Shopping for Used Clothing and Accessories: Don't Pass It Up!

Just because an item isn't your size doesn't mean that you have to pass it up. If you love an excellently priced dress or other article of clothing that happens to be the wrong size, you can always take it to an alteration shop if you don't know how to sew.

Wear and tear can give clothing character, but remember that you can have items repaired if they are not in the condition you'd like them to be. Shoes, hats, bags, and jewelry can also be restored, so don't give up hope if you find something that you love that needs some help.

Don't forget that it's never too late to start crafting! Imagine ways in which old things can be put to use whether your ideas are conventional or unconventional. Broken parts can become interesting accessories and assemblage pieces.

Some project ideas:

1) Use scraps from old tattered clothing to create new items, such as shirts, skirts, pants, purses, reusable shopping bags, or anything else you can think of.

2) Decorate old hats, shoes, bags, and belts with broken jewelry pieces.

3) Use parts from broken jewelry (chains, clasps, ring connectors, beads, stones, etc.) to create new jewelry. If you're low on supplies and on a tight budget, look for old jewelry at garage sales.

4) Instead of buying mass-produced artwork, consider making your own art to decorate your home or office with. Attaching old parts to a painted canvas or old piece of furniture can render some extraordinary results. Cutting out words and phrases from old newspapers and magazines can spice up artwork as well. If you want to make sure that people you know won't have the same exact home décor, making your own is the way to go.

If you're interested in using eco-friendly glue, there's a product out there called Amazing EcoGlue (http://www.eclecticproducts.com/ecoglue). I haven't tried it out yet, but it's supposedly as strong as Super Glue.