Budget Friendly DIY Projects

Step By Step Instructions Learn How To Budget Friendly DIY Projects

Invest your time and energy -- not money -- to create a beautiful home. These project ideas and info will get you started.

Budget Art

Turn ordinary items into gilded art. Arrange gold seal stickers intended for envelopes and official documents in rows on solid-colored paper to create easy modern art. Or group house numbers -- both old and new -- inside a picture frame.

DIY Roller Shade

While roller shades are cheap, they tend to be not so pretty. But spending a few more bucks on fabric and using this DIY technique can make them stand-out, stylish window treatments.

Clipboard Organizer

Bring on order with these clipboard organizers. Use painter's tape to mask any areas you don't want covered in paint. The tape can also serve as a guide to paint straight lines. Brush the clipboard with chalkboard paint and let dry. Rub chalk on chalkboard-painted surface to prime it. Wipe off chalk with damp cloth; wipe dry. Peel off the tape and repeat steps to add another color in unpainted spaces. Embellish with stencils, stickers, or other fun accents.

Burlap Runner

Dress up your table with dip-dyed burlap. Buy enough light-colored burlap yardage from the fabrics store so it hangs 1-2 feet off the ends of your table. Cut it lengthwise so it's several inches narrower than the width of your table. We used RIT fabric dye in fuschia to dye one-third of the runner at each end. To create a slight ombre effect, we repeated the dye bath on one-sixth of the runner on each end to darken the color. Finish the runner by fringing the edges, if desired.

Paint Swirled Vase

Update an ordinary vase with paint. Pour a small amount of enamel ceramic/glass paint into the bottom of a glass vase. Hold the vase in your hands and tip it in different directions so the paint rolls around inside, creating a wave of color. Leave some of the vase clear for interest.

Cork Coasters

Prevent water rings and add a style all at the same time with DIY cork coasters. Cut 4x4-inch squares from thin cork. Cut a simple herringbone pattern from stencil acetate. Press the stencil onto a cork square and apply acrylic paint.