Rand McNally

Like I said in yesterday's post, my lack of posting new material isn't because  I haven't been busy. The adorable Lacy, a new friend via the blog/twitter world, was kind enough to feature one of my new adventures on her blog, simple surber.

I've started creating custom watercolor weddings maps for budget conscience brides. Check out my feature, here.

Thanks again Lacy!!

-Chic Done Cheap

Looking forward

This weekend it was brought to my attention that my updates on the blog have been non-existent. Though the blog has not been updated quite as frequently as it should be, it doesn't mean that I haven't been busy. Some posts to look forward to:

• How I went out on a limb and met new friends through a book club formed on Twitter;
• How I got a press pass at DC Fashion Week, and
• How I fed a group in the mountains for a whole weekend for under $100.

So there you have it, friends, fashion and food to look forward to.

-Chic Done Cheap

Goodwill: Your home for stylish bargains

As much as I love going into a shop and scoring a deal on clothing or accessories (I never pay full price! Well, sometimes), I’m even happier when I find a great bargain at my local Goodwill store.

No nose-wrinkling allowed, shoppers—secondhand shops aren’t what they used to be. And as the DC Goodwill Fashionista, it’s my job to help you get the most for your hard-earned money. Goodwill’s your spot for nearly-new housewares and gently-worn clothing!

The key to finding designer items or new-with-tags goodies doesn’t depend on the time of day or day of the week. Goodwill staff members are always wheeling new racks out onto the sales floor. If you see a bunch of cars lined up to donate to Goodwill, you can rest assured that those donated items are hitting the floor ASAP! So keep a close eye on employees putting out new stock (but don’t tackle them, please).

Feeling like you have to flip through every hanger on the rack can be daunting, so stick to searching for pieces of clothing you’re hoping to add to your wardrobe. I’m always looking for casual, day-outside dresses and versatile blazers, so I hit those racks first and might skip sweaters, polos, and pants. On another day, I switch it up!

When it comes to the shelves upon shelves of housewares, trinkets, and doodads, I look for items that have multiple uses. Picnic baskets that are missing a few plates, vintage file boxes, and closet storage bins can be attractive items to grab for your home storage needs.

In the housewares section is also where you’ll find me constantly turning over items.  If you scope out each and every clothing label at Goodwill, you know where I’m going with this—I look for maker’s marks or brand names on the bottom of everything! There are a lot of high-end bargains sitting on those shelves, so don’t be afraid to get touch things you might want to get. Just be careful with the breakables!

If you love discounts on top of those treasure-hunt bargains, here’s a cheat sheet to Goodwill of Greater Washington’s discounts on donated items:

Monday: Healthcare appreciation day—25 percent off with valid medical/healthcare ID

Tuesday: Customer appreciation day—25 percent off, everyone wins!

Thursday: 25 percent off with current military ID at our Alexandria store.

Seniors: If you can prove you’re 60, take 10 percent off, every day!

Capital One customers: Use your Capital One credit card at our Falls Church and Fairfax locations and get 10 percent off.

We Live Green: Show your membership card for 10 percent off.

 
If we’re pals online, you can save even more. Like us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/theDCGF) and print out a coupon that pushes your customer appreciation day discount (on Tuesdays!) to 35 percent. We also have monthly specials on Foursquare, so don’t forget to check in while you’re combing the racks.

Lisa Rowan is the DC Goodwill Fashionista. Follow her adventures in frugal fashion at www.fashionofgoodwill.org/blog  Fashion at your fingertips!

Buttons for my boo (and me, too!)

Monograms have been a staple for generations of preps. These days, you can monogram anything: from the traditional oxford or canvas bag; to the modern: iPhone cases and car decals.

For his birthday this past fall, I gave the boy a set of monogrammed gold blazer buttons. After getting them attached, he ended up with an extra two monogrammed buttons. After a little thought, the boy suggested making the spare buttons into earrings for me, a sweet way to always keep him with me.

I loved the idea of cheap(er) personalized jewelry and wished that I had thought of it myself. Off to the jeweler: who says you shouldn't wear your heart on your sleeve, ears?

