All Things Thrifty {Blog Feature}

April 9th, 2010

Several months ago, my sister-in-law introduced me to the site, “All Things Thrifty.”  We were discussing our desires to dress up our homes, but since the recent purchases of them had left us a little house poor, we didn’t have all the cash we needed to dress them up like we wanted to.  She had came across All Things Thrifty while looking for inexpensive solutions to help her deck the halls, and was gracious enough to share the treasure.  I have been inspired ever since. 

Brooke and Kallie do a great job of making their homes look like they could be featured on the cover of a magazine, and the best part is, they do it all on a budget.  I have gotten many ideas from their blog, and I have learned a lot of tricks, but when I found this post, I was blown away.  I am going to make a confession, other than blinds and a couple valances, every window in my house is bare.  I know that having curtains seems to warm up the space and make it feel more like home, but I always just figured I would have to wait until I could afford them.  I also thought I would have to bribe my mom to help me finish them, but I now stand corrected. 

If you  think making curtains on your own would be too difficult, please, read on!  You’ll be shocked how easy and inexpensive it can be!

Once you’re finished, be sure to head over to All Things Thrifty, dive into their archives, and prepare to be inspired! 

Monday, April 5, 2010

The only way to make a window curtain

Window treatments can really help to make your home feel decorated. I have a lot of people ask me questions like “what would you do with this wall…etc” and the FIRST thing I notice is that most of these homes don’t have curtains. Now, don’t take this statement to the extreme. I don’t have curtains on EVERY window in my house either. Curtains are however, a great way to introduce more color in your home, and that seems to be an overwhelming pattern that I see. Most everyone who asks for my advice has a set color scheme in mind, but they psych themselves out when it comes to taking the plunge. Curtains are a great first step.

Curtains are so much fun, and you may not think that you can make them. WRONG-O. The only way to make a window curtain is by YOUR-SELF. Seriously. Especially if you have discovered the $1.00 a yard fabrics at Home Fabrics. Curtains can be cheap, cheap, cheap. Ok, that kind of sounded like a little bird. Maybe it is all the Easter candy that I ate this weekend. :)

Here is a list of the items you need to make these bad boys:
Fabric of your choice
Sewing machine loaded with thread
Curtain Grommets found at local fabric store (I got mine at JoAnn’s see picture below)


Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to make their own curtains. A lot of homes have windows that are too tall for store bought curtains. Don’t worry, making curtains is very easy. Even if your windows are standard height, I still think you should make yourself some custom curtains. Choosing the right fabric to add to your room is much easier than finding the perfect curtains. You do need to know how to sew in a straight line though. :)

I measured the windows, and decided that I wanted the curtains to hit the floor. I wanted them to bunch a tiny bit when they hit the ground, but this is merely personal preference, you can measure them precisely so they are even with your floor if you choose. Next, I hemmed all four sides of the fabric by folding the edge in 1/4 inch twice and them sewing along the hem. I folded the hem twice to hide the raw edge of the fabric. You can see the hem in some of the pictures below if you need to.

Here is my before picture. This wall was was soooo boring. It needed color desperately.

The grommets come with GREAT instructions, and they only cost $10.99 (but of COURSE you should use a 40% coupon if possible). You are going to freak when you see how easy this is! Sidenote: These grommets are plastic. I’ve heard horror stories about the metal ones, so I went with the easy road.

Step 1: Trace a circle using the template provided in the grommet package (Thank you to my husband for being my hand model.)

Step 2: Cut out the circle
Step 3: Snap your grommets together by catching the sides of your circle between the two sides of the grommet.
Step 4: Hang your curtain
Here is the end result!
Total Cost: 5.5 yards of fabric ($1.00 a yard)=$5.50 + $6.59 for a package of grommets= roughly $12.00 for custom curtains!

