Pile of Blank T-Shirts at the End of the Rainbow Mug.

Hello fellow bloggers and occasional readers,

I’ve probably set a personal record for frequenting the most thrift stores in a particular amount of days. I don’t necessarily have that much variety to show for it, but here goes. I’ve been very into terrariums as of late (laugh it up – I don’t know why.). I just find them interesting in that you can create your own mini biosphere in a small item, watch it dew up and cyclically maintain itself and grow. I remember a huge freestanding probably 3′ tall x 3′ wide circumference terrarium my mom kept in the living room when I was a kid. Mine are made with old (glass only, plastic may mold over time) apothecary jars, clear coffee/cookie jars, mason jars, and milk bottles with tops or corks. It’s a fun and inexpensive 5 step hobby for the indoor Winter months and I plan to dole out a few as gifts this holiday season. With each one I make my craft gets better and I can’t help think about Mr. Miyagi and him delicately pruning his little bonsai trees, danielson. Here’s a helpful basic to-the-point link on how to make one with household stuff. http://www.stormthecastle.com/terrarium/terrarium-basics.htm. Any of the supplies like gravel, or charcoal can be found at any pet store or in your garage. Finally, I visited an old haunt Ax-Man and found some little plastic creatures to put in each one for the imperative “decorative” aspect. Each jar was about $.89 – $1.99 depending on it’s size.

In other news, I found 2 awesome mugs. A rainbow one I intend to sell on Etsy or give as a gift. The other (I’m pictured with) is a designer’s delight with a simple Canadian flag and nice type, I will not be selling this one unless the price is right. Each mug was $.89 each.

I found another designer geek-out item in the book section. A bear scouts field guide manual, SOOO many great 50’s and 60’s illustrations and icons. This was $.99

Another beautiful vintage Yashica SLR was added to the collection. I love when they still have the straps. And I also found a neat set of bright orange 70’s African needle & felt wall hangings which are also for sale on Etsy.

When we left off, I was deep into finding solid color T-shirts at thrift shops in which to print shirts for my pet company and my DIY record label. Since then I’ve discovered a gold mine and basically cleaned out any Twin Cities’ shops of their blank solid color T’s. From my close guesstimate I bought about 90 shirts (mostly dark colors in Medium and Large) for under $65 total. A lot of them were brand new never used. Some major brands like American Apparel, Gildan, No Sweat (Union), Hanes 50/50, and Alternative Apparel. It feels good to reclaim these from the stores and reactivate them into something great to wear! The shirts ranged from $.89 – $2.99 as the most expensive.

In a final thought I’d like to share a wonderful web video I found about America’s consumption and its linear planned obsolescence waste patterns. This made me seriously upset and completely justifies why we need to emphasize recycling, reuse, smarter design, and cleaner technologies. Do yourself a favor and watch it quick, it’s about 20 mins.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/