I found some other cute ways to express your devotion to your boo on Etsy.

-Chic Done Cheap

'Spending Money to Save Money'

is not a concept I neccesarily accept with ease: spending up front to save money in the future. Sounds like a scam, right?


Well, when the new year rolled around and Bruegger's started selling their Bottomless Mug Club membership for 2012, I was hesitant. $150 for unlimited coffee, tea and fountain drinks? How much could I really save? Well $2.50 for a large coffee every weekday for a year plus the occasional large Diet Coke for a late afternoon pick-me-up? That could run upwards of $800, yikes.


Pretty excessive, right? And yes, I could stop drinking coffee, but I'm not willing to face a February morning without it. Hopefully this bottomless business won't turn me into Kramer when he won free coffee for life at Javaworld.


So a quick swipe of my credit card and I was their newest member as well as one good example closer to believing that sometimes you have to spend money to save money.


Maybe for all of money I save, I can afford this for haute coffee? Or maybe just a free DIY would suffice.

Source

-Chic Done Cheap

Capital Consignment, Bethesda

Capital Consignment, 4909 Cordell Avenue in Bethesda, may be one of my favorite stores in the DC area. The well stocked store is constantly changing its inventory, you never know quite what to expect. Best of all. prices are extremely reasonable and the quality of the items is exquisite.
When I visited with Judith, the store's owner, I found some great treasures, take a look at some of the pieces that caught my eye:

Capital Consignment Hours:
Monday -  Closed
Tuesday - 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday - 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Thursday - 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Friday - 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday - 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Sunday - 12: p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Moleskine 30% @BarnesandNoble

Moleskine notebooks are my saving grace, I have one in my purse at all time, not to mention a couple in my desk at work. As a lefty, I have little patience for spiral notebooks or hard back notebooks that don't bend. Moleskine come in great, vibrant colors and don't have spirals or hard covers that bug me. Right now Barnes and Noble has a great coupon for 30% off their stock of Moleskines. I'm heading there to pick up a new sketchbook and notebook. Did I mention that you can get them with lines, no lines, storyboards? Tons of options! Did I also mention that I'm a little picky about my notebooks?

Get your coupon here. Happy shopping (and writing!).

-Chic Done Cheap

Guest Post from Savvy Young Something's Sarah

Happy New Year chic peeps! I’m so excited to be back for another guest post. Today I’m here to offer some advice on refinishing furniture.

I love to take an old piece of furniture and give it new life. There are a ton of resources for refinishing furniture, so I’m going to share a few tips from my experience that you might not see in your basic instructions. Here are a few things I’ve learned from refinishing furniture:

Choose your furniture carefully!

The fate of your project is often decided when you pick your piece of furniture. Some furniture is better suited for refinishing and some isn’t. Here are a few things I think about when I choose to refinish a piece of furniture.

Veneer is OK sometimes. Refinishing anything made of particleboard is a universal no-no, but some antiques are made of solid wood with a layer of wood veneer on the top. Real wood veneer is still wood, but it’s easier to damage so I prefer to stay away from it when I intend to refinish something. I am open to refinishing pieces that have a little veneer here and there. For example, my bed has a solid wood headboard and footboard, but the bedrails have a veneer over them. Because they are almost always hidden, I was willing to take the risk and refinish the whole thing in a darker stain.  

Beware of ornate details. If you’re refinishing your first piece of furniture, I recommend looking for something with clean lines and few crevices. Paint or finish can be difficult to remove from ornate details and even curves, which means your finish won’t soak into those areas as well as others, resulting in an uneven finish.  Oh yeah, and you’ll probably get really, really sick of spending a ton of time trying to sand those areas.

Be selective. There are some pieces with great bones, but which would require a TON of work to refinish. Don’t choose a project that will quickly become the bane of your existence, and may not even look stellar when you’re done. For example, I picked a dresser for $15 on Craigslist. It was solid wood with a veneer over it. The veneer was chipped in a bunch of places, and the original finish was a mess. I knew it would require hours and hours of work just to make it decent enough to stain, so I painted it instead.

