The Scrappy Housewife

How to Clean Your Microwave (And Proof I'm Losing My Mind)

2012-02-28T14:36:00.001-05:00

Today's post is completely unplanned. I had decided I was going to share a review of a tip I found on Pinterest, but then the following happened:

I spent the morning tidying up and felt like eating so I decided to pop some soup in the microwave where, upon opening the door, I found this:

A perfectly nice bowl of lemon water and lemon halves from uh...yesterday?

You see yesterday I decided I needed to clean the microwave so I used my tried and true method (see below) to easily clean it up. I was feeling quite pleased with myself as I put the bowl of lemon and lemon water in and hit the 5:00 button...and then promptly forgot about it for 24 HOURS.

Yes that's right ladies, I may pick on hubby for his ahem...affinity for seeing the world differently a la Maggot Baskets, but then I go and do this. We're the perfect couple I tell ya! ;)

Remind me to tell you the story of how I used to think cow udders were hot dogs sometime OK? (I'm so smart I'm dumb...my family shakes it's collective head at me often.)

Anyway, in case you want to clean your microwave tomorrow (see what I did there?) -

To clean your microwave easily, slice a lemon in half and squeeze some of the juice into a large microwave safe (but NOT plastic!) bowl full of water. Throw in the lemon halves and nuke for 5 minutes. When done, let it sit a minute or two and then remove bowl carefully and wipe the mess out with a (edit: damp) microfiber cloth. Comes clean like a charm!

Just don't leave it sit for a day like I did. ;)

Saturday Scraps #3 - DIY Smash Tabs

2012-02-25T08:41:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all! I was surprised at the amount of feedback I got on my little Smash Book Pocket tutorial (you can see that post HERE) so I thought I'd do another fun, quick Smash Book accessory for you. This time we're talking tabs.

Here's what you'll need:

Scrap paper/cardstock from your stash
A corner punch of your choice
Tape runner or glue
Paper cutter

And here's what you'll do:

First, cut your cardstock down to 2 inches by 2 inches

It'll look like this:

Then fold your square in half like this:

Punch the folded corners:

Add some tape or glue to your fold (optional) and each end of the tab:

Pick a spot and add your tab! You just press it down around the edge of your page:

My tab is just nestled in there and not taped down yet. I want to make sure I pick just the right spot. That's my biggest problem with using the Smash Book...just letting things flow! I'm ~~somewhat~~ a total perfectionist!

Anywho, I hope you'll try it! Happy Saturday!

This post is keepin' tabs on the following link parties:

What's a Maggot Basket?

2012-02-23T01:26:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, The Hubs and I were walking through Target and saw this:

I didn't pay much attention to it, though I remember thinking, "Oh, that's an interesting basket."

Hubby however...

Him: "Who would buy that?"

Me: "The basket? Uh, I dunno, why?"

Him: "It's gross. It looks like a bunch of maggots."

Me: "..."

Yes folks, according to Adam it's a maggot basket. I'll admit, it's not my style, though I don't think I'd have been so uh, colorful(?). It's not that bad. It's...exotic. Ecclectic. Anything but "wormy".

So, so sorry Target. Forgive him ok? For me? I still love you.

Laundry Care Flip Chart

2012-02-21T15:55:00.005-05:00

Um, hey y'all...can one of you tell me where last week went? Yeah...sorry about that unplanned break. I'll be sharing with you the things we've been working on over here soon, but for now I wanted to share a quick and easy (and helpful! Dare I say hubby proof?) little project that will make laundry time go a little more smoothly.

I took some time last week to create a laundry care and instructions flip chart to hang in our laundry closet. If you're the primary laundry-doer (clearly, not a word...ah right, laundress...got it) in your household you may have seen all those funny little symbols on the tags of your clothing and towels. I swear to you that clothing manufacturers are going away from using words on tags. It's infuriating to me. I can't keep all of those little symbols straight! It's a little nuts. So here's what I did.

You'll need the following:

- Plastic page protectors

- PDF of laundry care symbols (link below)

- Cardstock

- Ribbon

- Stapler

- Small scissors

- Tape runner or glue

First, I went HERE and downloaded the PDF of all the laundry care symbols I might find on my clothing.

Then I grabbed some page protectors and cut off the white, reinforced, hole-punched part. Sorry for the picture, that's as close as hubby could get that would work. Gently clip between the white part and the seal on the page protector.

Slide in your pages.

Measure and cut some cardstock to cover the open portion of the page protector. (I measured the width of the page protector and then made sure I had enough to fold over. My strips were 8.75" x 1.5".) Then, I folded the cardstock in half (about 3/4ths of an inch on each side of the fold) and stapled it to the top of my page protectors.

To make it a little more decorative, I covered the staples with some ribbon.

Surf? Tide? See what I did there? I'm so clever. ;)

Here's the finished flip chart. It's three page protectors worth of laundry symbols.

It was so easy, I made a second one for laundry instructions. Hubby really wants to help out with laundry (how lucky am I?), but um, his idea of laundry is throw it all in. All. Colors, whites, delicates...he's sure it'll be fine. ;) And to be fair, I'm a control freak about laundry so this way, I can provide instructions on how I do it without nagging.

Here's the instructions one:

See? Easy! :)

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you'll drop in and leave a comment or two.

This post is airing it's dirty laundry at the following link parties:

Social Media Blog Hop Monday

2012-02-12T18:58:00.001-05:00

I'm participating in the Social Media Mondays blog hop. It's a great opportunity to spread the word about your blog's social media sites! Just click the button below:

It really does work!

And in case you haven't already - you can follow me in these places as well:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Click the links on the sidebar to get started! :)

Saturday Scraps #2 - DIY Smash Book Pockets

2012-02-11T14:10:00.016-05:00

If you follow me on Facebook at all, you know that my Smash book is my latest obsession. However, I learned quickly that if I wasn't careful, I'd go broke buying all the cool accessories they make for it. So I decided to come up with a way to create some Smash pockets with the scrapping supplies I already have (and there is a lot).

What You'll Need:
Small Scissors
Ruler
Cardstock of your choice
Scoring Board (optional really, but very handy)
Glue or tape runner

Here's How:

1. Measure your Smash Book. The good part about this is that, once you measure you won't need to remeasure if you want to make more.

2. Decide what size you want your pocket. I chose 6" x 5" (will be 5.5" x 4.5"), but the beauty of this is, once you know how to make the pocket, you can really do any size you want!

3. Choose and Cut your cardstock.

4. Score on all sides at the half inch mark using your scoring board.

5. Using small scissors, clip out the square at each corner.

It'll look like this:

6. Fold in and glue down one flap. This will be your pocket lip.

7. Fold in sides and glue or tape down.

8. Fold up the bottom flap and only tack down the corners. This is so your pocket has a secure bottom.

9. To secure into your Smash Book, add glue or tape runner to the sides and bottom of your pocket but not the pocket edge you created first.

Flip over and press down.

And there you have it! Your own DIY Smash Pocket. :)

Scrappy Saturday! (see what I did there? ;) )

This post is having a SMASHing time at these link parties:

House of Hepworths - See Sidebar

Blogger Meet Up Recap

2012-02-10T02:15:00.001-05:00

I meant to post this earlier in the week but the Head Cold of DEATH (tm) had/has it's grip on me and I have felt more like sleeping and slurping soup than writing anything. Sorry.

Anywho, now that I seem to be somewhat on the mend I wanted to share how I spent last Saturday afternoon with a bunch of awesome blogger ladies, small business owners and blog readers.

First of all, can I just tell you how wonderful it is to know that you're not alone in navigating blog craziness? Don't ever let anyone tell you blogging is easy kids. It isn't. Incredibly rewarding? Yes. Quick and easy? No. So it's nice when you get to sit down with a bunch of bloggers and commiserate. It goes something like this:

"Oh you blog at 3 AM too?"

"You aren't on Twitter yet? You totally have to get on Twitter!" (So I did...check out @scrappyhsewife)

"Pass the Kale chips!"

Here are the ladies:

I'm in the yellow sweater on the right. I blame the Robitussin for looking so scrunchy. Yeah, that's it, it was the Robitussin...

From left to right we have: Sarah, Lauren, Steffanie, Rachel, Michelle, Kimberly and Me! Down front is Jane. Not pictured: Toya (sorry Toya!)

I gotta tell ya, every time I read other bloggers accounts of their trips to blogger meet ups and blog conferences, I feel a little pang of sadness because I don't get to go! So when Jane (from The Borrowed Abode) approached me about getting together I was thrilled.

We met at her favorite local coffee spot in Virginia and she doesn't lie about how awesome the coffee is. Caffe Amouri is fantastic! And they were very accommodating to our large group. We laughed and talked for hours!

I would love it if you popped over to their respective corners of the bloggosphere and got to know them too:

We all know Jane from The Borrowed Abode right? If you don't, you're missing out! She primarily blogs about decorating rental spaces (and has saved my apartment from the blahs a time or two) and shares her passion for buying locally and ethically as well as her love of sewing. You can find her here:

Blog: The Borrowed Abode
Her Etsy Shop: Janery

Sarah, is incredibly funny, and is an inspiration to anyone who wants to be fit. I don't lie. I am jealous of her dedication to fitness. Maybe some of that will rub off. ;) You can find her here:

Blog: Sunny Side Up (That title fits her personality perfectly!)

Lauren is perhaps the busiest blogger I've ever met. She works a job job, she's getting married, she's going back to school and she blogs. That's talent right there! She's also incredibly nice. And she'll tell you she has some social anxiety - but you'd never know it.

Blog: Laurenchanting

Steffanie is an amazing business blogger who makes and sells her own line of eco-friendly laundry detergent and soap. (A little birdy also mentioned she might have some alternatives to fabric softener soon!) How cool is that?

Website/blog: Old Town Suds
Etsy shop: Old Town Suds

Rachel is an amazing artist and blogger. She was brave enough to step out and follow her dream of being an artist. I totally respect that and after taking a look at her work (and getting lost in there for like 15 minutes oohing and ahhing) I think it was a wise decision.

Blog: Funnelcloud
Etsy Shop: Funnelcloud Studio

Kimberly can crochet like no one's business. I'm jealous. Really. She's also a busy mom and prolific Twitter user. (20,000 tweets and counting!) In her free time, she blogs too! I'm in awe.

Blog: Maher Family Grows

Michelle is a new blogger (go on, pass on some blog love and follow her already!) documenting the journey of owning her first home. She's also a girl after my own heart - a little quirky, a lot funny, and uber-geek. And she likes it that way! Check her out!

Blog: Two Streets Over

And last, but by no means least Toya. Toya runs New Family Naturals, a line of healthy (and really quite tasty!) snacks. You can find them at Caffe Amouri as well as several other Virginia, West Virginia and Massachusetts shops and of course online. She is a delight to hang out with and I was bummed she had to leave early.

You can check out her blog and shop here: New Family Naturals

I had a blast meeting these ladies. We swapped stories, cracked jokes and talked the business of blogging and what we wanted to achieve. I left feeling like part of a wonderful group of local bloggers. I hope we can do it again soon!

Jane had a great idea. She challenged her readers to organize their own blogger/blog reader meet up where they are and I think that's a fabulous idea! Let me know if you do!

Frank Lloyd Wright Frame

2012-02-07T11:58:00.000-05:00

This year I want to share more of who we are with you. I'm pretty sure that up until the end of 2011, most of you didn't know my name was Christina. Clearly I wasn't too good about sharing. But that's going to change. :) Let's get to know one another shall we?

This is just a quick project I put together for The Hubs (aka Adam). It only took about 10 minutes, but it was one of those silly little things I'd been putting off. And by "putting off" I mean that I had originally planned on making it and giving it to him for Christmas. Awesome. Anyway, it's done now right?

Hubby is trained as an architect and one of his favorites is Frank Lloyd Wright. About a million years ago, when he and I had just started our ~~long and winding road~~ relationship, I snagged these vintage stamps from my parent's house as they were cleaning and throwing stuff away. I saved them for the 12 or so years since we met and finally threw it all together.

It's not expensive - I had the little wooden frame and just used some scrapbook paper and cardstock to make a little faux mat. The only thing I bought was the stand the frame sits on and I think it cost me two bucks.

It's just a little sentimental thing he can keep on his desk at work or here at home.

Guest Posting Today!

2012-02-06T13:14:00.000-05:00

Hey guys!

I am one sick puppy today, but I had the pleasure last week of writing up a guest post for my good friend Carrie over at Bakeaholic Mama.

You can check it out HERE.

While you're there, check out some of her awesome recipes!

Some Saturday Fun!

2012-02-04T02:20:00.001-05:00

Today marks a milestone in The Scrappy Housewife blog's history...I get to participate in an awesome blogger meet up this afternoon with Jane @ The Borrowed Abode and some other bloggy friends. So exciting! Don't worry, I'm taking a camera and will post all about it next week. I just know you're dying to see what happens when a bunch of bloggin' ladies get together. ;)

So, in order to keep it fun around here today (and since I posted my Saturday Scraps yesterday to share that awesome Michael's deal with you...) I thought I'd do something kinda different, courtesy Kelly over at Simply Kelly.

She tagged me in a fun little questionnaire and I couldn't resist playing along! Here goes:

The Rules:
1. Post the rules
2. Post 11 fun facts about yourself
3. Answer the questions the tagger gave you in their post & then create 11 new questions for the people you tag.
4. Tag 11 people and link them in your post
5. Let them know you've "tagged" them

11 Fun or Random Facts About Me

1. I grew up in Florida, but moved north to be with my hubby. He was worth it. ;)

2. I can cry out of my ear - really. I have an extra tear duct in my left ear. When I cry, it cries. I'm a mutant. ;)

3. I took hula and Polynesian dance lessons as a child and as a result can do a mean Hula dance, even to this day.

4. I love vintage everything - to the extent that I feel like I was probably born in the wrong time period. I'd dress like Betty Draper and Joan Holloway every day if I could afford it.

5. I am a rabid fan of the following shows on TV: Mad Men, Pan Am, Revenge, Downton Abbey, Ghost Hunters, Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, and 30 Rock.

6. I collect cookbooks. They're kind of taking over. Hubby likes them too.

7. Hubby and I met online long before it was "cool". So long before it was cool that my family still thinks it's weird - and some of them don't speak to me because I "married that guy from the internet". (Nevermind the fact that I dated said guy on and off for uh, ten years - including a year and a half of chatting before I'd even agree to meet him in "real life".)

