Christmas Decor for Dollars

I love Christmas! I love the colors, the cookies, the parties, the people, the crafts, the cards and the reason for the season. I LOVE IT ALL! Well, almost all of it. Maybe the one thing that can be hard to swallow is the effect it has on my budget. Christmas can be expensive. But, after rekindling an old fling that had been long forgotten I am boldly stepping forth and confessing my new passion for an old love, yes, the Dollar Store.

Decorate your house for less than 25 dollars! Are you kidding? It can be done! Have faith friends! Here's how...

Festive front door wreath: This project was cake. I bought two fake floral arrangements. I formed one stem into a loop in order to hang it from the door. The other one I hung a little lower than the first and bent it's stem around the bottom of the first ones loop. I then attached red glitter bulbs to the arrangement by tying them to the arrangement stem using the string that came with the bulbs (see pictures below). Lastly, I attached a nice bow to the top of the arrangement (compliment of Micheal's ribbon sale)  and you're done!

TOTAL COST: $3.00



House wreaths: I bought green garland and created a wreath by looping it twice to give it more thickness and then added a Dollar Store bow. Attach to your house using scrap booking foam tape  (also purchased at the Dollar Store ).

 

Eave decor: I love lights, but I have a hard time buying things when I know they are going to be discounted disturbingly low in the matter of weeks, so, I'm waiting. But, I found a beautiful way to decorate the house so that it shines bright even in daylight. With a few sparkly ornaments and some green garland I made the place sparkle!

 

 

 

All this with just some of this...

 

 

and of course a special thanks to my little helper...

 

 

Miss Juliet Love!

 



How to make baby food

This is so easy I'm doing it more! At first the idea of making my own baby food was slightly overwhelming, but once I tried it I actually had fun.

I used apples this time, but you can use a variety of different fruits and vegetables. Some suggestions would be sweet potatoes, carrots or pears. These are typically safe for babies first foods. The professionals say introduce new foods to baby one at a time and allow 3 days before you try the next food. This makes it easier to identify allergies.

 

How to make baby food:

 

Any type of apples will do. I did two different kinds. First wash the apples and then peel them. Want to learn how check out my post "How to peel an apple". Cut apples into chunks. Quarter each apple. Cut out the core and then cut each quarter in half. This should give you 8 chunks per apple.

 

 

 

Put apples in a pot. Add a cup of water for every 4 pounds of apples. I did a half recipe and only used 1/2 cup of water. Now sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon. You don't need much. Bring to boil then bring temperature to low and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

Allow this to cool(side note: if you don't the top of your blender will pop off and make a huge mess. Don't believe me..try it!). To speed up the process pour contents in a bowl and put into the fridge. Once cooled add contents into a blender, food processor, bullet etc. Add in sections. I added mine in three parts.

 

 

I grabbed my little test monkey to see how it turned out. From the looks of it I'd say it's a hit!

 

 

For storage pour applesauce into an ice tray. My half recipe filled two ice trays. Freeze them. Once they are frozen, remove them from the ice trays and put them into a plastic bag. Label with contents and date.

 

 

Recipe altered from SmittenKitchen

Making an Man-Bouquet

Jon has always been so good about getting me flowers for special occasions like birthdays, holidays, anniversaries and some fights. This time I wanted to be the one to give a thoughtful arrangement. So, I set my brain to work, did some research, studied my subject and came up with this...

 

Man-Bouquet 101

materials:

assortment of shots

wide mouth vase

green floral foam

fake flowers

colored rocks or marbles

cellophane

skewers

ribbon

glue gun

glue sticks

I purchased my mini shots at BevMo. The cost was under $15. The foam, marbles, cellophane, ribbon, flowers, vase and skewers can all be purchased at the Dollar Store. Score!

 

 

I started by gluing the skewers to the back of the shots using the blunt side, making sure the label was on the opposite side of the skewer so it would showcase the liquor.  I then cut my cellophane into squares (10x10inches is a good size). Then, take the pointed side of the skewer and poke through the middle of the cellophane, slide it up towards the bottle, pull taunt at the top and tie tight with a ribbon.

