Having A Merry Little Christmas With Grafix Shrink Film

I was recently contacted by a representative from the Grafix company about an opportunity to experiment with some new products in the plastic film line. As some of you may recall, Grafix was kind enough to sponsor a previous craft project and product giveaway in which I made a lovely vintage inspired charm bracelet. So as you might imagine, I was pretty excited to give these shrink films a test run.

For those who may not recall the magic of shrink film from their youth, or never had the pleasure of playing with little bits of plastic, let me give you a quick refresher. These sheets of plastic can be printed, painted, drawn on, and cut to your heart's desire. You then bake these bad boys in the oven, or heat them using an embossing gun (my preferred method). They then harden and shrink down to 20% of their original size. It's such a simple concept, yet so much fun to execute. Being a fan of vintage photographs and ephemera, I tend to use scanned images of advertisements/snapshots/post cards/books as inspiration for jewelry and other craft projects. 

So when I received the new metallic shrink film (3 sheets of gold and 3 sheets of silver), I knew just how I was going to use them.

I wanted to utilize an 1800s children's book from my collection as an inspiration for a seasonally themed pair of earrings. I found this piece of sheet music for a song called The Winter Rose in the book. I loved the lyrics and the drawing. And while it obviously cannot be perfectly recreated with an inkjet printer and shrunken plastic, the results are pretty amazing. 

And in addition to this golden little piece of vintage sheet music, I decided to make a style upgrade to my little Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Two years ago, rather than shell out the money for a standard size tree we opted for a small $5 table tree that I dressed up in vintage gift box ornaments and garland. But with golden shrink film at my disposal, I decided to spruce up the little guy. (SPRUCE up! Gotta love a good tree pun). And all it took was a handful of stars and some hot glue to make it happen. Adorable! 

Before   

After 

And so, thanks to the generosity of Grafix, I have created not one, but two fun holiday craft projects.  And if you're looking to get crafty this holiday season, here are the  supplies I used and already had in my home office:

• a scanner and ink jet printer
• scissors 
• an embossing gun (or oven, if you prefer)
• a hot glue gun
• earring posts and backings
• acrylic sealant spray (optional)
• and Grafix Shrink Film, of course! 

I can't wait to dream up more craft projects using both the metallic and colored shrink film. Thank you Grafix for the opportunity for this product review. It certainly will be a merry little Christmas with this shrink film. 

I know. Again with the puns.

But in all seriousness, I'd like to wish everyone a healthy and happy holiday season. Go thrifting, get crafty, and enjoy your time with family and friends. 

XOXO Jackie Jardine

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Vintage Photo Friday: The Christmas of 1961

In this special edition of Vintage Photo Friday, I'd like to present a few recent finds from the Goodwill Outlet. It's rare that I find enough photographs to continue the beloved Vintage Photo Friday segment here on Let's Go Thrifting. So when I found some rather timely snapshots from Christmastime in 1961, I could hardly contain my excitement. 

Kathleen here is such a doll. And speaking of dolls...

It looks like Santa brought one for her on Christmas morning.

Here's hoping Santa brought you everything you asked for. A happy and healthy holiday season's wishes to everyone! 

Holiday Thrifting: It's A Secondhand Winter Wonderland

"Now bring us some figgy pudding."

There are seven days left until Christmas. And like many frantic holiday shoppers, I've hit malls, outlets, supermarkets and yes, wine and spirits shops. And I've hit them hard. There was just one place I hadn't been able to hit in anticipation of the big ho-ho-holiday bonanza. 

That's right. I'm hanging my head in shame that, I, the sole force behind Let's Go Thrifting, had yet to visit the thrift store for some holiday inspiration. And so, with a week to spare, I reached out to the kind folks of Impact Thrift, to ask if I could take a few holiday themed photos for this very blog post. And of course, they welcomed me back to take a gander at what festive wares they had in store. 

I was not disappointed. And this got me thinking. Could a well-stocked thrift store be a one-stop holiday shop for gift-givers, party goers, social hosts, and Christmas revelers alike? Well, let's see...

There are lovely dinner platters to bring that you wouldn't mind leaving for your host to keep. Of course, you might want to keep them too...especially that one on the left. But, hey! This is the season of giving! 

There is a bounty of holiday tins. And they'll make a perfect presentation for all of the candy and baked goods you'll be giving to friends and family, or as storage for delicate tree ornaments. 

Talk about some elegant serving options. If you'd like to host a holiday dinner party, why not keep it classy? You can bring your guests some figgy pudding---whatever that is---and  do so with a lovely silver serving bowl. 

And don't forget the decorative touches...

Oh. My. God. How cute are these ornate candle holder gift boxes? 

And carolers-- you can never have enough carolers, even if they demand figgy pudding. 

So, if you're looking for holiday decor, elegant dining inspiration, last minute gifts, or something festively appropriate to wear, thrift shopping can help you be merry, bright, and on budget. 

What holiday goods have you purchased secondhand? 

Season's Greetings and many thanks to the folks at the Feasterville Impact Thrift Store! 

This Just In: New Items Added to Etsy

Jiminy Cricket, 1980s.

Manhood and Marriage, 1916. 

Knee-hugger elf and pal, 1950s. Made in Japan.

These items and more are available for purchase at my Etsy shop. Also, I'm excited to announce a new shopping venture for Let's Go Thrifting readers looking to buy quality goods directly from me. I'm working on launching a page right here on the blog where I'll be offering items that don't quite meet Etsy requirements. Designer labels, obscure art and decor, out-of-print books... the works. It might not be vintage or handmade, but I think some of you will take a look around, maybe find something you like.

