Fall Centerpieces for Under $15

At the end of September, hubby and I renewed our vows for our 5th wedding anniversary (a bit early). We had a very casual, picnic-style renewal, but I still wanted to make it look nice, and we decided on a theme of "Autumn" and got plates, cups, etc. in fall colors.

I also had an idea to make some centerpieces that fit the theme, but didn't want to spend a lot of money. Luckily, I didn't have to. I made these centerpieces for less than $15 total for all 4 of them.

So how did I do it?

The vases are bottles from our recycling bin: Free
The ribbon was $0.50 each so x2: $1.00
Acrylic paint was on sale at Michaels for 6/$2, so I got 6 since you can always use paints: $2.00
Vase fill rocks were also on sale at Michaels, for about $1.25/bag and I got three of them, so: $3.75.
And the flowers/leaves were at the dollar store, and I got 8 of them to make sure the 4 vases were filled nicely, so $8.
Total for 4 centerpieces: $14.75

I knew I wanted to add some color to the vases themselves, so experimented with things like polka dots, stripes, etc., but didn't like the way it looked because then the colored rocks couldn't be seen very well, but there were ridges on the bottle, so I painted those in a pattern and really liked it. When that was dry, I connected the colored ribbons at the ends and crisscrossed them to create the multiple pattern, and then tied a bow and glued it down with a bit of hot glue. Add the rocks and the leaves, et voila! Easy, pretty center pieces that get a lot of attention. I currently have one vase on my desk work as Thanksgiving decorations and people love it-and usually comment that it looks way more expensive than it was. Hooray. :)

Skully Glasses

I recently decided that I should make at least one project a week to keep improving my crafty skills, especially the sewing. So this week, I decided to make a glasses cover for my sunglasses, an idea from Sew What! Bags by Lexie Barnes. This is a great that gives general ideas and measurements for various types of bags-tote bags, small things, etc.

So I made this glasses case for my sunglasses:

That plaid lining is actually from my favorite pair of PJs that ripped over Christmas in a way that was too jagged to repair, so I decided to keep it to be harvested/re-purposed for small projects. It's a great way to get practice fabric, and in this case, it is so soft, it's perfect to protect glasses from getting scratched.

This was a super quick and easy project to make, but I think I mis-measured my sunglasses and therefore made the case a bit smaller than I would have liked by roughly half an inch. It was very cozy around the sunglasses.  But that's OK, that what these projects are for-to learn and improve and be able to adapt.  I think I will make another one soon and make it  bigger so it can have some wiggle room.  Other than that, I think it's cute and I like it.

Recycled and Repurposed Desk Storage

Oh, my, my. I have been a VERY naughty blogger and have not been keeping up on updates. Well, time to fix that! You'll see a lot of posts in rapid fire as I get caught up. Ready? Here we go! Post 3...

You ever feel like you have more pens/scissors/insert desk item here than you have places to put them? I have that feeling all the time.

I have seen some inspiration to turn TP rolls into decorative pen holders, which I may do at some point still (I have plenty of them saved), but I needed a more immediate solution.

Alas, recycling comes to the rescue. I re-purposed a can for decorative storage by adding fun themed paper (from my scraps, so it is extra recycled) and voila, instant help for my craft-stuff-everywhere problem. :)