Trash to Treasure Tuesday--Holiday Decor

I adore decorating for the holidays. But, due to my frugal nature, in the past I have been reluctant to decorate for the "smaller" holidays, i.e. Valentine's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the 4th of July.

Not that I consider these SMALLER holidays, mind you, they just have a shorter decorating season, so I didn't consider them worth spending my VERY small home decor budget on.

Then I wised up. Got me some knowledge. REINVENTED my attitude. Before I share my new SMARTS, here's today's TRASH TO TREASURE project.

I made this flag last night from a leftover piece of MDF from our bedroom shelves. I'm no Betsy Ross, that's for sure, but it turned out pretty well. I used a ruler and some painter's tape to paint the stripes, and a star stencil for the stars (just a clip art image printed off and cut out with a craft knife).

Now, without further adieu, here are my TIPS for FRUGAL HOLIDAY DECOR:

1. Start at the front door. A touch of holiday decor at the entrance to your home sets the theme and will be remembered by your guests (if you care about that kind of stuff). I made this sign from a craft board I found at the Dollar Tree.

2. Don't forget the focal point. The focal point of your room, is where your eyes are drawn. In our case, that's the mantle, so I put the flag there. Now we have holiday decor in the place we look most often.

3. Small touches make an impact. This plate has a permanent home on top of my cabinets, and I can change the chalkboard as often as I want!

4. Cross-contamination of holiday decor is COOL. (this star is a Christmas ornament, I'd bet you have one too!)

5. Take advantage of childlike enthusiasm. Bored children make perfect holiday crafters.

6. Use stuff you already have. Shop your house for the colors of the holiday and use those items in your displays. I finished off my stack of Country Living magazines with the July issue. What's more "4th of July" than cherry pie?

Now that I've completely emptied my brain of holiday decor ideas, it's your turn ! Link up those projects ladies. Remember, if your project is not holiday themed, please link up anyway! And, of course, remember to link back to REINVENTED in your post, so that your readers can check out all of the projects.