Reduce, Reuse...Make That Old Corkboard Fabulous

I love Young House Love. LOVE it. I think John, Sherry, Clara and Burger are just about the cutest family ever. I also love their design aesthetic, their creativity, and how they stretch a buck. They totally inspire me to go through piles at Goodwill to find a diamond in the rough, or head over to Michael's clearance aisle to see what I can do with scrapbook paper, a vase and fake flowers. I had an homage to YHL in the past with my Halloween decor, and I thought I'd share my recent triumph with giving new life to old junk.

I've had a corkboard lying around for years. Literally. It had not been in use since the year after college where it served as a photo holder of the good ol' days (that had just happened 6 months before...). I never got rid of it, thinking I'd be able to find a use for it. After we moved into our house last March, I had an Oprah a-ha moment - the corkboard would be a jewelry display board. Oh yes.

So I took the sample of paint I had from when we painted our bedroom and painted the corkboard within an inch of its life - really, probably about 5 coats. The color is Benjamin Moore's Coventry Gray, if you were curious.

I purchased a box of 40 cup hooks at Home Depot.

And then it continued to sit in our basement until last week. Finally, I decided to get my act together and finish what I barely started.

Project Budget:

Corkboard - FREE and in need of a purpose

Leftover paint from sample - FREE (but I did pay $3 for it when we painted our bedroom)

Box o' hooks - $2.19

Patience from my husband for a project that took months when it should have taken an hour - priceless

TOTAL: $5.19

The finished product:

While I wanted to paint the wood frame white to set it off against our dark blue walls and to match the hooks, I ran out of patience (hey, I'm 39 weeks pregnant). But overall, I'm pretty pleased. My necklaces aren't getting tangled any more and it's doing double duty as a piece of functional wall art.

Anyone else have some fun DIY projects in the works? Can I get a "heck yeah!" for YHL?

Holiday Decorating on the Cheap 2.0

Ah, the holidays have officially arrived! You may remember my Christmas home decor spread from last year that cost me less than $15 dollars. This year, my Martha Stewart/nesting mode is really kicking in - I've decided we're going to get a REAL tree, so that means that I should spend a lot more money on holiday decorations, right? Wrong. Here are some things I'm doing this year to keep my house looking magical but keeping some extra dough in my pocket:

1) Using fruit - I did this last year with cranberries, and I did it this year for my Thanksgiving table scape (yeah, I just threw out the words "table scape"). There are beautiful in-season fruits, like clementine oranges, apples, and pears that are perfect for having around the house. Bonus - you can eat your decorations! Plus, you can pair spices like cloves and cinnamon with your fruit to make wonderfully smelling decor! In elementary school, I used to stick cloves in oranges to make pomanders and give them as gifts. The cloves help to preserve the oranges, too!

My "horn-of-plenty deconstructed" table scape.

2) Repurposing what you have - have some empty frames? Put some pictures of holidays past around your home. You could also make a holiday sign - print out "holiday" words, like "joy"or "snow", put in a frame, place on your mantle and voila - something that costs at least $15 at a store you just made for pennies. You could even frame holiday wrapping paper for a fun holiday piece of art. What about spare vases lying around? Fill it with ornaments and place on your coffee table. How about metallic ribbon? Use it to tie around doorknobs, drape around shelves to make anything look more festive.

My hurricane and apothecary jar stuffed with ornaments

3) Decorate with candy - by going to a drug store or a discount retailer, you can pick up your decorations and stocking stuffers! Candy canes are classic - you can hang them on your tree, or put in a vase or a jar. Fill a hurricane or glass bowl with Hershey kisses - this also works as a snack! And who doesn't like a gingerbread house? Using milk cartons, graham crackers, frosting and candy, you can make a great and traditional holiday decoration!

4) The great outdoors - bringing the outdoors in keeps things really festive and seasonal. In lieu of getting holiday flowers that die within a week or so, try holly. Head to a nursery, get a few sprigs of holly, and put in a vase - it would be a beautiful centerpiece. I mentioned this in my post last year, but hit up Christmas tree farms for spare branches that make excellent table decor. Home Depot keeps a bin in their outdoor department of branches people wanted cut off, or branches that were broken off. You might get a little sap on your hands, but for free decorations, I feel like it's worth it. Hunt around your neighborhood for pinecones and red berries.

5) Using candles - in my opinion, candles make everything better. Simple white tealights or small pillars grouped up on a table look simple, elegant and cheerful. Wrap a ribbon around your candles and they look even more festive.

6) Decorate with cards - I hope you still get holiday cards and letters from family and friends (why people think a "happy holidays" text is acceptable is beyond me). Once you start getting these in the mail, punch holes in them and string them up around your house with ribbon or yarn. Keep them for years to bring back memories of the good people in your life.

7) Get crafty - okay, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not super crafty, but there are some really simple decorations you can make with things likely around your house. Paper snowflakes, paper chains, magazine trees - check out Martha Stewart's great ideas!

With all of these good ideas, I have to get decorating!

How do you all decorate for the holidays? Any ideas for not breaking the bank?

