Pricey Decor You Can Make For Less

I would like to think that I would be an incredibly stylish person and would have a gorgeous personal office or room if I had the money to do so. I have begun a new hobby where I spend hours online shopping and filling up my cart… and then not buying any of it.

When I go shopping whether it be online or in-person, I have every intention of actually buying items, but then I realize my budget won’t really support my splurges and I end up with nothing. It’s not that I enjoy going shopping and not buying anything, it’s more that everything is simply out of my price range.

This is especially true when I shop for my room. I have a habit of changing my place about every three months, and while I love doing this, it isn’t exactly the most financially smart thing to do. Whenever I go home-shopping, I realize that 99% of the items being sold are costly, and I usually will find myself saying, “I can make that.” And because I have this bizarre habit of changing everything once I’ve finished the re-design from 3 months ago, I have learned one thing: the decor is vastly overpriced.

I know I am not alone in this. Why is that painting of a brush stoke $50? Why is that tapestry $75? The good news is, you can DIY a lot of your own decor and not only will it look bomb, but it will also have sentimental value, and you can tell people you made it!

Here are some pricey pieces of decor you can make for less and no one will know you only spend $15 instead of $200!

Moon Phase Banner

Within the past few years, astrological and astronomical decor has been trendy. Moon phases and zodiac signs have been making appearances on all types of decor and believe it or not, it is extremely simple to make!

For this DIY, all you need is acrylic paint, yarn, nine wooden circles, and a ruler, all of which you can buy at your local craft store. You can use whatever colors of paint you want, and if you’re going to copy this particular banner exactly, you might need to pick up some loose glitter as well!

Steps:

To do this, start with the quarter moons (50% black, 50% white). Next to the “full moon” (glitter), these are the easiest to make because it is just a straight line right down the middle of the circle.
For the rest of the circles, I would recommend sketching a very light line with a pencil right down the middle like you did for the quarter moons.
Then, using a ruler, make tick-marks where you want the deepest part of your crescents to be.
Once you have all that sketched out, then you can paint!
When that’s all finished, cut out a piece of yarn. You can either tape the moons to the yarn on the backside or punch a hole and string the yarn through them like in the original banner!

Original: $60

DIY: $12

3D Butterfly Frame

This DIY is way easier than the one above if you can believe it! This DIY is inspired by a piece of wall art that is $200, but you can make it for less than $20!

All you need for this DIY is a butterfly hole punch, construction paper, glue, and a shadow box.

Steps:

Pick out any color of construction paper you want! I recommend you get the construction paper that comes in bulk because you will be saving money and you might need more paper than you think, depending on how large you want your decor to be.
Punch out as many butterflies as you think you will need. If you find you need more, later on, no worries! You can always punch out more, which is another plus to buying the paper in bulk.
Once you have your butterflies punched out, score the butterfly right down the middle to create the illusion that it is 3D. You can do this by lightly folding it in half or using a hard edge of something else like a credit card or ruler.
Now you can arrange the butterflies! If you are making the spiral pattern like in the original, start in the center and work your way around gluing as you go!
Lastly, put your finished piece in a shadow box and get ready for the compliments to roll in!

Original: $200

DIY: $20

Supplies:

Zodiac Throw Pillow

This is a great DIY that is both quick and easy and would make an excellent gift for anyone obsessed with astrology! This might look a little intimidating at first, but it is actually super easy to remake!

Since the pillow has flowers that already look hand-drawn, there’s no pressure to make them look perfect! On top of that, the flowers are super basic and not detailed at all so pretty much anyone can do this DIY!

All you need for this one is a fabric marker and a blank pillowcase, preferably canvas!

Steps:

Start off by washing your pillowcase. Most craft fabric will have a film on it that can remove your design but check the tag because sometimes they will already be pre-washed!
If you’re a little nervous to just jump right in with the fabric marker, start with a pencil! Once you go in with the fabric marker you can’t go back, so even if you’re feeling super confident, consider using a pencil just to be safe!
Sketch out your zodiac sign! You can find them on Google images by searching it.
Draw in the flowers and leaves! Again, it doesn’t have to be perfect! The hand-drawn quality makes the pillowcase charming and unique.
Once you’re happy with your image, go in with the fabric marker! Take your time!
Once you’re finished, write the sign at the bottom and BAM! You’re done!

Original: $40

DIY: $11

Tassel Garland

This DIY is probably one of the easiest and quickest! This DIY is great if you want to add a little interest to an otherwise dull office or dorm room!

For this DIY, all you need is yarn, and that’s it! Pick out as many colors as you want or go for an ombre effect with different shades of the same color! The steps might be a little confusing so refer to the picture if you get lost and you should be about to follow!

Steps:

Start by wrapping the yarn! Depending on how large you want your tassels to be you can wrap it around your hand, textbook, phone… pretty much anything! Do this like you might wrap up some headphones or cord. You’re going to want to wrap more times than you think you need to!
Once you feel your “tassels” are thick enough, slide it off the surface careful not to lose the loops you just created.
Next, cut off the tail end of the yarn and hold the bundle about 2 finger widths from the top.
Cut about a 3-4 inch piece of yarn from the working yarn (not the bundle you just made!!) and fasten it around your bundle.
One it is secure, cut the bottom of the bundle off making the ends loose and detached from one another!
Continue this until you have the desired number of tassels.
Next, cut a long piece of yarn from any of the balls of yarn and string your tassels onto it!
If you want to copy the original, string beads onto a piece of yarn, tie varied lengths of yarn to that, and secure your tassels!

Original: $63

DIY: $10

Hanging Mobil

Mobiles aren’t just for toddlers! Mobiles are a fun and easy way to spice up your space and draw the eye up, which is super important and useful if you’re living in a pretty dull apartment or dorm room!

The cool thing about mobiles is that you can do whatever you want with them! But some of the best ones to DIY are with animals or stars, which is what this DIY will be focusing on! But of course, you can do whatever you want with it!

For this DIY, all you need is either a wire coat hanger or wire wreath hoop which you can find at a local craft store, string or fishing line, construction paper or scrapbooking paper, and a hole punch with the silhouette or shape you want. Again, most of this can be found at any craft store!

Steps:

Start by punching out the shape of your choice using your hole punch. Punch out more than you think you’ll need as you will need quite a few punch-outs.
Once you have all your punch-outs, either glue or tape them to sting or fishing line! Fishing line is better if you want a floating illusion as it is clear and you won’t see it as easily as a string.
Tie the string or fishing line to the coat hanger or hoop, and you’re done!

While this DIY is a little more time consuming, it isn’t difficult, and the outcome is totally worth it!

Original: $60

DIY: $20