Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Fall?? Another Pinterest inspired project and some more money saved!
I love the look of the bunting-type banners, but they are pretty expensive if you buy them in Etsy. Instead, I made my own and it was super easy and super cheap. In Publisher (you could use Word too) pick a font you love, type out whatever words you want in about 200-250 size and print on colored paper. Cut around the letters in a triangle shape, paste on another colored sheet and cut around another larger triangle. Attach to a line of twine with wooden clothespins.
I love Fall...love love love love it! I love decorating for Fall more than I love decorating for Christmas. The cooling temps, cozy sweaters, my favorite blue jeans, football (Go Ohio! Go Bengals!), pumpkin patches, hay rides, corn mazes...I just love all of it.
My Fall wreath was looking a little tired and old, so I perused Pinterest looking for something else I could do. I came across a lot of burlap (I also love me some burlap!) and felt rosettes. I decided to come up with my own version. I think it turned out pretty stinkin' cute! I love the subtle Fall colors, the rusticness of the burlap and twigs and sweetness of the rosettes. You can find the tutorial on the rosettes here and how to make a burlap bow here.
The door from the garage into the house enters into my office. I was super sick of how disgusting the white door got from us going in and out all the time, so I decided to paint the door with chalkboard paint. Now the kids can draw all over it and it's also a metal door, so they can hang pictures and artwork up on it too. No more nasty fingerprints and black marks!!
This is a Pinterest project I've had pinned for over a year, and finally
we had collected enough bits and pieces of old crayons. Whenever your
kiddos break a crayon or you get down to the stubbies, save those
pieces, peel off all the paper and put into silicon baking cups or
molds. Put in the oven at 250 degrees for 15 minutes. Take out of the
oven and let harden. Out comes fun-shaped, very colorful crayons!
I love having pictures of family and friends all around the house, but I
was starting to run out spots to put frames on shelves and such.
Several years ago, we went to the Indianapolis Home Show and the
showcase home had a beautiful photo gallery going up the staircase. I
especially loved the groupings of four and five picture frames together
and had seen them in stores, but knew they were pretty expensive. So, we
took $1 and $2 Goodwill and garage sale picture frames, glued them
together, repainted all one color and added a hook to hang. Some of the
frames we kept their original color. Instant and
cheap photo collages! I've started to intersperse other single picture
frames among the large groupings to create a photo gallery down the
stairway.
Last year, my hubby built a pergola over our back patio. I've always loved all the different mason jar lighting and chandeliers that are all over Pinterest, but again, to buy them, they are pretty expensive. Instead, we made our own from a $9 wine barrel ring, 4 mason jars we found from the Lakeside Collection (found here) that had the hooks and lights already in them and were only $5 a piece, 4 hooks and some black chain.Instant lighting charm :)
When we finished our basement, my one requirement was a really nice laundry room. If my washer and dryer have to be in the basement, I want them to be in a nice room. I also wanted my laundry room to serve as a craft/wrapping room too, so I was on the lookout for storage to go in it. Everything I found that was new was pretty expensive, so, of course, I turned to Pinterest and found tons of refinished pieces.
The dressing table was free from a friend of a friend (thanks Sarah and Amy!). After a good sanding, several coats of gray paint, new knobs and inexpensive scrapbook paper inside the windows on the drawers, it went from plain to pizzazz!.
I also wanted some cute wall decor that wouldn't cost a lot, and found that someone on Pinterest had taken plain canvases and wrapped them in fabric. Instead of canvases, I found the canvas frames at Michael's for cheap (around $2-3 per frame) and covered in fabric (found in the discount bin for $1.99 a yard). Voila! Instant wall art for just a few dollars.
The first is a wall of clocks for a home office. I loved this idea for Matt's home office and so I bought three very inexpensive clocks (check out Lowes, Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart or scour local garage sales) and scattered them on the wall with maps of the three states were we've lived since we've been married. The maps came from an old atlas my parents had laying around and the frames are from old barn wood we had extra of from a different project. I added some old suitcases and old set of drawers as side tables. 
I love this look of the old license plates to add a splash of color and whimsy to a room. We had a bunch of old license plates from all the states were we've lived as a married couple and growing up and so I took them and attached them to a piece of lightweight MDF with wood glue. My hubby added on brackets on the back to hang it up and voila, a fun look at all the states my husband and I have lived in. 
