Organizing Hats, Gloves, Scarves, etc.. for a family of 5!

In winter's past we have been buried under the avalanche of hats, mittens, gloves, scarves, earmuffs, neck warmers, snow pants, coats, boots, etc... last year I finally realized it was taking waaaay too long to get out the door with three kiddos, three hats, six matching mittens/gloves, and hopefully 3 pairs of matching boots. That's when the $5.00 plastic hanging shoe caddy that would most certainly be a topic of nightmares for Martha Stewart, came into my life. It's not attractive, it's not sturdy, it's not handcrafted, and it's probably riddled with BPA. Given all of that, it is the most practical organization tool in my entire house. This thing works. Overtime. For free. It's hard core labor.

The scarves hang from $1 wreath hangers.  They are actually on clearance at our Walmart right now for 25 cents, as they are 75% off with the Christmas things. They work soooo well!! We can see all the scarves we have and it only takes a split second to grab one. These would work great in a regular closet for ties and purses as well.

A few rules for it to truly work:
1.)  It needs to have CLEAR pockets, they are a must.. I tried a more attractive, linen looking version and it didn't work. You have to be able to SEE the ENTIRE contents of each pocket (just in case a rogue mitten goes AWOL).
2.) It needs to hang on the OUTSIDE of your closet/hallway door, where you can see it. In full view. I tried it on the other side of the door. Obviously a much more 'clutter free' look, but the kids won't put things in it if they have to open the door first. I won't put things in it if I have to open the door first.
3.) Keep things where they can be reached. ie.. the bottom rows are for my wee girls, (ages 4 & 6), the middle for my 13 yr old and the top rows for my husband and I. That way everyone can reach to grab or put away their own things.

Do I still end up being the only one who puts things in the pockets? Usually. When we enter the house everyone tosses their stuff willy nilly and I quickly grab everything and chuck it in the pockets. It is easy peasy and if you are good enough to get your kids (or husband) trained to put things away themselves then more power to ya!

When we are heading out the door.. it's all right there. Love. it.

Do you have any 'can't live without' organization solutions? Share, I'd love to peek! They don't have to be pretty just have to WORK.

xoxo~
Abbie

How to Make a Handpainted Sign Tutorial

Have you ever stumbled across something on the web and said "They want how much for that?? I could make one myself!" Most often I do just that, but alas, very rarely do I ever get down to work and actually 'make' what ever 'it' happens to be. Painted name signs are one of those things... I love them! Have been browsing through Etsy looking at different styles, etc.. and finally decided to take the plunge. Here is a quick tutorial on how to make your own, custom, hand painted wall plaque, wall art, sign, whatever.. :)

First, you need a board or canvas. I prefer wood. We have a ton of scrap lumber in the basement left over from our home construction. I found a tongue and grove piece, maybe 12" by 28". I'm not exactly sure how big it is, it's hanging up above my sink and I don't want to climb up there and measure. But size doesn't matter.. you'll see.. I wanted black letters on a white background, so, dah, I painted the entire thing white. With acrylics. Again, what I had on hand.

Now, to the computer! :) I typed our name into Microsoft Office and adjusted the font BIG. The size of your font is not limited to the numbers that pop down, you can click on the font size box and type in any number you choose. Did you know that?? Really slick for making fonts BIG. I guesstimated the size I wanted the letters, (if you scale your word processing screen view to be the size of an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper you can see the font at the exact size it'll print. I think the font size I used was 130. Only three letters would print per line.. MOO and then below that was NEY. I changed fonts for the 'est. 2003' just, well, I like that look.

HINT: Print your letters in light grey!! That way you use way less black ink than if they were solid black. You just need to see the edge clearly.. grey works fine. Trim out your letters/words and place them on your board the way you'd like them. Make sure they fit and that you have centered them. Nothing will peeve you more than going through this whole process to find that your work isn't centered.

Next, old school it. Flip your papers over and scribble with the edge of a pencil all over the back making sure to cover where the letters are on the other side. (If you have tracing paper you can use that instead). Place them back on position on your board and tape them down. (they won't slide around on you that way.)

Trace over all the edges of the letters and transfer their outline to the painted surface.

Now comes the harder part for most.. take your time, use a small, well made paint brush with a fine point (crappy cheap doesn't cut it here AT ALL!) When you have a nicely made paint brush in your hand you'll be amazed at the quality of painting you can do!! Fill in all of the letters/numbers as best as possible. Hold your hand steady, water down your paint (acrylics work fine) just slightly to help the paint flow if needed. Don't sweat the waggles and jogs, the next steps can take care of that.

Now, step back and let it dry. OVER NIGHT at least. Nothing will make you swear faster than trying to sand wet paint. It ain't purrrty, I tell ya.

