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Could you possibly enlarge your photos of your finished projects?
January 29th, 2007Full Question:
Could you possibly enlarge your photos of your finished projects?
They are so tiny that details cannot be seen and the creative descriptions do not give them justice.
Just a suggestion…I really have a hard time seeing the actual finished creation.
Thank you…a subscriber
My answer:
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for reminding me that I have been FORGETTING to say in each of my blog posts, that it you want to see a bigger view of the designs, double click on the small picture. Another window will open with a larger view. I am constantly forgetting to tell my readers that!
I *think* (but could be wrong) that the pictures on the links in the emailed ezine itself are big enough, but if not LET ME KNOW and I will make them bigger, too.
Again, thank you for calling that to my attention!
Your Frugal Decorating Diva,
Nancy
P.S. Want to ask Your Frugal Decorating Diva a question? Or maybe you’d like more info on this topic? Visit here.
Photo Wrapping Paper
January 5th, 2007
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I just had to share this idea from the Kit Cassingham (The B and B Lady, http://www.TheBAndBLady.com) with you all. Is this a cool idea or WHAT!?!?!:
I know this is a big crunch day for you, so don’t worry about responding. You just have to hear about this great way of saving the environment and beautifying gifts — small ones any way. :~)
Randy took a magnificent photo out our office window shortly after our big snow storm that he said might be an Xmas photo for our card this year. But before he could do that with it, he turned it into wrapping paper!
He added “Ouray County Christmas” in red on top of a snowy section and then printed it with minimal borders on 8 1/2×11 paper. Since we use recycled paper here it was perfect. It looked grand under the “tree”, and I can recycle it.
Feel free to share it with your Frugal readers. I may do the same with my innkeeping readers.
Happy New Year!!
Your Frugal Decorating Diva,
Nancy
Wooden shoes and scarves
January 3rd, 2007Email the link for this page to a friend!
If you are a subscriber to my ezine, you may have gotten an issue of it from me talking about my many collections. The collection included in the picture in that issue was my collection of wooden shoes. I had previously mused in this blog, about what to do with those wooden shoes and had gotten some great suggestions about them. (You can read that blog entry at http://www.frugalbydesign.com/blog/2006/06/10/mailbox-storage/ .)
After the suggestions were left, I thought I’d share a photo of what I eventially did with those wooden shoes. They are now wall art in my designing cabin. You’ll see in the picture that scarves were also used as drapes off the ceiling lights. If you do that yourself, make sure you use low-wattage bulbs, and don’t leave them unattended EVER. Click on the picture below to get a better peek at these:
Have you done anything with wooden shoes? They are indeed, a bit “different” as a decorating tool.
Your Frugal Decorating Diva,
Nancy
Buttons, boxes and the marriage of both
January 1st, 2007Email the link for this page to a friend!
For some time now, I have been collecting “parts” - things that I can use to turn stuff I have and don’t really want into stuff I like and/or need. My “big picture” goal is to keep as much out of landfills as I possibly can. Some of this is because I am concerned about where all of our “unwanted stuff” will go to decompose, and some of this is because I just think we are way too wasteful sometimes. This is just one of my mini rants.
It has become a game with me - to find ways to use things until they are REALLY nothing more than by-products for my compost pile. I haven’t gotten quite there yet but I am heading in that direction.
So, I’ll be looking at “stuff” with an eye for - “what could this become?” What could I built with it? Such was the case with the project below that married buttons and boxes into chic storage. (Click on the pictures, as well as any pictures in this blog, to get a bigger view of these projects.)
This was made with different sizes of white and off white buttons, a glue gun and a wooden box. The box was a quarter at a yard sale and the buttons came from so many sources - they are actually one of the things that I collect. You can take all the buttons off any clothes that end up as cleaning or dust rags. I got bottles, jars and tins full of them at auctions, thrift stores and garage sales. And I have bought old sewing machine cabinets to use as furniture, with the added benefit of all the buttons and notions that are commonly found in the drawers.
Once you have collected all of your supplies, just start gluing. Glue the buttons in random patters, if you want, overlapping them as you go (that’s what I did) or lay them out in a specific shape to match your theme (maybe as flowers or filigree or snowmen). Although I only covered part of my box because the wood-look worked really well where I would be using it, you could completely cover yours. Or cover yours LESS than I covered mine. Whatever works for you.
I am using mine to “store” shells from a very special occasion. They aren’t tucked away in a box or basket - I get to see them all the time. And they way they make me feel when I remember where they came from…. what a lift on even the most difficult day. Now, THAT is something I want AND need!
Your Frugal Decorating Diva,
Nancy
I don’t know where December went….
December 31st, 2006Email the link for this page to a friend!
I really don’t. It’s not like I had nothing to share in that time frame. If anything I had too MUCH. So I’ll use this post to share some tips that I know will still be useful long after December has come and gone.This first project evolved because I have kitties who love shiney things. I mean LOVE them! Love to bat them around! Last year, after losing many, many glass Christmas balls, this year I protected the remaining ones with a glass cheese dome. The dome, will balls, is sitting on a round silver tray, and then trimmed with silk pine boughs and poinsettias.
I had a tough time getting to the trees to set them up this year, so this was the tree that glowed through my livingroom window:
This is a repurposed tomato cage, strung with mini lights. Once completed, this is great holiday decor for people who have trouble lifting and carrying things - it’s light-weight and easy to store. The complete instructions on how to do that can be here.
Then, there is the idea of decorating AROUND the stuff you use all the time. I used to totally strip my hutch - packing up 
all my dishes and putting out a complete holiday display. This year, I decorated around my “stuff”, and I have to say - it sure is easier. When time is an issue, this kind of decor can be done in a half hour or less. And I am betting the “take down” will be super simple and quick as well.
