The Look for Less: PB Framed Corkboard

I'm taking a break from Christmas decorations because mine are still all over the place and I have no intention of doing anything about it 'til this weekend.  Instead I have a quick "look for less."  This corkboard is $149 at Pottery Barn.  

Target and Wal-Mart both carry Board Dudes corkboards that look like this:

The Board Dudes website sells it for $49.99, but Wal-Mart sells it for about $12 and Target sells it for $16.  It's a bit smaller than the PB one at 22x35, but it does the job.  We have one in our kitchen and office. Our refrigerator is visible from everywhere on our first floor, so I like using this in our kitchen for pictures and recipes instead of having things stuck all over our fridge.  The picture is horrible, but here's mine:

I used picture wire and mini binder clips at the top to hang things I didn't want to put holes through.

The Look for Less: Pottery Barn Birch Candles

Pottery Barn has been carrying these for a few Christmases now, and I still haven't gotten tired of them.  This is the first year I've bought any though.  They range from $15-$69(!) at PB, but since they've been so popular other retailers have started carrying copies that start at $9.99.   Target has three different sizes 4", 6", and 8".  I bought one of the 6" candles for $12.99 and was planning on buying a couple more from Target until I stumbled into Kohl's on my hunt for a wreath stand .  Kohl's birch candles start at $12.99, but almost all of their Christmas decor is alreay 50% off.  I got a 4" candle for $7.79.  The 6" candles are $8.99.  I"ll definitely go back and  get a few more.

I think these look just as good as the ones from PB. The taller one is from Target and the shorter one is from Kohl's.

The Look for Less: Pottery Barn Faux Snow Vase Filler

PB Faux Snow
This is the first of a few posts in which I will be targeting Pottery Barn's Christmas decorations. As much as I love that store and appreciate the quality of their products, the prices on some of them make me want to go spend a couple hours stopping customers from being ripped off. I can imagine myself being dragged out of the store still yelling at people to put down the over-priced item that they could find so much cheaper somewhere else. If it weren't for my concern for the safety of my unborn child I would consider doing it.

Let's start with the faux snow vase filler. The pictures don't do this stuff justice. The displays I've seen in store that use this are much prettier than the ones they have online. You should go check them out. A box of the faux snow is $12.00 (and I'm pretty sure that it used to cost $19). Two years ago I decided that I would track down cheaper faux snow. I paid $2.99 at Michael's for a bag. This year I was walking down one of Wal-Mart's Christmas aisles and saw that they have it for (I think) $1.99. In both stores it was in the aisle that had the little Christmas village stuff. Please, please don't spend $12 for fake snow and if you happen to see any one else doing it...stop them.

It may not come in the pretty clear plastic box that the snow at Pottery Barn comes in...but it's the same stuff.

The Look for Less: Vintage Botanical Lithographs

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Bellacor Leaf Botanicals

Collecting Botanical Prints from Country Living
When I started looking for art to put on our walls I knew I wanted something that looked authentically old, but not too formal or anitque-y. Because we have a ton of wall space I didn't want anything that would be too expensive to do as a grouping. The cost of six to eight prints can really add up even when you're shopping at Home Goods. I started searching for old botany books that I could take pages out of, but those proved hard to find. I ended up getting my prints from a vendor at the NC State Fair Grounds flea market. He's there every weekend in one of the permanent buildings and sells old prints like botanicals and old maps (I would love to buy one of the maps). The ones that I bought were $5 each. They are chromolithrographs from a 1916 botany book. The frames I used were $5 from Michael's. The quality of the frames is not great, but from a distance you can't tell that they're cheap. The grouping above our TV cost a grand total of $80. I think that's pretty good considering how much wall space it covers. I did a similar grouping in our kitchen that has mainly fruit prints, plates and a clock.

The Look for Less: Restoration Hardware Key Art

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Key Art
These are 18.5x18.5 and retail for $199. I saw some old keys at the flea market at the NC state fair grounds and did a similar piece of wall art with a shadow box I got from Michael's. If you go to the right guy you can get a handful of keys for $5 and if you go to Michael's at the right time or have a coupon you can get a shadow box for about $25 or less. Here's what mine looks like:

I tacked on the thicker ones in the center with thread and just hot glued the flat ones.