Two Cents Tuesday: The Shoe Basket.

We have a big cream-colored basket right by our door…for our shoes and it works wonderfully, we have a place to put our shoes right when we get home and a place to grab them right before we step out the door!

Not our shoe basket...our camera is currently broken...will post pics of our new place (shoe basket included) once our camera is repaired! In the meantime, this pic gets the shoe basket idea across just fine.

This basket solves the problem of those random shoes you find cluttering the floor, not to mention also cutting down on the time you take looking for your shoes before you go somewhere… try it…I’m pretty sure you’re gonna love this super simple trick (quick tip: be sure you take the time to clear out the basket every couple of weeks, it can get full at times)!

Two Cents Tuesday: The Bathroom Candle.

Today’s “Two Cents” couldn’t be much simpler, it’s a ridiculously easy tip you can all put into practice right away…put a candle in your bathroom.

Notice…yet another use for the mason jar. ;)

We all know we appreciate when you walk into a guest bathroom to find a fresh candle glow burning, making the bathroom both inviting (well you know, as inviting as a bathroom could be…might as well be inviting cause we all have to visit the restroom at some point right?) and smelling fresh (without the overpowering and sometimes “powdery” smell of those air fresheners), keeping your guests happy and at ease as they use the lovely and oh so necessary bathroom accommodations of your home!

Two Cents Tuesday: The White Board Calendar.

The white board calendar, a simple way to keep the family schedule coordinated, obvious for the entire family to see, stylish and up-to-date!

Our white board calendars, hanging in our kitchen, I took the pic before I wrote our current months schedule, figured you didn't need to see our little family's entire monthly schedule!

Here is the system we use with our white board calendars:

• Color-coordination with the markers – Different color markers mean different kind of events; blue – family, red- work, green – friends…and so on (this color-coordination keeps things from just running together on our schedule – plus we were recently given an even bigger packet of expo markers, which is allowing me to be even more specific with our color-coordination on our calendar – keeps it fun too);
• Change the calendars each month – we generally have the current month and the following month displayed on our white board calendars (helps us stay ahead of planning our schedule as we try to sit down at least once a month and talk through our calendar at least two months in advance, before I fill out the next white board month);
• Obviousness of it hanging where all in the family can see it – this keeps us from scheduling conflicting events;
• Use it as wall decor – the black wooden frames we have with ours match with the decor of our home, so these helpful and very useful calendars are not even an eye sorer but rather a welcome piece of wall decor in our home (got mine at good ‘ol Target) – plus it is also magnetic and you can stick cute pictures, grocery lists, to-do lists, etc. up there too, also very helpful;
• Makes it fun for you to write/coordinate your family schedule – keeping the family on the same (although sometimes crazy) schedule and helping with the peaceful flow of the home, no matter how busy the schedule may get certain months!

Here are a few helpful tools I found on Amazon to help you get started on your own white board family calendar:

Board Dudes 18″x22″ Home Décor Magnetic Dry Erase Calendar w/ Cork Strip

Melannco, Black Calendar White Board with 3 Picture Frame Openings

Board Dudes Double-Sided Magnetic Dry Erase Markers, 4 Packs (14002UA-24)

Two Cents Tuesday: The Mason Jar.

Ah, the mason jar…one of my most favorite organizing containers for so many reasons:

Just a few of the endless possibilities with Mason Jars.

• they are see-through (so you easily know whats in them)
• they are cute (so they can be stylish/decorative storage)
• they are not expensive (so on our budget, they have quickly become a favorite of mine)
• they come in all different sizes (so you can use them for such a variety of things)
• they can be used with lids on or off
• they can be labeled or not labeled (and yet you will still know just what is in them either way)
• they can even be used as beautiful vases

……I mean the possibilities are endless people!!!

So everyone, this week I am encouraging you all to consider the usage of Mason jars as organizing tools, in our home they currently store quite the variety….cotton balls, q-tips, sharpe markers, water-based markers, colored pencils, random change from Eric’s pockets, and even napkin rings….welcome this organizing tool into your home and you will not be sorry!

A Couple of Vintage Weddings.

Over the past couple months, we have had the opportunity to attend some beautiful vintage styled weddings. So for today I thought I’d share some pictures with ya’ll from these two lovely events!

The favors.

The first wedding was back in March and I was honored to be able to serve as a bridesmaid to my friend Karis. It was also my pleasure to help her plan out some of the decor for her reception (as mentioned briefly in this previous post), so much fun planning out how she wanted to display some vintage pieces she had found, bought, and borrowed.

The programs.

