DeCor on the Cheap

So, I have decided to no longer blog about my

"Reading through the Bible" this year...

Its hard enough to make myself do it!

Needless to say I've decided to stick to blogging about what I know...

DECORATING!

For well under $1,000 I decorated my entire house! A lot of what you see in magazines, storefronts, and even t.v. can be recreated for a MUCH more affordable price. It was important to my husband that we save as much money as possible, but it was important to me that our house felt like a HOME! So over a 3 month span, I took a little extra time finding ways to

get the look I wanted for way less!

1. You've probably a seen a ton of modern potpourri-type dishes that can astonishingly cost anywhere from $20-$30!!!! I found the exact look that I liked  (color scheme, style, size) and did a little searching to find the right materials. I found these square glass vases at a craft store with one of these coupons and found the assortment of potpourris at the DOLLAR STORE! (40% Off Coupon for Michael's!)

2. CANDLES!!!! Candles, are the BEST way to make a room smell and feel more like home! I got this beautiful Woodwick as a gift, but probably wouldn't spend that on a candle myself. Wal-Mart has a fairly large jar candle that costs only $3.00 in an assortment of scents! (Brand is "Mainstays" and sold in stores only)

3. Picture frames are another inexpensive way to decorate. You can buy frames at your local dollar store and personalize them with your own memories--another great way to make your house feel like a home!

4. I've seen arrangements like these cost up $60.00!!! I used the 40% off Michael's coupon (as shown above) and purchased the holder for only about $8.00. Then on the receipt, since Michael's prints another 40%-60% off your next purchase, I kept purchasing the floral fillers until I got the look I wanted. Athough you may have to wait a day or two to use the coupon, it's worth the savings! I made this for about $15.00 saving me close to $40.00!!

5. Although this isn't "decor" I always like to have some sort of baked goods readily available as I never know who might be coming over with my husband's spontaneity :) Plus, the aroma always make the kitchen a much more inviting place.

6. This desk was about to be given to the trash! It was left by it's previous owner to be thrown away, and we were sure to snatch it up! It makes a great work station for my husband's studio. Although you may not always find something in good condition about to be thrown away, but Craigslist has a "free stuff" section or very affordable prices that can most often be negotiated!

7. This bookshelf (Shown Here) only costs $20.00...while it is on the "cheaper" side quality wise, it works great to fill up a space! The Lily and rock filled vase were what I as table decorations for our wedding.

(Again, all the materials were found at a local craft store on sale!)

8. While you may not think of yourself as a "painter" almost anything can be considered "abstract art" or "modern" so you may as well give it a shot! :)

All I did was get some blank canvas' from Michael's (with the coupon!) find some picture online that I liked, and messed around with the acrylic paints. I was able to recreate several photos for about $25.00!!

(candelabras are also from craft store.)

1. 

(Close-up of picture!)

9. This lightweight futon cost less than $100.00 from Wal-Mart

(ordered online) Although it's not our ideal couch situation, it's affordable

 and works for just the 2 of us!

10. We found this real leather black sofa-sleeper for $60.00 at Goodwill...enough said :)

I got the bigger coffee table, end table, and an entertainment center at Wal-Mart for less than $60.00! (Mainstays brand-in stores only) Again, not what we want long term, but it works great for where we're at now!

11. Target has those "end of the aisle" sales with home decor, kitchen accessories, and more for 50%-75% off! I got this set of 3 black votive holders for about $4.00.

12. This is the same brand of bookcase as the other one above, for about the same price at Wal-Mart, strewn with more picture frames and leftover wedding decorations!

13. Shadow Boxes are a beautiful way to make memory keepsakes!

This one is of our wedding invitation :)

14. Again, tabletop arrangements can easily be created with cheap craft store materials! Each of these I created consist of 2 fake Lillie's, some twig-like filler, and black rocks. To make one of these costs about $5-$6 and to buy one costs about $20-$25! 

15. We actually got this lamp as a wedding gift, but I just love it! (Found Here)

16. I found this great little lamp, that goes well with the one above, at the Dollar General for $5.00! I also keep these adorable glass "Love" coasters we used as favors for our wedding on our coffee and end tables.

17. Another cute little addition are these adorable detailed platters with those yummy sugary-melty mints! It's great for when guests come over and maybe have coffee breath (?) after we serve them some HEARTY HAITIAN coffee---that's the real stuff!!

