Five Tips to Save on Home DIY Projects

Something about me you should know, I like being thrifty and finding a good sale.  Through the years I have found a few ways to be able to save money on all of those home projects.  Whether it be for smaller decor items or bigger ticket items, there are ways to save some pennies.  Check out a few below and some project ideas too!

1. Paint - One of the easiest ways to change up your spaces in your home.  When we moved in we had to paint pretty much every inch of our house, in and out.  All of that paint really starts to add up.  There are ways to find paint very inexpensively.  Depending on your project you may not be that set on a certain shade or, if you are really patient you might just luck out.  My favorite place to check out every time I visit Lowes or Home Depot is the Oops paint section.  Usually its a little shelf nearby the paint mixing area.  Gallons go for $5 and quart for $2.50 (usually).  I painted the inside of our walk-in closet and our laundry room floor with paint I found on the oops shelf!  I have also painted several pieces of furniture with oops paint as well.  Like I said, I check every time and if its something I like I usually grab it...you never know! Another great place to check for discounted paint is the Habitat Restore, another place for finding paint for those furniture projects!

2. Fabric - I mentioned this earlier this week when talking about recovering our ottoman, but I get creative when searching for fabrics for different home projects.  Fabric from the fabric store can often add up if you need a lot for a project.  So, I'm always on the look-out for discount fabric items I can re-purpose into something.  I'm talking about shower curtains, sheets, table cloths - anything.  Target is a great place to look for these kind of items in the clearance section (usually the aisle end caps).  This is another thing I often check when I have the time.  Also, don't throw away any of your scraps.  I have used fabric scraps for jewelry, wreaths and garlands.  I never waste a inch.

3. Repurpose - Lots of times you have things already in your house you can repurpose into something new.  Anything from gift bags and paint chips turned to artwork to chop sticks and washers into a fun mirror accent - you never know.  What items are lurking around your home that could be reused and made into something cool?

4. Get Thrifty & Creative - You don't have to be a thrift store pro to find a good piece to redo.  I don't have time to constantly check craigslist, go to yard sales every week or even to thrift stores every week.  But, if I'm on the hunt for a certain thing I will always check these places first.  You never know what you might be able to find.  Every so often I will pop into our local restore and just check out what they have.  I have found some awesome deals, especially when they have marked down an item.  After an item has been in their store for over 30 days it gets drastically reduced.  Restore is also a great place to find doors and old wooden chairs.  Two things I love.  A cabinet door plus some chalkboard paint can become a really cute project at almost nothing - thrifty and creative!  And, don't forget free things like pallets!  We have made chalkboard signs out of pallet wood and recently repurposed one into a shelf.

5. Be Patient - This one is hard I know! But, just taking some time to research prices and wait for sales is huge.  Also being patient will allow you to really figure out what you need.  Sometimes we can be drawn to something but realize later its just not going to work.  Being patient helps weed out those impulse purchases.

Those are just some of the ways we have saved on diy projects around our home.  Do you have any more ideas?  Share with me!

An Easy DIY Reindeer Silhouette

Am I the only one who wishes the rain was snow?....thought so.  But the rain is a beautiful reminder of God's grace, it falls on the righteous and unrighteous and no one really deserves it, but God provides even so.  Its always something we usually take for granted and complain about when it ruins our plans but what a simple yet complex way for God to continuously reveal Himself through his creation.  And since its raining, its a great time to write a blog post, think about God and make reindeer silhouettes.  It all goes together somehow in my head, so let's make a reindeer...

I had so much fun making this little guy.  I don't know if I haven't really sat down and made something from scratch in a while or what but it was enjoyable.  I made this in under an hour and with things I already had.  That's always my favorite kind of craft anyway.  Using items on hand forces you to think a little bit more creatively.  Here are the supplies I used:

- an embroidery hoop (you can find these in any craft store and they are inexpensive)
- felt
-paper
-fabric (I used an old sheet)
-pencil, sharpie and scissors
- hot glue

To start off this project you need a reindeer template.  I decided to just free hand draw a simple silhouette to use.  But, if the thought of free hand drawing freaks you out then calm down, take a deep breath, I have some great news - you can find many places online that offer free printables you can use like here or here!  Bloggers are awesome like that.  Thank you awesome bloggers!  After you have your deer template ready you just need to trace it on your felt, I used a sharpie because it was just easier that way and then finally cut it out.  Simple!

