so I made my own using electrical conduit, spray paint, and some vintage drawer knobs.

Check out the tutorial!

stores (on sale or with a coupon). I also re-purposed items we already had to save money.

added a few personal touches to make it our own. Now everything has a place and the counter tops stay clutter free.

For more information go to: http://www.cleanandscentsible.com/2013/03/up...

challenged for a blogger sewing competition to sew something with Emerald fabric I knew it was the time. I thought for sure it would be so easy to gather up old green ties no one was using. Boy was I wrong! I was only able to collect about 5 green ties from friends and family (apparently it isn't a popular tie color) and it took trips to 7 resale stores to find the rest. To make the sunburst I cut off the wide and skinny ends of each tie (20 in total) and came up with an arrangement that would form a circle. I used the wide ties to form the circle and the skinny ties were laid over top to join them all together. After coming up with the layout it was time to pin and sew! 1 clock kit, 2 wood clock faces, and 3 dowels later we have a new piece of functional art for our master bedroom wall!Stop over at my blog Dear Emmeline for the full tutorial.

{This project is part of the blogger sewing competition Sew-vivor. If you love it as much as I do I'd love your vote! The link to vote is in the blog post!}

project like this one...festive Easter candles made using Mason jars, Dollar Tree votive holders and bunny Peeps...easy peasy and so cute! A full tutorial is on my blog!

#recycled #SpringDecor

But...... it can also be fun and very rewarding. Making a space in your home functional, pretty and a true reflection of you & your family is a beautiful thing.

Through years of decorating for myself & others I have become well versed at decorating on a dime & creating a custom look without the high dollar price tag.

Here are some tips & things I have learned along the way.

1.Take it Slow. Don't be afraid to take your time. I think often we are easily influenced(me included) by others; we can browse the Internet & get caught up in following blogs & home design sites that we can get discouraged by our own home's lack of presence & beauty. The homes that we see in magazines which are beautifully decorated take time & thought to get that way, I remind myself of that often.

2. Establish A Budget & A Plan. I am not sure about you but we do budgets. With the economy the way it is & the fact that I am married to an accountant, influences how I decorate:). I am not ashamed to admit it (I actually enjoy it), we are like everyone else out there, trying to be careful & thoughtful about how much we spend and also save for the future at the same time. Try to be realistic & if you have only a small amount to start with, that is fine, you may be able to add to the budget at a latr time.

3. Enjoy it. Sounds simple, right? Well, sometimes we can put pressure on ourselves and loose sight of the true purpose for designing a space. I usually start with my magazines & store catalogs, yeah kinda sounds old fashioned, but I love this part. I sit down with my coffee and just flip through. For me, this is the dating part, no real plan and lots of ideas stirring in my noggin.This is also going to sound old fashioned:), but I still rip out pages. I start a fresh binder with each room and file them away.The reason I START simple is because I can get overwhelmed if I jump right to the Internet. This way I have an idea of what I am looking for.To read the rest of the list(4-14) click the link below.

we're so thrilled with the result. It definitely has a personal feel to it since we were able to work on it together! (click on the link to read more)