Busy.... simplified

One thing that happens to me on a regular basis is that I make something and then decide I don't like it or that it needs to change to fit my needs.  You may remember my post on the chore charts I created for the kids HERE.  Well, at first, these were great and worked exactly like I had hoped.  But then, school started and schedules got more complex and I needed more.  So, I took some pretty scrapbook paper, my hot glue gun and some ribbon and got busy. This is what I came up with:

You will notice, that now, each child has a weekly dry erase calendar.  My family calendar is swamped with things and this way I can keep Dad straight with who needs what during the school week as well as keep up with all the random things H needs for school.  I also have a small spot for a photo of each child (currently substituted with a random picture) next to their names.  Below their names is a magnetic 8.5 x 11 area to clip worksheets for school or important reminders.  At the bottom is their chore chart right within their reach.  For the lettering, again I used stickers, and I trimmed the separate areas with ribbon to give the charts a clean look.

playroom storage on a budget

I needed a storage unit that was low enough to the ground that the kids would be able to put the storage bins back by themselves.  Too many times, they would pick up their mess and then leave the bins on the ground or they would bug me in the middle of something important to pull certain toys down.  This was my previous solution....

You can also see that it wasn't very safe for my three year old to be hiding up in the shelves!  These bookcase shelves were originally from an entertainment center I had purchased in college that held a TV in the middle.  I don't have any photos of it but it was HUGE!  Years ago, I figured out I could take the thing apart and make nice little storage shelves for bins.  One problem though, my husband HATED it!!!

He coerced me to self them on craigslist so I put out an ad and I got so many offers to fast.  I begged and pleaded with him to keep them.  He let me reluctantly.  Around 2am the other morning, I was staring at the bookcases and started hating them myself.  While everyone was asleep, I began working on my brilliant idea!  With a drill and handsaw, I turned the two shelves into this....

Now I know it's not the greatest picture!  But I'm also not done entirely.  I want to paint the unit white and top it with a mahogany stained top.  I'm in the middle of redoing their play table right now and it would match beautifully!  This is what I've got so far on the play table so you can see what I'm talking about...

 Again, it's not a great picture but I was too excited to wait for good light!  Keep checking back for the finished product on both projects!

More refurbished playroom stuff...

After redoing the flash card holder, I couldn't stop there.  I had to redo the bins I's started as well.
With this....

I made these using the same method of painting and modge podging on bird silhouettes out of craft paper...

Please excuse the mess in these photos too!  The house is really undergoing its largest transformation now!  If you are curious about what shelving unit the bins are in now, continue reading on in the next post!

Already re-doing old projects...

Remember this?

Well, the other day, as I was impatiently waiting on J to finish the foyer, I started to HATE the playroom. I knew that when I put it together that it wasn't perfect and eventually I would get new storage shelving. I'd been begging my husband to do some building since it's been to wet to paint but he always tells me that what I have planned isn't a 24 hour project. I take that as a challenge. So, being who I am, I went with it and this is what I did and have done so far: The problem with the original flashcard design was that a small bump would send the cards falling off their nails. I also started to hate the color I'd chosen for the background. I needed color and I needed it FAST!! Here's how I fixed it. I used teh same hooks I used in my window/jewelry project.

I also took a plain white t-shirt and painted it yellow as the background.  Then, I modge podged some craft paper cut outs of some bird silhouettes I pulled up online.  Wa-LAH!  I totally love the transformation!

Little bit here, little bit there....

I promise I haven't been a lazy bum!  It's just that damn wainscoting!  If J would just finish that wainscoting than I could zoom through this house painting the final rooms!  Okay, maybe J and maybe the heat too.  I have had a few projects finished that I realized I never posted.  So here they are...
My Mudroom
In an earlier post, I showed you how I made chore charts for the kiddos.  Chore charts weren't enough... I run a very tight shift and I needed a command center!  SO... I turned an entire wall in my mudroom into a sophisticated and organized command central.  It consists of the kids' chore charts, a mail area, dry erase board, calendar and pictures of my favorite people... my family!

