Organizing on the mind

Time out from surfing ideas for organizing the arts and crafts room, I need to post something!  It's been a month (again!) since my last entry and of course there's a lot in the works around our humble abode. 

We got new carpet in the lower level bedrooms in preparation for moving the previously mentioned arts and crafts room downstairs to bedroom #1 and combining my husband's "man's room" with the guest bedroom in room #2.  While we haven't gotten too far on the move, we have gotten the guest bed and a chaise set up for guests in the man's room/guest room and it looks pretty darn good if I do say so myself!  We mounted my husband's road bike on the wall, ala NYC loft style to free up some floor space and relocated some of the other sporting equipment to places that just plain made more sense. 

You see, we've lived here for almost 7 years (I can hear the gasps from those who know us well, since prior to this home we'd not lived in one place more than 2 years since leaving our parent's homes.)  Without the mandatory purge that goes with moving all the time, we have accumulated a bunch of "schtuff" as my friend Tracey would say (check out her blog on my favorites list - Makin' Schtuff.)  Worse yet, it has haphazardly been placed in any free nook and cranny instead of given a permanent, organized, know where to find it next time, HOME.  Soooo...

We have embarked on the task of reorganizing our home, making some room shifts, and purging all we can in preparation for the new member of our family who will be joining us in 2011.  We could not be happier about expanding our family and the news gave us just the push we needed to clean and organize the garage and shed this fall for the first time since we moved in.  We've also tackled my son's closet and bedroom, our closet, and now the new task of relocating the arts and crafts room so that space can again become a nursery.  Whew!  With Christmas right around the corner it feels very busy in our home right now.

Back to my first paragraph of the post - tonight I have been surfing around looking for ideas to better organize the arts and crafts room when it moves.  It needs to be well organized and efficient since I enjoy sewing (machine, notions, fabric, trims), crafting with felted wool, making jewelry (beads, shells, sea glass,) doing paper crafts (scrapbook paper, card-making supplies, stamps,) and projects with photos (frames, albums, photo storage.)  Add in my son's paints, crayons, stickers, pop-it beads, and other preschool craft items and you have one awesomely busy, extremely fun space!!

Here are a few of tonight's finds you might want to check out...  The blog, Chez Larsson, has an awesome section on organizing - it breaks out each area of your house and gives solutions for organizing or reclaiming those spaces.  Plus, the 12/7/10 posting is called Holiday Loo so you know I'm hooked on this blog, since I also change my "Loo" decor seasonally.  ;-) 

Simplify 101 has organizing tips, articles, and a link to their blog, Creative Organizing.  Perfectly Pretty also has amazing tips for organizing things (and she has a great sense of humor - like laughing at herself because her small designer handbag collection is kept in a drawer of her IKEA dresser. HA!)  

So friends, no photo with this post, just a few links to get you lost in blog-land for a few hours if you too are craving some new ideas for organization.  Enjoy!  

Loose Ends

I was re-reading some of my past posts yesterday and realized that I had a few loose ends to tie up!  So I ran around quickly and took a few snap shots.  Remember this chair from my July 11th post about a great estate sale I stumbled upon?  Here is the before and after. 

Before

After



The ticking I used on the seat was from my favorite thrift store.  The ticking is a versitile neutral blend of cream, white, black and gray - plus it looks french to me, which I love. And for those of you who wonder -yes, I truly do find uses for all the splendid finds I bring home.  

Here is a before and after of some wicker chairs I got at a garage sale for $5 each.  I wanted some casual seating outside our front door so friends and I have a place to sit while the kids ride bikes/trikes/scooters in the driveway.  The chairs look less stable than they are, due to a support frame built under the base.  I have purchased some fun Sunbrella brand fabrics on clearance with which to sew cushions, but that will probably wait until next summer since I hear freezing rain is on the way soon (boo!)

Finally, I promised a picture of my seasonal decor change in our main bath way back at the beginning of June (gulp.)  I love the Alexander Henry fabric as the focal point.  I originally wanted to stretch it over an IKEA fabric frame, but the remnant I bought was not quite the yard it promised so it didn't fit.  I improvised by stapling the fabric over a cork bulletin board.  I love it because I can reuse the fabric when it's no longer wall decor (which will be soon, as I'm busy coming up with a fall theme.)  A side note for those of you new to my blog - I do a super simple change of the decor in our main bath each season to keep things fresh (I get bored too easily.)  It's a small space with a neutral palette, so it's easy to move things around from other rooms of the house, such as the b&w daisy pics I stole from the entryway this time.  Different colored towels, rugs, maybe shower curtain and I'm done!  Since I rotate through the different colored towels and rugs I already own, it's very inexpensive to do and truly doesn't take much time at all.  Big reward for little effort - love it!!  It's something you could easily do yourself if you were so inclined.

Enjoy your Saturday, my friends!  Thanks for stopping by.  xoxo ~J

A Much Needed Post

Hi!  Hi, hi, hi!  Hi, hi, hi!  I'm so excited to be blogging, I can hardly stand it! 

Life has been too much work and not nearly enough play lately.  You know how I can tell?  First, the last post was a month ago - ugh!  Second, I am about to explode like a cork out of a champagne bottle if I don't get something written (or made, or sewn, or constructed.)  Know the feeling?!

