Showing posts with label cheap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheap. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
A is for Alex
My niece, Alex, turns 3 in early April. She was born on Good Friday, actually! My sister, Brooke, saw my monogrammed "H" art last week, and requested one for Alexandria for her birthday. Alex is learning the alphabet, and loves the letter "A" because she knows Alex starts with A.
Now, who am I to deny a request like that?
This is basically the same as last week, but not exactly. For starters, I wanted it smaller- I felt the big old 16 x 20 was probably over kill. Also, I didn't use any paint, so the entire thing is covered in scrapbook paper. I picked up 2 pressboard type "art" works at Dollar Tree, one smaller than the other by about an inch all around.
I grabbed a 2 pack of the letter A at HobLob last week, and picked out the scrapbook paper I wanted.
What You'll Need:
1 sheet of 12x12 Scrapbook paper
2 sheets of 8x10 Scrapbook paper
2 pieces of lovely dollar store "art", one smaller than the first
An Initial, Number, or Design made from wood
Glue
Mod Podge
Ribbon
Stamp Pad, markers, or paint
Sand paper
Cost- $3.52 for the paper & dollar store products, and the A. The ribbon was $2 and $.33, but such small amounts used, maybe $.25 total. The other items were all on hand.
I'd estimate this project can be done for $4 or less, depending on what all you have on hand. If I'd had bright colored paper, that would have knocked just over $1 off the cost. The letter was cheap- it was a 2 pack for $.99, minus 30%, so I got it for about $.69, divided by 2 for the cost of 1.
I started off by sanding the surface of both pieces, as they had kind of a slick, glossy finish. Make sure to wipe all the dust off.
For the top, smaller piece, I used 2 sheets of scrapbook paper- 1 solid color, and 1 floral pattern. I cut the solid color to size for the board, then I cut the patterned piece about 1/2 an inch smaller all the way around.
Spread Mod Podge over the surface, and add the first sheet of paper. Once it's dry, mod podge over top of it, and add the second sheet of paper, centered. After that is dry, add one more layer of mod podge to seal it.
For the letter A, I didn't have any bright colors of paint, so I improvised. First, I stained it with a lavendar ink pad. Then, I colored the edges with markers. Yep, tricky, I know. The only thing I don't love, is that in some places, the marker bled onto the top, just a bit.
I then glued the A onto the top board, and set to work on the bottom one. Again, spread Mod Podge on, and smooth the paper on, cut to size. Spread another layer on top of that. I don't know if the board was slightly off, or if I was, but I wound up with a tiny sliver showing from the bottom layer. I opted to sand down the edges to distress them, so that it didn't show.
Once it's dry, glue the top section to the bottom section, centered. Now, for me, the bottom piece came equipped with a pretty light blue ribbon to hang it from. If yours doesn't, you can easily add this with a good stapler, or you can use a traditional hanger on the back.
My last step was to add some ribbon. I just picked up a really cute spool of striped ribbon, so I made a loop, then used darker pink thin satin ribbon to tie it off, and add a bow. I hot glued this to the surface, then glue tacked the ribbon trails down.
Now, who am I to deny a request like that?
This is basically the same as last week, but not exactly. For starters, I wanted it smaller- I felt the big old 16 x 20 was probably over kill. Also, I didn't use any paint, so the entire thing is covered in scrapbook paper. I picked up 2 pressboard type "art" works at Dollar Tree, one smaller than the other by about an inch all around.
I grabbed a 2 pack of the letter A at HobLob last week, and picked out the scrapbook paper I wanted.
What You'll Need:
1 sheet of 12x12 Scrapbook paper
2 sheets of 8x10 Scrapbook paper
2 pieces of lovely dollar store "art", one smaller than the first
An Initial, Number, or Design made from wood
Glue
Mod Podge
Ribbon
Stamp Pad, markers, or paint
Sand paper
Cost- $3.52 for the paper & dollar store products, and the A. The ribbon was $2 and $.33, but such small amounts used, maybe $.25 total. The other items were all on hand.
I'd estimate this project can be done for $4 or less, depending on what all you have on hand. If I'd had bright colored paper, that would have knocked just over $1 off the cost. The letter was cheap- it was a 2 pack for $.99, minus 30%, so I got it for about $.69, divided by 2 for the cost of 1.
I started off by sanding the surface of both pieces, as they had kind of a slick, glossy finish. Make sure to wipe all the dust off.
