We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
This post is sponsored by Goodwill. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I had the opportunity to attend a fun upcycling event hosted by Goodwill. We visited a couple Goodwill stores and some of the Downtown Sumner Merchants, if you haven’t been to Sumner, WA recently, you need to visit. It’s such a cute town with so many great shops and restaurants. Our first stop was a Goodwill store where we had to opportunity to find an item that we could use to upcycle into a planter.
We all were paired up with a professional upcycler. I was paired with the owner of Tarnish & Grace Vintage. She was so much fun! She found me THE BEST container for my project! It’s a wire mesh container with 3 different compartments. It’s exactly my style and it was only $4.99! This items retails at World Market for $29.99 right now. I scored a major deal by shopping at Goodwill!
Next up, we headed down to the Goodwill Blue Boutique in downtown Sumner. The Blue Boutique is an upscale Goodwill. They carry designer clothing, jewelry, shoes, purses, accessories and home items.
Most of the items they sell are gently used, but I even found some items that still had new tags on them. I found Hunter boots, Coach and Dooney & Bourke purses, brand-new Athleta clothing and more.
Once we finished our shopping at the Blue Boutique we stopped by Junker’s Nest where the owners showed us how to put together a fun display by using antiques, found items and even things we may already have around our home.
This Junker’s Nest shop was the cutest! There are so many wonderful things to look at, I could easily spend an hour in the store looking around every nook and cranny. I plan on visiting again soon since I have an entire new family room to decorate.
Next, our tour took us to Inta Vintage. This is a huge store filled with antiques, vintage items, home decor and more. Inta Vintage rents booths to crafters, upcyclers and antique sellers so you will find something for everyone. This store is a treasure hunters dream, so many amazing things! Check out the upcoming classes and events at Inta Vintage on their Facebook page.
We learned so many different ways we could upcycle items that can be found at Goodwill. I came home inspired! In fact, I even stopped at my local Goodwill on my way home to see if I could find a piece of furniture or a cool frame so I could tackle a project myself. Here’s a peek at some of the fun projects the retailers at Inta Vintage shared with us.
We got to see some finished projects of newly painted and upholstered chairs. I loved the finish on the black chair, it was so pretty!
I love how she was able to take an inexpensive table from Goodwill and turn it into a gorgeous work of art.
This table blew me away! It is so gorgeous in person. There was so much time and love that went into refinishing this table. This was one of my favorite pieces and the price was great too. If you are in need of a new dining room table run down to Inta Vintage in Sumner and grab this one!
Here is my upcyclers booth at Inta Vintage, she sells decor, jewelry, clothing and accessories.
This mother and daughter duo showed us how they took an old headboard and turned it into a coffee or cocoa station. So cute and creative!
I loved their booth! They had some really clever artwork using molding and trim as the background. Seriously, so cool!
We received lots of tips on painting furniture and nearly everyone said they keep a container of Clorox wipes near to clean up messes or mistakes. I’m putting this tip to use for sure!
There are so many different options for paint when it comes to refinishing furniture.
I love how she took frames she found at Goodwill and turned them into chalkboards! This sounds like a project I could tackle.
I love how she shops! She buys many of the items for her projects at the Goodwill Outlet. I wasn’t even aware there was a Goodwill Outlet.
Once we were done checking out the shops we headed to Van Lierop Garden Market so we could choose the plants for our planters. I LOVE THIS PLACE!!
OK, confession time…owning a store like this has always been a dream of mine! I’d love to own a nursery with a cute gift shop attached to it. It would be so fun to work side by side with my family. I love this place, not only for how cute it is, but because they are living my dream.
My finished planter turned out beautiful! I love it so much. I have to share some of the fun planters that others made. It’s so cool, how you can take an everyday average object and turn it into something beautiful. The folks at Van Lierop are amazing at what they do.
It’s so fun to see the different options everyone came up with for their planters.
We were treated to a lunch at Sorci’s Italian Cafe and Enotica. The food here was so good. I am already planning a date with my husband where we stroll the streets of Sumner, look at the fun shops and finish it up with dinner and dessert at Sorci’s.
Lastly, after lunch we got to hear three very inspiring stories of ladies that went through the programs at Goodwill in order to give them training for their current jobs. They were all at a low place in their lives when they came to Goodwill. I am so impressed by their determination to make things better for them and their families. So inspiring!
I loved all of their stories, but I especially loved hearing how Yulie is now the pastry chef at El Gaucho. How cool is that?
I came away from the day feeling so inspired! I felt inspired by all the great things Goodwill does to help members of our communities. I felt inspired by all the creative people we met and by my fellow bloggers. It really was nice to get out from behind my computer and explore downtown Sumner. Seriously, if you are a local, make a plan to get down there for a day. Everyone is so friendly! The restaurant owner raved about their town so much I was almost ready to move to Sumner.
I would love to hear about any projects you have made by using items you’ve found at Goodwill. I plan on stalking Goodwill on a regular basis now, so hopefully I will have some projects to share in the future.
juli cannon says
What a nice article! Thanks for including a bit about Junker’s Nest.
Vintage Home Sweet Home says
Vintage Home Sweet Home doing business in the Sumner store at Inta Vintage sooo appreciates all of the detail in this article. You covered a lot of base. Showing Harvey’s before and after reupholstery project and my “artwork table” is what we truly wanted people to see! They can accomplish wonders and change out a new look throughout their home. Upcycled items from the Goodwill gives a piece another new life to live and serve to a new person/or family. Thanks again for the inspiring blog.
Deanna, Tarnish & Grace says
What a great day! I enjoyed spending the day with you and so happy you are thrilled with your planter! George and the Goodwill crew made the day an enriching experience for all. We moved from Sammamish to Sumner 4 years ago and love the charm of this small town and all it has to offer. Let me know when you plan a shopping day, I’d love to chat with you again!