Category Archives: Organizing

Organizing Art Work

27 Friday Apr 2012

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Two of my favorite ways to organize kids’ artwork come from the hardware store.  Clothespins are perfect for hanging things from Metro Shelves.  If you don’t have shelves you can stretch heavy twine between eye hooks and hang from there.  Painter’s tape makes easily removable frames for rotating pictures.  Both of these methods work well with bulky collage pieces.  If you still love a piece after it has spent time on the walls it can be moved to a large folder such as this by Alex Toys.  There is nothing like time staring at a piece on the wall to help with the editing!

Toy Storing

25 Wednesday Apr 2012

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In a burst  of spring cleaning we are opening windows, airing out winter quilts and organizing a stoop sale for the weekend.  I love getting rid of stuff we don’t need and passing it to someone else who does.  Very satisfying.  This storage cart from Steele Canvas is my favorite toy organizer for the things we can’t part with.  It is perfect for kids to throw toys into and easily moves when you want to rearrange a room.  I love Steel Canvas’s minimal industrial look and the uses are endless: laundry, firewood, pet food, yarn and craft storage…Their products are made for the commercial industry so they can survive your children.

Seedling Flip Book

20 Friday Apr 2012

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We just did our yearly planting of Morning Gloria seeds in our window.  (Ada’s name for them from when she was two).  Planting the saved seeds reminded me that we’d taken photos of the growth last year in order to make this flip book project.  You will need:

*Growing Plants (We started the photos with newly planted seeds)

*Camera

*Card Stock

*Double-stick Tape

*Scissors

*Hole Punch

*Ribbon or Yarn

1. Take a daily photo of the plants.  Be sure to stand in exactly the same spot and try for the same time each day.  (You may want to mark the spot with painter’s tape).

2. Print all photos once growth is complete.  It is important that the images be the same size.  (We used a regular printer to make our 2″x4″ photos).

3. Cut card stock to fit around photos, leaving a 1/8″ boarder on three sides and 1/4″ on the left for binding.  Make one extra for the cover.

4. Mark two spots for holes to be punched in one piece of the card stock.  Holes should be about 1/4″ in from the left side in order to put the ribbon through.

5. Punch holes in one piece of card stock and use this as a stencil to mark the others.  It is important that all holes are in the same place.

6. Put double stick tape on the back of a photo and line it up on the card stock.  Stick down, and repeat.

7. Stack photos in order of growth and thread ribbon through holes.

8. Hold book in left hand and flip to watch the garden grow!

Planted Can

16 Monday Apr 2012

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I like buying groceries with beautiful packages.  It makes me happy see bright little compositions behind the cabinet doors.  In honor of Earth Day this weekend, we reused these colorful tomato cans as geranium pots.  The graphic labels are printed on and will withstand drips from a watering can.  You will need:

*Recycled Can

*Can Opener

*Geranium, or other small plant

*Potting Soil

*Small Stones or Broken Clay Pot Shards

1. Wash and dry can.

2. Turn can over and punch a series of slits on the bottom to allow for drainage.  Our holes are about half an inch long.

3. Put one inch of stones inside can.

4. Put in plant and fill in any space with potting soil.  Soil line should be half an inch from the top of can so that it will not spill out when watered.

5. Place a tray or dish underneath when watering.

*These would make sweet Earth Day or Mother’s Day gifts.

Baby Food Cap Beads

12 Thursday Apr 2012

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I always feel conflicted about buying baby food in pouches instead of glass jars.  The pouches are amazingly convenient and organic and kids can feed themselves…but the packaging is not recyclable.  (I don’t understand why someone hasn’t come up with responsible packaging amidst all of that amazing design).  I realized that the colorful caps would make great beads and keep some plastic out of the trash.  Ada made this for Josie yesterday and it is her new favorite toy.  The colors are bright, it makes noise and it is super fun to take on and off over your head if you are a toddler.  You will need:

*Baby Food Pouch Caps

*Leather Cord or Cotton Shoelace (Nylon will snag on the caps)

1. Wash caps.

2. String caps onto cord through holes.

3. Tie at the ends.

4. Show off to your friends (or your sister).

*The pouches would also make great little ice packs for the summer: Rinse thoroughly, fill 2/3 of the way with water, twist on cap and freeze.*

Write

29 Thursday Mar 2012

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Years ago a dear friend gave me a book called The Artist’s Way.  The book required the reader to fill three pages a day with writing, whether or not there was anything to say.  I don’t remember other things about the book, but I still try to keep up with the three pages.  There is something amazing that happens when you ask your brain to match the speed of your hand.  The cursive becomes sort of hypnotizing after a while and the three pages quickly add up to full books.  It seems much easier to move forward once thoughts are organized on paper.  There is nothing I like better than waking up early when the house is quiet and sitting down with a good pen and an empty page.

Storing

27 Tuesday Mar 2012

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This is a project I have wanted to get done for a long time.  Josie is now wearing a lot of Ada’s old clothes and finding the right size before she outgrows them was becoming a challenge.  So we went to Ikea and found these bins.  Their clear sides and tops make it easy to find a specific item.  Clothes are labeled by size and stacked on Metro Shelves.  We got all of our shelves cheap on Craigslist.  It is freezing here this morning, but finding Ada’s hat was easy.

Enamel Bowl

23 Friday Mar 2012

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Washing fabric for a new project.  I love this enamel bowl.  I got two of them for $9 at an antique shop in Maine.  There are some similar ones here.  I use it is for hand washing delicate clothes and it was Ada’s favorite place to sit when she was a baby.  Simple, functional, beautiful.  Kind of perfect.

Up!

14 Wednesday Mar 2012

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I was dreading this.  Josie decided to take some steps in the park yesterday and suddenly she can climb the stairs.  I guess it is time for some baby gates at our house.

Invitation

02 Friday Mar 2012

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Josephine is almost one already!  I am not sure how the year passed so quickly, so we are celebrating for more than one day.  I’ll share some of the birthday ideas in more posts.  Here is the invitation:

We used photo corners to attach her picture and a custom stamp for the inside.  The stamp shipping is cheap if you buy a few, so we have a stockpile for upcoming birthday years.  The square envelopes are from here.

Happy Birthday Josie-bean!