Inspiration Photo Series: Simply Fresh

Easy Ways to Spruce up Your Bathroom

 

 

 

Inspiration photo 1

 

 

 

When we were selling our last house, I had to find a very inexpensive way to "Stage" our bathroom. Ikea was my go-to place for this. These towels (below) will actually go in our guest bathroom in our next house as well.... and this time I'll be sure to iron them ;)

 

 

Beauty and the Budget Version

White Bath Towels: Ikea $3.99 each. Get it Here
Mauve Hand Towels: Ikea $2.99 each. Get it Here
Frame: Ikea $1.99. Get it Here
Print: Ikea $3.00. Get it Here
Black Ribbon: Michaels (already had)


Total: $19.00

Tip: you can make this less expensive by buying just one set (see photo below.) Or if you have some coordinating towels on hand, all you need is some ribbon.
 

 

 

Inspiration Photo 2



Coming Soon!

Hello to all my beautiful readers. If you're not a regular follower of the blog, make sure you check back in sometime during the next few weeks because I have some good things lined up!

Soon, I will be featuring a series of (Inexpenisve) DIY projects ranging from fashion to home decor to crafts. I am also trying to get some guest posts lined up that are along the same lines, but are of things that I haven't already featured.

I'm also going to start working on a segment that focuses on "Inspiration photos" for home decor. Much like a fashion "inspiration photo," it'll be a picture from a magazine or webiste, followed by a picture of what I managed to find that was close but for WAY less money.

So that's just a head's up on what's to come! Stay tuned! And don't forget to Follow, Refer and Win!

Your Weekly Money Saving Move : DIY

This may be one of those "Duh" statements. Most of us already know that doing things ourselves tend to save us money. But I'm going to reiterate it anyway.

I have found that I have saved myself quite a lot of money by doing things myself, especially when it comes to home decor.

So again, I apologize for another short (but still sweet) post, on money saving.

By Request: DIY Candle Recipe

 



So I recently got a question asking if I had any candle recipes. And, while I did not, I was more than eager to do some research and find one and also provide examples of how to do it from scratch inexpensively or how you can take the "FREE-WAY" and do it using things you probably already have in your house.



MOLD

you first want to start with a mold. From my understanding, you can use a variety of different candle molds from glass to plastic (you have to be careful with temperature,) metal and latex.

Metal Mold $7.99-$9.99 from Hobby Lobby

Latex Mold $4.99 and up from Hobby Lobby

Glass Mason Jar $2.99 and up from most grocery and super stores (Wal-mart, Target, etc.)

 

TAKE THE FREE-WAY
1.) Now some of these you may actually already have in your kitchen or around your house. That would bring the cost of a mold down to FREE (my favorite word.)

WAX

Next you have to choose a wax. You can use a variety of waxes from Bee's wax (kind of expensive)  to parafin to gel (highly flammable) to wax crystals (found at hobby stores.)
For this segment, we'll use wax crystals since this appears to be least expensive

Wax Crystals $3.29 at Hobby Lobby (and they have a variety of colors)
 

These packages generally have heating instructions that you follow on them.

TAKE THE FREE-WAY
1.)Use old burned down candles from around the house

 



 

 

2.) Use old broken crayons (those of us with kids are never in short supply of these)

These can be melted down in a microwave, crock pot or pot. I recommend some kind of liner (maybe foil) for easy clean up.


SCENTS

You can buy products that are designed to scent your candle like scent blocks. I was not able to find any online to do comparison pricing.There is a company called Scentchips. They make little chunks of scented wax that is meant to be melted in electric warmers.

However, they are quite fragrant and could probably be added to wax to scent it. You can even create your own scents! They have a few retail stores around the country. If there is not one near you, you can always order online here.

For those of you in Colorado, there are two stores, one in Estes Park and the other in Colorado City.


TAKE THE FREE-WAY

1.) You can use aromatherapy or essential oils to scent your DIY candle. I've read that these oils aren't really designed for the intense heat so I would not add very much of it and would recommend doing this at the very end of the melting stage, right before you pour it into your mold.



WICKS

You can buy wicks

$2.79 from Hobby Lobby

 

TAKE THE FREE-WAY

1.) Use Twine. Attach it to popsicle stick or fork and lay across the top of your mold until wax sets.


So you can make an unscented candle for as little as $10.. OR you could make one from things around the house for as little as FREE!


If anyone has done this and has some tips and pointers to make it easier, better or less messy, we'd love to hear them!



 

Easy Breezy

 

Simple Nautical Themed Decor

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, So I can't take credit for this being one of my creations. But, I do believe something like this could be done for relatively cheap so I decided to feature it. I have a nautical theme for one of my bathrooms and plan to add something like this when we get into our new house. Below, I have researched the products you would need for this project along with prices to demonstrate just how inexpensive this could be. You could do it for as little as $10-$11.

 

Tip: If you want to make it even less expensive (and more green,) you can try thrifting vases and decorative plates at places like Goodwill, or any other kind of home goods consignment store. For more on thrifting craft supplies see here.

 

You can find the original instructions at http://todayscreativeblog.net/nautical/

 

 

Seashells $2.99 from Hobby Lobby

Charger Plate $2.99 from Michaels.



