DIY Life

It's getting close to your big day. You've done everything you can to keep your wedding plans simple and frugal. You've made your own invitations, created centerpieces yourself, made your bouquet and even your guest book.

Now, how will you thank your bridesmaids? In keeping with your frugal DIY wedding, a thoughtful and unique hand-made gift sounds perfect.

Spa products
Wouldn't it be fun to have a spa day with your bridesmaids? Since this is an expensive luxury, you could thank them with some homemade spa products instead. Try some of these:

• Facial products: Make a cleanser, scrub, mask, and moisturizer to pamper your bridesmaids.
• Foot products: Create a soak, scrub, and butter -- those feet will be worn out from dancing at the wedding!
• Body products: Make bath salts, body scrub, hand scrub, and body oil, so she can be soft all over.

After years of rummaging around in jewelry boxes for matching earrings I gave up and started storing my jewelry in a plastic art bin with lots of little compartments. Practical, but by no means pretty.

Which is why I was so excited to discover Joyful Abode's jewelry storage tutorial. She uses frames, cork, fabric, and ribbon to create a jewelry storage system that is both useful and practical.

I love everything about it. Each piece of jewelry is in plain view so you can easily get at what you want. Plus, each piece has a place, so you know where to put everything back when you take it off. It's pretty enough that there's no need to hide it in a closet or dresser. In fact, because it's in a frame, you can hang it on the wall, freeing up precious surface space. And, you can customize it to coordinate with your bedroom, bathroom or wherever you store your jewelry.

Seriously. Brilliant.