OLD RECIPE CARD ART

I'm glad to finally be back after a bit of break. We made an unexpected and quick trip  to Washington.  We were pleasantly surprised with a suggestion from our church council, to go out to see our children and new grandchild.  We are so thankful for this lovely trip.  We were able to celebrate a belated Christmas with our family, my husband and son's birthday, have breakfast with friends and welcome a new little grand daughter into our lives, all in three days time.

We're so thankful to the Lord for her safe arrival, she is such a precious gift.   We are now the proud grandparents to three lovely granddaughter's.  Lord willing, we looking forward to adding another grandchild into our lives in July.

The only downfall of the trip was that the other two granddaughter's were sick while we were there with bad colds.  Well, guess what I took home with me?  You guessed it.... a cold with a bad cough.   I haven't felt up to much for the past few days, but today I'm feeling like I'm on the upswing and starting to get over it.

I actual got some cleaning done around the house and a small project for my kitchen.  Several years ago my husbands 95 year old grandmother passed away.  After her death the family started sorting through her things.  One of our nephews thought her old recipe box was a treasure and took it and it's recipe cards.  He was to young to understand the sentimental meaning to these recipes and started to scatter them about.  My husband manage to save one of them.  He has had it tucked away in a file for the past years.  I'm also a sentimental person and have enjoyed having items from our grandparents displayed in our home.

I had a piece of Christmas art on our kitchen backslash and removed it while cleaning today.  It left a nail that I wanted to cover up, and thus came my inspiration of some new artwork.

Remembering the old recipe card, I removed it from the file.

HOT COCOA BAR

I had a wonderful and blessed Christmas and I hope you had the same.  It's hard to believe Christmas has already come and gone. Today I thought I'd share my cocoa bar from our Christmas party. We had a large party of twenty five guests for Christmas at our home. I set up a Cocoa bar as part of our beverage serving area. I got very busy with last minute preparations before our guests arrived, so I only got a few photos of the area. They may not be the best photos, but a least you can see what the bar looked like.

You may recognize the snowflake buckets from my Christmas Home Tour.  They are filled with candy canes, peppermint candies and jingle bells.  The counter had snow flakes purchased at the Dollar Store scattered around on top of white quilt batting.

DIY CHRISTMAS CARD DISPLAY

I created a new display for our Christmas cards this year. You may have seen it in my 2013 Christmas Home Tour.  A few years ago, I used a made over shutter to display my cards. It worked out great for that year, but we've been receiving more cards this year and I needed something larger to display our cards on.

Here's what I came up with.

DIY FAUX FUR CHRISTMAS PROJECTS ~ {Fur tree, Fur topped stocking, Fur wreath, & Fur pillow}

In my last post, I said that I would show you how I created my faux fur Christmas projects.

It all started when I made my Faux Fur Tree Skirt, and had left over fabric.  I love the fabric, and really didn't want to waste any of it.  It comes with a price tag of $20 a yard, but I got my yard and a quarter @ 65% off on a Veteran's day sale.  I was able to make quite a few projects with the remnants,

DIY CENTERPIECE FOR A FORMAL DINNER ~ REHEARSAL DINNER

I'm continuing on with my series,  Rehearsal Dinner On a Budget.  In my previous post I shared my DIY Centerpiece Burlap Cake.  Today I'll be showing you a very simple centerpiece, that I used as centerpieces on the tables at the rehearsal dinner.  If you need a centerpiece for thanksgiving, Christmas, a bridal shower or wedding.  This centerpiece could work for you.   The possibilities for where to use it are endless.

The great thing about this centerpiece is how fast and easy it is to make, along with being  inexpensive yet  elegant.

The items you will need to make this centerpiece -

WHY THRIFTY PEOPLE SIGN UP FOR SAMPLES

 Today I'd like to welcome Kristen from Joyfully Thriving as my guest blogger.  Thanks Kristen for your help while I'm  busy with moving.

Kristen writes about all things frugal (including free samples) at her website, Joyfully Thriving. A pastor's daughter who now teaches in a parochial school, she is well equipped in the art of thrifty living. Kristen writes to encourage others in their frugal journey so we may all thrive joyfully in the process! 

 There are many thrifty and frugal strategies that one can employ, but my favorite technique is one that anyone can quickly do. What is that, you ask? Request free samples. Take a look at what samples arrive in my mailbox on any given day.

