• Do it yourself - if you’re not good at DIY, it’s a good time to learn - the skills you can master will be useful for the rest of you life! The basics of woodworking, plumbing, painting, sewing, and knitting are easy to learn -also, whilst saving a lot of money, you’ll be able to make unique items (cushion covers, curtains, furniture etc) that will be envied by your friends and family. On top of that making things yourself is really fulfilling and can even be therapeutic!
• Clear the clutter - get rid of all gadgets, ornaments, household items etc. that you hardly ever use or don’t even like. Those that are in good condition can be sold on Ebay - the money you make can be used for your new décor projects!
• Quick deco - you can achieve a lot of visual impact with a new shade of paint. Painting is very easy and quite cheap. For a quick facelift just make a “feature wall”, i.e. paint only one wall in the room. You might even wallpaper it.
• Furnishing bargains - home-ware stores sell really cheap cushions, throws, blankets and linen these days - even better bargains can be bought during the Sales. These soft furnishing elements can instantly transform the style and/or feel of a room!
• Furniture - redecorate old or tired-looking pieces of furniture. For brand new ones, look on the net or at outlets for a bargain.
• Ornaments - make your own ornaments and displays. These can be very cheap or even free. Collect twigs, berries, pinecones, acorns, flowers, leaves, nuts, grasses etc. Arrange them in glass bowls or vases; or hang them in windows; or make displays in the fireplace (if it’s not in use!); or on the mantle etc. Edible fruity displays can also look very inviting and they provide a seasonal touch (and fragrance) to your home. Combine baked orange slices with cinnamon sticks and nuts, or apples, pears, plumbs and squash.
• Lighting - save some money by lighting your home with sensual candles in the evenings. Arrange several cheap church candles in a group or in candelabra!

That’s it - the above cheap decorating ideas will not only refresh your home but will also cheer you up during the winter!

Firstly, go for long walks in woods, parks and forests and, whilst admiring nature, collect pinecones, acorns, berries, leaves, twigs, nuts etc. At home, put them into a basket to dry out - though the leaves you should put into books to flatten nicely.  You can then make many interesting decorations with them. Here are a few tips and ideas:

• Display bowls - put some leaves into the bottom of a glass bowl then add nuts pinecones, acorns and evergreen leaves. You can also make some autumn fruit displays - combine apples, pears and plum with burnt orange slices and cinnamon sticks. Add some nuts (perhaps roasted chestnuts) - the smell will be sensational for days! Put these displays on your coffee table, dining table or sideboard.
• Squash/pumpkin displays - put them into large baskets, or cut the top off, then take the flesh out and make them into candleholders, vases or even soup bowls (lovely for serving roasted pumpkin or butternut squash soup!) Of course for Halloween you must carve the pumpkin into a scary head lantern! Tips: spraying the inside with hair spray will keep it fresh longer! coating the edges with petroleum jelly will seal in the moisture!
• Ornaments - you can paint-spray the dried leaves, acorns & nuts then hang them in windows or create garlands for the mantel. The leaves you can also use as under-mats for plates & glasses or to display food on them at dinner parties! Or you can glue them onto candles, paper boxes or to decorate scrapbook covers, photo albums, picture frames, wrapping papers and many other craft projects.
• Courtyard deco - make a wreath from the twigs and berries and hang them on the door. Put pumpkins and fruits on the doorstep - these don’t even need to be decorated, jut arrange them attractively.

And finally, don’t forget - winter is just around the corner - you can easily transform your fall decorations into lovely Christmas ornaments!