I've done a few mini-projects out of necessity, but they aren't cutting it.  I've sewn a stuffed animal holder for O's room and a black-out curtain for the one window that didn't have one - both were quick, sloppy projects that didn't satisfy my itch.  Although, O really likes the stuffed animal holder hanging above his bed (it's just a couple of pockets sewn to a larger piece of fabric,) so that's good.  I've also tried some new recipes, like Emeril's baked mac and cheese with bacon from the Food Network Magazine which the guys loved!  However, it's not been enough to help me find the balance that comes with some serious making, crafting, or re-inventing!

So, step one toward balance is to write this blog entry.  *Big sigh with a grin*  Step two is to do a few of the projects I've been contemplating (or at least one of them - he, he.)  Also, to share some of the cool things I've come across.

Yesterday I was looking at plans from Knock-Off Wood's Ana White for wall cubby shelves.They are on my list to make for the arts and crafts room, which needs to be reolcated btw, as I've completely outgrown it.

I found a round foot stool on metal casters at a garage sale this summer.  It's currently covered in baby-poo yellow pleather and my plan is to make a slip cover for it out of some awesome upholstery weight linen I scored at a different garage sale for $4.  I am thinking I may try a flowy drop ruffle around the slip cover, we'll see.  I will post some before/after pics, as I don't have a pic to post today.

Then there are the felted wool embellishments I enjoy making.  Mostly flowers for now, but I'd like to try some new things, and I'd like to fatten the stock in my Etsy shop for holiday shoppers.  I have tried some different techniques after making flowers with friends one weekend and seeing the cool ideas they came up with.  The result was very frilly and fun flowers, but they still need some finishing touches and I need more time experimenting!

On a side note, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law have launched a website for their awesome felted wool mittens, Asbury Mitten Company.  Check it out!  You might recognize some of the same felted wool in my flowers, since I started making them with some of their scraps.  It's really been a fun new medium for me this year and I owe them a big thank you for introducing me to "fabulous felting."

Enjoy your weekend, friends.  If you have a project in your sights, please share with us.  It's always fun to hear what everyone else is working on (besides WORK, right?!)  Happy Friday!!

10 Minute Organizational Project

Hi, friends - Here's a quick post to show you an even quicker project you can do by yourself or with little ones.  If you decide to do it, I'd love to see some photos!

I will start by saying,  in yet another way I am becoming my mother - I am recycling empty glass pickle, olive, and jelly jars.  It seems a shame to toss them in the recycling bin and go buy something to use for organizing my bits and bobbles!  So to spruce them up a bit and disguise their former use, I decoupaged some fun paper and even some newsprint on the lids.  If the food label extended to the side rim of the lid, I glued ribbon around the edge (like the black jars pictured.)

Your little ones can help you trace the lids on paper, cut out the circles, and even "paint" the glue/water mixture on the tops.  I used roughly 2 parts White Elmers Glue mixed with 1 part water to stick the paper circles to the lids, and then painted over the paper on the lids with the glue/water mixture to give it a nice finish.  I have Mod Podge, but decided to save it for something fancier like decoupaging photos.  You could certainly use it if you have it on hand.

Have fun!

Friendly Fall

Good day!  I've been away but you've been on my mind, lovely blog and blog readers.  There is a brisk chill in the air which goes beautifully with my late morning coffee.  It's a welcome relief from the hot, HUMID summer we've experienced (or perhaps, endured, if you're speaking to my plants.)  I think most of America immediately pictures snow, ice, and frost when they hear the word MINNESOTA.  True, true, that is our wonderland a good piece of the year.  However, we are the land of extremes and have a fair share of 90+ degree (farenheit) days with extreme humidity.  Although, between the two seasons of extremes comes a bursting spring and a calming fall.  It's most excellent.

Friendly fall means the neighborhood is quiet once again as the kids have headed back to school.  The temperatures have cooled down to 50's at night and upper 60's to low 70's during the day.  The sun often shines on these crisp days and wearing a sweatshirt and a favorite pair of jeans is a special treat all of a sudden.  The changing seasons is a friendly rhythm to our life and a gentle reminder that life is a journey - always moving and changing.  It's sadly missed by many a Minnesotan who venture out of our state, usually for warmer weather.  As with all changes, each new season brings positives and negatives and the range of emotions that accompany such things.  Today I am rejoicing in a slower pace and not feeling the pressure to pack it all in as I often do during the summer since warm weather is fleeting.  Alternately, I am also mourning the loss of daylight as our days are already getting shorter, and the inevitable cold that I know is only weeks away.  Such is life - two sides to every coin.

As the season changes my focus is shifting away from gardening, although I have a couple of lingering plants I'll stick in the ground with hopes they make it to spring.  Coming back into light are my crafty urges.  With a gentle nudge from a dear friend who recently got her Etsy shop, "Geen Green Turtle Photography", up and running, I have finally listed some items in my Etsy shop, "Sprinkle of Joy"!  It's exciting to share a few of my vintage finds and some of my fun little handmade accessories.  It's most interesting to see how many people are interested enough in your creation to pause and take a closer look.  It's exciting to think that my little babies might be loved by someone else - even loved enough to be worn, nay, proudly displayed by another.  Ah, the small pleasures in life.  When you get a minute and feel like doing some surfing, or shopping, check out Etsy and all of the wonderful handmade items displayed there.  It's amazing what creativity there is, and what fun flows from other people's hearts and hands.  Perhaps you'll even venture to open a shop of your own!  Or - if you are already one of the marvelous sellers on Etsy, we'd love to know where to find you.  Please post your shop in the comments.  Cheers!  ~J