Creating a Command Center

Back in August 2012 I got a wild hair and decided that I desperately needed to redo the closet in the living room. As you can see in the picture it was a disaster. 

 It was stuffed with movies, office stuff, kids stuff, wrapping paper and gift bags. There was even a bar to hang coats, yet there just wasn't the room to do it. 

I came up with the idea to make it a command center. My oldest was going to start school the following year so I needed a place to hang backpacks and sweaters and I needed a place to hide the paperwork and bills when people came over.

 The process began with gutting the closet. We took out the shelves and the bar. We smooth walled all the walls then I painted it white. I took an IKEA Billy bookcase I had and put it in the back of the closet. We repurposed the coat hanging bar and the shelves that were in the old closet. We cut them to size and attached them to the wall and the bookcase. I organized the wrapping paper, gift bags and ribbons and stored them on the top shelf.

In the bookcase I keep lunch bags on the top shelf. Notebooks, pencils and stickers on the next shelf and the rest hold office supplies.

Here is the finished project.

 The empty shelf now holds my printer and the other shelf holds the kids games so they can reach them.

 I use the door of the Billy Bookcase as a giant white board. I keep reminders, messages, lists and notes to the family on it then wipe it off when done.

I spray painted a cork board black and added embellishments to make it pretty, then added some headers to keep track of bills to pay, appointments, and extra things like receipts that need to be posted or invitations to parties. I keep papers to file in the paper holder next to it and once a week I file them away. I also keep a small trash can in here for junk mail and things to shred.

There is also a double coat hook for each family member. They can keep their back packs and sweaters there, no mess on the floor.

It is great to have a command center where everything is kept organized.

Next week I will take you on a tour of the kitchen command center. It is very basic and very helpful for an "at a glance" organization.

Do yo have a command center or a special way you organized your families things, I would love to here from you. Leave me a comment with your link and I will check it out!

I might add a special post with the most unique or uber organized space!

Have a wonderful day.

Two People Fell in Love Painting and Tutorial

I really fell in love with a painting I saw online of each family members hand print in descending order layered on each other with the saying "All because 2 people fell in love".

I love painting and drawing so I thought I would give it a try. I already had the canvas in the garage from a few years ago, I pulled it out dusted it off and got to work.

I used a gray Rustoleum spray paint I had left over from a project I did over the summer. I sprayed the entire thing gray, it took 2 coats.

After that dried I jumped on the computer and created a basic word doc in the font and size I needed. I am a font junkie so I had many to choose from. The font I picked was Amperzand and is free (awesome!!!) you can get it here.

I then printed it off  and cut it up. I played with the spacing and style. When I was happy with the look I got 2 things you most likely have laying around the house: a ball point pen and pastels. You might be able to use chalk (I haven't tried) but I personally like pastels since they don't smudge.

 Once you color the back of the paper with the pastel, I chose peach because the background was darker and I can barely see, so I thought a darker pastel would be hard for me to see when painting.

After the back is colored and working with one word at a time, take the ball point pen and begin to trace around the letters ( see pic below for reference).

This is how it should look so far.

The next part is really difficult if you have little ones that love to paint and craft too. They always want to help! I waited for them to go to bed the broke out the enamel paints and model brushes and got to painting. It took me about a half hour to complete the lettering.

I think it turned out rather well.

Now all I have to do is get everyone to get there hands dirty and layer our prints (before the kids are all grown up).

When it is totally complete I will add a new picture and update you!

Right now though I have it hanging in the foyer of the house, it doesn't look half bad.

Have a great weekend!

Heather

No Internet

I am putting myself to a test.
I am giving myself a break from the internet for 1 week. I will check email once a day, and post any new products on Etsy, but other than that I am staying away.

I have been clouded by all the things I am obsessing. I need to get back on track and find myself. Come up with my own ideas and be creative in my own way...not like everyone else.

I might actually get some things done around here for a change.

This thing still needs to be painted. Maybe that will be #1 on my list, we shall see.

