Recycled Storage

My dear neighbors gave me these boxes because they thought I could use them for storage.  I decided they would be perfect for stamps and ink pad storage.

The little blur on the top left corner is this little guy.  My sidekick and helper extraordinaire. Isn't he cute.

Back to work~the boxes needed a little dressing up before I could put them to good use.

I decided to start with a coat of white paint just to cover up the dark colors.

I found a scrap paper at Joanns that had quotes and I knew it would be perfect to cover 

the boxes.

I got to work with a little Mod Podge 

and soon enough they were looking much better

I distressed the edges with an ink pad and a little sanding

No need to be perfect 

just perfectly imperfect

A little ink along each edge went a long way

I used this handy tool to add

label pulls to the box.

 Here are two of the boxes completed and put to use.

 I found the inspiration for these from Country Living February issue where Thea Beasley covered boxes in French paper and maps.  I did not have French newspapers but I thought this paper would work quite well for the look.

I'm happy with how my little knock off turned out.

I will be joining these great link parties.

Surviving the Blizzard & Valentines

We survived the recent blizzard here with no problems.  We are so thankful to not have lost power during this storm.  Reminders of no power for eight days with Irene were no fun.  My heart went out to all those who lost power and were without heat.  Temps were down to single digits the night after the storm.

The snow can be such an inconvenience with travel and shoveling but it makes everything beautiful.

The blanket of white on our branches

from my window

so much snow

I did not venture out

picturesque

Our poor bush over loaded with the weight of this snow~not the light and fluffy kind

dense and heavy

Now my Valentine surprise for my love

I have seen this cute "gum ball" machines on Pinterest and around blog land.

Since hubby loves candy I knew I wanted to try one.

They are so simple.

I painted a 4 inch pot black, inside and out.

And because I do not have a vinyl cutting machine I used a font as a guide and 

wrote the message with a paint pen.

The cover consists of a 4 inch saucer, a 2 inch saucer, and a wooden ball

The smaller saucer keeps the bigger one from sliding off the glass jar.

My E6000 glue dried up so I had to use good old super glue.

I glued the inverted smaller saucer inside the larger saucer

then glued the wooden knob on top

The glass jar is from Dollar Tree

I glued it to the inverted pot.

TADA

Such a fun idea.

I am joining these great parties.

Burlap Votives

We are prepping here for Snowmaggedon here.  There is a blizzard watch for our area until 6 p.m. tomorrow.  We have plenty of food and water, wood for the wood stove to last us a bit, and we're charging up everything we can.  Praying for the best and preparing for the worst  case scenario.  We have been teased with snow all winter.  Minor accumulations one day, six inches a week later, several dustings and a few accumulations of less than three inches but this storm is going to be the big one, the mother of all storms. Rivaling the Blizzard of 1978, whose thirty-five year anniversary was February 6.  We may be snow in for quite some time.

In the midst of all this storm prep I decided I needed to work on something fun.  I made this a couple of years ago, it's wintry cuteness made me smile, but I am done with this winter and really wanted a change, so..

There are about 100 of these candle jars in my stash.  I can't help it.  Glade candles are great, I buy them on sale and with coupons, and they are such a great deal.  When they've burned out I simply clean out the jars and save them.  This is why I have so many.

I always have some burlap on hand 

I cut it into strips that will fit around the glass jars, it does not need to be perfect, simply make sure they will overlap in the back

Then using some Mod Podge

and a foam brush

I covered the jars 

then wrapped the burlap pieces around them.

I let them dry for a couple of hours. 

 I don't usually wait very patiently but I had to take my son to basketball.

Once they were dry I used a good old fashioned stencil and paint pen because

I do not own a Cricut or Silhouette.  Not that I wouldn't loooooovvee one but it's

not in the budget for now. I digress, back to the project 

I stenciled the numbers onto the burlap

Loving the simlicity

the ease

and fun that this little change made

an easy upcycle

Here they are all together on our table.  The lovely doily was made by my mom, who is so talented.

Isn't it beautiful???? 

 Disregard the hideously ugly heating unit in the background.  It has been waiting for a cover since the kitchen remodel.  I am going to have to bite the bullet and do it myself.

Their is so much work that goes into creating a beautiful doily/tablecloth like this.

The details~it was made with a pattern from Portugal that a friend recently brought back for my mom.

The completed set

Happy weekend!!

I am linking up to these great parties.

Craft Studio Organization

This room was originally our daughter's room but since she has moved onto the real world and college we decided it would become my craft studio.

This was the space before in these pictures.

I moved all of my craft supplies from the basement into this room.  I started this in December and it is still a work in progress but it is getting there.  I have so many inspiration photos on my Pinterest boards.

Before:

This is my ribbon drawer.  I have wrapped most of my ribbon around cardboard pieces to eliminate the bulky spools they are on.  Now this drawer needed to be neatened and organized.  

Here is the after:

I still have some very fine ribbons on their original spools under the cardboard.  This method saves quite a bit of space.  Much better.

This is a little cabinet that is a bit beat up but still loved.  I use it to store my yarn and papers.  I use many different containers on top to hold more supplies.

These sweet little porcelain buckets were on clearance a while back at Christmas Tree Shops for fifty cents. Now they hold my brushes, pens, paint pens and markers on my desk.

This container was from a Bath & Body Works gift set.  It has an interesting shape and I like the pattern on it.  I use it to hold bits and pieces of this and that while I work on a project.  This keeps the desk surface clear.  The small draw organizers are great to store paper punches, stickers, and many forms of ephemera.

This cabinet was in the basement but I brought it up to this room because it is a great storage piece.  It is a bit on the plain and uninteresting side so I want to pretty it up somehow.  I am currently looking for inspiration and ideas.  Please share any you have.

I used the small closet space to hold fabrics.  I hung them on the rod with skirt/pant hangers.

Underneath it is a three drawer cabinet to hold more supplies.

This room is far from being finished.  I will continue to work on organizing but I also want to use the time to create pretty things.  

I am linking to the Dog Days of Winter "Organize It" Party.  Hope you can join.