 

 

 

Grab the vase and put in your foam. Add some flowers and then begin to add your liquors. If you want to add different heights cut the bottom of the skewer. I used my husbands tools for this :) Once you have the flowers and liquor in place add the rocks to the vase. This will hold down the foam and give the bottom some weight since this is a top heavy arrangement.

 

 

Add a cute card (Dollar Store) and set it on the table for hubby when he comes home :) You can also add cigars, tobacco etc. This can also make a great 21st birthday gift!

Raised Lettering Wall Canvas

I have some funky projects from college and I was at a loss of what to do with them because they didn't seem to fit my current decor scheme. My home has very muted colors...grays, white, off white, light green, etc. My art projects are the complete opposite. They have no color scheme. No structure. They're wild and crazy! Some would say my "creative" projects look like they got gang banged by crayola (Pinterest readers should recognize this, if not, check out THIS).

 

AND I really really like to recycle uses for things I already have. You'll discover that if you stick with this blog long enough. So, why not create another project...

 

First, I had to decide what I wanted to write. I wanted it to be meaningful, inspirational and applicable to marriage. I got out my  Bible and found the section in Ephesians about the role of a husband and wife and picked out some lines. I got my area ready; cleaned of the old canvases, plugged in my glue gun and got lots of extra glue sticks, grabbed a pillow for my rump.

* For future reference be sure to grab a ruler and pencil to mark even lines on the canvas and pre-script what you're going to write. I was crunched with a time bomb anytime detonation sleeping baby.

 

Now, go over your scripted lines with the hot glue gun. Take your time. I got a little antsy. There will be little webs of glue everywhere. Don't worry we'll take care of it later, but do try to keep the words as clean as possible. It will save you time.

 

Let it dry. Take a dry paint brush and wipe the canvas. This will help clean of the webs of glue (don't use your husbands nice paint brush or he may yell at you!) Check over the canvas and pull any loose webs that didn't come off. This is an extremely important part. The get out your paint and paint away. two coats is best. I think white looks great!

 

 

And there's your trash to treasure :)

COFFEE TABLE REVAMP (DIY)

This is my latest trash to treasure :) My sister Kayla found this table next to the dumpster at her apartment. She saw potential when no one else could. We dragged it to my place sanded her up, painted her, sanded again and put back on her old hardware and BAM face lift!

These are the before and after pics...

It was pretty simple. We took off all the hardware (including the doors). Some we had to hammer straight because they got a little bent in the removal process. We sanded the entire thing in order to roughen up the surface so the paint would stick.

I cut out some of the paintable wallpaper from my last project and applied it to the doors. If you would like to know how to do this please see DRESSER TURNED BUFFET.

 

I added one coat and let it dry 2 days. Added a second coat and let it dry 1 day and then sanded some of the corners until the original wood could be seen in order to give it a vintage look. I then reapplied the hardware.

Dresser Turned Buffet (Complete!)

In a previous post I had been working on an old dresser from my grandmother, which had been passed down or purchased by her to my father and then to my brother. It was on it's way to be sold at a garage sale when I caught a glimpse of it and nabbed it. These are the GRAND FINALE pictures of the finished project. It took a few weeks, but it is finally complete and I'm one happy momma about the outcome :)

If you have a hankering to see the before pictures or would like to see how I did this click HERE!

So, I've started a project..

I've been working on this project for....mmm...three weeks! It's friggin' ridiculous, but when you have a three month old there needs to be some grace in the equation. My goal is to finish it by this weekend. Somewhat for selfish reasons. I'm having a PJ PARTY with my girlfriends and babies on Saturday while my hubby is bear hunting. I would like to have it finished and showcased in the dining room.

The project is simple enough...if I didn't have an infant. My grandmother found this in a magazine and shared it with me and now I am going to share it with you :)

Find a dresser...preferably and cheap (I'm speaking price not quality) dresser from a garage sale or layng around the house (that's what I did). Disregard the B.C. T.V.

Sand all the surfaces. This is really fun when you don't have an electric one and when there are grooves everywhere...grrrr.