Now, what samples, and where do you find them, and why should you? Let me give you my top five lists of all things relating to samples. Here are my top five reasons for signing up for samples.

1. It’s nice to open my mailbox and receive something other than bills.
2. It doesn’t take long to regularly see the results of my sample requests, as evidenced by my full mailbox.
3. I like getting something for nothing.
4. My travel bag is always lighter thanks to the little shampoo and conditioner samples.
5. The coupons that come (most of the time) with the samples help round out my coupon box. I’m saving money by requesting samples!

I request many samples, but my favorite samples / freebies to request are as follows.

1. Shampoo and conditioner. We all need to wash our hair so these samples will never go to waste.
2. Laundry detergent. Nothing makes laundry easier than knowing you are washing your clothes with free detergent.
3. Deodorant. These samples come in mini containers that are perfect for travel and last for at least a week - perfect for vacation time!
4. Food samples. Why shouldn't we try new foods for free?
5. Magazines. I haven't paid for them in years because free samples / trials abound with no risk and prompt delivery!

In my years of requesting samples, here are the top five things I’ve learned about samples.

1. Always use a junk / spare email account when registering for samples. Most times, you won’t receive email but you don’t want it filling up your main email account.
2. Don’t be disappointed if a specific sample doesn’t come. 9 times out of 10, my samples arrive but I don’t expect them until I see them in my mailbox.
3. Request samples through reputable sites such as Freebies4Mom, Money Saving Mom, or the ones that I post at my site, Joyfully Thriving.
4. Don’t spend lots of time searching for samples. When a good one comes along, sign up quickly and then go on your merry way.
5. Have fun with the little frugal moments as well as the big!

                                     Kristen

DIY METALLIC BAY LEAF TREE

I hope you had a great thanksgiving weekend.   I've been greatly blessed once again over this past year. I'm also thankful for the wonderful day we could spend with our children and grandchildren.

It's hard to believe that thanksgiving is past and Christmas is right around the corner.  While browsing through the Pottery Barn catalog recently, I came across their beautiful Metallic Bay Leaf Christmas Trees.  They have these trees available in gold and silver.  I was really drawn to the silver tree since I plan to decorate with a winter wonderland theme this year.  The trees are $89 to $99 dollars each.  All the silver trees were sold out, but since I'm a real DIY gal, I decided to try and make one my self.

Here's what I did to make my own.

DIY EPSOM SALT ORNAMENTS AND CANDLE

I have some exciting news to share with you today.  Way back in July, Peter from the Epsom Salt Council contacted me in an email.  He explained that he'd seen my Epsom Salt Candle and Ornaments.  He told me that the Epsom Salt Council was going to add a new section to their website: crafts and projects people can make using  Epsom Salt. He was wondering if I minded being featured using my Epsom Salt Ornaments and Candle.  Of course I said "yes," and that it would be an honor to be an addition to their website.  The link  is now up and running just in time for the holidays.

The Epson Salt Ornament and Candle are something that I made back in December 2010.   I thought I'd share it once again since Christmas is fast approaching and some of you are new followers to my blog and may not have read the post.  The DIY candle and ornaments receives the most hits from readers.  Kinda crazy, because it was a craft I just thought up and decided to do on a whim while decorating one afternoon. 

DIY Epsom Salt Ornaments and Candle

I know there's been candles and ornaments
made with Epsom salt floating around blog land for a while now,

DIY CHALKBOARD LABELS

 I hope you all had a great weekend.  As you know, I've been  working on a closet makeover in my office. While working on this I made a little promise to myself.  I'm going to get our home more organized.  Not that it's a total unorganized mess, but it definitely could use some sprucing up.   Thus began the process of sorting, purging and organizing.

As part of the organization process, baskets were added to the closet shelves.   Wanting to know exactly what was in each basket, I add chalkboard labels.

You can buy  ready made labels in stores like Pottery Barn, but they come with a price tag of $8  for a set.   I thought making my own labels would be more budget friendly and a  fun project to try using some chalkboard paint.

Here's is what I did.

LAMP MAKEOVER

The  progress in my office /closet makeover is slow and steadily moving forward.  Today I thought I'd share with you one of the small projects I've done.   I knew I wanted some sort of lighting for the closet since it can be a bit of a dark corner.

