Organized Home Challenge - Week 1: Kitchen Countertops

Are you an organized person?  For the most part I am: I make a lot of lists, I have a lot of binders, I plan plan plan!  I am great at making agendas, itineraries, meal plans, etc.  BUT my house has issues.  I have trouble finding things.  There are toys EVERYWHERE!  Forms that need to be turned in have no real home.  Mail...ugh.  Don't get me started there!

Last night, once again, I was browsing Pinterest.  Yes.  I know.  It's an obsession.  I can't help myself.  Is there a support group for this? :)  Anyway, I stumbled across this link for the Organized Home Challenge.    It looks like something easy to follow and really great!  So, I'm jumping in.  The challenge actually began with week 1 being January 1 (gee...go figure), so I'm a week behind.  But I think I'll catch up at some point.  If not, oh well.  At least I'll hopefully be more organized, right?!

So, week 1 is about kitchen countertops and the kitchen sink.  Yowzers.  This is an area we struggle.  I'll be honest - I loathe doing dishes.  So if something needs handwashed...yeah.  I'll eventually get around to it, but only when I have to.  And we have a lot of miscellaneous "stuff" on the counters, too: mason jars that have been emptied and washed but not put away, a plant (really?), papers, a hairbow of my daughter's, the toaster which was used at breakfast and left sitting there, a couple of milk jugs that I need to send to school with my daughter next week for a project they are doing...I could go on. In fact, here are the "before" pictures of the current state of my kitchen... (Disclaimer:  my kitchen is u.g.l.y.  It's original to the 1964 house and the decor shows it.  My 5 year plan includes a complete gut and remodel, but I haven't gotten there yet.  So, I'm stuck in the '60's.)


On to the organization:

Step 1: Think About the Function of Your Kitchen
Taylor over at Home Storage Solutions (whose blog this all comes from), lists a bunch of different functions a kitchen can sometimes have.  She then says "the key to kitchen organization is making each function of your space intentional".  Great point!  My kitchen is of course, where we prepare and cook food.  But it's become a dumping ground for papers, a jar storage area, and collection place for miscellaneous other stuff.  It's not the kind of kitchen where people congregate - too closed off and as I said before, ugly.  So, as far as function is concerned, this is (for now) going to be a one function room - cooking/prep of food.  Jars have a home - in the basement.  I just need to take them there.  Papers, etc. don't really have a good solution just yet, but for now they will join the clutter on the wet bar in the den until we get to those solutions (which looks like we'll start in week 10).

Step 2: Create Usable Counter Space and Clear Your Kitchen Table (Mostly)
This step requires you to clear your counters of both things that don't fit the function of the kitchen (papers, jars, hairbows, etc) AND things that do fit the function of the kitchen.  She says anything you don't use at least weekly should not be on your counter top.  Wow!  Good point!!!  A few things I have to find a new home for: canisters that at one point held flour and sugar.  Ummm...yeah.  I really never refill them.  I have other canisters in the pantry to hold that sort of stuff.  Why do I need these?  Because they matched the dishes?  The ones we got rid of several years ago?  Hmmm...And I have a really large bread box on the counter.  I also have a drawer where I actually keep the bread items.  There is always stuff piled in front of the bread box and I can't get to it anyway.  I do have a basket of spices that I use a lot.  I need a better spice solution, but it's what I have for now.  The knife block and utensil jar will stay, as will the spoon rest and the measuring cup set I use for measuring snacks.  The only other things remaining are a couple of cookbooks that I use all the time, and the collection containers for box tops/labels for school and poptabs for the Ronald McDonald House.  Which reminds me, I need to make a cute container for those box tops...

Step 3: Consider These Storage Solutions to Help Clear Counter Space
She has some good ideas here.  Nothing I really need at this point other than the spice solution.  My basket looks good, but just isn't big enough.  I'm thinking about asking my husband to help me put up a shelf under the cabinet that's the right height for my jars.  I only use jars from Penzey's anyway, so height isn't an issue.

Step 4: Create the Habit of Keeping Your Sink Clear of Dishes At Least Two Times Per Day
Ick.  This is where I fail.  Alright, alright.  I'll give it a chance.  At least most things can go in the dish washer! :)

So, how did I do?  Here is the "finished product".

Puppy Hat

So, those of you that know my youngest, Jesse, know that he wears a lot of hats.  He's always rocking some sort of cute topper.  Unfortunately a lot of his warm winter stocking caps are getting a little too small.  After doing some searching on Pinterest and other websites, I found a bunch of really cute kids caps.  I decided to start with this one since I had leftover yarn from a sweater I made and I have all the right colors.

