One man's trash is another {wo}man's treasure...

I've been doing all kinds of little home projects over the past few weeks! I was ready for a few fresh new looks around the place. Hopefully you will be able to see how CHEAPLY you can do little updates here & there at your own home!

Remember this picture from a few weeks ago? Well about 4 cans of spray paint later...I have something to show for my numerous painting sessions during the heat of the day. Even my mailman told me I was crazy for being out there!

 

First, that lovely gold sunburst frame... My mom found it in a shed she was helping to clean out for a church mission day. I painted it & added this cute button "S" in the middle. Read about the sweet sentimental value of those buttons here at my sweet mom's blog.

 Sunburst: Free

1 can of spray paint: ~2.00

"S": Free to me...a sweet treat from my momma :) They only cost a few dollars at a craft store.

Buttons: Free!

=a fabulous $2.00 update to our bedroom wall.

Next to our little entry table area....

Sorry for this picture, but it's the only one I could find at the moment...this is what this area used to look like {or at least what it looked like a few christmas' ago! :)} Above it hung one of my bridal portraits {which I love, but it was time to replace with more current family pictures...it now lives in the hallway}, and two sconces.

 

NOW....it looks like this!

 When our dear friends the Trices were moving, Pam was getting rid of these frames. Then they were some lovely shades of pinks, yellows & greens. I painted them & put in the pictures we received from Brooke Ogilvie when we had our pictures taken. The frames had mats that were the wrong size for my pictures & were a little dirty, so I painted them with craft paint & put our pictures on top. It actually gave it a cool linen finish background & I was proud when David asked me last night if I had them professionally framed! Yeah...mission accomplished!

So again...a project for just the price of the spray paint!

Entry Hall wall: 

{I don't have a before picture...it has been several different things during the time we have lived here. Two different mirrors have been here, but just didn't seem to work, and most recently I had another little grouping, but it just wasn't working either.} But thanks to my mom & her amazing grouping skills it now looks like this:

 

 I had all the pieces or had gotten them for free...like this piece I got at the Swap Party I hosted back in the winter. Again, a little spray paint {spray paint has been my BFF lately, if you hadn't picked up on that! :)}... and voila!{after seen on the far left of above picture}

 

 And the last project I will share for today...

{there are a few more, but I don't have pictures of them, maybe I'll get around to that!}

 I had painted this canvas {that i've had since college!} a few years ago & put the damask wall decals on it, but I never loved it. When I saw this tutorial on The Pleated Poppy a while back, I knew it would be a better solution! Although I like hers a bit better...my version works perfectly for the space.

Before...sorry for another Christmas picture! :)

And now....

{aren't these two gals CUTE posing in front of it??}

This one was the best yet....FREE! I used a canvas & paint that I already had!! 

I actually used leftover paint from my entry way, living room & a FREE quart I had received from Sherwin-Williams.

Hope you enjoyed & can see that a homey-home doesn't have to cost big bucks!!

ALL of the changes only cost me about $8.00...the cost of my beloved cans of spray paint!

The week is here! {And a little holiday wreath tutorial!!}

I cannot believe it's the week of CHRISTMAS!

I hope everyone has a very happy & joyful week as you begin {or continue, if you're like us!} your Christmas celebrations!

 

I am embarrassed to say that I just took down my fall wreath last night, and finally hung this little beauty!

I've had plans to make it since LAST Christmas when I found these adorable little sweater-knit holly leaves & glittered Merry Christmas metal sign on a 1/2 off table.

This was an easy project...no gluing, sewing, wiring, or painting involved. Only tying & wrapping!

Here are four easy steps!

1. Buy your supplies: A wreath form {I used one the straw kinds because I couldn't find a rounded Styrofoam one in the size I wanted}, yarn in the color of your choice, ribbon to hang, embellishments {or not...you could do different colors of yarn & make a fun striped pattern!}.

2. Start wrapping! {warning: this part does take some time, but is the perfect thing to do with a cup of hot chocolate & a fun Christmas movie!} I began by wrapping the yarn around once & tying a knot. I did "messy" wrapping so that I didn't have to worry about trying to line it up perfectly. I have made another yarn wreath {seen here}, and did try for perfection...it made it much more difficult & time consuming! Wrap the whole wreath.

3. Add your embellishments {I held them on by the wire stem/hangers & wrapped my yarn around until I covered up the part I didn't want to be seen & felt like it was secure. You could use a little hot glue at this point if your add-ons need a little more securing!

4. Tie on your ribbon & hang!

Ta-da! That's it...easy as pie! :)

Have a happy Monday & look for more posts soon about our first two out of three Christmas'!

Happy's Home Makeover

Emma & I made a quick trip to East Texas to help David's mom {Happy, as Emma knows her!} pull off a weekend "while you were out" makeover on her living room & entry hall before Thanksgiving. David & his dad were away hunting, so it was the perfect time to put our plan into action. 

We had to be very creative in working around the paneling, deer, and limited ways of arranging furniture. I wish you could tell from the pictures how much BIGGER the room looked after we moved the {extremely heavy!} piano out, moved the TV, and switched up the furniture placement.