If you would like to know how to make this window valance, go HERE.
If you would like a cheap alternative to expensive curtain rods, go HERE.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Photobucket 

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Thrifty Decor Chic ~Blog Feature~

March 23rd, 2010

I am so excited about today’s blog feature.  There are many ways to save money, and there are times that saving money means making a little sacrifice here and there, but when it comes to decorating our homes, that doesn’t have to be the case.  Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick does a great job of showing us all how to make our spaces look like they are high-end without paying the high-end price.  She has very graciously agreed to allow me to feature her blog today, and re-publish one of my favorite posts. 

I have to say, I had a nearly impossible time trying to decide which post to feature, but I finally just picked one with the intentions of emphasizing that, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO SEE!!  Oh yes, I went there, I am owning the caps lock!  I finally decided on this post because as I was searching through her archives, I happened to glance up at the dischelvement of my children’s art supplies and gasped in horror.  I need organization people!  Anyway, without further adieu, here’s Sarah:

Four ca-ute projects under $5!

And three were under TWO BUCKS!!
Awwwww yeah…
And yes, some involved spray paint, of course.
Remember the little tool box from the previous post? I got it for $3.99 at Goodwill and about peed. my. pants. when I saw it. I have been looking for one forever! (OK, just a few weeks, but…whatever.)
I printed out my stencil:
After I spray painted the whole thing brown, I added the stencil to the front:
(
The blurriness is me, not the stencil.)
Then took another trip to Goodwill (good thing there are three within 1.5 mile radius of our house, right??) and found five little glass cups that fit in perfect:

Totally and completely adorable, no?? I still have to find more art supplies that are scattered throughout the house, but I absolutely positively adore it:
Total cost was $4 for the box and $2.50 for the cups. Uhhh…wait…that’s more than $5. OK, well…whatever.
The next two involved the following:

Basically 60 cents of paper, $1 wood tags and $1.50 knob from Hob Lob — almost all half off!

I got this little container from my sweet stepmom last Christmas, (hello LA!) and loved it, but have been staring at it in my son’s toy room thinking I needed to jazz it up with some ca-uteness:

Spray adhesive, scrapbook paper, spray paint and a knob later:
He loves it! I love it! Ahhh! Feel the love!!
More scrapbook paper and spray adhesive on the wood tags for this one. Add in some fun scissors (1.99 at Hob Lob — I have a few and love them!), $1 ribbon, the printer and you get this:
(Again…blurriness is me. I swear I wasn’t drunk.)
I drilled holes, ran the ribbon through and tied them to the baskets:
This box was a $1.99 Goodwill find. It’s the perfect size for the itty bitty teeny tiny toys little boys love:
Adorable!! Less than $2 bucks for all four people!
And for my final trick of the evening, I give you 60 cent wood cuties you can find at any craft store:

Hot glued magnets to the back and you get new magnets for the Bub:

I did all of these in just a couple hours and they were F.U.N. I’ve got a couple more little projects to do to the toy room and then I can’t wait to show you!

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Darling Easter Wreath

March 19th, 2010

How beautiful is this?  Check out Crafty Sisters for the full tutorial.

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Inexpensive Picture Wall

January 12th, 2010

I am in love with this picture wall.  I actually showed my mother one similar to this one and said, “Someday I will have that in my house!”  Well, my three kids are there, my family is there, my idea is there, but that  is NOT my wall.  The beauty about my mom is that she actually follows through with the ideas she gets.  Me. . .Not-so-much. 

I wanted to post this, not only because it looks so darn fabulous, but also because it is a really inexpensive way to fill up a blank wall. 

The frames are available at IKEA for only $2.99 for a set of 2 9×9 frames.  

Then, all you have to do is  print some pictures that you love.  I sent these to Costco.  Since the frames were 9×9, and they didn’t print 9×9 photos, I simply put a 3 inch border around the picture and had them printed 12×12 then cut the border off.  The prints were only $2.99 as well. 

I really LOVE this idea, and I can’t wait to get one up in my own house, that is if I ever follow through:)

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Sew Cheap!

January 4th, 2010

I made this skirt for my little girl for less than $0.75!  For a full tutorial on how to make one of your own, click here!

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