Special Date Art on my $0 Budget

Happy New Year Everyone! Are you ready for a full month of not spending? For those of you who are partaking in this experiment with me...I can't tell you how excited I am to have your support!

I have had emails with people inquiring as to the rules for this challenge; I cannot set the rules for you. Each and every one of us needs to set our own goals and work towards them. For me, I have a list that my family and I will live by over the next 31 days. I absolutely love what Mother Hen Strikes Again posted on her blog as her rules, so I thought I would share what she wrote (my additions are in italics).

7 golden rules for my $0 Budget month:

1. Thou shall not spend ANY money on Crafts and home  decor or go into a craft or Dollar store

2. Thou shall not spend ANY money on DVDs, CDs, Books or Clothes

3. Thou shall not spend any money on Sweets or Treats (make whatever you got for Christmas last until February young lady!) This will be especially hard for me because I am addicted to potato chips and chocolate. So maybe I will drop a few pounds while I am saving a few dollars.

4. Thou shall only buy essential groceries and make savings wherever possible!

5. Thou shall only complete crafts with the items already in the house

6. Thou shall not go to ‘Coffee’ or ‘Lunch’ with other Mummies unless invited to their home or them to mine.

7. Thou shall think “Thrifty”.

Don't you love those?   Please be sure to stop by Mother Hen Strikes Again to see what else she has to say during our month of not spending.

On to my first $0 post for 2012 - Special Date Art

This is another craft inspired by my countless hours spent wasted browsing Pinterest. Andrea at A.Steed's.Life originally posted this project by creating a digital image of the background and numbers. I love what she did but I wanted to use scrapbook paper that matched the color of accessories I am starting to use in my family room (more of that this month). So I made it differently with scrapbook paper and vinyl.

Materials (all of which I have on hand):

• Scrapbook paper
• Vinyl or contact paper in black and white
• Picture frame (8x10)
• Painters tape
• Red paper

Method:
I designed my family's important date art in an 81/2 x 11 image Sure Cuts a Lot program. If you don't have this program and/or a digital cutter, you can create it in Microsoft Word or Publisher and then print it directly onto scrapbook paper.

When I created the image, I made it so that the numbers stretch to be the exact same width because I wanted both sides to line up perfectly.

I also used Modern No. 20 font for this (you can easily find and download this font on those free font sites).

Once I had the exact design I wanted, I removed the center row of numbers because I wanted that row to be white. I cut the four dates in black vinyl and then cut the other in white.

Using my painters tape method to transfer vinyl, I moved all four rows of the black vinyl at the same time. This way I was able to ensure they were perfectly spaced and straight.

 I then added the row of white numbers using the same method.

 I added a small red heart to the white vinyl to add a splash of color.

Here is my finished project on our shelves...I will add (because I feel I need to say it even though this is a $0 month) it cost me nothing because I have hundreds of scrapbook pages, yards of vinyl and contact paper and probably 30 frames on hand. Isn't it great!?

 Thank you Andrea for this amazing idea.

Good luck everyone with your spend free month. Remember we are all here to support each other...so if anyone needs to share a story or seek a little support..post a comment or send an email and we will be there for you.

There is an amazing $0 guest post tomorrow..so please try to stop by.

1 day down....30 to go.
Stephanie at Full of Great Ideas