Gift Wrap Organizer

I saw this great idea in Better Homes and Gardens a few months ago.  I saved the article in my "to-do" folder and I finally got around to it!  I previously had one of those stand-up plastic organizers for all of my giftwrap supplies, but it was constantly tipping over and spilling all of my goods and it took up precious floor space in my hall closet. 

The BHG article used this pantry organizer - after a little wait for backorder, I got one too!  It was well worth the $29.95 it cost.  Check it out...

The top shelf is perfect for holding little Mason Jars full of ribbon, twine, and gift tags.  The next shelf holds ribbon and tulle just waiting to adorn a present.  The third shelf has my go-to box of cards for virtually every holiday (Hallmark-holidays included), and the large bottom basket hold gift wrap, gift bags, and boxes.  I secured the gift wrap with elastic tied to either end.

The little bars are perfect for corraling tissue paper - and it keeps it nice and smooth instead of all wrinkled.

I love opening up the door and seeing all the pretty bags neatly organized!

We've got several birthday parties this weekend (including our own little four year old!), so I'll more than likely be putting this gift wrap station to use this weekend. 

Have a great weekend - Ariel party pics to soon follow!

It's Good Being Green

One of the things I knew I would miss when we sold our home was the fantastic garden my hubby built - it was such a joy to pick tomatoes with the girls and watch them eat green beans straight from the stalk.  In a world of pesticides and growth hormone, it's also nice sometimes knowing where your food came from...

Luckily, our new home is across the street from a friend of ours who happens to be a farmer when he's not torturing people with root canals (yikes).  Not only do we get to enjoy the spoils of his gardens, but he brought over some large tubs one afternoon, some "rocket fuel" (aka manure), and some seeds...

A little water, a little sun, and a little love later...

Sugar Snap Peas...

Cherry Tomatoes...

Carrots...

Romaine Lettuce...

And Green Beans!

Even better?  I took these photos a couple of weeks ago and now, the plants are even bigger!  Not only that, but we've got blooms on our tomatoes and peas (the first pea has grown too)!

Having this little garden in the corner of my yard is such a joy... I hope we'll soon be able to enjoy the fruits of our neighbor's labor!  If these cherry tomato plants produce like my last ones, there'll be some salso-making for sure...

Have a great (and green) week!

So Much to Do...

I don't know about you, but my list of things to do/make/sew/redo just keeps getting longer and longer!  Between church activities this month, Easter, my baby girl's birthday and all the rest of daily life, I just can't seem to get anything accomplished! 

Ack!

This too shall pass right?

Until it does, I won't have a whole lot to show you around here.  For starters, I've got a fabulous Ariel fourth birthday party to throw this weekend.  This is the first of my kids' parties that I'm holding at a commercial party place, so although I'm letting go of some of the stress, it alters the freedom I normally have when party planning.  I've got six days to make magic happen, so hopefully it will all come together.

Then (fingers crossed) these little projects will be soon to follow:
    

     March Bag

Board and Batten

Outdoor Chair Redo

I've also got lots of painting planned for the interior of my house and a certain six year old girl in need of a room makeover... whew!

Better go get some rest.  Have a great week!

Happy Easter!

"He has risen! He is not here."

{4}

Today, my baby turns the big F-O-U-R.

*weep*

I love four.  It's that age where she's just the right mix of baby girl and big kid.

Thankfully, she's not so big she doesn't like to snuggle with her mama. 

Cause mama's not quite ready for that yet.

I am looking forward to more hugs, kisses, squeezes, and giggles from my little G.

My cup runneth over.

Happy Birthday, my sweet girl.

Dry-Erase Family Calendar

Hello.

My name is Rhonda.

I am a calendar whore.

There, I said it.  Whew... do I feel better now!

It's true.  If ever there was a calendar/planner/organizer, I've more than likely owned it or come pretty near to owning it.  I am constantly on a quest to find the most perfect means of keeping track of the events and to-do's in my life.  Lined, not lined.  Monthly, weekly, daily.  Pocket size, purse size.  You get the picture.