I think a pack of 10 of the silver dishes cost $2-$3 at Michael's.

18. We found this glass and steel round kitchen table with 4 steel and black leather chairs on Craigslist for $120.00!!! Such a steal.

19. More candle's and vases!

20. And again, with a little variation in color for the kitchen  :)

21. The little "Imagine" picture above the stove, and the "Eiffel Tower" shaped bottle were both end of the aisle sales at Target. Together they only cost $8.00.

22. This big beautiful mirror was actually a garage sale find...but, it was in an antiqued gold color, so I used some paint to make the edges

black giving it a much more baroque feel!

23. The little "love" carving was a sale at Target and the sculpture was made by a Haitian and was a gift from my mother-in-law who is a missionary there!

Hope this helps you find that you CAN find a cheaper way to get the look you want for less...get creative, and if you don't feel creative, get inspired and look up  art pictures, videos, or whatever gets your creative juices flowing!

Happy Decorating!!

Have any tips, tricks, or ideas?

Day 1

   Surprise, surprise! I'm a whole 3 days late on my

.::* New Year's Resolution *::. 

well, better late then never..or is it better on time than late? :)
I found it a little hard to read along with most of the 'Read the Bible in a year' plans simply because I have to read over a small portion several times to understand it, so I'll be going a little slow.  (Taken from the New Living Translation)

January 4th

Genesis 1-3:  ¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

 ³ Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light "day" and the darkness "night."
   And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.
 ⁶ Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” ⁷ And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. ⁸ God called the space “sky.”
   And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.
 ⁹ Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. ¹² The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
 ¹³ And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.
 ¹⁴ Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them mark off the seasons, days, and years. ¹⁵ Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
 ¹⁹ And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.
 ²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” ²¹ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
 ²³ And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day.
 ²⁴ Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. ²⁵ God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
 ²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make human beings^[b] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
 ²⁷ So God created human beings^[c] in his own image.
      In the image of God he created them;
      male and female he created them.
 ²⁸ Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
 ²⁹ Then God said, "Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.³⁰ And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.
 ³¹ Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.


     Genesis literally means "beginning" or "origin" which makes sense since this book recalls the Creation of the world and everything in it! Genesis was written by Moses somewhere around 1450-1410 BC.
    I've read Genesis before and I was honestly turned off by it. I know that sounds terrible, but it was so hard for me to grasp. I was also turned off because I had heard so many different arguments about creation vs. evolution. But, I am making myself CHOOSE to be in FAITH about what is on the pages of that Bible. Regardless of what I know scientifically or even spiritually, I remind myself that I believe in the God and the words that He spoke. One day all things will be revealed.... My prayer is that with time, God will give me a more knowledgeable understanding of what seems to me, the hardest portion of the Bible to take in!
   There was a mentor of mine that told me to pick a verse and write it down before I go to sleep...then in the morning read it again and meditate on it all day. So, I read this last night, but today there were a few things that stood out to me. 
   1. In verse 2 when it talks about God's spirit hovering over the earth that shows that the SPIRIT OF GOD was actively involved in caring for and preparing the earth for us! He GAVE it to us to have dominion over, because He carefully put time into every little detail! What a gift!!
  
  2. It is AMAZING how God does everything in an orderly fashion...He didn't create the fish before the water, or the birds before the air!

 3. In verse 4 when it says that God separated the light from the darkness really stuck out to me...meaning they were once the same thing? It made me think before God created anything or anyone and it was just the Holy Trinity...was everything pure, sinless, and perfect in it's form?
  
  4. In verse 14 it talks about God giving us two light (sun and moon) to separate the day from the night as a way to mark off seasons, days, and years. So, in essence God gave us time and a way to keep track of it perfectly!
  
  5. In verse 26 it says that God said "Let US make people in OUR image to be like OURSELVES." God is referring to the Trinity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This may make me sound like a total amateur, but did anyone else think of JESUS CHRIST, The Son of God, being already in existence at the beginning of time? I most  certainly didn't for some reason, until I read this Colossians 1:16- "Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see- kings, kingdoms, rulers and authorities. Everything has been created through Him and for Him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together."


       I'm not theologian WHATSOEVER, so any input or revelations you've received, I'd love to hear them!