Cute Closet

My friend April recently created an adorable and
functional closet for her new baby Henry.
I just had to share the details.

She took the door off of an extra closet and
filled in the holes where the hinges were with spackling.
Then painted the closet and frame white.
Luckily the shelves were already there, but they are EASY
to put in yourself.
They have kits at Lowes.
Next she bought 15 canvas storage bins at Target
for 6 bucks each.

To make the tags for each bin, April purchased left over
matting from Hobby Lobby.
It was already pre-cut for her!
She found coordinating scrapbook paper and made the
backing for each.
Then she took left over nursery linens and cut out the
animals.  Next she put iron on "sicky backing" on the
cut outs and hot glued the animals to the matting.
Then labeled with things like "onsies"
She is so smart she even attached the labels to the bins
with velcro so she can reuse them and just re-label
as Henry grows.
I think this would also be a great way to organize your
coat closet (think bins labeled with hats, gloves, scarves)
or even your craft closet using labels like scrapbook paper,
ribbons, giftwrap, candles, etc.

Pretty as a picture...and organized too!

Check out this adorable jewelry organizer idea from Sandra Lee's new magazine. www.semihomemademag.com
An old frame, some mesh screening and you are on your way to getting your jewels organized and creating a cute display for your wall as well!

Materials
Frame
Aluminum mesh screening
2 D-rings
Teacup hooks
Staple gun

Directions
1. Brush off dust, and wipe clean.
2. Lay frame on top of mesh, and trace the inside of the frame using a black Sharpie®.
3. Cut the mesh 1 inch larger than the frame outline.
4. Fold edges back one side at a time, and attach mesh to the back of the frame using staple gun.
Note: Check the thickness of your frame before stapling. We used 1/4-inch staples.
5. Attach two D-rings in the top corners for hanging.
6. Attach teacup hooks as desired on the front of the frame to hold necklaces and bracelets.

Express Yourself

I found a great website today that offers all kinds of customizable stamps and stationery items. Check out www.expressionery.com
Stampable tags-perfect for tagging a bottle of wine as a housewarming gift or a bottle of your custom flavored olive oil.
Book plate labels-Never again will a book you loaned out not be returned to you!

Custom Stampers-Declare yourself a baking diva with a custom kitchen stamp and gift tag.


I can't wait to place an order....and in honor of Memorial Day they are offering 40% off sitewide. Happy shopping everyone!

Photo Op

Sticking with a photo theme this week, we recently framed and uniquely hung some floral pics from our trip to Costa Rica a few years back. The frames are suspended by different lengths of jute twine from a straight line of nails near the ceiling. This allows an almost 3-D like collage to be created, with some frames overlapping others. It takes some time and patience to get the balance just right though. I recommend laying the frames out on the floor first and then taking a photo to remember just how you had them once you start putting them on the wall. This will keep you from arguing with your partner on this little project! Would also be nice done in sepia or black and white. I stuck with the color on these, since the flowers were so vibrant.

Father's Day Gift Ideas

A couple of adorable Father's Day gift ideas from www.planetjill.com Lots of good stuff, all incorporating your favorite snapshots into personalized items.
Cufflinks and paperweight shown here. Show Dad who loves him most!

Quick Cover Up

There's no reason to hide your mismatched stemware in the back of the cabinet anymore! With just a few flips of the glass, designer Annie Selke—owner of home furnishings company Pine Cone Hill (pineconehill.com)—created a modern candle-and-flower arrangement for Everyday with Rachael Ray. Her idea: Place your goblets upside down on a table, tuck large blooms underneath and top with colorful votives. It may only take a few seconds to pull together, but the elegant impact will last all night. How perfect is this centerpiece idea, now that your garden roses and peonies are in bloom?!? Set your table for an elegant (and easy!) Memorial Day party.

Memorial Day Fun

Just came across a couple fun items that would be great for the official start of summer next weekend!

First, what Memorial Day party is complete with out Ice Shot Glass Molds from Bed Bath & Beyond. You'll be pouring the coolest shots when you create ice shot glasses with this mold set. Simply fill the mold with water--or your favorite beverage if you want to add a little flavor to the mix--and pop them in the freezer until they solidify into glasses. Serving tray included. Includes 12 molds. Only $9.99. Start making them next week and re-freezing so you will have enough stockpiled in time for your BBQ.

For those of you lucky enough to be spending Memorial Day around some sort of water, pick up the Ultimate Chaise Lounge Cover, also from BB&B for $29.99. This chaise lounge cover attaches to lounge chair easily with ties, and the six pockets in total on both sides keep your things in easy reach. There's even a MP3 pocket and head phone loops. The hidden zipper pocket at the bottom can be turned inside out and used as a foot protector. Cover transforms easily into a convenient tote bag. This would also be fantastic to take along to one of those resorts with lots of lounge chairs around the pool. You would never have to worry about losing your chair again after a few too many shots....

Spring Bridal Shower

Last weekend my mom and I teamed up and hosted a bridal shower brunch for our good friends, Jon & Alisha. We lucked out and had gorgeous weather to accompany tasty food, and good friends.

To coordinate with the wedding colors, we chose a bright pink and light green theme.
The towel cake centerpiece pulled double duty and was also our gift to the special couple. Created using chocolate brown towels, it definitely looked good enough to eat! (Visit www.yourweddingcompany.com for project instructions.) We served simple brunch foods, including mini muffins, ham and cheese rollups, creme puffs, yogurt and granola parfaits, hashbrown potato casserole, mini quiche, fruit salad, meatballs and of course Bloody Marys and Mimosas!

My mom, creative genius that she is, came up with an adorable "chandelier" for the gift table. An inverted umbrella filled with colored tissue paper added a splash of color and floated delicately over the shower gifts.

Favor boxes were in the shape of a wedding dress, filled with pink and green Hershey's kisses and tied with ribbons. These favor boxes are a real steal at 10 for $1 at Dollar Tree. A fun shower game, that your guests don't have to become too involved in is Ring-A-Ding-Ding. Set a kitchen timer as the bride-to-be is opening gifts. When the timer goes off, the gift giver of the package she is opening at that time gets a small gift as well! This can be repeated multiple times, and the bride usually gets all the little gifts!

And last, but not least a shot of the happy couple modeling their hand sewn MU aprons! (Fantastic job, Sandy W!) We wish you many, many years of wedded bliss! Can't wait til the big day!

Motherly Love

Just a few quick ideas for your Mother's day table.

Nest a smaller vase inside a larger one, arranging flowers in the inner vase. Between the two vases, insert snapshots of things your mama loves, including pics of the two of you! Glue images to a solid sheet of paper and clip to outer vase with colorful clothes pins.

To print a menu on a cloth napkin, type the menu on your computer in a Word document as you would a printable invitation. Print out the menu using white iron-on transfer paper (easily found at any Staples or Office Max). Iron onto your selected napkin. The transfer will work best on 100 percent cotton fabric. Both ideas courtesy of www.countryliving.com
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!