on the cheap: sunburst mirror.

i think it was in reading this young house, a home decor blog written my a young 20something couple about renovating their house, that i first discovered the ubiquitous sunburst mirror. i've noticed them in lots of different places now, ranging from gold-leafed to made of driftwood, and I can't really think of any good reason why i like them so much, i just do!

this mirror from ballard designs is what i had in mind when i started looking for a do-it-myself-on-the-cheap version:

or this one from ethan allen. i found several different diy versions made of everything from simple, weathered driftwood to one very unexpected in plastic utensil spoons!

[courtesy of marie claire idees- LOVE that one, but despite my intensely genuine excitement over it, somehow couldn't get my hubby on board. maybe it was the pink].

i've seen several beautiful driftwood ones, which i also love, and thought about making this wooden plant stake one until i stumbled across a little tutorial for a rolled paper one... originally a wreath... but i thought, if i make it a little flatter and stick a round mirror in the middle? presto. sunburst mirror.

so that is what i did. here is my new little cheapo creation hanging in a little mudroom-ish spot by our front door:
i started with an oval wooden base [less than $2] a 10 inch round mirror base [around $1, both from ac moore] and a book that i got for $1 from a used book store about gardening [even though i'm a serial plant killer] because the font was printed in a cool green color, and the pages were aged just right, and it had such unique little illustrations [don't worry, i saved those for another project someday!]
[chapter 8: love will find a way. how can you not love that?]

basically, i just tore out each sheet and gently rolled it into a tube, squishing some hot glue to "close" the tube into a flat part on one end. once it was flat, then i hot glued it to the back of the wooden base. out of all the pictures i took as i went, this is the one step i did not take a picture of and obviously should have! if you make this project yourself, i'm hoping you'll know what i mean with the highly technical terms of rolling, squishing, and flattening [hah!]. hopefully you can see what i mean:
i rolled and glued, rolled and glued, all the way around the back of the wooden base until it looked like this:then i rolled and glued the paper tubes all the way around the back of the mirror separately from the base.
i did a second layer on the mirror, gluing another tube in between each of the first tubes, until it looked like this:
then i covered the back of the mirror in a lot of hot glue and pressed it down really hard onto the front of the wooden base to make it stick. i had wanted to do a second row on the wooden base as well, but honestly, by that point i had run out of pages in my book. and the little space in between doesn't really bother me since the unfinished wood is almost the exact same color as the aged book pages. it blends together well, and now that it is all glued together, i think the last layer i wanted to do probably would have made it a little too "fluffy."
i really love how it looks, filling that little empty space so evenly! and it's great for that last second hair/teeth/makeup check right before you walk out the door.
AND not too bad for a $3 job! [ps- i thought it was worth mentioning that the whole thing is light as a feather. we hung ours with one of those little brass bars that nails into the back and then "self-levels" on the nail in the wall. perfect!]

on the cheap: card clip wreath

although martha is usually on my hit-list for great crafty ideas, she's also kinda hit-or-miss as to whether her ideas will be cheap or not. sometimes they are brilliantly simple and can be done very cheaply, and sometimes they are purely ridiculous in nature and need some sort of strange, difficult to find, expensive element [usually that one little part that is random, but the project isn't quite the same without it- almost always quite true when it comes to her recipes].

but she didn't let me down when i came across her pinup wreath. easy, cheap, and CUTE... the crafty trifecta! in fact, even though i'm not typically a wreath person [especially martha's since they tend to be pretty extravagant] i had everything i needed right in my little craft room for this one: hot glue, a wooden embroidery hoop, a little package of wooden clippy clothespins, and a bit of ribbon. [i used a 14" hoop because it was what i had on hand, but if you want to put lots and lots of cards on it, you may want to use at least a 16" one].
i eyeballed the martha one enough to figure out which way the clips were pointing, and then made it easy for you in a little chart!
hot glue, rinse, repeat.
i call it the clippy wreath, and it was exactly what i was looking for to display my daughter's 1st birthday cards. my mom and dad used to put our birthday cards on top of the piano as they arrived in the mail and leave them there all week. it was such a simple way to feel so celebrated.
add a big ribbon loop and bow, and hang! [i used a suction cup with hook on my porch door]. it was looking a little thin before the actual party, so i printed out a few photos of her throughout her first year and clipped those on as well, here and there between the cards.
my little birthday bear!
and it technically counts as a christmas craft, because although i made it in november, i took the birthday cards down and it became a perfect place for the christmas cards that are starting to come in! you could even change out the ribbon for different holidays if you felt so inspired.