We didn't have time to completely finish hanging things on the walls & moving a few things around, but you can get the picture.

Here is my favorite part of the room.
{Sorry the picture is a little blurry!}

Here's a great temporary decorating tip!
If you have an area on a wall, or behind shelves that needs a pop of color or design, but you can't {or don't want to paint} here's a great solution!

*buy some fabric & liquid starch

*dip the fabric in the starch & ring it out

*place on the wall & smooth it out with some kind of straight edge or ruler

And there you have it! A great solution to help give a little pop...but when you are ready for something different, simply pull it off & you are back where you started!

Party Planning...on a budget

 After Emma's birthday party, I promised a post about how I saved some pennies for her party. Hopefully it will  inspire some of you...you can do a fabulous party without breaking the bank.

Here are my top three money saving tips.

Tip #1

Decide early what your theme is & PLAN AHEAD!

Once you decided what direction you are going you can always be on the hunt for things that will work.

This helps spread the cost out over several months AND gives you time to search sales & use coupons.

Tip #2

Search the Sales & Dollar Bins.

Sales:

Searching the sale aisles after holidays can save you big bucks later on. For Emma's party I found pink plates on sale for less than $1 after Valentines Day. At that point I hadn't decided on the theme, but knew that hot pink could definitely be worked in. 

I plan on going to Target after Halloween this year & trying to grab a great black cupcake stand that they have. It is cute black wire stand that would be great for any party or holiday...and it would be at least 40-50% off.

Craft stores have great weekly sales & coupons. Start watching their sale circulars for items you might want. Sometimes you have to start watching early, because certain items might only be put on sale once a month or even less often that that. 

For example...ribbon can make a big impact. Hobby Lobby often puts theirs on sale for 1/2 price. I bought plain pink, green & brown grosgrain ribbon in different widths for Emma's party, and put it to good use, spending only 1/2 the money! Most of them frequently run 40 or 50% off one item coupons every week or two. These are great for bigger items, or items that you don't see on sale. Once again, this requires you to plan ahead!

Dollar Bins:

Target, Michaels & even Wal-Mart have great items for only $1. Yes, many of the things in the bins can look cheap or junky, but others can be great additions for your party.

Here are a few surprising things I found for Emma's party that were only $1. 

Wal-Mart has some great party stuff for $1 in basic bright colors.

Tissue paper

Favor boxes. 

I LOVE these & plan to use them again. I added some 1/2 price ribbon & a little bird tag {that I made & printed myself} to jazz it up a bit. I believe it was a package of 8 boxes for $1.

Green straws from Michales for $1

Pink bowl from Target for $1

Tip #3

Use Fabric & Scrapbook Paper

I bought about 5 fat quarters and used just about every square inch! 

{If you don't know what a fat quarter is...there is a good description here.}

You can find them in any fabric or craft store, and even Wal-Mart has started carrying them in their craft department. They normally run around $1-2.50, depending on where you are. If you find a fabric you want but don't see a fat quarter, you can ask them to cut one for you.  

Scrapbook paper has lots of uses other than for a scrapbook! I bought only 3 pieces for Emma's party, but they made a pretty big impact. I even hit the jackpot & found paper that matched the fabric I was using. They go on sale often, and can be used so many ways.

Here are a few ways I used my fabric & paper:

 Sewed & stuff birds to hang above the table

A fabric Happy Birthday banner {that can be used for years to come!}

{I also put to use some of that 1/2 price ribbon!}

 A party hat {paper with a fabric ruffle sewed on} & a mini fabric bunting banner around the high chair.

 More mini buntings around the table & cake. I put scrapbook paper under the cake stands.

 Once again, more fabric bunting. I used more of the paper to cover two tins that I had in my kitchen that tea bags had come in. I filled them with some crinkle paper I had in my gift wrapping box & stuck the little signs in them. What a big impact for only about 25 cents!

Hopefully you got some new ideas! Let me know if you have any other questions, or visit Snowbird Design with help on your paper & print needs!!

Favorite Things Friday

Remember that time I said I was going to try to start doing FTF on the first Friday of every month...really what I meant was ever other month! ;)

In all honesty I sat down to do it last month, but just really wasn't coming up with anything. If it wasn't exciting to me-I figured you wouldn't really care about it either! 

Here are two of my resent obsessions for ya...

I haven't ever really liked cupcakes. I find them hard & messy to eat, and I've probably only attempted to make them 1 or 2 times. Crazy, I know!

The hard & messy to eat bit hasn't changed. But when they are this good...I could care less about how much yummy icing I get on my face or fingers!

When I was in Austin for the annual girls weekend, we stopped by Hey Cupcake! to get a few treats to share. Now I'm wishing we had forgotten about the sharing part and gotten four of those babies EACH, instead for the group of seven to split! They were delicious. That's that started this cupcake madness!

