| Fresh, Frugal Ideas! | | | | them from your curtain rod, or the bottom of a |
| Here are some great ideas for bringing the | | | | shelf or cabinet. I found them at my craft store |
| freshness of spring into your home. | | | | for 50 cents, or you could easily make them |
| Sponge paint your walls, or a key piece of | | | | from small cardboard containers and paper mache |
| furniture. Blues, greens, pinks, and yellows in pastel | | | | paste. |
| shades refresh a room, and the softness of | | | | Use those beautiful pictures from your garden |
| sponging gives an impressionistic appeal. | | | | catalogs to frame into botanical prints, who will |
| Take clippings from outdoor ivy, and root in | | | | know! |
| water for FREE houseplants. Buy inexpensive | | | | Use gold spray paint left over from the holidays |
| shade annuals and pot them up for indoors- | | | | to transform small clay pots and saucers into |
| fuchsias, impatiens, begonias, and primroses are | | | | coasters and silverware caddies. They stack well, |
| wonderful for bringing in color, and deal well with | | | | too, and best of all, they’re cheap! |
| the lower light indoors. | | | | Make and herb drying rack for your kitchen by |
| Dress up candles as natural works of art instead | | | | nailing small wire brads into cheap lathing strip, or |
| of putting them away for the warm months. Use | | | | better yet, an aged piece of wood you might |
| a glue gun to attach organic materials such as | | | | find, even driftwood! You can make and hang just |
| dried twigs, flowers, cinnamon sticks, worn out | | | | one, or several together to make a large wall |
| potpourri, pressed leaves, coffee beans
use | | | | arrangement. You can gather flowers, herbs, even |
| what you have! Or, tie on raffia or ribbon and | | | | grasses to dry directly on the rack from your |
| group candles on a shelf, tabletop, or on a mirror. | | | | own yard. I recommend using a rubber band to |
| Paint inexpensive houseplant pots to give your | | | | secure them, as plant material shrinks when it |
| room designer touches. Sponge paint over clay | | | | dries. You can cover the rubber band with ribbon |
| pots, or use a stencil or simple pattern to give | | | | or raffia if you wish. |
| interest. This technique can also be used on your | | | | Save those clear bottles and fill with colored |
| outdoor pots. Hint: for a more elegant look, try | | | | water for a bright accent in a window. Use your |
| using the new metallic craft paints over clay pots. | | | | glue gun to dress up the bottle caps with organic |
| Simply sponging on some metallic paint (try | | | | odds and ends
beans, lentils, dried flowers, you |
| combing them) can look extremely upscale. | | | | get the idea. |
| Got an old wooden stepladder? Use it as a great | | | | Never underestimate how much impact a small |
| plant stand to bring the green indoors. You can | | | | container of fresh flowers can have in a room, |
| paint it or leave it rustic and weathered, depending | | | | even just a pretty cup full of roadside daisies! |
| on the style of your room. Full size wooden | | | | A couple of packets of seeds can keep a house |
| ladders can look great on the patio. | | | | in cut bouquets all summer. Sunflower, cosmos, |
| Add spring detail to your window treatments by | | | | and zinnias are VERY easy to grow, and are |
| using small grapevine wreaths as tiebacks or | | | | great in arrangements. |
| swag holders. You can add more interest by gluing | | | | Replace heavy window treatments with a simple |
| on a small bunch of dried flowers. This is a great | | | | drape of gauzy fabric. This type of material is |
| way to reuse flowers from a damaged | | | | very inexpensive at the fabric store, or keep |
| arrangement, or leftovers from another project. | | | | your eye out for tablecloths that can be pressed |
| Buy artificial plant vines at the craft store, and | | | | into service.(Watch those garage sales!) |
| drape them over the tops of your window | | | | Need more ideas for warm weather windows? |
| treatments, or wrap them around a floor lamp. | | | | Simply hang cloth napkins or placemats over the |
| Watch the craft stores carefully, and you can | | | | rod. Experiment with overlapping, laying them on |
| usually catch them on sale for just a couple of | | | | the diagonal, or tying them with ribbon. Cherry |
| bucks. | | | | valance that ties right in with your kitchen or |
| Cover cardboard boxes with fresh floral fabric, | | | | dining area! |
| and stack on a table like hatboxes. If you utilize | | | | Make easy, virtually free ivy topiaries. Pot up your |
| scraps from another project, you will have | | | | ivy cuttings (straight from the yard, or a |
| creative, decorative storage, virtually free! | | | | neighbors) then form a wire coat hanger into your |
| Give your kitchen a garden window by installing | | | | desire shape. You may need pliers to help you |
| cheap shelving across the inside frame. This can | | | | with this. Insert the hooked end into the pot, and |
| be nothing more than a small wooden block nailed | | | | secure by pushing sticks, or bamboo skewers into |
| into the frame on each side, and a simple board | | | | the soil on either side of the wire. Secure the wire |
| resting on top of them. Fill this with plants and | | | | to the skewers with twisty ties, then cut the |
| cuttings, and you will have big impact. Bonus; the | | | | skewers of level with the wire. Wrap the ivy |
| plants will thrive I the bright light, and moisture of | | | | around the wire from the base upwards, and |
| the kitchen. Caution: Do not do this in a south | | | | continue to tuck and wrap as it grows. Very soon |
| facing window
the direct sun is just too much | | | | the ivy will completely cover the wire, and |
| for most houseplant. | | | | you’ll never know it was a free coat |
| Paint small paper mache bird houses and hang | | | | hanger, instead of a 20 dollar topiary form! |