So last month, I bought three of these old mason jars at a antique boutique for only $2.50 with the intention of putting my buttons in them… I quickly discovered that I did not have nearly enough to contain all the buttons! It was serendipitous that a friend at work had six more jars that needed a good home and I was the lucky recipient! (Thanks!) A few days later, I found the three sweet little pint-size jars a the thrift store on half-off day, and they were only 60 cents each! No lids, unfortunately, but I still love them. The blue glass is so appealing to me.

The huge amount of white buttons was purchased from a thrift store in three old crusty tupperware containers, and they were the start of this collection. “Look at all the white buttons!!” I shrieked to my husband as I snatched up the containers. He rolled his eyes. Visions immediately popped into my head of a collage of buttons in every shade of white stitched onto linen. I can imagine them bound together for charming necklaces and bracelets. They would be cute sewn onto handmade purses and accessories. So many buttons, so little time! haha

After the white buttons, I later encountered a gallon-sized Ziploc bag full of mixed vintage buttons at an antique fair for $5.00! I sorted those out by color. There were many black and white buttons in there, lots of colored ones, and some neat leather and wooden buttons too. And THEN, after that find, I found ANOTHER huge bag of mixed buttons at the thrift store for $2.50! I better start making things with buttons…

So some of my (few) loyal readers have wondered what the hell happened to my blog, and why I’ve neglected it over the past few months.

Well, I’ll tell ya what the hell happened… THIS!

After completing the MS150, I was hooked, and dove head-first without looking into the wonderful world of road cycling. My parents were at the finish line of the MS150 to cheer me on, and were very enthusiastic about my accomplishment. My dad is certainly a fan of anything with wheels that can race, and offered up that he should buy me a proper road bike. We didn’t go out and buy it that day, but I did hold him to his word a little later on in the summer. So my new baby is this lovely 2008 Giant TCR C1.

I did a few other organized cycling tours in the area, the Tour De Tonka - 67mi and the Rum River Bicycle Classic - 63mi, and I’ve been riding as much and as often as I can on my own. I want to use what little outdoor training time is left this year (cold winter approaching!) to work on general skills, endurance and speed. When spring hits, I want to learn racing skillz and maybe find a team I can ride with. Minnesota is a great place for cycling. There’s tons of places to ride, lots of great teams and events.

So, being obsessed with cycling, dancing with a Japanese dance group, and spending long days at work… my summer was pretty well packed! I didn’t have time for crafting, and thus, haven’t posted. I have enough crafty ideas floating around in my head, that I could darn near write a book! When I have time, I’ll make some stuff and post it! But, when I’m not feelin’ crafty, I think I’ll write about some of the other things going on in my life too. (You might hear a lot about biking next summer! haha)

Not to bore you completely, here are some thrifty things I got at the last 50% off sale day!

Some linen-y fabrics and a crazy retro print on stretch knit. Couple bucks per chunk.

A copy of McCalls Needlework & Crafts - 30 cents, Folk Tales of China cute 1st. ed. book - 50 cents, a knit mice kit - $1.50. (I think I’ll stuff ‘em with catnip for the kitties!)

This cute little Ukranian apron and potholders set was 85 cents.

Cute retro cross-stitch kit for $1, and The Wilton Way to Decorate for Christmas - 30 cents! This book drew me in with it’s musty, sitting-in-a-box-in-the-basement-for-years smell and it’s retro holiday goodness inside.

This page was dog-eared. I wonder if someone made a few of these cakes with plastic doll heads on ‘em!

One of my favorites are the “Gay Holiday Wreaths”. Despite them being coated in acrylic spray and assembled with airplane glue and wire, I think these mint sugar wreaths would be a sure-ticket for holiday pest problems! ha

This was my cheapest find, but one of my favorites. This darling little television has a lenticular image of hula dancers on the screen, they dance when you tilt it back and forth. Then, look through the little hole on the back and it’s like a mini View-Master. There are 8 uber-vintage looking photos inside that change when you press down on the little white lever. (Images are titled: Kamehameha Statue, Aloha Tower, Pagentry of Old Hawaii, Nuuanu Pali, Graceful Hula Maidens, Kilauea Volcano Eruption, Waikiki Beach, Surfing & Canoeing At Waikiki) I’d guess this as being from the 60’s or 70’s?? I can just picture it in one of those shops filled with crummy souvenirs. The original tag says it’s from a shop called Nagasako, and it cost $1.25. I paid a mere 15 cents for this little made-in-Hong-Kong plastic treasure! A steal at twice the price!

I found a cookbook at the thrift store called Crepe Cookery by Mable Hoffman. This book has several different crepe batter recipes and hundreds of lovely things you can make using your crepes for any course of a meal. They’re not just for breakfast!

For dinner this evening, I made a batch of the “All Purpose Crepe Batter I” (pg. 12). Also from the thrift store, I happen to have a Perfect Pancake pan that used to be sold on TV. I got mine for $2.99! Since I’m terrible at flipping and turning things over without losing them to the floor or ripping them to shreds, I decided it would be great to try out Perfect Pancake on my crepes.