Ok, now you need a sanding block or sandpaper. Go at it!! distress those corners and take off paint! It'll smooth out the surface and you really can't hurt it. It all just adds character.

Wipe with a slightly damp paper towel or a tack cloth to remove the dust. (I used paper towel.. it's what I had on hand) You can choose to leave your piece like that or you can stain it.. which I chose, just to age it a bit more.

Again, using acrylic paint I mixed brown paint and water to the thickness of milky coffee. You want a deeper color? Use less water or a darker brown... I dobbed (technical term) a paper towel in the watery mix and wiped it on the sign and then wiped it off... I did this several times until I reached the effect I was going for. Just a little bit of color in the corners and on the surface to take away the glare of the pure white.

That's it! Attach a hanger to the back or prop it up on a table or shelf . the nice thing about making it? when I get tired of it, I can trash it. Hey, you make the art, you have the right to toss it out! Or change it, or give it away, or break it, or paint over it..

Enjoy!

xoxo~

Abbie

Blueberry Muffins

I don't often post recipes on my blog, as most of what I make is just basic, everyday stuff. Not fancy (although my meat and potato husband thinks I get too fancy or healthy sometimes) but it's good and almost always homemade. Here is a recipe for you for blueberry muffins. I LOVE these!! The blueberries we had picked this past summer at an organic farm not too far from us. I froze them immediately and use them throughout the winter for baking. (Hint, freeze berries flat on cookie sheets, then, once they are frozen, put them into plastic freezer bags. Then all your berries will be separate instead of one big block, allowing for easy measuring.)

Blueberry Muffins (makes 12-15 muffins)

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
span >3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup butter (melted but not hot)
2 cups blueberries

Preset oven to 400 degrees. Place paper muffin cups in muffin tin. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Beat eggs lightly, add milk and butter. Mix together just until moist. Fold in blueberries. Fill each cup full. Sprinkle tops with additional sugar if desired. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center.

(Hint: Spray inside of paper muffin cups with cooking spray before filling, then the papers will peel of cleanly)

Any berry works in this recipe, I also love them with blackberries or raspberries, or a combination of two or three. If you don't have any that you have picked a great substitute are Wyman's Berries.

Eat them hot from the oven with a pat of butter.. yum!

(When I was working on this post I didn't realize that Alicia was also making blueberry muffins. She grabbed hers from Ina, mine are from my mother in law..)

I'd love to see what everyone has for favorite winter cozy foods.. let me know if you have something delightful!

:)

What a time, but we survived!

It is the time for resolutions, change, renewal and reaffirming. How about survival? My resolution is just to survive the next year with my three kids, three dogs, husband and mother in law. Survival of my Etsy shop. Survival of my creative spirit. Currently my creativity is being strangled by the heaps of laundry that are waiting for my attention. The survival of my youth... perhaps some exercise and diet changes are necessary for that one. The survival of my children. Right now they are cruisin' for a bruisin', (as the saying goes) and my two year old will be lucky to make to three. (I am speaking purely out of frustration and of course, would never actually hurt them, but I can now see how some parents snap.) So my resolution this year is simply to survive 2008."
(-my resolution for last year)

I survived! (so did my children..) Who knew? I have found a quiet pace to life this year which is nice. Something that is really helping, I have started planning out the meals for the week on Sunday. I check the flyers, coupons, recipe box, and get thoughts from the family, then grocery shop once, for the entire week. It is working nicely and it is so nice not to fuss over what to make each night. I know that I'll have everything on hand. With six in the house, it makes a big difference in my time management.

I am so happy that the holidays are over. It is a heavy weight off my shoulders for some reason. The halls have been un-decked and I spent way too much money at HomeGoods today buying lovely things to freshen up the house. Feeling very tired of red right now. Anyone else? Not sure how to handle the upcoming day of love, but I'll have to find some other color to show off my passion. Going with bright, sunny yellows and limes. I want to say a quick Thank you!! for all of you who visit my other blogs. (The Vintage Moth and Button Floozies) Between the two blogs we managed to raise $100 for The American Cancer Society!!! Whhoooohhoooo!! I am so excited! It is nice to see that the time I put into them can help someone other than me. That was in about 6 months so hopefully 2009 will be an even better year.

The only creative endeavours that I have tackled lately have been holiday related. A quick tip for those of you who have started following my blog since last Christmas, is to use your holiday greeting card pile as gift tags. I have mine all set to go for next year. In fact, there were so many tags, I didn't need to buy anymore this year. Recycling at its best! (see above image)

Happy New Year, things are brewing in the pot and I have lots of new changes around the home to share!

xoxo~

Abbie

Inspired Clothing...

