Thrifty Finds!

When my husband and I decided that I would stay home from work with our daughter I knew I would have to give up my first love.  Shopping.  Some people have hobbies that include knitting, sports, drag racing (in my husbands case), etc. Mine is shopping.  I get high on spending money. I can't help it, it's genetic, just ask my dad.  So reducing our income meant I had to give up my shopping sprees, $200 jeans, yes I actually spent that much on ONE pair of jeans.  I'm not proud of it, and they don't even fit anymore!  I had to figure out a new way to shop that included spending less money.  I am now proud to admit that I am a true bargain shopper.  Thrift stores now excite me and me at a garage sale is like a kid in a candy store!  So on my most recent shopping trip with a friend, she bought some killer jean shorts that I was salivating over.  The damage, $40.  No way was I going to spend that on one item.  So the next day I headed out to my local Goodwill store and came home with a pair of Gap jeans for $5.89.  Then I got to work...

Here is the inspiration pair of shorts from American Eagle

Here are the jeans I bought. Cute jeans, but they were high waters on me!

Hello Toe!

First put the jeans on and mark where you would like them to hit on your leg.  I'm cuffing these so I marked where I would like the bottom of the cuff.

Next gather some supplies.  You will need a razor blade, scissors, tweezers and an old magazine.  Cut straight across the mark on the jeans to cut the leg off...

Next decide where you would like the distressing. Insert the old magazine into the pant leg so you don't damage both sides of the jeans.  Then use your razor blade edge moving it up and down with the grain of the jean.  You don't want to cut through the jean, just break down the fabric.

Then use the tweezers to pull out the BLUE thread. This will reveal the white thread to give you the distressed look without leaving an actual hole in the jean.

 I added distressing to both legs and one on the back pocket.  You can also use your razor blade on the pocket edges and zipper edge of the jean to make a more worn look.  Just run the blade back and forth until you get the desired look and fraying.

Next you will need to wash and dry the shorts. This will make the parts you distressed open up a bit to reveal more of the white thread. Roll up the bottoms to create a cuff.

 And your done!  You now have an expensive looking pair of distressed shorts for less than 6 bucks! 

Look how excited I am in my new shorts!  HOLA!!  

Your husbands will thank you and praise you for your bargain hunting skills and your girlfriends will never know you went Goodwill hunting, unless you want to share your mad skills with them!