The calendar is something I made using nothing more than and old picture, permanent marker and stickers.  All I did was draw out a 5x7 grid on the back of a piece of glass with a ruler and permanent marker.  Then, I flipped it over and used the permanent marker to draw in the dates and important events on a few dates.  On the large piece of paper that came with the frame, I attached stickers to serve as the dates and teh word "Month".  I was going to use pretty fabric but didn't want the calendar to be so busy that I was unable to read what I had written.  Eventually, I'll go with a very pale gray to coordinate with the paint we use on the walls.  But for now, it works just fine.  For everything else, I just use dry erase markers to cross off the days and write other events on the calendar.  The reason I used permanent marker on the numbers was so that I could erase whatever I had written in dry erase and not have to worry about wiping off the days of the week.  When a new moth comes, I just put a little rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and wipe the calendar clean.  FYI... rubbing alcohol is what you use anytime permanent marker finds itself on something it shouldn't! 

Play Room (more)

I am STILL trying to get that playroom together and solve storage solutions like this:
Puzzle and game pieces strewn about due to broken boxes!



But, never fear! Remember this: twin sheet I used in the other playroom project?



And I'm sure you now what this is: Modge podge, (ignore the roll of wrapping paper; it was a bad idea), foam brush, and FREE flat rate shipping boxes



I just modge podged the fabric right onto the boxes after I glued them together and sealed them up.



I still need to come up with a pretty label for each box but they look like this when you're done and they match all the other projects so far in the playroom:

Play Room

I worked until the wee hours last night getting the playroom organized. I'm not ready for the final reveal but here is one of my favorite storage solution to date and I made it with things lying around the house! I have a huge problem with messes. I don't like pieces and parts floating about. I do love flash cards but hate the mess that comes along with them. The little cardboard boxes don't hold up and they end of here and there and everywhere. I found a bag of these plastic clips while I was unpacking. I also noticed they were sitting close to and empty picture frame and I picked one up and got to wondering what to do with the flash cards as I whirled the clip around in my hand on a nail. DING!!! Idea!
I took and old set of sheets and used the fabric to create a nice pretty surface over a piece of cardboard the same size as the back of this poster frame. Then I just nailed holes in an orderly way, sorted the pile of cards, clipped them together and here we have my storage solution!





I decided I like the idea of the sheet as fabric so much, I cut more fabric off the sheet and started gluing (with fabric glue) the same material to my existing baskets for a different look.

The Kids' Rooms Unveiled

Since we still have the entire house to redo, this is as good as the kids' rooms are going to get for now. Minus the absence of the closet doors and bedroom doors, of course! J still has those drying in the basement. I'm beginning to feel like waiting for paint to dry has become the story of my life! But, I was up at 4:30 am excited to hang the last things on the walls. There are some small art projects I will come back and add. I want to redo E's lamp shade and I haven't found the kids' books yet. But you get the point. oh, and for whatever reason, when they designed this house, they felt it was a good idea not to have any over head lighting upstairs. Hmmm.... whatever. I will be teaching myself how to do this soon so I can install the chandeliers I bought. Nevertheless, without further ado, here the rooms await H and E's return from Florida:

E'S ROOM:
REMEMBER, THIS WAS BEFORE:

THESE ARE ALL ANGLES AFTER:
(Notice the stuffed animal racks. Those are actually hanging planter baskets. I saw this on Better Homes and Garden several months ago. I love how it turned out!)




I WILL BE ADDING PICTURES TO THIS WALL:




ANOTHER SHOT OF HER BED:


H's ROOM:
HERE IS BEFORE: (Oh my God, YUCK!)



HERE IT IS AFTER: (never mind the mess in the hallway!)










