DIY Checkered Glass Collar Tips

I am obsessed with collar tips right now. Cash is extremely tight as of late, so I've been getting creative to feed my fashion hunger. I made with decorative glass from the Dollar Tree, magazine clippings (a Louis Vuitton ad to be precise), Mod Podge, and gold hardware I already had for making jewelry.

Would anyone be interested in a tutorial on how to make these?

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Thrifted Wicker Lunch Box

This little gem cost me $2.99 at my Goodwill. I have torn the inside lining out because it was stained and the elastic was dry-rotted (the elastic was intended to hold utensils and condiments), and plan to use it as a handbag.

 

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I met Kat Von D and my Weekend in Philly (OOTD!)

I was lured into the city of brotherly love this past weekend with the chance to meet Kat Von D at her book signing Saturday night. I waited in line after purchasing her new coffee table book Go Big or Go Home (which is a delightful salad of gorgeous artwork, tattoos, and thoughtful essays). My anxiety was reaching critical mass, and by the time I actually saw her I was seriously considering bolting, I was so nervous. All my fears were for naught, thankfully. She was so kind and sweet and made me feel like she actually gave a crap. She told me she also likes Siouxsie & the Banshees too and hugged me twice. It's Monday and I am still grinning.

[caption id="attachment_1128" align="aligncenter" width="560"] She was wearing the coolest Lita's I've ever seen.[/caption]

I look quite haphazard outfit-wise, but we had to head out into town as soon as we arrived so I had no time to put together a coherent look, but I wore the Siouxsie band tee I've had since high school, purple acid wash skinnies, a highligher yellow messenger bag from JustFab.com, and my vintage leather pixie boots from the $2-per-bag thrift store. I am also wearing my new Earnest Hemingway collection eyeglasses that I got for FREE at my lovely place of employment.


While in town, we stayed with my most awesome friend Sara. Her neighborhood has a high population of hipsters, which means a high density of badass restaurants. Say what you may about hipsters, but there is nothing wrong with wanting to make delicious progressive food. I forgot my ID, so I had to sneak a bottle of unknown contents into an establishment, and it exploded. That was horrifying and hilarious all at once. We ate at Loco Pez (I had an amazing deep-fried hot dog), Memphis Taproom (where I had my first catfish po'boy), and Cedar Point Bar & Kitchen (where I had an egg and mushroom bake with Cajun sauce and a massive homemade biscuit). So much good eatin' in a 24-hour time-span.

[caption id="attachment_1130" align="aligncenter" width="560"] At the Memphis Taproom. Zach's beard is immense.[/caption]

I fulfilled two dreams in one weekend, with the second being to visit the Mutter Museum. It was awesome. No photography was allowed, but my brain was filled to the brim. A visit to this place will make you realize how precious good health is. Here are the photos I took in the lobby:

Philly was a blast!

My Favorite Essential Oil: Tea Tree Oil

Since I first discovered it in the organic aisle of my grocery store, I have been proselytizing the benefits of tea tree oil to anyone who'd listen. It's an essential oil that is surprisingly unknown. With all the hype going down about expensive exotic oils like maracuja and argon  it's worth exploring the benefits of the still lesser known oils.

Tea tree oil is produced from the Austrailian melaleuca tree. It has long been favored for it's health benefits, reported to work as an antiseptic and an anti-fungal agent, but fell to the wayside with the rise of modern antibiotics and pharmaceuticals. Applied topically as it is toxic to ingest, it can aid in healing athlete's food and even head lice. Many of the companies selling this product describe much like aloe vera, suggest it be used to sooth burns and skin irritations. So, can it be of any use as a beauty product?

There is some evidence to suggest that tea tree oil can be an effective treatment of acne (1), but more studies need to be done before science will give a seal of approval. It seems that it has a similar effect to the old acne standby benzoyl peroxide but with a lot less side effects, like dry, flaking skin.

Some people do have allergies to this oil, so I recommend testing a small amount on a concealed area of skin before slathering yourself up. Tea tree oil is sold (here) in a less concentrated gel form, which I prefer for facial use. I squeeze a pea sized amount on my hand and spread it all over my face, avoiding the eyes of course, in the morning and at night before bed. When I wake up the next morning, pimples seem less red and smaller, and any eczema patches are few and far between.

