For the past month I've been collecting ideas and inspiration in preparation for a complete home makeover. Pinterest has proved a valuable tool for my research: I've found dozens of amazing DIY projects which are not only easy, they're pretty thrifty too!

Over the net few months, we plan to try several of these projects as we work through our home (and I'll be sure to post them on Glamumous for you to see the results). In the meantime, I've collected my favourite DIY tutorials in this post to provide inspiration and ideas for your own home improvement projects.

Hanging book display (tutorial by Penny Carnival) This is an amazing idea for storing and displaying children's books: with the front covers facing outwards, children can easily locate the book they want to read (and they look great too!).

Transform thrift-store frames into beautiful chalkboards (via Flickr) As a busy mum, I love the idea of having a chalkboard in the entrance hall on which I can write reminders for everyone to take note of as they leave the house. This concept provides a much more beautiful option than the standard chalkboards found in office supply stores, and is probably far cheaper too! Simply upcycle a cheap (thrift store) frame and paint the glass with chalkboard paint! Sorry I've not been able to credit the original author - try as I might I've not yet been able to find the original link and have linked to the page on Flickr instead. Please let me know in the comments if you know the original author so I can credit them properly!

A bird's nest lampshade made from newspaper (via Catch My Party) This beautiful lampshade would be perfect for Princess and Little Man's shared room. It's hard to believe it was made using newspaper - the end-result looks more like something bought from a boutique store! Head on over to Catch My Party for the tutorial and more photos of this project.

DIY Cedar wood bench by My Daily Randomness I adore this idea! A bench like this would be perfect for our front yard. Unfortunately using cedar wood is a bit our of our price range, though I'm sure we could come up with something similar using palettes or reclaimed wood...

Felt and stone potholders by Teawith Bri I have a confession to make. I don't actually own any potholders! Oddly I've never found any at the thrift stores I patron, and have never truly had cause to go shopping for such an item (though it does prevent me from bringing ovenware straight to the table). Now that I have a new (smaller) cooker, I have the perfect excuse to make these pretty potholders. Best of all, they'll cost next-to-nothing to make!

DIY Camper Van by The Merrythought I know that Little Man will adore this project once I get around to it (though we may have to wait until the weather brightens in order to have it outside as we simply don't have room in the house!).

Baby food spice jars (by Frugal Decor Mom, via Curbly) Even though Babyman was weaned long ago, I still have a collection of baby food jars stashed in the cupboard... This idea is an ideal way to re-use those jars, I love the idea of storing them in a pull-out drawer!

Coffee table with book display from an old wooden spool (via Design*Sponge) I'd love a round coffee table for our lounge, and this ticks all the boxes: castors, book display, and child-friendly to boot! The image above is from an article by Design*Sponge on The Huffington Post. Here's a useful tutorial from Pink Stitches if you would like step-by-step instructions to make one of your own.

Mason Jars as wall storage (via Be Different Act Normal) We're stealing this idea for vertically mounted storage round the mirror in our hallway. Princess uses this to style her hair each morning, which inevitably leads to hair clips and ties strewn all over the floor. The mason jars will provide a perfect storage solution, in addition to looking wonderful!

Paper Mache animal heads, by Lil Blue Boo The trend for faux-taxidermy is perfect for children's rooms. I'm sure Princess would love to have a unicorn gracing her walls, and this tutorial can easily be adapted to create other animals too!

Recycled bottle flower pots by Breslo We don't have much ground space for plants in our garden, but we do have lots of blank walls and fencing... We're definitely borrowing this idea to grow kitchen herbs and trailing plants which we'll hang vertically to make the most of our available space.

Make a pebble mat (image via Apartment Therapy) Though the image above displays a bathmat, we're thinking of creating something similar for the recess inside our entrance porch. I found a great tutorial for this over at One Pretty Thing though I'd personally prefer the framed version above.

Create a light fixture from an unwanted globe, by DIY Show Off Our cheap plastic globe inevitably split in two after a few years. This would make an ideal light fixture to replace the paper shade in Big Lad's bedroom (if I don't claim it for the dining room first!)

Pallet Living Wall tutorial by The Brew I wish we had the wall-space to have something like this in our kitchen! Perhaps a project for the yard..?

Lace doily lampshade by Dos Family A great project to get the children involved in, this beautiful lampshade was made using a large round balloon as a mold. I'd love to have this as the ceiling shade in my bedroom, and am sure it would produce beautiful shadows on the walls.

DIY Bracket Bookshelves by Centsational Girl Another great storage idea for children's books, or simply to display a collection of your favourite titles!

Photo frame terrarium by Country Living This Victorian-esque terrarium was made with old picture frames (and a few hours of work) and makes an ideal home for orchids, succulents or other plants which thrive in warmer habitats.

Make a shabby-chic lace lampshade, by The Polka Dot Closet Only a few weeks ago I picked up a ready-made version of this in our local thrift store! It wasn't difficult to figure out how it was made, though the tutorial posted by Polka Dot Closet above makes it easy to create your own.

Stencilled ceiling/wall medallions, by Ask Anna Our old home had plaster ceiling medallions in the lounge which looked lovely. I hadn't considered installing them here as it wouldn't suit the style of the house, but I do love the idea of stencilling medallions on the wall.

Modern pegboard shelving system by Apartment Therapy Simple but genius! I'd love to try this in the designated "office" space in our kitchen.

Chicken wire and stone heart decoration by Country Woman Magazine This rustic heart ornament would look lovely hung on the wall beside our front door. It is simply made using chicken wire and a collection of pebbles, and could double as a memory-keeper for stones collected on your travels.

Pencil crayons displayed as wall art (via Enpundit) This idea would be amazing in a children's room! The page on Epundit promotes a service by Felissimo through which all of the pencils pictured may be collected over the course of several months. With some acrylic panels, you could easily produce something similar as a functional and beautiful display.

Which are your favourite projects?

Do you have any favourite projects from the list above? Perhaps you'd like to share other family-friendly projects you've created yourself?

Please feel free to leave your comments below, or for more inspiration pop over to my DIY for the Family Home board on Pinterest.