• Get a notebook or just a piece of paper and take a good look around your home - note down things that need to be repaired, redecorated or changed. Make sure that important issues such as radiator leaks, plumbing problems get sorted out before the really cold weather sets in.
• If you need to do any redecoration work around your home - do it now, particularly if it’s varnishing or painting floors, woodwork or work-surfaces as the fumes created mean you need to do these tasks with the windows open.
• Do a good “fall-clean”. Clean the windows and external woodwork; get rid of unwanted or unused junk; clear any clutter; reorganise your wardrobe for the winter; etc. Try to use natural cleaning agents - these are not only environmental friendly but are better for your health too! Have the windows open for many hours a day to let in fresh air (and good chi).
• Freshen up your home - go for long walks in the woods - collect leaves, twigs and pinecones. Dry out fruits, forest berries and leaves. All of these can be used for fall decorations and to make Christmas decorative ornaments. Adjust your home décor with a few fall elements - throws, cushions, linen, candles etc. More about fall decorations>>
• Start thinking about Halloween and Thanksgiving - here are a few ideas re decorating for Halloween. As to Thanksgiving, start planning your menu, the dining table deco and your home deco. More ideas for these will follow soon …
• If you have a garden, it also needs to be prepared for the winter - cut back bushes and perennials; clear the fallen leaves (use them for compost); move exotic plants and herbs inside; dig out overgrown or dead plants; plant new autumn plants. Finish off with a good layer of mulch. Some plants in pots need to be covered with bubble-wrap over the winter months - prepare them before the first frost sets in! Put away tools, toys and furniture.
• During fall the days are slowly getting shorter and greyer, which means that we’re all more tired and moody - so make sure you eat healthy, nutritious food and spend at least half an hour a day exercising (cleaning and DIY are excellent exercises).

 Good Luck!

Chinese decoration is about simplicity and order - so the first thing you need to do is clear the clutter and tidy up to let the energy (chi) to flow around more easily. Then decide whether you just want a few accessories to add that “Chinese” feeling or want a more radical solution - such as redecorating and/or refurbishing. If you just want to update a room with a few Chinese elements – here are few decorative details that should do the trick:

• Sitting room - silk cushions (with Chinese patterns), fans on the wall, paper lanterns, water feature, bamboo ornaments, Feng Shui symbols
• Bedroom - silk bedspread & cushion, or linen (Chinese motifs), natural rugs,
  Kitchen/diner - Chinese porcelain, bowl & tea set, bamboo under plates, chopsticks (even as wall decoration!)
• Bathroom - towels with calligraphy, bamboo accessories, bamboo mat

If you want to redecorate a room consider the following decorating basics:

• Colors - As with almost everything in Chinese culture, colors are symbolic. The four main colours are yellow, red, green and purple. Yellow represents health and longevity, red luck and prosperity, green peace and family, purple soul and mind. The tones of these colors are inspired by nature – so they are earthy and subtle, and used in harmony with each other. For accent-colors choose ivory, gold or bronze.
• Furnishing  -  traditional Chinese furniture have simple lines, are hand-painted and lacquered. Modern versions are no longer painted but they are still simple, and can be lacquered. Because bamboo furniture is more affordable and sustainable, it’s getting more and more popular around the world. You can now find simple, modern shapes as well as traditional-looking pieces.
• Styling - whilst in the west we seek advice from an interior designer as to how improve our home or office, the Chinese will turn to a Feng Shui master. Feng Shui is an ancient method of allowing the energy to flow smoothly and remedy areas where it is ‘stuck’. More tips about Bedroom Feng Shui. Even if you find the rules of Feng Shui a bit hard to follow, another important element of Chinese decoration is to display ornaments and things in pairs - according to the Chinese good things come in pairs, so it will bring you luck!

It really is easy to give your space a Chinese feel - but don’t forget that one of the secrets of Chinese decoration is understatement, so do be careful not to go OTT!

Over the last couple of years the Christmas decorating trend was chic and elegant  - using lot’s of glass, crystal, feather and fur. Black was the dominant color – paired with white, silver, pink or red. The decoration was in the spirit of trad-modern, or new-old, i.e. classic forms using modern materials. 

Although this year the same concept continues, the monochrome color scheme is definitely over. Black continues to be trendy, but this year’s colors to pair it with are turquoise, gold and bronze. Luxury and opulence are still the desired outcome, so materials such as silk, lace, feather and velvet are dominant. 

