Sheet Music Rosette Valentine Wreath

Do you love free projects???  I sure do......and this wreath was FREE with the 

exception that I went and bought new ribbon!

I started by making my heart template out of newspaper....FREE!

I traced it on an old piece of foam board....you could also use cardboard.....FREE!

Then I ripped old sheet music into pieces....the same book I used to make my Christmas ornaments....FREE! 

Here's a link if you don't have your own free music!

I took the ripped pieces and covered the frame...

Then, I glued rosettes similar to THIS tutorial....

I broke down and bought new ribbon from Walmart for $2.00.....I didn't need

to....I have a whole BOX of ribbon in my basement....so essentially,

this project could have been done for $0.00!!!!

I love it when you can make beauty out of trash!!

 If you like this....would you please PIN IT??

Linked to Beneath My Heart Best DIY projects

How to make your own paint. . . .

There have been tutorials for how to make your own chalkpaint, but what about a tutorial for how to make your own PAINT???

The following is a guest post written by James Lander of Coupons.  Coupons is a consumer savings site that provides couponing tips and etiquette advice. They also offer top-retailer coupon information.

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Paint made with natural materials is easier on your walls because it allows the surfaces to discharge moisture naturally. While there are a number of eco-friendly options out on the market, they are pretty costly – almost twice as much as conventional paint. Making your own paint is far cheaper.

You can choose from a variety of mixtures when trying to make the ideal paint. This is a guide on how to make basic casein paint.

Basic ingredients of paint:

• Pigment – adds color to the paint. Safer alternatives include pigment derivatives from plants, insects, minerals and iron oxides.

• Binder – helps glue the paint to the surface. Natural paints use binders made from starches, casein, and linseed oil.

• Filler – adds bulk and gives the paint texture. Paints made with starches are often paired with clay as filler because it enhances the binding ability of starch.

• Solvents – also called thinners, helps to achieve a practical consistency.

How to make casein paint

Ingredients:

• Non-fat milk – 1 gallon

• Type S lime – 2 ½ ounces

• Water – 2 ½ cups

• Filler – 6 cups

• Natural earth pigment

Instructions:

1. Set milk aside in a warm place and leave for a few days to thicken. Then pour it through a cheesecloth lined colander into another container; it should make about two cups of curd.

2. Blend the curds and the lime powder together using a blender. If mixture is too thick to blend well, add some water. Remove lumps by straining.

3. Prepare the binder and immediately add water.

4. Moisten the pigments and crush. Slowly add pigment to the mixture in bits until you achieve the desired color intensity.

5. Blend with filler.

After the paint has been mixed, spread on a small area to test, and let dry completely. Observe and make adjustments accordingly:

• Add water if the paint doesn’t spread easily.

• Add binder if it dusts easily.

• Add filler if it appears thin.

• And finally, add pigment powder if color isn’t rich enough.

Tips

Mix ingredients in specific proportions so that the paint doesn’t crack, peel and dust off easily. The more the paint dries, the more opaque it becomes, so allow each coat to dry completely. Avoid very thick coats.

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What a neat idea!!

Thanks so much for sharing!

My Memories Winner!

The winner of the My Memories software.....

#10  Kimberly @ The Brown Eyes Have It said...

I'm a follower of My Memories blog. Thanks for a chance to win!

I'll be sending you an email shortly!

If you didn't win, don't worry.....My memories suite is still offering Thrifty Decorating readers a special offer of $10 off your purchase by entering the discount code of STMMMS54334.

That brings the price down to $29.97 for Thrifty Decorating readers!

 

Valentine Cake Pop Tutorial

Have you tried making cake pops?  I'm not a baker....at ALL and I was

able to successfully make these!

All you need is a cake mix, frosting, chocolate melting wafers and sprinkles!

1.  Make the chocolate cake according to the package directions.

(I added 1 tsp of mint flavoring for a special twist!)

2.  After allowing the cake to cool completely, break into pieces and add enough

frosting to make a gooey mess that sticks together!  Roll into balls.

3.  To attach the stick, dip it in melted chocolate and then push it into the

cake ball....allow chocolate to harden.

4.  Dip the cake ball in the melted chocolate and spoon the chocolate over it

to get any missed spots!

I don't have a double boiler, so I just put water in a pan and place a metal bowl in

the pan....the key is to keep the temperature LOW!

Once the cake pop is dripping in chocolate, add some cute sprinkles.....

And you get these......

Happy Valentine Baking!

Thrifty Thursday #44

Gracious....illness has just embedded itself in our house...anyone else
out there struggling with sickness this winter??  The main problem is that I've been too ill to
thoroughly bleach our home.....it's coming though....I've got the bleach on standby
and as soon as I can breathe through both nostrils to actually be able to smell 
it, Lysol and Clorox will be getting slathered into all crevices of my home!


On that happy note.....welcome to the 44th Thrifty Thursday!  It's hard to believe that the party has been going for almost a year!


