Quick Tiip Tuesday: Wrap it up and Save

Are you feeling a little overwhelmed from all of your decorating during this season of joy and over indulgence? It seems like year after year at this time, as the pressure to get everything decorated and all of the presents purchased mounts, both the money in my wallet and my enthusiasm for lights and knick-knacks starts to drain away. Don't get me wrong I love the holidays, just not the feeling of buyer’s remorse when I feel like I am poor at the end of the year. Well, no more friends! Okay, it's a hard habit to break, so I will admit I did have to pick up a few odds and ends this year but it was definitely on a budget. During these tough economic times we all need to start thinking about re-using and re-purposing items we already have. Today I want to share a pretty inexpensive way to make your home merrier.

Let's get merry on a miser’s budget.

What do you need? Photo frames and wall art that you already have up on the walls or lying around unused in your attic, preferably inexpensive items that won’t get damaged by a little tape. Last years wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, bells, etc.

What are we going to do with this stuff? Wrap up those old frames in your unused wrapping paper. Slap on a bow, or a ribbon, or a few bells, pinecones; whatever strikes your fancy and stick it back up on the wall, the bookshelf or an end table. Use items that will enhance your space but still make it feel like you live there. It will add a little charm and help it to feel more festive but without having to go out and buy more decorations.

Cost? It depends on you. If you save paper and ribbons from year to year, it should cost very little, or nothing at all. You don't need to wrap the whole picture, just anything you can see. You can add double-sided foam tape to ribbons to make them stick to your new artwork and so that you can reuse them again later. If you are a bit on the compulsive side (yes, that's me) you may want to have paper and ribbons that match your current decor and you may have to buy that once and save it for next year but even then it will save you money because you can cover a lot of picture frames with a roll of paper. But (note to self!) some of the best displays are the ones that are not so matchy, matchy.

I bet if you are like me you have a few gifts to get under the tree, so what's a few more "gifts" for your walls? Happy wrapping everyone!