We all want a home that says "Welcome Friends"...a home that rises up to meet you when you come home...a home that is filled with memories and lovely things to admire. Did you know you can do this on a tight budget? If you have been looking at those decorating magazines, admiring those design blogs or peering into people's homes at night when you drive by (come on we all do it!) then this post is something you want to pay attention to!
Although I don't "make money" for the family, I sure do save money and will proudly say we have a nicely decorated home (on a budget) because of my persistence and will power NOT to pay top dollar for anything! Seeking out great bargains is something I pride myself on.
This holiday season is no exception! I have been able to decorate our home with some great bargains and some even for FREE! Here are some great examples that you can easily do at home!
Although I don't "make money" for the family, I sure do save money and will proudly say we have a nicely decorated home (on a budget) because of my persistence and will power NOT to pay top dollar for anything! Seeking out great bargains is something I pride myself on.
This holiday season is no exception! I have been able to decorate our home with some great bargains and some even for FREE! Here are some great examples that you can easily do at home!
Very simple and almost FREE. Buy 1 box of candy canes (usually $ .99 per box), put some salt into a jar, I used a canning jar I got at ACMoore on sale for $ .59 and put your canes into it. Great color and looks very wintery!
We have a wall in our playroom that faces out to the front yard,. We don't have curtains so it's a pretty big open space to decorate. This year I bought some grapevine wreaths at the craft store for $ 1.49 per wreath and used some holiday ribbon I had in my stash and there you go...cheap and looks great.
This one is FREE if you have a printer (color or B&W). I printed off this subway sign from another blog and used an existing frame I had. There you go, FREE!
Another ALMOST free for me...I found this LARGE 11 X 17 frame at Homegoods over the weekend. It was on clearance for $ 5 since the glass was missing. I grabbed it up. Printed off another holiday sign with a bible verse and stuck it in there. No worries that there is no glass. When the season is over I will have my hubby cut a piece of thin wood for me, chalkboard paint over it, frame it in this frame and have a new Menu or Memo board.
Similar to above. Took an old frame, removed the glass, had the hubby cut a piece of thin wood for me, chalkboard painted it, used my awesome chalkboard markers (Michael's has them) and I have a greeting/memo board.
This project was $ 1.00 I went to the local dollar store and found some snowflake ornaments. I think there were 5 ornaments in a pack. Grabbed a glass vase that I have around the house and stuck them in. This is in my laundry room.
Same Idea as above, but this one is in our 1/2 bath.
FREE Idea here...went out into our yard and grabbed some pine cones. Emptied a basket that had junk collecting in it (threw that all away) and there you go! If you don't have pine cones available in your yard, they are very cheap at the craft stores.
In our master bath...small bathroom, not a lot of room to do much or anything, but i did hang a small white wreath...used some existing ribbon and there you go...
These finds were GOLD! We went to our local hardware store the other day to get paint for our hallway and there was a dollar bin sitting there of things they were just trying to get rid of. They were all marked down from their original price to $ 1.00....total savings IF I would have paid full price over $ 45!
Here is a close up. A container of ornaments, two missing (big deal) $ 1.00....1 Norman Rockwell ornament (new no faults) $ 1.00
There were two of these little houses (about 4 inches high) in the bin, grabbed those right away! $ 1.00 each!
These lovely ornaments were perfect for our tree in teh master bedroom. Abotu 7 inches long and sooo pretty!
Here is how these $ 1 ornaments looked opened! Very nice!
How darling are these little houses! So glad I found them...remember $ 1 each! Not plastic either..made from wood.
Another FREEBIE. I went outside a trimmed some branches from a bush outside. put some ribbon around it and hung it on the door.
Showed this FREEBIE download in another post. Printed it, cut it..there you go!
Kitchen window came together nicely on a tight budget!
I found this versatile lantern for $ 9.99 at Homegoods, took some twigs from outside and a few pine cones and there you go! Instant decorating.
This is an arrangement I did on my dresser. Used some things I had already and added a few new ones.
Apothecary jar was $ 5.00 at ACMOORE on sale. Added a brown (our bedroom color) pine cone ornament and it made this!
Again, at ACMOORE craft store, I bought the glass dome $ 2,00 on sale, the glass cake stand $ 5.00 on sale, the moss $ 2.00 and the little bird house $ 1.00. Put it all together...love bringing the outdoor elements inside!
I hope i have inspired you to go look around your home find a few things that you can do to make your home rise up and greet you when you come in. So many ideas out there in the blog land and on the internet. Here are a few links/sites that have inspired me this season and would like to share! Check out these talented women!
Comments
Be sure to check in with the "Beautiful Christmas (on a budget)" series this Friday. kaley (chachingonashoestring.com) will have a link up and this post will fit perfectly!!
You have done a fantastic job on a budget!! YAY YOU! It's looks great!
Thanks for joining Shannon & I! I hope you come back again next Tuesday:)
Have a terrific day!
Shannon
Webbisodes
http://ourgatorzone.blogspot.com
Thank you for linking up to "Amaze Me Monday" blog party. I hope to see you next week!