Canvas + Paint = Cheap (and adorable) Wall Decor

A few weeks ago Terry and I and honorary third roomie Kathleen decided to hit up Hobby Lobby and have a fun filled weekend of DIY crafting. As per usual, we hit the HL with the intention of getting as much awesome stuff as possible, for as little money as possible. Well ladies and gentlemen, objective ACHIEVED. We got paint, canvases, brushes, you name it, all for under $30 each. With those utensils and little bit of pinteresting creativity, we made some pretty cool stuff for our respective homes.

I wanted to try something I'd seen on Pinterest (of course), so I got out the puffy paint and a canvas and got to work. Instead of putting the paint on wax paper and modge podging it to the canvas like the tutorial suggests, I just free-handed a pattern with a pencil and took the puffy paint straight to the canvas. It was SO easy! To give it a more finished look, I painted over the whole thing (once the puffy paint had dried, of course) with a light beige and called it a day. It's hanging in my room right now, and I have to say I love it!

Then we took it one step further and created a four canvas piece with a similar pattern. You can buy these small canvases in packs of 2 or more. We just painted 3 tan, one teal, and used the same tan to paint a pattern over the teal. Again, so easy, and we're thrilled with the result!

We also did more with our geometric pattern theme. These literally could not have been easier. I just taped off the lines with painters tape and slapped some paint down. They are currently hanging in the hallway that runs the length of our house, and they break up the space perfectly.


Terry was brave enough to take on a smaller geo pattern... and the results were fantastic! Terry used the rim of a glass for a stencil and drew the pattern out before painting inside the lines. It was a little more difficult and time consuming, but still totally doable. Definitely one of my favorites.


So craftapalooza was a success! We decorated a solid majority of the walls in our apartment in one weekend (and for practically nothing). The moral of the story? Store bought home decor is a rip off. You can have beautiful, one of kind pieces in every room of your house without spending hundreds.

staying organized never cost so little!

Mal and I needed something to spice up our kitchen and I found just the thing! If you are like us, we are constantly on the go. Whether it is work, appointments, errands, etc. we always seem to find ourselves running around. This is when I found this on pinterest.

I figured this would be a great way to add to our kitchen walls AND keep us organized. All I needed to do was upgrade the look. I went over to one of our favorite stores, Hobby Lobby, and I looked for a collage frame. Lucky me, they were fifty-percent off AND I had a coupon. I then went over to the scrap booking section and found some amazing papers. The papers shown in the original were a little to funky for me so I found some high-class papers that matched the decor and color palette of our kitchen.

I went home and cut the papers into the correct size and inserted them into the frame and it looked awesome! Next, I ran over to the dollar store where I got 4 thin dry-erase markers for just a dollar and starting planning our week.

I'm telling you, this is a quick, easy and cheap way to stay organized while also filling some empty space of your walls. The best part is the possibilities are endless because you can use each frame in any way you like. Some examples might include: grocery lists, movie lists, homework, shopping lists, etc.

One last thing, the price. Never, EVER buy anything at full price when you are shopping for craft supplies at Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Simply go to their website and get a coupon or just click the links below!

Michaels 40% off Coupon

Hobby Lobby 40% off Coupon

Happy Organizing :)

we're back in action.

All right friends with champagne problems, it's been awhile. For that, we apologize. Yes, yes, we've been busy and blah, blah, blah, but it is not an excuse. We promise to be back in action to entertain both ourselves and you. The good news is, because of our blogging hiatus, we have been busy with many different things that we can't wait to blog about. With that being said, let's pop some bubbly and vamp it up just in time for one of our favorite holidays, Halloween.

Beachy hair on the cheap

Why hair products are so expensive, I will never know. It’s probably just the personal care industry jacking up their profit margins 500% because they know girls like us will buy their products regardless of the cost. And clearly, I’m willing to spend my hard earned money on quite a number of silly products, but one that I just have a hard time forking over the cash for is “surf hair” spray. Spending $20 on a little bottle of spray to make my hair look like it does after a day at the beach (for FREE) is something I just can’t bring myself to do. 

So when I found this fantastic recipe for home made Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray while perusing Pinterest the other day, I was ecstatic! It was probably the easiest thing I have ever done and it was SO cheap. Epson salt, gel, water, spray bottle. Done and Done.

Here’s a look at my hair after I used it. Usually when I do my hair “beachy,” I have to touch it up with a curling iron or flat iron to get the waves looking presentable, but I didn’t do a single thing to it this time. And it turned out great!

Cost:

Epson salt: about $3 for 4lbs

Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Gel: about $3 for 6 oz

Spray bottle: about $2

Water: free ninety-nine

That’s $8 for a practically endless supply of surf spray. Considering that B & B Surf Spray $23 for 4oz, that’s a pretty good price.

The DIY bracelets continue...

Since I'm pretty much a pro at jewelry making now (HA), I have another bracelet project to report on. This time I took a whack at a super cute wrap bracelet tutorial, again via honestlywtf.com. Per usual, they have easy-to-follow instructions and great pictures to guide you. This bracelet was way easier to assemble than my Hexnut Bracelet and just as adorable.

All the materials were pretty easy to find; I found both the leather and linen cords at Michael's and the hexnuts at Lowe's. I ended up finding the brass ball chain at Lowe's as well, in the lighting section (go figure).

