:: :: send me :: ::
for an upcoming project (called my life under an even more severe budget than i was living under before), i'm looking for anything you can think of that is:
(a) inexpensive and/or d.i.y.
(b) practical (i.e. it serves a legitimate daily purpose)
and
(c) pretty/well designed
if all goes according to plan, we're going to moving into a house that needs some, uh, aesthetic updating but we're going to be updating it on less than a dime. for that matter, we haven't had the money to buy new clothes for either of us grownups and evan's running out of shirts that extend at least most of the way to his wrists. so i'm looking for creative ways to get us through the meager years without feeling totally depressed about it.
send me your ideas for inexpensive art, clothing, drapes, kitchen tables, refrigerators (?!), and gifts. send me everything you can think of. then go search the internet and send me some more. send me things from your shop if you have one, or from your friend's shop.
please don't send me things from my own shop. i know what's in there already.
3 comments:
I can totally understand.. I am in the same position.. thought I'd share some of the little things I've done to brighten our place up under budget!
You can check some of them out on my blog - www.deannamaree.blogspot.com (you might have to go right to the bottom and to older posts) A while ago I managed to find just a plain unstained wooden table on ebay - it was $50 or something.. I gave it a coat of a gorgeous shade of red, sat a matching painting on it, and it is now my office desk and I love it!
I can imagine something like that, with a collection of old chairs made new again by a splash of paint, complete with pretty cushions.. (so eeeasy to make)would look amazing. I wish we hadn't bought a dining room set.
Then there was an old rocking chair I found at a garage sale - $15 I think it was.. I sanded it back, and painted it that from that same tin of red! Then I made a cushion for it - using a freezer paper stencil (so, so cheap!) to get a screen print effect on the fabric - the options are endless with that.
Around christmas time, we found a branch, painted it white (from the tin I used to undercoat the table), potted it and now I have cute little felt ornaments hanging from it that I also made very cheaply. Its nice to hang little notes/cards from as well.
Your art is great - I have hung my prints and some smaller canvases from a wire with mini pegs.. they look so cute. Practically free..
If you like any of my prints.. maybe we could do a swap! Also free. :)
Garage sales, second hand shops - I don't like tacky.. but you never know what you might find. I found an awesome lamp a while ago, I can't wait to do a print on some fabric and cover the shade..
I could go on.. but this is by far the longest comment I have ever left so I'm going to shhh now!
Good luck with whatever you choose to do - be creative, its much more rewarding then going out and buying anyway!
This is a great opportunity to use your creativity!
Starting with FREE for the home:
1-www.craigslist.org has a FREEBIE section. People getting rid of stuff for FREE!
2-see if there is a hazard waste recycling facility near your new place. We have a place where people drop off cleaning products, batteries, paint etc., but the best thing is they give away for FREE the paint that other people drop off as waste.
3-see if there is Major Garbage (aka Major Treasure) pick up in your new area. People will put furniture at the curb on those days. It may need work, but it's free!
4- if there are a lot of foreclosures in your area, there are companies that are hired to clean out the abandoned homes. They take the stuff to the dump. Might be a smelly trip, but its free.
5-Trade your design time for someone else's art (vinyl or on canvas)
On to Super CHEAP for the home:
1- Garage sales. If you go every week, you will find stuff.
2-IKEA - buy their drapes, but think of them a big hunks of fabric. Use them for making pillow covers, tablecloths, shower or regular curtains or recover dining room chairs etc. Their natural linen set is a steal when on sale.
3-Craigslist again but in the for sale section
Clothing
1-Thrift stores
2-Neighbors who have boys a year or two older than evan (hand me downs)
3-Garage sales
Food
1-Google Terri's List (Terry's or Terrie's??) It's a coupon service.
Good luck!
whitney
www.whiskergraphics.blogspot.com
Hi - First, did your blog really disappear into thin air? I haven't ever made a hard copy of mine and the thought it could suddenly be gone is quite scary.
Second, I am busting at the seams with boy's clothes. (My boys are 12 and almost 10). I could sift through and look for some good stuff they've outgrown if you'd like. I'd love for it to find a new home.
-Kim (www.capebags.blogspot.com or www.capebags.etsy.com)
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