I did a similar thing with my mantle, both this and last year. I just did different color schemes each year. Last year was a red and purple theme and this year was a red and white theme. I REALLY like how the mini lights look when they are placed INSIDE the urns and then turned on. That will probably be a staple for me from year to year. I may even consider leaving those up year ’round:
So, these are the things I have “learned” from my holiday decor this year:
1. Animal-friendly decorating is essential.
2. If physical limitations cause a need for a change in customary decor, creatively work around that change.
3. Use what you have out already and decorate around it.
4. Use color to change the look.
5. Don’t let ANYTHING stop you from having the “feel” in your home that you WANT!
Here’s to a healthy, happy and prosperous 2007.
Your Frugal Decorating Diva,
Nancy
More Garden Tool Holiday Decorating
November 27th, 2006Email the link for this page to a friend!
This particular project isn’t that much different than the last one I posted, using the garden shovel. This time, it’s with a pitchfork. This was given to me as a birthday gift by Kathy:
She made it the same way as the shovel, using silks and ribbon.
I just LOVE decorating with repurposed stuff like this!
Your Frugal Decorating Diva,
Nancy
Holiday Decorating Has Started
November 13th, 2006 Email the link for this page to a friend!
I say it every year - once Halloween comes, the winter holidays are the next day - it sure feels that way, anyway. I find this time of year very inspiring, decorating wise. That feeling is always added to when I see what others have done to add to their holiday decor. This project was sent to me by Kathy Pfaff, in Erie, Pa. She did a great job repurposing a garden shovel into outdoor wall art:
Using silks, fruit, ribbon and a glue gun, Kathy:
* Made an arrangement in the blade of the shovel
* Wrapped the handle in ribbon, then trimmed out the very top
* Hung the finished piece on her porch for the neighbors to enjoy
This is a great way to repurpose a shovel with a broken handle, too - Kathy’s wasn’t broken. I’ve got a broken one, though - and this would be a GREAT way to put it back to use.
Your Frugal Decorating Diva,
Nancy
Decorating With Nature
November 5th, 2006 Email the link for this page to a friend!
Back in the spring, I was sitting in my livingroom, looking out my bay window, when I saw a robin carrying twigs, string and other goodies to the top of the window. A further inspection showed that a Daddy robin was building a nest on top of that bay window. Within a very short time, there were four blue eggs snuggled in the nest.
As it turned out, that was one smart robin. That nest never got rained on. When winds blew, it was protected. Feeding the babies, for both Mom and Dad robin was very convenient. And I was a major protector of them - making sure they weren’t disturbed while they raised their family. Amazingly, all four eggs hatched and all four babies grew to adulthood. I understand that it is rare for that to happen.
After watching and photographing the progress of the babies for the two months it took for them to hatch and fledge, I didn’t have the heart to destroy their nest or leave it out for the elements. As soon as I was sure they were all gone, I brought it inside.
Within days, I found two more nests. One was actually buried in the grass in my yard - I could barely see that it was there. When I got close enough to make out that it was a nest, I was kinda surprised that it was on the ground and in tact. That one was a hummingbird nest - the bottom lined with feathers. It must have been blown out of a tree by the wind.
The last one was in a tree in the front yard - I spotted it when the leaves fell. It also appears to be a robin’s nest.
Here are the three nests, displayed in a still-life in my diningroom. The nest that the pheasant is sitting in is the one that was built on top of my window. The one tipped on its side with the chinese lantern seeds in it is the hummingbird nest.
This whole experience has me wanting to go with even more treasures from nature. I have no clue what I will find next.
Your Frugal Decorating Diva,
Nancy
I didn’t know that gourds could be painted
October 29th, 2006 Email the link for this page to a friend!
For years, I have bought gourds as part of my fall decor. And every year, I try to dry those gourds so that I can keep them from year to year. I’ve had one for almost fifteen years.
Those first years of drying were not all that successful - most of the gourds got a fungus and rotted. I few years ago, I read that you have to wash them in a weak bleach solution (mine was like fifteen to one - fifteen parts water to one part bleach) to kill that fungus before it ruins the gourd. Once I started doing that, I was able to save a lot more of them. I found this also worked with those really tiny pumpkins (which are actually a type of gourd), too.
Even though they didn’t rot away, they still did get spots on them. You can see those spots on the picture above (click on the picture to get a bigger view). I recently learned that the gourds can be spray painted and that will preserve them even further. So I sprayed mine gold. That way, I can use them as fall decor right into the winter holidays - just change out what I pair them with. The fall arrangement uses leaves and nuts. The winter one will use pine boughs and pine cones.
Your Frugal Decorating Diva,
Nancy
Growing Fall Decor
October 22nd, 2006 Email the link for this page to a friend!
One of the things I have never grown well before, until this year, are chinese lanterns. I had plantd them from seed, and they didn’t do well at all. They grew, but only about six or eight inches high, and they had few lanterns on them. They were in full sun and allowed to grow at will.
Then I transplanted them. They are now in a bed that gets about six hours a day of direct sunlight, and just as many hours in light shade. The bed was full of compost (which they appear to like A LOT!). This year, they grew two feet tall with bright orange lanterns down the whole stem. To say I was “thrilled” would be a real understatement.
There is, however, a “challenge”. Chinese lanterns are invasive (who knew? Prior to this year, you could have never proved it by me!). If they like where they are, they will spread, and spread, and spread - which is what they did - throughout all my mums and summer flowers.
So, after cutting all the stems and de-leafing them for the display you see at the beginning of this blog entry (click on both pictures to get a better view), I dug them all up. I put them all in pots until I can decide where to put them where they can be as invasive as they want, and not crowd out their neighbors. I’ll let you know when I figure out where that is!
Your Frugal Decorating Diva,
Nancy