I made the batter exactly as specified in the book. When it was ready, I heated up Perfect Pancake. The first few crepes I made were too thick, which makes them mushy in the middle. Surprisingly little crepe batter is needed to make them just the right thickness. I used this mixing spoon — a level spoonful was just the right amount to put in the Perfect Pancake.

I swirled the batter around to coat the pan like the book suggested, and then let it sit until the edges started to brown.

Then, the fun part! FLIP!

Because the first half of Perfect Pancake has a curve to keep the batter in, I found that the crepes needed to get flattened a little after flipping to cook as evenly as possible.

I wasn’t counting, but I think I got about 30 crepes out of the batch. I made a pizza crepe to eat tonight, and I’m freezing the rest to use later. (I put them in plastic freezer bags separated with freezer paper. According to Crepe Cookery they store for up to 4 months in the freezer and can be reheated by microwave.) For my pizza crepe, I layered on: sauce, zucchini, fresh tomato, sliced “baby bella” mushrooms, fresh basil, turkey pepperoni, and feta and mozzarella cheese. I put it in the oven at 350 for about 12 minutes. The crepe stays soft in the middle, so you can’t pick it up like a regular slice. Folding it N.Y. style worked well.

If you want to get a copy of the book, used copies can be gotten very cheaply on Amazon and eBay. I recommend it. It contains more than you’d ever want to know about cooking with crepes!

Okay… honestly, I never heard the word before in my life. I didn’t know what this stuff was until I spied it sitting on a table full of random junk at the flea market yesterday. It caught my eye because it looked a lot like the melting crystals that came with those oven-bake sun catcher kits everyone used to make when I was a kid.

Here’s the back of the box:

It gives me the impression that it melts just like the sun catcher crystals, but you can use this stuff in larger quantities like resin. On one side of the box, suggested projects include: bowls, powder boxes, lamps, bracelets, wind chimes, and kleenex boxes. How in the world can you make a mold for something that large, in a material that is oven-proof? I am imagining using large quantities of aluminum foil, or cutting up disposable bakeware…

Because I’ve never seen or heard of it before, I have a sneaking suspicion that it either gives off toxic fumes, or it doesn’t work as well as the box would lead me to believe. Anyone out there heard of, or even tried working with this stuff? I’d love to learn a little more about its use, but I’m more than willing to dive in blindfolded.

I have a tutorial coming up tonight or tomorrow on recycled tin-covered books, and I after I get that up, I’ll play around with Crystletts and post my results!

On Memorial Day, some of our favorite thrift stores have a 50% off sale! It has become a tradition for us to go thrifting and find some great bargains. Here’s the rundown on what I got this year!

I bought these tins to chop up and make stuff from. I made a cute handbound book from a Chinese-y tea tin once. I wish I’d taken a photo of it before I gave it away…

I got the pasta machine for about $3.50! It’s really heavy and nice. I bought it for polymer clay use, but I’m almost thinking maybe I’ll keep it for pasta and get another cheap one to use for clay. The box on the right is a film developing tank. That cost about $2.50. The box is beat up, but it’s actually brand new! I have intentions of learning how to develop film someday, so I thought I better pick it up. The round knitting looms were also about $2.50 for the set! I used to think these things were for kids or people who couldn’t get the hang of regular knitting, but after I saw this book about knitting cables on circular looms, I knew that was not the case! Some really nice things can be made with these. I can’t wait to try them out.

This little Papier-mâché dress form was 30 cents. I don’t really need it or know what I’m going to do with it, but at that price… hehe The little spools are labeled as punch needle yarn. I’m not sure if I’ll use it for that purpose. I have some experiments I want to try with it. The yarns came 3 in a package for about $1.50.

I got some great additions to my fabric stash! The blue stuff is on a big roll; it’s a faux dupionni kind of thing. It’s pretty though, and only $3.50 for the whole roll. All the other bits ranged from $1-$2 and are 1-3 yds. I love the red furry stuff! It’s neat!

I’ve sort of ended up with a collection of these DIY stuffie fabrics. Previously, I’ve purchased some Care Bear and other funny animal fabrics.There’s something kind of charming about them. I don’t think kids really like the finished products that much… the joy of these is much more in the simple and quick construction. These came in a few mixed bags with some other fabric bits for about 90 cents. I really love the Popple one, but it’s missing the back side! So sad! I guess it’s okay, as I’m pondering using them for other purposes anyway…

I got Good Things For Organizing for 90 cents. It has some really cute ideas and inspiring photos. I like it. Got the old McCall’s Needlework for about 80 cents. It’s from ‘77 and has some funny ads in it, as well as some cute projects. The retro Indian and Chinese poster art greeting cards were about 35 cents each. I love the little space travelers! You can see more of them here!

I’ve been busy working on my craft room, hence the lack of posts lately, but it is nearing completion! I hope to finish organizing and putting things away soon, and I’ll share the final results!