Good news and a DIY Valentines Day project

Finally! I'm putting pen to paper so to speak! I have been out of action for awhile because I finally moved to live on the beautiful Gold Coast. I've been planning this move for a few years now and was waiting for a small unit to become available. Well it finally did! The week before Christmas! Believe me I was in no way ready, Christmas preparations were in full swing, buying presents and food and diying Christmas ornaments was what was on my mind. When I received the phone call telling me about the unit I had to go and look at it. When I first saw it I fell in love with it's surroundings. The back door leads to a meandering creek which travels to the Nerang River only a few kilometres away.There is a resident  bush turkey, a large lizard  and other fauna that I've spied so far. Being surrounded by nature and being near the beach were 2 of my priorities so it was perfect. Having internal brick walls was what I loved in the interior, but it was small. I call it my "tiny unit"! One of the other main reasons for moving was downsizing, I was finding it difficult to maintain a house and garden on my own. Here I have the best of both worlds. I'm surrounded by beautiful gardens and bush but I don't have to look after them. At my age that is a big bonus. I'm planning on doing some posts on redecorating and minor renovations to my little home. I can't wait to share them with you.

Now I'll get into my Valentines Day decorations, it's only two weeks away! Time is going too fast, I want to get off the merry-go-round and slow things down, but of course that's not possible so I'd best get on with it. I'm using things that I already had so this project cost next to nothing.

I started off with a heart shaped piece of cardboard that I cut from an old box, so no money spent there. I cut out the covering for the heart from an old gift bag so again nil dollars. I love projects like that, no cost and using something that would probably have ended up as landfill. This is what I used for the project:

1. Cardboard
2. Old gift bag
3. 2 different coloured ribbons
4. Lace
5. Glue
6. Stick on Pearls and pearl string
    

 

I did the same with the ribbon and the pearls. The pearls have a flat bottom with glue on them but I added a dab of glue to each one as well as they tend to come off too easily. Next I used my hole puncher at the top so I could thread the pearl string through. I already had the board and stuck a drawing pin in to hang my heart from.

Well that's it! You can use this decoration to hang on a door, a wall or use it as a card, writing your message on the back. If you're on a tight budget this would be perfect. I hope you all have a wonderful Valentines Day however you choose to decorate. I'd love to hear your thoughts so please feel free to comment, till next time. Please  come and see Where I Party for more inspiration

5 minute DIY decor projects

Hi friends, today I wanted to show you my 5 minute diy decor. I think many of us are time short but we like to make our homes cozy and pleasing to the eye. Of course if you are also on a tight budget these ideas are right up your alley.

Do you love the beach? This only took literally 5 minutes to make! I already had the frame. Next I put in the paper which is cardstock that I also had in my stash. The shells were from the $2 store. I simply glued them onto the cardstock with cement glue. Cement glue is cone of my new favourite things. It sticks absolutely anything. I always seem to have problems with  my hot glue gun, does anyone else? I believe it is also Martha Stewart's favourite so it must be good!

I started this quick 5 minute mosaic {which doesn't include the drying time} because of the ornaments and crockery I always seem to be breaking!

I already had the tray and had been thinking of different options to decorate it. Then I had the brainwave to do a quick mosaic. The blue petals of the flower were from a lovely teal vase that I had broken, the white petals from a broken plate and the centres were polished stones I bought from a local hardware store. It was simply a matter of mixing the tile glue and putting it on the back of the pieces and placing them in position. I left it until the next day to apply the tile grout which was surprisingly quick to do.



My last 5 minute diy project was a timber square that I found in the Salvos. I think it was actually a serviette holder but I'm not sure. Does anyone else have an idea what it could have been used for?

I decided I wanted it as a small display shelf.

I already had the small terracotta pot and saucer which I dry brushed with white paint and bought a faux plant from the $2 shop. The shelf itself I simply dry brushed  with white homemade chalk paint. I tied a piece of yarn around the pot and it was done.

I hope these 5 minute DIYs have inspired you to get creative. Who knows what you can accomplish! Until next time, take care and I'll have some more craft ideas for you to try

How I Decorated My Entryway With hardly any Money

I have spoken to a number of people lately that are struggling to pay their bills let alone having extra money to decorate their homes. I can empathise with them because I have been in the same boat myself. I know the frustration of seeing furniture and decor that you would love to buy but know that there is not a hope in hell!

I am here to show you that you can have a home you love with a little bit of creativity. Firstly second hand stores or thrift stores are a girl's best friend! You can purchase furniture, decor accessories and more if you can visualise what an item can look like with a bit of elbow grease, paint, or other diy ideas. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about I am going to give you a rundown on how I decorated my entryway with hardly any money

I'll start off with my entry console. I purchased this at a second hand shop (thrift store) near me for $25. It was just the right length and width. It had white mosaic tiling on the top which I thought I would remove but once I got it home and started to decorate it I decided I liked them. So for now they are staying. The next on the list is my wall art. I think art is a way of expressing what you love. For me it is the water, ocean, rivers, and lakes. Anything associated with the ocean such as boats as you will see!

The colours I love to use are teal blues. If you'd like to see my colour palette I've used these in one of my earlier posts. Check it out here

I also love to collect shells and driftwood from the beach and display them. Cost? Nothing. I have two wonderful grandchildren that live in Rome, Italy and I only see them every 2 years. They are also water babies. Shells that we collect together I love to display and they bring back many happy memories. I'll be doing a post on this in the near future.

I have given you the prices of the decor I used for my entryway below so that you can see it is possible to decorate with hardly any money.

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The blue keepsake box above I've decorated is in an earlier post. You can find how I did this here

I wasn't able to get the console in the photo so here's another one showing more of it. Sorry about the light, it's been pouring rain here in sunny Queensland!

For around $45 I was able to decorate my entryway. What do you think? Are you inspired to do a little hunting? If you are on a seriously strict budget like me and have hardly any money to decorate with and you like what I've done, give it a go! It's a great feeling to accomplish this and so much fun searching for the right pieces. Let me know in the comments if you have any projects to share, I would love to hear them. Take care