The tutorial makes it look pretty easy, and as previously mentioned it was much easier than my previous attempts at homemade jewelry, but I still ran into a few challenges. First of all, this thing is tough to get started. Maybe I just lack dexterity and general hand/eye coordination... but it was really hard to hold the leather cord just right while keeping the brass ball chain in place and wrapping the linen cord around it. But once I got the linen cord wrapped around the chain a couple times, it wasn't too bad. Getting the chain started was the biggest challenge, though; the cord was easy to tie off to create the "clasp" when I reached the end.

 I think it turned out great! The tutorial recommends experimenting with different chains and next time I'll be trying out different color leather and linen cording as well. With so many options, you can create tons of these with no being two exactly alike. You could experiment with different lengths too, so that it wraps only once around your wrist, or 3 or 4 times. The options are endless!

Here's the skinny on the cost:

Linen cord: about $4 for 120 ft. (in 4 colors)
Leather cord: $5 for 9 yards
Brass ball chain: $2.50 for 3 feet
Hexnut: $0.98 for 20 silver or 2 brass

Guest Post - DIY Jewelry Organizer

When Mallory told me she and Terry were starting this blog, I clearly thought it was awesome and it got me thinking of my own champagne problems...

Lately, I've been feeling like I wear the same jewelry all the time - not for lack of options either! I had been keeping my jewelry in my Vera Bradley travel case (not a cheap item but hey, it was a gift) which left me choosing whatever earrings were easiest to find. In addition, all my necklaces were in a drawer in various knots, so I wasn't finding the motivation every morning to try and work those out and get out the door on time. While at Urban Outfitters a few weeks ago, I came across some options for jewelry display and storage ...

Everything I saw, like the one above, didn't really leave me breathless. They weren't huge and I couldn't find one that could hold a good combination of earrings and necklaces. Not to mention, that little thing is being sold for 34 dollars! So, why not make it myself? Here's what you'll need...

• a roll of window screen (found this at Lowe's, you don't need a whole roll but that was the smallest amount I could find - use the extra to make these as gifts)
• picture frame
• hot glue gun (the original DIY I saw for this called for a nail gun but they are about $20 on their own! plus I knew I would use a hot glue gun again)
• materials to hang the frame (if your frame doesn't already have a hook/wire situation)
• hammer and nails (optional, if you want to have a place to hang necklaces)

Once you have all your materials, cut a piece of screen thats a little larger than the opening on your picture frame - once you've glued this in place you can trim the excess off. I glued in small amounts, probably 3 inches of hot glue at a time since the hot glue will dry quickly. Use a metal object to press the screen into the glue (I used the tip of a screwdriver but you could easily use a butter knife, etc.). A little glue will stick to the metal but you can easily peel it off once it is dry. As you glue, make sure you are pulling the screen tight across the frame. After you are done, trim the excess screen from the edges and nail some nails wherever you want as a place to hang necklaces. Then you'll have something beautiful...

There you have it! You could also skip the necklace storage and keep this on your dresser/bathroom sink/vanity. As far as price -

• screen, $6 for whole roll, so for this project I'd estimate = $2
• hot glue gun, bought mine new, came with 3 sticks of glue and I used all 3 = $5
• frame, mine was given to me but easily found cheap at a thrift store = $5
• hammer and nails for necklaces and hanging, you probably already have but = $1

So a total of $13 for a great new way to organize and display your jewelry. Now you have a great excuse to make a few new purchases to add to your collection!

NEVER pay full price again! here's how...

Everyone loves a great deal right? Well with the amounts of sales and coupons that companies give out today you should NEVER have to buy anything full price. Honestly, I don’t think I have bought anything for full price in ages.

The trick? E-MAIL!

Most every store that you can think of has an e-mail listserv you can join. In fact, most stores are converting all coupons and deal-alerts to e-mail. Go green, right? I personally would rather have a coupon right there in my hand, but that is just not how companies are working these days.

Everyday I get e-mails from my favorite stores telling me about deals and specials they are having. With these e-mails I’ve been able to shop at LOFT for 40% off, purchase 5 dollar tanks and tees at LOFT, receive free beauty products at Nordstroms, purchase Victoria Secret bathing suits for clearance prices, and receive 40% off Banana Republic. In fact, Mallory recently got an e-mail from the GAP announcing a 50% off deal that only lasted that day. Result? A fabulous dress from the new fall line at half the price.

Like the GAP e-mail Mallory received, some of these e-mails will announce special deals that are only available for the day. Some companies such as Lord & Taylor and LOFT will have online specials that give the discounts only during a special allotted time at night. Bottom line, it is VERY important to sign up for these announcements! You will save yourself a ton of money!

Tip: If you see something you like in the store that is full-price, try it on, figure out the size and color you want and write it down. Then when you get an e-mail alert from that store, you will already know exactly what you want! You’ll be just a few clicks away from an awesome deal on the recently full-price piece you wanted!

I can guess what you are probably thinking now. If you are like me, you HATE cluttering up your inbox with e-mails from stores. It blows up your phone and gets in the way of all the important e-mails you actually need to read causing you to delete e-mails that could have saved you money. The solution? GMail.

Not too long ago I decided I was SICK of these e-mails taking over my inbox. I then had the idea of creating a separate e-mail account just for saving money on fashion. I went to GMail, created a second e-mail address and then changed all my store preferences to send my coupons and deals there. It has been a GOD SEND! I added this new account to my Mac mail with a fabulous result: all my fashion e-mails now go to one perfect and tidy folder I like to call heaven. TIP: I did NOT add this new e-mail address to my iPhone.

Now I can check these e-mails without feeling overwhelmed and annoyed and I am always in the know of when it is the opportune time to buy those new fall pieces I want!