Frugal Sewing and Crafting
With the holidays fast approaching, most of us will be looking for ideas for gifts for our coworkers, family and friends. Most of us also decorate and dress up our homes for the holiday get togethers. Well, there are lost of ways to accomplish this without breaking the bank and totally blowing our budgets.
I've decided to share some ideas about how I save money gathering materials and supplies for making gifts and sewing and decorating our home for the holidays. I would also like to do some tutorials for projects that you can do yourself that won't cost you a lot of money, or can be done with items you most likely already have in the house. There will be gift ideas and lots of recipes. I love to bake and often take a large platter of baked goods to work as my gift to the office.
I will also tell you where you can get some supplies and materials that are imaginative (at least I think they are a little outside the box) and inexpensive, and I will give you some links to items that I find that I think are a great deal.
Meantime, please share with me any projects that you do, and any ideas and comments on my posts. I welcome pictures of your projects, and let me know if you would like to post your ideas here as well! We're in this together!
I look forward to the coming weeks and sharing my family holidays with you, and I hope that you will share yours too!
Take care and God Bless!
Christmas Entertainment Without Breaking the Budget!
The holiday season is coming up fast! In just four weeks it will be Thanksgiving, then Christmas vacation will be here, and then… the Christmas holiday itself. If you’re like most, you will be seeing $$$ signs in your sleep.
Well, one way to entertain the kids is to get your books, music, and DVD’s for Christmas from your local library! Most libraries have a wide selection, and you can check these items all out for free. They will also get these items from other libraries, if they don’t have what you’re looking for!
My local library will let me reserve these items online, and then just stop by to pick them up.
You can also get books on decorating for the holidays, entertaining, cooking, baking, and craft projects. There are great ideas for gifts, and you can also pick up some books there for those that don’t mind getting used books and DVD’s as gifts.
The library is a great source for ideas and a great way to help keep you within your budget this Christmas!
How to Renew an Old Ottoman, In Several Steps!
The time has finally come. I have been wanting to re-upholster an
old leather ottoman that my husband has had forever! And it looks like
it has been around forever! This project is going to take awhile.
Here’s one view! And another!
As you can see, it needs a lot of TLC! Right now I am working on getting all of the brass head tacks out! I picked up a piece of leather for it, a couple of years ago. It was a remnant at a leather goods store in Portland, Oregon. I’ll show it when I get close enough to think about getting it out for cutting.
I’ll keep you posted!
Fall Decorating Inexpensively
I love fall. It makes me turn my attention to the inside of the house, and making it feel cozy, inviting and comfortable. I enjoy finding ways to decorate, that are natural and inexpensive.
One of my favorite things is potting mums. I went to the local Home Depot today, and picked up a couple. I usually get the 4″ pots, because they fill up the pot in no time. I also look for lots of buds so that I know they will be blooming for some time to come.
Another thing that I do is pick up a couple of pumpkins to carve for Halloween. Only I wait to carve them, and use them for decoration for awhile first.
These are setting on a bench, right below my hanging scarecrow. I picked him up a couple of years ago in a clearance sale at a local fabric store. You can’t beat a 75% off sale! And I’ll be able to re-use him for years to come!
Inside the house, I just display any winter squash that I pick up (on sale of course) at the grocery store, until I am ready to use them. Now if you have a garden, these items may already be at available to you. This year I also got a couple of sugar pumpkins for my holiday pie making.
They add nicely to the display, along with the nut topiaries that I made a couple of years ago, with some nuts that we didn’t use from the year before!
Other ideas are to gather up any pine cones and put them in a bowl or basket, or gather leaves from nearby trees that have changed color, and display them!
Enjoy!
Frugal Hacks
I Pledge to Buy Handmade
The Stitchin Chicken Etsy Shop- Large Floral Pink and Blue Fabric Bucket-Basket
- Spring Fabric Panel from Moda Fabrics
- Rustic Tea Dyed Flag Fabric
- Striped Ticking Shoulder Bag
- On the Go Handbag w/Shell-like Handles
- Pillow Cover - Blue, Turquoise and Brown Square
- Rustic Girl with her Cat Embroidered Picture
- Pillow from Burlap Coffee Sack and Ticking
- Large Pastel Pink and White Fabric Bucket
- Red Dotted Needle Keeper
Frugal Plus!
-
-
Flickr Photos
More Photos