Now its time to get the embroidery hoop ready for your awesomely easy ready to go reindeer.

You don't have to sew things to have available fabric to use for this.  I couldn't find anything I liked in my stash so I opted to use an old sheet I really didn't use anymore.  I've used sheets, tablecloths, shower curtains, t shirts...you get the point.  Fabric is everywhere in your house and if its not being used on a regular basis then its fair game for me to cut up.  So, I cut out a piece the right size, pulled it tight around the hoop frame and trimmed off some of the excess.  Then just for a nice clean and neat finish, add a little hot glue to the hoop backside and fold over the fabric ends to finish the back.

Now all that is left is hot glueing your sweet little deer right onto your fabric hoop.  Done.

You can make this!  I know it!

And then you can admire your reindeer from near or from afar.

I used one of those removable hanging strips to secure him to the wall since I'm feeling he is more of a festive Christmas deer that will be up only during this the holidays...although I'm kind of growing an attachment to him so I'm either going to have to make a new replacement or just keep him.  We shall see.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day...whether its rain, snow, ice or shine!

Spring Wreath DIY

I always love this time of year.  Things start warming up, the days start getting longer, you see little buds and blooms pop up, the grass turns greener, the air is fresh - its just wonderful.  Then the pollen comes and the humidity is quick to follow...but we won't talk about that.  Today is all about feeling springy and cheery.  I have a little wreath/embroidery to share with you today.  It meets my three criteria for projects- easy, simple and cheap.  For projects like this, just use what you have already and be creative.  No need to spend a bunch of money on seasonal decor.  I used pretty much leftover supplies from other projects to make this one.

For this project I used:

- Embroidery Hoops  (4"&12")

- Scrap Fabric

- Scrap lace ribbon & felt

- Embroidery Thread

You will also need a hot glue gun and needle

First step is getting your fabric framed inside your small hoop and then you just cut your felt and ribbon to the size you want and lightly hot glue it down to your fabric.  Cut a longer strip of fabric for the bigger hoop and wrap it around the entire hoop.  I used a little hot glue and the beginning and end to secure it.  I kind of love the frayed ends and shabby chic feeling of this so no need to fret over frays or fringe.  This fabric is actually a leftover kitchen towel from my luggage rack redo and the shower curtain I used when we built our fabric ottoman.  Both are from Target in case you are wondering.

Ok, don't let the next part scare you.  I simply stitched a little "happy" into my embroidery.  I was going for a vintage/shabby chic feel so its just a quick free-handed embroidery.  Really, really easy.  I don't sew at all and I can do this - so can you!

I also made a few rosettes out of my scrap fabric/kitchen towel for the larger hoop.  I used the same technique as I did with these felt no sew flowers.  They are super easy to make.  

Finish it off with a little lace ribbon and you are done!  Now my little faux mantel is starting to look all springy and bright.  

This milk glass vase and turquoise ball jar are two of my favorite things.  Now I just need some of our flowers to spring up so I have something to put in them.

Aren't you guys ready for pretty spring days?  What kind of springy projects are you working on?  Share with me!

Have a great Wednesday!

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DIY Fabric Pendants

This weekend we had some yucky weather so we were indoors more than usual - which equaled me needing a new craft to try, but not able to get out to purchase any new craft items (seriously though, I should have plenty of craft items by now).  So I of course went to the best crafting source out there - pinterest, and found an easy and fun project to try.  So lets break out our scrap fabric and make something.

Oh but first, let me share with you our major winter storm of 2013.  We were hoping for snow but received ice instead - Silas had no idea the difference since he's never seen either.  This was a huge deal around these parts.  I know some of my blogging buddies are used to much more wintry weather than this but to us- this was like total lockdown.  Not everyone loves snow, but I do- so this was a little disappointment but we still made it fun nonetheless.   

Silas even made "snowballs" aka ice balls haha.  He had such a blast running around outside through the icy grass, I wonder what he would do in a real snow event.

Ok, back to our crafty project - the fabric pendants.  So like I mentioned earlier, I first found these on pinterest via darling dexter.  After falling in love with them I immediately started to think of how to make something similar.  I wanted to use things I already had and for it to be easy - So here's my tutorial:

Supplies Needed:

- scrap fabric

- cardboard or small balsa wood shapes

- two pendant shaped stencils: one big and one small (I just freehanded mine)

- pencil

-scissors

-glue gun

-ribbon

- needle & thread

Alright, so the first thing you need to do is trace out the shapes you will need. 

