The Magic Behind Decorating a Home for under $1,500!

Reduce! Reuse! Repurpose!

Taking a leap into the Sunshine State after many years of RVing, this couple from Cleveland, Ohio have settled very comfortably in a double wide manufactured home. It is in a quiet, neat park just west of Tampa.
Their new home had great bones but was decorated in dark colours and traditional, stuffy furniture.
So they literally drenched everything in white; walls, cabinets and furniture to display an eclectic collection of finds. This allowed Cheryl a clear canvas to express her personality.
Then came the hunt. Culling collectives from their winter home, they added finds from the roadside, thrift shops, Habitat for Humanity, and a local hotel liquidator.

Creative Art from Recycled Materials

The new buzz word - upcycling!

At the Fine Arts Festival in Tarpon Springs, it was apparent that the selection committee was impressed by artists using recycled materials. Upcycling was the aim of many participants; silver spoons appeared in jewellery, driftwood in carvings, barnboard in framing for stained glass, lake glass shards in pendants, and on it went.

The miniature creatures created Melissa Menzer were intriguing. She uses pieces of jewelry from the 1920's and 1930's, wiring them onto each bird or animal by hand.

For a truly whimsical use of recycled paper, bottles and cans, check out Joyce Curvin's website at www.joycecurvin.com. Her collection of almost life-size dogs, cats and birds are adorable. All in bright colours, they amuse and remind us the cartoons of our childhood. Somehow she makes the paper mâché exteriors look like clay.

A nice way to browse a way a warm Sunday morning in Florida.

Halloween Costumes

 D'Arcy Norman / Canada

By: Vicki Alexopoulos

As we step into the month of October, there are two things on everyones mind, regardless of your age: pumpkin spiced everything and Halloween.

Every year there are thousands of costumes that are bought at high end Halloween stores, and while some people might feel alright spending upwards of 50$ towards a costume, I for one do not. So what is a person suppose to do to find a great costume idea, at a great price? Here are some options:

• Ask a friend, a coworker, or family members. Usually people store old Halloween costumes in the basement, and never want to reuse it, so there is ample opportunity to snag a great costume and jazz it up in your own way!
• Hit up your local thrift shops. They will usually have a section of affordable costumes during the month of October (not to mention a huge variety of clothes to use to make your own costumes!)
• Look around your house at old clothes or new clothes that you can use to DIY!
• The dollarstore has tuns of Halloween goodies (including candy, makeup and costumes) that are a great option for a great price

Do you have any other places you would go for an affordable Halloween costume? Let us know!

Hope all you Junk Lovers have a spook-tacular Halloween!