Buy these products. I went to Lowe's to purchase these items because my local Home Depot said they no longer carry paintable wall paper. So, heads up.

Cut (I used a box cutter, ruler and pencil) you wallpaper to the dimensions of where you would like it on your dresser. Then use the glue (you can buy the kind I did or get the kind that sprays) and put it on the surface of the dresser and the back of the wallpaper. Wait 5 seconds before adhering together. Let dry.

Then paint. Return to see my finished product at the end of the week. I'm sure I'm just as stocked as you are to see the results!!!!

I Love You Daddy!

When Juliet was born Father's Day was right around the corner. I wanted to make something special for Jon. Something that he could keep through the years, but also something that demonstrated the gravity and responsibility of being a Father. Roaming through a newspaper one day I found this poem.

DADDY WILL YOU

by:Betty Boyd

Well here I am, your little girl, ll cute and cuddly and full of life. I don't know how

 I'm supposed to act, and what I am to believe. God gave us each other, so there must be

 things He wants us to learn together.

As I grow into a lady, I want you to be proud of me even though you won't be pleased

 with some of the things I'll do.

So Daddy , will you...

~ Hold me when I'm afraid and need to feel your security, and also for no reason other

 than you just want to?

~ Listen to me when I'm just being silly, needing to talk things out, and then guide

me with truths?

~ Encourage me with hope when I get depressed and down

on myself and life?

~ Teach me what is right and what is wrong, and when needed, the whys that

will make it easier to make my decisions with wisdom?

~ Tell me how me think so I can better understand their viewpoints, so I can

easier set boundaries where needed, to make relationships respectable and richer?

~ Help me discover my gifts, talents and treasure in me, and encourage me to

dream about walking in them  with God with confidence and humility?

~ Bless me with approval, and acceptance of me, and the much needed life

giving fruit of the Spirit, as well as blessing me with your correction?

~ So as you hold me ~ comfort me ~ listen to me ~ encourage me ~ teach me ~

tell me ~ help me ~ and bless me, you will be showing me who God is, and then

 I will be able to trust and love Him, and will want to follow Him and a life in

 obedience and surrender.

 

And finally daddy, when I grow up and am ready to marry, I will already know who

 I am looking for, because I saw him first in you. 

 

 

 

I took a picture frame that I had purchase at a garage sale which had two mat board. On one I wrote this poem ( and also attached the newspaper cutout on the back for easier reading). On the other board I painted Miss Juliet's foot and pressed it to the board. He loved it!

 

 

LOVE THIS GIRL!!!

 

 



GURU of ORGANIZED

Everything needs a place. I like ALL things in my house to have a specific SPOT! My husband thinks I'm nuts at times. I only know how to think in this capacity and I realized not all people think the same way. For some women calculus comes easy to them. Me, I need all the help I can get. So, I thought, I bet there is some women out there who organization to them is what math is to me.

Here's your first FREE tutoring session:

Ton's of products in your bathroom from ponies to polishes? Here is a quick way to store these supplies and even grab it on the go for trips. Buy a scrapbook bag from Michael's. Mine cost $10 during one of there big sales. There is pockets for everything! My straightener and curling iron even fit.

Tons of jewelry? No problem! I used to get tired of all my necklaces and earrings getting mushed together in an impossible mess. Not in anymore. You can purchase a tackle box or container with compartments from Michael's. Problem solved.

I have a fetish for scarves. I LOVE THEM! I buy one as a souvenir everywhere I go. I wanted an good way to store them. One that allowed them to be easily accessed and showed all their vibrant colors. So, I purchased a bathroom towel rack from T J Max on sale :) and hung it in my closet.

 

 

Need medicine in a handy spot. I put mine in a plastic clear shoebox with my other supplies.

 

If your husband is like mine and he hates dresser drawers and wants to be able to see everything in one glance. If your like me who wants everything to have a place, clutter free and out of view a bookshelf in the closet is a great choice. I bought our off Craigslist for $30.

 

 

 

 

Have any other fabulous ideas..I would love to hear about them. I'm always looking for ways to improve my skills :)