Organization Intentions

So I was reading another blog post over HERE about grocery shopping and meal planning dilemmas.  This is a constant mystery to me, and I am always interested to hear how people survive so I was browsing through the comments to the post.  That's when I came across THIS.

Oh. My. Gosh.  Color-coded, organized AND adorable?!  It's a magnetic calendar with little magnets for recipes with side dishes, night out days, leftover days, etc. so you can plan your meals in advance and grocery shop accordingly.  You print out the cute little magnets so they can say whatever you want them to!  The original idea came from HERE and hers looks like this:

These women are good. I wish I could just become them because I'm sure they are great cooks and great mothers if they have their monthly meal plans looking like this!  I want to make my own, especially because in each of the posts they give fool proof instructions on how do so but then I realized I don't have very many recipes. Oh, and I'm cooking for 1. :) So maybe I'll tuck this away and save it for when I've got a family I'm cooking for?   Either way, I had to post this so that I could remember it forever, and because maybe someone else will want to do this for their house!!  Anyone else think this is awesome?! Buhler....?

Little Miss Crafty Pants

Well I do have to say, the sewing machine and I are becoming really great friends.  Lately I've made a bunch of things and they were so easy!! I'm posting them so I can save them and they'll eventually go into my blog book I'm making :)

Rice hand warmers for co-worker gifts
(Put in the microwave for 30 seconds then stuff them in your coat pockets. They're awesome!)

Kaylyn's make-up brush holder

Pattern adapted from HERE

Zen garden I made for Dad's Christmas present for his office
(obviously didn't come from the sewing machine, but it was still crafty so that counts right?!)

 My next project is to make a quilt!! I'm thinking this pattern, and using this fabric somewhere.... :)  I'm so excited!

Satchel....Purse??

I'm finally putting pictures up of my purse I made a few months ago!!  Holli calls it a satchel, which by definition it probably is.  I'm resisting the urge to look 'satchel' up in the dictionary..... resist!  Either way, I made this purse/satchel all on my very own!  I followed the tutorial from Caroline (http://www.coldhandswarmheartcrafts.com/2012/02/braided-belt-messenger-bag-tutorial.html) and it actually turned out better than I thought it would!  Just don't look too close....  

This was a big project for me and a huge accomplishment!  Sewing is really pretty easy once you get the hang of it!  Later I sewed a make-up brush holder for my dear friend Kaylyn, and now I'm working on some surprises for work Christmas gifts! Lovely Anisa gave me a pattern for an adorable dress to sew and that project still scares me... I haven't broken the clothing barrier yet, but I'm thinking that her pattern just might be what I need to start!

I love to sew, and one day I hope to have my own sewing machine.  Thankfully my wonderful mother has one that I can use.  I like sewing with her there anyways so maybe I'll never get my own sewing machine and always bum off of her.  :)

Now for the pictures!!

October Project #2

Remember THIS post filled with all the things I wanted to accomplish in October??  Well I actually finished a few, and here's some pictures to prove it!  I still need to take pictures of my "satchel" that I made as well, and that will be October Project #1..... Until then, here is my yard sale bookcase I turned into a stellar shoecase!

From brown....

To white....

Then add some blue.....

Then add a shoe or two!!
Yeah that last bit rhymed, nbd.

Crappy pictures... I know.  I was more focused on painting than trying to document, but I think it turned out sooooo awesome!!!!  Also, the decision to hold my shoes on a bookcase was a fantastic  one, and one that I highly recommend to everyone.  No mess, and now I can look at my beautiful shoes as I fall asleep.  :) As you can see, I need to buy a few more shelves.  It's a little crazy to me that I have enough shoes to fill these shelves, and that I need more shelves to fit the rest of my shoes....  what can I say, my feet are little fashionistas.

October To Do List

I think I'm going to start doing To-Do lists for projects I want to do during each month.  They might actually get done if I set a time frame, eh?   I can only hope....

 

OCTOBER TO DO LIST:

 

Paint bookshoeshelf

 

Sew this Messenger bag



De-Junk bathroom and kitchen storage boxes

Sew this iPhone case

Start going to the cycling class with my mom

 

Watch this.

Finish this.

I'm off to a good start if you ask me!  I found the bookcase at a yard sale for $15! Booyah! (So much better than the cheapest one I could find....$75)  I have been trying to figure out how to keep my shoes organized and I think this will work!  This way I can look at all my beautiful vans, and none of my shoes will get squished.  I bought the fabric and have it all cut out for the messenger bag and I'll use scraps I have to make the iPhone case.  I have a few more hopeful items I could add to this list, but I'll start here first.  Don't want to get too ambitious. :)

P.S. click on the de-junk link, you'll find an awesome list of questions to ask yourselve while de-junking!

 



Craft Corner

Even I didn't think it would turn out as well as it has.  Thanks to Pinterest, I've got quite a few craft projects to try in the next little while, but decided to start with this one.

 I LOVED every second of making this wallet.  Plus I bought sooo much extra fabric so now I can make more wallets and mix up the fabric for different parts.  It was really pretty easy, and got me excited about sewing! 

I did have mom  help with the final stitch on the outside to make sure it was straight.  She is a professional ya know, can't waste that resource!

This project is what started it all. 

 Then came this one.  So simple, but soooo genius!  Hole punch your cards, put them on a key ring and throw them in your purse!  You'll never loose them, and they don't have to clog up your wallet.

I want to try these ones next......

It's going to be a fun summer :)