 I decided against a lamp that would sit on the desk and take up precious work space.  I reflected back to the inspiration closet/office photo from Jen @ I Heart Organizing.  She used a wall mounted lamp.

At Pottery Barn I found the perfect lamp in an antique nickel finish.  The problem was the price tag it came with of 89 dollars.
Then I remembered an ugly old gold lamp in our attic purchased back in the 80's.  Its lovely pleated shade was dented and falling apart.

The base with a "lovely" gold finish.

OFFICE CLOSET PAINTING {PART 2}

Continuation of the office/closet painting makeover.

Originally I'd thought that I would paint all the walls blue in the closet, but after applying the white primer, I realized that I really liked how bright the white made the room look.  I decided to paint the back wall white and the two side walls the blue color - Lighthouse Shadows by Valspar.

I checked into putting pretty wall paper (allen + roth Sea Breeze Floral Trail wallpaper) on the back wall, but it was to expensive for my budget with a price tag of $59.96 a roll.  We're already spending more in this room than we first had planned by adding new baseboard and trim.  I opted to stencil the wall instead.  In the photos below you can see my test spots.

 The first one I tried was from Jones Design Company  -  a hand painted wallpaper.

The second  is a stencil I found on line at Hobby Lobby.  It was $16.99 but using an online coupon and free shipping made it $10.20.  I ended up choosing the Hobby Lobby stencil even though I liked the painted wall paper.  The thought of painting all the lines by hand seemed very labor and time intense.  Note the white paint over the blue, which was my first thought for the painting project.

In the photos below, you can see the process of painting the stenciled wall using the blue paint over the white.  I followed the instructions and stated at the top of the wall in the center.    To make sure the stencil stayed straight on the wall I used a level and worked across the wall horizontally. I continued this process working  my way down the wall.

Here's how it looks once the side walls were painted and stenciling was completed.

Oh, so much better !

I'm loving how the closet is turning out.  Stay with me; and I'll continue to show you the process for the rest of the closet and room.

DIY FALL DECOR TUTORIAL

 Yesterday I did a post entitled  Fall Decorating Room by Room .  I promised in that post a tutorial.

Budget Friendly Fall Wall Art 

 This is such an easy project that anyone can do it.

 Here's what you'll need for this project.

 1. Two plates

2. Vinyl and a Cricut machine or sticker letters.

3. Wire plate hangers.

I started with two .49 cent thrift store plates.

 My Cricut Expression machine along with some black vinyl.

 I used the machine to cut give thanks. 

 If you don't have a Cricut machine, you could use stickers like I use to create

 my SPRING eggs art.

Simply pick the font and size font you want and cut.

The next step is to adhere them to the plate by simply rubbing them on.

I took down my spring/summer plates and artwork,

and replaced them with the new fall plates and candle holder.

The candle holder was something I had in the closet, that I bought on an after Christmas sale for $3.

The candle is another .49 cent thrift store find.

 In this photo you can see the easy

 Budget Friendly DIY Fall Art hanging on the wall.

Cost run down

Plates - .98 cents

Vinyl - had on hand from another project

Plate hangers - had on hand.

Candle holder - $3

Candle - .49 cents

total cost to make Give Thanks Art  = .98 cents

Total grouping costs = $ 4.47

I'm linking this post to -

DIY Showoff Fall Festive

FALL DECORATING - ROOM BY ROOM

It's hard to believe that we're seeing the end of summer and fall fast approaching.   We didn't feel official summer until after the 4th of July.  The joke around here was that we had June-uary, because of all the cold wet weather.  We are now enjoying beautiful weather, but fall is definitely in the air with the crisp cool nights and a nip in the air most mornings.

That being said, I think it's time to start some fall house cleaning and bringing out my fall decorations.  I'm planning on doing this room by room; and while doing this I'll share the fall decor I've added to each room.

Today I'll begin with the dinning room.  Of course, the decorating is done on a limited budget, but that doesn't mean you can't add a few new things.   For the table decor, I began by placing a garage sale table runner down that I've had for a few years already. I then added a candle stick that my husband made years ago.  I then placed a 49 cent thrift store candle on it and flanked it with two vertical wheat bundles.  The wheat bundles were found at my local thrift store last week for 99 cents each.  I love to know how much I've saved by purchasing second hand items, so I did an on line search for these and I found some similar ones for $ 59.98 each.  That makes for a $119.96 savings and one thrifty find!