The pattern for the hat can be found here.  It was really easy to whip up, and only took a few days (with my limited free time).  I ended up making a teen size instead of the child since Jesse has a large head.  His head measures at 21", and the child size would have been too small.  After making the hat, I'd say the measurements given in the pattern are right on.  Mine is tan instead of yellow, and for some reason the ears look longer on mine.  But it is still really cute, and he's gotten a lot of complements on it!

Thank You, Cricut!

Have I mentioned before how much I love playing with my Cricut?

One of the new crafts I wanted to try this year was card making.  I'll be honest, it's a little harder than I thought it might be.  I'm still working out my technique, but each one I do gets better.  As a Christmas gift, I received the "Create a Critter" cartridge for my Cricut.  I love all the cute little animals and "accessories" to go with them!  This will be a great cartridge when I eventually get around to scrapbooking for my 3 kids!  Especially for trips to the zoo, circus, baby pictures, etc.  But, it has also made some really cute thank you cards that I am mailing out from Christmas.  A little late, I know - it took me some time to get them all made!

I did learn a few things:
1 - bigger is better!!  First, it's much easier to glue on the big pieces than the little pieces.  Sticky, sticky, sticky!!  Second, the little pieces don't always cut as cleanly as the big pieces.  Third, even when I planned it out on the computer and thought it looked too big, the actual cards came out a little smaller than I thought they would.

2 - Decorating the inside is just as important as the outside!  The first two I made, ("Merci" and "So Dear of You" below) just aren't as decorative.  Sure, they took less paper and less time, but the last two I did are just a lot more fun!!

I would love to hear from some card making pros... what sort of adhesives do you like to use?  Particularly for little teeny pieces?  If you have a fave, comment below, and I'll give it a try!

Here are the cards I have made.  Hope you like them!!

New Year's Craft-olution

Happy 2012!

With the start of this new year, I am really looking forward to trying some new things.  I've always loved doing crafts, sewing, baking, and trying new and different types of projects.  This year, I've been inspired to try something new each month, in addition to the little projects I'm just doing for the house or for fun.

What inspired me?  Actually two things.  First, Pinterest.  Yes, it is a serious addiction.  My husband jokingly (I think) suggested starting a support group for the husbands of women who have fallen victim to this website.  I am one.  I love the ideas and inspiration I find there!  Recipes, craft projects, design ideas, kids activities.  Ahhh...  If you're on Pinterest, feel free to check out what I've been pinning lately.  I have so many things in my list of things I want to work on, I probably will never get them done!

The second thing that inspired me in a round-about way was my sister.  She has a blog that she just started, where she is committing herself to blog once a week.  She has a "January project" for each year, which she wrote about back in November, and it seems like a good idea.  So my New Year's Resolution, or January Project as she calls them, is to try a new craft project each month.  (You can check out her blog here.)

I've got a list of things I'd like to try.  Card making, amigurumi, quilling, faux stained glass, jewelry making, just to name a few.  I'm off to a good start.  I've made a bunch of thank you cards for Christmas presents.  I'll be posting about them in the next couple of days.

A friend of mine is thinking about starting a crafting co-op.  It was somewhat inspired by a cooking co-op we're involved in.  Basically a group of 12 women would commit to each hosting a gathering once during the year.  When it is your turn to host, you plan a craft, provide the supplies, and teach the other members how to do it.  Everyone then goes home with a new project.  Right now it's still in the planning stages, but if it gets off the ground, I'll be sure to post some about the projects we are doing there!

Happy New Year and Happy Crafting!!

Cub Scouts Bug Me (hehehe)

The scouts don't really bug me.  In fact, my den of Tiger Cubs are really pretty sweet.  I have 9 of them, and it has been so much fun working with them this year.

We have our monthly den meeting tonight, and are going to be working on completing an elective of making decorations.  Our Blue and Gold Banquet is next month, so I thought it would be fun for the boys to make decorations for the banquet.  I did some searching on the internet, and most of the ideas I found were just too difficult for 6 & 7 year old boys with short attention spans.  I found one that I modified a little bit to make it easier for the boys.  So tonight we will be making Cub Scout Yarn Bugs!