If you haven't entered the my memories suite giveaway, be sure to do that by Friday for a chance to win a copy of the scrapbooking software!

Now onto this week's features.....

Just Us Four came up with this brilliant idea for making the "normal stuff" of a kitchen look pretty!

I just love how ReMade Simple took the idea of a bottle vases and made it her own.....and her photos are amazing!

Shabby Love made this beautiful table from a pallet and deck spindles....seriously!

Artsy Vava showed us how to make this pendant necklace from a Scrabble Tile!

The Moody Fashionista created these homemade Valentine's from old crayons!

It All Started With Paint made these adorable pillows with drop cloth and transfer paper.

Finally, Creatively Living made these knock-off headphones with some faux fur!

You all are SO creative!!

If you were featured this week, feel free to grab one of my buttons!

Here are some very simple suggestions for the party:

1. Please become a follower of Thrifty Decorating.

2. Be sure to link to your POST and not your blog.

3. Please copy and paste my link button somewhere in 

your post or blog so that others can link back.

You can also party with Johnnie 

at Saved by Love Creations!

Or Erika at Thrifty and Fabulous!

My Memories Giveaway....

Are you a scrapbooker?  If so...are you familiar with digital scrapbooking software??  One of the readers of  Thrifty Decorating has the opportunity to win one copy of my memories suite!!

My scrapbooking skills consist of cropping a picture, gluing it to the page and 

slapping down a couple of borders.....so, I was a little worried about how

easy it would be to use this software.

Let me tell you....it's EASY to use!!

Here are a few layouts that I created in just minutes! 

I made this template completely on my own....meaning I started with a white page!!

You can do a lot more than making scrapbook pages, too....check out this video!

Would you like to win your own FREE copy??

{You MUST be a follower of Thrifty Decorating to enter.}

To enter.....visit  www.MyMemories.com and leave me a comment telling me which digital paper pack or layout is your favorite.

For additional entries.....

--Follow My Memories Blog and leave me a comment telling me that you did.
--Follow My Memories on Facebook and leave me a comment telling me that you did.
--Follow My Memories on Twitter and leave me a comment telling me that you did.
--Tweet about this giveaway or post it on your FB page and tell me that you did!

My memories suite is also offering Thrifty Decorating readers a special offer of $10 off your purchase by entering the discount code of STMMMS54334.
That brings the price down to $29.97 for Thrifty Decorating readers!


Good Luck!  I'll announce a winner Friday night....January 27th!

DIY Buffalo Chicken Strips....

I love Buffalo Chicken Strips.....the only problem is that you pay $8-10 for a bag of them and you might get 8-10 pieces in that bag!  My boys can inhale the bag in 30 seconds and then will say, "Now, what's for dinner?"

As I was planning fun snack ideas for the end of football season, I started to think.....it can't be that hard to make the buffalo strips homemade.....but will they taste as good??

As I was walking through the grocery store, I had a brainstorm and it involved my Healthy Chicken finger recipe....

and this....

What if I combined them???

The result was amazing.....definitely a new family favorite!

Just in time for a Superbowl appetizer!!

Winners of Beauty and the Beast Within....

Oh my....I'm late in announcing the winners...so sorry!

I've just been incredibly sick and still don't feel terrific....I'm trying to get an appointment

with the Doctor, but he's booked up with other sick people this evening!  

UGH!  What I would give for an antibiotic right now....

Here are the winners of Dee's book, Beauty and the Beast Within...

#6  Cheri who said, "I was just sitting here kicking myself for only losing 1 lb on weigh-in day yesterday when I stumbled across your blog. Isn't it amazing when God puts WHAT you need WHERE you need WHEN you need it? Thanks for the encouragement!"

#8 Virginia who said, "Oh do I ever need this book ......I have 3 weddings to go to this year and refuse to go with this body !!!!!!"

#10 Amy in Iowa who said, "I would love to read this, as it's a struggle every day."

Please contact me via email and I'll tell you how to get your free download!

For those of you who are interested, you can still use the discount code

tamethebeast to get 50% off purchase of the book!

DIY Baker's Twine.....

Baker's twine is showing up everywhere! Check out some of these amazing ideas using baker's twine!

Martha Stewart used it to wrap Christmas gifts.....

Whipperberry embellished adorable crayon hearts with it.....

Jen's Ink Spot made these beautiful flowers to embellish a handmade card.....

Whisker Graphics shared these oh-so-cute cupcakes.....

The problem is that baker's twine is expensive.....a sample pack of 6 colors at 15 yards each at The Twinery costs $11.00!  That's a lot of money for string!

So when I saw this tutorial at {nifty thrifty things} I knew that it was too good and I had to share with you all!

Vanessa came up with a way to DIY your own baker's twine!!!

For the complete TUTORIAL, head over to {nifty thrifty things}!

Thanks, Vanessa, for giving us an affordable alternative!!