i make stuff

a fancy plastic bag organizer for the kitchen

my organized self is very happy.. this quick project took me just 10 mins to wip-up. simple idea via Martha Stewart

the twinery - project one

 


so if you missed my post a couple weeks back.. i'm on the twinery design team.. how fun is that? when i recieved my first packet of lovely twine.. i wanted to design something to display the twine that is simple and functional.. and here is my idea.. a vintage shelf of twine. the vintage spools store and unravel twine as you need it.. and it's also beautiful to look at! 
I'll share below how I built it. very simple.. you'll just need a couple things you may have around your house.
here it is.. the vintage shelf of beautiful twine.

 


you'll need:
twinery twine (of course)
scrap old piece of wood.. 20 inches
vintage spools (ebay is a good resource for these)
wood pegs (you can find these at most craft stores)
small bar picture hanging system.. (home depot 10$)
wood glue
power drill
ruler & pencil

ok. lets get started. first wind your twine..

 

grab your wood.. measure and decide how far apart you want your spools, this would depend on how many colors you are going to display.. etc.. mine are 2 inches apart..


drill your holes..


attach your picture hanging system to the back of the board.. follow directions on the package


sand and glue pegs onto board.. allow to dry


attach to wall.. and enjoy.


now how simple is that?
I have mine hanging over my sewing/craft table..and I'm loving it.

 

weekly board

A couple months back I saw this brilliant idea from Cheri of i am momma, hear me roar..
her weekly board was just what we needed!

With the new baby and her starting school.. our schedules were getting a little overwelming for a three year old to take in... so we got to work. It took me sometime to finally get this project together.. I still want to paint it.. but for now, that will have to wait.

So now cyra can plan her week... deciding when she wants to plan trips to the zoo, park.. or even special cyra-mommy time or cyra-daddy time.. I even drew icons for the weather.. so she knows when it will be rainy, sunny and so on. We're loving this project.

I cut the vinyl days of the week using the Silhouette, everything to build the board I got from Home Depot. It just so happens if you walk (or waddle in my case) into Home Depot, 8 months pregnant.. you can get the guys in lumber to cut things exact sizes :)

how do you plan?

everyone has a creative process that works for them.. it has taken me awhile to get into a grove of how to plan my sewing projects.. and keep organized... so I actually finish things I start... now that i have a system going that i think is working.. i thought maybe i'd share...

i am constantly inspired by everything around me.. my daughter, friends and of course all the talented bloggers out there that share their crafty ideas. to stay organized.. if I find a photo.. a tutorial.. or object that inspires me.. I make note of it.. by either writing it down.. and/or printing it out. I then use paper protectors to file each "idea" or form of inspiration and place them into a large 3-ring binder. whenever I'm in need of inspiration.. I sit down with this enormous binder.. and plan what's next. 


once a year, my favorite local fabric store has a wonderful sale.. so I plan, plan & plan some more.. when it's 50% off.. it's totally worth it. then I file my new fabrics with each printed out project.
 
for more visual inspiration.. I have a cork board.. covered in linen, to make it look pretty :), that I keep fabric samples and projects that I'm in the process of working on
 
i hope you'll find some of these ideas helpful..
i'm excited to show you what i'm working on next.. happy sewing!

hanging book display

no more books tossed on the floor.. here is a project I finished last week.. a hanging book display tutorial compliments of Penny Carnival pretty amazing idea right? mom's invent the most useful things.. and the best part.. it was simple and cheap. I found the hardware at Lowes for 10$ plus the cost of any fabric you choose.. and hour of your time.. it's that simple. I used hand printed linen from Ink and Spindle I adore their fabrics.. I purchased a small unit from their shop ( 19 x 27 inches ) and used natural linen for the main portion of the sling. I'm not sure who's loving this more.. cyra or her mommy. 

 
 
 

an organized project table.

one of my new year's resolutions is to de-clutter and have a place for everything... if we are not using it, it's off to goodwill where it will find a better home.
My first task was to find a way to have cyra's art supplies accessible, but not drive me crazy.  Our house is cozy, so there is not alot of room for a project table or easel.. so here is what I've come to.. I found the paper center on amazon and the hanging buckets and bar from ikea, they are called "recycling bins" which I found in the kitchen section. For painting, the grandparents bought the little partners art easel that hangs on her learning tower.  So everything it organized.. for now.

how i keep organized.

so if you haven't already figured it out.. i'm a neat fanatic. one of the many things that make me happy is seeing everything in order.. and I find that I am way more productive when I know where things usually are.. so I thought I'd share a couple ways that I keep my creative space organized without spending too much money.

for embroidery floss I used to use a small plastic container which very quickly turned into this..

so I bought some clothes-pins and it's no longer a tangled frustrating mess..  I don't really do embroidery patterns.. so have not use to keep the floss color codes.. but you could easily use a marker to write the color codes on each clothes-pin

I sew in our guest room, so I like to keep my notions hidden in a small closet.  I saw this idea in a magazine a couple years ago.. but have misplaced it.. so I can't tell you which one.. but it's an easy enough to describe.

I went to a local hardware store and had a peg-board cut to the size I wanted it.. then purchased wooden wall molding to make a frame. I was lucky enough to have the sales guys at the hardware store cut the molding for me.. at home depot and lowes.. my experience has been that if you ask them to help you with cutting wood.. they are happy to help (I think it also helped that I had my hands full with cyra at the time). Then purchase a couple packs of hooks and hangers for the peg board.. this probably cost me 30$ plus I was able to hang my thread racks with some of the hooks.

I hung this on the inside of the door.. so when I'm done with sewing.. everything gets tucked away from little wondering hands that may want to explore.