just a few more.

as requested, here are just a few more pictures of my on the cheap christmas decor!

the full mantle:
[stockings soon to come!]

and the full living room shelf above the couch:
normally, that big empty frame would drive me crazy [and i did play around with a few giant ornament ideas], but i kind of like the sparse, wintery feel it gives, especially with the creamy distressed frame against the tan walls with the whitewhitewhite felt snowflake garland all together. the little red trees are gift bag toppers that i bought on clearance two years ago after christmas at target when i worked there. can't remember if i ever used the bags or not, i just loved those little felt star-topped trees and the little twine they hung on!
this is the first year i've used the snowflake garland [originally from crate & barrel, and if i could find it again i'd buy about 20 of them!]. i love how it looks just slightly like piped icing along the shelf until you look closely enough to realize it is snowflakes. gives the house a gingerbread feel, and what is more christmas-y than gingerbread houses? [those are on my to-make list too!]
in keeping with the mostly-accidental red and white snowflake theme, i made a cheap winter front door wreath re-using my grapevine wreath from fall. the wreath runs $3-$4 at my local craft store, and i added some little faux winterberries and a big styrofoam snowflake hanging in the middle. styrofoam sounds so cheap, but it's sprayed with this little white ball stuff [descriptive, right?] that makes it look very cute and wintery, almost like a cartoon snowflake.
the very thick 3D-ness of it makes it just perfect for the middle of a wreath, and i added a few clear acrylic snowflakes to the little panes on each side of the door for some sparkle and some more snowflakes!

i love etsy.

etsy never ceases to be a treasure chest of ideas for me. not that i'm trying to rip off other people's ideas, but here's a great example. when my mom died, my grandmother gave me this beautiful, small silver baby spoon that was part of her (my mom's) silverware set, or at least the same pattern. i thought it was beautiful, and loved the sentiment, but wasn't sure what to do with it at the time, so i set it in my kitchen drawer thinking i would use it as a sugar spoon with my coffee at get togethers.

then, lo and behold, i notice this on the front page of etsy one day:
beautiful heirloom spoons, just like my mom's, used as christmas ornaments! what a great idea! so i went for some hanging ribbon, and knew just the one to use- one that was mom's, of course. i remember being with her when she bought it, how it jumped out to her out of the martha stewart collection. she bought it even though it cost more than she usually spent on ribbon, and then hesitated to ever use it because she liked it so much.
so now, a little spoon [obviously in need of some love & a little tarn-x] with a little loop of ribbon has taken up residence on our tree. now rather than lanuishing never to be seen in my drawer, it can be pulled out and remembered every year with all the other memory-full ornaments.
miss you, mom. miss you so.

swoon.

i can't remember when or where i first discovered anthropologie, but it has been and continues to be a huge source of visual inspiration to me. their prices are astounding, but they really do have amazingly beautiful things- there's no wonder so many of us out in our little craft-blog-lands are citing them. here is my current wish list, not necessarily to buy, but that makes me want to try to make something like it.

embroidered recipe book
i've been trying to get imaginative with how to combine my recipes with the box of ones i've inherited from my mom. i want to keep her original cards with her handwriting and the little stains here and there from making cookies together. i'm thinking maybe a photo album instead of a writing-in book, with a little wool felt cover that i could embroider on easily. and let's not lie... you know i want to smoosh a spoon flat with a hammer and sew it onto the front!

stuffed letter ornament
i still don't know how to knit, but i think these fat little letter ornaments would be absolutely adorable as a baby gift, especially for a first christmas or for a december wee one. maybe a quilted version is in order... oooh or from a felted sweater? the little wooden button is my favorite part. i may end up making these for all my neices and nephews one of these days!

spoon chandelier
i am madly in love with this chandelier, though obviously not willing to sell my first three children in order to obtain it [$4800!!! seriously?]. i think there is something so great and homey about a simple and almost-bare dining room with little more than a huge dining table- and this would look incredible hanging over it!

