Monday, November 17, 2014

How Thrifting Can Inspire Your Creativity


Thrift shopping means bargains for shoppers, funds for charities, and a second life for useful items that would otherwise meet their end in a landfill. As an alternative to standard retail shopping, thrift stores provide us shoppers with a potential treasure trove of fashion, housewares, entertainment, electronics, and more. 

But have you considered thrift stores to be fuel for your creativity? I, myself, am a sponge, constantly absorbing droplets of information and inspiration. And when I'm out thrifting, I'm just sucking up all the visual cues to creative projects in the making.  Maybe it's a worse for wear dresser that could be given fresh paint and a fresh purpose as a bar. Maybe it's a richly colored textile that inspires a photo shoot. The creative possibilities abound. 

And for me, there are two specific and much sought-after sources of inspiration: Vintage photographs and skeleton keys. And I've grown to ask myself why I've been compelled to collect these relics. Both are tangible reminders of a bygone era. Both have an intimacy, a closeness that meant something special to the original owner. 

I've salvaged many vintage photographs from the thrift and made a gallery for others to enjoy them as well. But it just wasn't enough. Flipping through my photo album of found memories, I had a thought. I wanted to make them into something more. And so I did. 



Using the magic of Grafix Shrink Film and small novelty skeleton keys from AC Moore. I made a charm bracelet entirely inspired by my two beloved thrift-found collections. And in the coming days, I'll be posting a how-to guide for the process, and an exciting corporate sponsored giveaway from the Grafix company, so you too can create something special.

After a few days of seeing my vintage wares dangling from my wrist, I had another thought. And while it at first seemed impulsive, I knew it was something I wanted all along. But... that's for another post. So stay tuned for the big reveal of yet another thrift-inspired bit of creativity and an official giveaway announcement. 

How has thrift shopping inspired you?

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6 comments:

Unknown said...

This is really neat...I can't wait for the tutorial to see how you made this!! I love it and want one!!

Jackie Jardine said...

Thanks, Diana. I'm really excited about this. Grafix, the company that manufactures the shrink film that I use for this project is going to provide one lucky reader with some of their product. It's going to be a lot of fun!

Vanessa said...


I've written the same thing more than once. Junking/thrifting is definitely stimulating and inspiring. So much to look at the inspire stories and crafts.

Jackie Jardine said...

I totally agree, Van! Even on non-purchasing trips, there's inspiration to be had.

Witchcrafted Life said...

Massively so!!! I'm very creative, artistic, think-outside-the-box kind of person and try to be inspired by wherever I am in life, very much including the thrift store. I've ideas for blog posts, outfits, gifts, craft projects, volunteer projects, wedding decor (for friends), photo shoots and numerous other things spring to mind because of what I saw and/or bought while pursuing the racks of my local second hand haunts. I hope this never changes (for either of us, dear lady!).

Wonderful post, Jackie!

Big hugs,
♥ Jessica

Jackie Jardine said...

So very true, Jessica! Don't worry. We're thrifters for life. So here's to endless secondhand inspiration!

<3 Jackie