8. I absolutely adore Scooby Doo cartoons, old and new. Hubby thinks it's funny until I point to our growing collection of Disney movies that are all his.

9. My biggest guilty pleasure is magazines. Like, it's a problem. I have way too many and need to purge badly! (Don't worry, I'm not a hoarder.)

10. I collect blue Ball jars. My most prized one (yes really) came from my husband's aunt. It was her mother's and it still has the vintage seal around the top. When I asked her why they stopped making them with the zinc top, she replied, "Um, World War 2 ended?" and laughed. I love her!

11. I'm a night owl. Like severely. It's now 2:11 AM as I write this. Told ya.

Questions From Kelly For Me To Answer

1. Where is the coolest place you have traveled?

Probably Germany when I was a little girl. I don't remember a lot about the trip, but I do remember seeing swans for the first time, and the fun candy! And I definitely remember how spotless everything was. Seriously, there wasn't litter or dirt anywhere.

2. What is your favorite book?

This changes all the time. I'm an avid reader. Some of my favorite authors though are James Patterson, Charlaine Harris and Agatha Christie (I am a huge Poirot fan!). Come to think of it, all of those people are mystery writers...I sense a trend. ;)

3. What are you most thankful for in your life?

My husband. We spent 10 years going back and forth on dating and being together, but I waited him out and he finally came around. ;) Seriously though, he is the most patient man I have ever met and he only wants me to be happy. He never asks me to be something I'm not (which, if you knew how nutty I am sometimes you'd nominate him for saint) and he does an impeccable job of taking care of me.

4. What is the best concert you've been to?

Harry Connick, Jr. by far. He is so personable. I've seen him in a huge setting and a smaller venue and each time he talks to the audience and interacts with people. It's awesome.

5. What is your favorite Superbowl party recipe?

7 layer Mexican dip. I could eat it by the pan. Seriously.

6. Why did you start blogging?

My friend Eva @ Tales of the Scotts saw some pictures I took on Facebook of a project I made and asked me to guest post for her blog's anniversary in 2010. I said yes and turned in a tutorial. On the day of the post, I wanted to comment, but couldn't figure out how and somehow accidentally created this blog! Which is partly why the URL for my blog reads "accidentalhousewife10" - but there's already an accidental housewife blog out there so I changed it to The Scrappy Housewife because I love to scrapbook (when I make time for it). I just can't seem to change the URL.

7. Did you have any resolutions for 2012?

So many! You can see my post for my goals for 2012 here.

8. Who is your favorite author?

Some of my modern favorites are up above there, but I also love classics like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Harper Lee and Kurt Vonnegut. And Hemingway. I LOVE Hemingway.

9. If you could switch careers and have your dream job, what would it be?

I had my dream job. I was a teacher for 5 years. I miss it sometimes, but not the headaches it caused. Now I'm learning to create my dream job. I'd really, really love to become a professional blogger and get paid for it. I'm working toward that now.

10. Whats the best movie you've seen lately?

Huh, honestly I don't watch that many movies. And I hate paying movie theatre prices. Some of my favorite movies though are Clue, Anchor Man, Gone with the Wind and Funny Girl. (Weird mix right?) Right now, I'm really enjoying Downton Abbey on PBS. It's not a movie though - more of a mini-series.

11. Charlie Sheen or Kim Kardashian?

Oh god, neither? I can't stand that we even give these people the time of day, much less our money. I feel sad for Charlie Sheen - addiction is a horrible thing.

This, however, sums up my feelings about Kim Kardashian and all of her clan:

Questions for those that I tag
1. What do you do when you aren't blogging?
2. What's your biggest guilty pleasure?
3. If money was no concern, where would you like to live and why?
4. What cause is nearest and dearest to your heart?
5. What's your favorite way to relax?
6. "Live" TV or Netflix/DVR?
7. What book is currently sitting on your nightstand?
8. What's your biggest fear?
9. Are you a planner like me or do you enjoy being spontaneous?
10. Why did you start blogging?
11. The classic question: If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet and why?

People I am Tagging (feel free not to participate, but I'd love to see your answers!)
Tales of the Scotts
The Distracted Blogger
The Foreign Domestic
The Borrowed Abode
First Home Dreams
A Home Made By Kiki
and anyone else who would like to participate! Please let me know if you did so I can pop over and see what you wrote! :)

Thanks Kelly! This was fun! Happy Saturday everyone!

Saturday Scraps #1 - Dollar Section Embellishments

2012-02-03T15:10:00.001-05:00

I was going to save this until tomorrow and share it as my first official Saturday Scraps, but then an awesome thing happened that I'll share with you and it'll all make sense.

I'm a sucker for dollar sections and clearance. Especially when it comes to scrapbook/crafting supplies and decor. So when I went in to Michael's Craft store for just one thing and saw all of this I couldn't resist:

How cute are these little felt birds? And they're adhesive.

See the price tag on these little velvet adhesive buttons? Yeah they weren't in the dollar section...they were better than that. I got them for 79 CENTS. Oh yeah!

Now for the awesome deal for you. Michael's is offering a $5.00 off a $5.00 purchase coupon valid today and tomorrow only! That means you can get FIVE of these cuties FOR FREE.

You can print your coupon HERE

Go! Go now! Enjoy!

Gym Clothes Gone Wild

2012-02-01T13:44:00.000-05:00

If there's one thing I've learned in almost 2 years of marriage, it's that women and men are... different. We approach things differently and in general, that's not a bad thing. This was never more evident to me than last weekend while putting away the laundry.

In my world, t-shirts are folded neatly and with precision, because darn it I know how many I can fit in a drawer when they are folded properly. (And it's a lot, let me tell you.) Yes, I may be a little picky about it, but take a look at the inside of that drawer!

What you can't see is that there are two more stacks of neatly folded shirts *behind* the two stacks you *can* see. That's just how I roll - er, fold.

Hubby knows of my obsession with neatly folded shirts and so he bought me one of these:

My Flip Fold. I've been obsessed with it since I saw an infomercial for one in the 1990's.

So you can imagine my horror when I opened his drawer of work out clothes to find this:

Uh what?

Me: Honey, could you come here for a sec?

Hubs (upon entering): Uh huh?

Me: What uh...what's this? (I may or may not have been twitching at the time...)

Him: My work out clothes.

Me (looking from him to the drawer and back): Are they uh, "working out" for ya?

Him (smiling just like a man would): Mmhmm!

I just shook my head and laid the neatly folded shirt I had planned on putting in the drawer on top of the dresser. I wasn't about to put it into the fray.

And I wasn't about to refold all of the stuff in the drawer - because in my house, it gets done once. You mess it up, you clean it up. That too, is how I roll. ;)

This is going to be a new feature here on the blog entitled Hubby Humor - because darn it, the guy's funny.
And I love that about him.

An Exciting Update on the What's Your Nude? Campaign

2012-02-01T03:23:00.000-05:00

Last week I shared with you my friend's campaign to get lingerie manufacturers to make shades that would complement a woman of any skin tone - specifically women of color.

Well that campaign officially starts today and I am so excited to tell you that her idea has been picked up by some pretty important social media outlets:

Mom Trends - Women of Color Sound Off to Bra Makers

Huffington Post - Tara Raines Tackles Lack of Brown Colored Bras

Women's Wear Daily - A Different Take on Nude

For Brown Girls - Join the What's Your Nude Facebook Event

Bust Magazine

And that's not all! Celebrities are even tweeting about it! Holly Robinson Peete has even liked the event page and tweeted about it! And Yvette Nicole Brown (Shirley from Community? OMG Love her!) has weighed in too!

So today's the day friends - write to your bra provider of choice and tell them that since you choose their bras to support your girls, they should support girls of every color (and shape, and size)! I'll be writing my favorite company today as well.

And one last thing...Dr. Tara Raines I am super proud of your accomplishments and I hope this is a resounding success for you!

Join the Cause on Facebook - What's Your Nude?

Scrappy - Over and Out!

What's Your Nude?

2012-01-24T18:17:00.000-05:00

How's that for a catchy title, hmm? It's all G-rated I promise. ;) This post is a little bit of a departure for me. I don't often comment on fashion because I'm just not that girl. Don't get me wrong, I love clothes, but they fall below crafting supplies and shoes on the list. ;) But I just couldn't resist getting involved when an old friend from high school brought up an issue I never even considered!

So this may sound weird coming from me since I am the palest girl on the block - no really, I'm transparent in spots. ;) But when was the last time you took a look around Victoria's Secret? Close your eyes and take a look around. What do you notice? Probably a lovely collection of bras in shades like blush, white, off-white, cream and nude. Nude for whom, exactly? Enter the event, "What's Your Nude?"

I will totally admit that it never occurred to me that VS skewed toward a limited selection of skin tones until my good friend Tara brought it to my attention. (Granted, I rarely, if ever, shop at VS - mainly because I'm a big girl and they don't carry my "size" if you catch my drift. But that's a whole other post/event/cause and this is Tara's moment in the sunshine - not mine.)

For girls and women of color they have one shade. Uh, what? Really? Well Tara's out to change that - and I know that some of you out there might want to help her out. I took a moment during my blog break to virtually sit down with Tara and ask her some questions about her campaign for change.

I've seen this picture *everywhere*, but can't find the original source. I'd love to credit it if you know where I can find it. Thanks!

1. What inspired the "What's Your Nude?" event?

I decided to enjoy some of the fruit of the Victoria's Secret semiannual sale. I realized the "every day" bras I wanted were only in black, white, and "nude" and I wanted one in BROWN! They only had very few styles in brown but innumerable styles in "nude". I got pissed.

2. Why do you feel this issue is important for today?

We are in 2012 and African American women are essentially disenfranchised when they shop for underwear! I know it is a little dramatic. Honestly, on a subconscious level, I take it to mean "This is the color of "nude" women. If this isn't your "nude" you don't count." What about young girls getting training bras?! That is NUTS!

3. I notice you're specifically citing Victoria's Secret - is there a reason for that? Do you hope that your message reaches more lingerie companies?

No particular reason. They had a sale I wanted to take advantage of the sale prices! I very much hope this reaches other companies. I have asked people to email their bra-specialist of choice! I mean TARGET doesn't offer enough brown bras nor do many other companies that sell bras to the masses.

4. If you could speak with representatives for Victoria's Secret directly, what would you say to them?

Please offer brown in all varieties of bra you offer "nude," "buff," and "blush"

5. What can my readers do to help spread the word about your cause?

Please email your bra-specialist requesting more variety and quantity of chocolate brown bras. Please join our facebook event "What's Your Nude" (see link below) and/or tweet about this using #whatsyournude

6. Where can they find more information about what you're doing?

I have posted the contact information for several lingerie companies and a sample of the brief email I sent.

If you'd like to contact Tara about her event or join the cause, you can find her here:

What's Your Nude? - Facebook (And in case you're curious, she's already got over two hundred and fifty supporters - and companies are already responding!)

Tara is also up for spreading the word through bloggers. If you're a blogger and you'd like to interview her or share her message, leave her a note on the event Wall and she'll get back to you!

I really had an "Aha!" moment with this. One of the comments left on the event wall sums it up nicely -

Ali says, "Just so everyone knows... it's called nude because you can't see the bra color when you wear a black or a white T-shirt, thus making you appear nude under the shirt".

A little hard to hide if it isn't your shade of nude, right?

And while talking to Tara, she brought up what I think is the most important point. Getting your first bra is a huge deal for young girls. They only come in white. What a let down!

Let's share her message - it's 2012 for heaven's sake!

Now seriously ladies, what's your nude? Are you a pale girl like me? (I reflect light - no joke) Or are you a warmer skin tone? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Leave me a comment below.

Stop SOPA/PIPA

2012-01-18T13:55:00.000-05:00

I said I wasn't going to post this week (and I certainly never get political because I don't think this is the place for politics), but this is important to me. SOPA/PIPA laws could impact freedom of speech on the internet. It could shut down sites like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and the like. It could shut down blogs that upset corporations with opinions they don't like. Please get educated about this bill and contact your representatives in Congress to tell them you DON'T want to lose freedom of speech on the internet.

We do need to protect our copyright, but this law does not do that. Simple workarounds would ensure that people interested in piracy would still be able to get content. It does not protect anything and could end up doing more damage than good.

Check out these links and sign the petition:

http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

Don't remain silent now, or you could end up silent later!

Taking a Break And My Blog Word of 2012

2012-01-16T23:19:00.001-05:00

Hey guys. As I was sitting down to write this post an avalanche of unfiled paperwork came crashing down on top of me (literally) and it only served to reinforce what I was going to write about.

I've seen all over blogland the whole concept of One Word. This year, I really want my word to be "Grow" and not just for the blog but for me too. One of my biggest challenges has been time management and so I've been taking some time to sift through my systems and schedules and well, feeling pretty crappy about the lack of a routine.

So in order to "Grow" I need to do something counter intuitive and well, stop. I do not lack ideas for the blog and for our apartment, but I feel like I have too many irons in the fire right now. Between housewifing, tutoring and running now two blogs, I feel like I need to regroup a little bit and get myself (and my house) in working order so that I can focus on all the things I want to do. I always find myself lamenting that I don't have enough time but the truth is I have just as much time as anyone else. I just don't seem to be using it very well.

So I'm taking a break from blogging for a week, a week and a half tops. Hubby will still be running the new cooking blog and I'll be working behind the scenes here, I just won't be posting. I'll be tweaking the blog, getting organized at home and setting up a work schedule that will (hopefully) serve me better. And serve my readers better.

I'm also (upon my return sometime next week) going to be starting a series on Time Management and Scheduling. You deserve to organize your time. You deserve time for yourself. So do I. I just never seem to actually make time for the things I love and want to do. So we'll learn all of this together.

I hope you don't mind my break. Something just had to give so I could focus and get my house in order. My house being my actual house, the business of blogging, and my tutoring schedule. Hey I'm even going to try and get a buffer of posts ready so that I can breathe a bit.

Sometimes in order to move forward, you have to stop moving and take a look around.

I'll see you next week!

Saving Energy in the New Year

2012-01-10T19:18:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all!

I just wanted to share with you a quick, money saving idea for the new year.

A few weeks ago The Hubs and I received a post card in the mail from our power company offering to send us a free box full of energy saving goodies. Well, I love the word free so I told him to jump at the chance!