If you want to buy tea tree oil products (like shampoos, gels, masks) you will likely find it in the organic section of your local market, or much more easily online. It isn't available commercially in many cosmetics just yet, but many Etsy sellers are selling handmade tea tree oil cosmetics.

Here are some helpful videos on this subject:

"All About Tea Tree Oil"

Using tea tree oil for acne, spots and blemishes (natural cures!)

Sources:

1. Bassett, IB; Pannowitz, DL; Barnetson, RS (1990). "A comparative study of tea-tree oil versus benzoylperoxide in the treatment of acne". The Medical journal of Australia 153 (8): 455–8.

 

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Review of The Best and Worst Glues for Making Jewelry: E6000, Amazing Goop, etc

Jewelry making has become one of my passions. I spend a lot of my evenings hunched over my work-desk twisting wires, beading, gluing, and mod-podging the night away. I am toying with the idea of putting together a self published book of thrifty jewelry how-tos. (Let me know what you think about that idea.)

For the purposes of jewelry, you need to use something that will stand up to wear and tear. When I first started making jewelry, I know nothing. I had to teach myself how to do it all, and in the process, I've tried a ton of different glues, always questing for that one glue that would bond anything to anything. And so, I present to you the best and the worst of my trials and errors.

 

1. "Super Glue" Fix-All Adhesive

This was the first glue I tried after failing miserably with normal superglue. I like that it is more of a gel than normal super glue or crazy glue, but it does NOT fix "all," as the packaging promises. It will not bond metal or plastic, glass, or stone. It may adhere at first, but within hours of wear, the stone or whatever you glued onto the metal will fall off. It only works on very porous surfaces -- not good for jewelry making.  But, at $1, I got what I paid for.

2. Aleene's Jewelry & Metal Glue

I bought this one at Michael's. I'll be blunt - it sucks. Just as #1, it doesn't work on smooth, non-porous surfaces. It breaks off very cleanly. This one was a waste of money. Everything I tried to glue onto ring blanks or brooch pins eventually fell off. Not cool for paying $5.

3. Amazing GOOP Craft

This glue isn't the best, but it does work. You do have to rough up plastic before glue it, to ensure the optimal bond, but if used right, this glue works. It dries clear, and has a rubbery, flexible texture. However, with more vinyl like plastics, the bond stills break on occasion. However, at $3 it's not so bad.

4. Shoe Goo

I love this stuff. I actually bought it to repair a shoe that's sole literally ripped off. It is intended to bond rubber, vinyl, and canvas. I don't use it to bond those materials to metal, but when I want to bond them to each other, this is a good choice. You have to allow ample drying and curing time, but it will be worth it. It also did the trick for my shoes!

5. E6000

This is the absolute best glue I have ever used. The label is very plain, but it is amazing. It is industrial strength, which means super smelling and not good for you, so I advise cracking a window when using it. It is a gel and dries clear. It dries relatively fast for a gel, but I recommend allowing at least a day for the glue to fully cure. It truly bonds anything to anything. I haven't experienced any breakage to date. It works on smooth non-porous surfaces as well as porous ones like fabric and maintains just enough flexibility.

Normal super glue/crazy glue is not viable option for making jewelry. It is too runny, does not dry clear, and dries with a rough unattractive finish. Elmer's Glue will also not work. It is not waterproof and just not meant to last. As for hot glue, I don't really bother with it, because it doesn't last and can be messy.

If you're interested in what I have made, check out my etsy store, The Betwixt Boutique!

 

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Trendspotting: Vertical Stripes Are Okay Again

The last issue of Marie Claire magazine I read had a pages-long spread on the black and white trend that carried throughout the Spring/Summer 2013 runway shows. Bold, structured bags with blocks of black and white, silk blouses with vertical black and white stripes, jewelry patterned with black and white gems. Marie Claire's lovely Colombian editor and Project Runway host (I prefer her taste to Heidi's and Michael's), Nina Garcia, writes that this theme of stark black and white contrast shouldn't be simplified as another case of  fashion history repeating itself. She admits that it is a return to the mod styles of the 1960s, but that it is also an artistic reaction to the worldly climate of economic and political uncertainly. This trend, she raises, like its vertical stripes, offered an outlet for order, structure, and solidity. Lit crit in fashion, who knew?



