A Solution for Sprinkles

At my house we really do love sprinkles.  We have a growing collection because, quite frankly, when walking down the sprinkle section in a store, it is a bit hard to pass by the different jars filled with various colors of sparkling sugar without obtaining a new one.  They just make cupcakes and cakes all the more festive.  Currently I just keep my sprinkles in a little plastic box on my pantry shelf.  But this week I discovered a new way to store them.  My sister keeps all of hers in spice jars on display in her kitchen in a spice rack that used to be her mother-in-law's.  This way not only are they used as a cheerful decoration, but I'm thinking it would be a great reminder to me to bake more often just so I could use them on a more regular basis.  I don't think I would hear any complaints from my family if that were the case.

A Stuffing Solution

Have you ever purchased a big of fiberfill (aka stuffing at our house) and after you used what you needed, wondered just exactly how you were going to manage to store the rest of the bag?  The bag always seems to be such an awkward size, and just lightweight enough to always want to fall off of a shelf.  My daughters came up with the perfect solution ...... stuff it into a jar.  I'm not really sure how long they have been storing it in this fashion, but it was only recently that I saw what they had done.  So I just happened to have a jar (approximately 8 inches high and 6 inches in diameter) that wasn't being put to any particular purpose.  I grabbed my large bag of stuffing, and proceeded to stuff it into the jar.  And you know what ..... it all fit!  It's amazing what little things can bring joy to me sometimes.  This jar now takes up so much less space, and is so much easier to store than the opened bag.  Besides it looks a lot cuter than the ugly old bag sitting here and there.

An Alternate Use

Recently while shopping in our local Staples office supply store, my daughter and I noticed that they sell business card holders in their $1.00 bin.  After picking one up, my daughter had an aha moment.  You know that kind of moment when something just clicks in your mind.  She mentioned that these card holders would actually make great fingernail polish holders.  So I bought one, and actually have since returned to purchase more, to use for this new purpose.  I must admit for me it actually works great.  You can organize your bottles by color or however you would like to organize them, and you don't have to dig through several bottles to find just exactly which product you are looking for.  They make transporting them from room to room very easily as well.  And on top of it all, there is even room to store a few cotton balls behind the bottles.

Accomplishments

Back in a February post I shared with all of you my newfound fun with Pinterest.  I continue to enjoy "pinning", but also wanted to really try to put to good use some of things that I have discovered there.  I decided I needed to create a board for the things that I actually accomplished.  In trying to determine a clever name for my new board, my daughter came up with "Pin-complishments".  She is so creative, and I know I could never have come up with a name like that in a million years.  I only have a few items on it so far, but it will be nice keeping track of them in one little spot.  One of the first things I had to put into use was the storing of the cupcake liners in a glass spaghetti jar.  It was just too cute of an idea, and since I just happened to have a glass spaghetti jar on hand not being put to any particular use, it now sits proudly on display with all of our little cupcake liners just waiting to be used.  And as an added bonus, I think we will just have to have cupcakes more often now that they seem so accessible.

A New Year

Well, here it is. It came so quickly this time. In a blink of an eye really. An entire year now behind me with all of its memories nestled in my head. I can't even remember the resolutions that I made at the beginning of last year, so this year I am going to do things differently. At the suggestion of my daughters, I think I will set some goals, with specific completion dates. And I'm not even going to make a long list of goals for the year ... that can just be too daunting. I'm just going to take things step by step throughout this year. When a goal is completed, I will then think about what my next goal should be. So my first goal of this year was to start the year off with huckleberry pancakes. Goal completed.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Jeremiah 29:11

Hope for my Recipe Box

For those of you that might need an updated recipe box, you simply must hop on over to The Farm Chicks blog (in case you haven't already seen it). Serena shares how she is revamping hers. Mine is in such a dreadful state; but this gives me hope that this amazing feat really is quite possible. Perhaps after Christmas ......

