Thrifty Finds

This month I turned to Nextdoor and Facebook Market for these gently used or unwanted items. Why thrift? To save money, contribute to a more sustainable world, and to help put money back into the pockets of my local community as we financially suffer through this Covid “economy”.

It has been an exciting three weeks of thrifting. I spent a good part of these three weeks scouting for inexpensive mosaic supplies of course, in addition to scouting for gently used things I need for my home as I slowly work on house renovations. This is what I found:

One box of white tile and one box of strawberry/red fruit back splash for $5. The seller left her left over back splash on her porch where I picked up and then placed the money under her mat as we had previously agreed.
Tan, white and brown back splash worth at least $35 for $5. The seller left two boxes of this left over back splash in her front yard on her front lawn and she gave me permission to put the money in her mailbox. The back splash is a bit old and definitely would not hold up well on a wall, but is perfect for a mosaic piece.
My jackpot find is from an artist/crafter who was in the middle of moving out of the city with her husband. She could not take all her art supplies with her. She offered the mosaic lot online for $75. I asked her if she would take it for $50. She did. When I went to go pick it up I expected to come home with just the mosaic supplies she had offered: a variety of color and sizes of still packaged mosaic tile, a tile nipper, back-splash left overs and samples, 2 mosaic books, other mosaic supplies and kits all worth about $300 at least for $50. However, in an effort to get rid of more stuff she offered other crafting material for free. She gave me drawing books, a cake stand, 4 brand new puzzles, inline skates size 7, recipe books, a glass cutting board, air pump (ive used twice now) and several other items.
Two almost complete sets of china dishes 1 red set and 1 blue set for $20. I honestly expected the dishes to be a little chipped here and there and have more wear to their condition, but I was pleasantly surprised at their good condition. Originally, I had planned to use this china for mosaic work, but decided to get rid of my old dishes I was about to replace anyways and instead use the china I just thrifted, at least until it breaks. Then I will use the broken bit for mosaic work.
Two boxes of glazed ceramic tile for $4. The lady that sold it was kind enough to stand far back in her garage with a mask on so that I could inspect the tile before making a finally decision on purchase. It isn’t beautiful tile, but it is a perfect color to use as filler or back ground.
Three grocery bags full of plastic bottle tops. I have been collecting bottle tops for a couple of years. When I see them offered I jump on the opportunity to get them. These were offered completely free. She even threw in cork tops. I love cork tops. My plan is to create a very large mosaic piece with an environmental theme, but in a not so in your face kind of way.
A kitchen pitcher for $5. This colorfully striped pitcher is perfect to hold my wooden cooking spoons. When and if it breaks it, the colors of the broken bits would look lovely in a mosaic project.
Two black IKEA shelves $20. These two shelves were still in their original packaging. They had never been used before and they match the black IKEA shelf I already have up that someone gave to me for free years ago. I am currently using this black shelf to store and organize my mosaic supplies. The other two shelves will be used in the same way.
A large lot of broken or used cosmetic jewlery for $7. The kind woman that sold me this lot lives in my neighborhood. I enjoyed the short commute for this treasure. She originally was only offering about 10 pieces of jewelry online for $2 each. I asked her if she would bring down the price and told her what I was using the jewelry for and she reduced the price. When I arrived at her front door she surprised me with a large bag full of broken, used custom jewelry. She was interested in seeing pictures of my mosaic work. I showed her a few and she liked it so much she showed her husband.
3 lovely blue green hooks $9 from an artist who refurbishes furniture and does other artistic stuff. We had a great conversation about art and our regular 9 to 5 careers.
A Tile Cutter $15 from an older gentlemen/retired firefighter who says he used the saw a handful of times and kindly took the time to show me how to use it. He sounded lonely and a bit sad about his inability to move as quickly as he use to. I was grateful for the conversation. Truth be told I have been lonely myself these days. I have my family and I am eternally grateful for that but sometimes a conversation with someone new is so refreshing.
8 tall and 8 short drinking glasses $15
1 White curtain $10,
Mint Curtains $10,
black curtains$ $10
4 free tires,
yoga block$5,
tool bag $5,
jewelry hanger to hang mosaic jewelry $5
red laptop desk $10