Sure, you’re forced to take down the ghosts and fuzzy spiders (news flash: your neighbors are pissed if you haven’t done so), but some of the seasonal elements we put up to get in the mood  should endure until the end of the year, if not beyond.

Here is my list of favorite affordable decorative displays for the festive and frugal in all of us.

1. Lanterns

Rice paper lanterns bobbing outside (with solar lights) or in your rooms make a huge, happy statement. I love the cylinder shapes with Asian motifs like the …

Tags: beeswax , candles , cards , Christmas , coasters , Conserve , decor , decorating , dishes , fabric , fall , flowers , foliate , glassware , green , Halloween , home , house , lanterns , organic , peach glass , photo display , photo walls , photos , pinecones , pumpkins , recycle , reuse , rice paper , runners , seashells , Seasons , sew , stringing cards , table design , Thanksgiving , vintage , winter

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Is there a hole in the heart of that beloved camel cashmere from your freshman year at Stanford?

Don’t become unraveled! The crafty set – people like Stefanie Girard, who wrote Sweater Surgery – take the green approach to spinning yarns, reconfiguring new objects d’smart from those ratty pullovers that once warmed our bones.

Handwash your old sweater (I like to use baby shampoo) and treat it for unsightly coffee or red wine stains. Then circumvent those Jarlsberg cheese holes in the wool and make something cool!

Here’s a …

Tags: cashmere , cozies , crafts , design , dog sweaters , dogs , doll clothes , environment , hairbands , jewelry , kitchen , knitwear , recycle , reuse , sew , slippers , sweaters , teapot , wool

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If your daughter’s heartthrobs are Tim Gunn and Al Gore, then Wee Scotty is the place for her. Not only does the San Francisco sewing school teach kids how to sketch and assemble a garment, its Scottish owners take the high road in their Rip & Recycle course, which is patterned after the sensible, waste-not mentality that got our ancestors through the first big depression.

Students are asked to bring to class a pile of old favorite clothes they no longer wear. At the end of the …

Tags: camps , fashion , green design , kids crafts , recycle , reuse , sew

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