Hello All!

I’m officially in “nest” mode.  I’m really excited that on Frugal Beautiful I’ll be featuring more thrifty domestic ideas since I finally have the space in my new condo to get crafty and a place I feel I can put down some roots!  The beau and I have been out thrift hunting lately- well, more than that- we also scored a table for FREE in the alley.

To work with the colors in the condo (mainly warm/neutral tones with reds) since I’m too lazy to repaint everything and too broke to care about those details, we’ve decided on a vintage Americana/Route 66 theme…see some of my latest thrift store finds (just ignore the shot glass and cheese cutter, those are a gift and a kitchen doodad we needed)…. to get ideas…. all in all, I spent like $3. While the vintage plates were a rare find (we’re only getting plates from Route 66 states), I was thrilled to start the collection for cheap!

Yes, that’s one great thing about living in the city- people often leave furniture in the alleys when they don’t want to bother calling a thrift store to come get it, have a garage sale or it simply doesn’t fit in the moving truck.  Many times, there’s nasty stuff out there like old mattresses and filthy chairs- but a few times, I’ve found great IKEA tables, wooden chairs & working lamps there!  Our neighbor was giving away a table that we gladly snagged and just needs some TLC…not sure if it’ll go in the dining room, office or bedroom- we’ll keep you posted!

As stated, it’s been awhile since I’ve gotten seriously crafty- and I will need your ideas on how to gussy up these pieces.  We’ve already decided on a photo/plate montage of Route 66 and vintage Americana items for our walls- but the furniture is leaving me a bit contemplative- I’m not sure where to begin.  If you’re a Pinterester or just savvy with upcycling furniture- I’d love your ideas!

This was $6!  Right now, this little bookshelf is perfect at window height-  great for window plants- but I may end up putting it in the bedroom as a nightstand since I don’t have one for the time being.  I’m thinking since the tops of the shelves are so badly damaged, I may coat it in gold glitter and then add some sealant to the top so it doesn’t flake.   So, I could leave the brown/red color on it (sort of matches the cherrywood we have in the bedroom) and then coat the tops of the shelves in girly glitter… yay? Nay?

This was $9!  There are two drawer pulls inside this bad boy- I’m hoping to add some vintage handles and paint the front of the shelf and the top with chalkboard paint…or perhaps the whole thing?  I think it would be a cool visual element to have in front of a window, graffitied in removable notes- or if we only paint the front of the drawers, it could be a fun label for what’s inside!

This was free!  I keep flip flopping on where to put this table.  It’s a bit beat up (hey, it was free) but I love the fact that it’s wide open to easily display items or store stuff next to the door.  I think it would fit really well in a windowed corner by the door to hold some of our house slippers, car keys and stuff we need to take to the car-  plus, it’s falls right below the window level, so it could also hold some plants and the mail.

Of course, since I love the open look of this, it can be equally helpful in the office or the bedroom…I just haven’t decided what color (besides orange, which oddly, doesn’t look horrible with the reds/browns/khakis of the condo but it does look beat to hell).

So far- we spent about $21 on furniture and a few additions to the vintage state plates we’re working on finding, not bad eh?  This is where I need your help though- if you have some brilliant ideas on how to upcycle this furniture and make them look less….thrifty and more nifty- that’d be great.  If you have pinned ideas or favorite DIY blogs you’d like to share, I need your help!  

Also, where is the best place to stock up on supplies like glitter, drawer handles and what’s the best product to seal glitter with? I would like to find something either unique, vintage, cheap or supporting small businesses if possible- though that doesn’t always happen.

Muchas gracias in advance!

I am so excited to be done with school for the term  so I can focus on some awesome holiday & winter crafting.  A few weeks ago I discovered Craftsy.com and was totally excited by the community they’ve created around all kinds of crafty projects.

I’m so taking their paper art classes and totally want finally learn to knit socks, I am so excited- I’ve struggled to pick up complex crafting skills in the past because too often I didn’t have anyone to learn from and I would get frustrated trying to teach myself from a book.  The classes look fabulous and professionally created so I’m thinking I’ll pick up new skills without getting bored or overwhelmed.

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T.A.R.D.I.S. inspired Scarf from Doctor Who:

Doesn’t this yarn make you want to explore the galaxy?  I got this yarn at a little yarn shop in California, it’s handpainted yarn from Uruguay- Manos Maxima.

I saw this and thought, “It reminds me of the T.A.R.D.I.S from Doctor Who, I MUST HAVE it!”  and bought every skein they had just to make sure I would have enough!

Halloween Costume Headband-  Brainslug from Futurama:

I’m going to crochet up a few more of these adorable brain slugs to affix to a headbands because it is the SIMPLEST (and a darn frugal) Halloween costume ever!  Normal outfit+Brianslug= done.

…or maybe I could rock this awesome Planet Express tee from ThinkGeek.com for full effect!

If you don’t watch Futurama you can see what a Brainslug is here.

I love fashion, I am also terribly broke at times.  As a grad student living in the big city, I have found that whenever I need a new accessory but am low on cash, it is wonderful to be able to reach into my stash and grab a skein of yarn and whip up a headband, scarf or crochet a flower to be pinned to a jacket.

If you’re broke and needing to both be entertained and simultaneously revamp your wardrobe, crafting your own fashion  might be a good option for you.   Sewing machines, notions, fabric, yarn and sequins can be found cheap if you swap with friends, peruse thrift and vintage stores or scavenge yard sales.  Modifications to your clothing can be made without any craft supplies whatsoever- DIY fashion is highly unique and doesn’t have to be expensive!

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The holidays? Already?  For those of us serious crafters, getting our holiday craft-pile together is like waging war.

Sadly though, too many of us fall at the front lines because we fail to draw up a game plan and combat the enemy (i.e. procrastination).

 How To Supercharge your Crafting in the Frugal-est of ways:

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