My talented mother-in-law and her best friend contributed some of their fabulous work in printing the “CARDS” banner, “Please Take One” tag for the favors, and the “Programs” banner….aren’t they so pretty (they always do go above and beyond with their work!)!? Check out their site www.thepombasket.com.

The card suitcase.

By the way…..plans are currently in the work for Emma’s first birthday party including the banners and other printing products that The Pomegranate Basket will be making (I’ll post the pics of the party for sure, so you can see the pretty paper productions)!

Our little family at the wedding in May.

Next up: the wedding in May, just a few short weeks ago! Both the bride and groom were old family friends and it was so special being a part of their special day! As I mentioned here, the bride did indeed handcraft nearly 90% of her wedding decor! All the flowers were fabric, so soft and pretty!

One of the table centerpeices (each was different)...note the handmade flower.

And these wedding favors were the best idea I’ve ever seen at a wedding. So fun to use for your own decor at home somehow right (unfortunately…I totally forgot to take mine home!)?

My favorite favors.

I only got to snap a few pictures of the decor between all the catching up with old friends we were doing the entire night, very very fun! Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed these pretty pics of some beautiful weddings for two very beautiful couples (inside and out)!!!

My New Craft Corner.

Some tins for buttons & beads.

As mentioned in this previous post, I became very focused on finishing up a reorganizing project in our own home one Thursday a few weeks ago. I am happy to report that that project has now become my own little “Craft Corner” (actually a bookshelf but saying corner just sounds so much cuter than bookshelf, right?)!

Anyhow…I have always wanted to get my paper, fabric, ribbon, stickers, buttons, etc., etc. all stored away in a stylish and fun way while also making it easier and practical for me to work on different projects without making a huge mess. And I have done just that. You may sometimes find me just opening Emma’s closet door and staring at this new “craft corner” of mine, just imagining all the fun projects that await!

The basket....."projects in progress."

Also…another important part I knew I wanted to include in this “craft corner”, a basket for my “projects in progress.” You know how you always have different things you are working on around the home? Whether decor for your home, a gift for someone else, something that needs fixing, or just a sweater that needs to be mended…I now have a basket to keep them while in progress.

This basket is helpful both in reminding me to stay focused on the few projects at hand (so they actually get accomplished) and in keeping me from taking on too much (allowing me to really enjoy the projects at hand without getting overwhelmed). It is also great to be able to just throw the projects back in the basket when you are done working on it for the time being. Keeps things neat without taking too much time taking it out and putting it away every time you get a moment to work on it! ….you all want one of these baskets now don’t you?!? :)

Close up of the boxes, tins, and basket.

Quick rundown of what I used & how I used it: a bookshelf I got for $10 (thanks to my sister’s sister-in-law), a couple coffee cans & one formula can wrapped in adorable old vintage owl printed wrapping paper (holding the ribbon), a few cardboard boxes from Ikea (Two medium sized boxes – one holds colored & patterned paper, one holds fabric. Two large boxes – one holds extra home decor and one holds scrapbooking stuff), a few mason jars (holding markers & colored pencils), a few tins (holding buttons, beads, clothespins, gift tags, etc.) and a white basket (which you can see in the picture here that my current “project in progress” is reworking Emma’s mobile to something new for her nursery walls).

The whole bookshelf.

Just goes to show ya…you don’t need a ton of money or a ginormous house with an entire room dedicated to storing your craft supplies (don’t get me wrong…that’s gotta be fun!) to have a pretty, practical and pleasant solution. Make the most of what space and supplies you do have. For me, this closet corner is now just another simple joy of home to me where I am sure Emma and I will collaborate on some pretty fun projects in the future (Eric doesn’t seem to get as excited over this as us girls do!)!

Emma’s Nursery Mobile.

Newborn baby Emma sleeping under her mobile. Photo by: t & h photography

Anybody looking for a little nursery inspiration?? Well, as promised here are some pictures (along with the few simple steps it takes to make) of Emma’s nursery mobile that my sister and I made, just hours before I went into labor with Emma (nope, not joking)!

I love it. It captured Emma’s attention when she was a tiny baby, looked pretty and unique in her nursery, and now that it is no longer over her crib (due to the fact that Emma now stands in her crib and would pull it right down on top of her) I am planning on using the materials from this mobile for other cute decor in Emma’s room!

The boy version...Jackson's mobile.

Before we move onto the steps to making this just let me say…I can take no credit for this one, although yes I did help make Emma’s mobile, my sister Emily is the real genius behind this one. I did include a picture of the mobile she made for her son, Jackson’s nursery, so you can all see a boy version of this project too!

