Summer means T-shirt Upcycling with some help from Threadbanger

This post was conjured up by my lovely girlfriend. She got a brand new sewing machine as one of her college graduation gifts. She can sew and mod stuff like none other. So look forward to more “modification and upcycling” posts in the bright future. I didn’t know it when I met her, but she’s a class-A thrifter with a sharp eye. She gets in there elbows deep and sees each item for it’s real potential. Hell, she probably applies the same ethos to dating my nutty ass. ANYWAYS, all you Twin Cities area ladies better sharpen your elbows because she’s gonna be out junkin’ with me in full force. I’m looking forward to spending the summer (and beyond) thrifting and junkin some great treasures with her!

Summer’s hot, so mod an old, tired or thrifted t-shirt into something fresh like in the video above:

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Bacon Pressing, Birds, and Bargain Hunting

You thought I was dead didn’t you? Suckers! Oh ye thifters of little faith, fret not, for I am here, alive and well.

So the spring garage sale was for the most part a success. Sold a lot of stuff that had accrued and freed up some space for the big move. After watching a couple episodes of Hoarders you can basically decide to get rid of anything you own, real fast. The past couple of weeks I managed to hit up a couple thrift stores and a few sales. The stuff pictured above is only half of my stuff, half of the pics are just funny or cool items I saw while out and about, but didn’t need/want to buy.

First, I FINALLY got a cast iron meat press (courtesy pause for necessary chuckles here). I didn’t technically thrift it, but I did get it at a discount store, $7. Can’t wait to grill some stuff and make perfectly flat soggy bacon strips with it. I’ll even maybe attempt a homemade “Juicy Lucy”, who knows. Speaking of pressings I also picked up two old LP’s by The Band, $4 each, mint condition. Also found another great and gaudy vintage picture frame for a buck.

Summer coffee in the backyard means mugs. My ma picked up those two you see there ($2 each). She’s got a sharp eye. Probably where I inherited it from. A Lucky Charms mug I’m donating to my illustrator pal Mitch Gerads. The other is that wonderfully tacky vintage mug commemorating Princess Diana and Charles’ marriage in 1981. It’s for sale, if there’s any Lady Diana collector nuts out there who simply can’t resist it. That alarm clock I pulled out of my grandma’s stuff. It must weigh about 8 lbs and the type and inlay on it is gorgeous, I couldn’t let her sell it. It still works. It’s those kinds of items that harkens me back to my post about “Old things that work better than the new things.”  That clock is definitely one of those types of items.

Lastly, I found another one of those great old bird guides ($2.99). The info graphics and logos in it are insanely great. In the back 2 of the pages had rulers on the edge, so you can take it in the field. It means serious business. Bird business. All the other items pictured are things I chuckled at or thought were visually rad. Enjoy!

UPDATE: See that lil squirrel planter that I bought about 2 years ago? Well I finally planted a tiny little aloe plant in there and it’s growing really fast. Hooray for Squirrly!

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