Here's what we got:

2 - 100 watt GE Energy Smart light bulbs

4 - 60 watt GE Energy Smart light bulbs

4 - Kitchen/bath faucet aerators

4 - Kitchen/bath faucet aerator adaptors

1 - energy efficient shower head

1 - CyberPower Power Saving Surge Protector plug in strip

The kit also came with a booklet of tips to energy proof your home and some ways to save on your power and water bills. We're renters right now, so really the only stuff we can use is the light bulbs, but hope to be in our own home this year so this kit is going to help us out a lot!

This kit came from Potomac Edison, but I know that my best friend in Florida also received one from her power company. And while I don't know the exact savings I got by getting this all for free, I can tell you those power strips start at $18.00 and I've bought energy efficient bulbs before and they aren't cheap!

It might be worth it to contact your power company to see if a similar kit is available to you!

Just an FYI

2012-01-08T19:37:00.000-05:00

If you haven't seen this before and you blog, this might be of interest to you:

It's a nice way to get a little love on your Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest accounts. This is NOT a blog hop. It's a social media hop. Great if you want to grow your following in places besides your blog.

Sunday Pinspiration #5 - Valentine's Day Ideas

2012-01-08T16:55:00.002-05:00

Well it's a new year and yes, you read that correctly, it's already time to start thinking about Valentine's Day crafts. Before I share with you the pins, I wanted to review the rules for our little Sunday theme.

1. I have done my very best to find the original link for each picture. If for some reason there is an error or due credit isn't given, please, PLEASE kindly let me know.
2. If the link is directly to your blog - i.e. it is your original work - and you would rather I not post it, please let me know and the picture will be removed.
3. If you like any of these and want to add them to your own Pinterest boards, please click the source link and pin from there to ensure proper credit.

Remember - ALWAYS Pin Responsibly (Have you taken the pledge?)

Here are the goodies:

Definitely doing this for The Hubs (hopefully he's not reading this!)

Source: getbuttonedup.com via Christina on Pinterest

Um, can I get a shirt that says. "Kiss me I'm crafty"?

Source: madeinwindsor.wordpress.com via Christina on Pinterest

The little mask kills me.

Source: zakkalife.blogspot.com via Christina on Pinterest

This would be fantastic for all those little broken pieces of crayon!

Source: familyfun.go.com via Christina on Pinterest

I am definitely doing this. If I can just get up the nerve to grab that many paint chips. I always feel kind of guilty about that!

Source: ohcrafts.net via Christina on Pinterest

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Goals for 2012

2012-01-05T23:04:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! I am having the hardest time getting back into a normal groove after the holidays. Anyone else dealing with that?

I've been trying to get this post written for the last few days but I just couldn't make it work. Here's my last shot.

So last year I posted a list of Goals for 2011 with the hope that since I put them out there for all the world to see, I'd stick to it. When I went back this year to see how I did however...ouch. Maybe that's what has blocked me from writing the last few days. I feel kind of crappy for not getting as much done last year as I wanted to.

Here was last year's list -

1. Pay down debt. We did quite well in this and continue to progress. Not as fast as I'd like, but I guess it's teaching me patience. ;)
2. Drink more water. Um, no. Epic Fail.
3. Use Wii Fit more often. This is going on this year's list too sadly. But I just bought new workout clothes so I have *no* excuse.
4. Read ~~all~~ as many of the books of mine that I have not read but have sitting on the shelf. I read a lot, just not necessarily the stuff on the shelf. Hoping a new phone app will help with this.
5. Increase blogging. YAY! Something I did! I actually did really well with this and I'm hoping to continue growing this year too.
6. Menu plan monthly. I had mixed success with this. Mainly, if I planned, I was successful. But there were weeks when I was lazy. I chose weekly last year, but I *am* switching to monthly this year after doing some research and creating a system. I'll be blogging about this hopefully this month.
7. Utilize cookbooks, magazines, and blogs for new free recipes to expand monthly menu. I definitely did this. We have such a huge collection of cookbooks (and growing by the day) with a huge variety of recipes and cooking styles. We've added a few more recipes to our rotation and that will continue to expand this year - especially with the new food blog coming along soon.
8. Craft and scrap all of the projects I have before buying new ones. (My crafty friends know how hard this is!) - Hmm. OK I didn't totally do this, but I created The List and I've been working it down slowly. Once I fully recover from the holidays things should pick up again.
9. Use Swagbucks more often to reduce spending with our own money. (If you aren't on Swagbucks, you should check it out! www.swagbucks.com) I still love Swagbucks, but totally forget to use it.
10. Be better about mailing birthday and anniversary cards. Yeah, this one hits the list again this year. I *will* get better at this!
11. Get organized about cleaning and home chores. I rocked this! I still need to share my chore schedule with you guys. Things are so much easier now and I'm not drowning in laundry anymore!
12. Work on family history. I did this, but not nearly as much as I wanted to. It goes on this year's list as well.
13. Reduce our output for food and household items. Thanks to couponing, I did quite well here and it gets better every month.
14. Eat dinner at the dining room table most nights rather than in front of the TV. We're still working on this. It's about 50/50, but that's still much better than we were.

All right, so not terrible, but not great. I guess I'm too hard on myself. I tend to set the bar very high and then feel terrible when things don't go as I planned. I'm having to take that into account with this year's list.

Goals for 2012 -

1. Eat healthier and exercise more.

2. Be better about corresponding for birthdays and anniversaries.

3. Get caught up on The List.

4. Make time for myself and my hobbies (scrapping, crafting, sewing, embroidering, tatting, genealogy). (I am so horrible about this. I do not remember the last time I had a hair cut. Really. What's a salon look like again?)

5. Eat dinner at the dining room table 6 out of 7 nights a week.

6. Continue to grow the blog(s).

7. Improve my time management skills.

OK, so smaller list this year, but I think that will be more manageable. That doesn't mean I don't have a few other things I want to do, I just see them as more short term goals than long term ones. Wish me luck!

Did you make any resolutions or set any goals for this year? Share them in the comments below and I'll respond! :)

2011 Wrap Up and an Announcement

2011-12-31T13:39:00.000-05:00

Well, another year is over. I can't believe that tomorrow will be 2012! That sounds weird. And I'm still miffed that I don't have a flying car. ;)

Anywho, I wanted to take a few moments to highlight what has been a great year of growth here at The Scrappy Housewife.

My Top 5 posts this year were:

#5 - How I organized my pantry

#4 - My Master Bedroom Closet Decrapification

#3 - More Kitchen Organization for Homemaker's Challenge

#2 - How I Made Dollar Tree Picture Frames Look Fab!

And the #1 Post for 2011 Was:

My Very First Post on Kitchen Organization!

Seriously, y'all - I was so stunned to find that my kitchen organization posts were so popular! I'll have to keep that in mind as I go forward. (Hopefully, there will be a new(er) and bigger kitchen to organize this year...

My Top 5 Referrers this year were:

Thrifty Decor Chick
The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking
House of Hepworths
Orgjunkie
Organizing Made Fun

I can't wait for an exciting new year to blog, organize, craft and DIY. You have all been so amazing and supportive during my first full year as a blogger. In 2012, I want to turn this into my real job. I want this blog to grow and expand and become a community of fun, creative people.

And speaking of expansion: The Hubs and I have been secretly working out a plan to grow our little corner of the blogosphere. The Hubs wants in on this here operation so we're laying down plans to start a food blog...together. We love food and experimenting with new recipes and cooking gadgets and our cookbook library is expansive so it seemed only fitting that we shared our love of food with you guys. We aren't done with the planning stage yet, but in 2012 keep your eye out for our as of yet unnamed food ~~empire~~ blog. ;)

Also, I'm seriously thinking about firing up the scrapbook blog again, only this time with less EPIC FAIL. 100 Pages in 100 Days was ... too far reaching. I hope you'll join me for some papercrafting fun.

And with that fair readers, I bid you a Happy New Year and a safe and fun New Years Eve. Remember: AAA will drive you home and tow your car FOR FREE if you've had too much to drink whether you're a member or not. Be safe out there.

Leftovers Make Over - Part 1

2011-12-28T00:37:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all! Did everyone have a nice holiday? The Hubs and I took it easy over the weekend and he surprised me by taking the whole week off, so I'll be a little sparse this week. We see so little of each other during the week and he never takes off, so I'm taking advantage of him being home!

Still, I just couldn't resist sharing this super simple, scrumptious recipe my friend Ree (not that Ree ;) ) gave me last week. It knocked me out! She's been my best friend since high school and I trust her cookin' skills implicitly.

OK raise your hand if you had turkey for Christmas dinner. We had ham - oh so much ham, but I had a ton of turkey left over from Thanksgiving and I needed to use it to make room in our freezer since my in-laws sent us eight - count 'em eight filet mignon for Christmas! But I didn't want to just heat and eat or make a pot pie. So I did what any resourceful 32 year old woman would do - I called my best friend. ;)

Here's the recipe:

Ree's Homemade Turkey Noodle Soup (Seriously, the best noodle soup I've made)

Ingredients -

1 pat butter or margarine (We only use butter in this house!)
Celery, Onions and Carrots diced
Salt and Pepper
Dried (or fresh) Oregano and Basil - small cupped palm full of each
Chicken broth (one box OR two cans OR two bullion cubes dissolved - just follow the directions on the bullion package if you go that route - it's what I use)
Leftover turkey roughly diced
Water
Egg noodles

Start by gently melting the butter in a pan and throw in your celery, onions and carrots to saute until tender. Watch the onions to make sure they don't burn - though mine got a little brown on the edges and it still tasted fine. Season generously with salt and pepper and give the veggies a stir or two. Add in the basil and oregano and stir. Add in your chicken broth and heat through. Throw in your diced turkey and add several cups of water (I just eyeball it generally - I want a nice golden broth, but not too light). Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Ree's Tip - Cook your noodles according to package directions in a separate pot, then drain. Do not add them to the broth mixture. When you're ready to serve, pile some noodles at the bottom of your bowl and then ladle the liquid over the top. Your noodles don't get gooey or overcooked this way, AND if you have any left over broth, you can freeze it to use later. Noodles don't freeze well.

Christina (aka Scrappy) says - I like to cook my noodles just short of being done so they aren't over done by the time I get them drained and in the bowl. Also, Ree recommends oregano and basil, but I had oregano and fresh tarragon on hand so I used those. I cupped my palm and made a nice palm full of the dried oregano and then used the leaves of two or three stalks of the tarragon chopped and it tasted great. I also bucked Ree's tip and threw my noodles in my broth and they held up well over a couple of days in the fridge (leftover leftovers?), but if I want to make some later to freeze for an easy supper later - I won't add the noodles.

I used a 6 qt Le Creuset oval dutch oven to cook my soup in so I filled it with the broth and water about three-fourths of the way full. Like I said I generally eyeball it because I know what I like and I taste it as I go. If it seems too strong or too dark add water to your taste bud's liking. If you too go the bouillon route, dissolve it in a separate pot first and warm it through and then add it when the recipe calls for the broth.

Seriously, I am in love with this soup. It was so hearty and filling and a great way to maximize all the leftover turkey (of which I still have a ton). I will definitely make this again as winter wears on. I hope you try it!

I'll be back later in the week with some thoughts on 2011 and to share another favorite soup recipe using our ham leftovers - this time from The Hubs - and to make an announcement.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

This post is New Years Eve Partying at:

Show and Tell Tuesday - Blue Cricket Design (See sidebar)

The Christmas Ornament

2011-12-21T03:34:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd share a Christmas story with you. It's going to start out a little rough, but in the end, I hope it makes you smile and remember those who might not be at your Christmas table this year. The story is entirely true. I haven't made any of this up. I know, because it happened to me. Grab a soda, it might be awhile.

When I was 18, I suffered my first big loss. The summer between high school and college was spent watching my mother, care for hers. And then comforting her when Memaw (that's Southern for Grandmother, y'all) passed away. I was ill-equipped to deal with death and therefore, I didn't. I won't go into details, that's really not the point of the story, but I will share with you that I have been a different person since that time. That loss changed me forever.

It was just before Christmas that same year that mom and I wrapped up plans for our Christmas tree as was our tradition. We bought all of our supplies and we spent and evening chatting and putting on ornaments. A couple of weeks later, I was home alone and walked past the tree as I always did when something different caught my eye. There on the tree was a glass angel ornament that I knew neither I nor mom had placed on the tree. You can see that ornament at the top of this post. Well, sort of, but I'll get to that in a moment.

I immediately called my mom and inquired about the ornament. She didn't know what I was talking about. She said she had no idea what ornament I was referring to and that she hadn't bought or placed any new ornaments on the tree without telling me. She even called my oldest brother who had been by recently to see if he'd left it. He hadn't. I'll be honest with you. I didn't really believe her. I figured she put it there and just didn't want to admit it - because you see, on my Memaw's headstone we'd placed an angel and the phrase "Our Angel". I thought it was just mom trying to keep her mother in our Christmas some way, but I'll admit to being baffled at how she'd get the ornament on the tree without me knowing (I lived at home and it was vacation so I was always around). It seemed like it had not been there one moment and then was there another. I was perplexed but let it go - until Christmas morning.

After all the gifts had been unwrapped and the living room was a mess, mom asked me to grab stray paper from under the tree and as I crawled under, I noticed a ball of shiny gold wrapping paper. It just looked like discarded paper, but it wasn't the same color or kind that we'd used that year so I was curious. I picked it up and it was a gift. Addressed to me - but no "from" had been indicated.

We were more than a little surprised.

I opened it gently and inside, buried in foam, was an identical angel ornament to the one that had shown up on our tree only weeks earlier. That's the one you see at the header of this post. Taking a second look at the handwriting on the tag, I could have sworn that it was my grandmother's handwriting. And to this day, I still swear I can smell her perfume on the foam. But surely that isn't possible?

I don't remember when I remembered the next bit. I know it was either just before or just after Christmas, after one or both of the ornaments made their appearance. I recalled that in high school my 11th grade English teacher had given us an assignment, one of those seemingly cheesy writing assignments for a local newspaper. They were giving out prizes and I'm sure she wanted to boast that one of her students won. ;) We were all told to write a Christmas story of our own and then as a class we'd submit the best few to the paper for the contest.

At the time, I was a moody 17 year old who liked the drama and so I wrote a story about a family celebrating Christmas and remembering a child lost too soon. (I know now that you should write what you know, but back then I didn't and my fictional story seemed to tug at heartstrings and I fancied myself a good writer so I went with it.) The family in my story visited their lost family member (as my real life family did at holiday time) to pay their respects on Christmas day only to come home and find something unexpected on their Christmas tree.