This obsession doesn't end there.  I have also tried several options for keeping a family calendar.  Typically, this has lived on my laundry room door, which is basically the last stop before leaving the house.  In hindsight... probably not the best place for little reminders, since usually we're struggling to get the kids out the door and to school on time, arms full of bags and lunchboxes etc.  In other words, that calendar is the last thing we'll pay attention to on any given day.

Soooo... what to do?  How would I ever keep up with the family schedule and all of the little things I needed to remember for the week?  Well, I saw this great dry erase calendar on brown paper packages by Stephanie of Somewhat Simple.  I had just the place for one of these on my kitchen counter, which is the center of our busy mornings - what better place for little reminders for the week?  An evening alone in the craft room and I now have one of my very own!

I'd like to say I thrifted and found a perfect picture frame for $1.00 or something cool like that, but let's face it.  I'm far too impatient for that!  I did take advantage of the 50% off frames at Hobby Lobby and was able to find this perfectly sanded off-white frame.  I also found a great scrapbooking paper that was pale blue with white dots to insert as a background.

I don't have a cool vinyl cutter like all of you other Silhouetters (no matter how many giveaways I enter *sigh*), so I decided to use some rub-on scrapbooking letters instead.  I found these at Hobby Lobby as well, and most of them on clearance.  Woot!  I thought it fitting that I found a sheet with sewing-related borders: stitching, zig-zag, rick rack, and scallops.  Cute, right?

I tried to fit all seven days of the week in one row but realized it didn't leave me much room to write, so instead I put Monday through Friday up top, with Saturday and Sunday beneath.

I left a larger note section at the bottom for those all-important reminders, you know the ones.  Bring Ritz Crackers, eggs, and a basket to school.  Hopefully with this new little system, we won't be making a mad dash to the convenience store on the way to school, praying they have a box of Ritz somewhere on their shelves!

The little flower and birdie decals are also rub-ons, believe it or not!  I have quite a few of these left over that I can't wait to find a use for... pretty little packaging perhaps? 

Thanks to Stephanie for the inspiration - with any luck, this beauty will keep us on track, in style!

Look What Came in the Mail!

Just a little sneaky-peeky to forecast what will soon be in my sewing future:

That's right... me, Heather, and Amy are gonna be hanging out a bit so mama can have a new spring bag!

On Deck... the March Bag!

I just finished up an order of my signature felt cookies so now I'm ready to settle back in to some pending projects.  The first project on deck is the March Bag from Fourteen May, from the fabulous Melissa Mortenson of The Polka Dot Chair.  I've been eyeing this pattern for a while, so when I got the itch to make a new bag, I pulled it out of my "Stuff to Make" list.

Oh what, like I'm the only one with one of those?

I purchased the pattern last week with all intentions of getting started right away, but the fabric search has haunted me.  You see, I think Melissa's version is pretty much fabulous the way it is and I can't seem to find any fabric combos that I like better than the original:

photo credit: Melissa Mortenson

See what I mean?  Perfection, right?  I'm working on obtaining these fabrics as we speak through some suppliers on Etsy.  (That Amy Butler polka dot fabric is not too easy to find...)  Hopefully this bag will be gracing my arm soon!

How about you?  Are you working on a new bag for spring?

{Tutorial} Ric Rac Roses!

Here's the tutorial I featured on Rags to Stitches this past week...

So, just in time for spring... a tutorial for sweet little ric rac roses!  These are the same little guys that grace my Easter Wreath right now on my front door - I love them on a wreath, I love them in my little girls' hair, I pretty much love them everywhere!

This tutorial is to make a rose with a flat bottom, so it's easy to convert to a hair clip or to add to a tee shirt or even a precious package for someone special!