This trend, especially the vertical stripes, has been creeping its way back into street fashion for the past year or so. What has inspired this? Beetlejuice? Yes, naturally, but also, I honestly think that people realized that black and white doesn't have to be stuffy or tacky. I remember growing up that vertical stripes were a thing to be avoided like the plague. They would make you look much larger than you really were, no one wants that. And by the 1990s, two-toned black and white get-ups were already becoming costumey and outdated. The things being done with black and white now are totally redefining all of those old notions. Black and white is chic, it's edgy, it's new. Well, it certainly feels new, because we've banished it for far too long.



 

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Thrifty Cent is on Tumblr!

Thought I'd take a moment to plug our tumblr page by showing you some of the awesome fashion and street style photos featured:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="691"] Source: http://daizylemonade.tumblr.com/[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="612"] Source: http://radnails.tumblr.com/post/29393202032/rad-nails-what[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="333"] Source: http://ridsnap.com/[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="467"] Source: http://t-i-r-u.tumblr.com/post/11309726042[/caption]

 

Like all that? Visit the Thrifty Cent tumblr for pure inspiration photos!

http://thriftycentblog.tumblr.com/

 

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Blogging from New York!

[caption id="attachment_1089" align="alignnone" width="560"] We snapped this photo on the Williamsburg Bridge.[/caption]

We have been in the city since Friday. There hasn't been much time for any thrifting but I did get to shop at a Rainbow, which used to be one of my favorite retail stores back home until they went out of business. (When their items go on clearance, they really mark down the prices. I've gotten a lot of items their for $1 on clearance!)

Anyways, we leave tomorrow. (Wah!)

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Recent Thrifted Finds - Winter 2012 Review

 

A thick black leather belt with an awesome silver crescent moon belt buckle. $2 at my local animal shelter thrift store.



Thick white leather belt with a big gold buckle. Again, $2.



This little gem was found at my all time favorite vintage shop EVER, Miss Ruth's Time Bomb in Carlisle, PA. If you live in the area, hit it up. I have found some awesome pieces here. This belt was $6. From the geometric shape of it, it looks to be from the eighties.



White leather ankle boots. Slouchy and cute. I found this at my nearest Goodwill. They were $6.95, which admittedly is a little expensive for thrifting, but I find good shoes so rarely, I just had to.



Wild West velvet waistcoat. I can't say no to velvet vests or jackets. $3.95 at Goodwill.



Long-sleeve button-up blouse with black cording detail. It is repeated on the cuffs as well. It's a little Grandma-ish but I like that. I am still questing for the perfect white button-up blouse, and this one is pretty awesome, but I am looking for one that's silkier and has pockets. The quest continues! $3 at the animal shelter thrift store.



 

This bag is what thrifting dreams are made of. It's a 50s/60s era snap-closure handbag. Just awesome. The outside is like those heavy velvety curtains your Grandma had. $4, local thrift store.

 

My new favorite earrings - Glow-in-the-dark Bats!

Hello all! I am pretty pleased with these earrings I made around Christmas time. I took rubber bats from Halloween ($2.88 per pack of 16, at the time), affixed gold jumprings, chain, and fancy gold ear hooks. Takes like five minutes, and they look so cool, especially in the dark, as they GLOW! They are reeeeally big and swing around violently, but that is exactly how I want all my earrings to be. Thoughts?

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Outfit of the Day 12/20/2012

Silk Alexander McQueen-esque scarf, $11 from Rue 21 last year; grey silk button-up blouse from a "fill a bag for $2" thrift store; dalmatian print Vince Camuto belt from Ross (discount store) for $12.99; black skinny jeans.

 

My Halloween Christmas Tree

I just got my laptop back from being repaired after being broken for ever two weeks, which is a long time to be cut off from the internet and thus the world, in my case. Anyhow, here's my little Christmas tree. It's Halloween themed, just like I have always wanted. (The boyfriend actually approves-- and he's pretty grinchy.) This is our first year doing it, so the ornaments are kinda skimpy, but we plan to buy more next Halloween.

Some of the ornaments were recycled halloween bric-a-brac, a few were thrifted, and the lights and other ornarments were collected over the past few months on sale at The Christmas Tree Shoppe and KMart.

