Paper Art for Kids

 This was a fun card project. Cut shapes out, draw some lines, supervise the glue stick and assist the older one in accordion paper folding techniques and let them have fun.

Bubbles, Bubbles, My Bubbles!

It was the first blissfully warm day of the year. For being February, it was literal perfection. I believe it even touched 60 on the thermometer before quickly retreating back into Winter for a reprieve of the balminess of Spring. It was still February after all.

Naturally, a pair of strawberry blonde brothers spent the afternoon exploring this new muddy habitat that was emerging from beneath all of the stale white cold sloppy stuff. One of them even took a snow shovel to the yard in hopes of discarding what was left of this Old Man Winter just a little bit sooner.

Before long, little brother emerged from the garage with a highly coveted token of last Summer's leftover fun. Bubbles. I watched the longing glance of envy from the older one. He disappeared into the garage in search of another bottle for himself but to no avail. They were all empty.

Now, I have been known to resist the cultural standard of "sharing" and "taking turns" that we are to impose upon our children. It is my hope to instill a sense of ownership along with proper respect for one another. So without intervening, I just sat back and waited to see what would happen. 

Of course Colton was less than eager to give up his beloved treasure, and Jimmy knew it was a lost cause before he even thought to beg and plead. Instead he disappeared into the house for a few moments. When he returned he had his own bubble bottle, filled with a solution he created himself using dish soap and (not quite enough, but that's between you and me) water. He had found a tiny whisk in the kitchen and began to blow the biggest coolest bubbles you ever saw. Admiration seeped from the little brother (and the mother, to be sure!), and together those mud splattered brothers blew bubbles to their hearts' content.  

Creative. Problem solver. Team player. That's my boy. 

Boredom Buster Take Two

"Creativity is intelligence having fun." 

--Albert Einstein

 Wooden airplanes and acrylic paint. Best Valentine's Day gift from a Grandma to little grandsons. They loved this project!

5 Steps to Organization

Hi. My name is Brittney, and I am the world's biggest procrastinator... Evidenced by the fact that after nine months, I can finally say that we are officially unpacked. Granted, there were two moves in that time frame, but I shamelessly developed the tendency to get lazy and tired of unpacking so I shoved boxes into the confines of out-of-sight-out-of-mind closets until they were stuffed to oblivion and I could not find or do anything without making a complete mess. It completely knocked my creativity out of wack and nothing ever felt really, truly clean which peeves me. 

I spent the majority of my free time for a few weeks recently organizing. It was bad, dear people. BAD. I couldn't even take before pictures. I know I should have, but it was that embarrassing. 

We do not have a lot of storage space in our 2 bedroom, basement-less home, so ridding myself of  unpacked boxes posed a lot of challenges for me While all of the closets in my house (thank God we have several!) have been redeemed, I am only going to show you our master closet since that one turned out the most pretty on top of being functional. (Functional & Pretty I love it when those two words can go in the same sentence, don't you?)

(Hope you don't mind the mobile photos.)

This closet not only contains our clothing and shoes, it also holds...

:: my sewing/crafting equipment and supplies (unfortunately, there is no place to set that up; I just have to bring it all out to the dining room when I have my creative urges) which includes sewing machines, fabric, patterns, ribbon, yarn, buttons, notions, scrapbook paper, paint, etc., etc., etc.
:: currently unused decor items and candles
:: photo albums
:: keepsake memorabilia (including my wedding dress)
:: Andy's old banjo (which he never mastered) and trumpet (which he did master)
:: a currently unused end table that goes with our living room set
:: my jewelry and perfume

I do not like interrupting projects to go to the store and buy organizing supplies. Keeping my budget at zero helps a person get a little creative, like using a box to stack the husband's shoes. Tacky? Eeeeyeah, but it works. And really, who sees in my closet anyway? Oh yeah... that would be you right now. 

 I kind of like my little jewelry set up. I have most of my bejeweled accessories sorted into compartments inside the pretty box. (the large black object is actually a box that holds our wedding album, in case you were being that nosy and wondering what the heck? Is that where they keep their skeleton?)

This little wooden shelf thingamabomboogeydoodlebug I picked up at Goodwill once upon a longish time ago. I have always planned on painting it and doing something cute with it, and still probably will. It is behaving and being very functional right now, and I love displaying my favorite earrings on it...

 ...and favorite perfumes!

This organizing project took several days due to the fact that I had to sort through the items stored in this closet, under our bed and in the extra-large bathroom linen closet and combine them all (and I'm happy to report that under the bed is now free of debris). 

My Five-Step Organizing Technique

 

1. First and foremost, get your head in the game. Repeat this mantra over and over until it gets in your blood stream: Less is more, less is more... A place for everything and everything in its place... Less is more........ LESS, LESS, LESS is MORE, MORE, MORE.....

