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Archive for the ‘Frugal Decorating’ Category

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By Kathy Wilson
The Budget Decorator

Thanksgiving decorating day is a special time in our homes, when we all take a little time to appreciate the gifts and blessings in our lives. My number one blessing, as yours, is my family and friends! So let’s find some great ways to make your home a warm, inviting place this Thanksgiving Day for all your loved ones, including you!

Use a natural theme. This might seem like a no brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people spend big bucks trying to glitz up this holiday. It’s about the harvest; being thankful for this beautiful earth we live on, and the wonderful food we are so blessed to be given, so let’s celebrate that! It also happens to be a great way to decorate on a small budget! So bring nature into your home, and be thankful!

Most people just focus on the table for Thanksgiving decorating, and while that is indeed important, don’t forget to bring the beauty of autumn splendor into other areas of your home. Some quick ideas include picking up some silk garlands (right now they are on clearance to make room for Christmas stuff, check your craft store!) of autumn colors and drape them over doorways, windows, mantels, and artwork or mirrors. Collect leaves on your next walk in the neighborhood, and then press between paper towels and a book. Because they were already drying outdoors and were low on moisture, this will only take a few days! Now use your leaves to sprinkle over the hearth, the countertops, under candle displays, under glass top tables, tuck into picture frame edges, make them a picture in a frame…you get the idea.

Gourds anyone? These are a wonderful traditional decoration, but here’s a little money saving tip. If you have produce stands near your home, these are much cheaper than the grocery stores for gourds, squashes, and pumpkins. Don’t limit your self to the little mini ones, pile full size versions next to your front door, line a windowsill, fill baskets or fill the planter boxes or a wheelbarrow on the porch with great harvest vegetables!

Consider setting out simple ceramic or wooden bowls lined with a pretty cloth napkin or scrap fabric, and fill with some treasures from your next nature walk . Texture abounds with natural elements, and will warm up a tablescape, a coffee table, and a fireplace hearth. Try getting out the hot glue gun and affixing your items to the candles you packed away at the first sign of summer. Small glass jars make great votive holders when dressed up with a few pressed leaves and acorns. Fill a bowl or plate with goodies around large pillar candles and use as a centerpiece. If you can’t find enough natural material near your home, check out the bulk grain section at your supermarket. Fall is about harvest, so any grain can be used to add that element to your home. Even cracked corn meant for the bird feeder can look great in a jar as a base for a candle.

Now, we aren’t going to forget the Thanksgiving table! This is your opportunity to show your loved ones how important it is to you that they are sharing your table this year. If you don’t have tablecloths, pick up a couple of green or gold sheets from Wal-Mart or a discount store for less than $3. You can even layer a couple of them if you wish. Don’t feel shy about pressing coffee tables or card tables into service if you need more room, just use those cheap sheets! If you run out of chairs, push a table up to a couch on one long side, and you will only need chairs for the other side. Set your table with all your dishware…it doesn’t matter if it all doesn’t match, or you had to borrow salad plates from a neighbor! Just keep the arrangement of each place setting the same, and it will tie it all together. For instance…dinner plate, salad plate, soup bowl, repeat with next placesetting. Distribute the different styles of dishware evenly throughout the tables, much the same as you would do with accent colors in a room!

Use cloth napkins, fold them into accordion pleats and place them in the water glasses. Don’t have cloth napkins? One twin flat sheet, a pair of scissors and some iron on hem tape (you could sew hems if you prefer) and you will have elegant napkins you can use again and again. A good size is 18×18 inches.

The highlight of the event? Your centerpiece of course! This is where your creativity comes most into play. Keep the centerpiece low so that guests can easily converse. I know many designers make beautiful tablescapes on lifts, and talk about height in an arrangement, but isn’t the people what it’s all about? Use your nature theme, gather up some pretty dishes and pitchers, and pick some fall flowers or grasses from the yard. Pile up gourds on platters, fill bowls with nuts and insert a pillar candle, add pretty dried grasses to a wonderful vase, use bowls of apples, lemons, or limes. Take small bunches of flowers, wrap a wet paper towel and some plastic wrap around the stems, and insert randomly into the bowls of produce. Float some mum flower heads in a clear bowl of water, or add some greenery between the other items on the table. Experiment with what you have available, what is affordable in your area, and what creates warmth in your heart. Try things several different ways, until you find a combination you like.

Above all, remember this is not about impressing others; it is about making a statement about how much you care they are in your home, and in your life. Enjoy your family, enjoy being creative while saving lots of cash, and enjoy the beauty of nature…and give thanks.

About the Author:

Kathleen Wilson is an author, national columnist, and editor of the free ezine, The Budget Decorator. For hundreds of free budget home decorating ideas visit her at http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com

By Kathy Wilson

There was a day in our history when people actually spent time on Fourth of July decorations. They were homemade but sincere, and represented deep patriotism. I think that patriotism still exists today, and we can celebrate with Fourth of July decorations that are easy to put together and low cost. Here are some excellent ideas to get you started.