What You'll Need:

Jumbo Ric Rac - 36 inches in length (or longer depending on the size of rose you want)

Hot Glue

Band Aids (for hot glue burns... oh wait, that's just me)

Ready to get started?  Here we go!

1.  Roll/fold in one end of your ric rac and glue into place.  If your ends have frayed, trim them now and dab a drop of glue on the edge.

2.  Begin to roll the center of your flower into the upward curve (hill) in your ric rac.  Secure with glue.

3.  Now you should be ready to roll into the downward curve of your ric rac (valley).  Before you do so, fold the ric rac upward from the bottom of the valley until you overlap the top of the valley.

4.  Add a dab of glue and continue rolling your flower, keeping the bottom edges aligned.

5.  If your flower begins to have a raised center as you roll, try to line up the edge a little bit above the the previous roll.  This helps even out the outer "petals".

6.  If you're not sure where to place your dabs of glue, this is what I do.  I place a dab immediately before a roll onto a hill and immediately before a roll into a valley.  This helps secure your lower and upper petals.

7.  Continue rolling your flower until you reach the end of your ric rac. 

8.  At this point, take your tail end and secure it to the flat bottom edge with glue.  This step gives you a nice, clean edge to your petals and hides the end of the ric rac.

9.  And you are done... repeat as necessary to fill your home with blooms!

Thanks so much to Alissa for having me over!

{Friday Faves} Bunnies!

With Easter just around the corner, I'm in love with the bevy of bunnies circulating the Etsy storefronts.  Is there anything sweeter than a fluffy little bun-bun? I think not!  Enjoy this Friday collection dedicated to our furry little friends...

Retro Mama's Betsy and Basil Bunny Pattern

ElephantDancing's Bunny Love Print

asherjasper has a felted bunny brooch

Surprise!  There's a bunny in your mug!  From purplepetunia.

And finally... look at this adorable bunny baby set, complete with tail!  From LollypopsNBellyflops.

There you have it... some of my fave bunny beauties courtesy of the handcrafters on Etsy.  Have a fantastic Friday!!

*** all images credit to the aforementioned Etsy sellers***

(Tutorial) Ric Rac Roses!

Hi guys!  I'm visiting over on Rags to Stitches today and sharing a tutorial on Ric Rac Roses... stop over there say hi to Alissa - she's not only got a great blog to share with you, but she has an adorable little shop that you must peruse!  See you over there!

To Sleep, Perchance to Craft

Things have been busy around here... we spent the past week caring for a pukey-puke and working like the devil to make sure our lil chick didn't end up with a tummyache too.  Saturday, we decluttered via our neighborhood garage sale.  (It was quite successful, I might add.  I can now park in my garage!)  Sunday was filled with church services and an evening banquet celebrating a recent building fundraising campaign, interspersed with some flowerbed planting and dips in the pool (well, the kiddos at least).  It's been a fun-filled start to spring... leaving little time to be productive on the craft-front.

My sketch/idea book is full of ideas I'm waiting to try and yearning to show you, so hang in there.  The craftiness will return as soon as we catch up with this thing called life.

Happy Anniversary Ice Cream Sundae!

Today is the 119th anniversary of the first ice cream sundae.  Being a lover of all things made of milk, cream, and sugar, I thought it appropriate that I took a little moment on this blog to honor one the most loved desserts of all time.  Enjoy these ice-cream inspired ideas!

This ice cream cone hat from One Charming Party makes me want to have an ice cream party yesterday!

photo credit: One Charming Party

Then you can make your own homemade ice cream in a can... thanks to Craft Tutorials!

photo credit: Craft Tutorials

What best to wear to aforementioned ice cream party than the Ice Cream Social Dress from Craftiness is not Optional?

photo credit: Craftiness is Not Optional

The cherry on top is this little ice cream garland from Simply Modern Mom... check out her fab ice cream party!

photo credit: Simply Modern Mom

Hope you all have a fantastic Sunday... now go have yourself a scoop or two!