A Bag Full of Vintage Goodies

A couple of Thanksgivings ago I was in Utah at my parents house with all of my sisters. My amazing Granny had passed away a couple of months before and we had the privilege to go through all her old sewing boxes. She was an incredible seamstress. There were boxes and boxes of fabric, ribbons, notions, anything you could imagine. Some of it was fabulous, some of it was straight out of the 80's (and not in a good way). It was fun. So the other day when I was going through my craft boxes I found my plastic baggie stuffed full of vintage rick rack, seam binding, bias tape, ribbon, appliques and much much more. How had

I not gotten crafty with this yet?!!!? I was especially drawn to the lace seam binding. Honestly it is way too pretty to be used on the inside of a garment. This stuff needs to be seen. So I started thinking of ways I could use it. I've been thinking a lot about Miss. S and her hair lately. So with the inspiration in my little plastic baggie and this tutorial I came up with these.

And can I say I'm in love with them. I plan on making several more over the next couple of days. You might even be able to win a few if you check back tomorrow. I've been itching to do a giveaway!

She makes me laugh. Sometimes her facial expressions are just so funny! Needless to say she loves her new bows!

From the Library of...

I'm busy today and tomorrow preparing for a Young Woman's activity. Although I have a couple things up my sleeve that I would like to share with you. It's just going to have to wait until I get a talk written and a video edited. So today's and tomorrow's post may not be a 5 star event. Hopefully you'll enjoy them any way.

I'm an advid reader. I'm sure a lot of you are too. These are a few books I would love to add to my collection right now.

The Creative Advantage Book by Guillaume Wolf This book looks really interesting. I'm always looking for new creative inspiration, and news ways to tap into my creative side. I would love to see what this is all about.

Gunn's Golden Rules by Tim Gunn I don't know why I haven't picked this one up already. I'm pretty much in love with the man. I started reading the sample on my iBook iPad app today and I'm already loving it. So this is a must. I can't wait to read some juicy gossip with some words of wisdom thrown in from our very favorite reality show mentor.

Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray I've been wanting to do more embroidery and become more proficient with the skill for a while now. I think this is the book to get me going. It looks like it's right up my ally.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier This should actually be first on my list. It is the book I'm supposed to be reading for book club. So I really need to go pick it up.

I'm always looking for new books to read. What are some of your favorites?

Baby Boy Fabric

I was worried about finding fabric for this little guys bedding. I kept finding really cute options for girls, but I really had to search for boy's fabric that met all my criteria. This is what I've decided on for the main fabric.

They have this same scallop pattern with a little green in it too. It's super cute but I think I'll stick with the blue and grey. I feel like it's neutral enough to mix and match with other colors around the room and not look disjointed. My Mom is probably looking at this and rolling her eyes. She doesn't understand my love of grey. What's even worse for her is I really want to find a grey polka dot fabric for one of the accents. Maybe the crib skirt. Sorry Mom. I'm excited to get it and get cracking on his bumper.

My Favorite Receiving Blankets

When I had Miss. S my sister Jessy gave me three receiving blankets that we used all the time. They were really simple. One layer of flannel with the edges finished. The reason they were so great was they were huge, the flannel sticks well to itself so she couldn't wiggle out of it, and they were warm but not too warm. Living in San Antonio that was important. I knew when I got pregnant this time around that I wanted plenty of those same blankets. So when I was in Utah my Mom and I bought enough fabric for five. These blankets are so easy. A cut of a yard and quarter of fabric will make a square on most fabrics (most flannels I think are 45 inches wide. Please correct me if I'm wrong). So you buy 1 1/4 yards of fabric make sure it's a square and then finish off the edges. I did this by folding the edges over twice, ironing them, then sewing them in place. That's it! You have a receiving blanket. Pretty easy! When Miss. S got older and no longer used the blankets I made these jammies for her! So you can get multiple uses out of one piece of fabric.

This is the first thing we have for this little guy. We haven't purchased or made anything else for him. No cloths, no toys, not a thing. I only have 10 weeks left so I better get things going!

Just because I love it

My Grandma had tissue box holders all over her house. I was lucky to get one when her house was cleaned out and sold. This tissue box is so cute it's even worthy of Granny...

I Love It!!!

found on Gnome sweet Gnome

Pretty Little Organizers

Since I'm in organization mode over here I've been making little mental notes of things I need that would help me in this undertaking. Of coarse it always helps if they are pretty.

We have mail issues over here. These mail hooks from Old New Again are perfect. If I had these next to my front door I would be infinitely happy.

I realized when I was sending out Christmas Cards this year that it sure would be helpful if I had an address file. This one is so bright and cheerful. You can feel good about it too knowing that it was made from recycled album covers. From Freestyle Gifts.

We have the dinkiest plastic desk organizers. No style at all. This one however has plenty of style! You can pick it up over at The Paper Source.

I love BIG calendars. Growing up my Aunt always kept a huge calendar on her kitchen door, and I was always amazed at how well she kept it up. I guess with 10 kids you really have to keep yourself organized. I love this one from Simple Shapes.

Keeping House to the Power of One

I have been working really hard this past week cleaning, de-cluttering & organizing. I have to admit it hasn't been easy & I still have a ways to go. I have never been the best at being neat and tidy. I've been saying for the past three years that I'm a really good stay at home Mom but not a great housewife. However with the impending arrival of baby #2 that mentality has to change. My kids and husband deserve to live in a house that is neat & orderly. Not to mention I need to set a good example for my children for when they get older.

With all my hard work this past week I was able to get a lot accomplished but like I said I still have several things that need to be worked on. However with each completed task and each room organized I'm feeling more and more confident. I've spent a little time looking up tips & tricks this past week and I've figured out some that really work for me (and a lot that don't). The biggest being think in terms of one. One month, one week, one day.

1. One month. Learn to tackle one big task a month. I actually started this back in December. Dishes have always bee an issue for our family. If the dishes get out of control (which they often do) then the rest of the house is soon to follow. So I concentrated on the dishes for the entire month. Putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher right away, running the dishwasher when it's full, emptying the dishwasher in a timely manner. Always keeping the sink free of dirty dishes. You know what? It worked. Doing these things became a habit. It isn't hard for me anymore. Better yet I get some weird satisfaction seeing my empty sink. For January I'm concentrating on laundry. Hopefully I'll see the same results.

2. Once a week. Do each room once a week thoroughly. Pick a day and assign a room. For example Wednesday is the bedrooms, Thursday is the kitchen, Friday is the living room ect. ect. This is the day to get all the nooks and crannies. If you are picking up throughout the week then on this day you should be able to quickly do a deep clean. Do all the things that you don't have to do everyday like, dust, vacuum, mop ect.

3. Once a day. Wipe down all flat surfaces once a day. Doing this forces you to pick up because you actually have to have your flat surfaces clear to wipe them down. Also one load a day both of dishes and laundry. It's so much easier to do a load of laundry once a day then to let it build up and have 8 loads to do all on one day. For me right now I don't actually have enough dishes to do one load a day, but I know when we have more children that will change. So if I can manage to do one load of dishes a day I think I'll be ok.

So those are my big three. It's worked so far so I think I'll keep going along those lines. I don't want to make this into a one time organizing spree, but I want to create good habits. So I know this will be a process for me. I already feel so much better, and that's a start. What are your best cleaning & organizing secrets?