Fall into this weeks Feature Friday! (get it?!)

Well folks, I don't know if you've noticed, but it is no longer summer. Holy smokes, that happened fast. I feel like I was just wearing shorts and flip flops! Now I have to put socks on?! Socks?! I might have to resort to the infamous "socks and crocs." Did you cringe? Cause I cringed typing it. 

Anyway, with summer being gone in my neck of the woods, I figured I would bring a little pop of color, thoughts of sunshine, humidity, and barbecues, with this weeks: 

FEATUUUUURE FRIDAAAAAAY!  

This weeks feature is one of my best friends, Marissa! She is one of my best friends from high school! She purchased a super cool vintage Stanley Thermos from my Etsy shop. Now I know what you're thinking, 'A thermos. She must be using it for coffee, hot chocolate, soup and other hot, delicious liquids that every one drinks in the fall.' Well, you are wrong, my friends. She turned it into a beautiful vase! She was also my very first Etsy customer! Lets give her a round of applause! 

 Feel the cool summer breeze? Peeling your sunburned shoulders? Chasing down lightning bugs?  

Vintage thermos vase and mason jar candles = summer perfection.

Marissa has an awesome backyard/patio and she hosts one heck of a party! (Trust me, I know!) Hopefully I'll be able to visit soon so I can see this lovely vase in person! Thank you Marissa for supporting my dreams and purchasing from PGP! You rule!

You can all go back to putting your socks and crocs on now. Oh, thats just me? Talk about party poopers!

Smell ya later!

-Stephanie 

*Want to be featured? Buy something from me! Turn it into something new! Send me a before, during and after picture! Its as easy as that folks!

**Know someone that has a barn, attic, basement, chicken coop, secret room, garage, or any other space filled with stuff that needs to be picked over? Get atcha girl!! PoorGirlPicker@gmail.com and we can talk about what you got, what I want, and maybe eat some bbq chicken!

***Check out my Etsy page to see what kinds of cool things I have in store for ya! PGP Etsy Shop & you can like my page on FB, PGP Facebook for more updates, features, and giveaways! 

How Much is That Kitty in the Picture...

For anyone that owns a furry feline, you can feel my pain. Not only do I have a cat, but a dog that enjoys chasing the cat, but that's another post. So here I am at the computer minding my own business... 

Oh, that looks comfy, let me lay down right here. 

Ok, no computer. I'll just go photograph a few things..

Are you taking pictures of me? No? Will you pet me? 

Ok, back to the computer, let me just grab something off this shelf...

Why won't you just love me?!?!

Needles to say, he lives off of attention. Sometimes food and treats, but mainly attention. But the show must go on. Thank you for this cute kitty interruption, now back to your scheduled program: 

So in my travels, I come across a lot of neat people, places and things. (I could have just said nouns, I guess.) I don't always get to buy everything I want, but for the things I do get to call my own, there's a story and I would like to share that with you! 

This weeks story is about two little embroidered owls. I was driving home from who-knows-where and just a block from my house was an estate sale! How the heck did I miss that?  So I parked, grabbed $20 and walked over with high hopes. Books, clothes, piano, big furniture, oh shoot, there go my hopes, plummeting to a deep hole of leaving with nothing. Then, like a ray of freaking sunshine, there were these two framed owls, sitting all by their lonesome. 

(angels singing)

Oh hey, I'm awesome.

What the hoot! So am I. 

Vintage sharpie?! 

There they were, all in their 70's brown, orange and yellow glory. I asked the woman if she knew who made them and she said her husbands grandmother. She made them in 1978 and had them until she moved and he took them to their house, where I was currently fondling them (mental picture.) So if you think they are as adorable as I do, you are in luck! They are now up for sale in my Etsy shop here!

Even if you don't think they are adorable, which they totally are, you can still check out my shop. If you don't see something you love to the moon and back, or are looking for something in particular, let a sista know! I have a garage full of things, and I am constantly on the hunt. Be sure to like Poor Girl Picker on facebook too! Yes, I am stepping my social media game up! You can check that out here!

Smell ya later! 
-Stephanie 

*Want to be featured? Buy something from me! Turn it into something new! Send me a before, during and after picture! Its as easy as that folks!

**Know someone that has a barn, attic, basement, chicken coop, secret room, garage, or any other space filled with stuff that needs to be picked over? Get atcha girl!! PoorGirlPicker@gmail.com and we can talk about what you got, what I want, and maybe chew on some laffy taffy!

***Check out my Etsy page to see what kinds of cool things I have in store for ya! PGP Etsy Shop

You Can't Rain on this Feature Friday!

Rain, Rain, go away...

...come again when I don't have a flea market.

It's Saturday! Woohoo, the weekend! That means I'm supposed to be at a the Peddler, peddlin my super awesome vintage stuff! Nope. Mother Nature has other plans. Maybe the plants and trees are really thirsty or the sun needed to sleep in. Whatever the case may be, I am here with the pups, not peddlin my stuff. Wait a second. It's Saturday. That means yesterday was Friday, which means there was supposed to be a feature, and I don't remember posting one.... OH FARTS! I done did it again! So, excuse my tardiness, but please allow me to introduce you to this weeks: 

FEATUUUUUURE FRIDAAAAAY! 

Carly came to the Peddler a few weeks ago and was interested in some vintage Pyrex test tubes I had out. She told me that she had just bought this wooden pipe rack from a thrift store and her creative juices were a flowin'. The test tubes would fit perfectly in the rack, so she bought a handful and off she went to craft her little heart out! Little did I know crafting is something that comes naturally to her! 

