Guest blog post: a newspaper craft adventure!

Hello “Curbside Rubbish” readers! I am Maggie Gilroy, a friend and classmate of Melissa. I also am the creator of “On This Day in Fredonia,” a blog about old newspapers. Since Melissa and I are in our blogging class together, we decided to collaborate and make a video for our respective blogs. We combined Melissa’s love of crafting with my interest in newspapers and took part in a fun newspaper craft!

Unlike Melissa, I am not a crafty person. I haven’t taken an art class since high school, am not good at working with my hands and tend to freak out when anyone asks me to create something. So, thankfully, we chose a fun and simple craft. That craft consisted of decorating old mason jars and vases with newspapers (and naturally chose copies of The Leader from this past year). It was simple and cheap: we just had to cut up and paste them onto our desired knick-knack by using Modge Podge. While it was a bit messy, it was a fun and quick craft that we completed in under an hour.

Melissa and I were happy with our finished products. They are currently sitting on the conference table in The Leader Office and serve as nice decoration for the often bland, bare office. I was surprised by how cute they look on the table. It’s not often that I produce something that doesn’t immediately get tossed into the nearest trash can.

So, by now, you are probably thinking “why should I care that Maggie and Melissa decided to make a mess of The Leader office?” My answer is more of a recommendation. This craft was fun and easy and will make the perfect gift, decoration, or fun knick-knack for anyone who wants to be creative on a low budget. So, for all of you readers who want to craft but are not crafting experts – give Modge Podge and newspapers a try! You might be surprised at what you can create!

Upcycled planters

Originally posted on PecanHut:
I like most crafty peeps on the internet have seen this been done. You take your common garden tin cans baked bean ones seem the best and clean them out . I (my dad) put a…

Top Buffalo Thrift Stores: Winner!!

And the winner is……

Buffalo ReUSE! 

I cannot even begin the excitement and love for this place I felt the minute I parked in front of the open garage doors. First of all, word to the wise, this location is only open on SATURDAYS. The hours listed on their website is wrong, so please don’t try to visit during the week like I did or else you’ll simply find a locked up building with a “Condemned” notice on one of the doors.

Tin ceiling tiles I found for $2 a square foot.

HUGE assortment of windows that can be used for frames or accent pieces on your wall!

Old doors and windows could be placed in corners of rooms to add character and a statement piece.

I don’t know if I would call this a warehouse, or a little mini village inside a rusty old building. It is massive, and I mean MASSIVE. First of all, let me just say that I spent three and a half hours in this place, that that was me feeling rushed. Loads upon loads of junk (and yes, some of it was actually “junk”) were there for the taking I couldn’t even fathom the ideas crossing through my head as to how to repurpose everything I saw. I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again, I need an apartment. I need a place to call home. A PERMANENT place. Going to all of these locations is such a tease for me because I fall in love over and over again yet where can I put my purchases? On top of all the other furniture that is currently overflowing my mother’s basement? It’s a hard knock life for this girl right now living in a furnished student apartment, but my time will come soon enough.

I think the most rewarding piece I found at ReUSE was its assortment of tin ceiling tiles. Some more rusty than others, but nonetheless still incredible. It is the simple things like this that can make a home so much more unique and welcoming. Let your home make a statement, let it be different. I immediately felt that ReUSE gave this opportunity to its customers through the materials and supplies it offered at an extremely bargained price.

A small boutique, Her Story Boutique, has recently opened a shop on Elmwood Avenue using the materials found at ReUSE, especially the tin ceiling. “Thank you to Buffalo ReUse for saving the day. Finally found it…. the tin ceiling for the new store!” 

On its Instagram, Her Story Boutique posted about the tin ceiling found at Buffalo ReUSE.

Along with the tin ceiling tiles, the warehouse led into room after room of endless windows, doors, wood paneling and more. There had to have been hundred (no exaggeration) of beautiful four paned windows and unique doors from all different types of buildings. I hate mazes, but I was literally in heaven as I walked through aisle after aisle.

Buffalo ReUSE was definitely the most interesting and unique store I’ve been to yet; I’m already egging to go back.

Top Buffalo Thrift Stores: Number 2

The top two spots in my list of top Buffalo thrift stores are home to two establishments that supply the public with used building materials, furniture and other larger pieces to go in the home, not so much shoes and clothing.