When I brought this up to mom at the time she said she vaguely remembered the story, but had forgotten about it. I thought we had a copy socked away somewhere, but neither of us could find it to verify my hunch.

I know I've mentioned this before, but my mother saved everything. And I do mean everything. I have, in some ways taken over where she left off. I'm now the family historian and I hold most of the family pictures in my possession. With the last batch I received from my father I found this:

My story. The one she mysteriously couldn't ever find. The one I couldn't ever find.

Here's the last paragraph:

"At one point I remember turning to my mother and asking her if she thought John could see us and feel the holiday spirit like I could. She quietly nodded her head and smiled...

As we entered the house mom turned on the lights on the tree and served up pie. My sister, and my cousins ate theirs hurriedly and ran upstairs to play. Something however made me hesitate as I walked by the tree. I looked at it like I always had, but that time I found something that had never been there before. I called out to my parents and sister to come see what I had found and everyone stood in awe of what was there. Hanging on a middle branch of the three was a small crystal angel ornament that I had never seen before. On it the words were etched "The Spirit of Christmas" and I noticed it was a baby angel. My mother just smiled and said to me; "I think John wanted to answer your question for himself."

To this day, I don't know for sure that my mother put that angel on our tree. She probably did, or she had a friend do it for her so she could honestly say she didn't. It doesn't matter. I'm happy to have let her have her mystery.

In her own way, she wanted me to know that even though someone is gone, they aren't really. We keep them with us.

A few years later, I found myself in my mother's shoes. My own mother was gone. At 28 it seemed cruel to be without my mom. Christmas was terribly hard and hasn't been the same since. It's definitely the hardest time for me.

But I have my angel. I keep it right at the top of our tree every year to remember Mom and Memaw and to remind myself that I'm not alone - just as my mom reminded me of that back in 1998 during one of the lowest points in my life.

Thanks for the angel Mom. I love you.

What Your Child's Teacher Really Wants for Christmas

2011-12-12T21:48:00.001-05:00

This week, many children will celebrate Christmas/Winter holidays and then enjoy two weeks off from school. Most schools have Christmas parties and most kids want to bring their teacher a Christmas gift. I was a teacher for 5 years (and may go back some day), so I thought I'd share some insight into what your teacher really wants for Christmas.

First off, let me say this: Teacher's (99% of them) are really grateful to receive anything. And I mean that, anything. It just means a lot to be recognized for all they do on a daily basis. (I won't get on a soapbox here, but trust me when I say your teacher's three months "off" in the summer are spent working, attending training, getting a jump on next year.) So while this may sound like I'm telling you what not to buy, please don't take it as such. I'm speaking from my own experience here and from the experiences of other teachers around me.

What Not to Buy:

Lotion and Candles - I realize that these are probably the easiest and least expensive gifts you can purchase (and believe me, I'm not telling you to drop tons of cash - you shouldn't - it's not necessary and in some schools and districts, it's illegal) but I know that from experience, when I moved to Maryland from my home in Florida, I had candles to last years. That was 4 years ago, and I'm still using some of them. No joke. I ended up donating a lot of the lotion, because I have rhinitis and certain smells stuff me up to no end so I couldn't use them. We're talking bottles and bottles of the stuff. Goodwill loved me.

What We as Teachers Love but Would NEVER ask for:

A Gift Card to Dollar Tree - Yes, really. Twenty bucks goes a long way at the Dollar Tree and the best part? They have a teacher's section! You can get more than just school supplies - bulletin board borders, fun reward certificates, teacher stickers and stamps, classroom incentives, posters, charts, and on and on! If you'd rather not do a gift card, for an extra dollar you can buy a nice decorative basket at Dollar Tree and fill it up with goodies.

Get Personal - It will go a long way if you get to know your child's teacher on a more personal level. No, that doesn't mean you should have dinner with them at a local restaurant or try to become their best friend, that would be unethical. But you can inquire about their dog, favorite football team, family outings etc. Then use this information to tailor a gift just for them! Do they love to bake? Make a nice gift basket (Dollar Tree!) of baking supplies! Are they the town football team's biggest fan? Grab some team swag like a t-shirt and cap. Do they love the zoo? Purchase some one time only passes for them and their family. Are they coffee drinkers? Buy an inexpensive mug and pop in a Starbuck's giftcard.

One year, a parent gave me a nice empty scrapbook and memory box since they know I love to scrap. It was gorgeous and inexpensive but they knew me well enough to get something that I'd like and I've used both!

Make Something - Or better yet, have your kids make something. A word of caution though, don't make Christmas ornaments. We get a lot of those. Enough to cover a tree. Really. One student painted me a little plastic sun-catcher and it still hangs on my sliding glass door.

Give Them Something They Wouldn't Buy Themselves - When I was teaching, I couldn't afford manicures or pedicures. I would never buy that for myself because it wasn't a necessity. A gift card for a manicure alone is a nice simple, pamper yourself gift that teachers don't always do for themselves.

The ultimate point is that if you make the gift personal, it won't matter what it is (even if it's lotion! ha!) or how much it costs. Personalized teacher gifts show you care about them as a person and recognize their hard work.

Lastly, if you don't feel a gift is appropriate (or you can't afford one), at least send a nice note or card. Some of my favorite gifts, haven't been gifts at all. The've been letters from parents sharing their appreciation.

It's not about what it is, it's about what the gift represents.

Our Christmas Tree 2011

2011-12-08T23:48:00.009-05:00

Christmas trees around here are pretty serious business. It goes beyond mere tradition. It's sacred. There's back story here. Before my mom died in 2007, we would spend months (I do not lie) every year planning our theme. Some years it was elegant, sometimes whimsical, but always special. I have pictures of many of those trees. I cherish the memories of decorating the tree with my mom and I honor our tradition by still taking months to conceptualize our tree. I'm already working on next year's. Really.

This year was no exception. I wanted something timeless, elegant, harkening back to the Victorian era. Actually, the Victorian thing was hubby's. I might bring him over to the dark side yet. ;)

Anyway, let's take a look at our tree. I'll warn you it's small - all our apartment can hold. And it literally cost us $20 at Target our first Christmas. Top of the line it isn't, but it's special none the less and I Do what I can to make it a little fuller and brighter.

Our tree in subtle pink, chocolate brown and gold:

Some of my favorite ornaments:

Our angel tree topper (that came from the trees mom and I did together):

Our mysterious glass angel ornament (I'll explain later):

And last, but not least, my homemade clip on poinsettias! (You can see how I made those here)

I hope you've enjoyed the tour of our tree. Merry Christmas!

This post is Christmas Partying at:

How to Make Those Advent Pockets

2011-12-07T01:15:00.006-05:00

Hey y'all. I'm back this evening to show you how I made my super adorable (OK, I'm biased) Advent calendar pockets. They are crazy easy. Here's what you do:

Materials You'll Need:

12 x 12 Scrapbooking Paper of your choice - either one sided or double sided - both work
Tape runner or glue stick (your choice - I used tape runner)
Decorations or embellishments of your choice (or none if you so choose)
Paper cutter
Paper scoring board (optional)

Instructions for Double Sided Cardstock/Paper -

When using solid color cardstock or something double sided that is not directional you can make a pocket in about two minutes. I do not lie. It's that easy.

First, cut a 7"x3" strip of paper using your paper cutter.

Then, using your scoring board and stylus make a fold line at the 4 inch mark. If you don't have a scorer, no problem, just use a ruler and mark where four inches would be and then fold.

Fold on the line.

Using a tape runner or glue stick place some adhesive on the outside edges of the shorter (pocket) side. I recommend not going all the way to the fold line if you're planning on using an edge punch to decorate like I did. It adds bulk, makes it harder to punch and will goo up your punch tool. Do not add tape or glue to the top edge of the fold or you'll seal off your pocket and well, you won't have a pocket. ;)

Press the sides down and you have a pocket!

Optional: Use a decorative edge punch to punch all four corners. Decorate as you wish with embellishments.

Instructions for One Sided Cardstock/Paper -

Cut a 9" x 3 " strip of cardstock of your choice.

Using your scoring board and stylus, make folds at the 2 inch mark and the 6 inch mark (Or use your ruler to mark each) on the blank side of your paper. You'll be folding the pattern in to make your pocket.

Fold on the lines.

Use your tape runner to glue down the shorter (2 inch) flap first adding glue or tape to the outside edges and the edge of the flap.

Then bring up the longer flap and ONLY adhere the outside edges.

Voila!

Use your edge punch or embellishments to decorate.

I made the little activity cards by cutting scrap white cardstock into 2"x 3" strips and used a rounded edge puncher to round the edges.

You could really apply these little pockets to just about anything. I found lots of tutorials for making library pockets, but I really felt this was far easier and I didn't have to deal with difficult templates or tracing out and cutting. (And believe me, I tried those methods.)

I used the DCWV Merry Christmas Stack for my Advent Calendar and supplemented it with some solid red, white and green cardstock.

The best part (and what I didn't know at the time I bought the stack) was that it came with the numbers all ready to cut out and use for an Advent calendar. I had originally planned to use my Cricut to cut out numbers but this just seemed much easier. I also used ribbon, sticky rhinestones, eyelets, and scraps from the other pockets to decorate them.

Here are a few of my favorite ~~things~~ pockets (name that movie...):

So what do you think? The basic pockets came together in no time at all. I took my time decorating them, which was the longest part (save this blog post which took forever ;) )

Hubby and I are really enjoying the nightly time together. Are you using an Advent calendar at your house? I'd love to see it!

This post is Christmas Partying at:

Handy Man, Crafty Woman - Wicked Awesome Wednesday (see sidebar)

Advent Calendar! December Before and After

2011-12-05T19:35:00.004-05:00

Hey, hey! Ya ever have one of those projects where you can see it in your head and you just know it'll be perfect and perfectly simple and then...it isn't? Or at the very least it's not as simple as you thought it would be and you're stumped at how to finish it? Well that happened to me last week when I was rushing to finish my Advent calendar. I had seen one on the back of a scrapbook magazine and I wanted it, but I just knew I could make it myself. Once I got all the pockets made and decorated however, I realized that placing them on 12 x 12 cardstock sheets as I had planned was not going to work. I had spent a lot of time figuring out how I wanted it laid out 5 x 5 but it just wouldn't fit and it didn't look right any other way (and trust me I tried).

Then, as I was ready to walk away and take a break, it hit me. The clouds parted, the skies opened up, the angels sang - ok maybe it was more like "OMG DUH!" I was walking out of the home office and saw this scene as I always do (as you can tell, I totally cleaned up and kicked the crap out of the way for the picture - ha!):

I could totally cover that wall art for Christmas and make it into my Advent calendar for nothin' (Really, really didn't want to have to go out and buy something else)! It was the perfect size! I love my "DUH Moments". I'm a bright girl I tell ya. ;) Here's what I did. It was easy peasy.

I took the print off of the wall. Then, I grabbed some left over wrapping paper from last year.

I lifted the matted picture out of the frame, placed in the wrapping paper and then put the mat and picture back in. Then I simply "wrapped" it and taped it down gently. It's not an expensive piece of art so I didn't mind getting some tape on the back.

Then I reattached the back and rehung it.

Using some poster putty, I gently pressed the library pockets I had made to the glass.

And voila! I easily changed my wall art to an Advent calendar! Nothing is permanent so it's easily changed back at the end of the season! I added some fun sayings from a couple of my Cricut cartridges and some ribbon scraps made into fun bows for a touch of whimsy.

I am over the moon about how it turned out! The best part is that I had to leave the house before hubby came home and saw it. When I got home, the first words out of his mouth were "That looks awesome! You should blog about it!" *blush* We are truly enjoying the fun little mini-dates each pocket holds.

I'll be back tomorrow with a special post sharing how I made the pockets. It is so stinkin' simple! Do you have an Advent Calendar you'd like to share? I'd love to see it - or maybe feature it here? Let me know!

This post is Christmas Partying at:

Christmas Tablescape

2011-12-05T02:33:00.006-05:00

This is the first year I've had a "big girl" dining room table. (If you'll remember, I bought this gorgeous mid-mod table earlier this year and then recovered the chairs and cleaned it all up a bit.) I literally could. not. wait. for Christmas to come around so I could decorate it just so. And so I did. Let's take a look. (I apologize in advance for the lighting. I took these pictures very late Sunday night and honestly, there are no windows in the dining room so the lighting isn't great in full sun either.)

I started out with a gorgeous table runner I bought last year at Target. If I recall correctly it was at least twenty bucks and hubby had to convince me that it was OK to buy it. (I have issues with spending money.)

Then I layered on some inexpensive round, green placemats from Marshall's that I bought last spring.

I topped those with some cheap (and I do mean cheap - $4.00 for a four pack) gold chargers I got at Target last year. I topped the chargers with some red napkins I've had since The Hubs and I moved in together and used candle rings as napkin rings to tie it all together.

The fun part is in the middle. See those white containers? They're bed risers from Ikea.

The Hubs and I finally splurged and bought a headboard/footboard from Ikea over the summer after waiting forever and we realized we didn't need the bedrisers we'd bought while waiting for the bed itself to come back in stock. They'd been sitting in my craft area forever when I realized that they didn't have holes in them so they could be used as vases! I had planned on putting tiny, real Christmas trees inside them as a centerpiece until I saw the price tag and calculated how much that would be (see? spending issues). Instead I popped some floral foam in the up-turned riser (just to make it a little more shallow) and filled each one with festive red and green plastic Christmas ornaments we already had! I wanted something low that I didn't have to remove every time we decided to eat. It works perfectly!

To add a finishing touch, I placed small glittering Christmas tree ornaments (for a dollar last year at Walmart) at each gap in the risers. The best part is, you can use them as place card holders if you plan on entertaining. I just added a little sparkly scrapbooking fiber and a piece of scrap paper trimmed a labelled. Super simple!

It may not be the fanciest table on the block, but I think it's fun and festive. I hope you like it!

This post is Christmas Partying at:

Click here for the individual blogs I'm participating at: No Minimalist Here

DIY Clip On Poinsettias

2011-11-30T22:27:00.008-05:00

***Edited to update the cost. I found the receipt! Each of the clip packets cost $2.99. Which would've made the total for the project around $10.50! That makes each flower 44 CENTS! Way better than the store bought ones! :)

Hi All!