I cut long lengths of blue and gold yarn, which the boys will wrap around 5" strips of cardboard.  Then they will tie a short piece of yarn under one side, flip the cardboard over and cut through the loops to make a yarn pom pom.  I stuck a white pipe cleaner through an egg carton section so that the two ends come out in the bowl part of the carton.  These will eventually be the legs.  I took a blue pipe cleaner and stuck it through in the opposite direction for arms.  Then I spread tacky glue all over the outside of  the egg carton section and plopped the yarn pompom on top.  I glued on a set of googly eyes.  I took the white pipe cleaner and made loops on the end that I flattened out.  Onto the loops I taped (glue wouldn't hold) a piece of blue craft foam, cut into the shape of feet.  I used a short piece of white pipe cleaner for a flag pole and glued on a piece of gold cardstock cut into a flag, and the words "Pack 129" in blue cardstock that I cut on my Cricut.  The original design I saw had a cap, which was cute, but I think what I have done here is enough to keep my boys occupied without completely losing their interest.

New Year - New Curtains!

Happy New Year!!  

With the end of 2011 came the end of the ugly blue, cat-scratched, torn-up couch and chair in my living room.  They had gotten so bad I literally cringed every time someone came over and had to come in my house.  Cub scout den meetings or PTA book fair committee meetings were down-right embarrassing.  But, much to my joy, they are gone.  Several people stopped by as they were sitting on the curb (in the rain) to check them over, but alas, they met their end at the hands of the local garbage collectors.  In their place are some new, more stylish, and definitely better looking pieces of furniture!

However, with the loss of the blue couches, the blue and yellow striped curtains also needed to go.  I had seen an idea on Pinterest where someone took plain white curtains and “dressed them up” with some ribbon.  I thought, with the stripes on the new chair, that would be a great plan for our living room, and pretty inexpensive, too.  

I bought some plain white, linen, grommet-style curtains.  Then I chose three colors of ribbon in different widths.  I used a 2-inch wide chocolate brown, a 3/4-inch golden yellow, and a 1-inch deep red.  I lined the chocolate up with the hem line on both the top and bottom of the curtains and used fabric glue to attach it.  Then I measured 1/2 inch away, and attached the yellow, and another 1/2 inch from that to attach the red.  I used a ruler to keep my lines straight, and they did turn out pretty even.  They are pretty simple looking, but I love the way they turned out!

I made a matching lamp shade out of a square white lamp shade.  I used the same ribbon widths and fabric glue, and I used the same pattern that I used for the curtains.  I did have to miter the corners on the lampshade, and that turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be.  It still looks pretty nice.  

So, we are starting 2012 in basically a new living room.  It’s warmer, cozier, and cheerier.  I hope your 2012 is all those things and more!

My First Cricut Project = Gift Tags!

I have finally entered the world of Cricut.  Why didn't I do this sooner?!?!  I LOVE this thing!  And I don't even have one of the new, fancy models.  A friend of mine was going to sell her Cricut "Personal Electronic Cutter" (one of the old models) at a garage sale.  So, I told her I'd buy it from her instead.  So, for $15 I got a Cricut.  It doesn't do the big shapes, but really for what I'm probably going to do with it, I don't need anything big right now.  If I decide I want something bigger and fancier some time in the future, I can always upgrade.  The only downside to buying it used is that it came with no cartridges.  But, Cricut has an online design room that comes with a few really basic shapes, so I was at least able to try it out.

For my very first Cricut project, I decided I'd make some gift tags for all of those Christmas presents I have to wrap anyway.  So I made four different designs.  None of them were hard, and I only bought a couple pieces of paper.  Most of what I used was scrap card stock (or glittery red foam) that I had on hand from other projects.

I made this one using just white card stock for the scalloped oval, and red glitter foam for the Christmas tree.

The next one I cut a fancy doodad (I'm sure there's a name for it, but I don't know it) out of white card stock, and cut a small tree in that.  I cut a slightly larger doodad out of dark green card stock and used that as the backing.

I took the little tiny tree and attached it to a circle of light green card stock that I cut by using the "O" of the basic (free) font.  It was the inside of the O.  There is no circle in the free shapes, so it was the best option I had.  Then I attached that to a snowflake patterned rectangle.

I still had the actual O itself in the green card stock, so I attached that to a scalloped circle cut out of red card stock.  I added another scalloped circle cut out of "Merry Christmas" paper to that (to cover up the hole in the O).  I think this one is my favorite.

I'm hoping to get some real cartridges for Christmas and then I'll be able to have fun playing with cards and other projects.  Next year, maybe I'll do something a bit more creative with the gift tags, but for my first projects, I think they are pretty good!