BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Creativity What Creative things are you doing to save $?

In these tough economic times, how are you getting creative at home to save money? This week I wrote about making home-made pillows.

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Hi Deb:

My dining room needed a little splash of color and the kitchen table was a bit worn and scuffed. We painted the table a deep red and the chairs different colors to match it. Then we went to Lowe's and found a rug that was marked down to $20 as a discontinued item. I cut wine bottles in half length-wise and painted the inside of them with glass paint and put those on the wall to match the picture. The new dining room cost about $50 to $60.

Bylen

Bylen -

What a terrific way to spruce up your dining room on a low budget. I have some questions...What kind of paint did you use on your table? Was it a high gloss enamel? How big and what type of rug did you get at Lowe's? I got a rug there last year on sale but I didn't do as well as you! Lastly, your wine bottle project is very unique. How did you come up with that idea? How did you cut the bottles?

Wish I could see a picture because the room sounds great! Congratulations on your creativity!!!

Hi Deb:

The paint was interior latex flat. I did have to sand the table and chairs and put a base primer on. The colors are muted bright colors like barn red, sage green, colonial blue and a burnt pumpkin orange. Each chair is a different color to match a picture of wine bottles that is on the wall. I didn't want them to be glossy because I needed a warm country feel for this kitchen and dining room. But I only needed a quart of each color.
The Lowe's rug is a 7 1/2 by 5 1/2. it's big enough to go under the dining table and extend past it a bit to make a focal area.
And I have to confess that my daughter works at Lowe's so she got the discounted rug at a further discount.

The bottles I saw in a catalog once. I think they might have been plastic, but I used the idea. The bottles I had were clear. I kept the labels on them. I stretched a rubberband around the bottles and pulled them tight to make a straight line and drew the line with a marker. I have a dremel tool and used that to etch a line in the glass. Once a line is etched in the glass you can break the glass with a clean line by tapping it.. a rubber hammer works. If you don't have a dremel tool they make a small diamond etching knife you can scratch the line with.
I used glass paint on the inside of the bottles to color them.. amber, green, and red. I cut the cork in half and glued it in the mouth of the bottle. Make sure it's very well glued with tough glue like gorilla glue, because this is how you hang the bottle. I used a wall hook and hung the bottles by forcing the hook into the cork.
The hardest part was waiting for the table to dry. It took about a week and a half before I was able to bring the table in and use it. I did put a clear coat water based acrylic over the top of the table for durability.

A project that works and looks good makes you feel good, but if you can figure out a way to do it for pennies... Man! that really feels good

I'm a crafter and I'm constantly looking for things to use in crafting. I once used copper pipe fittings as handles for a gourd bowl I made. I have also bought spoons at the dollar store, broke the handles off and curved the remaining handle back to make a necklace pendant. You paint the spoon with flat white paint and paint designs with blue paint to make them look like blue and white china.

I think my motto is "What can I do with this?"

Bylen

Thanks for all the information, Bylen. You most definitely are a crafter, that's for sure. The rug you got sounds large and lovely and just perfect to fit under your make-over table. Hey, it doesn't hurt to have a relative who works at Lowe's lol. That's one of my favorite stores for home improvement supplies. The cutting of wine bottles had me a bit squeamish, but if you know what you're doing with your tools things can go smooth -right? You're an inspiration.

I like the idea of a copper pipe fitting as a handle for a gourd bowl - that must have made a statement! The necklace pendant also is something I would have never thought up. You definitely have a creative mind! Again, thanks for sharing your projects with us.

not sure I am that creative When I try to write or draw this brain is a blank. I just have a habit of looking at something and seeing something else perhaps rather than a creative crafter I am a poor one and try to find supplies where I can LOL

I am cooking more - making my own meals and freezing them. I do it in a day and take that 2 or 3 hours for "me time" as well. While everything is cooking, I sit at the table and do my writing or play games on the computer - no phones or other distractions.

We are big on frozen left over meals too at our house so when I cook too much, it always goes in the freezer. I'm liking the sound of the "time to yourself" bit while the food is cooking, Robin. Time just to yourself to be creative, now that's creative. You have to take moments when you can get them and if you are getting something else done in the process - boo ya. (Sorry, that's my saying.) Way to free up some time for the creative side of you!

I do that too Robin. I often cook things in the crock pot, have some of it for the evening meal and then freeze the rest in supper size portons for later. When I have to use half a bell pepper or onion I usually dice whats left and freeze them to be used later.
I bought a deep freeze so I could save stuff like that. Now I save everything I can. I had heard you can freeze bananas so I tried that. It works. I froze them in the peel. The peel turns brown, but the banana is fine.

I also bought a dehydrator. We sometimes dehydrate fruits before they ruin. We grow our own herbs, and while they are growing in the summer we trim them and dehydrate them to be used in the winter.
Also, when I buy a ham I take the little pieces of skin, ham and fat and dehydrate them for dog treats.

I have heard that you can freeze bread, have you tried that? Not sure how that would work.



Bylen

I have a lot of baked goods in the freezer. If you don't leave them in too long and just reheat in the microwave they are fine.
Don't want the ice crystals to form.