[random side note: this lovely little chandelier send me on a huge google trail of all kinds of other cool chandelier-related things i've seen. i was looking specifically for an awesome one made of vintage wine barrel rungs that i originally saw in marie claire idees, but couldn't find an online source for, so i had to go back through my old issues and scan it in. there's also this great wine bottle one from pottery barn, and a super cool scissors one from artist lisa congdon... wouldn't it be awesome hanging from quilting hoops in a craft room/studio?]

isn't it incredible?

ok, back to anthro:

letter stands
i love these little letters on their little individual stands. i think it would be so cool to have the entire alphabet on hand so that you could write something out for any holiday you like or someone's name for their birthday- i think 'merry christmas' written out across the mantel would look amazing. unfortunately, the entire alphabet would cost... add it up... carry the 2... $728. lovely. surely you could make them somehow for less? [cheapness. also a reason for crafting!] individually, i also think they'd look great above each stocking at christmas to indicate whose is whose. you can be sure i'll be looking for little metal letters and little metal stands at flea markets from now on!

crocheted throw
three words for you: yarn scrap stash. although there may be good reason, for once, that this one would run you $298.

cupcake wrapper apron
i tried once, several years ago, to make an apron but the results were less than impressive [probably due to my choice of materials based on color and not durability]. i'm now the proud owner of a red and white half one from pier one, which is especially nice at christmas, but a full apron seems much more practical. this one seems deceptively simple... a panel at the chest, a large less-ruffly ruffle for the skirt and smaller more-ruffly ruffle on the bottom, some ties at the neck, a little trim and simple pocket, and done! i'll let you know if i get optimistic enough for that one!

cosmetic bag
i feel sure that this one could easily be felted and made [or vice versa] not to mention there are bajillions on etsy just as beautiful for a bit cheaper. i might even be willing to try it had i not put my sewing machine in the hospital for 10 days last time i tried to brave the zipper foot. however, they too seem deceptively simple according to this really detailed tutorial i keep stalking.

so there you have it. ok, now i'm really fighting the urge to attempt those sweater letter ornaments... [ha!]

on the cheap: christmas decor!

if you are like me, i have just watched my decorating budget go from $ (on the $ . $$ . $$$ scale) to free. as in time for trash to treasure, as in time to take super cheap castoffs from goodwill and yard sales and try to make them into something lovely for the home.

so i'm starting a series of projects called "on the cheap" where i will try to take older things that you could find cheaply at a yard sale or or goodwill, etc, sometimes combining them with inexpensive store-bought things to try to make a whole new thing! luckily, when it comes to christmas, a big part of the festive-ness comes from the magic of twinkly lights, which are fairly inexpensive and definitely easy to find!

after two moves in the past 18 months, it would seem that we have gotten rid of a significant amount of our christmas decorations! i'm not usually one who decorates every single room in the house, so i had less decorations in general than probably most people would consider normal. but this year, i had the hankering to go ALL OUT. decorate every room. overload the mantle. make homemade stockings. maybe throw some themes in there... but, i needed to to it cheaply! [aka, completely free if at all possible]. a lot of these ideas assume you at least have the basic glass ball ornaments, but even if you don't they are super cheap at wal-mart/target/kmar- the martha stewart ones at kmart are nice! i had to stock up on a few more, all i saved were the teeny tiny ones!