For the top, smaller piece, I used 2 sheets of scrapbook paper- 1 solid color, and 1 floral pattern. I cut the solid color to size for the board, then I cut the patterned piece about 1/2 an inch smaller all the way around.
Spread Mod Podge over the surface, and add the first sheet of paper. Once it's dry, mod podge over top of it, and add the second sheet of paper, centered. After that is dry, add one more layer of mod podge to seal it.
For the letter A, I didn't have any bright colors of paint, so I improvised. First, I stained it with a lavendar ink pad. Then, I colored the edges with markers. Yep, tricky, I know. The only thing I don't love, is that in some places, the marker bled onto the top, just a bit.
I then glued the A onto the top board, and set to work on the bottom one. Again, spread Mod Podge on, and smooth the paper on, cut to size. Spread another layer on top of that. I don't know if the board was slightly off, or if I was, but I wound up with a tiny sliver showing from the bottom layer. I opted to sand down the edges to distress them, so that it didn't show.
Once it's dry, glue the top section to the bottom section, centered. Now, for me, the bottom piece came equipped with a pretty light blue ribbon to hang it from. If yours doesn't, you can easily add this with a good stapler, or you can use a traditional hanger on the back.
My last step was to add some ribbon. I just picked up a really cute spool of striped ribbon, so I made a loop, then used darker pink thin satin ribbon to tie it off, and add a bow. I hot glued this to the surface, then glue tacked the ribbon trails down.
This post is linked up at the link parties listed here.
Don't forget, today is Tuesday, so link up with my Talented Tuesday Link Party!!
Monday, February 1, 2010
LOVE is in the Air
Instead, I scan clearance sales, yard sales, and thrift stores, and I come up with a lot of things on my own as well. Yesterday, I posted about my new heart shaped wreath, which I made from 2 Dollar store candy canes I got on clearance for $.50 each.
After that, we were taking down the white tree, and deciding it's fate. The cats kept climbing it this year, and it's such a lightweight tree, that it did not handle the abuse well. Most of the lower branches are bent to a point where trying to bend them back would likely snap them off.
I decided to just pitch it, but at the last minute, saved the top section to reuse next year as a mini tree (which brings my tree count to 1 full size, and 3 mini's). While we were putting it away, I joked about how it would make a cute Valentine's Day tree. And, it did- but more on that later.
I wound up making another wreath yesterday, this time just a circular one from one of those wooden wreath forms at Dollar Tree. Of course, I was so excited to get started, that I failed to take pictures.
What I used:
1 "grapevine" (except, not actual grapevine) wreath from Dollar Tree
1 long strand of really old, overly used red garland from the Christmas Crap pile
1 foam "LOVE" shape, bought on clearance for $.10 at CVS a few weeks ago
1 section of hot pink tulle that I've had for years
Cash wise, this puppy set me back $1.10. I won't factor in the cost of garland headed for the dumpster, or an itty bitty section of tulle from a large roll I found at a thrift store 4 or 5 years ago.
I wrapped the wreath with my old red garland (seriously, it was so old, some spots were devoid of tinsel). I came up just a bit short, so in the area where I was planning to attach the LOVE foam, I spread it out thin.
I then hot glued the LOVE foam piece on it, and attached the pink tulle to the top, tied part if it in a bow, and used the streamers to tie it to the curtain rod.
Originally, my Ribbon & Tulle wreath was in that place, but it was much larger, and the tulle really fascinated my cats. 3 separate times over the course of 2 days, I came out to find it no longer hanging, with 1 or 2 cats tearing at it. Thankfully, it survived just fine, and I moved it back to it's place in the front door window.
So far this year, I've done up a nice little batch of Valentine's Day crafts:
Ribbon & Tulle Wreath
LOVE Banner
Candy Basket
Heart Placemats
Candy Cane Wreath
Garland Wreath
I'm just feeling so stinking crafty and sweet about Valentine's Day this year! Check back later this week for more projects I've worked on.
This post is linked up at the link parties listed here.
Check back on Tuesday to link up with Talented Tuesdays at My Frugal Family!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Cheap Craft Supplies
Today, Nick and I took a drive into Lansing to do some craft supply shopping. You gotta love a man who is willing to shop for craft supplies with you, while holding the bags, and paying. Ahh.. true love!
My main goal was to just get to Hobby Lobby. We also stopped into the Dollar Tree next to it, and the Big Lots across the street, both of which yielded some supplies for very little cash. I love frugal crafts!