Stay tuned for more info on that, and as always thanks for reading Let's Go Thrifting! 

Happy Holiday Wishes From Let's Go Thrifting

Grabbag selection of 18 vintage decorations: $6. 

As Christmas night draws towards a close, I do hope that all my dear friends and family are having a wonderful holiday. I know I am. I'm just taking a bit of downtime before devouring a slice of pie. 

In the coming days I'll post all about the food, the gifts and everything in between. 

But for now this is your Let's Go Thrifting blogger, Jackie Jardine, wishing you   a happy, healthy and of course thrifty holiday season.

It's National Thrift-A-Gift Week!

Why is it National Thrift-A-Gift Week? It's National Thrift-A-Gift Week because we thrifters know how to pick great presents, gifts made better by the fact that we didn't max out our credit cards to buy them.

We thrift some of life's essentials. We thrift novelties and decor. We thrift for entertainment, for sport and even as fodder for our blogs. 

Why not thrift some gifts this holiday season?

Let's give it a week... a week's time to hunt our favorite secondhand stores for someone special in our lives.

With a little luck and maybe some secondhand Christmas spirit, I'm sure we can find something someone will love...at a price that'll really deck some halls. 

So let's hit those thrifts. I'll check back in seven days to see who really celebrated our Thrift-A-Gift Week. Until then, happy holiday thrifting, everyone!

The Great Christmas Wrap-Up

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Of course no Christmas tree would be complete without a garage sale sign ornament. I found this little wonder at the thrift store for 25 cents and couldn't help but chuckle at my extraordinary luck in discovering something secondhand, that features another secondhand activity that's just perfect for the tree. 

And after searching several thrifts for over a month I was able to find a bunch of useful thrifted gifts. Mostly cute and kitschy kitchenware, I amassed a pile of jars, serving dishes, plates, novelty spoons, salt 'n' pepper shakers and more. 

Naturally it didn't occur to me take photos of the goods to publish after the gifts were given until I had already wrapped them. Whoops. Well, she enjoyed them all the same. And  for the first time I ever I bought a gift certificate to our favorite thrift so that she can get a new couch. And given their hideous (yet strangely appealing) selection of furniture is so cheaply priced, I'm sure she'll have no problems finding that perfect 70's sofa. 

My Christmas? Well aside from gorging on the bounty of cookies, cakes and heavy holiday meals I must have been extra good this year. Seriously I could call this post the Great Christmas Un-Wrap, in thinking of the pile of presents waiting for me Sunday morning. Aside from the much-needed clothes and the lovely Marc Jacobs perfume, the gift cards and the always appreciated cash, I got something that I actually have to wait 'til the summer to enjoy..two tickets to see Roger Waters: The Wall ! ! ! 

Talk about Christmas in July! I can't wait to hear the seminal album from Pink Floyd...live. But, back to the hear and now....

As you all know, I am something of a weirdo. I mean, anyone with such a fascination with the photographs of total strangers and the impulse to collect oddities must be a little...eccentric, let's say. My sister certainly knows this to be true. And judging by her Christmas gift this year, she isn't exactly dissuading me from the dark side. 

This is Mr. Marbles.

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And yes, I named him after the episode of Seinfeld when Jerry's freaked out by the ventriloquist's dummy in Kramer's apartment. Though I may have to rename him, given the difficulty of navigating the letter M without moving the lips. But if I do, by some miraculous feat, master the art of ventriloquism I'm taking  my act to the stage and calling it Jackie's Creepytime Theatre. I'll have a gallery of photos and found oddities, a band, crazy costume changes and finally, my ventriloquism debut. 

Of course you loyal readers, my small fandom of freaky finds, will get an invitation to this grand event, should it ever come to pass. In the meantime, I guess I better practice those tricky M's.  

I dare you to tell me you can see my lips moving. 

Donate Now to De-Clutter Your Christmas



Unless your family is this compact, ya better start tidying up for the holidays!

The holiday season is here and so the is all of the chaos that comes with it. Family flying in from out of town, a mountain of boxed and bagged gifts and stuffed stockings will soon be flooding your households with holiday cheer. But before you exchange gifts, bake the fruitcakes and make room for auntie’s sleeping arrangements, why not take the time to tidy up?

Of course you’re likely to dust, run the vacuum cleaner, spray some pine-scented air freshener. But why not confront the ghost of Christmases past and purge some unused goods too?

Chances are you’ll need every inch of space for guests and gifts. So here are a few helpful hints to make room for all that holiday spirit:

• Go through a few closets and sort out any un-worn or ill-fitting clothes and shoes. Don’t forget those holiday sweaters you’ve acquired over the years!
• Filter your holiday decorations to the ones you actually use and enjoy. Ask yourself: Do I really need five dancing Santa Clause dolls and 10 tree toppers?
• Do you still have gifts from last year that just weren’t quite your style? Mint in the box Chia Pets, 1000 piece puzzles you just don’t want to assemble, a Snuggie perhaps?
• So many clearance sale goers stock-up on holiday decor, gift sets, and more after the holiday, by the time the next Christmas rolls around, they’ve forgotten all about their post-holiday stockpile. And this is exactly how you end up owning 50 rolls of holiday wrapping paper. (No exaggeration. This person, who shall remain unnamed, does exist and at one time owned this much or more).

So don’t put the ho-ho-ho in hoarding this holiday season. Donate all unwanted goods to your local thrift store before your family and friends come caroling at your doorstep.

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