Decorating on a Dime!!

Hold your horses! Don't throw anything away until you read my blog. I just attended a wonderful day learning tips and ideas on decorating on the cheap! Yes, gotta love that word in these tight times.

A local church has a ministry called Surrounded by Love.  

A group of ladies collect items for the home, recycle it and re-do a room in a home for someone in need.

Today, as a fund raiser they held classes to teach the attendees how to use what we have, shop wisely at yard sales/thrift stores and in general be creative on a small budget!

What a truly great day it was. I took four Longaberger customers with me and we came away loaded down with affordable ideas.

Left to right, Ronna, Tanya and Corinne. Ready to enjoy a fabulous day. Each guest received a bag with bottled water, a journal and pen for note taking as a gift from me! So many notes to take!!

One on the young ladies at the registration desk. The church teens were such a huge help. All the flowers used today were from the ladies yards or wild flowers and this jar is a recycled fish bowl! Tiny fresh green apples fill the bottom to provide stability for the flowers. So beautiful!

Tables were filled with great raffle items. There was interior design opportunity, family framing, furniture even a get away weekend in the beautiful beach community of Carlsbad. 

I know this is dark but I had to give it a go. Cori, the Key Note presenter provided several design ideas for numerous rooms. This is the a bathroom redesign. All the frames were bought at a yard sale for mere pennies and repainted to coordinate with the design color palate. The little dresser was also a yard sale purchase that Cori sanded and re-painted black, each knob is unique and the drawers are lined with bags from Victoria's Secret!! Why by drawer lining paper when you can use a cute bag!So cute.

Cori also loves using Chalk Board Contact paper and I can see why. In the re-purposed frame on the floor center is this wonder paper used to hang over a desk or as a welcoming message in a guest room. All the furniture pieces in this picture were yard sale finds repainted. 

The next class was Tablescapes. All of these jars have been recycled from numerous places, i.e., pasta sauce, jam jars and spices. Some are recycled gifts or yard sales and thrift stores etc. This idea is for a pre-teen party. The jars are full of treats most kids love!

Presenter Debbie Linamen shared 4 to 5 different tablescape presentations. Loved them ALL.

This one was a favorite! She used the child's Longaberger Teapot filled with lavender and several recycled bottles filled with small rocks, split peas, green apples, pepper berries and then fresh wild flowers. She virtually spent nothing on this display. Everything came from a cupboard or the yard and local fields.

Lunch time. Yumm, we were served Chinese Chicken Salad, fresh fruit, rolls with homemade cookies and brownies. So fresh and so tasty.

With full tummies we are ready to head to our final class.

Welcome to curb appeal! This class offered planting tips, easy ways to add a touch of color to your front door with flags, flowers, and the importance of a good sweeping and tossing out old newspapers! By the way, speaking of newspapers .... Do you hate weeds? I do, well take those used newspapers lay them on top of your dirt and cover with mulch or top soil. It blocks out the sun so weeds don't grow and is bio-degradable!! Who knew!

Meet Jill, our Master Gardener for the day. She was a plether of information to be sure. Between Jill and her co-presenter Doreen we can now start our own seeds, trim back our dead headed flowers, mulch and scrub just in time for summer!

 As the afternoon came to a close the raffles were pulled (I didn't win) Thank you's and hugs were passed around and ideas were swirling in my head for things to do in my own home! Until next time!!