I bought a few garage sale picture frames for $.25-.50 a piece last month. I finally had time to paint them last week. I am so excited to finally get our apartment decorated.
I started by washing the frames & roughing them up with sand paper so that the paint would stick better. I then put a light layer of black paint on the frames. I purposely left spots unpainted (not big spots, just a few streaks from the brush strokes).
I then used 220 sand paper to complete the distressed look. I focused on the edges to help highlight the detail in the frames. After wiping the dust from the frames, I used a rag (actually an old sock) & a polyurethane finish to stain the frames. This gave the frames a glossy, finished look.
Yeah for cheap decorations!
I love creating things. The only problem with the creating business is that it is easy to spend money on materials. Every once in a while I find a great bargain get to turn trash to treasure.
We bought this end table for $5 off of craigslist. It was a very ugly end table in need of some serious TLC – I had to have it!
I washed it up, sanded it smooth, and painted it black. Then I used sand paper to create a distressed look. Voila!
How is that for a $5 end table/ TV stand?
This whole summer I have been begging Daniel to take me garage sale shopping, but between moving and traveling I had not had the chance, until two weekends ago. A friend and me drove around looking for some inexpensive decor.
We are still trying to decide how to decorate our apartment. I have a few fun ideas (ok, I have spent a little too much time looking at ideas on other blogs, and I have way more fun ideas than I will ever have time for!) I am narrowing down my list and trying to decide which of my ideas to squeeze into my schedule.
We gave away our entertainment center before our last move, and now our end table holds our TV. I was thrilled to be able to get this end table for $3. With a little sanding, paint, and Mod Podge this end table will look great!
I was also able to pick up an assortment of frames for $0.25 ea. I will be painting & distressing these to match. My plan is to print some of the pictures we have taken of scenery and make a ‘the places we’ve been’ wall.
Have you had any exciting garage sale finds?
Simple Baby Shower Gift
Looking for a cute, simple baby shower gift idea? How about a diaper wipes clutch.
I had a friend make me a cute covered wipes case. When I looked for tutorials on how to do it, I found one at Homemade by Jill and fell in love. In 30 minutes or less you can make an innexpensive, fun, personalized gift for a friend (or yourself!).
All you need is:
- a travel size diaper wipes case
- 11″x9 1/2″ piece of fabric
- 1 yard of ribbon to trim the edge
- Other ribbon or material to decorate as desired. (I used a 10″ piece of brown & green ribbon on this one.)
- A hot glue gun & glue stick
Once you have all the pieces, all you have to do is glue & make a few cuts.
Start by gluing the fabic to the wipes case. (I put about 2 inches of hot glue on, then attached the fabric, then 2 inches more of glue …)
I attached the top on each side first. That way I knew the cloth was aligned correctly. It also made it easier to pull the fabric tight. At the corners, I glued the fabric on then trimed the corners of the fabric to finish it off. Remember, the material edge will be hidden by the ribbon, so it does not have to be perfect.
Next I attached the decorative brown & green ribbon. I glued them really good at each end (because it would be hidden by the trimming). I put just enough accross the front to hold it in place.
Last I attached the trimming ribbon. I placed it right up against the edge of the case so that the trimming touches when the case is closed. I cut the ribbon in half (one half for the top, one for the bottom) and hid the ends in the fabric. You can loop it around insead, but I thought it was easier to cut it.
That is it.
Quick. Simple. Cute.
Looking for a fun Father’s Day craft to do with your kids? How about making a personalized painting for dad? I don’t know many kids who don’t like to get a little dirty & use their creativity!
This week Conner and I worked on a craft for Daniel’s Father’s Day gift. I plan to put these in Conner’s scrapbook (because I think baby feet prints are adorable).
We took some paint…
And his adorable feet…
And we made a masterpiece!
This is our version of a summer day landscape. I wanted to use his hands, but I was afraid he would somehow get them into his mouth before I could clean them. To be safe, we stuck with just a feet painting.
This is the beginning of our second project. I traced Daniel’s shoe on a piece of paper. Then added Conner’s footprints. I will be adding text that says, ” Following in Your Footsteps”. in the upper right corner. Then a little note from Conner to Dad in the bottom left. I will post the final product later this week!
I have not had any weird food cravings during my pregnancy, but I have had the intense desire to make things for our baby. I don’t have a lot of tools build things, so this left me a little distressed.
One day I decorated the small blocks (above) using letters and pages from magazines & modge podge. I thought they turned out cute, and it was free. I already had mod podge, the small blocks (scraps from a different project), and
free copies of BABY Magazine to cut up for paper.
Over Christmas break I spent some time in my dad’s wood shop to build a few projects for me to work on.
Daniel and I have been trying to organize all of our baby supplies, so I built these crates using scraps from my dad’s wood shop.
I painted the inside brown and striped the outside with brown, green, and blue.
Then I made stencils. I printed the letters & numbers I wanted to use on a piece of card stock. Then cut out the part I wanted to paint on and used the outline as my stencil.
I thought they turned out pretty cute!
They helped me organize my stockpile of wipes. Now we’re ready for our baby.
Looking for a thrifty way to tell someone you care?
This is the
Paper Bag Scrapbook card I made last weekend. If you like scrapbooking, this is a perfect way to document a memory!. All it took was one picture, a few pieces of paper, a pen, ribbon, and one paper bag.
Meet Natasha, founder of Saving a Bundle and mother of four rambunctious boys, and LeaDawn writer and new mother of one boy. Raised in a frugal lifestyle we continue the family tradition by cooking from scratch, using money-smart techniques,
living simply, hunting for good deals, have fun with frugal crafts, and use coupons. Join us on our journey as we, two sisters, learn & share ways to live a more frugal lifestyle to reach our common goal to save our families money.