Decorating a home doesn’t have to be an activity that drains your bank account. Some home decorations can be made from simple recycled products found around the house. Other home decorations can be produced with crafts that are inexpensive and fun. Regardless of how you approach your home-decorating project, recycling can reduce your costs.
Calendar Prints
Many wall calendars have pictures associated with a theme. For example, cat lovers might have a cat calendar. Other calendars have nature scenes that include waterfalls, beach settings or other eye-catching pictures. When the year ends, cut out the pictures. Find frames at yard sales or thrift shops. Old wooden frames can be sanded, stained and varnished to renew the finish. Remember, larger calendar pictures often can be cut smaller to fit a particular frame.
Plates
You don’t need expensive plates to decorate with them. Many plates have patterns that can create a visually pleasing wall display. Search yard sales and thrift shops for plates with attractive patterns. You don’t need a complete set to mount them on the wall. Mount plates around a rounded archway to accentuate the roundness of the plates. If you have floral paintings already on a wall, choose floral plate patterns to accentuate them. You can also use smaller plates as soap holders in the bathroom and as bases for pillar candles. Find a pillar candle to match the colors in your plate patterns.
Light Bulbs
When decorating the home for a holiday, light bulbs can provide inexpensive decorations. Save your burned-out bulbs and paint them with a flat base color, which serves as a primer. Take acrylic paints and a paintbrush and paint your holiday designs on the bulbs. Trace out your pictures first with a pencil to help prevent mistakes. Take some small pieces of craft grapevine, available at most craft stores, to tie around the metal parts of the bulb as camouflage. Paint different holiday themes on different sets of bulbs so you have holiday decorations ready for any occasion.
Frames
Use frames you find at yard sales or thrift shops to decorate your home. Refinish the frames as required to give them a fresh appeal. Flatten leaves, flowers and grasses in books, allowing them to completely dry, then arrange them in a frame with a back mat to provide a framed piece of nature on your wall. A shadow box can accommodate larger items such as seashells and acorns. For shadow boxes, you can also select mementos to create a wall of memories as you look upon the shadow-box wall hangings.