At Hobby Lobby, my main goal was finding some sort of wooden doo dad (technical term) to put in the middle of a picture I'm working on, similar to the monogrammed "H" picture I worked on earlier this week. It's smaller, and I wanted something different in the middle, but lacked anything on hand.
I was hoping for a Fleur De Lis, but alas, did not find any. Instead, I found a little wooden medallion thing that is similar in shape to a Fleur, but isn't. I also wanted to look over the scrapbook paper.
My niece, Alex, is turning 3 in April, and my sister loved the monogrammed "H" picture, and requested one for Alex in bright colors. Since I don't scrapbook, I only get paper when I have an idea of what I want to make, and because it's been mostly Christmas and house items, I had nothing in bright colors.
I found 2 pretty bright colored flower paper, then I saw some nice antiqued looking paper with old letters on it. I picked up 2 of those to use on the wooden cigar box I found at Goodwill yesterday. I can't wait to work on it!
I picked up a 2 pack of wooden letter "A"s, a wooden cross, and an oval medallion to put the cross on. I also picked up a Distress Ink pad, since so many people use them. I found, though, that while it's supposed to be easier to use, it really is just a regular ink pad, simply raised up. I thought it would have some sort of pattern on it for distressing. Anyway, it was 40% off, so not a horrible buy. Oh, and ribbon! I found some cute, bright colored striped grosgrain, which I'll use to make a banner for my niece's birthday- 50% off!
Next, we stopped at Dollar Tree, where I just wanted to look around a bit. I did find some things, though. I picked up a 10-pack of flower shaped wooden shapes, a 7-section shadow box, 2 "pictures" (which will be sanded down, mod podged with paper, and made into 1 "A" sign), plus 2 letter "H" wooden shapes, marked down to $.50 each. I forgot to get the shadow box in the photo.
What I'll do is layer the smaller picture ontop of the larger one for the "A" sign. The big one already has some pretty light aqua sheer ribbon to hang it from, too!
At Big Lots, I wasn't doing much looking, but found a great deal- scrapbooking kits for $2 each! They each had 8 sheets of 12x12, and an assortment of embellishments, plus some letter shaped post-it notes. I also grabbed 4 small spools of decorative ribbon. One is lavender and says "Heaven Sent" on it, with stars. One is white and says "Father's Day" on it. One is lavender canvas ribbon, and the last is wired, sheer lavender & green gingham ribbon. The ribbon was only $.75 each for 2 yards.
As for the shapes themselves, I plan to add at least 1 to the "A" sign I make.
I hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Oh, and on a final note... I was amazed and flattered to find out that I've been featured on 4 sites since yesterday.
My main goal was to just get to Hobby Lobby. We also stopped into the Dollar Tree next to it, and the Big Lots across the street, both of which yielded some supplies for very little cash. I love frugal crafts!
At Hobby Lobby, my main goal was finding some sort of wooden doo dad (technical term) to put in the middle of a picture I'm working on, similar to the monogrammed "H" picture I worked on earlier this week. It's smaller, and I wanted something different in the middle, but lacked anything on hand.
I was hoping for a Fleur De Lis, but alas, did not find any. Instead, I found a little wooden medallion thing that is similar in shape to a Fleur, but isn't. I also wanted to look over the scrapbook paper.
My niece, Alex, is turning 3 in April, and my sister loved the monogrammed "H" picture, and requested one for Alex in bright colors. Since I don't scrapbook, I only get paper when I have an idea of what I want to make, and because it's been mostly Christmas and house items, I had nothing in bright colors.
I found 2 pretty bright colored flower paper, then I saw some nice antiqued looking paper with old letters on it. I picked up 2 of those to use on the wooden cigar box I found at Goodwill yesterday. I can't wait to work on it!
I picked up a 2 pack of wooden letter "A"s, a wooden cross, and an oval medallion to put the cross on. I also picked up a Distress Ink pad, since so many people use them. I found, though, that while it's supposed to be easier to use, it really is just a regular ink pad, simply raised up. I thought it would have some sort of pattern on it for distressing. Anyway, it was 40% off, so not a horrible buy. Oh, and ribbon! I found some cute, bright colored striped grosgrain, which I'll use to make a banner for my niece's birthday- 50% off!