View of the dinning area taken from the kitchen.

You may also enjoy seeing my fall decor from previous years.

You'll want to come back and read my next post as I'll be sharing a tutorial -

DIY budget friendly wall art.

Have a great day!

ACCESSORIZING THE KITCHEN ON A LIMITED BUDGET

The fun part of making over a room is adding the accessories.  It's like the frosting on a cake.  In my last post, I shared my kitchen makeover.  Today I'll continue to show you how I accessorized my kitchen on a small budget.  The accent colors I chose were white with touches of yellow.

For me, the process starts several months before the makeover begins.  I create a mood-board with ideas and inspirations.  Pinterest is also a great place to get ideas.  I then begin to watch for items at  garage sales, thrift stores and in the clearance section in stores.

The items above were all purchased while thrift store shopping.  I place the collected items in box, and pull them out as I decorate.

Here's an example of how I use these items.  The canisters I found at Goodwill and the metal coffee wall art was from a garage sale last summer.  The utensil holder is a vase left over from our daughter's wedding.  It was bought 1/2 price at Micheal's.

The napkin holder and napkins were purchased from a garage sale for .25 cents each.  They were both brand new and still in the package!  The napkins I had tucked away in a drawer.  I had forgotten about them, and was excited to find them when I needed a little more yellow as an accent.

The accents above the cabinets were all second hand items with the exception of the little chicks on the left and the plate on the lower right.  I bought the plate at the dollar store a few years ago.  The chicks I bought new at a hardware store (2.99)  to add to my spring decor this year.

 

 Wanting white accents, I took this thrift store chicken and spray painted it white.  Spray paint is a thrifty girl's best friend!

I also shopped the house for things I already had.  My diy  monogram plate worked perfect in the space.  One new purchase for the room was letters spelling out - EAT - purchased, of course, for 1/2 price at Michale's.  A funny little lesson learned - I placed the EAT letters neatly above the cabinets and thought it looked great until my children came home and said "Mom, why do you have a FAT sign in the kitchen?"  I had hadn't noticed that the lip on the cabinet hid the bottom the E and it looked like FAT.  I guess it would be a good reminder for me to stick to my diet, but decided to add a few block to raise it up and spell the word EAT as I had originally planned.

Above the refrigerator, I placed a .49 cent thrift store basket along with my .99 cents lemons.

 A .49 cent thrift store vase and flowers I already had were place on the counter to add just a touch of yellow.

This ceramic pot place in the dinning room is over 30 years old.  I made it before I was married, and it holds the slip of a plant that was given to us when our son died.

Pots line the window seal that were found at a thrift store as well.

The coffee art work I had on the wall by the coffee pot previously.  I hung it above the window, accenting the coffee themed curtains.  This was a  thrift store find some time ago for $4.99.

My daughter gave this metal cup hanger that she found at the dollar store.  I just added the cups from my dish set. Total cost $ free.

New dish towels hang on the oven door.  They were only $1.25 each from Kohl's, using a 30% off coupon on the already 50% off towels.

I made a soap dispenser using a Ball jar my mother gave me.  I used the pump mechanism from an empty soft soap.  I spray painted a metal lid and drilled a whole in the center of the lid.  To keep the pump in place I simply applied a liberal amount of hot glue to hold it in place. 
 Total cost = free!

In the dinning area, I added a couple of plates to my made over shutter.
The plates were bought at TJ Maxx for $2.99 each. 


Here's a break down of the total cost for accessories. 
3 lemons @ .99 = $2.97
wire basket = .49
Faux window plants 2 @ .99 = 1.98

( I saw these plants in the store for $6.99 each!)

small white pot for window plant = .49
Canisters set of 2 for $8.99 
Napkins = .25
Napkin holder = .25
EAT letters $1.25 each = $3.75
Small white vase = .49
Towels 2 @ $1.25 each = $2.50
Plates 2 @ $2.99 = $5.98

Total cost for accessories $28.14

For the total cost of the makeover I needed to add the price of the
Curtains = $4.99 
and
1/2 gallon of paint = $15

Making the total cost of the project 

$48.18

( I did not include in this price things I shopped the house for - using what I had.)

That made for a makeover for under $50 !