This Gap jean skirt needed a new life. As I am entering my mid-thirties, the highcut slit, ( in the middle of the front) is just not the look I'm going for with a baby on my hip and two other young children. So.. much to my husband's dismay, I decided to close the 'gap'. (uuggh.. excuse the pun) Above, my daughter helped me decide which cotton fabric to use.

Having settled on the small floral pattern, I pleated it twice at the top, and sewed it on both sides and the top using a pale blue thread. (Mind you, without the pleat, it folded and stuck straight out!!) It wasn't enough.. I cut out a little chickadee from the same fabric (template below) and fused it the bottom corner of the skirt. It still wasn't enough!

On to the fun stuff!! I have been quite taken by Amanda Soule's work and book, The Creative Family. I love her embroidery! So.. I made my own. The little birdie needed a branch to perch on! Using doubled plain brown thread, I stitched (very simply) a perch.

Now that's a skirt I'll wear! Thank you Amanda for the inspiration!



Here is the template for you.. just left click to enlarge, then right click to save it to your PC. You can adjust it's size, use it for paper cutouts, whatever you like!

Enjoy!

xoxo~

Abbie

Decorating with Digital....

These months I think are hard on everyone. The economy is in a spiral downward and fuel and grocery prices just keep going up. As a one income family with 6 at the dinner table every night, we are most definitely feeling the crunch. I'm making a fool hardy attempt to be more efficient, clip coupons, use generic brands, but we are also trying to make the switch to be more 'green'. Not so easy when organic products are twice that of generic and you can't find anything made in the USA anymore. Soon the local farm stands will be opening up and I can't wait! As some of you have seen, I have been working on my kitchen for quite awhile. Desperately seeking out vintage and antique cherries, apples, chickens and roosters in bold red and white. I love the antique botanical prints but the 'real deal' isn't exactly in my budget. OK, even knock-offs from Home Goods aren't in my budget!

So, I went a huntin' and found some digital antique scans on the net that were just large enough for me to use. I printed them out on photo paper with my ink jet and placed them in some old frames I had in the basement. Voila! More art, and I didn't have to leave the comfort of my home, use gas or my debit card! The above images are free for you to take and use anyway you like.. just click them to enlarge and save 'em!

I also found some the most gorgeous scans made by Dawn at The Feathered Nest. I printed them out, again on photo paper at the best setting and framed them up in some frames I already had. Here are the cardinal and robins in my bathroom.

Oh, but that just wasn't good enough, I couldn't see them all the time! So I moved them to the mantel in the kitchen and now they rest there for the time being. Thank you so much Dawn!! The prints are lovely and I just wouldn't have been able to afford them else wise.

So, if you have a printer and love to decorate but just don't have the money to shop everyday for the latest and greatest, improvise! Old frames can be picked up at your local junk shop for pennies, paint them up and love them! Reuse, recycle!

Fabric Egg Pattern

I spent days trying to find a pattern that was free to make fabric eggs. I love the look of them, and have had some very unsuccessful attempts at their construction.. you would think it would be a simple pattern to create. For some, who are adept at that sort thing well, more power to ya! For me.. not so much. The only thing I could find was a description of how to make a pattern. You take an egg from your fridge, mark it all up with lines, and from that make a pattern. Uhh? Well, I did it, and it worked!! So.. to prevent you from either having to pay a fortune for a pattern or from having to mark up all your eggs, I made it and put it on paper for you. Just click it, copy it and print. You may need to adjust for print size, (the original page was 8 1/2" x 11") but the pattern size doesn't really matter here. What matters are the proportions. I hope it works for you.. Now I do not profess to be a professional or have any clue as to what I am doing! :) You do need to have basic sewing skills, and as far as making neat points go.. well perhaps Annie, Rosie, or Kathy can help us with those! another thing I found, the sewing doesn't have to be to neat, as when you stuff it FULL (I mean full 'til the seams are tight!) it rounds itself out into a lovely egg shape. Pound it on the counter, squeeze the top and Voila! You just made an egg! For me, I loved playing with different color combos.. the red and white is my favorite thus far! They are quick and easy (relatively..) and it is 'sew' much nicer to make something for your home than buy it!

Enjoy!

♥ Don't forget to enter for my Spring Giveaway below! ♥

A fun new look and HTML resources..

Here is an Antique Primer Page for you.. just right click.. from my private stock of images.

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post. You made me feel wonderful for making the blanket for my brother, and I hope you are all right about him loving it! :)

What do you think of my 'new look' so far? I am still working out some kinks.. HTML is a lousy thing to work with, but I'm getting better at it. Some wonderful resources for figuring out HTML code can be found at HTML Basics and Beta Blogger for Dummies. Both have some great ideas and suggestions, but you just have to fiddle with it until it starts to make sense.

Keep checking back to see more changes!

Hope they help!
♥Abbie