Making Extra Money While Staying at Home

Right now I am sitting in bed watching the sun come up through the window. These quiet moments are few and far between. Soon the kids will be awake and I will be throwing laundry in the machine, making breakfast, and getting ready to work in the garden. I am fortunate to be able to stay home and raise my kids and play around with some of my hobbies. I am hoping to make a bit of extra cash so Scott could take a day or two off without it hurting our budget. My favorite idea so far is the micro farm produce stand. I really enjoy getting my hands dirty and growing something from seed. I enjoy feeding people and talking about the food I grow. The kids love being outside playing in the dirt, helping plant the seeds, learning about bugs and how things grow.

If all goes well, this will be my favorite job, aside from being a mom, that I ever had.

While this one is not a "money maker" unless you have time to market and advertise, I find making soap to be just as fun as gardening. I do have a few customers that come back time after time, which is nice. I like to know that I am providing all natural, good for your skin soap. And it also makes wonderful gifts, I call this one more of a hobby than a true money maker.

Lastly, I love sewing. I make a lot of the home decor things like throw pillows, pillow cases, seat covers and the likes. I have just started making pillowcase dresses. I know everyone and there mother makes them too, but if I find a few of the non sewers that are not Etsy customers then I will have some customers. Now if I make a few different sizes and sell them at the roadside market then I will probably make a bit more cash.

Turning a hobby into a money maker is not as easy as everyone makes it out to be. If you get a few loyal customers and make great products, eventually you be known by word of mouth and break even on your endeavors. If you have the time and money to market you could probably start making money, but in the mean time I am still considering them my hobbies and enjoying what I do.

Re-purposing Receiving Blankets

I have saved all those receiving blankets for three years now. It was time to put them to good use. I was thinking of making a quilt for Allison as a keepsake of her baby years then I realized she probably wouldn't want that kind of thing. No one I know wants any of their old baby things, school stuff or really anything that reminds them of those dreaded years of awkwardly becoming the person they are today.
Anyway, I don't have any extra cash and I am redecorating the master room so I decided to sew pillow cases!! I had three pink gingham blankets, two matching flowery ones and a solid pink one. I mixed and matched making 2 with gingham on one side and flowery print on the other and another that is pink gingham and solid pink. I can never really decided how I want the bedding to look so it is nice to have a few different options. Just flip the pillow over for a new look...love it!
Here is a picture I just took with the soft light of the antique desk lamp on. The picture is crap but like I said I'm broke so no new camera for me, yet. At least you get the idea.

Oh, and the pillow in the center of is cased in a crib sheet that I have yet to sew but that will be my next project. In the meantime I will just wrap it in the cut up fabric since it is just for decoration.

I will post a better picture in the daylight and better detailing tomorrow.

Great Finds Saturday

Scott & I went yard sale shopping today. I love, love, love it. Since we rearranged our room, I decided that I am taking on a new decorating approach that never occurred to me. Prairie Chic/ Farmhouse Chic.
I always thought that I was going to decorate for the era our house was built - mid century modern - and I like that style but, it just didn't really have that homey feel. It probably would have been more appropriate in our 20's. but we are a family now and cocktail parties and clean furniture and a spot free home are not in the near future.

Anyway, I have been loving on the idea of the farmhouse style. We love nature, being outside, gardening, being self sufficient, the idea of owning chickens...so why not create a home that reflects the things we love.

I had really great luck at finding a few treasures to help with the decor.


Handmade quilts and afghans that someone took the time to craft are a passion of mine. They don't even have to be vintage, just crafted by someone so it has a story behind it. These quilted pillows were purchased at an antique shop in Paradise and were handcrafted by an old women who lived in that town (at least that is what the seller told me so it's gotta be true...right?).I only paid $1.00 each so I win win for me
I also found these bottles which are going to sit on a shelf I am making from this...a 100 year old window pulled from an historic home downtown (my husband is a glazier, that's how I get all my old windows and doors). The bottles will hold wild flowers.

I also found some crocheted heart pillows that I am going to tea stain to give them an aged look and some really wonderful yellow paint from the Restore (Habitat for Humanity)to paint an armoire I found on craigslist. I am on my way to having a farmhouse chic bedroom...once we paint over those damned Deep Aubergine walls... for around $100. Not too bad.