Thrift store fabric score!

I generally shy away from bundles of fabric at the thrift store; they're bagged up with a bunch of different prints and colors and I usually only want one out of the lot.  So, I skip on buying the whole bag for just one fabric (even though they're still cheaper than the craft store... but with the bags you never know how much you're getting or in what condition).  However, when I was thrifting a few weeks back, I couldn't resist this $4 bag of awesome cloth!

(The gray, yellow, orange, and olive floral print was actually a separate purchase, but within the same day, so I threw it into the pictures.  Oh, and the spotty stuff on the right isn't my thing, but I'm holding onto it for the time-being to see if inspiration strikes.)

I opened up the bag when I got home, and much to my excitement, found nearly ten yards of uncut, perfect fabric, some still with the original labels!  The fabric was old, but beautiful and some had incredible texture! 

I started lining up the fabrics to see what would go together and came up with a few combinations for whatever I decide to sew.  I like the orange with both of the prints below (but may make the argyle print into some cute high-waisted shorts). 

 The green print and the purple go together nicely.

And because I love this one so much, I still need to include it in the post.  I did buy it separately, but it's so awesome I can't wait to plan sewing something from it.  I'm thinking some pants... or something!  

So yay for buying my first grab bag of cloth at the thrift store!  I consider this purchase a major success and have already started sewing with some of it.  I've even bought another bag with similar success since!  Can't wait to show some of the projects that come out of a few dollars!

Super easy DIY bobby pin saver

For years I've been dealing with a problem women all over the world struggle with:  where the heck did all my bobby pins go?!  It seems like I buy those huge packs a few times a year and then can't find any hair pins when I really need them.  I clean my house, expecting to hit a jackpot, but no such luck.  Where did all my bobby pins go??

I decided to figure out a solution with things I had around the house and am sharing what I came up with.  It's very easy and you may already have the supplies around your own home!

1.  First, gather your supplies:
     -A photo frame without the glass (mine was 8"x10", but smaller would work)
     -Fabric slightly larger than your frame
     -Magnetic tape
     -Scissors
     -Multi-surface adhesive (I used Scotch Maximum Strength Adhesive)

2.  Take your frame apart and cut your magnetic tape to fit the backing piece.  Double check that the piece will fit in the frame with this attached.  If not, cut it a little shorter.

3.  Cut more pieces of tape.  I used 6.

4.  Peel the backing from your tape and mount it on the backing.  If it doesn't stick well, use a little of your adhesive.

5.  Cut your fabric a little larger than your backing piece.  I left an inch of fabric on each edge.  Double check that the bobby pins stick with the fabric over the magnets.  If they don't, you may need thinner fabric or stronger magnets. 

6.  Wrap the fabric over the piece and glue on the back.

7.  Put your backing piece back in the frame.

8.  Hang and never spend your mornings looking for bobby pins again!


Hope this is an easy solution for others!  I'm pretty proud of this project and hope that it will be a while until I need to buy more bobby pins (I just have to remember to actually stick them up there!)  Good luck with this little project!