Carly got in touch with me recently and sent me the pictures of her test tube creation. I found out that she has an Instagram account and an Etsy shop too! So I did what every normal person does and I scoped it out. Her stuff is super cool and original. I wish that I had a crafty bone in my body, and sometimes I like to pretend it's there. But then I don't measure correctly, the hot glue gun hates me, and there are two animals -make that three (sorry Jordan,) - that shed so much that I need an army of brooms and vacuums. So my "crafts" turn into "well, at least I tried, right?"  In addition to Carly's Feature Friday, I threw in some pictures of her other crafts so you can get an idea of just how awesome they are! 

Before...

After! Gosh dangit it's so cute! 

Um, yes! Re-purposed belts turned cuffs?!

Can I get one that says "picker" & I'll just walk around with my finger in my nose?

IN LOVE.

Cool lamp, check. Mint paint, check. Awesomeness, check. 

So whatdya think? I wasn't lying! This girl can craft! She was thinking silk flowers for the tubes, and I suggested candy, cause I mean, who doesn't want a shooter of peanut butter M&M's? If you have any suggestions, please feel free! A lot of her items are made from vintage and re-purposed goods, which is exactly what I strive for with PGP and Feature Fridays. To give these items another purpose and new life so that another person can love it is what it's all about! We don't always have to have the next best or newest thing. Sometimes its already in your house, yard, garage or waiting to be found at a flea market. It just takes a little time, creativity, and elbow grease to make it yours. 

You can find Carly's Sweet Creations (appropriately named) for sale at her Etsy shop here: Carly's Sweet Creations and be sure to follow her on Instagram @Carlysweetjones. She also has some pieces up for sale with the proceeds going to charity! One of the many reasons why I love doing what I do is it gives me the opportunity to meet awesome people and spread a little vintage love! Carly is definitely one of those people, and unfortunately she doesn't live in Buffalo, but maybe the universe will have our paths cross again in the future. 

Whether it's raining or shining by you, make today great! Maybe you've been inspired to dig around your basement and give new life to an old piece. In that case, email me and let me know! And check back at the Poor Girl Picker Etsy shop, as I have been adding, and will continue to add, new things daily! 

Smell Ya Later!

-Stephanie 

*Want to be featured? Buy something from me! Turn it into something new! Send me a before, during and after picture! Its as easy as that folks!

**Know someone that has a barn, attic, basement, chicken coop, secret room, garage, or any other space filled with stuff that needs to be picked over? Get atcha girl!! PoorGirlPicker@gmail.com and we can talk about what you got, what I want, and maybe mow down on some gummy bears!

***Check out my Etsy page to see what kinds of cool things I have in store for ya! PGP Etsy Shop

Keeping it together, one crazy idea at a time.

Have you ever had an idea swirling around your mind that you just couldn't let go of? Like, literally every waking moment was spent thinking about this one idea. Well, I recently had one of these "idea viruses" and it had me all in a tizzy. 

"Quit your job and dedicate yourself to Poor Girl Picker." 

What am I, nuts?! That's crazy! Ludacris! I don't even have a savings account, how am I suppose to quit my job?!? That thought went against everything I've ever learned to be logical, but I couldn't get it out of my head. I wanted it so bad. I wanted to stop waking up at 5am. I wanted to stop relying on other people for financial security. I didn't want to tell people, "Oh I can't make it I have to work," or "let me see if I can request that day off." I wanted to dedicate as much time and energy into myself and my dreams that I was giving someone else. It was an idea virus I just couldn't get rid of.

So dang it, I did it. I quit my job! Holy crap. I quit my job. I can do this right? Right. I plunged head first into what I thought was going to be days filled with picking, selling and nothing but awesomeness. But there is a backside to running a business that I had to learn about. I had to learn about selling online, collecting tax, becoming a business owner, having bills, overhead and all that other jazz. It was stressful, overwhelming and downright scary. I second guessed myself the whole time. "Maybe I should have been a teacher after all." "Maybe an ordinary life isn't so bad?" "I mean my 9-5 wasn't that bad, was it?" I kept setting deadlines for myself and missing them. I was scared and ready to throw the towel in. 

Then I remembered how I felt when I was sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day. I remembered why I got an education and am in so much damn debt. I remembered that life isn't meant to be easy. We are all given certain strengths and opportunities and the choices we make will in turn make us. So I am not throwing the towel in. I read a quote once that has stayed with me through hard times, and keeps me focused on my dream. 

“If the path before you is clear, you're probably on someone else's.” - Joseph Campbell

One of those aformentioned deadlines was to get my Etsy shop up and running by the 15th.  HA, OKAY.  It has taken me a while to get everything together, but its finally there! (It only took 11 more days than planned!) I didn't realize how time consuming it would be. "Oh Etsy? You just take photos and post them then, viola! you make money." There's way more to it than that and it will be a learning process for me. I'm still not positive how to market myself, I'm still not happy with the photos and there are hundreds of more items to research and list, but hey - it's a small step and I am a-two-steppin! 

So check it out here! You don't even have to buy anything! Just stop over and take a look. I only posted 20 items but I will be adding more daily. Let me know if you have any suggestions, comments or ideas for photographing. I have tons of clothes that I will be posting in the next week or so. I'll also be at Larkin Market this Thursday with some new stuff so come check it out! 

Smell ya later!

-Stephanie 

*Want to be featured? Buy something from us! Turn it into something new! Send us a before, during and after picture! Its as easy as that folks!

**Know someone that has a barn, attic, basement, chicken coop, secret room, garage, or any other space filled with stuff that needs to be picked over? Get atcha girl!! PoorGirlPicker@gmail.com and we can talk about what you got, what I want, and maybe drink some ginger ale!

***Check out my Etsy page to see what kinds of cool things I have in store for ya! PGP Etsy Shop