Decorating On a Dime, Literally

I'm not sure how today turned into a redecorating and craft day, but it did. I think it started when I stopped inside the Euro store to see if they had any Halloween spider webs. They didn't. Instead I left with 3 paper lanterns (project coming soon!), a picture frame, and a package of Oktoberfest napkins... Just in case we ever throw a party. Do you know how that goes? 

Months ago Husband and I were strolling through Ikea, post meatball feast, when I saw marked down items at the end of an aisle. Now you know I can't pass up a good deal... so naturally, I stopped to have a look. 

There on clearance for just 50 cents, I found a set of 5 prints by artist Katie Vernon. The size of a postcard, each art print is a botanical drawing of an owl, bird, hedgehog, squirrel, and snail. I immediately thought these animals would be so cute framed and put on display in fall. 

These cute little fall critters (10 cents a piece!) are the whole reason why I ended up buying a picture frame at the Euro store. 

Since most of our picture frames are white, I decided to paint the wood so I could give it a distressed look. All I had to do was run a light coat of white paint over the frame, purposely leaving some of the cracks to show their natural wood color. Since the frame was cracked, grainy wood, it was much easier than I originally thought! I didn't even need to use the beige paint. By the way, how creepy is that paint name, "Santa's Flesh"?!

This is the picture frame after the paint had dried. I think the distressed look turned out great! I used a piece of fall scrapbook paper as the background for squirrel. Cute fact: Husband's mother used to call him squirrel when he was a little guy because he climbed over everything!

Is it horrible I replaced a wedding photo with a hedgehog? The previous decor was looking too cluttered so I put some things away for the time being. I love this hedgehog for fall!  

I featured this quote from Anne of Green Gables a couple of weeks ago in one of my Friday Favorites. Instead of a chalk board, I wanted to use a piece of cardboard type card stock to match the fall decor. This was my first attempt at writing "chalk board" art.  I left the glass off the front of this frame because I like the rough paper texture.

I made the owl last fall and think he's a hoot! The owl and letter "A" are both created out of scrapbook paper. Super easy DIY projects!

The shelves needed a little bit of refreshing. I used items already on hand and played around with the layout. I think it looks cute but it is still not perfect. I might replace the little silver frames with something different. Any suggestions?

Here's the complete look including my Star Wars pajama pants! Something is still missing but I'm not sure what... These shelves are only about 3 inches wide and it is difficult to find items that fit properly.  Do you have any ideas? 

In just a few short weeks I will start thinking about Christmas decorations! If you are interested in ordering a yarn wreath, please check out Monday's post!

Happy Fall,