I had planned on showing you my Advent Calendar and give you a quick tutorial today on how I made it, but well...it's not done. It's almost there, but it still needs some work (which it will get late into tonight I am sure). Rather than skip a day of blogging I decided to give you an even more brief tutorial on how I made some of my tree decorations this year. I'll be back with the Advent calendar later this week.

Now on to the tutorial! This year I'm attempting a more elegant Victorian color schemed tree. As I've been shopping for bargains I came across some gorgeous clip on poinsettias in a beautiful cream color. I loved them, but at anywhere from $1.00 to $2.00 each I was not going to be buying them any time soon. So I decided to DIY them. The best part is that they're so easy to make, you can too! I stopped what I was doing to whip one up and take some pictures to show you. Here's how you do it:

Buy some of these:

I bought my floral stems at Michael's this past weekend at 60% off. I bought 3 stems at $1.20 each which gave me enough for 24 flowers for my tree!

Then grab some of these little clips from the jewelry and findings section of the craft store. Pop the flowers off the stems.

Grab your hot glue gun and glue the long side of the clip to the green plastic part of the flower.

I added a little more glue to make sure it was secure and voila! Gorgeous clip on flowers for much, much less!

(And now I just have 23 more to go... ;) )

Right after I finish the Advent calendar. Oy.

Total cost for the project:

3 Floral stems at 60% off - $3.60

2 packages of clips at (either $2.99 or $3.99 each - I'm looking for the receipt, for now let's go with the larger amount) $8.00

Total - $11.60 + tax

That comes out to right at 50 cents per flower. That's half the cost of the premade "cheap" ones! :)

***Your cost may vary due to sale prices and local tax. This would be a fantastic project to tackle using stuff from after Christmas sales!

This post is partying at:

Hookin' Up with House of Hepworths - see sidebar for link

Christina's Adventures - 20 Below Thursday! - See sidebar for link

Cyber Monday (And why you should support small businesses...)

2011-11-28T18:38:00.000-05:00

OK, I'm not going to lie to you. I was one of those crazy people out at midnight on Black Friday. (I will say though, we hit two stores and headed home. It was crazy.) I love to shop. Even on Black Friday. Now that you know I'm mildly crazy let me share something else.

I would rather have something handmade or support small local businesses than go to Wal-mart. Nothing against them of course, I do shop there when necessary. But what I mean is, I like sourcing small businesses because generally, I know what I'm getting. I know the time and effort put in to make something. I know the ingredients. I can feel the passion of the creator in the item.

Last Saturday was Small Business Saturday. I was out shopping with a friend for her wedding gown and was pleased when she found one at a local shop in Virginia. She celebrated Small Business Saturday by purchasing her dress *at* a small business! (And it was a major purchase let me tell you!) They even gave her a discount!

Today is Cyber Monday and to celebrate and highlight some of my favorite shops online, I thought I'd present a list of some of my faves with links! Some even have special sales going on right now! The best part is that if you make a purchase, you're doing two (sometimes three!) things at once - supporting small businesses, celebrating Cyber Monday and in some cases even supporting charities sponsored by the vendors! How cool is that?

Check it out:

1. Janery - Jane @ The Borrowed Abode runs this Etsy.com shop. She has some fun, amazing things! A portion of her proceeds goes to a local charity as well. Here's a favorite of mine from her shop:

2. Gadanke - You all know my love for these journals! She's offering free shipping world wide on Christmas journals today until midnight! CRAZY! Just enter code HOHOHO at checkout!

3. ReeReeBee (My best friend EVAR!) - I might be biased because she's my bestie, but I couldn't advertise for others without including her Etsy site too! Check out the cute dish liquid apron!

4. Luv Boopa - Last up (but CERTAINLY not least) is Jennifer at Luv Boopa! She makes many amazing things, most of which are custom. The coolest thing about her shop though, is that she craft matches. When certain items are ordered, another one is given to those in need. I love this idea. Please check it out!

I hope you all had a great holiday and enjoyed your family and friends. I know I did. Please give these ladies some consideration when purchasing Christmas gifts. When you support small, local businesses in your area and online, you really are doing a good thing! (Also, if you know of any other amazing small businesses online or Etsy shops you'd like me to consider including through the holiday season, I'd love that. Just drop me a line at the e-mail address above.)

Thankful Week 4

2011-11-28T15:22:00.000-05:00

Well it's the last Monday of November and I am thankful for a lot of things. Mostly, I'm thankful for all those leftovers that can be frozen and stored for later use. (I made a 12 lb turkey for two people. It was a little crazy. Turkey soup anyone?) I'm also thankful for a very patient hubby who went out with me at *midnight* on Black Friday. Yep, I'm one of those crazy people. And Kohl's was cra-zay. Let me just tell you. It was nuts! I'm also thankful for good childhood memories and looking forward to seeing the new Muppet's movie. Just the thought of seeing it on the big screen makes me giggle like a little girl again.
I'm also thankful for time spent with family and friends this past weekend. It was crazy busy, but so worth it. Especially getting time to spend with my husband's family and how they've taken me in so kindly as one of their own. What are you thankful for today and always?
I will be back after tutoring with a special Cyber Monday/Small Business Saturday post. Happy Monday y'all!

The Liebster Award

2011-11-23T15:08:00.000-05:00

I am totally humbled. Mtashie @ The Place passed along the Liebster Blog Award to me! The award is designed to promote up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers. I so appreciate her thinking of me!

The rules of the award are that you copy/paste the award to your blog linking back to the one who gave it to you. Then you pick 5 blogs to pass it along to and leave a comment telling them so.

Here are my choices:

Haley @ The Distracted Blogger
Kirsten - The Foreign Domestic
Kelly @ Simply Kelly
Kira @ Kissing the Joy as it Flies
Erika @ EZxs5

I'll be back later with another post. Stay tuned!

Thankful Week 3

2011-11-21T15:08:00.000-05:00

Well, it's Thanksgiving week, so I certainly have being thankful on the brain. Here's what I'm thankful for today (and always).
1. A husband who is patient and kind.
2. My ability to save us money while grocery shopping. As a result I had to organize my freezer to fit everything in! What a problem to have!
3. Friends and family who love me.
4. The blogging community that I've become part of in the last year.
5. And especially all of you - for reading, encouraging and supporting The Scrappy Housewife in all the crazy adventures I've gone on since I started blogging. You guys are the best. :)
Happy Thanksgiving!

What I've Been Up To - List Update #2

2011-11-18T21:23:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday y'all!

I have a slam packed weekend this weekend, so I wanted to take some time and update you on what I've bene up to here at the Scrappy house. Aside from tutoring and the every day stuff, I've been steadily working on "The List".

Here's what I've finished:

Small organizational bags for my purse (Unfinished crafts #3) and the plastic bag dispensers for our cars (Misc Projects #13)

I got the idea from Tatertots and Jello after I'd seen their idea (and had to search!) on Pinterest. I'll save you the searching and point you to the tutorial here.

Here's a closeup of my little bags. I searched everywhere for a cheap version of makeup bags and could not find them anywhere.

I'm going to spend some time this weekend switching purses and I'll give you a tour of how I currently (and plan) to organize my bag with these.

I also finished the mending which feels so good. On Wednesday I showed you how to fix (or at least camouflage) a burn in a towel.

In addition to that I cleared off the top of our dresser and straightened up (and purged!) the drawers. You can see how I organized my perfumes and nail polishes here. I also worked steadily on our advent calendar (and I have a special post coming on that next week...I'm just a little excited and nervous) and reorganized our freezer. Yes, really. Labels and all. ;) I'm a crazy person. I'll show you pictures of that next week and give you a link to the tutorial.

Hope your week was productive! What have you been up to?

Mending a Burned Towel

2011-11-16T22:02:00.002-05:00

Once upon a time I had a cute towel. You can see that towel below.

Once upon a time I was also far less proficient in the kitchen and I burned said towel (and food - but I digress...). You can see the burn and my sad face below.

At the time I thought all was lost, and I'd have to toss the towel, but I couldn't bear to do it. Luckily for me, a few years later (I said I was a project hoarder right?) I took some sewing lessons and learned how to sew with a machine. When I dove in to the pile of mending, I decided I would take a risk on my little towel and see if I could fix it. Luckily, it worked and it was super simple.

Here's what you'll need:

Burned towel (duh)
Spool of ribbon - $3.99 at Michaels
Sewing machine
Coordinating thread

First you'll cut your ribbon to the length you need, plus a little extra to fold under so you get a clean edge.

Next you'll pin that little extra tail to your towel.

Then, tuck in your little pin by folding the ribbon over it. If you'd feel more comfortable getting a crisp edge by ironing, feel free. I just chose to skip that step.

Then you just need to continue pinning down the ribbon all the way across your tea towel. This for me was the hardest part. If you're not careful you could end up with a crooked ribbon.

I bought a ribbon that had a thread accent (I'm guessing that's what that's called?) along the edge so I just lined it up in the center of my sewing foot and used it as a guide to keep my seam straight. You can see a close up of that below.

Now you can go ahead and sew a straight line using that accent as a guide. Remember to reverse your stitch just after you begin to lock in your stitch. Finish your one long straight seam. Easy peasy right? Right. When you get to the end of the towel, sink your needle, lift your foot and turn. This makes sure you don't lose tension. (I hope that's clear. If not, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to correct my explanation.)

Now just repeat the process until you get back down to the other end and remember to reverse and sew over your end to lock it all in before finishing.

When you're done, your seams should be hidden in the accent stitching on the ribbon. Check it out below. (I even surprised myself with this!)

And voila! You've successfully covered your burn with an attractive ribbon accent.

But Scrappy, the hole is still there! You're absolutely right. All I did was cover it on the front. To make sure it doesn't continue to fray, I'm going to pick up some Fray Check at JoAnn's tomorrow to seal it off. Most people won't ever know that hole is back there, except all of you. But you won't tell right? ;)

This post is partying at: (See side bar)
House of Hepworths - Hookin' Up With Hepworths
Christina's Adventures - 20 Below Thursday

Thankful Week 2

2011-11-14T08:00:00.003-05:00

I'm participating in Becky @ Organizing Made Fun's A Month of Thankful Mondays. Today, I am thankful for the following:

1. An organized freezer. (Yep, really...)

2. The crafting time I had this weekend.

3. A squeaky clean puppy. (Seriously, he was starting to stank! Whooo!)

4. My Hubs help in all of the above.

What are you thankful for this week?

Sunday Pinspiration #4 - DIY Tips and Tricks

2011-11-13T14:44:00.000-05:00

I haven't pinned much this week because I'm trying to go back through all of my pins and Pin Responsibly. So this week I decided to share some of my favorite pins off my DIY Tips and Tricks board.

Here are the guidelines for Sunday Pinspiration:

1. I have done my very best to find the original link for each picture. If for some reason there is an error or due credit isn't given, please, PLEASE kindly let me know.
2. If the link is directly to your blog - i.e. it is your original work - and you would rather I not post it, please let me know and the picture will be removed.
3. If you like any of these and want to add them to your own Pinterest boards, please click the source link and pin from there to ensure proper credit.

OK on to the tips:

Chip a nail no more!

Source: realsimple.com via Christina on Pinterest

I honestly need this when arranging pictures. I have two or three "go to" arrangements, but they tend to be boring.

Source: annbeckphotography.com via Christina on Pinterest

Remove old paint with a crock pot? Yes please! Who wants to head to Goodwill for a spare?

Source: thisoldhouse.com via Christina on Pinterest

If you sew, and you haven't checked out Scientific Seamstress you're missing out. Also - free printables for folding, making your own bias tape, etc. Just sayin'. ;)

Source: scientificseamstress.blogspot.com via Christina on Pinterest

Happy Sunday y'all!

An Update on The List

2011-11-12T21:54:00.002-05:00

*Edited to give a shout out to all the new readers I've gotten in the last couple of weeks. I hope you'll pull up a chair and stay awhile! I seriously giggle with glee at every new reader. (And when I get fun comments from current readers too! ;) Love y'all!

Well ladies (and gents if you're out there!) it's been a couple weeks since I wrote The List and I'd say it's been fairly successful over all. It's funny how putting things down on paper motivates you (or at least me) to do them!

Let's take a look at that pile from the beginning shall we?

Here's what I got done this week:

Misc. Projects

11. Recipe Boxes - I found the boxes cheap at Borders (and this was long before they were closing). They were originally from some Time Life promotion, but were five bucks a piece, and they even came with recipe cards! I didn't like the logos all over the box and since one was going to be a gift to my best friend I decided to personalize it with some vinyl and my Cricut. Mine has the buttons (I messed up the sizing of the recipe card so I had to improvise.) Then, for my friend I made recipe dividers for the inside of the box. Mine is going to hold my "50 _______" recipe books from each month's Food Network Magazine. It's a larger size which is just what she wanted! (4x6 not 3x5)

12. Ribbon box - Earlier this week I showed you the ribbon box I made out of an old cous cous container during my Craft Area Reveal.

15. and 16. Scrapping up my Homemaker's Mission Statement and a Favorite Quote (or Two!) - I just used Word to type them up and then printed them off and matted them with some scrap paper. The big one I made in Picnik - though I think it may get resized. I don't like it that big. I'm considering offering it as a free printable - anyone interested?

17. Pinterest Post It Holder - I saw several of these Post It Notes holders on Pinterest and I literally had a ton of those plastic picture frames left over from our wedding so I thought I'd make one as an added gift for my bestie. Here's a link to the tutorial I pinned - Paper Wings

Sewing Projects

3. Mending - This is almost finished. I bought some ribbon to cover a hole in a towel (I'll show you how I did it - assuming it's not an epic fail - haha! this week.) and I just have to do some machine mending on 3 pieces tonight. It'll be checked off next week for sure.

Here's a look at the pile now:

So, I'm making progress. Today was spent working on stocking up the freezer with healthy fare for nights when we don't really feel like heavy cooking as well as doing some organization there. I'll share that with you as soon as I'm done.

I've also been steadily working on the advent calendar, which I'll show you when I'm done. It's so cute. Srsly.

Have a great Saturday night. I'll be back tomorrow with our regularly scheduled Sunday Pinspiration!

New vs. Old

2011-11-09T14:55:00.006-05:00

Some people love new, modern things. They want the newest, best thing all of the time. Well, no disrespect to them, but I love old things. Oh sure, I love all of my modern conveniences and I love new clothes and all of my high tech gadgets. When it comes to decorating my home, I think I like a mix of old and new. I love adding vintage pieces to our home. I like to think there's a story behind each and every piece. With new stuff, you're making the story up as you go. There's no history to it. I like knowing that someone else cherished a vintage find.