• Pick up some red, white and blue bandannas and wrap them around your existing throw pillows, then knot in the back. You can use this indoors, or on the porch or deck.
• Use red, white and blue ribbon from the dollar shop to tie up your napkins, wrap around your door wreath or create streamers of ribbon from the back of each chair.
• Print out American flags from the internet, and use them to cover the inside of a window. Be sure to face the flags to the outside, and fit them up edge to edge. The result is a patchwork of American flags shown from your front windows which is quite eye catching. One place to print out free flags online is http://www.printourflag.com/
• Buy red, white and blue craft foam from the craft store. Cut them into star shapes of three different sizes. Layer the different sized shapes onto each other and glue together. Tie the stars from porch overhangs, trees and mailboxes to let your Fourth of July decorations spread patriotic cheer! The kids will love to help with this!
• String white holiday lights through trees to create fireworks appeal! Drape them from porch rafters as well, or wrap around deck railing.
• Cover coffee cans, boxes or other containers with patriotic paper, and use to hold utensils, napkins, or condiment bottles.

Use your imagination, and make your Fourth of July decorating the most memorable yet!

Kathy Wilson is an author, columnist, and editor of The Budget Decorator. For thousands of free budget home decorating ideas visit her at http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com.

Decorating for the holidays doesn’t have to break the bank

Here are 2 videos that show you how to make beautiful Christmas decorations.  The first is a table centerpiece, and the second is a wreath.

Remember, you can substitute materials for what you have on hand, or what is growing in your yard.  One year I made wreaths for our home. To get the evergreens for the wreaths I stopped by the places selling Christmas trees.  They gave me more boughs than I could ever use.  Pine cones are easy to find as well.

Get creative and resourceful, and you’ll have beautiful frugal decorations!

Christmas Decorations:How To Make A Christmas Centrepiece

Christmas Decorations:How To Make A Christmas Wreath

What Christmas decorations are you making this year?

“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.” ~Stanley Horowitz

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and now is the perfect time to fill your home with the beautiful colors of autumn. In my neck of the woods in NC, the trees are on display with reds, golds, oranges and browns. There is no better inspiration for fall decorating than the fall palate God has created in nature.

To decorate for Thanksgiving, take a walk outside and look for things in nature you can use to decorate your home.

Pine cones are plentiful, and you are only limited by your imagination.

• Put them in a basket or glass bowl on your coffee table.
• Scatter them around your mantle.
• Hot glue smaller pine cones around candles to make a unique dining room table display.
• Glue small pine cones around a picture frame.

Leaves bring in the vibrant colors that autumn is known for.

• Let the kids pick out colorful leaves to adorn your mantle.
• Use the leaves to make a framed collage.
• Purchase a styrofoam wreath from your craft store, and cover it with a combination of leaves, pine cones, acorns, and other fall goodies. If you have grapevines in your area, wind them into a circle and attach leaves for a colorful door wreath.
• Adorn a large candle with leaves. Soften the wax of the candle with a hairdryer, then press leaves into the side of the candle.
• String the leaves together to make a beautiful garland you can wind down your banister, or put on your mantle, or dining room table.
• Arrange leaves in a glass bowl for a colorful decoration.

Branches now bare from their leaves make beautiful additions.

• Set an interesting branch in a tall vase to display on a side table.
• Put together a fall vignette with branches, leaves, and pine cones.
• Use a branch as a centerpiece on your dining room table. Lay it lengthwise on the table, nestle votive candles around the branch, and fill in spaces with pine cones and colorful leaves.

I’d love to hear your ideas! Tell me in the comments ways you’ve decorated for fall.

I have been working on a bathroom redo. These towels will not quite match the new aqua/brown/red/orange color scheme. I got the idea to dye towels from my friend Lydia. What a great idea! I had to use two bottles of dye, but at $2.50 for a bottle, that is a good deal for three “new” towels and I also dyed two small rugs. You can find the RIT dye in the laundry soap section at Wal-Mart

Here they are in all of their chocolate brown glory. The one thing I did wrong was that when I put the dye into the washing machine and started to add water, I did not wait long enough before I put the towels in. The directions say that you are to put the dye in the machine, fill it with water and let it agitate for a minute to mix the dye well. I was too impatient and put the towels and rugs in before it all got mixed. What happens is that you get a few places where the dye is darker. But if you carefully follow the directions, you should be able to have beautiful new towels in whatever color you want!!! And the dye does not come out when you wash the towels. I have already washed these and they are fine.

You can see a few places on the rugs that didn’t dye evenly- but like I said- I am sure you can do a much better job and have perfectly dyed rugs and towels.

The white polka-dots are done with acrylic paint. Acrylic paint is good for this because it is permanent and will not come out when washed.

The brown towels are very happy in the new bathroom. You can go to my art blog to see how the redo is coming along.