In second place, we have Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore. Serving as a warehouse to provide exchanges with the buildings the organization Habitat for Humanity builds, ReStore is a hot bed for cheap (and I mean cheap) building materials and household items. It has two locations downtown, Amherst Street and South Park Avenue.

“I like the assortment of tiles,” said Marie Locust, a DIY interior decorator currently designing a bathroom for a client. “There is always a good supply of tiles which will give the home charm. And a box of say 20 tiles only sets me back a couple bucks. You really can’t go wrong. People always worry about things not matching or not looking ‘brand new’ but character and charm is the most important thing a home can have and I think this place offers that.”

The warehouse consists of an array of furniture from vanities, to dressers, desks, beds, chairs, you name it, as well as building materials for the home such as doors, bathroom tiles, door knobs, railings and other exterior supplies.

“This place got everything I need,” said Jason Whitmouse, an independent contractor and Buffalo native.  “I mostly use all of the doors and shutters they supply because things like that can get costly when I’m mostly only using them for rental properties.”

Little did I know the collection of shutters this place had. Weird as it may be, I have always wanted an array of wooden, paint chipping shutters to put on display in my room, or who knows maybe as a backdrop for a photo studio one day. And boy, did I find a pair. Let me make this clear, they are each about six feet tall and are solid wood, and how much do you ask? Two dollars. For the pair. Now on display in a nook in my room, they are my most prized possessions and I know I’m going to be going back for more.

Again, the troubles of being a college student with no true “home” was killing me on this trip. I wanted to adopt every item from this place and bring them home with me. The minute I sign a lease on an apartment in Buffalo after graduation, hello shopping trip.

 

These shutters serve as a perfect backdrop to my retro (and working!) radio I found at a consignment store in Charleston, SC. And they were one dollar a piece!

Top Buffalo Thrift Stores: Number 3

For third place I have chosen a store not necessarily titled “thrift” but I couldn’t pass it up because of the amazing vintage pieces it offered.

The Vintage Roadshow located on South Park Avenue downtown is more of an “upscale” consignment shop, filled with incredible women’s vintage fashion from eras such at the 1920’s all the way to the 1980’s. It is mainly a women’s consignment shop by only offering women’s clothing, jewelry and accessories, but nonetheless the items I found here were none like other items I have seen at larger department thrift stores.

Every item and every piece of clothing was completely unique and any girl’s “must have.” Although these items and these types of stores come with a price. I’m used to the three dollars or less blouses I can find at department thrift stores, yet uppity consignment and vintage shops such as this offer blouses upwards of 15 to 20 dollars. Now that may not seem like a lot, but compared to what I’m used to, it was a little difficult. That being said, the eclectic look and completely unique quality of these items is worth the extra 10 or 20 bucks.

“A fun atmosphere is offered here, with friendly staff members who are helpful and knowledgeable regarding vintage women’s clothing. Prices at this consignment store are generally quite reasonable,” said Thomas McCabe, an expert and reviewer of consignment and thrifting locations. 

This store is definitely a different form of “thrift” than what I have been previously posting, but I want you readers to know that there are small little boutiques and consignment shops such as this which are really true treasures. Accessorize your closet with some of these one of a kind vintage pieces!

 

DIY: From dark and outdated, to shabby-chic vintage

Here is a DIY video to repurpose a drabby and cheap piece of furniture. The entire project was under 20 dollars!

Top Buffalo Thrift Stores: Number 4

One of the many purchases I have made at Amvets on Dick Road in Depew at age 16. I have recently painted it to a beige, vintage color.

I’ve been an avid independent thriftier for over 10 years now, so naturally I’m going to have a little bias when it comes to forming a list of what I presume to be Buffalo’s top five thrift and consignment stores. Naturally, my already favorite one has to make the cut, although I’m shocked to see it making it low on the list at number four.

My second to last top thrift store in Buffalo has to be Amvets on the intersection of Dick Road and Walden Avenue in Depew, N.Y. Surprisingly enough, it is right down the street from number five on our list, the City Mission Thrift Store.

My best friend and thrifting partner and crime have been going to this store almost every week since I’ve started driving. It’s really nothing special or unique to other large department stores, it just feels like home to us. It is the one store I’ve found the most success in no matter if I’m buying clothing, shoes, furniture, records, books, etc.

I’d love to be objective and say all the technical reasons this place should reside at number four, but I can’t. It just simply has that feeling for me, that history, that I can’t look past.