Here are a few close ups of the hanging planter baskets I used in E's and H's room. And yes, I know the outlet cover is missing. I have to run out and buy new ones for every outlet in the house still! :)

While waiting on paint to dry... Pantry Makeover

I spent 8 hours straight painting two dressers and H's bed Saturday. I was a little too woozy to post after that. Because I wanted to let the paint dry adequately before putting on the final glossy top coat, I decided to tackle an easier project and get reinspired. My pantry is UGLY!! In fact, if it wasn't a load bearing wall, I'd knock it out. Truth be known, I don't need one and we only eat items that perish quickly. Before, I had a cabinet in which I kept all my baking items because I bake a LOT!
So what to do with this big ugly room until I have the cash to revamp the shelving and wallpaper the back of the shelves? Because, you know... I'm gonna make it pretty somehow.


Here was my cheap and easy solution: I did some price comparisons between the Container Store, Target and Walmart and a few others in there as well. Where I might have bought something used, I needed several jars and I wanted them clean and in great shape because this would be storage for my food. I gotta draw the line with my thriftiness and germ phobia somewhere. Anyhow, I found that Walmart carries the EXACT same jars as the Container Store but for waaaay cheaper! I bought crap load of, gallon to pint sized, jars and a package of 2"x4" clear labels on clearance from Target for $5. Note: the same labels were $14 at Staples!

After I figured out what food I was going to repackage, I went of the www.avery/template website and printed a large oval with the words I was going to display on my jars. Originally, I wanted a vintage looking border and something ultra fancy, but I gave in to a simple oval because I just didn't feel like spend more than an hour on this project.


So, with labels in hand, I began peeling and sticking labels on all the jar... AFTER I WASHED THEM and cleaned the insides. But, since this is trial and error for me... I didn't like how you could see the rectangle a little bit so I peeled them all off and cut around the oval with scissors for a cleaner look. And ta-da!!! I think it came out looking awesome and I love my pantry now. Well, love is a strong word. I like it a whole lot more!







I even got a little label happy and made labels for my olive oil, grape seed oil and vinegar! And then... I started dressing up old containers I had like my Mom's plastic yellow flour container from the 70's and a few white jars I had for coffee, tea and hot chocolate. I'm telling you, labels make all the difference!



It's made cooking so much easier too by the way! I just whip my jars out and there's no thumbing around with flour bags and assorted containers. I also like how I can see what's getting low and what to buy next at the grocery in case I forget to write it down. The first thing I have cooked using the new jars is my faux buttermilk pancake recipe. Make this recipe just once, and no pancake will ever taste as good. I PROMISE!!!

"Buttermilk" Pancakes:
1 cup flour
1 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
(1/4 tsp salt or )1/8 tsp sea salt I use the sea salt
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1 Tbs melted butter
1 egg (slightly beaten)
1/2 milk (maybe a little less or more)
dash of vanilla extract

Directions:
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and all the wet ingredients in a small bowl. Combine the ingredients and mix until they two are well combined. Add a little more milk if necessary. I like my pancakes thick so my batter is usually a little thick like that of cake batter. Bake on a greased griddle until both sides are golden brown and serve with Organic pure maple syrup! YUMMY!!!

So, while you are chowing down on a plate full of pancakes, let me entertain you with a few of inspiration pictures for my dream pantry!

I want a countertop and a few drawers in it just like here only I want it to be a butchers block top and large wire baskets to store fruit in in place of the wicker baskets. I'd also like the bottom shelving to pull out for easy access too.


These pull out shelves are what I have in mind and I'd love a wine rack and place to store my glasses. I'm thinking sort of like a butler's pantry in addition to a food pantry. I will need better lighting too.


This pantry is heaven! I'd just like the wallpaper in the same print but gray... beautiful though! I want the white shelves and wallpaper!


Did I mention that we are building a hidden walk-in pantry when we redo the cabinets? Oh yes we are! By the time we are said and done, the pantry may be my favorite room!