Now onto the steps….once you have found fabric & ribbon that fits with your babies nursery, here are the very simple steps to completing this project:

1) Cut the fabric into the decided shapes (can be whatever shape you want!), remember to cut out two shapes of each pattern so you can later sew the two together.

A closer look at the mobile.

2) Sew around the edges of the cut fabric shapes, leaving a small hole at the bottom of the shape (to use for stuffing some batting into the shape next).

3) Stuff the batting into the shape and finish sewing it up.

4) Now for the ribbon: hot glue the ribbon onto the embroidery rings (that’s the pink rings in the pictures…in case the name lost you there!) to make it look like the pictures shown here.

5) Ask your husband to hold up the mobile to the ceiling so you can see where to cut the ribbon to have it hanging at just the right height for your babies nursery!

One more close up of the fabric patterns and tulip shapes.

6) Cut the ribbon and hang it from the ceiling by tying the ribbon from a ceiling hook (which you can find at any hardware…or even maybe some craft stores).

7) Attach the ribbon to the top of the shape (looping the ribbon through part of the thread sewed around the shapes edge).

Hope this gives you some fun ideas!

Two Cents Tuesday: The Odd Rule.

Notice...11 Frames.

A Decor Rule of thumb: When decorating, whether placing items on a wall, shelf, counter top, or dresser, do it in odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7, etc.). Simply because odd numbered groupings are more pleasing to the eye, meaning you will be more pleased with your home’s decor if you stick to this general rule (I would like to take this moment to apologize for all the counting you will now find yourself doing around your home, other homes, and just anywhere really!)!

 

A Place for Your Checklist.

Our home's checklist holder.

To go along with this weeks “Two Cents” as well as the incorporation of  “Organizing Principle #2” I present you with a nice simple weekend project: The Memo Board. This is extremely easy to make and the perfect place to pin up your daily checklist!

All I did was take some leftover fabric from our curtain panels, some leftover ribbon from our wedding programs (believe it or not…had that for almost three years now!), some leftover plywood (from Emma’s cradle, a family heirloom passed down to us), and some leftover batting (from the mobile my sister and I made for Emma’s nursery…I’ll have to show you that project sometime too…my sister is a genius!). So can you see the theme? Leftover material  = completely free project and decoration for our home, the best kind!

Here’s what I did in 8 simple steps:

1) Cut the fabric to fit the piece of plywood (cut the fabric a little larger than the plywood so you have enough to pull over the sides to staple gun in step 2).

The materials I used.

2) Staple gun the two longer sides of the fabric to the plywood.

3) Stuff the batting material between the fabric and the plywood.

4) Staple gun the top and bottom of the fabric to the plywood.

5) Lay out the ribbon over the board in the “criss-cross”  pattern and cut ribbon pieces to size.

6) Hot glue each side of the ribbon to the back of the plywood sheet, one piece at a time until they are all glued in place making the “criss-cross” pattern on your board.

7) Take small nails an hammer them into the board at each intersection of ribbon on the board.

8) Install a small picture hanger or even the Velcro wall hangers on the back of the board, hang and enjoy!

Have fun with it and enjoy having a designated place for everything…yes even your checklist! Don’t you just love it!?

Bookshelves: Functional & Decorative.

One of our living room bookshelves.

Yes, it’s true bookshelves can and (I say) should be both functional and decorative! I know, I know, we often assume that every last inch of space on our bookshelves must be utilized for the sole purpose of holding our houses books, but I beg to differ. While, yes this is the main function of bookshelves (holding our books) we do not have to keep it at just books, (ok now…just take a moment to let this breakthrough sink in). Adding just a few simple accessories and /or arranging the books on your shelf in a few different ways can make all the difference!

Now, let me clarify that I am in no way discouraging the use of bookshelves for holding your families books, my husband is a huge reader, he loves books and he loves having them displayed in our home, ready for use at anytime. I think this is precisely why I want to spread the word about “multi-functioning” bookshelves, because while I loves books as well, I also love decorating our home and keeping things neat (as you all know by now). So when we got married I knew I had to compromise both my husbands request that our books be out on display and my request that our home be warm, homey, and organized. Thus bringing me to this conclusion:

Emma's nursery bookshelf.

Arranging books on your bookshelves in a functional yet decorative way actually encourages interest in the books you have, so don’t take up every nook and cranny of your bookshelf just cramming books in for storage, keep them usable and interesting by making your bookshelves a decorative addition to your home and not just simply a functional aspect of it.

You just watch, your books will become even more intriguing when they look like a piece of art displayed right there on your bookshelf in your home, try it!