Photo from The Farm Chicks Blog

My Fabric Stash

There is something about fabric that really gets my attention. I could spend hours in a fabric store looking from bolt to bolt thinking of the many possibilities that could be made with this fabric or that fabric. So needless to say, over the years I have collected quite a bit of fabric. It is so nice to have a wonderful collection to work from. The one problem though is that through the years my sewing area has moved from place to place throughout the house. During those transitions, my fabric has gotten packed away here and there. Now I am at the point where I have to spend time looking for fabric when I would much rather be able to just reach for it when a particular piece is needed for a project. So yesterday I decided it was time to start organizing my fabric. This will be a big task, and will take some time. In the long run though I know it will be worth it. Yesterday's task was to begin going through a plastic bag that is filled with small scraps left over from various projects. I cut them into various sizes of strips and squares, and organized them by size into manila envelopes that were labeled on the outside. These will be perfect for scrap quilts. I also gathered up several of my one yard cuts of fabric, folded them all the same, and placed them in a cute 7" x 7" x 7" box that I have. I was very surprised to find out that I could actually fit 10 yards of fabric in this small box. It makes such a difference when they are all folded in exactly the same fashion. That is as far as I got yesterday; and hopefully I won't lose interest in this task, because I can imagine how nice this will be when completed.

Gift Card Tins

Whenever I am shopping at Michael's, I always notice the cute gift card tins that they have hanging by the register. Sometimes the tins are very cute, but I can't really think of a reason to buy one. However, last month when all of their Christmas items went on clearance, I noticed that they had a big pile of Christmas gift card tins for only 50 cents a piece. I began digging through the pile, and managed to find a few that seemed like they would work anytime of the year (well, except for the one with snowflakes .... but I liked it anyway). I bought several, and gave one to each of my girls. I immediately took mine and decided it would be a great place to keep small sewing supplies that I need with my current embroidery project. I placed a piece of felt in the bottom, and added embroidery needles, floss, and a pair of scissors. The tin just gets tossed right into my project bag, and so I know I will always have what I need when I want to work on that particular project. I happen to have other bags with projects in various stages of completion, and thought if I could have a tin in each one with items necessary for working on each particular project, that would be very handy. One of my girls has used her tin for keeping hair clippies, bobby pins, and quarters in. Why quarters, I'm not really sure, but I'm sure she has a good reason. Another daughter keeps drawing supplies in hers. We also thought they would make great containers for small first aid kits, and even sewing repair kits. They seem to have so many possibilities. Besides, you can really find cute gift card tins, and it is just fun to actually have a reason to justify buying one.

A Month of Menus

At the beginning of the year, I made a list of all of the goals I would like to accomplish in 2009. Usually each year I just think about them, and they are soon forgotten. But this year I wanted to actually write them down so that I could review them from time to time in order to actually accomplish some of them. One of my goals was to keep a list of all of the meals we have each month. My reasoning behind this was so that next year, and years to come, I could just pull out my January list of meals and be set for the month. I actually did fairly well last month in keeping track of what we had for our dinners. I did forget a few of the days; but overall, I have a list of meals all prepared for next January. Now I am starting on my list for February. If I can just keep up this pace throughout the year, I think it will be very helpful for those times when my brain freezes up and for some reason I just can't seem to think of anything to fix for dinner. Is it only me, or is this a common ailment that happens to other women? Maybe next year my goal can be to also add a shopping list to each of the monthly lists. But for now, I think I will be more than satisfied to just have the monthly menus down on paper.

24 Hours in a Day

I realize that there are 24 hours in each day. But I tend to think that some people actually have more hours in their day than I have. I know that my days go by very quickly being filled with home school, laundry, cleaning, preparing meals, and the usual day-to-day activities that we all have. I try to squeeze extra moments in here and there for reading and sewing. Usually those moments are in the evening; but I am an early to bed type of person, and so the evening moments aren't many. Sometimes I begin thinking that I just never get anything accomplished. For the past two years though I have begun a finished project list. Whenever I finish something, I jot it down in my little notebook, being sure to add the month it was completed. This way when I am feeling like I don't accomplish much, I reach for my notebook, and realize that I actually did get a number of things made throughout the year.

