I like taking things and making them into something new if I can. I definitely don’t have any talent in the art department of things (my stick people are funny looking), but I do try. We found this art canvas at a garage sale for one dollar and while the art wasn’t something I was interested in hanging on my wall, I realized that I could paint over the canvas with something more suitable. I have actually been in need of a picture since we moved in, but I am patiently waiting until something inexpensive comes along.

I started by painting the entire canvas white with some leftover craft paint that we already had. I knew that I wanted to paint the new picture with shades of brown, so I purchased varying shades of brown from Michael’s to make an attempt at being an artist. Here’s what I ended up with, which is now hanging in my bedroom until I can find something a little more professional looking.

It is a very unfinished looking canvas, but if you stand far enough away from the picture, it actually looks pretty good. This is a close-up shot so if you just squint your eyes a little, it really improves the picture.

Don’t be afraid to put something up temporarily on your walls. Putting something up almost always inspires me to find something better that was hanging somewhere else in the house, or stored away and not even hung up.

I love the change of the seasons throughout the year, and fall is one of my favorites. My favorite part about fall is the changing of the leaves and the milder weather. I also like to bring out my decorations for the different holidays and seasons for the year.

I store all of my decorations in the attic, in plastic tubs,  so that they are out of the way while not in use. I also label each tub so that each tub is easily identifiable; after a year of storage, I just can’t remember which one has the Christmas or Easter decorations. One of the best ways to acquire holiday decorations is to wait until after the holiday occurs.

Stores sell what decorations they can at full price (which are incredibly high in my opinion) and then gradually decrease the price usually all the way down to 90% off after the holiday. The problem with waiting until the very end of the sales for the best price is that many of the items for purchase are either broken, missing parts, or let’s face it, ugly.

Other than shopping at retail stores for holiday decorations I’ve found some great items at garage sales and thrift stores. The three pumpkins in the picture were all found at garage sales and thrift stores at different times. Since they are all pumpkins, by grouping them together, they make a cute little arrangement. Another good fall decorating item are the mini pumpkins, gourds, and Indian corn sold at the grocery store. These are pretty inexpensive and are good for all of the fall months through October, so you will end up with several months of use out of them. I usually throw these away each year, for fear that they will rot in my tub in the attic over the year.