Decorating With Jars

Can I let you in on a little secret?  I'm cheap!  I don't like spending a lot of money on decorating my house.  I like to shop garage sales, thrift stores, consignment stores, and retail sales.  I rarely pay full price on an item that is going to be decorating my house.

I think all of this stemmed in college.  I was finally on my own, had my own place, and wanted it decorated cute.  I prided myself on the fact that my apartments never looked like your typical college pad.  I didn't have beer cans lining my living room.  I didn't have neon beer signs in my bed room.  I didn't own a bean bag chair.  You get the point. 

Instead I had nice furniture, curtains, a wine chiller, a kitchen table with a cute center piece, flower pots on my balconies, and cute nick knacks.  I wanted my apartments to always have a cozy vibe about them.  I found it funny when the maintenance men would come in and say "Are you sure you're in college?"  It made me feel good that I was able to pull off that vibe on a VERY limited budget.

Today my budget has changed, but I still like to "decorate on the cheap".  The easiest way I have found to do this is by using jars.  I LOVE JARS!  They are so inexpensive and you might even have some in your possession right now. 

 After my grandmother passed away I found those two large jars in the back of her basement.  While I was searching I also found a box of wooden thread spools.  My grandmother saved everything!  I took the jars home and cleaned them up.  I decided to put the wooden spools in them and I made some origami stars out of scrapbook paper.  This project cost me $0 and I have something of my grandma's.

I found those rustic jar lids at a craft store for $5 each.  I bought two and put them on some Ball jars I had.  They were kind of a splurge (for me) at $5 each, but they are so cute! Those yarn balls were at Goodwill and came to a whopping dollar.  Add some fabric and you have a cheap decorative jar.  Can you imagine how much something like that would be at a craft fair?  I'm guessing at least $20 each. 

I found both of these jars at a thrift store for basically nothing.  I added my grandma's wooden beads to the larger jar for a very inexpensive way to showcase something you normally wouldn't.  The smaller jar was purchased for $2 with the buttons already in it!  I thought it was cute and went in my house, so I left them in there.

I'm convinced you can put anything in a jar and it will be cute.  Jars are a wonderful way to showcase your pantry, office supplies, school supplies, cotton balls, Q-tips, ect.  You name it, you can find a jar for it.  I love the idea that you can showcase what you already own.  There is no need to go out and spend thousands of dollars decorating your home because one man's junk truly is another man's (or woman's) treasure.  

Do you decorate with jars?  I want to know! 

This post has been linked up with Frugal Tuesday Tip!  

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