put on your DIY wall art?

xo,

ash & ell

DIY necklace display

accessories, DIY, tutorials

Feb 282012

So there I was, at home with a rare evening to myself. I was looking around for ~~something to do~~ something I wanted to do that was not cleaning.

And there it was, sitting in the recycling bin hoping for a better life.

A pizza box.

And then it just hit me, out of the blue. I could make a necklace display! I have no idea how I got from point “A” (pizza box) to point “B” (necklace display), but the end product turned out GREAT, so who cares?!?

They are surprisingly sturdy and are so fun to make! You should do it too!

Here’s how:

1) Start with a pizza box, a pencil, and heavy duty scissors.

2) Using your pencil draw an outline of the shape/height/width/angles you desire (avoiding as many grease spots as possible!):

You’ll want to end the body of your display at the edge, then draw two lines straight up the side, to use as part of the stand.

3) CUT IT OUT!

4) Cut out an additional piece: a rectangle no wider than the bottom of your display stand, and about half as tall as your display stand. Make sure to extend it to include the side as well, you’ll bend it at that corrugated part when you assemble your display.

5) You’re going to need some Krazy Glue. (I love this stuff!).

6) You’ll want to bend both of your pieces at the corrugated line. Take the two parts that used to be the side of the pizza box and attach them with krazy glue. You’ll then bring the rectangle part up at an angle to be the support for the body. Attach there with glue.

7) We used Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint by Delta Creative in color #2090 “Hippo Grey”, but you can use any color you want to paint your display!

8 ) We painted the front, back, and stand, but as long as you have enough paint to cover the front with a couple of coats, you’re good to go!!

9) Side and Back views:

FINISHED PROJECT with one of my favorite thrifted necklaces!! Found that thick chain beauty at Cool Stuff Weird Things on Charlotte Ave.

We’re liking this so much, we are going to make some more, and perhaps cover them with burlap or some pretty floral fabric?

xo,

ashley & ellen

scraps to curtains!

home decor, housewares, refashion

Feb 162012

Well, HELLO THERE!

Long time no see.

That is of course, our fault, not yours! We have gotten soooo busy lately.

The best thing we’ve been busy with was Ellen’s wedding last month (we’ll show you a picture when she gets them!).

Besides work and life busyness, I have been putting in some work on what will soon be the To Catch A Thrift home!
My husband J gutted out ( and cleaned, painted, finished off walls, rearranged electrical wires) this back room off of our kitchen, and I am in the throws of trying to refurbish it (all cost-concious, of course).

When making a “to-do” list of how to turn this room into our craft room, there was no question what needed to happen first. There is a window that anyone walking down the alley next to our house could peer right into, so I figured the first needed item would be some gorgeous curtains.

So here is how a bunch of scrap fabric from past projects (TCAT and otherwise) became my new curtains:

bag FULL of scraps from past projects!

This black fabric had been given to me and had already been used in another project, but there was STILL MORE !

cut fabric scraps into square(ish) shapes…

used my new DIY pincushion (click on the picture for more info!)

then I just had fun deciding which patterns would be pinned on next!

Here is the finished product hanging up!

Both sides!!

aren’t they fun!?

curtains closed!

I am SOOOO excited about these curtains! They cost me nothing but time, and now every time I look at them I am reminded of all the different projects, crafts, and refashions we’ve made!

Can’t wait to show you more pictures of how my studio is turning out!

Oh, and we promise to not be gone for so long next time!

xo,

ashley & ellen

what a year!

what's happening

Jan 042012

Hello there readers!

Sorry we have been so sparse lately, the holidays brought with them a slew of things to do, places to see and people to occupy our time.

How were everyone’s holidays?

We love time off, family, friends, food, relaxation, more food, presents, did I mention food?, and all else that comes with the holidays!

we had so much fun looking for the perfect christmas tree together!!

Our Christmases were very different from years past. We were away from our parents and siblings (but with our awesome men!) so all was bliss. We even made each other presents!!

Ellen made me a beautiful reversible circle/infinity scarf. One side had a floral print and the other side was polka dots! I LOVE IT! You can click on the picture to be taken to a tutorial on how to make your own circle scarf from one of our favorite blogs C&C.

from Ellen to Ashley

I made Ellen (and a matching one for myself) a tea cup pincushion! It is so cute and easy to make! You can click on the picture to be taken to a tutorial on how to make one for yourself!