I still think that some people actually do get more than 24 hours in their days. I know of two women that surely must. I enjoy looking at their blogs because it is so inspirational to see how many projects they finish up in a very short amount of time. I don't think I could ever finish projects at their pace; but by reading about their successes, it makes me feel hopeful that if I just continue grabbing a moment here and there to work on my projects, they will get done. If you would like to see some beautiful crocheting, embroidering, and applique, then I highly recommend you take a look at Knot Garden and A Passion for Applique.

Organizing

I am in a constant state of wanting to be organized. I feel like I never, ever reach my desired goals. It can seem overwhelming at times. But I forge ahead just the same. With the page having turned to a new year, it of course gets me thinking of all of the ways that I want to get organized this year. I have the yearly list made out, and have actually even begun some of the items on that list. Maybe, just maybe, this year will be my year. In light of my hopeful outlook, I found these fun organizing ideas on The Farm Chicks blog.






I love the little tins, and the red polka dot paper in the front of the plastic storage boxes. Since I am wanting to get organized, I might as well make it look cute.

My sister, Kass, told me about this blog, and I have been recently reading through some of their entries. They have some great ideas, recipes, crafts, etc. After you read the above post, click on their main page, and see the other fun things they have to offer. As for me, I'm off to Michaels to try and find some red and blue tins with polka dot lids.

Thanksgiving Reminders

Thanksgiving Day is getting closer by the minute. Dividing up your preparations amongst the next few days will cut down on last minute tasks and frustrations. My big task for today is to remember to take the turkey out of the freezer, and place it in the refrigerator so that it will be thawed and ready to go on Thursday. Today I will also decide which table linens to use, and iron them if necessary. And don't forget to make sure you have plenty of dish soap, laundry soap, toilet paper, paper napkins, paper towels, etc. on hand. You don't want to come to the realization on Thanksgiving morning that you do not have enough dish soap to get you through the day, and running to the store is the last thing you want to do. And yes, I speak from experience. I even had to ask one of my guests once if they would mind bringing dish soap with them when they came to my house for dinner. Fortunately, the request was made of my wonderful father and mother-in-law, and of course they were more than happy to help me out.

My Notebook

As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, it is important to stay organized in order to keep things running smoothly, and to keep from becoming exhausted with all of the preparations that are needed. There are many Christmas organizing ideas out there, but for me they tend to be time consuming in themselves. I have put together a notebook of my own keeping in line with what I need to do to stay on top of things. My notebook basically revolves around all of the food that needs preparing. I don't include topics like decorating and gift buying because that just seems to happen on its own. For the past couple of years I have begun buying my Christmas cards in October and addressing the envelopes before Thanksgiving at a gradual pace, so that doesn't need to be included in my notebook. It just basically comes down to making up menus, creating grocery shopping lists, and scheduling out what to make when. I am a creature of habit, and make the same foods each year. After a few years of recreating everything, I decided to keep a record of the things we ate and things that I needed to buy. So my notebook is divided up into sections for different holidays throughout the year. I have the menu printed up on one page, followed by a page with my complete grocery list. I have absolutely everything I need on the grocery list just to make sure I don't inadvertently forget something like pepper. Before I go shopping I make a copy of the grocery list, cross off all of the things that I already have, and am ready to head to the store. This in itself saves so much time. After the grocery list page in the notebook, I have a page for each recipe that I will be preparing. Having the recipes all together in one place also saves time by not having to go search for specific recipes that you have no idea where you put them last year. Lastly, I have a page with the seven days prior to the specific holiday listed, and next to each of those days I have scheduled some sort of food preparation activity. Dividing up all of the tasks between the days prior to the holiday cuts down tremendously on last minute preparations. And that's my notebook. This saves me countless hours each year of trying to think what we should have, making up new shopping lists, and deciding what to make when. Just to make it fun, I have also typed up my recipes on cute paper and keep them in plastic sleeves so that the recipes don't get spilled on and torn. There are some spills though that just can't be avoided. I am actually in the process of putting my recipes in a new notebook, because a while back my daughter accidentally dropped an entire bottle of pancake syrup of which a good portion landed right on my notebook. The pages were so sticky, it was impossible to clean up. Thankfully though everything was stored on my computer so it is just a matter of printing them all out once again.