Deck the Halls...with all things homemade!

How to Deck Your Halls without major budget downfalls.

Y'all.  The holiday season has finally arrived! With Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping behind us, it's time for us to start decking the halls for my favorite time of year, Christmas!

If you're an avid Pinterest user like myself, this time of year might stress you out.  'Perfect' holiday decor ideas have filled my feed and I cannot wait to get started.  There's only one problem though, your girl is on a major budget and decorations that only stay up for a month, maximum, are a hard thing to justify in my budget. Never fear though friends, I have found my new favorite fad that helps save my budget and make my walls beautiful.  WOOD SIGNS!

If you click the link above, you'll be taken to an adorable sign on Target's website for the low low price of $35 dollars.  If you couldn't pick up on the sarcasm, it was definitely intended.  $35 for a sign that will take up maybe a foot of space on my wall? That would cost me over $100 just to decorate on room the way I want! No thanks!!

So what's my fix? Make it at home, obviously! Next, I send you to the Cricut Website.

You may have taken some time to look around and found out that the machine / software I am recommending you buy to make all of these crafts is a pricey $300.  Yikes.  But let me tell you, if you're at all crafty and enjoy what I'm about to explain to you, it's well worth the investment.

So let's get down to it.  What's the buzz about the Cricut Air? Well, let me tell you.  My mom purchased this product about a year ago and ever since she taught me how to use it I have fallen in love.  It makes complicated or pricey decorations easy to access and create right from your home.  For the purposes of this blog, I'm only going to talk about making wood signs with this product.  If you're looking for specific instructions feel free to contact me or use the web.  This is just an awareness blog not necessarily a step by step.

To start, you're going to need some wood for the signs.  My mom and I typically go to Home Depot or Lowe's and get super cheap wood boards and trim them to surround the boards (contact me if interested in specifics).  If you're a handyman/handywoman you can cut these to size at home but if not most stores will cut to size for you!

Once you have the wood, you'll need all of the Cricut software. If you're all set in that department it's time to design! I typically go on Pinterest and find the signs I NEED (okay more want but you shopping addicts get me) and recreate those.  Artistic ability comes in handy for this step.  After you've designed your sign, hit cut, lay in on your board, apply some paint, peel and bam! Sign made (okay so wow that was really glossed over, but again, just a basic introduction to a hidden world).

On average, including materials, a sign would cost you approximately $3-$20 to make depending on size.  If you're interested in what these look like, go ahead and take a look at the blog's photo gallery.  You'll see where I get some of my inspiration (a local craft store in my home town: The Farmer's Daughter) and a look into some of the signs I've made.

Holiday season typically means a low balance on the bank account.  But with the ability to make many of my own decorations at home, I have definitely saved a few $$$! Again, if you're interested in a more detailed tutorial on the exact process, just let me know! Happy crafting :)