From Ashley to Ellen

We both had a good bit of time off around Christmas and New Years, which has been amazingly refreshing. We spent NYE weekend out in Murfreesboro as bridesmaids in the Schreiber/Rowell wedding. It was a great time full of friends, food, and fun!

Happy New Year from Ellen, our friend Emily, and me!

This year has been one of ups and downs for many we know, and we are SO looking forward to 2012!

One of the BEST takeaways from 2011 has been this, our darling blog. We are so grateful to have a fun, creative outlet to share our passions with you. So thank you for reading our little niche of the world wide web. Don’t know where we’d be without ya.

Our first post on the wordpress blog was on May 6th, 2011

click on the picture to see To Catch A Thrift's first post!

and we can’t wait to see where we are by the end of 2012.

Thanks for reading guys! (okay, getting emotional now, going to stop sentimentally blabbing )

to a great year!

a & e

lessons from The Devil Wears Prada

accessories, clothing

Dec 132011

can you see the frost on the ground? it was soooo cold outside!

We have thrifted ALOT of items in our day. I’m talking the good, the bad, the ugly, we’ve encountered it all – and purchased most of it. What can we say, we LOVE a bargain! And while picking up any and every thing that catches your eye can be a thrill, today we are going to tell you how (and why) to seek out brand names in thrift stores.

One of my favorite movies is The Devil Wears Prada. I’ve seen it at least a dozen times, and I’ve made J watch it more times that he’d probably admit! One of my favorite parts of the movie is this scene, where Meryl Streep’s character Miranda ”educates” Anne Hathaway’s character Andy on how the frumpy sweater she is wearing was actually created via a trickle-down effect from the work of the likes of Oscar de la Renta and Yves Saint Laurent.

So sure, we can all get by with wearing the same H&M and Forever 21…OR…what if you could find your favorite designers at a fraction of the cost? This, dear readers, is a great way to thrift. Finding the label of a brand whose aesthetic makes you grin like the Cheshire Cat amongst the no-labels and cast-offs is where the real excitement lies.

I’ve found plenty of J Crew, Ann Taylor, and BCBG – to name a few- in my years of thrifting, and recently we’ve come across several GUESS items. GUESS was started in 1981, and the iconic brand is defined by it’s youthful, adventurous, American aesthetic.

GUESS items –> backpack & pants: Music City Thrift, watch: Goodwill

non GUESS item (but still thrifted )–> sheer blouse: ThriftSmart, chain bracelet: Cool Stuff Weird Things

Searching through the tightly packed racks at a thrift store can be quite the challenge, but it can be worth it. We have known people to find as amazing things as Burberry dress shirts and Oscar de la Renta tops when out thrifting. Can you imagine?! The day I find a Marc Jacobs or Marc by Marc Jacobs I will be in a euphoric state for at least a month!!

When thrifting for brand name items, be sure to give yourself plenty of time to look carefully through the racks, without being rushed. Rush decisions are almost never good ones, and the same applies for thrifting. Look carefully for any tears or stains, because if you can’t repair it, there’s no point in purchasing it. Most importantly, just keep a good eye out, you never know when you may come across a real find!

Have you ever found any brand names thrifting?

xo,

a & e

p.s. – if you like any of these GUESS items, you can find them in our online shop!

new sites for you to love too!

uncategorized

Dec 022011

Hello, readers!!

As you probably well know, we have a sites we love page, which lists (in categories, of course) our favorite blogs. We like to share with you our latest reads, and as we have been browsing the world wide web, we’ve found more sites for you to love!

Here are our new reads (in no particular order):

Selective Potential is Tieka‘s blog about “personal style, adventures, and love.” Everything from her header font to her writing to her bangs are adorable! She’s been featured in the Lucky Style Collective and has been named a Modcloth.com Blogger of the Moment. She has great style, great giveaways, and gorgeously inspiring pictures. Go check it out!

Our eyes had not been opened to this incredible blog until we were featured on a post, but boy are we glad we caught on. We’re hooked! Lindsey seems like an amazing person, and she started her blog to showcase the best of the world wide web’s BEFORE and AFTERS (bonus is the good ones are now easy to find!) Her blog is definitely one to be inspired by!