However, the new black this year is navy blue or mulberry (or shades of plum) – combined with silver, gold or bronze. The look is very much in tune with the Elegant or Classic Christmas decoration themes, but with a modern twist. Fake Christmas trees are more popular than ever before  -  the trendy ones are mulberry, navy, or white. Dress them lavishly with one other color and one metallic color. For example mulberry works well with black and bronze; black with white and gold; navy with turquoise and silver; white with anything…In fact you can reuse your white tree from last year and dress it with the above colors or, for a retro look, with bright orange, lime green and ocean blue. Here are a few more inspirations:

Given global warming and our fed-up-ness with mass-produced items, the other big trend in decorating for Christmas in 2007 is natural decoration. This theme is based on things found in nature - further decorated by ourselves - and DIY Christmas ornaments. The most popular ones are those that are edible (or at least made of food) such as cinnamon, star anise, cloves and dried fruits. These decorations also provide perfect aromas for the festive season!

For both versions use plenty of candles  - remember cheap and cheerful candles can easily be dressed or decorated to fit a theme, so there is no need to buy expensive ones.

You can read more Christmas decoration ideas. The good news is that all of the Christmas decorating themes can be adjusted slightly with the above ideas for 2007.

Baubles

You can easily make baubles from foam or polystyrene balls, papier-mâché or ping-pong balls! Just decorate them with shiny paper, glittery paint or beads; or wrap them with satin, fake fur, velvet and ribbons! For a natural effect, decorate the balls with twigs, hemp, dried leaves and fruits. You can make quick ornaments from cards and shiny paper – this is ideal for a weekend project with your kids. 

Natural ornaments

Let’s try to be green this Christmas! You can make lots of decorations out of things you find in nature – including dried leaves, twigs, pine cones & branches, acorns, dried berries, cinnamon sticks and nuts. Paint the cones, twigs, branches and nut shells with metallic paint or frosted spray; whilst the berries and cinnamon sticks can be tied with a lace or velvet ribbon. Then make wreaths, garlands, hanging ornaments and simple displays in bowls & vases. Cut some apple and orange slices – put them on a piece of tissue paper for a few days to dry out. These are ideal to hang on the tree or to decorate wreaths or to add the bowls/vases - not to mention the fragrance they will provide around your home! 

Edible ornaments

The most satisfying Christmas ornaments are those that are edible!

Here are a few ideas:

• Make cookies (with lots of cinnamon) in the shape of stars, Father Christmas, snowflakes, angels, ginger-bread-men etc. and decorate them with icing or jelly beans or sweeties. Tip: For easy hanging don’t forget to make holes in them before baking -  you can use a straw!
• Chocolate or coconut balls can also be made quite easily – wrap these in shiny paper or a piece of satin and hang them on the tree or put them on the dining table in a large bowl!
• Lollies can be used as icicles.
• Meringue rings, popcorn or jelly beans can be used to make garlands.
• Simple sponge cake can be made into mini parcels – bake the cake in a rectangular tin, when cool, cut into little cubes – dip these into chocolate, then shredded coconut; or decorate them with icing & sweets.
• Dried fruits, such as dates, prunes and apricots, can be put on metallic thread to make instant hanging ornaments.

DIY Christmas ornaments are more individual and eco-friendly than those we buy in the shops. Also, they are good fun to make and can save you quite a lot of money!

Yes, you can save lots of money by doing lots of things yourself. For example, you can make your own Xmas card – make an ecard version and email this to those who are online (most likely you’ll only need to post a dozen by snail mail). You’ll save money and you’ll be kind to the environment..

Instead of buying presents for everybody – such as colleagues, occasional friends and neighbours - make your own Christmas gifts. Edible gifts, such as cookies and home-made chocolate bits are ideal. These are truly individual, yet festive, presents and, again, you can save a fortune. We’ll give you a couple of recipe ideas for these during the next few weeks. It’s important that you wrap these gifts very nicely – again, you don’t have to spend lots of money on ready-made decorative boxes - you can make your own boxes & wraps by using old boxes! Re-utilise cosmetic packaging or shoe boxes – then wrap them with pieces of fabric, ribbons, tissue paper or decorated paper.

As to Christmas parties, the cheapest solution is not to hold one – why don’t you go to other people’s party for a change (and take your home-made goodies with you!). If you must have a party or host the family Christmas dinner, start shopping for bits and pieces now – there are many things already on special offer and these can be kept in the cellar, larder or freezer.

We use more energy at Christmas than any other time of the year. It’s because all that Christmas lighting with which we like to flood our home. So instead of using outside lights – just light a couple of candles inside the window; also only use low-energy string & fairy lights. Always turn off the lights (and candles) before you go to bed! If you have external lights, put them on a timer/movement sensor.

