FOUR REPURPOSED DIY PARTY // HOLIDAY DECOR IDEAS

Friendsgiving may not be on anyone else's calendar, but it's an integral part of my holiday season.  It's wedged smack dab in the middle of Thanksgiving and Christmas - an added bonus to the season's festivities and feast filled events.  Just one more excuse to eat, drink and be merry. 

This makes Friendsgiving 2.0, and hopefully will continue as a tradition for years to come. 

We had a great turn out, a huge variety of delicious treats and an open bar which I created out of an old re-purposed window, but we'll get to that later.

I could go on for hours about Friendgiving, but in this post I'm just going to focus on cheap, quick holiday decoration ideas for those of us who are desperately trying to budget this holiday season. 

Think Outside The Box

Re-purposing is not only a way to practice mindfulness but also a way to show appreciation for the things we do have by taking the time to find new uses for items we would otherwise just toss.

Old Is The New New. 

The mantel piece set-up found in my pictures below was created out of old reclaimed wood our adorable elderly neighbor ripped off his home in order to put up siding. We grabbed several pieces; some for the chicken coop, some for shelves, and we even used a few boards in a wedding photo booth - writing the bride & groom's names on them along with their wedding date. It was suuuuper cute. 

Alright, so this wasn't repurposed - but it's really, really cute. I will make a note here though, that you can totally find hundreds of tutorials online to make similar cute display stands out of vintage plates or glassware glued together.  Google it! 

Treat Stand via Target // 

Macaroons via The Painted Cupcake in Green Hills 

BOTTLE IT UP

I picked up this idea from Style Me Pretty a few weeks ago, featuring it in my DIY: THANKSGIVING DAY DECOR post. I really didn't know how daunting a task stripping the labels off of fourteen bottles was going to be - but two days and a bathtub full of floating wine bottles later: Success! I'm sure there's a better way to strip off the labels, but taking up the only bathtub in the house for two days was funnier. 

I picked up this little green wreathe at Michaels craft store last weekend on sale for about $2, plus a huge sale on decorative ribbon with a 40% off coupon - WINNING. 

I had a few other little random delights floating around the house that I thought might make for good focal points - These deer antlers came from the Nashville Flea Market, I got them for about $20. My roommate also had a stash of vintage cameras just floating around by themselves which I gathered up into this antiqued bucket. 

This bar box was re-purposed from an old window. The glass was still in the bottom which helped keep spills to a minimum. I added a few finishing Thanksgiving themed touches by spray painting the tips of feathers gold - another great DIY via m-funk which you can also find included in my DIY: THANKSGIVING DAY DECOR post - in addition to spray painting a few pumpkins and an old Patron bottle turned vase. 

EARTH DAY: REPURPOSED PIECES FOR YOUR HOME

I'm feeling more and more encouraged every day when I see people becoming so actively involved in repurposing, recycling and focusing their energy on sustainable alternatives. I LOVE IT.  

With that in mind, on April 22, over one billion people across the globe will gather together to celebrate Earth Day 2012.  This huge celebration aims to bring together individuals, corporations and governments in order to find lasting sustainable solutions. 

The main focus is to celebrate our Planet and everything on it - with an emphasis on taking care of this magnificent place we call home, so that it will be as bright and beautiful for many generations to come. 

Here are a few adorable ideas for repurposing things you already have laying around taking up space. So save the Planet - CRAFT! 

SPOON PLANT HANGERS

This simple DIY is cheap and easy but can create an exciting new look for any living space. You could apply this concept indoors or out. I can't wait to give this one a try!

Via Hutch Studio. Tutorial can be found HERE.

SUCCULENT VANITY PLANTER

If you have no more room to spare in your home for all those amazing vintage pieces, you don't have to feel too bad about putting one or two outside! Just learn a thing or two from 

 Grizzly Bear Modern. You can find the step by step tutorial to recreate this creative planter HERE. 

 Create an adorable day bed using old wooden pallets!

Turn trash into treasure by repurposing old wooden pallets! This stylish DIY day bed can be found over at PrudentBaby. But why stop there? Pallets make great book cases, planters, foot stools and headboards. Just get creative. 

Ten Creative Party Garland Ideas

For those of us who love to throw little "for no real reason at all" parties,  all our decorating bases will be covered with these adorable ideas. You can repurpose old sewing scraps, paint sample cards or vintage wall paper. But really, you don't even need to have a party to showcase your adorable, colorful garland! Hang it above your fireplace mantle, on your kitchen counters or above your bed. Who wouldn't want to wake up to that?  

Tutorial found HERE.