Cheap, Pretty and Good – Just A Start

 

The Mexicans have an expressions – “cheap, pretty and good”.  Only, of course, they say it in Spanish, which I don’t remember.  Anyway, in the spirit of simplifying, saving money and still having things attractive, I thought I’d share some links occasionally with some ideas along those lines.  They will probably cover a variety of topics – décor, clothing, food, etc.

Today’s ideas will be along the lines of storage and décor.

Create Desk Accessories from Cans – This is a nice idea.  You can use wallpaper, paper with your own or kids’ drawings, fabric, burlap, etc.  For the fabrics you may wish to use some kind of glue rather than tape.  Also, for a girlish look, try adding some ribbon or an artificial flower with some hot glue.  If you use fabric you can add a scrap of folded bias tape around the top to give it a more finished look.

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You may not need to go buy a bunch of storage containers to organize your house.  There may be a lot of useful option right in your own garage, attic or storage shed.  Turn Clutter Into Storage and Décor Solutions.  One word of caution here, though: remember that you will still have to dust some of these things, so consider what you really want to keep.  Is it worth cleaning regularly to you?  If not, discard it.  Also, sometimes the best “storage solution” is to reduce the pile! :-)

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Here are some ideas that might cost you nothing if you already have these items stored among your stuff.  No-Money Home Makeover Ideas. Also remember that you might find some of these things in a family member’s attic.  You can only ask.  If they say “no”, at least you tried to get the stuff out where it could be appreciated. :-)

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An old picture frame, some screws, some wire and some clothes pins will give you a nice place to display photos or keep track of favorite recipes and other essential paper bits.

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Tea cup candles.  If you make your own candles this is something you might want to do – either for your own décor or for gifts.  Strange to say there are people in this world who have tea cup and saucer sets that they don’t want.  I had a set myself once that I was not overly fond of and also was afraid to use as it came from a country of which I wasn’t sure about the lead content.  I could have made them into candles to give away, though!

Uses for egg cups.  I realize that most Americans don’t have unused egg cups laying around idle, but (ahem!) I do.  :-)  This comes from having had family that lived around British at various times.  Well…if they aren’t being used for their intended purpose, why not something else?  I could use the bud vase idea without much extra work, and I’m quite fond of fresh flowers in the house.  I also checked and discovered that a small tea light size candle will fit into the top of some of my egg cups. :-)