Unorthadox places to find good supplies-" harvesting" from ugly things

When I am making things, I am dedicated to using only The Good Stuff. I figure that if I'm spending my time on a project, I don't to waste it using so-so supplies. 

Shiny bits from Hobby Lobby will not cut it for me.  I like the look and feel of aged beauty from the past.

Of course, fleas and garage sales are good places to look for blingy bits, but I've found that to keep myself (and my online Boutique) pleasantly plumped up with glitz, I have to keep my eyes peeled for the best of bargains.

The other day, I came across this light up Christmas tree covered in jewels (the photo was taken after I'd already started pulling off the sparklies). 

It was a bit of a gamble, not knowing if the jewelry would fall apart when I tried to pry it loose, or if the glue would even come off of the pieces.

Luckily 90% came off perfectly fine. (by the way, DO NOT use an exacto blade to ever pry anything, no matter what, ouch)

Getting the glue off was a little harder.

These jewels were heavily coated in dust, so I soaked them in cleaner, thinking that would help the glue come off too.

It didn't.

I discovered that hot water melted the glue away.  It was easy to clean up with hot running water, dish soap and a toothbrush.

But like I said, it was a gamble. You never know what kind of glue was used and how hard it will be to remove. If this had been epoxied, I'd have been in trouble.

I've already put some of the jewels I harvested to use as tree topper stars.

Here are a few  places I've found good supplies CHEAP by harvesting them off of ugly things no one wants:

• A hideously ugly table top Christmas tree at an estate sale, had some lovely little birdies on it, and was only $12.  I got 27 birds from that ugly tree, as well as a few decent ribbons. 
• A $35 vintage wedding gown, not exactly ugly, but not in the best shape. Perfect for me to harvest tons of lace from. 
• A $3 red dress, great to cut up, but not good to wear or display.
• Sometimes even the most savvy estate sale planners don't closely inspect things and let ugly cloud their vision. I bought a beautiful, large, matt white McCoy pot for $1 because it was holding one of the most excruciatingly ugly plastic flower arrangements ever. If the pot had been empty it would have sold for a LOT more.
• A string of mercury glass beads was used to hold a couple of beat up, (badly) hand made  aluminum foil covered styrofoam bells.  The beads were ignored by shoppers because the bells were just too awful.  I got $10 worth of beads for 50 cents because no one stopped to look beyond the ugly parts to the nice beads.
• Vintage rosebud wallpaper was used as a shelf liner for a cabinet in a basement at an estate sale. I asked if I could buy the paper, without the rusty cabinet and got it for $1.
• Sometimes a grab bag of cheapo, 1980s, gaudy jewelry has a couple of hidden beauties in it. I usually buy the inexpensive bag, pick out what I want, and give the rest back to the flea mkt vendor to resale to someone else who might want it instead of taking them all home to throw away.
• Last spring, I found a boxful of plastic Easter eggs that were not kind to the eyes. But- they had sweet bundles of millinery flowers glued to some of them. 

My advice in finding good supplies for bargains, is to look at things more carefully. Many of the things I like to harvest are from craft projects of long ago, that were not well done.  But the items used in them were right up my alley!

Although, it does make me wonder.... will someone be ripping up my projects in the future, saying, "ugh, what a waste of beautiful things in this hideous display!!"????? 

I will be away for a few days, but have fresh posts for you while I am gone.  If you'd like to order anything from my online shops, I'll pack up your goodies on Tuesday the 20th.  Here is some stuff in Etsy that I added before I left.

I replaced some of the sold out wreaths, too.

Comments

[Linda P.]

Wow! You got some beautiful treasures off of that bling-covered Christmas tree! Thanks for sharing some of the great things you have scored! I think it is a lot of fun to look at things with a view toward taking them apart or cutting them up! : )

My new love is going to half-price day at Goodwill. I recently scored a long dress that was well-embellished with beautiful sequined trims and flowers, and I will likely be cutting them off because I can't see me wearing the dress. I also bought some jean shorts that had pretty embroidered appliques that I have already cut off. I bought some shirts and skirts, too, with fabric colors/textures/designs that I loved, and I will be cutting up some of those, too!

We artists definitely look at things in a way others don't, and it's so much fun! : )

[Sheila R]

Thanks for sharing some of the ways you get all your treasures. Have a great time away!

[mercedes scott]

Karla, I totally agree with you on the harvesting... I have found that I need to "train" my eyes when out at estate sales so that I am not overlooking these hidden gems. LOVE all the amazing bling you pried off that Christmas picture! It looks like you are surrounded by flocked trees these days - your studio must look magical right now!

[Karla Nathan]

Messily, magical- trees, glitter, piles of stuff everywhere!

Sent from my iPad

[Tricia K. Johnson]

Good Morning Karla, How your post today fits so perfectly in line with some recent thoughts of mine!
Yesterday as I was at great $4.00 bag sale….whatever fits in the bag is yours... and I kept telling myself..see the stuff as Karla would see the stuff!!
Yep I walked away with some great goodies and yes I needed all of it!!!!!
Thanks again and always for your inspiration!!!!

[Vicki]

Almost like you were shopping with me! I do the same thing! Got a darling vintage English biscuit tin yesterday for 10 cents,it had no lid...but is perfect for my paint brushes.
Got 2 wrought iron corner pieces at a garage sale 2 dollars each. I paid the lady and was telling my cousin as I walked away they would make perfect climbing plant supports....she yelled down the driveway to me "hey I wish I would of thought of that."
Think out of the box!

[Jane]

Lots of good suggestions here, Karla, along with all the beauty!

[LindaBloom]

I LOVE all the bling you got off that ugly Christmas tree. How do you find the estate sales?? The newspaper? Are they auctions? I already go to the Goodwill, but I am looking for linens and lace, not bling. You got some good stuff!

[Karla Nathan]

Linda, try looking in the newspaper or on Craigslist for estate sale ads. You can also get on the mailing list of estate sale companies.

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