We came across Elaine’s Clothed Much blog thanks to our good friend Kim, who often sends us links of things she finds interesting and cool. We LOVE reading Clothed Much. Elaine is a Mormon, and dresses according to the modesty standards set by her religion. (You can read posts pertaining to modesty here). We love someone who stands for what they believe in. A lot of people run the other way when they hear words like ‘modesty’ and ‘dress code’. Here’s the thing-Elaine’s outfits are so stylish and effortlessly chic, you forget that she dresses with any kind of restrictions! I’ve even found myself buttoning up a few more buttons or trying to dress more modestly (a lá Elaine) and get this – I actually get MORE compliments on my outfit! Elaine’s blog, where she features guest bloggers, not just her own posts, is an inspiration for what true style and self worth are really all about. WE LOVE ELAINE! Read more about Elaine here.

I don’t know what it is exactly about Katie’s blog but within 2 minutes of finding her site, I was ~~tearing up~~ nearly sobbing while reading the “Happiness Is…” posts. It could have had something to do with the fact that “Somewhere in My Memory” by John Williams was on my holiday pandora station and I was feeling nostalgic, but i think it was because after perusing Running on Happiness, you feel wholly inspired and like you know Katie, or at least like you want to! And don’t miss why her blog is named Running on Happiness…makes you think. Running on Happiness also has a lot of great beauty and hair tutorials!

Well there you have it!!

You can find links to these and other amazing blogs on our sites we love page.

What blogs are you loving right now?

all our bloggin’ love,

a & e

thanksgiving recap

what's happening

Nov 282011

Hello, there!

We hope everyone had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as we did. It is such a good reminder to be thankful for the people and things in our life that bring us joy! We are so thankful for the opportunity to write this blog, and for each and every one of you-the lovely people who find it interesting enough to read

Thanksgiving Day had us in separate locations. Ellen and her fiance B went to Ellen’s hometown to visit family, while Ashley and her man J hosted Thanksgiving dinner at their place for out of town family and friends adopted for the holiday.

We started off the day with a women’s pancake breakfast. Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pancakes, to be accurate. They were DELICIOUS.

We watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (something I’ve done every year for as long as I can remember!) and went around the table talking about what we are thankful for.

I was pretty tuckered out…

Haha, not really, but the sun felt SO GOOD!

We then made WAY too much food in excitement and anticipation of putting on our first Thanksgiving Dinner! Everyone helped out, either with bringing food, drinks, or tablecloths! J moved our furniture so that our living room had one long table. He even strung Christmas lights all across the ceiling!

The food was soooo yummy! Served on thrifted plates!!!

I was going to be wearing a refashioned thrifted dress, but it did not turn out as beautiful as I had anticipated (aka, i messed up ).

So the only thrifted item that day was the plates, but hey, they brought us the food, and therefore the great company…and I am very thankful for that.

Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season!!

all our gratitude,

a & e

Friday Finds: Oh my gosh, SHOES!

accessories, friday finds

Nov 182011

Some people have great experiences with thrifting shoes, and some have bad experiences. We have typically had great luck thrifting shoes, and if you can get past the ick factor, we recommend it, as you often come across many gems like these ones below.

these sea-green steve madden heels are absolutely gorgeous, surprisingly comfortable, and are a size 7!

these shoes…wow. where to begin. well, hello they are GOLD. They are a size 6, and may be a little bit costume-y but the more daring could pair them with a demure skirt and top. I only wish I could fit into them…

These tennis shoes are beautiful. white with navy lettering and laces, and oh, they’re COACH. They are a size 9 1/2. only trouble is we are not sure if they are men’s or women’s.The sole at it’s longest is 10 3/4″.

Sorry, these beauties are Ashley’s! Ellen actually discovered them, but when they were too small, she lovingly allowed Ashley to purchase them Thanks, E!

If you decide to go thrifting for shoes, it is important to remember to never buy something that doesn’t fit. Look for high quality brands in new or like-new condition, and wear them around the store to determine comfort level. Patrice Williams at Looking Fly On A Dime has some great advice for thrifting shoes here.

If you do find a winning pair, make sure to clean them well! Use a 4:1 water to bleach mixture and spray inside the shoe. Follow with a bit of baking soda and let them air out. This website has helpful tips for cleaning the outside of different pairs of shoes.

If you find a great pair of shoes, share with us via email, facebook, or twitter.

And if you’d love to have one of the pairs in the post, head on over to the shop to see them at very low prices!

where do you stand on thrifted shoes??,

a & e

ps- for help styling thrifted shoes, check out these inspirations on lookbook and chictopia.

Infinity Scarves, infinity scarves, infinity scarves, infinity scarves…

accessories, refashion

Nov 092011

WHAT is going on in this picture!?!? Well, just Ashley being silly, but please do read on……..

When refashioning thrifted clothing, one of the most common alterations is the length.