You can also save money by making your own Christmas ornaments – in the next article we’ll tell you how.

After the holidays, the sales will start – if you want to save lots of money, buy next year’s presents, cards, wrapping paper and ornaments then! Next Christmas will be here sooner than you think!

We’ve put together some tips and ideas about how to create white, elegant, natural, trendy and traditional Christmas themes.These are just inspirations  - instead of buying new décor elements, just recycle your old ones by redecorating them or updating them. Also, try to be a bit different – make your own decorations and gifts! Not only will you create unique thing but you’ll save a lot of money too. Read tips on making wreaths and garlands, how to wrap your presents, how to decorate the Christmas table and how to be green at Christmas time.

Actually, trying to be eco-friendly this Christmas is quite important. Wherever you are in the world, you must have experienced the climate change over the last decade or so. Therefore do try your best and don’t waste too much food, wrapping paper, cards and energy. It’s not easy, given that presents need to be wrapped, the tree needs to be lit and the dining table needs to offer great food.

Having read our Christmas tips and ideas, sit down and create a to-do-list-before-Christmas. Include housework, presents, cards, parties, food, decoration, the tree and Christmas dinner. Write down what needs to be done; for whom you need to get presents & send cards; how many parties you’ll be attending or hosting; where and when to get the tree; etc. And do have  a budget – allocate amounts for each category. The overall amount may be rather a shock – but facing this figure will probably make you the more determined to save the necessary money. Read more about how to save money at Christmas!

Then allocate things to do at each weekend over the next 6 weeks. Don’t plan to do too much at a time, otherwise you’ll feel overwhelmed or exhausted and you won’t be looking forward to the following week’s task.

If you prepare properly for Christmas, you never know, you might even enjoy the festivities

So let’s start planning:

First write down what needs to be done and create a to-do-list then look around for inspirations - go to home stores, buy a few magazines, collect images & objects. Also, take photos of anything that you like and inspires your senses - these could be clothes, objects, ornaments, plants etc. Then add everything together in a scrapbook - believe me, soon some kind of theme will emerge. Translate this theme into materials, colors & fabrics and there you go, you’re ready to source everything you’ll need.

Remember to be organised. Don’t start any work before you have bought everything - you don’t want to have to keep going back to DIY & Home stores.

Most people want get things done by Xmas. This is quite a silly deadline as Christmas has its own stresses and decoration hassles. Try to get things done in the autumn so that you’ll be able to concentrate on other things just before Christmas!
Anyway, I know it’s only August now, but Thanksgiving will be around the corner in only a moment – that’s when the usual home decorating panic sets in for most of us. So get organised now; do things slowly and allow plenty of time for designing any desired scheme and getting the necessary works done. Just get yourself a notebook, a glass of wine and a pencil – now start dreaming up and planning your new, refreshed or completely remodelled home! You can even do this on your vacation!

However, you can pay up to 30 dollars for them, yet they are so simple to make!

You just need two pieces of soft fabric - such as fleece, cotton, silk, velour or velvet and a few different ribbons. Make sure that the ribbons have a variety of different prints or textures. Also, use visually stimulating patterns and fabric..

It takes just half an hour to make a taggie.

Cut the fabric into two square pieces. You can use two different fabrics, if you want. Their size should be about a foot (30cm) - but you can make bigger ones that would be useful as a blanket or smaller ones that can be attached to the pram.

Put the two pieces of fabric next to each other, good sides facing upwards. Then cut about 3 inches of each ribbon and arrange 3 or 4 pieces on each side of one of the square fabric piece. Loop the ribbons and hand stitch them to the fabric - the edges of the ribbons are parallel with edge of the fabric, i.e the loop faces inwards. 

Then place the other square piece on the top, good side facing inwards.
Hand stitch in place then sew along 3 sides.

Then turn out the taggie and press. You’ll get a pocket - one side still being open. Press the edges inwards of the fourth side and hand stitch as per picture. 

Now you can sew around all four sides creating a seam. Use the footer of the sewing machine to make a straight line. That’s it. It’s really simple.  You can use the same method to make taggie blankets or taggie books.