RE: Thinking of scrapping the idea of treestands altogether.
I can understand that being a young hunter with a small budget, I remember when I was in your shoes.
But for $69.00 you can get a safe tree stand and if you check some of the classified forums on this site, you'll see that some people are selling their stuff at a good price ( it pays to shop around ) and don't forget about yard sales in your nighborhood.
If you insist on a ground blind, BLOODBRO has some good advice as to using camo burlap and natural limbs & brush.
However I must agree with everybody when they say that you'll have more shooting oppertunty when your up in a tree.