Then a few weeks ago Emma & I went to Dallas to eat lunch with David & just happened to be down the street from Sprinkles. I'd always heard about the goodness & just couldn't pass up the opportunity. Oh. My! I got four different flavors, none of which disappointed. David, being the non-sweet eater that he is, tasted about a 1/4 of one & agreed that it was quite delicious, but was able to stop there. Who does that!? So guess who ate the other 3 & 3/4 of the cupcakes within the next 24 hours? Yep, you guessed it! Yours truly...and I never looked back!

Now, I can't stop thinking about cupcakes. They are so cute, and can be oh-so-yummy! There are just too many options out there, the papers, the toppers, the icing, the sprinkles...even the shows! Food Network's Cupcake Wars has even reeled me in.
What ever am I going to do!?

On to obsession #2:

My sewing machine & I have been big buddies lately.
In the past week I made my first pillow case dress for Emma, embellished a shirt to go with some cute leggings I found at Gap for $2, and finished another cute little dress for my girl.

I have also been stitching away at a few goodies for Miss Priss' first BIRTHDAY party...which is right around the corner. Here are few little sneak peaks at what's ahead! :)
I can hardly wait for the party...even though I CAN wait for my girl to be a year old...I really can't believe it's almost here! {Even though she is constantly proving to me that she is not a baby anymore!}

Kitchen Towel Makeover

I found these adorable recipe cards a few weeks back & decided to jazz up a plain kitchen towel, put them together, and make a fun & personal little gift!

I dug through my fabrics and found a few that would work perfectly!
I cut a {long} strip of each using my handy-dandy rotary cutter.

Then I stitched a small hem around them all.
{I forgot to take pictures of the next steps & in the meantime burned my leg on the iron. Yes, my leg. I was being really smart and had in on the floor. No, Emma was not awake-I am smarter than that at least!!}

I pleated each strip, pinning & ironing as I went. I wasn't extremely precise. I just eye-balled it & used the pattern on my fabrics as a guided instead of measuring. It was the first time I had pleated anything & just figured it out as I went. I'm sure there are probably lots of good tutorials out there though!

Next, I sewed each strip on the bottom of the towel at different levels.

I sewed on a little ric rac to the top of the pleats that showed.

Last I made a fabric yo-yo out of one of the fabrics, sewed on an old button & added that for a little extra pizazz!
The finished product:
I tied up the towel & cards...what a fun little treat waiting for a guest! :)

I can't wait to make more & try out something different!

curb appeal

So, I didn't spend thousands of dollars like on HGTV's Curb Appeal, but I am still extremely excited & pleased with the makeover my yard received this weekend!

My sweet & wonderful mom came & we not only tackled the front, but also the back yard in order to spruce things up a bit. We were able to accomplish so much more than I ever dreamed possible! I would not have been possible without her help {and the wonderful cooperation by a sweet baby!}.
I am so excited & proud of how much better it looks!

The front:
Oh, it looked so bad!

Ta-Daaa!
SO much better!

I LOVE my new big green planter by the door.
We moved one of our chairs around from the back, it gives the perfect touch {and a nice new place to sit}!
Mom has such a green thumb and is so talented at putting things together & knowing what will look good & work. I'm having so much fun learning from her!
My mailbox even has a new little flower bed around it!

On to the back yard...oh, the poor poor back yard!
Our dogs have completely destroyed it! A year or two ago, David & my dad put in this nice fence around the porch so we could at least have part of the yard dog free. We really haven't touched it since, and it is in bad need to help!

Saturday, mom & I put in two flower beds across the back. She brought me some honeysuckle from her yard, and hopefully before long it will cover the fence & hide the messy yard behind!
We also transferred some of my pretty violets from the front yard, and before long they will be growing as well. I will have to post more pictures once things are growing!

We did a lot of work on the porch, as well. Somehow I forgot to get pictures of that. I will try to post those later, too!

Thank you SO MUCH, mom for all your hard work & help. I couldn't have done it without you! Emma & I had so much fun having you here!

Spring Project #2

I had a productive craft day yesterday!

First, I finally finished my spring wreath.
AND I sewed a sweet liner for Emma's Easter basket!

I love these pottery barn baskets, but thought surely there was a way I could do my own look for less! And that is just what I did!

First I visited my all-time favorite fabric store in Fort Worth. {Cabbage Rose}
I picked out these adorable fabrics.

Then, I found this plain basket from Michaels. It was 40% off!
{It had a not-so-cute lining in it that I ripped apart & used for a pattern. That was a great time saver for me!}

Finally, a little sewing & here is the finished product!
Soon I will post pictures of it filled with Emma's Easter goodies. I can't wait for next year to see her carting it around & filling it with eggs!

Fun & Fresh

I gave you a little sneak peek a while back of a project I've been working on & you probably thought I forgot all about it!!
Well, I FINALLY finished it last night!

I found this cute & easy wreath tutorial & decided it would be a fun & fresh look for my front door.And it is just that! Overall, I'm pleased with how it turned out {as long as you don't look too close!}. What do you think? It was a fun & easy project, although I thought I would never finish wrapping it with the yarn!

Next, I'm thinking this would be a fun look to try!