2. Completely empty the area you are focusing on first (in this case for me, the master closet). Decide what will go in this spot. Wipe down all surfaces with an all-purpose cleaner and sweep or vacuum.

Do not try to tackle multiple closets at once, even if you have to condense and combine items from other areas as well. You do not want to overwhelm yourself.....too much. Keep it simple.

3. Have a get rid of pile. Make it huge. You can sell, you can donate, you can throw away. If you don't need it, why keep it? If it can't juggle, what's the point? (okay, maybe I wasn't serious on that point, you may end up throwing out everything but the pet monkey and you will probably start to miss your husband and kids. It's just not worth it.) 

LESS IS MORE! Less is more space, less is more clean, less is more fun.  

Less is next to clean which is next to godliness.

4. Create categories. And then create specific, designated space for each category. Everything must have a spot. Use bins, baskets, boxes, jars --whatever is available! Do not make this too complicated or you will never be organized! Remember, everything in its place!

A tip--to keep these areas looking clean and un-cluttered, try not to store items directly on the floor. Put them in a bin, set them on a rack, place them in a box tipped on its side, hang them on a nail....

 

5. Finally, place items, one by one, into their designated place. Again, ask yourself, do I want it? do I need it? do I use it? is it worth the space it is taking? An exception to the rule is, do not ask those questions to yourself when handling your husband's items. Ever. He will not appreciate that. However, you can pull out things that he has not seemed to want/wear/use and then ask him about each item. He will likely be horrified, but you may be able to purge a few centimeters of valuable space. Do not get mad at him, because when mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy, and that ain't a happy way to live.

I would also like to note that if you are finding any of your spaces (individually or as a whole) crowded, stuffed and sloppy, you probably need to re-think your category. Can you get rid of any of it? Can you rearrange it? Can it go somewhere else?

When it's all done, add a touch of pretty and go pour yourself a cup of coffee and revel in your  utter amazing-ness. You just did that. The other closets and spaces can wait until tomorrow (says the self-diagnosed world's biggest procrastinator). You deserve a break. 

Linking to: 

Show and Tell | Blue Cricket Design

The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday

Newlyweds on a Budget: Tutorial Tuesday 

Book-Page Plaque

Since moving this past Winter I have had a hard time getting myself back into the creative groove with the lack of a craft/work area and my creating tools and accessories still in inconvenient boxes. But finally, fiiii-naaaa-llyyyyy, I have started creating again and I'm excited. My goal is to make our boring duplex look like home and I started this past weekend with our bedroom. I still have more plans for creating in this space, but for now I will show you how I created our A & B plaque without spending a dime... (while taking care of two very small and busy children, planning supper, and forgetting to photograph as I went along)

I used materials I had on hand--
:: a frame I had purchased for a few dollars a couple years ago off of a clearance rack; it had matting to hold 3 4x6 photographs
:: an old book I salvaged from a burning pile
:: letter cut-outs to trace
:: a scrap of red fabric
:: a strip of white fabric
:: 4 thumb tacks
:: pencil, scissors, glue, double-sided tape

I used a sheet of scrap paper to sketch out my letters. It probably would have been easier to print out a bold A and B off of Microsoft Word and cut them out, but I didn't feel like messing with electronics with two little ones chasing after me so I free-handed it. After cutting them out I used the wrong side of the page to trace them, like this... 

I then folded several pages in half and made them into a stack of hearts (9 total). It would have been much easier if I had a stapler, but since I didn't I carefully swiped glue onto the crease of each heart and stuck them together to make a book.

After cutting fabric to size, I laid across the frame backing and covered it with the matting. With a little dab of glue to keep letters in place, I centered the A and B where I wanted them.

I then assembled the plaque--frame, matting, glass, fabric, backing. (I wanted the glass to keep the fabric flat, hence the matting on the outside.) With a piece of double-sided tape, I attached the heart book to the glass.

With the white strip of fabric, I tied a bow and put a few stitches in the knot to keep it in place. I attached it to the back of the frame with 4 thumb tacks. After hanging it above our bed, my little project was complete.

(pardon the messy pillows and crooked lamp shade--I did mention I was not done with this room, right?)

(this is how it fits into our family first thing in the bouncety-bounce morning)

An after thought I have is to put "est. 2008" on the matting. I also want to incorporate "A true love story never ends" somewhere in this room (perhaps a plaque on the night stand?) I would love your thoughts!

Linking to:

Blue Cricket Design Linking fun time!
The Shabby Creek Cottage - interior design and home remodeling on a budget: Spring Linky Party!