Five Dollar Decor: Maps

I have a longstanding love affair with maps. I particularly like the pretty antique ones, but the ones pulled from the atlas are just as good, if you ask me. I like to look at them. I like to think about them. I just like having them around. They are cool. I am a map enthusiast.

I would do this

And you know who else was obsessed with maps? Winston Churchill. So you can wipe that condescending look off your face, smartypants. Maps are awesome.

I haven't done all of the projects in this week's Five Dollar Decor post, but I think I can honestly say that is only because I don't have the time to do all the projects I want to do. Someday, though. Someday.

Five Dollar Decor: Upcycling

This post was supposed to go up on Friday, but automated posting failed me, so here it is now!

"Upcycling" is a word I love. It has a nice ring to it, and is my favorite example of modern word invention. We aren't merely recycling something. Oh no. We are taking it and elevating it. We are upcycling.

One man's trash is another man's awesome oil lamp.

But, when you get down to brass tacks, upcycling just means "taking something and making it somehow awesomer," doesn't it? Exactly. And nothing could be more appropriate for the theme of "Five Dollar Decor" than taking things you already own and turning them into new things.

Five Dollar Decor: Wreaths

Fall, for some reason, always feels to me like the beginning of wreath season. Perhaps because when I was growing up, hanging a wreath was part of the late-fall preparation for Advent and Christmas. Perhaps because trick-or-treating meant seeing a lot of doors and a lot of wreaths. Whatever the reason, I think about wreaths most when the days start to get shorter and the weather starts to get colder.

Coffee filter wreath by Craftberry Bush

It's hard for me sometimes to find wreaths that I like. Too much clutter or kitsch and I'm instantly turned off. But a lot of people are out there finding ways to make beautiful wreaths with not a lot of clutter for not a lot of money.

A New Arrival + DIY Book Boxes

Last week, Mother in Law Scrimp took me to a new antique shop that opened up by her house. It's amazing. Everything in the store is purchased cheaply at estate sales and re-sold just as cheaply. I just had to take advantage of it.

Are you ready to see what we bought? Are you? 

Ok. :)

Excuse the grit on the floor underneath it. I didn't sweep up after Mr. Scrimp and his brother carried it inside. 

It's a lovely art deco-style buffet, with beautiful old hardware. There are some dings and nicks here and there but really it's in excellent condition. 

I think the thing I am most in love with is the beautiful, simple woodwork:

Anthropologie Rosette Bedspread Tutorial

I am almost speechless with admiration over this beautiful Anthropologie-inspired duvet made by Kirstin of kojodesigns. I don't know what I love most about it--the awesome low price? The fact that it completely captures the beautiful appeal of the much more expensive original? The simplicity of the project?

Nope, I can't decide. I love everything about it equally.

Kirstin used jersey (pillaged from t-shirts and some king-sized sheets). Sarah at This Crazy Blessed Life recreated the look using Kirstin's tutorial, white muslin from Wal-Mart, and an Ikea duvet for a total cost of (brace yourself) $53!

Compare that to $288 for the king-sized version at Anthropologie and you can color me totally impressed.

Ballard Hacking: Homemade Weathervane

One of the things I love to see more than anything else is ideas and inspiration for how to copy upscale, expensive things accurately and on the cheap. For instance, I cannot even handle the way that Tracy from Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures created a free  version of Ballard's $149 horse weather vane.

Tracy's horse is made out of wood and paper. Ballard's horse is made out of wood and cast iron. But, displayed on a shelf out of reach where it isn't likely to be damaged, does it really matter if your weather vane is just cardstock?

I think not.

Check out the whole process over at Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures.

Wooden Dice

I am really excited about this project idea from The 36th Avenue. Mr. Scrimp and I love games of all kinds, and I think a couple of oversized, antiqued wooden dice would make a great piece of decor for our living room.

Aren't those great? I love the wood grain and the distressing. They'd be wonderful on a corner table, or perhaps as bookends!

Wood Dice Tutorial via Dollar Store Crafts

Roundup: Pumpkin Patch

We're halfway through October and the neighbors two doors down have started lighting up their jack-o-lanterns every night.

Remember me saying how I love pumpkins? Well, there seem to be a lot of other people on the Internets who feel the same way I do. I was looking for one or two DIY pumpkin projects to share with you all, and I found too many to choose from. There's one here for pretty much every taste--or you could mix and match and have an assortment of pumpkin decor that lasts until it's time to put the Christmas things up instead.

DIY Project Inspiration

So, I was looking at some of the products available for sale from the. and I thought, as I so often do, "I could make that."

And I bet you could make it too--or some really cool spinoff of it.

Take a look at the picture under the cut and suggest ideas for other objects that would work for this framed object art.

Tutorial: DIY Garland

I am an incorrigible fabric collector. I can't help it--there's just something about fabric that speaks to me. If you're like me, you have boxes or bags of fabric scraps.

