Frugal Friday

I linked up over at Shabby Nest to discuss ways in which I've been frugal when decorating our home. It's Frugal Friday! Woo hoo!! *smile*

First, we'll visit the playroom/schoolroom/guest bedroom located upstairs (right off the kitchen). I made these "drapes" from bandanas. These were originally used as napkins at a graduation party my friend and I threw for our husbands when they graduated from law school. I washed my half of the napkin pile and then sewed them together to form drapery panels. Perfect for the playroom. And purple to boot!!

A lady having a garage sale (where I bought the chair I'll be telling you about in a sec) GAVE me a bajillion throw pillows after she heard what I was wanting to do with the few she had for sale. (FREE!!!) I simply bought fabric from the remnant bins AND stuff on sale at Hancock's that matched the Pottery Barn duvet (yes, I said it...) I splurged on for upstairs. And then I simply made new covers for the pillows. I wanted enough to go down two sides of the bed, giving the effect of a "sectional" sofa. (This doubles as our movie-watching seating for the playroom and a comfy guest bed.)

It's a bit too much green right now (some of the solid colored pillows were a gift), so I'm going to cover several more. My favorites are the prints.

In the living room we have this table. It's fantastically hideous underneath. But I got it on freecycle, and free is free. Right? My mother-in-law let me have the leftover fabric (silk, no less) from the drapes she had made for her living room. So I made a tablecloth from it. Again. Free!! You can't beat that. Now I'd like a piece of glass to put on top (so I don't have to worry about spills/stains, etc.). I can get one for about $60, so...maybe in a couple of months.

I had the extra length all "tufted" at the bottom, but I've decided to hem it now. That's the reason for the pins...

Also in the living room, I got pretty much ALL of these crosses on sale (40-50% off) about this time of year (back when I was pregnant with Noah). And my friend Katie helped me arrange them at our old house. Mom and Dad helped me get it done HERE (because I was a major slacker on hanging things in this house).

This is the old house. *Sigh* I miss my mustard-yellow walls...(Ahem. Excuse me. "Apple Crisp.") One thing I now know for sure: This gal needs color.

Saylor has had roughly the same decor since she was born. I made her crib bedding and then when we moved and she got a big girl (full size) bed, I happened upon this quilt/sham set at Wal-Mart on clearance for $15!! You can't tell from this picture, but, I'm still looking for fabric to make her bed skirt (I'd like a cranberry velvet, crushed velvet, or taffeta...for cheap).

Saylor and our sweet little friend ("S") cuddling before bedtime

I got this chair for $25 at a neighborhood garage sale. My plan is to recover it myself (hopefully) with fabric from Saylor's old drapes.

I made this memory board from a standard board from Michaels--got it with a 50% off coupon for about $5. I then painted the wood frame and glued on strips of fabric from her crib bedding and my own (cranberry) ribbon right over the existing cream-colored ribbon.

I had a mosquito net canopy in Noah's nursery (for a very brief time, as he wouldn't leave it alone). The ceilings at our house (then) were a bit too low for using something like that, so I put it away in the attic. When we moved here, however, we finally had nice high ceilings, so I bought some RIT dye (brown) and dyed the netting for a fraction of the recommended time (so I'd end up with a beige, aged sort of color). Then I sewed ribbon and floral pieces (I already had) all around it and hung it like a princess canopy over her bed.

Moving on to Noah's room: This chair was bought on consignment for Noah's nursery. It was a rocker then, which I slip-covered. When I had Saylor we took the rocking mechanism off and put on feet. Then I recovered the chair with fabric from Hobby Lobby that was on clearance.

I had enough to make THESE drapes AND cover the chair, and all that fabric only cost me $30.

This is Noah's room in the old house

Noah and I found these ceramic stars at a garage sale last summer for $.25 each. They already had holes drilled in them, though one of them was sort of closed-up from the painting process. FYI if you ever just happen to need to make a hole in something ceramic, I figured out you can lay a sharp, metal object (like a meat thermometer) across a stove burner until it gets hot and then use it to poke through the already-scored hole. (It took me about 10 minutes, but it actually worked!)

Then there's the nursery. First, check out the bookshelves I made. I also spent next to nothing on their wall decor. A two-pack of foam board (maybe $5?) and some acrylic paint I already owned. And voila!


Oh, and I made the bedding in this room also. The designer fabric was on sale the weekend I bought it. Score! Plus, the crib ruffle and bumper ties are made from a single shower curtain from Wal-Mart.
In the master suite, I've not done much in the way of decorating. Our furniture and stuff fit very well in our old house...AND we had lavender walls! (What could be better?) But in this house, our things don't "work" very well. Anyway, probably the best (most frugal) thing in here is this framed photo. I took this picture (with a P&S) and then ordered an 11 x 14 enlargment from Sam's Photo Center. (It was mailed to me.) We took it to Michael's and had it dry-mounted and then bought an open-back frame when they were on sale for half off at Hobby Lobby. The whole thing maybe cost $20-30. Not bad, eh?

Noah and Saylor Summer '05

I have a number of unfinished wood items bought with a coupon at Michael's. We've purchased shelves, crates, hooks, and more, making them our own by simply painting them to match whatever room they were purchased for.

I also periodically check Freecycle.org for (FREE) items and Craigslist or Ebay for any good deals to be had. I've saved a TON of money using these sites, but that's another post altogether.