Enjoy your holiday, everyone!



P.S. You'll be pleased to know that our two cats have been knocking it down and stealing the ornaments non-stop. Ugh.

Kat Von D starts a weekly fashion vlog on YouTube

I have tried to focus mainly on blogging with my own original content lately, but I just have to share the news about my personal fashion idol, Kat Von D. Like her, hate her, whatever -- but the girl's got style. Just get a load of her shoe "closet" (which is actually a shoe room). I wish I had space for the shoes I have now, let alone an entire room.



She also has a great informational video on mourning jewelry here, something I adore but can't afford (at least not authentic antique mourning jewelry). This is a subject I am very interested in. If I may add to the little lesson given in the video, in centuries past, women were expected to wear black for up to  year after their husbands died as a visual display of widowdom and grief. Those who could afford it often willed money to be used after their death to pay for mourning rings, which might have the departed's initials, portrait, and many times actual hair from the body, to be distributed to their loved ones. I think that is fascinating.

Kat Von D has stepped away from the reality show world, but is still very busy! She is still tattooing at her very own shop, High Voltage Tattoo in LA. She is also working on an album, finishing a new book, and designing a new line for her fashion brand, Kat Von D Los Angeles.

 

My New York City Shopping Trips Part V: Search & Destroy Vintage in Saint Mark's Place

5. Search & Destroy Vintage

25 St. Marks Pl
(between 3rd Ave & Astor Pl)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village





This store is awesome. Located in the famed punk neighborhood of Saint Mark's Place, Search & Destroy might look intimidating to the passerby, but I felt like a kid in a candy store. I wanted to buy so much, but we were pressed for time and in desperate need of a restroom. The prices were reasonable (in New York City terms). I found an awesome 60's avant garde print polyester dress marked $24. There was a pair of velvet Doc Martins. I kid you not. It is a cramped inside, not that it was a small store, but more that there is just so much stuff. They sell vintage and new items for an alternative client base. Right up my alley, and, they happen to be right across the street from another awesome Saint Mark's Place institution, Trash and Vaudeville.

Final thoughts: A must see!

 

My New York City Shopping Trips Part IV: Hamlet's Vintage in Greenwich Village

4. Hamlet's Vintage

162 Bleecker Street (Greenwich Village)

New York, NY 10012





I heard about this place from reading positive Yelp reviews. From the way people raved about it, I pictured it as a large, open store. In reality, it is one itsy bitsy room. There were a lot of costume-y pieces that I couldn't see being very practical -- more like those things you buy with the best of intentions, and then you never actually wear them out. (I have this child's size kimono that I thought was just so rad in the store, but now has been living exclusively in my closet for a year.) There were some cool things, like authentic vintage military jackets, but what a lot of people may not know is that army surplus stores sell vintage military clothing too, for waaaay cheaper. I did see some metallic knit sweaters that tickled my fancy, but I didn't buy anything here either.

I am used to vintage stores here in Pennsylvania, where there is a gotta-have-it item at every turn. I usually have a hard time not spending too much at vintage stores, because I want everything, but this trip I just didn't have any luck. Granted, I am cheap (or as this blog would suggest, thrifty) but I am willing to spend more on a unique vintage piece with character. Vintage stores sell a lot of what you can find in thrift stores, but the draw is that they have the crème de la crème, the best of the best, weirdest and funkiest vintage finds. That's why people are willing to spend more.

Final thoughts: Worth checking out if you have the budget and you're in the neighborhood, but it's very small.

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My New York City Shopping Trips Part III: Monk Thrift Shop, Greenwich Village

3. Monk Thrift Shop

Address: 175 MacDougal St
New York, NY 10011





 

This, admittedly, was not on my list, but I was drawn in my the signage. Honestly, it was disappointing. Things were expensive, making it more vintage boutique than thrift store. There were some high end designer items, like Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Gucci, and D&G. However, a lot of items (weirdly enough, especially the designer items) were in bad condition -- tears, stains, and missing buttons and hooks. Everything I liked was upwards of $100, which threw me off because there were posters saying"Dresses $9." I saw none. They did have a lot of legit vintage clothing, however. They also have men's clothing. I didn't buy anything here, but I enjoyed sifting through the racks.

Final thoughts: Pass on this one. Too expensive for the quality of the items.