Budget Friendly "Fauxdermy" Antlers...My DIY $7 Knock-off

I did it! I joined the "Fauxdermy" decor club.

The BEST part of it...the cost...a whopping $7!

Yup{I am from Minnesota, you know}! Seven dollars! That's even after tax.

I've been seeing some great pieces at West Elm and the like this fall, but spending $50-$200 just seems comical for a trendy decor piece {remember we have four kids under our roof}.

I've been swooning over a rhino head piece from ZGallerie for well over a year but I just can't bring myself to splurge on it.  It's only around $50 but it's one of those pieces I wonder if I would put up for a month and then say to myself "what the heck was I thinking?".

Back to my budget friendly deer head, antlers, Fauxdermy...whatever the heck you call it...

I was with my girls at Michael's last week when we took a short cut through a Christmas aisle {gugh...Christmas already!? At least wait until November 1st!}.  There hanging mid-way through the aisle was an awesome "paper" deer head looking right at me.  It was like a bright light "a-ha" moment.

The cost was a mere $12.99.  Totally do-able budget wise, especially since I had a 50% off coupon.

I already had a ton of paint at home that I needed to use up so I painted the piece with a brush and acrylic paint. Ideally I would have spray painted it, but I had a three year old working by my side and didn't have any white spray paint on hand.

The end result... Super cheap... Super easy... Guiltlessly disposable!

Happy Fall!

That moment you delete an entire tutorial...

Ain't that a thing...

After a nearly one year hiatus from this little blog of mine I had a fairly decent post to share.  I spent the afternoon typing up a post about the headboard my husband and I made yesterday... somehow I managed to delete the entire contents of my post. {insert sad face and a lone tear here}

Humph... first world problems, right?

Hello? Is it ME you're looking for?

HELLO???

Is it me  you're looking for?

Don't be shy!

Once in a while I do actually look at my blog stats...just out of curiosity....and...

I see you're visiting...I see you're looking...

particularly at my posts about addressing cards, my boot socks,  little girl boot socks, and my ZGallerie Eye Chart knock off {which I'm wondering if there would be interest if I share/make available for you to print?}

you know, this one...

Anyway, I just want to say "Welcome".

But please, don't be shy.  I would love to hear from you... {but...if it's not something nice, just email me rather than put it in the comments}.

Nobody likes to have their feelings hurt.

I would love to have you follow along... you can connect with me/follow along through many different avenues... {see sidebar}

Halloween Decorating...Kid Crafted. Organic Decor.

Take a look around Pinterest or any of your favorite blogs and you will find a plethora of beautiful fall & Halloween mantels, tablescapes, painted pumpkins, & more.

If you need or want inspiration check out this post at Sugar Bee Crafts.

They're beautiful... They're inspiring...

But... I have a confession.  I've never really been into decorating for fall & Halloween.  {I tried fall mums outside & they're already dead.}  I really just have two seasons of decorating around the house...Christmas & not Christmas.

This is typically the extent of my decorating for fall & Halloween...

This house needed more.

We have several big blank walls around the house that need a bit of love.  So as filler I set the kids to work...

With a pad of paint & marker paper, black paint, and brushes, I let the little artists have at it.

The result...

A "gallery" of "spooky" masterpieces.

We tacked up a string of twine and used clothes pins to hang our art.  This will also serve as a place to hang all the Christmas/Holiday cards we receive too.

While hanging the Halloween artwork, I noticed we have "organic" decorations too...

Time to clean a little higher???

Budgeting for Christmas NOW {Christmas on the Brain}

OK, I hate to admit it, but I have Christmas on the brain!

I'm not decorating the house and listening to Bing Crosby yet, but I'm definitely thinking about the upcoming season.  {Secretly... I'm really in the mood to start decorating for Christmas.}

Here's why I'm thinking about Christmas...

Last year was the first Christmas {Holiday Season} in a long time that I actually enjoyed.  I didn't feel stressed.  I didn't feel rushed.  I didn't feel burdened.  It was great.  I was able to sit back and enjoy the people in my life and what Christmas means to me.

Last year I was prepared...prepared in so many ways, but one of the biggest was financially.

We budgeted for all of our Christmas shopping last year.

After Christmas was all said and done, there was no buyer's regret.  We were able to get the gifts the kids really wanted.  There were no upcoming credit card bills looming over our heads to remind us of the gifts we had given.  We had PEACE!

I plan to have that peace again this year and to enjoy myself, enjoy my family, enjoy the season.

Here's how...

Start budgeting NOW.  Don't wait until Thanksgiving day or later to start saving and budgeting.

Make a list of everyone you need to buy for and set a limit on how much you are going to spend for each person/gift.  This way you will know how much you need to save {better yet, how much you really can afford or actually want to spend}.

Skip "Black Friday" shopping!  Seriously, I said it.  There are deals just as good if not better on the same products leading up to Christmas.  Sleep in, spend the day with your kids, spend the day relaxing, spend the day having fun...fun is not going to a store and getting trampled, shoved, or elbowed by rude, greedy people all in the name of a DVD player, bed sheets, crock-pot, or clothes that will be clearanced out within a couple weeks {I worked in retail for years and saw it all...}.

Plan to do all of your shopping with CASH.  Going shopping with hard earned cash makes you think twice {or three times} about what you're buying and the amount that you're spending.

Have a game plan.  Make a list of each person you're buying for, the dollar amount, and what you want to buy for that person.  Shopping and wandering aimlessly for the perfect gift to pop out at you rarely turns out well.

Being prepared for the season and not "breaking the bank" makes life and family much more enjoyable.
Most importantly remember that Christmas is not about the gift bought and wrapped up under the tree...it's not about the dollar amount you spent, or the number of people you gave gifts to...

How do you plan for your holiday and Christmas spending?  Do you have any great tips to share?