This weekend, The Hubs and I went to our favorite vintage and antique store solely for the purpose of finding some inexpensive plates to make this:

Source: minhafilhavaicasar.com via Christina on Pinterest

And I did find a set that I loved. A 1940s tea and toast set from Steubenville. I came home, grabbed my glue and some cheap Wal-Mart candle sticks I had and yet, when I started looking at the set and began thinking about permanently gluing them to some cheap mass produced glass candle stick...I couldn't do it. Here's what I did instead:

I tucked a small jewelry gift box underneath the largest plate to elevate it and arranged the rest on top of my dresser in what I felt was a nice looking arrangement.

The toast plate holds the perfumes and body sprays I use regularly. (I chucked the rest.)

The saucer holds some nail polishes and creams.

The tea cup holds some small samples of expensive perfume that I generally get for free since I'm not a big perfume person. The samples are the perfect size. The little bottle in the middle came from my mother's jewelry box. I don't ever wear it, but I do smell it occasionally. It's a nice reminder of how she smelled as I was growing up.

It was only $8.00 - for the entire set. I chose grey because we have grey accents in our bedroom. I just did a major clean off and reorganization of the top of our dresser that I will share with you soon and I wanted a pretty way to display some of my girly items. I just couldn't wait to show you my sweet little find. I imagine some other woman, from a time long ago, using the set to enjoy breakfast in the quiet before she begins her day. Maybe that's silly - but it makes me smile.

This post is partying at:

20 Below Thursday - Christina's Adventures (see sidebar)

House of Hepworths - Hookin' Up with House of Hepworths - see sidebar

Thankful

2011-11-07T21:36:00.000-05:00

Each Monday this month Becky @ Organizing Made Fun is sharing what she's thankful for and encouraging us to do the same, so here's what I'm thankful for today:
1. Rest - because after today, I'm going to need it!2. A patient husband who cooks dinner while I'm trying to finish up the rest of my housework and blogging responsibilities. 3. The little warm front moving through that's gotten us back up into the 60s after snow two weeks ago.
What are you thankful for?

Craft Area Reveal

2011-11-07T20:50:00.007-05:00

Remember all that talk about me finally getting a craft area? Yet, I never seem to show you do I? Well, I'm so excited because I'm finally going to show you from start to finish where my little corner of the world began and where it is right now. I'm an organizer, so I'm sure at some point it will change, but I am so thrilled to have a little space to move around in and craft and scrap! :) Let's take a little tour shall we?

Here's where we began last January before my Office Decrapification project began:

Here's what it looked like after I finished cleaning and we added some new furniture pieces from Ikea:

It was functional, but also more of an office area than for crafting.

After living in the space for awhile we realized we only really needed one desk for office type things and I was usually the one using it so we made The Hubs desk the "office" and my desk became a crafting area for me. Here's the space now:

I took down three pieces of my homemade artwork and added some grid storage from AC Moore that I got for $15.00 (Reg. $29.99). If you look closely, you can see my Gadanke journals hanging there! I also cleared out the office supplies and nestled in my scrapping scissors caddy and my Cricut. Off to the left side is my photo scanner that I talked about in this post.

Here's an up close picture of all that organization:

I haven't added text to the labels on the jars yet, because I'm still trying to figure out what I want where. You can find more information about the jars here. Below the hanging rack is a magnetic strip for hanging bits of projects that I'm currently working on. My favorite part is the ribbon rack. I just pull and cut! I also made some extra ribbon storage out of an old cous cous container: Super simple.

On the other side of the desk to my right is another grid system; this time from the Container Store. It holds larger items like my Cricut mats and the inserts for my scanner. I've also positioned my sewing machine on my workspace. It's out of the way, but ready to go when I need it. So much better than having to drag it out of the rolling cart each time!

The bin below was the inspiration for the colors in the space. I found it at Target and fell in love with the jewel tones. It houses some premade scrapbook pages and all of that kindergarten work mom saved. I'm going to use it to store current projects.

Here's a picture of the tidied up corkboard and storage drawers area of the space. All that is scrapbook supplies. I kid you not. (Hi, my name is Christina and I'm a scrapbook hoarder...)

Here's another picture of my corkboard redo. You can see I've filled it up with embellishments for an album I'm working on for a friend. Don't worry - it's on The List. (Sorry for the crappy night shot.)

And speaking of The List - here's that pile I showed you; only now it's all been gone through and organized by project. Easy peasy. And yes, I've been working on it. ;)

Oh and one last thing. Remember this? I had asked in a previous post what you thought it might be...no one guessed it so I'm spilling the beans.

It's a cord catcher! It sits at the back of my desk and holds the adapters to all of my favorite crafting supplies - glue gun, Cricut and sewing machine! All I have to do is grab one and plug it in to the back of the tool!

I am so excited about this. I've been more creative in the last two weeks than I have in a year! Everything is at my fingertips. I'm just putting on the finishing touches of the organization (where everything will go) - but now I have room to grow. I'm not cramped for storage space anymore!

So, whatcha think? How do you organize your craft supplies?

This post is partying at:

Blue Cricket Designs (see sidebar)
Handy Man, Crafty Woman (see sidebar)

Pintegrity Pledge

2011-11-05T00:50:00.000-04:00

Hey guys,

Normally I don't use my blog as a soap box, but I couldn't get past something this week without taking some action. If you're on Pinterest you know how incredibly awesome it is. But as with everything, even great things can have a downside. This week several bloggers brought to light a big problem. Pinning and repinning often means that the original blogger isn't getting appropriate credit for his or her work.

You know I love my Sunday Pinspiration, but you also know that I try my best to make sure I'm only sharing pins that link to the original source. That's because I want to make sure I give those bloggers credit for the hours upon hours of work they put into their content. You also know that I urge you to pin from the source link and not my blog because if you don't, I'll get the credit for something I didn't do. I never want that to happen.

Here's a great example of what can go wrong and why we need to protect our content and our blog buddies by pinning responsibly:

Why I Plaster My Logo on Every Photo

After seeing this all over blog land this week, I contacted Vivienne @ The V Spot, Allison @ House of Hepworths and Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating to ask if they would join me in creating a Pintegrity Pledge. I was thrilled when they said yes!

Will you join us in signing the pledge to pin responsibly? Please sign our pledge!

Click on the page link at the top of the blog to read more about how you can protect yourself and others. And snag a button for your blog to spread the word. We can make a difference! Pinterest is awesome, and we can make it even better!

Love ya!

Christina xoxo

It's Time To Give Away A Journal!

2011-11-04T13:52:00.000-04:00

First a special shout out to all the new Scrappers out there. I'm so excited that you've chosen to read my blog. And to all the old friends, you guys are AWESOME! :)

And the winner of the Gadanke Journal of their choice is...

*drum roll*

Comment #9 - Krystal!

Krystal said...

I'm a *new* follower -- glad to meet you!

November 1, 2011 3:45 PM

Glad to meet you Krystal!

Please email me at thescrappyhousewife(at)gmail(dot)com with your information and which journal you would like.

Congratulations!

The List

2011-10-31T18:51:00.001-04:00

Have you entered to win a FREE Gadanke Journal of your choice yet? Go HERE to enter!

So, recently I've been working on my crafting space and trying to make room for all of the supplies, tools, and fun stuff (read: fabric, paper - oh god the paper!, stickers, embellishments, etc.) that I have a plan for and well...I gotta tell ya, it won't all fit. Here's the problem:

Remember this space?

Yeah, here's what it looks like now:

Nothing scarier at Halloween than a massive pile of unfinished craft projects right? ;)

I'm kind of ashamed to even watermark that. Hello, my name is Christina and I am a project hoarder. *sigh* Here's the thing...I get a great idea and I buy all the stuff to bring that idea to fruition and then it sits. I see that lovely clean crafting space and I go, "Wow! Now I can do so much!" and then I promptly fill it with the "so much" and never touch it again. Or rather, it sits in a holding pattern and I'm horrible about putting myself at the very bottom of my to do list so I never get back to it. Well, since I've worked hard to create a functional craft space with the space I do have, there's really no excuse for all of that to sit.

So I made a list. A very long list. A list that will probably grow just a little bit as I unearth the layers beneath (it's not too bad, I swear). And in the spirit of holding myself accountable, I decided to share my list of "unfinisheds" with all of you. It is now your job to help me stay motivated to get all this crap done. Why you ask?

Because I'm not buying another craft project or planning any further craft projects until these are done. Some of them are even stupidly simple. Like the mending for example. How hard is it for a girl to sew up a hole? Not hard, I'll tell you. I've been L.A.Z.Y. and it has to stop. I'm wasting valuable real estate in my home because I neglect to allow myself a hobby. Ridiculous!

Here's the List (and because I'm an insane list maker, it's broken down into categories):

Unfinished Craft Projects

Soap label prints for guest bath
"For Friends" box
Small organizational bags for purse
Crochet class (omg the challenge I was a part of was way more than I could handle)
~~Fall wreath~~ DONE
~~Fall table poms~~ DONE
My recipe binder
Mom/Grandma's Cookbook project
Family Cookbook
Christmas centerpiece
Map art for living room
Subway art for bedroom
Advent calendar
Felt flowers

Cross Stitch:

Bird house stitch n' hang
Butterflies
Heart wreath sampler

Embroidery:

Tuscan runner
Gold embroidered floral pillow cases
Tulip runner
Summer romance runner and napkins
Holiday runner and napkins
Kitchen towels (redwork?)
Felt ornaments

Sewing Projects:

Vintage apron kit
Tree skirt
Mending
T-shirt shopping bags
T-shirt scarf

Scrapbook Projects:

Bowden's book
School Year 1
School Year 2
School Year 3
School Year 4
School Year 5
Adam's (The Hubs) school stuff
My childhood
Wedding album (I've only been married a year and a half - that's normal right?)
Honeymoon
Sea World
Disney
Kindergarten book (My mother saved every. single. piece. of paper from when I was in Kindergarten - I'm scanning it in and making a digital book of my favorite pieces so I can chuck all the paper!)
Adam & Christina book
Baby O's (a friend's baby) book

Misc. Projects

Clean out foyer closet and reorg
Reorg bathroom storage
Clean out dresser
Dining room/linen closet tidy up
~~Decorate for Halloween~~ DONE
Family tree/Ancestry (ongoing)
Geneaology Notebook/Docs (ongoing)
Scan family pictures (ongoing)
Purge magazines
Hobby Binders
Recipe boxes
Ribbon box
Bag dispensers for cars
Clean out file cabinet and go as paperless as possible

Home Notebook Revamp (This section will grow as I decide on more of what we need).

Cover and Spine

So...overwhelmed yet? ;) In all seriousness though all of these projects are important to me and I really want to complete them. I just haven't been the best about using my time wisely. Since Homemaker's Challenge I've really started to see things differently. If I don't make time for myself and my interests, I'm going to drive other people batty and I'm not going to be good for anyone, including myself. So I'm going to tackle the "unfinisheds" and share my progress with you as I go along. I hope you'll join me. Anyone else have a list? Are you brave enough to share? ;)

Sunday Pinspiration #3 - Crafty Containers

2011-10-30T13:31:00.001-04:00

Hey guys! It's time for another installment of Sunday Pinspiration! This week I chose some of my favorite cheap and easy container ideas I've pinned from the last week or so. Before we get started though, have you entered to win a Gadanke Journal of your choice? ;) Go here to enter: Gadanke Journal Giveaway

Here are our the housekeeping bits for Sunday Pinspiration:

1. I have done my very best to find the original link for each picture. If for some reason there is an error or due credit isn't given, please, PLEASE kindly let me know.
2. If the link is directly to your blog - i.e. it is your original work - and you would rather I not post it, please let me know and the picture will be removed.
3. If you like any of these and want to add them to your own Pinterest boards, please click the source link and pin from there to ensure proper credit.

First up we have a beautiful upcycled pedestal for organizing the clutter that accumulates on a dresser. We love antiquing and this would be so cheap and easy to make. I'm definitely doing it.

Source: minhafilhavaicasar.com via Christina on Pinterest

Next we have an inexpensive way to dress up regular old boxes to organize your fabric stash. (If you're a girl who sews you know what I'm talking about!) Actually, I added this blog to my Google Reader. Looks like lots of great tips.

Source: sewmanyways.blogspot.com via Christina on Pinterest

Next, can you believe these were diaper boxes? I can't! They look awesome! What an economical way to deck out a nursery! I couldn't resist adding this blog to my reader either.

Source: http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2011/02/lets-make-something-together-lined.html via Christina on Pinterest

I just loved these straw containers for ribbon spools. They look so vintage!

Source: allpeoplequilt.com via Christina on Pinterest

What about you? Have you found any neat container ideas on Pinterest this week? Leave a link in the comments so we can check it out! And don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY! :) Happy Sunday Y'all!

Bloggiversary Celebration - Day 5 - My Halloween Decor and a GIVEAWAY!

2011-10-28T22:34:00.002-04:00

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED, THANK YOU! :)

Hey y'all. Sorry for the late post. Life got in the way in the form of a rescheduled tutoring appointment and the winter storm warning that should bring 4 - 8 inches of snow our way over night and into tomorrow. So snow...in October...really? *sigh* I'm still such a Florida girl at heart. At least I have plenty of stuff to keep me busy this weekend. I'll share about all of that on Monday. It's a little CRA-ZAY.

Tonight though I wanted to wrap up my week of fest with a highlight of what I've done to deck out our apartment for Halloween and share an AWESOME giveaway with you. Let's check out the decor first, shall we?

First up we have the requisite copy of It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (For the hubs who absolutely adores Charlie Brown...I love that about him.) I won the adorable countdown blocks from Kristina at A Home Made by Kiki. They have made me so happy getting to change them each day!

Next up we have the chalkboard in our entryway. Since I have discovered the joys of chalk ink pens, I try to decorate the little chalkboard where we hang our keys with a fun saying for seasons and holidays.

Last year I found a cool tutorial to upcycle some wine bottles into Halloween decor in Woman's Day magazine of all places (not typically on my magazine list). I may or may not have gone overboard with it, but we had a collection of empty wine bottles laying around (our complex doesn't have recycling remember?) and I wanted to use them. These are ghosts that I just stuff a white pillar candle into in front of our fireplace.