We have taken anywhere from 4-10 inches off of thrifted skirts for years and were always stumped with how to use the leftover fabric.

Until now that is!!

When given a bag of fabric scraps we discovered that they were mostly skirt bottoms, and with ours in tow we sat down to contemplate just what could be done.

And then it ~~hit us like a ton of bricks~~. <–What does that even mean?

INFINITY SCARVES!!

These are very popular right now, they add warmth and a bit of style!

These are your way to be on-trend but unique at the same time!

Just look at them all! (plus ways to wear them!)

Wear a solid scarf to inject a pop of color…

Or wear floral patterns for a feminine touch…

Use pleated ~~skirt bottom~~ scarves to add texture…

Pair neutral scarves with colorful outfits…

Or add to your ensemble with an intriguing pattern…

They can be looped twice to be worn long, or three times to be voluminous and short…

…and there you have it! Our no-waste refashioning solution.

You can head on over to our shop and pick up a cleverly curated and cutely named trio of scarves for just $4, plus tax and shipping! (ps-you’ll have to scroll to the bottom to find them!)

all our love,

a & e

Friday Finds: Leather Clutch!

accessories, friday finds

Nov 042011

This post is the first in a series we are affectionately calling “Friday Finds”.

If you thrift, you know that it can be quite an ordeal searching through all the junk to find the treasure. But when you do find that item that says “hello, i am awesome and all your searching was worth it”, feelings of satisfaction and victory abound.

Today’s gem is so great that we decided to make it the inaugural “Friday Find”.

We found this beauty on one of our many adventures in thrifting. It happened to be waiting for us at the ThriftSmart on Nolesnville Rd.

Originally it was a handbag, but the strap was broken and not able to be connected again. And the inside was pretty much in shambles:

We figured that with a bit of love and care, this bag could be once again beautiful and useful!

So cutting off the strap, re stitching one side of the inside, and taking off a broken zipper were in order:

Now this beauty can lend a vintage aesthetic to your outfits!

Would you look at it?!?

We love the hand-tooled look, the floral pattern is amazing, and the whip stitch around the edges is stunning!

This vintage hand-tooled leather clutch can be yours from our online shop for only $15 plus shipping!

Happy Friday everyone!

love,

a & e

Chair Make-Over!

DIY, furniture, home decor

Nov 012011

Happy November 1st! Quite possibly our favorite month! It’s beautiful outside, you get to wear layers, and lots of things in general are just so much cozier!

Since it’s such a beautiful time of the year to be outside, me and our dear roomie have made it our mission to spruce up our back deck and make it a welcoming Fall-type place!

Step #1 was to Pressure Wash the nasty deck! (note: say “Pressure Washer” a bunch of times in a row, it’s confusingly fun)

It helps to have a handy man, future father-in-law nearby to help out!

Step #2! Now that you have a nice clean area, you need things to fill it with! We chose THESE:

Beautiful huh?! Not so much, but a great place to start!

Step #3 CHUNK the old moldy stuff! ICK! (unscrew from the bottom side of chair)

Step #4 Find a nice hunky Fiancé to help you cut out new bases for the chairs! ow ow!!

You’ll need some stuffing, fabric, a staple gun, scissors, and possibly an extra pair of hands for this part!

Step #5 Cut out a square of fabric that will cover your seat surface lying face down

Step #6 Fluff out the stuffing and lay on fabric (use liberally because it WILL squish down!)

Step #7 Lay new seat base on top of stuffing and fabric and tuck stuffing in around it, basically making a sandwich!

Step #8 NOW, using your best gift-wrapping skills, proceed to pull fabric up and fold around the base and staple down to the board! You can do it! (note: we were simultaneously pressing the board down with our knees so that the stuffing and fabric would be nice and taut!

Step #9 Keep on stapling! At least every 2 inches with extra staples in the corners!

Step #10 Good job! You’ve got your seat! We just have to attach it!

Step #11 Take freshly spray-painted chair with coordinating seat cushion and flip over together, and screw back together!!

Flip OVER!

TA DA!!!! Excellent Job!!!! So fresh! So nice! And a great spot to sit and enjoy FALL!!! One might say, you’ll be “Fall’in in love” with these chairs! ha!

ASH & EL

such GREAT news!!

what's happening

Oct 262011

Hello there, happy Wednesday to you!

Boy, do we have some exciting news to share!!

Our very own Ellen

yes, that’s her…

…is ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

take a look at her beautiful ring that her ~~boyfriend~~ fiance B designed for her:

Isn’t it the prettiest ring EVER??!?!?!

