Still working on my February project...

This started out as one of some sturdy boxes that held dishes (a Christmas gift!). I almost threw them away, (the boxes, not the dishes!) then I had second thoughts.

Instead, I painted them with latex wall paint. They took the paint very well, although it took two coats.

And this is what they looked like when I got them painted and stacked. A "free" set of storage boxes, custom made to fit the room I am slowly... ever so slowly... redoing.

The chest of drawers is the one I posted about before. It holds yarn. Yep, lots of yarn. What can I say?

Another view of those free storage boxes. I can hardly wait to finish up everything, but it's going to take awhile yet. I have to clear the desk of computer, printer, speaker, and lots of papers and other... stuff.

And that ain't no small feat!

Cheap February Projects

So I started off this month with a determination to "do something" about my office/craft room. I had thought about it for months, but it never seemed like the right time.

Yeah... it wasn't. Did you know that February is a short month? I still had taxes to do. And then I started a new online project. And then... well, it's gone by.

The room has been painted and the chest of drawers looks pretty good, too. What else? Hm. Oh, I did buy a cute little... um.. thing. I set it on a speaker. And I hung a bulletin board.

Oh, well. There's always next month, right?

There's that "thing" on the speaker, but you can hardly see it. Click on the image if you just have to. And, yeah, that's the barest my desk has been in a long time. I couldn't find the rest of my "stuff" when I tried to put everything back, and I didn't clean off the things I was working with, but it looks better than it usually does!

The best part about it is that when I'm all done with it, I will have spent about $150. I'll post an updated picture of it then and explain what I did. IF I ever get to that point!

Almost a Half Dozen Pages to Help With a Frugal Christmas

Places to help you save money through the holiday season

39 Frugal Tips for Saving Money at Christmas

10 Tips to Save on Christmas Gifts

Frugal Christmas: Decorating


Have a Merry Frugal Christmas

Frugal Holiday Entertaining

Fall Decorating on the Cheap

I can't help it; I'm ready for the bright colors of fall and I'm done with the heat! Here are a few things I've come up with to brighten up the house while waiting for the weather to settle into a fall pattern.

Take pages of bright, autumn colors from magazines or catalogs and cut leaves from them. First make a few patterns from plain paper (recycle that junk mail!) then use the patterns to avoid the temptation to try to fit in certain lines or patterns from the page. Cut out quite a few, then scatter them on a solid color plate or platter. Add a candle and you've created a one of a kind centerpiece or coffee table display.

Candles always make good displays. If yours is so-so, jazz them up with any or all of these items, warmed then pressed into the wax:
Stray pieces of jewelry or buttons
String, dipped in melted wax and wound in pattern, random or not.
Ribbon tied up in a pretty bow and placed low.
Themed candies like candy corn.

Make a fall bouquet with dried grasses and weeds. Since they're free, you can make them as big and extravagant as you want!  

If you have a garden, you may have things you can use from there. Winter squash, miniature pumpkins, sunflowers and other autumn flowers and leaves all bring fall indoors.

Leave the fake stuff in the store and go get the real stuff. A drive or a walk will yield things you may never have thought of. A spray of seeds or a few bright leaves might set off your imagination to create the most beautiful centerpiece or table top decoration ever. All for free.

Thanksgiving decorating

Finding a way to decorate frugally for a Thanksgiving dinner can be a challenge, especially after buying the turkey and "all the trimmings." But like the saying goes... the best things in life are free. You can decorate your home practically for free.

Did you rake up all your leaves yet? I hope not! If you don't have any, put some plastic bags in your pocket and take a stroll through a wooded park, down a country lane, or maybe just down your street, watching for the brightest and prettiest leaves and the perkiest dried weeds and plants. Gather them all carefully so they don't get crushed or broken.

Once at home fill baskets or glass bowls or any interesting container with the leaves and put a bright candle in the midst of them. Make bouquets from the plants, tall ones and short ones and in between ones, and put them into a variety of glassware - anything from canning jars to water glasses. Group them in a Thanksgiving centerpiece for the table. If you have a platter or tray that will fit, group them on that, then scatter leaves to camouflage it. Putting it on a platter or tray helps define the decoration and makes for an easy clean up.

Decorate with food: If you live where you can get nuts inexpensively, they're decorative as well as a healthy snack. Forget about using a nut bowl, and put them in a different container - a basket, a small bucket, an interesting bowl, or even a large soup mug. Put the nutcracker upright in the nuts and set it where it's handy. Apples are plentiful this time of year and a simple bowl of bright apples is warm and inviting.

Incorporate childrens' drawings or craftwork into your Thanksgiving celebration. Do it with flair. Decorate a window by stringing cut out turkeys, etc., across it. Cover a wall with art work. If you cut sticky strips from post-it type notepads, it will hold for a day and come off easily without damage to either wall or art.

Weave paper placemats. Use these instructions, but use two or three layers of newspaper instead of construction paper. Decorate by painting or coloring them in Thanksgiving colors, or use the newspaper just the way it comes.

You can decorate without spending much (or ANY!) money and that's part of the fun of Thanksgiving or any holiday.