The holidays are a time to make the house feel festive. When budgets are tight – or nonexistent – the resulting lack of decorations and sparkle can make the whole season feel depressing.
But there’s no need to despair! The internet brings tidings of great decor at no additional expense! With a little digging around, you may find some easy, attractive – and on-trend – decor hiding amidst your kitchen drawers, closet shelves, storage bins, and who knows where else. Add some crafty enthusiasm and those odds and ends can turn your everyday home into a holiday showplace. Follow the links below to get how-to instructions to match the simple supplies you have on hand.
Paper Stars
Got school age kids who haven’t been to school much during this strange year? You might have paper lunch bags in stock! Depending on where you shop, you might also have some paper grocery bags around, too. These DIY paper stars come in all shapes and sizes and they’re made from paper bags! They can be dressed up with paint, crayons, and glitter or left alone in their natural, rustic glory.
Paper Tube Wreaths
If you stocked up on paper towels and bath tissue after the shortage this spring, hopefully you or your local craft supply collector saved all those paper tubes from the centers. Believe it or not, those can become some truly impressive-looking holiday wreaths! The variety of DIY paper roll wreaths crafters have invented include colorfully painted floral styles and unpainted organic shapes made from bent tube slices, traditional style wreaths made from whole tubes, and layered designs made from leaf-shaped cut outs. The possibilities are truly endless.
Magazine Trees
Even if you do most of your reading from a screen, you probably have some magazines laying around. Well now you can have as many trees as you have magazines! The only skill required for these easy DIY recycled magazine trees is folding. Then, if you want to get fancy, your magazine tree can be painted or dressed up with buttons, stickers, ribbons or any other kind of scraps that look interesting. Group your completed magazine trees on the mantel or as a table centerpiece to really make them look special.
All three of these projects together may inspire you to celebrate the season like a kid again. If you don’t keep odds and ends like these around the house, it might be worth spending a couple bucks at the dollar shop or asking around to see who has a recycling bin you could help empty.