To strip or to sand?
Unless a piece of furniture has many layers of thick paint, sanding generally does the trick. The best way to decide is to take some sand paper to the finish and see how easily it comes off. If it sands off easily, sand off the finish. If it doesn’t, strip it off. I like to use a power sander when possible – it makes the process go SO much faster. I use this little Ryobi random orbital sander, which I bought off the shelf from Home Depot.
If you are working with a portion of furniture with veneer, then you might want to start with a paint or varnish stripper because too much sanding can damage the veneer. I recently started using Citristrip, which is an eco-friendly stripper, and was happy with the results. After using the stripper according to its instructions, you should still sand the surface to make it smooth.

Tools of the Trade

Foam Brushes. When I tackled my first staining job, I used a rag to apply the stain. It was a HUGE mess. Now I stick to foam brushes, which you can get really cheap at any home improvement or craft store. Just makes sure you pick a size that can actually fit in your can of stain because you’ll be tempted to buy a wide one that would cover more surface area.

Rags. My nurse roommie works in the operating room and brings home lint-free rags leftover from surgical kits. Whenever her hospital does a surgery, they open a surgical kit that includes drop cloths and lint free rags. They rarely use everything and can’t keep the excess for other surgeries because it’s no longer sterile, so they just throw it out. So, if you have a nurse friend or family member, see if they can snag you some drop cloths or rags—they work great and best of all, they’re free! Otherwise you can use old socks or a cut up t-shirt. DON’T use paper towels because they’ll get lint in the finish.

Gloves. Staining is a messy process, and it’s definitely not chic for your hands and fingernails to reveal your penchant for DIY projects when you’re out on the town or at work. I like to use latex gloves because they protect your hands but don’t get in the way like the big fingers on dishwashing gloves do. If you’re stripping the furniture first you will definitely want thick stripping gloves too.

Limited Outdoor Space and Weather Challenges
There are many reasons why refinishing furniture outside might be out of the question. Sanding can be tough indoors, and I don’t really recommend power sanding inside because you generate so much dust. If you do want to sand inside, some smaller pieces can be sanded in the (dry) bathtub, making for an easy cleanup. Just make sure to close your AC vent so that saw dust doesn’t end up in your ventilation system.
If you want to stain indoors, stick to non-toxic water-based stains over oil-based stains. Try to get as much light in your room as possible, and be careful of drips that you could track throughout your house.

Thanks so much to Maize for letting me share some of my furniture refinishing experience with you! Check out my blog this week, where I’ll be showing you one of my latest furniture refinishing projects (previewed here!).

If you’ve never stained before and you’re looking for some good basic demos, I’m a big fan of Design Sponge’s Before and After Basics tutorials. Check out their guides on stripping, sanding, and staining furniture.

Meet Brad, your wardrobe update

The scrap booking brad is the hidden gem of the season; scrap bookers have been keeping this secret long enough. The variety of materials and sizes is almost endless and the prices are just right for a Chic gal on a budget. Read on for ideas about how to work Brad (and all of his friends) into your wardrobe.

Faux buttons

Scrap booking brads can be used as a trompe l'oeil buttons on shirts, sweaters and blouses. It could very well be the detail that makes your Old Navy sweater from high school feel brand new again. Some ideas include buttons on the hem of the shoulder, a couple of buttons down the back or a grouping along the cuffs.

Decorative elements 

Proceed with caution here, too much could make you look like an eighties flashback who lost a bet with a Bedazzler. Some ways to carry this look off: if a dress has pockets, group brads along the hem of the pockets for an unexpected twist. That old blouse you don't wear anymore has draping along the neck? Attach some brads within the folds for some unexpected sparkle.

The benefits of using brads in your wardrobe are great, other than the brad itself there is no additional tools to buy, application is easy and it's not permanent. Check out some of my examples for inspiration and get to know brad!

Bon Voyage!

I'm pushing off tomorrow: we (the whole family) are setting sail on a 5 night Disney cruise. With no access to Internet, I'm signing off the rest of the week. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time my sweet fam.

I hope your 2012 has started off well. Talk to you all next week!

xoxo Chic Done Cheap