Halloween Decorations on the Cheap

Halloween is just a few weeks away - can you believe it? If you want to make your house festive and not drop a ton of money, I'll let you know what I did with my house this year.

I didn't want a ton of cheesy looking decorations, so I looked to Young House Love for some inspiration. Of course, I am no John and Sherry (they are ah-mazing), but I loved some of the ideas they had...and I stole them.

First, I went to Michael's and found a ton of fall stuff on sale. I got a bag of 6 plastic gourds for $5 and got a can of white glossy spray paint for $5. I spray painted the gourds white, and I'm planning on using them beyond Halloween for the rest of fall and Thanksgiving. Plus, even though I spray painted the crap out of the gourds, I've still got at least 3/4 of a can of spray paint left for other fun projects though. Bummer? I spray painted my walkway...oops. Lesson learned - make sure you have a place to craft that won't make your spouse mad.

Next, I wanted to create a kind of macabre (oh yeah, I just threw out macabre) look for our console table. I picked up a 12 inch apothecary jar (for $7 at 40% off), 5 59-cent fake carnations and a can of black spray paint for $5. I spray painted the carnations black and put them in the apothecary jar for a funeral-y look. Kind of reminds me of the rose in "Beauty and the Beast" - right? I also thought this California condor was totally cool and spooky looking, so I picked him up for $5.

To complete the look, I picked up 12 black tealights at Target for $3.

And nothing says Halloween like candy - pick some up! But if you have a hard time resisting grabbing a handful every time you walk by (or worse, making up excuses of why you have to walk by so you can get your candy on), make sure you only fill the bowl when company's coming so you can have some help eating it.

My total spent on Halloween decorations: $33. Might be a little steep, but when you consider I'll be using the gourds for the next few months AND for another holiday, plus the spray paint can be used for other projects, I think I did pretty well.

Other ways to save on Halloween decorating:

*Use things you already have - candles, black tableclothes, scarves, vases - you'd be surprised at how much you can do with a little creativity and a lot of resourcefulness.

*Try to plan for multipurpose use when purchasing to get a bigger bang for your buck - just like I did with the gourds, think about how you might be able to use the same thing for multiple holidays or occassions. I'm thinking the apothecary jar would look really cool with Christmas ornaments in it. Maybe some silver candlestick holders would look really festive for New Year's Eve but you can put blood red candles in them for Halloween.

*Shop sales - duh. But Michael's is just one of many places having sales on their fall craft items. Look into your store circulars to see what you can get for the lowest price.

What about you all? How do you decorate for the holidays? Any money saving tips?

Holiday Help: Decorating on the Cheap

I know I tend to go a little overboard on my holiday decorating budget, but this year, I definitely tried to create decor on a dime - nay, a nickel!

I think keeping things natural is a good way to go. I love the smell of fir trees, and in lieu of getting a Christmas tree that would 1) die, because we are gone the week before Christmas and 2) would cost at least $40, I went to Home Depot to get some garlands. While I didn't find exactly what I wanted, I did find a pile of branches that had been cut off trees. Bonus - the staff at Home Depot just gave them to me for FREE! I made custom fir decorations for my entry table and my kitchen.

Another natural thing I brought in were fresh cranberries! They were so pretty for Thanksgiving, I wanted them for Christmas. I put them in small votive holders to brighten up my space. One bag at the grocery store cost $2 and filled 8 votive holders.

Other natural things that make easy and beautiful decorations are: pinecones (I've seen some even glazed or spray painted), leaves, oranges or clementines (hint: if you stick cloves in them, they smell ah-mazing), and cinnamon sticks.

Next, I love ornaments. They're so versatile - besides hanging them on the tree, you can put them on your mantle, you can fill a hurricane or a vase, stack them on shelves...so I purchased ornaments from Home Depot for $7. I hung them using some ribbon (which I'll also used to wrap presents) for $4. I also strategically placed them in my fir arrangement and to spruce up an old wreath.

Oh, and of course, the $1 advent calendar from Trader Joe's!

I literally decorated my house for Christmas spending less than $15, repurposing a few things and using a little creativity!

How did you decorate for the holidays? What are some tricks you use to save money on decorating?

Redecorating the Bedroom for $50 or Less!

My dog sleeps on my bed. I know some of you out there are probably rolling your eyes or wondering how I do it. My husband and I were tricked by our dog when she was a puppy, thinking she was so cute and she'd grow out of it. Well, 50 pounds and 3 years later, she still sleeps with us. It is really cute when you wake up and she's sleeping next to you, or when her kisses become your alarm clock on weekends. But she definitely wreaks havoc on our comforter. Black dog + white comforter = bad news. We were in the market for a new comforter but definitely didn't have a couple hundred dollars to spend.

Enter Target. As I was walking up and down the aisles for a garment bag, lo and behold, I found their bedding section. They had solid duvets on sale for $20 all sizes! I picked up a King chocolate brown and a new pillow - voila! A whole new look for my bedroom for under $50! The sale on the duvets ends on Saturday, so if you're in the market for a new comforter, hurry!

My new bed/pillow - cute, right?