this is what i came up with:

peppermint centerpiece!
-glass bowl [if it's footed, you can tie a ribbon scrap around the bottom]
-large plate or platter, glass or silver would be pretty
-red balls [i used three sizes, $2.50 per box at wal-mart]
-starlight peppermints [$1.something a bag at target]

put your bowl in the middle of the platter. fill the bowl, starting with the largest balls, then add the peppermints and the smaller balls at random until the whole thing is filled. scatter a few peppermints and small or medium balls around the plate. add ribbon around the foot of the bowl if it has one, or add some squished up into the bowl- that would be pretty too! if you don't have the candy you could just do balls with swirls of ribbon in the bowl. [ps the "snow" underneath is a pashmina-y type scarf i got from target last year!]

paper merry christmas garland!
-1" and 2" round punch [or you can cut out circles- one for each letter or space]
-patterned christmas wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, or old christmas cards
-1 piece of cardstock
-your computer printer
-about 2-3 feet of small ribbon
-normal small hole punch

punch 2" circles out of your wrapping paper/old cards/scrabooking paper. print out 'merry christmas' in your favorite font and color on the white cardstock in your computer printer, then punch/cut out each letter into 1" circles [i have these punches in both sizes and loooove them] stick your letter circles onto your patterned circles with double stick tape or photo squares [i use photo squares for everything]. punch two tiny holes with the normal sized hole punch at the top of each patterned circle and string them one by one onto your ribbon! hang on a shelf, mantle, bookcase, or right across the middle of an empty wall!

[ps- don't limit yourself to merry christmas... try rejoice, noel, peace, merry & bright, joyeux noel, or 'for unto us a child is born' if you're feeling a longer garland!]

wall photo tree:
i originally got this idea from seeing an advent calendar where all the little pockets were arranged in a tree. i thought the same thing would work with photos on the wall! it was really easy with some little 3m photo and wall-safe sticky squares. i also made a little mini version on the fridge!
i also grabbed a little package of really cute ribbon bows meant for present toppers and added them to a few of the picture frames on our black and white wall. now they look like cute little christmas packages! super easy, cheap, and cute!
before:
after!
and honestly, you can't go wrong with some christmas balls in fun, unexpected places... they're probably the easiet way to add a little color and cheer all over the house!
off now to wrap some presents, and maybe make some stockings! i've had homemade monogram stockings on my mental "to make" list forever, i'm determined to actually get it done this year!

merry christmas!

christmas porch!

or, alternately titled: how $12 at the dollar store became front porch christmas trees.
cheapo wired garland, shimmery snowflake, and party hats [for another project], all $1 a piece!

here is the front porch in its fall setup:
my idea was that when i saw our old tomato cages flipped upside down, they were the shape of trees! i saw an adorable one spray painted red with little paper-covered clothespins used to clip your christmas cards to it and make a christmas card tree, and totally wanted to make one, but when i checked with my dear hubby he asked that i please not paint them. so, on to plan b.

i figured if i wrapped them in something (tulle or garland?) they could make great front porch trees. then i found super cheap 15 foot wired garland at the dollar store for, of course, $1 each! i zip-tied the top of the cage into a point and started wrapping the garland. each tree took 5 garlands and i also zip-tied a shimmery snowflake to the top to complete it! i am SO happy with how they look. the only trouble is that now i'm having a bit of an if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie moment, because now that they're done i want to put lights on them. which means i would need to go out and buy more lights. which totally defeats the purpose of my super cheap dollar store front porch trees.

ta da!
winter porch!
i re-used the planters for some borrowed faux poinsettias [i tend to unintentionally be a plant killer, so i stay away from the real deal if it needs to be around for any given amount of time]. i also re-used the grapevine wreath by sticking a few little red winterberries in it, and hanging a big snowflake in the middle- also a dollar store score! it's styrofoam so it's light and floaty as a snowflake should be! and i kept the giant green apple gourds because they're green and fun. works for me.
so excited these are done! and the best part is, i can take them all apart and reuse the parts when christmas is over.