Needless to say, we are pretty darn excited. So much of the wedding plans have already come together! She has her dress (which she looks perfectly enchanting in) and the tentative menu sounds so scrumptious I can hardly wait.

We will be busy these next couple of months (they get married in January!) with wedding plans and crafts. Don’t worry, we will share them all with you, and promise to post pictures along the way.

If you have any neat love/wedding craft ideas you’d like to share, please feel free to email them to ashley [at] tocatchathrift [dot] com!

If you like to spend your free time on pinterest as we do, you can @tocathcathrift with any cool inspiration you come across!

OR if you are a bride looking for beautiful and creative inspiration a la wedding, follow our pinterest board appropriately named “E and B forever!”

We are so excited and to ~~celebrate~~

actually we have done alot of celebrating (and planning, and grinning, and rejoicing )

so that YOU can celebrate with us, our ENTIRE online shop is 25% off when using the promo code: “YAYFORELLEN”

We appreciate your well wishes, congratulations, and general excitement!!!!!!!

it’s such a LOVELY time!

love, love, love

our first tutorial!

clothing, refashion, tutorials

Oct 192011

This following project (with tutorial! yay!) is why we stongly believe that when thrifting you can forget about checking the size. If you love the pattern, BUY IT! It is so easy to take in items, or completely refashion them!

I started with two matching tops, size large, and decided I wanted to try and make a ~~dress~~!

ps-i ended up making a shirt and elastic waistband skirt, enabling them to be worn separately, however they look like a dress when worn together!

I came across these tops via my Aunt Shoo Shoo (yes that is what she is called. and yes, she doesn’t always answer to it in public

! ). I spent a great deal of my childhood going on thrifting trips with Shoo Shoo, my mom, sisters and uber stylish cousin Kelly. We regularly (read-weekly) frequented Park Avenue Thrift in Memphis, which is where she got these tops. I was so excited to open my package of my birthday present along with a bag of thrifted items “because I thought you could do something neat with them!” Thanks for the vote of confidence, Shoo Shoo!

So here we go, my best attempt at documenting this ambitious refashion!

1) start with two matching tops. Or non-matching for that matter! I am a sucker for mixing patterns – as confirmed by my looking down and seeing my multi-colored tribal print wrap and leopard print shoes

2) Take one of the tops and flip inside out. Try on the top, and grabbing from both sides, measure how much could be taken in at the sides and in the sleeves. Pin at appropriate place and run through the sewing machine, being sure to reverse stitch or tie off your ends! Trim off excess fabric, flip right side out and try on to ensure a good fit!

3) I’ve found that with some tops if they are much larger, when you take them in, you can actually end up with 3/4 length sleeves, and in that case, I leave them! That is the most flattering sleeve length on yours truly. When I tried this top on, the length was not quite 3/4 length, and upon skyping Ellen to get opinion on sleeve length, I decided to take them up a few inches! Now your top is done!

4) Now take the second top and flip it inside out. I then put this skirt on over my hips and pulled it up to about my natural waist. With most skirts, the waistband is one size, while two-three inches lower the width is considerably more. Because of this, turning a top into a skirt is SO EASY! Using the armpit seam as the wider part, and going up to just under the collar creates the perfect skirt outline! So i took the top off, and while still inside out, I created a seam that essentially eliminated the arms. I then laid a skirt that fits me perfectly over the “top” to cut where needed for length and width. I left the hem at the bottom, to save time!

5) a- measure your waist where you want the top of the elastic waistband to sit.

b – stretch black elastic around your waist to where when fitting the correct measurement it is stretched ever so slightly. Cut the elastic at that length.

c – WHILE STRETCHING THE ELASTIC (i got help from the hubs on this one!) pin it to the “top”/skirt, making sure to overlap the ends. Watching this video on sewing elastic proved to be very helpful!

make sure to tie off any loose ends, adhere fray check where needed, and try on to ensure a good fit!

6) Now you are ready to wear your outfit! I wore this to a beautiful wedding in Knoxville, seen here with husband and friends!

Sooooo…

This was our first attempt at a tutorial. We usually just do projects on the fly, without a lot of thought or planning, seeing where the item takes us.

We are focusing here at TCAT on making this more interactive, so that you guys can see a lot more of the “how-to” behind our refashions so that you can possibly make them yourself – rather than only being able to gawk at our amazingly creative refashions (which somehow get pulled off, who knows how!

)

More soon!

a & e

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