I've had this "set" of Halloween ceramic tea kettle and jars for awhile. It's not really a set. The tea pot came from JoAnn's clearance rack one year and the small jars came from Dollar Tree a few years later. There are 4 smaller jars in total. Bat wings and skull soup anyone? ;)

I used my Cricut Happy Hauntings cartridge to create spooky sayings to stick to the hutch in our dining room. The little ghosts peeking out came from one of my favorite scrapbooking tools - my Kiwi Lane Tiny holiday embellishment set. They're reusable templates rather than something you buy and use once. I just traced around the little ghost and cut off the part I didn't need. I think they are so cute!

I got these tealight holders at Walmart a few years ago for a dollar each! The little tiny pumpkins (how cute are they?) came from Target's dollar section this year. I bought both of the boxes I saw. ;)

Here are three more of my wine bottle creations. It was literally painters tape and some spray paint and a paint pen to add detail!

And NOW for the part you quickly scrolled to the bottom to see. ;) The GIVEAWAY! When I first started blogging, Jane over at The Borrowed Abode introduced her readers to Katie, creator of Gadanke.com. In case you haven't heard of it, Gadanke.com is the place to find a journal and craft your story - whatever it might be. Katie creates awesome journals for just about everything. I have She 1.1, Become, and Taste (my most recent purchase)

I gave my husband Love Letter for our first anniversary. Each journal is filled (and I do mean filled) with pretty papers, fun embellishments like old school library cards, envelopes, stickers, and quirky vintage pictures.

I'll tell you this - my husband isn't the mushiest guy on the planet, but he loved Love Letter. We recently purchased the Taste journal to document our story in food. So often we find ourselves connecting to family and the past through the things we make and we are major foodies so it was perfect for us! I'll even be sharing it with you guys here on the blog!

So...do you journal? Would you like to begin? Do you travel a lot? Are you a foodie too? Do you need a creative outlet that's quick and fun for you or your kiddos (oh yeah, did I mention she does kids journals too!)? A Gadanke journal would be perfect, and I'm giving you the opportunity to win one journal of your choice on me as a thank you for being such awesome Scrappers!

Here's how to enter:

Required -

Visit Gadanke.com and pick out your favorite journal. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me which one you'd choose.

Optional Additional Entries:

1. Follow me on Google Friend Connect and leave me a comment saying you did (current GFC followers - just leave a comment saying you already follow me).

2. Follow me on Facebook. (Return here and leave a comment.)

3. Blog about the giveaway! (Return here and comment with the link to your specific blog post)

Terms and Conditions:

Open to residents of the United States only. Winners of past giveaways in 2011 are ineligible. Giveaway will be open between now and next Thursday at midnight (Friday morning). I will pick a winner Friday and let you know who the lucky winner is! :)

I would like to thank Katie @ Gadanke especially for saying yes when I asked if I could treat one of you to one of her journals. I'd also like to thank Eva and Haley for their awesome guest posts this week and lastly all of you who read the blog regularly and support me in finding my way in this bloggy world. You should also check out Making This Home, Katie's blog, where she shares her story - like the fact she and her husband are turning a hangar into a home!

Thanks again, and good luck!

Bloggiversary Celebration - Day 4 - Guest Post from Haley @ the distracted blogger

2011-10-27T13:25:00.000-04:00

Today is Day 4 in our week long celebration and we have with us Haley from The Distracted Blogger. If you've read any of the comments on my posts, you'll recognize this familiar face. I was so excited when Haley offered to guest post. I love her new blog and I just knew I had to ask her to write about thrifting. I was in awe when I saw all the awesome things she gets from local thrift shops! This girl knows her vintage style on a budget. She's bringing her best tips for thrift today! Enjoy! Thanks Haley!

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My first guest post! How exciting, especially for someone who has been a big supporter of me from the beginning! Christina actually encouraged me to start a blog, so here I am The Distracted Blogger, also know as Haley. I blog about my many interests, I swear I have to many, like my love of crafts, home organization, dance, fashion, and some geeky flavor thrown in there somewhere as well. Today I want to share a few tips on making the most of trips to your local thrift stores.

(Scrappy's Note: Seriously? That vase? I died.)

My first tip is to know your local thrift and consignment stores. The more popular thrift stores like Goodwill will have a very steady flow of items coming in, but they get pick over faster. Also, thrift stores and consignment shops in well to do area may have more designer items, but the prices can be much higher. You will probably spend less time, but more money. If you want to spend less money you will need to spend more time looking through every piece of clothing on the racks or moving things around on shelves to find the "lighting bolts". It is like a treasure hunt each and every time! This brings me to my next tip:

When thrifting, yes it is now a verb, treat each trip like an adventure otherwise you may get burned out by looking piece by piece on the second rack. Friends help keep the energy up, so it's not a bad idea to bring one along. Also, thrift stores = variety, so try on styles/colors you might normally pass up. Either you will get a laugh out of it or you might fall in love with the dress that is much more flattering on or the style you never thought you could pull off. So look for bold/signature pieces (clothes or decor). If you change your mind you only are down a few dollars so what's the harm? And ALWAYS TRY IT ON before you buy. Redonating something you just picked up is a sad thing.

I normally wear the yellow swimsuit under a skirt and jacket as seen in my profile picture on my blog.

Before setting foot in the thrift stores have a thrifting budget in mind. Many small purchases can add up and surprise your pocket book if you are not careful.

If you are looking for something in particular bring measurements or paint samples since you cannot get your money back.

When shopping look at items at different angles, check weight, but also remember these items bring personality into your home not perfection. Also check for broken zippers, snags, stains, ect. You can sometimes get even more discounts by mentioning the tiny rust spots on the stainless stain bowl, or zipper that stops half-way up.

Last tip: Eat something beforehand. You will need the energy and Happy thrifting!

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Did you take notes? I know I did. Check back in later today for my Halloween decor (yep, just going up today...I'm slackin') AND tomorrow for an exciting GIVEAWAY!

Bloggiversary Celebration - Day 3- Going Forward: Blog Goals 2011 - 2012

2011-10-26T19:48:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! I hope you're enjoying the bloggiversary stuff. Today I'd like to take a brief moment to share some blog goals for the upcoming year. I'm going to be honest here. When I started blogging I thought it would be "easy" and that I'd just do it here and there for fun and make a part time job out of it. HA! Blogging takes time and dedication to make it work if you actually want to turn it from a hobby into a real job. I've learned that the hard way. So I sat down recently and started a list of goals for the upcoming year. I may end up adding to them, who knows?

(An aside: If you're blogging for $$$ and have some goals you think I should include or advice for a newbie PLEASE leave me a comment. I'm still very new and learning as I go along.)

1. Set a true purpose for blogging. (Home decor? Organization? Crafting? Being a stay at home wife? A mix of several of those?)

2. Research the following:
a. how to make the blog a legal business
b. how do I get started with advertisers and sponsors

3. Read up on other bloggers advice. (I've noticed quite a few of the "rock stars" out there have advice on this and posts dedicated to it.)

~~4. Set up a Pinterest account.~~ DONE! (Why aren't you over there following me hmmm? ;) )

5. Purchase my own domain.

6. Hire a blog designer to create a look of my own for the blog.

6. Create a blogging schedule and get organized.

~~7. Host my first giveaway.~~ DONE!

8. Set up a photobucket account (or something similar).

9. Use social media more effectively. (I won a book from Jane @ The Borrowed Abode that should help with this.)

10. More link parties! (Ideas anyone? Something you've been dying to see a linky party for?)

What you will not see as I move forward:

I want to monetize (it's still a ways off), but here's the thing: I never want to blog or write just so I can make some quick cash. You will never see me write a blog post about orange juice just because a company is offering money to anyone who will. That never rings true to me. I don't knock anyone who does. I just noticed that there are certain ways to make money doing this and when I read posts that are written around a subject just because a company is offering it for the publicity, it just doesn't read sincere. I want to write and blog because I want to write and blog. I'm going to try my darnedest to make sure that I only support and advertise for things I personally like or believe in. Maybe that's naive but I hope not.

I want the blog to grow and I want to get more readers, but I never ever want to lose sight of where it all began. I never want to step away from my original reason for doing all of this which is to share my ideas and creativity and hopefully inspire you to be creative too. I want this to become a place where we can share our creativity and become a community here and on Facebook.

I'll be the first to tell you that I want to keep it real around here. I want you to know that I'm no expert. I'm just like you. I learn from the comments you leave and the projects you post to your own blogs. Even if I get to 10,000 readers (wouldn't that be nice?) I'll probably still be showing you the dusty floors when I clean out a closet or the epic fails of a project gone wrong. That's just how I roll. I appreciate it when I see the same from the big league bloggers I read on a daily basis.

Here's to another great year of blogging ahead! Thank you so much for being here with me so far.

Bloggiversary Celebration - Day 2 - Guest Post: Tales of the Scotts

2011-10-25T13:26:00.000-04:00

It's only appropriate that Eva @ Tales of the Scotts guest posts for me today. Last year during her one year bloggiversary she asked me to share a project I had done based on something I saw during her I heart Mondays segment, so I did a guest post for her and ended up with my own blog! She's busy with her two beautiful kiddos but I knew I wanted her to share something and so I ~~begged, pleaded~~ asked nicely if I could include one of my favorite posts of hers during our week long celebration and she said yes! Without further ado I bring you Eva's Pumpkin Bread recipe. I made this last year after she blogged about it and I can totally vouch for how awesome it is. The one recipe makes a nice amount of bread and it is SO creamy and delicious. (And she's totally right about the tall glass of cold milk.) I hope you'll try it.

Also, check out what Eva did with that gift card she one during my first giveaway. Click here for her post on that.

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The Most Delicious, Scrumptious, & Amazing Pumpkin Bread!

Fall has finally arrived to northern Florida!! (I'm doing the happy dance right now!). It's downright lovely outside. Now that it's cooler outside, I don't mind scooping up my little people and heading outdoors! I can't stop thinking about sweaters, pumpkin patches, Fall decor, my fake Frye boots and pumpkin bread! Fall is BY FAR my FAVORITE time of year. I'm already dreaming of even crisper temps. And you better believe I made a batch of pumpkin bread during nap time today!

This is, by far, the best pumpkin bread I have ever eaten. So, go make some and enjoy the cooler temps wherever you may be!

Follow these directions:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
3 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups of fresh pumpkin - 16 ounces if using canned pumpkin (I only find 15 oz cans so that's fine too)
2/3 cups water if pumpkin is canned
1/2 cup water if pumpkin is fresh or frozen
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, water, oil and pumpkin. Stir until blended. Add nuts. Mix well. Pour into two floured 9x5 loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour. Cool slightly and take out of pan to let cool on a rack (I never do this but just copying directions). Keeps well in the refrigerator and takes great for days!

I prefer mine with a tall glass of cold milk!

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Thanks for sharing the recipe with us Eva!

Come back tomorrow for news about where we go from here. My next year in blogging!

Bloggiversary Celebration - Day 1 - The Year in Review

2011-10-24T14:10:00.000-04:00

Due to a cold last week, I missed my own one year anniversary in blogging, so I decided to do some celebrating this week. Today I wanted to take a look back at some of the projects I've tackled in a year. (It kind of boggles me that I've done this stuff and showed our mess to the world - ha!) If you've missed any of these projects you can click on the caption below to go directly to that post.

The most popular post by far in the past year has been this one:

Who knew some dollar store frames would get that much attention?

I still use those on a daily basis too. And they haven't broken yet!

Next up is my post on how I organize my kitchen. I'll be honest with you here. I got the command hook idea to organize the measuring cups from my mother's kitchen as I was growing up. She had a Tupperware rack that held all of hers screwed to the side of a cabinet. I'm not even sure they make it anymore. Especially not in the crazy 70s orange she loved. ;)

Command Hooks are by far one of my favorite organizational tools.

For other posts on kitchen organization click here and here.

I certainly can't forget my closet clean out. Aside from a few little things (I added a bin to hold extra sheets and need to nest our suitcases again) nothing has really changed here. It's still very functional and I'm working on another Goodwill donation.

The Great Closet Clean Up

I still cringe when I think of how much of our "real life" I've shown you (shoe prints in the dust on the floor anyone?), but I'm so happy I started blogging. I really want to make this my job but I never want to lose sight of where it began. No matter how many readers I have or how many sponsors I get or if this all goes down in flames, I'm going to try really hard to stay real. I want to thank all of you for sticking by me in the past year. All of your comments, constructive criticism and wisdom have been appreciated 100%. I hope the next year in blogging brings many new, fun things!

Sunday Pinspiration #2 - Swanky Side Tables

2011-10-23T17:49:00.003-04:00

Hey ladies (and gents if you're out there)! This week I was inspired by creative or unique side tables. (Actually, I was inspired by quite a bit. I was a pinning fool yesterday!)

A couple of reminders before we begin:

1. I have done my very best to find the original link for each picture. If for some reason there is an error or due credit isn't given, please, PLEASE kindly let me know.
2. If the link is directly to your blog - i.e. it is your original work - and you would rather I not post it, please let me know and the picture will be removed.

3. If you like any of these and want to add them to your own Pinterest boards, please click the source link and pin from there to ensure proper credit.

Let's begin:

I just loved the colors on this. So fresh. You should click the source link and see how it started out. Crazy transformation!

Source

Speaking of awesome colors, check this out!

Source

Loved these suitcases as a side table. Great for off season storage!

Source

You can see more of my pins on Pinterest by following the link at the top right. Follow me while you're there! I decided that this week we'll celebrate my one year bloggiversary all week long so check in daily for guest posts, a recap of my year in blogging, exciting news regarding by blogging future and a giveaway! :)

Happy Sunday!

Where Scrappy Gets Crafty - Pt 1

2011-10-19T21:46:00.006-04:00

When I first started blogging (a year ago yesterday!?!) I featured my home office space and mentioned that I had plans for my cork board. Remember how it looked back then? Yeah, well it sat that way until Monday of this week when I decided enough was enough. Here's the before - cluttered, messy, only barely functional:

Well, that's all over now! I hinted a couple of months ago that I was working on a fun and exciting project. Well, I can't keep it to myself anymore. I've revamped my side of the office as my very own crafting studio! We use The Hubs desk for home office stuff and my side of things is all for me to create and craft! While it's not completely finished, I couldn't wait to show you the positive change in that area of the space. Here's the cork board today:

Sorry for the nighttime shot. It was a dreary day and I waited too long to take the picture.

