Organize your Makeup

I finally found away to organize my growing makeup collection. Every morning I was leaving the house with a big mess for me to clean up later. Now it's easy! Here's what I did... First I bought these great vanity organizers from Target. They help with organizing my drawers, and my vanity surface. At Michael's craft store I purchased these clear beads in the floral section to hold my makeup brushes. At the dollar store I bought a filing stand to organize my makeup palettes. Now everything has a place, and it's easy for me to clean up after myself before I leave for work. No more after work frustration!!!

Oversize fabric message board

I can't keep track of all the paperwork! It's driving me crazy. I decided to create an oversize message board using the same concept that I created for the monkey's rooms. The only difference is I connected 2 cork boards with a staple gun, and wrapped both with fabric. My friend Steph gave me these beautiful flower which I made thumb tacks out of with a hot glue gun. I feel more organized, and I love that my message board matches my curtains perfectly.

Decorative Corkboard for Computer Armoire

I am so tired of writing down information on a billion pieces of paper, and then forgetting where I put that note! I'm getting old, and I need some help! Well I've taken the large corkboard idea, and minimized it to fit inside my computer armoire. I've decided that I need to maximum every inch of this craft/computer/office room because I can't stand the clutter! I so wish it's was Fall. I really need to get down to IKEA in Phoenix! Well here's what you will need.

Supplies: Package of precut square corkboard( I found mine at Walmart), fabric, spray adhesive, scissors, box cutter, ribbons, decorative nails(Joann's), and hammer.
Cut corkboard to size using a box cutter. Cut fabric a little larger than corkboard pieces. Spray adhesive on wrong side of fabric. Lay corkboard on top and press down firmly. Fold fabric edges in until sides are all taut. I sprayed adhesive onto surface I was attaching square corkboards too. Decorate edges with ribbon, and fasten with decorative nails. This project is not to time consuming, and it will help with my overall need for organization.

Decorative Pencil Holder

I've been wanted to make this decorative pencil holder that I saw on my neighbor's blog, but I kept forgetting to buy a place mat! Well now I finally remembered, and I purchased this cute place mat at World Market. It was really simple to make, and it gave me a chance to practice my sewing. Here's how.

Supplies: Place mat, chalk, ruler, iron, sewing machine, and thread.

I just folded two sides inward, and ironed. I stitched the sides first by hand since my machine wasn't doing a great job. Then I used chalk and a ruler to draw my lines. I just eyeballed it. Then I used my sewing machine to stitch straight lines. I used a ribbon to hold it together. I think Kaya is really going to like this on the go pencil holder for her art work. Thanks Amber!



Decorative Art Supply holder
This is the same concept as the pencil holder, but it's for the art tools I use the most. Now I don't have to search for these items everytime I want to do a craft project.

Food Saver Frenzy

Don't you hate it when you waste lunch meat, cheese, chicken, or bread. It literally feeling like throwing money down the drain. With the cost of living sky rocketing. I refuse to waste prefectly good food. Now I food save everything. Anything lefted over I food save. It's a little time consuming, but I've also noticed it's helps me out with food preparation. If I want to make a batch of cupcakes, Posole, salsa, french fries, soups, or, banana bread. I just pull it out of the frig, or freezer. Easy!!! No more throwing out the bacon!!! I highly recommend investing in one for your kitchen.

Time to lay down the Law!!!

I don't know what it is, but my monkeys' are running amok! Usually getting ready for school is pretty routine, chores are getting done, homework is being finished, kids are all a counted for, but in the last week that lovely scenario has been throw out the window! It's turning me into Mommy Dearest! So now, it's time to lay down the law, and put some order back into our family. I created chore, rule, and routine charts for the kids. We sat down and had a family meeting. The kids were excited that order has been restored! Yeah right... I think they were just excited about their future rewards. Whatever works...

Decorative Containers

Once again I needed some help keeping the kids things off the floor. This time it was Kaya's drawing supplies like crayons, markers, and colored pencils. Kaya likes to draw and cut a lot, so I recently put a table and chairs in her room. It was a good idea until I found all her drawing stuff all over the floor! I decided to make her these decorative containers to match the colors in her room. They were fun to make. I used empty oatmeal containers, butter containers, and large cereal boxes. I didn't want to use old cans since some of the edges are sharp, but you can if you like. Here's how.

Supplies: empty container, decorative scrapbook paper, ribbons, button, paper cutter, glue stick, and glue gun.

I cut decorative paper to size of container. Sometimes the paper won't cover entire container, so just add an extra piece to fill in. I hot glued paper on. I embellished with ribbon and a button. How easy is that! Only a few minutes to assemble. Now Kaya has a place to put all her drawing supplies, and I get to have a clean floor. I love the simple things.

Build your own Wall Hooks

I've been looking for a wall peg board for my hallway which leads to our garage. I hate it when the kids come home and throw everything on to the floor. I, of course usually end up picking everything up and hanging stuff on door knobs. Not attractive at all. I've been shopping around town looking for the perfect wall hanger, but everything I found was just too short in length, and overpriced. I decided to build my own. I measured the length of the wall then headed out to Home Depot and pick up a piece of wood. I found these great hooks at Target. Here's how I assembled everything.

Supplies: Piece of raw wood, glossy paint, hooks, 3" drywall screws,electric drill, and leveler.

First paint the wood with several coats. I only painted front and sides. Use formula: length in inches x number of hooks plus one. This will give you how many inches each hook should be spaced apart. For example: my measurement for my project were 60" x 9 = 6.6" Every 6.6" on my board I placed a hook. Predrill the holes, so the wood won't split. I used drywall screws instead of the screws that came with the hooks. This way, I know the hooks will hold a lot of weight. Now I have plenty of hooks for the whole family. No more stuff on the floors, and one less thing for me to pick up. Yee haw!

Decorative Cork board

My kids are always bring home art work from school. Some are too cute to put away. I decided to make decorative cork boards for their rooms. Now they have a place to show off their amazing art work. I thought this would be a more difficult project to attempt, but I was surprised how quick and easy this was. Now I need to make a few more for the kitchen and boy's rooms. I like the idea that I can personalize these cork boards along with their room themes. Here's how.

Supplies: Cork board, fine sand paper, craft paint, foam brushes, decorative card stock, ribbon,scrapbook adhesive, clear acrylic sealer, and trash bag.

Lay out trash bag to protect surface. I sanded the wood frame. I painted wood frame with foam brush. Applied clear acrylic sealer over paint. Place scrapbook adhesive to back of decorative paper and then placed on cork board. I used ribbon where decorative paper edges met and fastened down with more adhesive. I used scrapbook adhesive because it would be easy for me to change the decorative paper out. So simple!!!