Decorating on a dime - Glass Jars

I know it is all the rave right now to create anything and everything with mason jars. But mason jars still cost money and they can be hard to find if you live in a craft savvy area where all the other Pinterest junkies are hoarding mason jars like they are going out of style. I say the truly frugal, green, up-cycle (did I get all the trend words in there?) thing to do is to use glass jars that you already have in your home. The ones that are going to just get put in the recycling bin (or GASP, garbage can) when you are done with them. Spaghetti sauce jars, salsa jars, baby food jars....the list goes on and on. We all have them so why not use them?

I shared the other day the printed silhouette I was using for my teapot shelf in my hutch. The next shelf down I had halfway put together with a wedding picture, some old cameras, and some keepsakes but it was missing something. Totally coincidentally I had just washed out 3 spaghetti jars yesterday not knowing what I wanted to do with them but sure I could find a use. As they sat and dried I remembered that shelf in my hutch and had an idea. In my kitchen above my cupboards are some old jars, milk jugs, wine jars that belonged to my husband's grandparents and great grandparents. Awhile ago I had stuck an old picture of my dad as a kid dressed in cowboy gear on top of a pony (so cute!) into one of the jars and put it back against the other things. I knew I wanted to display it in a more visible place and this is where the hutch shelf came to mind.

Along with the cowboy picture jar I put one of my parent's wedding pictures into a jar to nestle next to my own wedding picture, a black and white picture of my grandma that I treasure into another jar, and was left with one more but knew I didn't want to do any more pictures. I decided to try to put a message into that last jar that could sit sideways on top of one of the old cameras. Here are the supplies I rounded up from what I already had around the house:

grey scrapbook paper, some buttons, cleaned out spaghetti jar, bath salts, scissors and hot glue gun

From that I cut down the scrapbook paper to size and glued on the word LOVE using the buttons. I poured in enough bath salts to fill the bottom of the jar when it was tipped on it's side and slid the love paper into it. I'm not totally in love with this project but it will work for now.

 

This is what my shelf looks like finished:

Ignore the unfinished shelf below it!

Obviously the project itself isn't revolutionary but really more of a reminder to not be afraid to use what you already have. It is a lot of fun coming up with ways to re-purpose items currently in my possession and it is a lot friendlier on the bank account then constantly purchasing brand new pieces. And I think that my Depression-era grandma would be kind of proud that her picture is now on display in such a cost efficient way. Either that or she would wonder why the heck I shoved it into an old spaghetti jar instead of a nice frame...

Decorating on a dime - Printing Silhouettes

Part of my organization goal for the summer is to refocus the look of each room in our house. To choose something that really reflects us and to purge the rest of it. Being on a budget can make this task feel overwhelming but I am determined to make the most of what we have and be creative with stretching any dollar that does go towards decorating.

One of my favorite new obsessions is making my own "art" {I'm not delusional...what I create can only very loosely be called art} to add something personal and colorful to our home. After seeing this pin, I have started using Google Image and Word to make some simple pictures. By searching whatever object I am wanting along with the word silhouette I can make some pretty cute things. Whether left alone or paired with a saying this has become a quick and frugal way to decorate. And finding a frame is never an issue...choosing from the many I have in my home, dropping by the Dollar Store or Thrift Store, or not using a frame at all are some of the cheap options I have used. I already have a bathroom project in mind where I am going to spray paint some frames to give them new life (getting ahead of myself, I'll leave that for another post).

Want to see an example? We were recently re-doing our hutch display and I wanted to designate one shelf for some of the teapots I have collected. I thought a teapot framed piece would be nice so I Googled an image of a teapot silhouette and chose one I liked. I had planned to print it off on colored paper but found a silhouette that was already done in pink lined with gold so I stuck with that. After transferring it to a Word Document I was able to re-size the picture and add Tea Time to the top. Printed on card stock and added to a silver frame from my stash, I was done. Easy, right? It actually helped me focus my teapot display as well because I was able to choose colors that matched the pink and gold in my picture. Like it?

As you can see, this is one of those DIY projects that anyone can do and that can be made as simple or elaborate as you see fit. You can bet these little pictures will be popping up in all kinds of places in my home.