Discount Decorating: Amazing and Affordable DIY Projects

Discount Decorating: Amazing and Affordable DIY Projects

Bracket Star

I’m the kind of Urban Housewife who starts to get restless without a good project. But being crafty in a small space (and with a small budget) can be tricky for a few reasons. For starters, Husband doesn’t look to kindly on our rent money being spent on anything macrame. (He’s also just generally mystified by the word macrame, which is fair.) But also, it’s hard to find time for longer term projects. If a DIY project is something that will take weeks to achieve, I’m honestly pretty likely to lose steam.

Enter the quick and cheap DIY project idea book! If you’re looking to make some little charming changes around the apartment, and you’ve only got a little time and money to burn, these are the ideas for you. Hopefully will keep this a regular post with more and more ideas. Send me suggestions if you have any!

Discount Decorating: Jar Lanterns

Mason jars – is there anything cuter? If you’re looking for a fun little way to hang up some lanterns, making jar lanterns is really cheap and easy. It requires three things: mason jars, wire and candles. All you have to do is cut a length of wire about 12 inches long for each jar. Wrap the wire around the jar underneath its lip, and then twist and loop back over the top. Then wrap the wire underneath the other side and clip any extra wire you may have. Just make sure with this one that you use small candles that aren’t going to overheat the glass jar!

Discount Decorating: Veneer Vase Wrap

Make simple, adorable wood-like wraps for your vases with veneer! Roll a sheet of veneer around a perfectly cylindrical glass vase and allow for two inches of overlap. Then heat up your iron, but make sure the steam feature works! Put it on the cotton setting and iron over the overlapping part of the veneer wrap so that it begins to adhere to itself. Then you just need to roll the vase over so the hot seam is against the hard surface you’re working on and let it cool. Trip the excess veneer and voila! A brand new vase that looks great with pinecones and other earth toned decorations.

Discount Decorating: Metal Bracket StarsĀ 

This is a really easy, really inexpensive way to create little four-pointed stars to hang up around your house. All you need is four shelf brackets, screws and a screw driver. You basically just align the four brackets together to make a star and then use the screw drive and screws to attach them to one another. The stars always make me think of old car logos, and they’re cute in clusters of different sizes on the wall. Just a heads up that you may need to enlarge the holes in the brackets for the screws, depending on what size you buy.