Beautiful Weddings On A Budget

It all begins with...LOVE!!!

Every girls dream is having a beautiful wedding. Do you realize you can have a beautiful wedding without spending your life's savings.

You can do this by implementing some of the savings tips I'm planning on telling you about in the next weeks and months in Wedding Wednesday. I'll share with you the things I've learned this past year while planning our daughters' weddings. (...by the way did I tell you these weddings were a month apart!)

First things first....
~take a note pad or note book
~sit down with your daughter or the young couple and discuss things about the wedding. What are their hopes or dreams for their wedding day and come up with a budget.
~be organized and keep a notebook and ring binder with all your information are two crucial things.

Once the wedding date has been set a few things that need to be done first are....
~booking a location for the wedding,
~officiant and photographer
....especially if your wedding will take place in the peak wedding season (summer).

Savings in this area would be to have an off peak season wedding or mid-week wedding. By doing this you can get cheaper rates on many things. Our one daughter had a Tuesday wedding and received some of these discounts. If you're planning a honeymoon that requires flying, leaving on a Tuesday and Wednesday are usually discounted as well.

...now you can move on to other things like.......


~decorations
~food and beverages
~formal wedding wear
~music
~flowers
~favors
~wedding planner or coordinator

Happy Planning!

I'm linking this post to Work-For-Me-Wednesday @http://www.wearethatfamily.com/

Coastal Inspired Family Room

Our family loves the coast and it's one of our favorite places to go for family vacations. We've decided to take a little of the coast to our home by creating a coastal corner in our family room. We started with low cost artwork created by using photos from our visits...





...added thrifty curtain tiebacks by gluing starfish to jute twine...

...and added the finishing touches with this candle scape I made using shells we've collected.
The opposite corner features a treasured gift from a dear friend that died from breast cancer.


I'm linking this post to

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Simplicity ~Link up party
Someday Crafts

Frugal Lamp Find at Goodwill

Do you love to purchase things "secondhand" @ thrift stores, garage sales, consignment and antique shops? Do you experience the adrenalin rush when you find a great buy in the hunt? I do, and I just had that experience this week. Look at what I found at my local Goodwill store.


Isn't she a beauty! brand new never been used...for a mere $12.99. I found the perfect drum shade @ Ross for $2.99, making the total cost $15.98. Looking on line I found similar lamps for $214 ~ $329.95; making my total savings $198 ~ $313.97 shopping second hand. Yea!

I have great plans for doing a makeover in our bedroom. This lamp will fit perfect with the coastal theme I'm planning. I'll be sharing that with you in the near future. In the mean time, I'll keep collecting my great finds.

Tip of the day :
~Remember when shopping @ secondhand and thrift stores; be flexible keeping your eye out for things you will be using now or in the future. Another big thing to remember is: if you like it take it now for tomorrow it may be gone.



I'm linking this post to ~

Weddings on a Budget

I'm so excited to share an announcement with you! I've decided to start a weekly series Wedding Wednesday.

As many of you know weddings are a lot of fun, but also involve a lot of work and money. This series will show you how to put together a lovely but frugal wedding on a budget.

I'll share with you some of the tutorials, DIY's and helpful tips that I learned while planning our daughters' weddings. This past year was a very exciting year for us as we had two daughters get married exactly one month apart.
Join me next Wednesday March 31 when my series will begin.

Vintage Sewing Cabinet Makeover

I had the privilege of inheriting the sewing machine cabinet that belonged to my husband's grandmother. It came to me in very poor condition: veneer scratched and chipped and the pulls were very tarnished. Knowing it would make a great functional piece of furniture in my sewing/craft room, I went to work on refurbishing it.

The first thing it needed was a soap and water scrubbing followed by a good sanding and 3 coats of white paint. The next on the list was sprucing up the pulls. I scrubbed them thoroughly and added 2 coats of black spray paint. Now I have plenty of room to sew with it's two fold out leaves.

It looks lovely with my newly covered sewing machine. I'll explain in a future post how to make the DIY sewing machine cover.

I'm linking this with White Wednesday @
http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/

Pottery Barn Inspired Pillow

Looking through a Pottery Barn magazine recently I became inspired.... see the nest pillow sitting on the coach in the magazine photo below.
$49 not being in our budget...a DIY version was a better option for me....

.....starting with $1 white clearance fabric
....tea dye was added to obtain the cream color I wanted (this step can be eliminated if you have the fabric color you like to start with).


...after letting the fabric dry you'll need some waxed freezer paper.


Cut a piece of fabric and freezer paper just slightly smaller than a sheet of your printer paper 8 1/2" X 11". Iron the fabric to the waxed side of the freezer paper.


....adding a little tape @ the top and bottom of the fabric making sure it will not slip while printing.



Print your image onto the fabric, making sure the fabric side is facing down when running it through your printer.(previously I created my text and added a free clip art nest).


....peel the waxed freezer paper off of the fabric....
...add fusible web to the fabric and adhere it to your pillow fabric.
Bring out your sewing machine and zigzag stitching around edges followed by sewing the side seams of the pillow.

....stuff the pillow with batting...and sew the opening shut.
....I made two of these pillows @ a low cost of $1.99 for two pillows :)




...now you can sit back and enjoy your work :)



I'm linking this post to...

Thrifty Thursday @ Bloggeritaville
Tools are for Women Too

Closet Organizing

Sprucing up for Spring means organizing closets. With winters long dark months it seems like closets turn into unorganized messes. (Sorry but somehow my before photos got deleted off my camera.)

Here are a few notes on what I did....








Have a great day!


I'm linking this post to ...