*Take your smaller pendant shape stencil and trace on your scrap piece of cardboard - this will be used inside of your pendant.  

*Next, take your larger pendant shaped stencil and trace two shapes on your fabric.  I just flipped over my fabric and used a pencil. 

*Cut out your shapes.

*You also need to cut a small piece of ribbon for the loop for your pendant.

--side note - I found some small balsa wood shapes I just had laying around so I used them as well (they are the circle and rectangle).  But you don't need those to do this project.

Now its time for hot glue!  

*Glue your ribbon ends together to form a loop. 

*Next, lay one of your cut fabric pieces down (pattern side facing down) and layer in the ribbon loop on the top and use a tiny bit of glue to keep it down.  

*Then, use a tiny bit of glue to secure your smaller cardboard piece, followed by a tiny bit of glue to hold together the last fabric piece. 

Now you are ready for a little needle and thread.  Don't worry, this is easy and it doesn't have to be perfect.  I just quickly stitched around my cardboard piece that's inside my fabric pendant.  This really makes it much sturdier and finishes it off nicely.

Now, from here you can totally use a chain you already have to slip it on and off to wear it.  I decided to make a few necklace chains with some supplies I had.  You just need some craft chain, clasps and jump rings (all found at any craft store - even walmart) .  I use wire cutters (to cut my chain), flat nose and round nose pliers to open my jump rings and secure the clasp - its pretty simple.

I love these sweet little fabric pendants and all three took me less than an hour to make - more like 45 minutes.  I love that I used supplies I already owned so there was no money spent to make these - my kind of craft.  I think the possibilities are endless with this, so many variations running through my head!

So any of you guys face the winter storm this weekend?  Do you have any crafty things you are working on?  Share with me!

Having a wonderful week!

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Easy Herringbone Painted Table

I have a fun project to share with you today!  It involves taking something old and dingy and changing it into something new and bright. 

I had this old table that I just couldn't get rid of.  I received it along with several other things from my grandma when she was moving and getting rid of things that she didn't want.  Even though I took this table I have never really liked it.  I never know where to put it and I have not really had a vision for what I wanted it to look like so it usually gets shoved in a corner and hidden away.   I tried to sell this thing, give it away, craigslist - you name it - but nobody wanted it...poor side table.  From far away I guess it doesn't look too bad, but when you look closer you can see that it was gross - scuffed, banged up and flaking...it needed some TLC.

I know this might look complicated, but I promise it was easy and pretty quick.  I have been all about a chevron pattern lately and I love the little tweak on a traditional chevron pattern in the form of herringbone -so that was my inspiration for this little table.  I decided if I couldn't get rid of it then I would embrace it and try to bring back some life into it (and actually enjoy it being in my house).  I have seen lots of herringbone stencil tutorials (or just stencil tutorials in general) and it always seems pretty tedious and time consuming.  This really totally wasn't at all - I promise, I quite enjoyed this project. So here's is little journey and some steps for creating and painting your own herringbone pattern for your furniture.

First thing I had to do was to paint the table white. I painted two light coats of primer and then two coats of white - I used spray paint for all of that.  Then I decided to paint the legs yellow - I used a leftover yellow paint from out laundry room project.  I totally forgot to take pictures of all of those steps but you can imagine it, I have faith in you.

Ok up next is a little tutorial on how to make an easy herringbone pattern.  I didn't pre-measure anything.  I just eyeballed it and adjusted my tape until I liked the way it looked.  Once its all painted its really hard to tell any slight variations in the pattern so it didn't bother me to not measure.  

PS - I used 1" painters tape.

Make sure you have a handy helper like I did - very important, especially if you like to clean up little pieces of tape from all over your kitchen.  

Oh, also make sure you take a minute to press down on all of your tape to esure you have a nice clean paint line.

Here's the sealer I used.  I have never used this kind but its what I already owned so I went for it.  I was so afraid of it yellowing after it dried but it totally didn't.  Just make sure you use light coats.

Best part about this project - it was totally free.  I used supplies I already had on hand that was purchased for previous projects and left over!  I.love.this.table.

Seriously, this was easy.  Now I'm kind of ready to tackle a herringbone wall somewhere....hmmm, I'll keep you posted.

Hope you guys had a wonderful weekend!!!

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