November 4, 2011: Seasonal Decorations With Scrapbooking

I’ve noticed something about my darling DDIL – not only does she love scrapbooking, but she uses her passion to make seasonal decorations for her home...and she's very creative! I just had to share the pictures she had up last month in anticipation of her favorite holiday, Halloween.

Tracy's "Holiday Frames" ready for Halloween.

Tracy uses the same two square black frames but scrapbooks two new pages for each seasonal/holiday change. For instance, last year before Christmas she had two adorable pictures of my grandson in a red Santa suit pasted on a forest green 12 x 12” scrapbook page.

Sometimes she uses photos of the whole family and sometimes she just features my adorable little grandson but she does an incredibly creative job of changing what’s inside the picture frames for each season. If you’re already an avid scrapbooker, you’re bound to have lots of supplies already on hand; why not turn use them for décor, as my DDIL does?

May 15, 2011: Recipe for a Quick Spring Decorating Change

I’ve mentioned before that I like to take the opportunity, while spring cleaning, to change out the old, heavy, dark fabrics and furnishings for newer, lighter, more spring-like décor. It’s not just a onetime venture, though. I like to add little seasonal touches in my house as I can.

A week ago was Mother’s Day, of course. Our church handed out carnations to all the mother’s in the congregation. Since I picked up the flowers and arranged them, I ended up with a few heads that broke off their stems. Rather than toss them, I placed them in a small bowl with water and put the dish in the guest bathroom, where they are still brightening up the space, as you can see on the left side of the photo.

Another thing that I like to do is change out my pictures. I actually won the picture frame on the right – while we were at the hospital when my grandson Kaden was being born, we just happened to be in the right place at the right time (in the cafeteria eating lunch) when they held a raffle. I won a gift certificate from the gift shop and picked out this frame.

It just so happens to be the perfect size to fit pictures from a calendar my friend Kathy brought back from a trip to Alaska. The scenes are so beautiful I saved them and use them to switch out the picture in this frame to fit the seasons. This one is my spring scene.

See how easy it is to spend $0 and add a seasonal touch to your home?

May 5: 2011: Frugal Spring Makeover Recipes

Well, it finally feels like spring has sprung here in the White Mountains. Although it’s supposed to get cooler again next week, the past couple days have been nice and warm. I even put on shorts for the first time this year yesterday… And probably blinded people with my exceedingly white legs.

I don’t know about you but when the temps finally get warm, I’m ready to makeover my home. I want all the dreary, dark drabness of winter to be gone so I can let in the brightness and warmth of spring. Of course, this can be a real challenge if your budget is slim to none, like mine.

Here a few ways I’ve managed to spruce up my home for spring without spending much of anything.

Kitchen Cabinets

While there’s still a lot of things I want to do to my kitchen in terms of remodeling (primarily a new sink/faucet and countertops), I can still change it for the better with a few little touches.

One thing I’ve been wanting to do is replace all the knobs on the cabinets. There’s 24 of them so this could be an expensive project all in itself. But I ended up spending only $1.73. How did I do it? I’ve been a member of a survey site for quite some time. Every now and then, when I have a few minutes, I’ll take a survey and earn points. I finally earned $20, which is the minimum payout, and ordered an Amazon gift certificate as my reward.

The old, brass knobs

The new, black knobs

I found 24 of these knobs, which were exactly what I was looking for, on Amazon for just over $13. With shipping, the total came to $21.73 so the only money I had to spend was just over a dollar. Although it’s a small change, I think the new knobs make a big difference.

Up next? New paint. And since the painted areas in my kitchen are really small, it won’t take more than one gallon even with two coats; I’ll be able to finish this project for less than $20.

Bedroom Makeover

One of the first things I do when the weather is finally warm enough is take the electric blanket off my bed, washing it before I stow it away in a cedar chest for the season.

With the bulky electric blanket gone, I replace it with a quilt my mother-in-law made. The quilt is lightweight and the predominant color is yellow – it looks sunny and fresh and really brightens the room.

The next thing I do is remove the heavy, dark drapes I use to help insulate my house in the winter. They get replaced with very lightweight, cotton curtains or a simple valance. This adds natural light to the bedroom and looks fresh.

Total cost of this simple makeover? $0!

These are just a couple things I’ve done to very frugally perform a seasonal makeover to my home. I’ll share more makeover recipes with you throughout the rest of the year so stay tuned!