Next, we stopped at Dollar Tree, where I just wanted to look around a bit. I did find some things, though. I picked up a 10-pack of flower shaped wooden shapes, a 7-section shadow box, 2 "pictures" (which will be sanded down, mod podged with paper, and made into 1 "A" sign), plus 2 letter "H" wooden shapes, marked down to $.50 each. I forgot to get the shadow box in the photo.
What I'll do is layer the smaller picture ontop of the larger one for the "A" sign. The big one already has some pretty light aqua sheer ribbon to hang it from, too!
At Big Lots, I wasn't doing much looking, but found a great deal- scrapbooking kits for $2 each! They each had 8 sheets of 12x12, and an assortment of embellishments, plus some letter shaped post-it notes. I also grabbed 4 small spools of decorative ribbon. One is lavender and says "Heaven Sent" on it, with stars. One is white and says "Father's Day" on it. One is lavender canvas ribbon, and the last is wired, sheer lavender & green gingham ribbon. The ribbon was only $.75 each for 2 yards.
This is 1 kit opened up- 2 chipboard alphabets, 1 accent stickers, 1 6pack of boarder art, some chipboard tags, sticky buttons, card kit, and more. LOTS of stuff for only $2!
This is kit 2- similar items, but some differences. Accent paper instead of boarders, different colored chipboard tags, 1 different chipboard alphabet, different buttons, and 1 of the 4-packs of paper is patterned instead of all solids.
All in all, I got 16 sheets of paper- 12 are solid colors (with some duplicates), and 4 are patterned.
Both kits came with a 20 count pack of stickers, but they are cardstock stickers. Both sets were identical, with the stickers shown above.
All of the paper from the packs. I love having some solids to work with, since I rarely buy solid colors.
Some of them upclose.
It was nice getting out of the house, though my bottom is really sore now. It's been doing really well, but I've noticed on the days I'm active, especially if I have to stand up a lot, my tailbone gets REALLY sore. Tomorrow, we're planning to start putting the Christmas stuff away. I know, I should have already. Honestly, though, there have been times the tree was still up just before Valentine's Day.
It would have gotten taken down before now, but the weekend we planned to was just 2 days after I broke my tailbone, so alas, it did not happen.
If we can haul rear on getting it all down tomorrow, and put away, then I want to do some crafting. On my block for this week:
- "A" sign for Alex
- ALEX Banner for her birthday, similar to my LOVE banner
- Aged Cigar Box
- Finish the extra sign for me
- Do some more organizing in my craft area
As for the shapes themselves, I plan to add at least 1 to the "A" sign I make.
Oh, and on a final note... I was amazed and flattered to find out that I've been featured on 4 sites since yesterday.
- My LOVE Banner was featured on Dollar Store Crafts for Friday
- My Post It Note Holder was featured on Mad In Crafts for Friday
- My Post It Note Holder was featured on The Girl Creative for Saturday
- My "H" sign was featured on Sweet Sumo for Saturday
Friday, January 29, 2010
Valentine's Day Placemats
This is a project I did when I was still spending most of the day laid up in bed. After Christmas, when Dollar Tree marked their Christmas items down to $.25, I picked up 4 bright red placemats. I picked up 4 because I was on a budget, and wanted to spend in even dollar amounts. I did not, in all my infinite wisdom, pick up on the subtle fact that we have 5 people in the family.
Because I was laid up at the time, I did not get back to DT for almost 2 weeks, and when I went, they still had Christmas stuff out, but were out of the red placemats. I did pick up 5 of the same placemat in white, though, for Easter.
Anyway, because I was in bed, there are no tutorial pictures, but it's easy enough.
You'll Need:
Felt
Scissors
Thread
Buttons, pom poms, or other embellishments
Placemats
Needle
Total cost would depend on your On-Hand items. I had everything on hand once I decided to make these. I didn't have anyhting in mind for the placemats specifically when I picked them up, though. Breaking down the costs (cause, let's face it, you buy the supplies at some point, whether they are on hand or not), though, I spent $1 on 4 placemats. Thread- $1.99 for 1 roll, but I used very little. Buttons were bought in a big container for $4.99, probably close to 500 of them. So, a penny per button- $.04 for the buttons.
I had thought about adding some ribbon trim hand sewn on in loops and ruffles in the corners where the hearts were, but opted not to. Being 4 of them, I put the hearts in a different corner for each one. I did 2 pink and 2 white hearts, and used red thread on them.
Because I was laid up at the time, I did not get back to DT for almost 2 weeks, and when I went, they still had Christmas stuff out, but were out of the red placemats. I did pick up 5 of the same placemat in white, though, for Easter.
