Diva on a Dime Series

Hi Nemo, I found you

So Nemo has come and gone, leaving behind about 2' of snow here in Boston. Luckily, G and I were super prepared and actually had a lovely and productive weekend. We didn't leave the house starting on Thursday night, with the exception of some shoveling on Saturday and Sunday. 
While DIYing, cleaning and organizing, G made a comment that started an avalanche (pun intended) of ideas for this lil' ole blog. "you should share your cheap ways of making things and shopping, you are so good at that!". He is the sweetest isn't he? So now I bring you Part one of the "Diva on a Dime" series!
So let me start from the beginning. G and I are both living on pretty tight budgets. We recently moved from the city to the burbs (blehhh) to help the day to day living expenses. We both have jobs and work very hard, but with loans, cost of living and just life, a tight budget is needed. I have very expensive taste in pretty much everything (Did you know grapes were $7.00 a pound?!).  After a few months of living together a year or so back G put his foot down and said that we need to start being more money conscious  He was completely right. I did not need to go online shopping once a week.
 The only problem was our apartment hadn't been decorated. I decided to take this bull by the horns and start DIYing. I started small by turning a wine rack into a towel holder and using stuff we already had in new ways. I felt satisfied until we moved to our new place and there was just more space. I know this is a good problem to have, but it was driving me nuts. So I started to limit myself a small amount per pay check to complete DIY projects I thought could be completed, and wouldn't end up in a pile in the storage unit. 
I have completed quite a few of these recently, and the place is almost finished...6 months later. Little victories. I wanted to share my most recent project mostly because it was the easiest, cheapest and quickest task. This baby was done and hung before the first flakes fell on Friday. 
I will start with a disclaimer: I received these old frames as part of a trade with my friend from work. He has a ton of old frames he was throwing out and I asked him to bring some in for me to futz around with. I started by spray painting these with a simple natural bronzy color. These have been sitting in my apartment for months until I came across wallpaper samples you can buy at Home Depot (I ordered online for a wider selection) for 0.99 cents. 
What you need: Frames Wallpaper, fabric, whatever you want to frame Scissors Tape Pencil Hanging Tape (I hate using nails)

First, lay out the sheets you are using and fine the part of the pattern you like the most. 

Turn the sheet over and trace with a pencil, so there is no damage to the paper.

I always cut a little bigger, because you can always take away, not add.

A little tape and viola!

I used a variety of patterns that complimented each other but still giving it a mix/match look.

I had these existing shelves and arranged the frames around them 

These wallpaper samples would be a great (and super cheap!) alternative for a lot of things. the background of a picture, drawer lining, homemade note cards, etc.

I hope you all survived the storm and thank you all for your well wishes!