I've got little bits left over from past projects, too small to ever be part of a new sewing project themselves. I've got remnants I picked up at JoAnn with no plan in mind. I've got old clothes that don't fit, or aren't in style anymore. I have an entire shelf just about full of fabric.

Here's a project that uses bits and scraps from old projects to create a decorative garland. I used fall colors for mine, but your color scheme is really only limited by your available fabric.

Rental-friendly Wallpaper

Apartment Therapy has done it again, locating a new way to cover your wall even if you can't paint or put up wallpaper. And, if you're savvy about it, it shouldn't even cost too terribly much. I'm thinking about doing this in our hallway, or possibly in my craft room.

Pumpkin Village

So, Mr. Scrimp and I don't really do much for Halloween. I grew up in a no-Halloween family, and while Mr. Scrimp has many happy trick-or-treating memories, he's not super devoted to it. We go to a party with some friends, but that's it.

I do, however, love pumpkins. I love them uncarved. I love them carved. I love them painted. I love their seeds, and I love them in soup and pie. There is pretty much nothing about pumpkins that I don't love, in fact.

Which is why I thought this idea on ohdeedoh was so cool (picture after the cut)

Alphabet Wall

This would make such a cool decoration for a child's bedroom or playroom, or, with a darker set of colors (ebony, mahogany, gold, etc.) even in an office or library.

Alphabet Wall!

Check out a time for everything for more photos and a description of how she did it!

Frilly Wreath

Want a quick, girly, summery decorating project on the cheap? Of course you do!

My favorite for today is the book-wreath-inspired coffee filter wreath, made by Lynda at Sports Mad Southern Girl. I love how it looks like a giant mass of carnations.

I may try this with unbleached filters instead of white ones, as I think it would match the aesthetic I'm going for a little more. Man, there is just never enough time to do all the projects I want to do.

Homemade Hanging Baskets

I am in love with these hanging bathroom baskets posted by Lorie at Be Different...Act Normal. All you need is some string or ribbon, spray paint in a color that coordinates with your decor, and three nesting baskets.

For that matter, you could put these anywhere else--wouldn't they be beautiful in a pantry, stocked with fresh produce and dried herbs? Or perhaps several sets in a living room, displaying objets d'art and collectibles? They'd also serve well in a child's room, or hanging on the inside door of a guest room closet.

(via Dollar Store Crafts)

A New Meaning to "Window Treatment"

So here I am, slinking quietly back into blogland. I think I'm finally settled enough at my new job to maybe start posting regularly again. Let's hope!

Meanwhile, I am madly in love with this awesome and easy-looking project from The Shabby Chic Cottage:

I would not complain about having one of those in my house. Time to start looking for windows!

Be sure to visit the Shabby Chic Cottage and see all the awesome posts there.

DIY Lighting

While surfing the web this morning, I came across this little piece at Greenopolis.

Titled "18 Green DIY Lamps You Can Make Before Dark," it's a collection of links and photos with inspiration, directions, or links to kits for lighting made from repurposed around-the-house (mostly) materials.

Definitely be sure to get a load of my two favorites, the cardboard fairy lights (pictured here), and the plastic cutlery chandelier.

Pottery Barn Hacking

For those of you not in the loop on the latest slang, "hacking" in this sense just means copying something expensive and making your own for cheap or free. Want a good example? Check out this Pottery Barn hack by Angie of The Country Chic Cotttage.

Inspired by this Pottery Barn banker box storage set, Angie made these out of some left-over Christmas tins and some chalkboard paint:

Instructions here at Someday Crafts.

Five Dollar Decor - Child's Room

I've been remiss lately with the Five Dollar Decor posts, I admit. You'd be surprised how tough it can be to come up with ideas when there's nothing that I find immediately inspiring.

I still wasn't terribly inspired when I chose this theme, but I got more and more excited as I went, and now I'm really sad that it hasn't got any applicability for Mr. Scrimp and I at this time.

We don't have kids of our own yet, but I started working in childcare around the same time I started high school and have been doing it ever since. Babysitting, nannying, teaching preschool--you name it, I've done it. If I ever teach preschool again, I'll use these ideas in my classroom. If not, I'll use them when Mr. Scrimp and I manage to successfully make a Tiny Scrimp. Scrimpette? Mini-Scrimp? Well, the point is, someday we'll have one, and I will be ready.

Five Dollar Decor: Framed Art

One of the things that I find makes a home feel most finished is hanging framed artwork on the walls. I don't even care what's in the frames, really--there's just something about one or two or twenty(!) frames, neatly hung, that says a place is lived in by someone who cares about their surroundings.

Thing is, framed artwork--if you just buy it--is really expensive, especially when you get into bigger pieces.

So, what you should do instead is make it!