Anyway, because I was in bed, there are no tutorial pictures, but it's easy enough.
You'll Need:
Felt
Scissors
Thread
Buttons, pom poms, or other embellishments
Placemats
Needle
- Cut out shapes from the felt. Because I was doing Valentine's Day, I went with hearts. For Easter, I think I'll do eggs.
- Stitch a button to the center of the heart, if you are doing what I did. Otherwise, embellish the felt shape as you like.
- Hand stitch the shape to the placemats. I did a primitive looking stitch, but you can do any type of stitch you want, obviously. You could also do this with a machine, if you are so inclined, but it was a fast job even by hand.
Total cost would depend on your On-Hand items. I had everything on hand once I decided to make these. I didn't have anyhting in mind for the placemats specifically when I picked them up, though. Breaking down the costs (cause, let's face it, you buy the supplies at some point, whether they are on hand or not), though, I spent $1 on 4 placemats. Thread- $1.99 for 1 roll, but I used very little. Buttons were bought in a big container for $4.99, probably close to 500 of them. So, a penny per button- $.04 for the buttons.
I had thought about adding some ribbon trim hand sewn on in loops and ruffles in the corners where the hearts were, but opted not to. Being 4 of them, I put the hearts in a different corner for each one. I did 2 pink and 2 white hearts, and used red thread on them.
Now, for something kind of funny... I have a red velvet (ish) stocking hanging above my desk. It's been there since probably late October, early November. I tend to forget it's there. Today, I did some much needed tidying around the desk, and saw a few picks I bought after Christmas at 90% off- all of them are in pinks, lavendars, and reds for Valentine's Day. Well, haven't come up with a use yet, so I decided to put the stocking to work as storage. I think it turned out cute:
Have a FANTASTIC weekend, everyone!!
This post is linked up at the link parties listed here.
Check back on Tuesday to link up with Talented Tuesdays at My Frugal Family!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Gold & Tacky to... Not Gold & Tacky
I immediatly wanted to spray paint and dry brush or glaze them. I'm not entirely certain if I'm happy with them, or if I want to redo them. Time will tell, and since they are for a room re-do that hasn't been redone yet, I have plenty of time to decide if I love them, or if they're getting another makeover.
They cost me all of $.29 each.
Painted Cherry Red- they were darker than these pictures turned out.
After dry brushing on black paint- it was too wet, and I added more than I had planned to.
The pair
Held against the wall.
Like I said, I'm not sure if I'm in love with these or not. If I redo them, I'll likely go straight black, and add just a hit of a red glaze to them, instead of the dry brushing. I wanted the crevices to show black, but that didn't work out.
This post is linked up at the link parties listed here.
Check back on Tuesday to link up with Talented Tuesdays at My Frugal Family!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Talented Tuesday = Talented Ladies!
I just went through all 120 links on my weekly Talented Tuesday party, and I'm just in awe at some of the completely awesome things I got to see. I'm really glad I decided to start a weekly link party, because you ladies have been totally inspiring me!
And seriously- 120 links!! The amount of talent out there is just astonishing. You ladies really are an amazing bunch!
Today I didn't do a single thing crafty. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I'm a total insomniac. Normally, my issue is falling asleep. I can't do it until I've totally exhausted myself. Well, imagine my delight last night, when I fell asleep before midnight! That's like super early for me, when many nights, I see the wrong side of 4am.
However, it was not a peaceful sleep. I kept waking up. I finally gave in at 2:30, and was up for the day. The little sleep I did get, though, was helpful, as I was productive today in non-crafty ways. For starters, I did the first major grocery shopping trip since I broke my rear. What's really scary, though, is that we were due to go grocery shopping the weekend after I broke my butt- almost 3 weeks ago.
I've done quick shops here and there, and sent hubby for things, but no long, planned out grocery shopping trip. Since I knew I wanted to do that (actually, at 4am, I wanted to, but I resisted the urge to go out and shop in the middle of the night, though out grocery store is a 24 hour one), I opted to shower this morning. I hate, hate, hate morning showers, so I never take them unless I have to. My greasy hair told me I had to. Ok, it wasn't that bad, but it was driving me nuts.
Now, because I wanted to shower, that meant taking Gilly to school, instead of waiting for the bus. It wrapped up neatly. I could dwadle a bit, since the bus comes at 8:10, but school doesn't start till 8:45. That, and the school is only a bit further than the grocery store, so I could stop there on the way home.