$2.99 - $3.99 from Walmart or Hobby Lobby 

$2.50 from Hobby Lobby

 

Beauty Budget Steal of the Week



So I am actually featuring TWO steals this week because they were both too good not to be featured.

PEDIPEDS KIDS' SHOES

I went the the Pedipeds website and did a little research on these these particular shoes.



Retail: $49.00

About Isabella Chocolate Brown FlexIsabella is buttery soft with a bow! You’ll find lots of ways to show off your little lady in this popular favorite.

All natural leather upper and lining All natural rubber sole Mary Jane style with strap for easy on and off Features the Flex Fit System™, which extends the length of wear Approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association for promoting healthy foot development  I picked up the same pair From Little Tykes Trading Post for $12.00. I had store credit from items I consigned so I actually did not shell out a dime for them. These were priced at $24.99 at Little Tykes. They had recently marked these down to $14.99 with an additonal 20% off today. ( By the way, even though these were from a consignment store, these are actually brand new)



• All natural leather upper and lining
• All natural rubber sole
• Mary Jane style with strap for easy on and off
• Features the Flex Fit System™, which extends the length of wear
• Approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association for promoting healthy foot development

 I picked up the same pair From Little Tykes Trading Post for $12.00. I had store credit from items I consigned so I actually did not shell out a dime for them.

These were priced at $24.99 at Little Tykes. They had recently marked these down to $14.99 with an additonal 20% off today. ( By the way, even though these were from a consignment store, these are actually brand new)

I love Little Tykes Trading Post. For those of you in Parker/Aurora, CO area, this is a great store for kids clothes, toys and baby gear. I consign my youngest daughter's clothes and baby gear there and I get 40% of the selling price. This can be used as store credit or you can cash it out for a little extra pocket money



The next one is some belts I picked up.

Rue 21: All three for $3.99

Yes! I got all 3 of these belts for $3.99. I really only wanted the black one but they came in a 3-pack so the yellow and pink one made the trip home with me as well. These were on the clearance rack and the store was having a 50% off their clearance so these ended up being a great deal.

Some ways I found to wear them: ( I apologize in advance for the horrific quality of these pictures)

I even found a use for the pink one!







Your Weekly Money Saving Move: Receipt Surveys

Yes, I know... when the cashier starts to rattle off "and when you go online in the next 7 days and fill out this survey....," I, too would tune it out. But come to find out, some of those surveys are pretty worthwhile. I now check the bottom of all my receipts to see if there is a survey on it. Examples of this include:
 
Jamba Juice

• Fill out the survey and get a free 16oz. beverage on your next visit

Buffalo Wild Wings

• Fill out the survey and get 6 traditional wings free on your next visit

JC Penney, Old Navy, Children's Place, Victoria's Secret and other retailers

• Fill out the survey and get a % or dollar amout off your next purchase

Grocery Store Starbucks

• Sometimes you get a receipt to fill out a survey and then get a free tall beverage

Now the retail ones don't always have what I deem to be a "worthwhile" reward. Meaning, it's not something I am realistically going to use. The Victoria's Secret one is typically get $10 off your next purchase of $50 or more. Now while I love Victoria's Secret, I rarely every spend $50 there at one time.  However, the Children's Place survey is usually  20% off a $30 purchase. This is an amount I would realistically spend there.

The restaraunt surveys are the ones I find to be the most beneficial. I fill out these surveys and use the "rewards" frequently. I highly recommend if nothing else, you at least fill out restaraunt survey.

Regardless, your interests, lifestyle and budget; receipt surveys are a perk everyone can enjoy.


Anybody else come across a survey that had a reward that you found worthwile?

Beauty Budget Steal of the Week

Top: The Childrens Place $6.00 (Originally $16.95)
Cobalt Blue Skinnies: The Childrens Place $12.00 (Outlets)
Shoes: Old Navy $ 5.97 (Originally $19.95)

Outfit Total: $23.97

Savings: $24.93

This is a back to school outfit I got for Jordyn this past week.  Childrens Place is one of my favorite go to stores to get really good deals on kids clothes. I actually didn't pay a dime for those shoes (my tip on that will be featured in an up-coming Money Saving Move post.) But they were a great deal none the less since they were on clearance and I had a 25% off Coupon. 

 

 

 

Inspiration Photo

 

Beauty and the Budget Version

I love this color combination and am actually going to start keeping a lookout for something similar for myself. Until then, Jordyn will just have to be my personal barbie doll.

Your Weekly Money Saving Move: Crafting with Goodwill

I will be featuring a weekly "Money Saving Move" here on the blog. It can range anywhere from fashion, crafts, and groceries to gardening and home decor.

This weeks Money Saving Move is craft and home decor centered.


THRIFTY AND NIFTY


Ok so it's a corny catch phrase..... But it's true!! I needed some cheap T-shirts for another project and decided to swing by my local Goodwill. I was pretty amazed at all the home goods they had and on the cheap! I am a big fan of up-cycling. If I don't have the materials needed for a DIY or up-cycle project, I head to Goodwill. I have found a variety of vases (which I always have a use for.) as well as pictures and frames  and an assortment of other things; all of which make great up-cycled items.

Take this picture frame for example:

This frame I found at Goodwill For $3.99. I simply, took the picture out and spray painted the frame and gave it a whole new purpose!