Not Buying Anything NEW and NEW Items in the Shop

Yesterday, I completely forgot to mention our crazy "no buying anything new" goal for 2010.  In fact, I really haven't shared too much about it on the blog because I try to keep posts heavier on visual content rather than writing.  If you aren't sure what I am talking about, let me bring you up to speed...my family and I decided last year that our New Year's Resolution would be to try to not buy anything "new" for the whole year, with a few built in exceptions such as food and toiletries.  The challenge was to put living the "Salvage Life" to the test.  Could we really find the things we wanted and needed by buying used instead of new?  The answer, for the most part was, YES!  We gave creative used and vintage gifts, we found used clothes and shoes for the whole family, we borrowed, we scoured ebay, etsy and craigslist.  I don't think however that I bought less stuff in 2010, I just replaced new purchases with used ones.  I want to think more about what and why I buy in 2011, we'll see how it goes.  If you want to read more about this challenge, visit Adelaide Homesewn's Blog, Maria did an interview with me there.

Today I will start adding some new items to the shop and the first collection will be this sweet group of vintage brooches.  Sometimes when I think of brooches, I think of an old lady pinning Christmas tree brooches all over an already hideous sweater, but let's think again.  Brooches can be worn in so many interesting ways.  Here's five ideas to get the most out of your brooches:

1. Pin a group of three small brooches to a knit cap
2. Secure a piece of ribbon around your waist with a statement brooch
3. Pin it onto a plain clutch purse to spice it up
4. Hang it on a string or thin ribbon around your neck
5. Pin it on a stretchy head band for an instant hairdo