The only flaw- I got there, and (thankfully) checked for my debit card when I was getting a cart, and realized it was safe & sound... in the jeans I wore on Saturday to Chuck E Cheese for a belated birthday party for Chris & Gilly. Oops!
Ran home, and went back to the store. I'm really glad I checked when I did, otherwise, I'd have been really embarrassed at the check out counter. I loaded down on things we needed, and followed a meal plan. That makes grocery shopping easier, and most the time, cheaper. I plan my meals around sale prices, so we can eat as cheaply as possible, while still getting variety.
Some of the big things for the next two weeks? Sloppy Joes, Chili, Chicken Stew, and a Taco night, along with stand-by favorites like pasta, pizza, turkey-burger helper, etc. I picked up hash browns, too, since we have eggs and sausage, so we'll make a nice big breakfast on Sunday.
It was just after 10 by the time I finally left the grocery store, and I opted to run by Goodwill real quick. Remember my project earlier this week? Well, I decided I wanted to see if there were any more of those pictures at the As-Is side. When I was in last week, there must have been 10-15 of them, split between 2 different designs (did I mention they were brand new donations?).
I lucked out, and found 3 of the other design, though I opted to only grab 2. I have an idea for one, and the other will sit and wait for inspiration, or maybe to make a similar one to my first one for a gift or something.
I also found a long wooden drawer organizer- like a silverware organizer, but a lot longer. It'll fit very nicely in my craft desk, and maybe help me to bestow some organization on that mess. I seriously need to spend 2-3 days just gutting that area, and re-organizing all of it. It needs it that badly. If not worse.
All right, that's all out of me for the night. I hope to do another craft post tomorrow or Friday! In the mean time, keep creating amazing things!
In the mean time, here are some of the projects I started yesterday that I want to finish up soon!
And seriously- 120 links!! The amount of talent out there is just astonishing. You ladies really are an amazing bunch!
Today I didn't do a single thing crafty. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I'm a total insomniac. Normally, my issue is falling asleep. I can't do it until I've totally exhausted myself. Well, imagine my delight last night, when I fell asleep before midnight! That's like super early for me, when many nights, I see the wrong side of 4am.
However, it was not a peaceful sleep. I kept waking up. I finally gave in at 2:30, and was up for the day. The little sleep I did get, though, was helpful, as I was productive today in non-crafty ways. For starters, I did the first major grocery shopping trip since I broke my rear. What's really scary, though, is that we were due to go grocery shopping the weekend after I broke my butt- almost 3 weeks ago.
I've done quick shops here and there, and sent hubby for things, but no long, planned out grocery shopping trip. Since I knew I wanted to do that (actually, at 4am, I wanted to, but I resisted the urge to go out and shop in the middle of the night, though out grocery store is a 24 hour one), I opted to shower this morning. I hate, hate, hate morning showers, so I never take them unless I have to. My greasy hair told me I had to. Ok, it wasn't that bad, but it was driving me nuts.
Now, because I wanted to shower, that meant taking Gilly to school, instead of waiting for the bus. It wrapped up neatly. I could dwadle a bit, since the bus comes at 8:10, but school doesn't start till 8:45. That, and the school is only a bit further than the grocery store, so I could stop there on the way home.
The only flaw- I got there, and (thankfully) checked for my debit card when I was getting a cart, and realized it was safe & sound... in the jeans I wore on Saturday to Chuck E Cheese for a belated birthday party for Chris & Gilly. Oops!
Ran home, and went back to the store. I'm really glad I checked when I did, otherwise, I'd have been really embarrassed at the check out counter. I loaded down on things we needed, and followed a meal plan. That makes grocery shopping easier, and most the time, cheaper. I plan my meals around sale prices, so we can eat as cheaply as possible, while still getting variety.
Some of the big things for the next two weeks? Sloppy Joes, Chili, Chicken Stew, and a Taco night, along with stand-by favorites like pasta, pizza, turkey-burger helper, etc. I picked up hash browns, too, since we have eggs and sausage, so we'll make a nice big breakfast on Sunday.
It was just after 10 by the time I finally left the grocery store, and I opted to run by Goodwill real quick. Remember my project earlier this week? Well, I decided I wanted to see if there were any more of those pictures at the As-Is side. When I was in last week, there must have been 10-15 of them, split between 2 different designs (did I mention they were brand new donations?).
