One Month To Win It { Craft Competition }: Season 3: Week 2- Under $5- vote for your favorite

Prep School Skirt

I'm a major thrifty crafter. So when this week's theme was UNDER $5 I headed straight to the thrifty crafter's paradise. GoodWill. There I found a Men's lined blazer for $3, but it was marked down half price to $1.50. Holla! Add some ribbon for $2.50 and you have a tweed back to school skirt that is preppy and ultra-cool. And all for a grand total of $4.00!

And there's NO scratchy tweed irritating your schoolgirl's skin because the lining from the coat was sewn into a fully lined skirt. I grabbed a few leather covered buttons from the jacket front and added them to the edge of the skirt for added cuteness.

The ribbon is smooth around the skirt's bottom except for a small portion in the front where I pleated it for a femmy touch. This skirt was SO easy to make! I ran back to Goodwill and snagged two more men's coats for even more Prep School Skirts. Now I'm off to buy some white knee socks and some brown leather mary-janes to complete the look!

Sunshine Beach Tote

I am so excited to be a part of Week two.

I was so excited this week because the sky is the limit with $5.

I have become ALOT more thrifty these days and LOVE to repurpose.

I picked up this rug at Dollar Tree for a $1.

I knew immediately when I saw it what I had planned for it.

I used 1/2 yard of fabric on the inside which was $1.79.

I also got a remnant piece for the handles and sides for 99cents.

Xlarge piping that was 60 cents for 1 yard. I used 2 sheets of felt that totaled 60 cents.

Now I am READY for some long days sitting by the pool with my new Bag.

Seriously...NO woman can resist a $5 Bag!!!

Colorful Mobile

This week's challenge was exciting to me since I love saving money and amazing people with my cheap thrifty shopping skills! It was harder than I thought however, since I'm used to supplementing with items from my crazy collection of all things crafty. I bounced around several ideas before I made my final decision.

Paint chip samples have been all the rage around blogland lately and I've been wanting to play with that idea. I had a vision for a mobile for my daughter's room to add a little personality and color!

As it turns out, the paint chip samples I got had writing on the back, so I got some scrapbook paper instead and cut out dots by the dozen!! Thank goodness for Netflix!!

I love it! I'm mesmerized by the colors and the movement it makes in the breeze. Hope you like it too!!

The Sewing Rebel Swim Bag

With pool season coming up this year, and my child load having increased, we were in need of some swim bags which each walking child could pack on their own. So with the small total cost of $4.69 (1/2 yard of outdoor fabric at $3.50, 1 fat quarter at $.99, 1/2 cup of bleach at $.20), each child of mine can carry their own swim necessities. This should lighten my load.

However, I didn't want just any boring old bag. Been there, done that. So I decided to break some basic sewing rules. I became a sewing rebel, and it was quite exhilarating.

Broken Rule #1: Do not bleach perfectly good fabric.

Broken Rule #2: Cut, do not tare your fabric.

Broken Rule #3: Do not leave raw edges exposed, especially on woven fabrics that are likely to fray significantly.

Broken Rule #4: Pre-wash rather than post-wash your fabric.

Broken rule #5: Do not make more than is needful just because you think they are really cute.

Of course I needed an extra large one for myself because in all reality, I'll still be the one packing it all.

When you become a sewing rebel, the options for creativity really open up. Give it a try! In fact, check out my blog after the results are posted and I'll show you exactly how to break these rules and make your own Sewing Rebel Swim Bag!

Mason Jar Display

I love making things for little or no money! This weeks theme was perfect! I made something I've wanted for awhile, a mason jar display! It was so very easy to make and looks great on the wall with candles and flowers.. Really, the options for what you put in the mason jars are endless. You could use it to store art supplies, craft supplies, shells from the beach, etc. You really get the bang for your buck with this craft!

Custom Invitations

Oh my, I didn't realize how little $5 really is. I can't even begin to tell you how many thrift stores and dollar store bins I looked through to try and figure out what I could make. Most of the ideas I came up with involved something I already owned, so that was out, or paint, and paint is not cheap. Then I thought to make birthday invitations, something that has been on my to do list for awhile, and I knew I had found my project.

Custom invitations can easily cost upwards of $3.00 each. I made all ten of these for a total of $4.16 after using a 40% off coupon and finding some great sales on scrapbook paper. That's less than $0.50 per invitation! Not bad.

I am slightly obsessed with bunting right now and loved how it turned out on the invitations. I really like the whimsical quality it gives. Each invitation is completely different and unique. It makes me even more excited for the upcoming birthday.

Napkin Apron

I love a good cheap project so I was super excited to be moving on to week two... the $5 Challenge! My first thought was "what is the cheapest way to find fabric?". So I searched all week and then I found two matching cloth napkins on sale at World Market for $1.50 each. Great find! When I saw them I was inspired to make an apron so I went and picked up some Twill Tape for the straps and the Napkin Apron was born. Total cost... $4.77!

I used the full napkin for the bottom half of the apron. Not only is the project super affordable but the napkins also make it a quick project because they are already hemmed up for you. I used the other napkin for the top and the ruffles. The twill tape made perfect straps. Not to shabby for under $5.

Summer Rag Wreath
There were some great projects last week ~ I'm glad to still be here!

I had a lot of fun with the challenge this week.

After hunting around my local dollar stores, thrift stores and fabric stores I had a ton of possible projects floating around in my head. This Summer Rag Wreath was my favorite...

It's starting to warm up around here. The kids were in the water just the other day! So to celebrate and welcome summer I created this Summer Rag Wreath for a whopping

$5.01
Doesn't it remind you of the sun shimmering on the water?? LOVE it!

I started gathering my materials ~ a wreath for $.99 and fabric for $4.02. Isn't the fabric gorgeous? Then I go and tear it into 1" strips! And tie all of my strips around the wreath. I didn't have money left in my budget for embellishments or sparkly do-dads so I made my own. I created a few fabric rosettes and used little knotted pieces of fabric for the accents. After tying on a hanger I was done!

I'll post more project details on my blog later ~ these are so easy to make! And gorgeous too!!!

{Even the back is pretty}

Holy Cow!

Three Dollar Wall Treatment

I loved the idea of the five dollar project. My personal goal was to come up with the biggest project or most drastic change I could achieve for under five bucks. I came up with a three dollar wall treatment.

Did you know you could completely change the look of a room for just three bucks? It's true! All you need is a three dollar paint marker and a whole bunch of courage.

There was absolutely no attempt at drawing straight lines here. I was going for a very organic, hand-drawn look. I love the way it turned out. I feel a bit like I've walked into a drawing.