I lucked out, and found 3 of the other design, though I opted to only grab 2. I have an idea for one, and the other will sit and wait for inspiration, or maybe to make a similar one to my first one for a gift or something.
I also found a long wooden drawer organizer- like a silverware organizer, but a lot longer. It'll fit very nicely in my craft desk, and maybe help me to bestow some organization on that mess. I seriously need to spend 2-3 days just gutting that area, and re-organizing all of it. It needs it that badly. If not worse.
All right, that's all out of me for the night. I hope to do another craft post tomorrow or Friday! In the mean time, keep creating amazing things!
In the mean time, here are some of the projects I started yesterday that I want to finish up soon!
(These are all pre-fixing, none of these have been done over in the photos above!)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Frugal Decor
Last week, I made my first trip to Goodwill in several weeks. I'm able to drive for short distances again, so that makes it much easier to get around! While I was in there, I found some "trash" that I wanted to turn into "treasure" with paint, scrapbook paper, and mod podge.
Here's the first finished item- a wall hanging. I haven't decided if it will be for my dining room or my bedroom, since both rooms are done (or will be) in the same shades.
Cost Breakdown-
Picture- $.99 at Goodwill
Scrapbook Paper- $.20 on sale at Michaels
Spray Paint- $3.29 for a can, which lasted through 5 projects today, with about half a can left, so... I'm going to say maybe $.85 worth of spray paint
Acrylic Paint- On Hand
Mod Podge- On Hand
Letter "H"- $1.50 on sale at Hob Lob
Hot Glue- On Hand
First, I taped part of the frame work off. The picture is all in one- it looks like a frame, but it's all just 1 piece. I liked the crackle paint, so I wanted some of that to remain, and thus, taped it off. I then sanded the surface down so the paint would adhere better.
I spray painted the very edges and the main picture surface, which I forgot to take a photo of. The design underneath showed through still, but that was all right. It looked nice on the crackle area, too.
After it was painted, I removed the paint tape, and dry brushed black acrylic paint onto the surface where I hadn't painted. I had forgotten to sand this part down, though, so the paint didn't stick real well. I wound up wiping most of it off to give it a more glazed like effect.
I also wound up adding some around the edges that were painted red, which gave it a nice effect.
While this dried, I sprayed the letter H red. While that dried, I cut out the black scrapbook paper I had chosen, and mod podged it to the surface of the picture.
Once the letter was dry, I dry brushed black paint on the surface, again wiping it off for a glazed effect. Once all of this was dry, I glued the letter to the surface. I love it!
It's a large piece, standing probably 16x20, and it cost me $4 to create! This will be the large center piece to whatever wall it goes on, with a pair of candle holders I also painted today going on either side of it. I can't wait to redecorate the rooms so I can add these to one of them!
From Trash To Treasure:
Here's the first finished item- a wall hanging. I haven't decided if it will be for my dining room or my bedroom, since both rooms are done (or will be) in the same shades.
Cost Breakdown-
Picture- $.99 at Goodwill
Scrapbook Paper- $.20 on sale at Michaels
Spray Paint- $3.29 for a can, which lasted through 5 projects today, with about half a can left, so... I'm going to say maybe $.85 worth of spray paint
Acrylic Paint- On Hand
Mod Podge- On Hand
Letter "H"- $1.50 on sale at Hob Lob
Hot Glue- On Hand
First, I taped part of the frame work off. The picture is all in one- it looks like a frame, but it's all just 1 piece. I liked the crackle paint, so I wanted some of that to remain, and thus, taped it off. I then sanded the surface down so the paint would adhere better.
I spray painted the very edges and the main picture surface, which I forgot to take a photo of. The design underneath showed through still, but that was all right. It looked nice on the crackle area, too.
After it was painted, I removed the paint tape, and dry brushed black acrylic paint onto the surface where I hadn't painted. I had forgotten to sand this part down, though, so the paint didn't stick real well. I wound up wiping most of it off to give it a more glazed like effect.
I also wound up adding some around the edges that were painted red, which gave it a nice effect.
While this dried, I sprayed the letter H red. While that dried, I cut out the black scrapbook paper I had chosen, and mod podged it to the surface of the picture.
Once the letter was dry, I dry brushed black paint on the surface, again wiping it off for a glazed effect. Once all of this was dry, I glued the letter to the surface. I love it!
From Trash To Treasure:
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