As part of my craft area I really wanted to clear the clutter and make the cork board work for me so I stripped it bare. So far all I've reattached is the clipboard that holds my weekly chore schedule (something I'm going to offer very soon here on the blog), our small clipboard of important tax receipts (OK - that's not crafty, but it's a necessity and that's where I've always kept it so I'm in the habit of going back to it there. When I purge the filing cabinet, I'll remedy that.) and a small dishwasher detergent box turned organizer with some scrapbook paper. My plan is to use push pins to hang things I use often for crafting and scrapping like my good sewing scissors, my fabric marking kit and large scrapping projects in progress.

Here's how I did it:

1. Remove everything from cork board.

2. Using spray adhesive and a yard of fabric of your choice (for my board I used a yard, yours will vary so make sure you measure twice) cover the board with the fabric making sure you have a good stick without over-saturating. My best advice here is to read the back of the can. I do every. single. time. Oh and as a precaution, only use spray adhesive outside in a well ventilated area and wear a mask if you have asthma or other breathing issue.

3. Using my X-acto knife I trimmed the fabric down to inside the metal edge of the cork board.

4. Pick a fun ribbon and hot glue to the metal border of the board. (I really wanted an old frame for this, but after hunting around forEVER I gave up and went with ribbon - but I actually love it now.)

Next Up - the felt "flowers". Here's a close up shot:

To make these I simply cut three different sized circles out of felt. (I used the Fiskars circle cutter templates as a guide) Then, using a small thumbtack I just pushed the tack into the cork and used a dab of hot glue to secure a black center. These are totally removable if I get tired of them!

Here's the cost round up:

Corkboard - FREE! (We had one, but you can still get one relatively cheap at yardsales, etc.)

Fabric - $2.75 (It was $5.99/yd but I had a coupon.)

Ribbon - $3.99/roll (I used one)

Felt for flowers - $1.60 for four sheets

Hot glue, and thumbtacks were things I had around the house.

Total cost: $8.34!

I'm so stoked about it. Since becoming a housewife and living in a cramped apartment while we save for a house I realized that I hate visual clutter so having all that clean open space on the wall in such a bold color makes me giddy! :)

PS - How the heck did I miss my own bloggiversary? I'll try to celebrate this weekend with something fun. I blame it on the cold I've been down with the last two days. Also, the offer is still open if anyone would like to guest blog in honor of my 1 year on in the bloggiverse. Anyone? Pretty please?

This post is partying at:

House of Hepworths - Hookin' Up with HOH (see sidebar for link)

Christina's Adventures - 20 Below Thursday (see sidebar)

Fall Wreath Dollar Tree Style

2011-10-18T20:20:00.000-04:00

So while I was working on those flower poms for my dining room table, I thought I'd grab a couple of extra things from the Dollar Tree to whip up a quick wreath for fall. I grabbed a twisted, natural wreath form and some additional flowers and it took all of 10 minutes to throw this together:

Here's a detail shot of the flowers:

Basically I just popped the flowers off of the stems and hot glued them to the wreath form. It cost me all of $2.00! Here's my dilemma though. This was "done" two weeks ago, but I kept wanting to add to it - make it grander, but something told me to stop adding and live with it for a bit. I love the way it looks but something still nags at me. I feel like something is missing. Any suggestions?

Sunday Pinspiration #1 - Repurposed Bookshelves

2011-10-16T21:07:00.000-04:00

OK so since joining Pinterest I have been pinning like a crazy person. If you follow me you know this. If not, well why are you still sitting here? Follow the link to the right to find me! ;)

A couple of housekeeping notes to start:

1. I have done my very best to find the original link for each picture. If for some reason there is an error or due credit isn't given, please, PLEASE kindly let me know.
2. If the link is directly to your blog - i.e. it is your original work - and you would rather I not post it, please let me know and the picture will be removed.

Anywho, it gives me far too much inspiration. I cannot wait until we have a house so I can start doing some of the heavier duty projects, so for now I just thought each Sunday I would share some of my favorites. This week we'll be focusing on repurposing bookshelves in a variety of ways. Let's take a look shall we?

First up, I just love this in the bathroom. Great elegant storage!

Source

This was a bookcase and a table stuck together!

Source

OK, so this isn't exactly a repurposed bookcase so much as it's repurposed stairs. The reader in me swooned when I saw this! (The source link below goes to the original blog post it is found in, but it links directly to the architect who designed it.)

Source

There's your Pinspiration for the week. I hope you enjoyed. You can find more bookshelf ideas over on my Pinterest board. Check it out!

What neat things have you found on Pinterest lately?

Dollar Store Fall Decor

2011-10-12T20:17:00.007-04:00

Last year, I spent a lot of time and effort making Halloween decor (that I will show you next week) for our newly annual Halloween party, but this year I wanted something more transitional. I like Halloween, don't get me wrong, but pumpkins and spiders only go so far between October 1st and Thanksgiving. Obviously, since we're saving for a house I didn't want to spend a lot on new decor so I turned to one of my favorite stores - Dollar Tree. I also gave a little love to the Target dollar section. (There's a reason they put that stuff by the front door and it sucks me in every time!)

Check out what I made for our dining room table - all of which totaled NINE BUCKS (plus a couple of things I had already):

First, I made these floral poms. Each one is a wiffle ball covered in "silk" flowers popped right off the stem and hot glued on! You just use the holes in the ball as a guide. I saw Kris and Kim of The DIY Dish talk about them on the Rachael Ray show and knew I wanted to try them. I think they turned out fab! And each one was only $3.25! I am in love with that purple.

Next, I found an adorable natural pumpkin for $2.50 in the Target dollar bin. All I did was tuck a few of my Dollar Tree floral in it for color. It's not even glued on so I can pop them out and change it up whenever I want to!

To finish it off and give some height, I added a large wooden candle stick I found last year in the Michael's "as-is" bin for a dollar (can you believe that?) as well as a tall orange pillar candle. I then added some small gold votive cups and battery powered tea lights to add more glow. (In the back there you can see another project I can't wait to share with you.)

Have you put out your fall decor yet? I'm working on a wreath as well that will be done by Friday and I'll share it with you when it's done. While I was working on this project (very late one night) I had the joy of swapping some Facebook messages with reader Erica who was also doing some late night crafting. So much fun!

Happy Fall Y'all!

(PS - What do you think of the changes to pictures on my blog? I have discovered the joy of Picnik. I'd love to hear your feedback! That last picture was just so stinkin' dark, there wasn't much I could fix, just an FYI.)

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Martha Hacked - Newspaper Recycling Station

2011-10-05T20:32:00.007-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I was wading through e-mails and came across my Martha Stewart Craft of the Day e-mail. I generally look at the craft and then pop over to her organizing tip of the day on her website to see what incredibly expensive/difficult/time consuming project she had planned. Well on that day rather than just glossing over it, I stopped when found this - a newspaper recycling station!

Source

Now, with all do respect to Ms. Stewart (who I am warming up to slowly) and her idea, I didn't feel like going out and buying a wooden crate and the hardware that would be needed to create her ingenious project. I knew there had to be a way to do it cheaply and with some of the things I already had laying around the house and I was right! I did it with just what I had on hand...no cost to me! Wahoo!
Check out this cheap or no cost Martha Hack. ;)

Step One - Grab a milk crate (super cheap - under $5.00 if you don't already have one) and some Command Cord Clips ($2). If you've read this blog for any amount of time you know I'm obsessed with Command products. I swear there's not much they can't do, so I always have them around. These were hanging out in the junk drawer in the kitchen.

Here's an up close shot of the clips you'll need:

Step 2: Apply the clips to the top edge of the milk crate like so. You'll have a better idea of what this looks like in a sec.

Step 3: Shoo away Scrappy Dog, who is suddenly very interested in what you're doing. (OK, maybe you won't have that step.)

Step 4: Open one of the clips and thread the end of your twine through making sure to leave a tail.

Repeat. Here, you can see how I've used two pieces of twine, clipping the ends into the Command clips, leaving decent sized ends hanging so I can tie it up.

Scrappy's Tip: Once you start laying in your newspapers, pull up gently on both ends of the twine so it lays flat on the bottom under your papers. If you don't it'll be too loosey goosey when you tie the ends together and it won't be a stiff bundle.

And voila! All tied up and ready to go to the recycling center or out to the curb! I was going to take a picture of our pile of papers waiting to go to recycling, but I was just to ashamed to admit how big it had gotten. Our apartment complex doesn't have recycling and I buy multiple papers (say 3 or so) each week for the coupons. It's a little insane, but well worth it. And now I have a great and fast way to bundle them.

Love it! Thank you Martha for the inspiration. It was a good thing. ;)

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Homemaker's Challenge - Kitchen Reorganization

2011-10-02T17:52:00.001-04:00

Hey y'all! I know it's been a couple of weeks since I last posted and I gotta tell ya, I've been one busy girl. I'm a tutor "in real life" and I have been crazy busy. Add to that some personal business that needed to be taken care of and it's been a mess over here. But I will tell you this: I have been so incredibly blessed by Homemaker's Challenge - 31 Days to Clean. It has kicked me into high gear and I have needed that kick.

This week I spent time catching up on the more "Martha" stuff...you know, the chores. One of the first things I tackled as a blogger was my kitchen, showing you how you can make a small (painfully small) rental kitchen functional. You can find more information on that here and here. They were two of my most successful posts ever! Who knew kitchen organization was such a hot topic!

After living with my systems in place for awhile I could definitely see what was working and what just wasn't, so this week, spurred on by the challenge I did a little reorganizing (ok a lot) and I'm so excited to share it with you.

Here's what I did:

First the "before" shot -

Isn't my kitchen glamorous? Spacious? Yeah, it's not. But I've managed to maximize the space!

So let's check it out:

The top of my fridge was a cluttered mess. And the cabinets behind it were inaccessible. I've never really understood why people thought those little cabinets would be a good idea and they've sat empty for 3 years. Recently though, I realized that all that unused space was a pretty dumb idea considering the size of our kitchen, so I remedied that situation.

The over the fridge cabinets now.

I moved some items we don't use all that often (several times a year) into that space to free up some space in our pantry. I added a shelf that had previously been used to organize the space in our laundry room that houses our pet supplies. I also had enough room to store our fondue pot, extra Brita filters and our meat grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. By doing this I freed up an entire cabinet in the pantry PLUS another shelf. Crazy right?

Here's the top of the fridge now:

Soon, I'm going to add a nice basket to hold all of our breakfast cereals and supplies. Also, the Hubs and I love antiquing and he couldn't resist that cute Colman's mustard tin on one of our recent trips. I couldn't resist making it functional. It now holds our handheld FoodSaver vacuum sealer and power adapter. The Saltine's tin came from my parents house and it's vintage as well. There's nothing in it thus far, but give me time. ;)

Check out what I did with all that extra storage space in our pantry.

I purchased another cabinet organizer at Bed Bath & Beyond (a $20 fix) to corral my stockpile (yes, I'm a stockpiler, no I'm not one of those crazy people on TV!). I also used a basket I had to hold my spaghetti sauce packets and pasta sauce jars so I could pull them down easily and so they wouldn't get lost way back there.

While I was in the pantry I finally got around to changing out the last of the shelf clips and tossing any expired food I found which wasn't much. Our pizza stone and brush fit nicely off to the side.

Next while trying to find a small shelf to organize our cups and glasses (which I'm still looking for by the way) I bought this plates organizer at Lowe's for under $10. It didn't work for our cups, but it worked beautifully to hold all of our plates and leave more than enough room to move the blue bowls down off the top shelf and within easier reach. I even had enough room to store our saucers on top! I am so excited about this cabinet that I smile just a bit each time I need a dish.

One of my biggest issues in our kitchen was this cabinet. It's a lower cabinet and it is as much of a black hole as it looks. I had previously purchased the shelf and basket and while it worked, the basket would get trashed any time we had to get something from it.

Here's the basket/drawer now:

And:

I purged a bit as well as adding a plastic bin with lid that I had to hold all of my cake decorating tips and the attachment tips for my Pampered Chef decorator, as well as the rogue cupcake papers floating around in there. It works perfectly!

The sifter and spider (that long basket looking spoon with wooden handle) were taken out and moved to a normally unused space. I used some inexpensive Command Hooks and took advantage of the vertical space of the cabinet doors! I've done the same with my measuring cups and spoons and it's worked wonderfully!

I don't know about you but my under-sink cabinet usually looks like this:

"Oh, I'll just put that back where it needs to go later, it's not hurting anything." Uh yeah. I said that a lot. I'm working on taking the word "later" out of my vocabulary. You couldn't even see my awesome storage drawers! Here's what it looks like now:

I've had these storage shelf/drawer units forever and they're a wonderful alternative to more permanent screw in/slide out organization. Since we're still renting while saving for a down payment on a house this was the best option. On the left shelf are all of my general cleaning and carpet cleaner items and in the drawer unit is extra sponges, silver and jewelry polishes and supplies for cleaning our disposer. On the right shelf are trash bags, dishwasher tabs and my Lysol. In the drawer is my collection of microfiber cloths. I cannot tell you how nice it is to use a microfiber cloth to clean and then get to toss it in the washer. We have cut down our paper towel use so much since we made the switch. It's insane! (And something very important to us.)

On the inside of that cabinet door is my plastic bag container (which while full, is not as necessary these days since we've also switched to reusable shopping bags). I couldn't use the adhesive strips supplied to hang it so I used (you guessed it!) Command picture hanging strips instead and it stays up fairly well as long as you don't slam the door.

Here's a shot of my kitchen today, after all that hard work!

We are loving the changes! Even my husband has commented on how great it looks. I love this picture because you can see the grid system from the Container Store that we use on the back wall of our pantry/laundry area to hold pots and pans and lid storage. Super cheap and a great way to utilize more vertical space. I cannot say that enough. If you can't go out, go up!

I'm working on several other posts of things I've been up to so expect to see more soon. I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately, but I hope to make up for it this week and to unveil some exciting things ahead for the blog. I can't wait!

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Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-09-16T10:14:00.000-04:00

Hello All! Today is my 32nd birthday!

I'm going to be off celebrating today with a friend and a very adorable younger man (her 2 month old) ;).

Graphic from The Graphics Fairy

But my birthday isn't the only exciting thing happening here at The Scrappy Housewife!

Would you believe it? Next month is the 1 year bloggiversary for my lil' ol' blog here and I. Want. YOU! I would love, love, LOVE it if I could have some of you guest blog that week.

If you would be interested in guest blogging and promoting your blog here that week, please email me at thescrappyhousewife(at)gmail(dot)com

I would love blog posts that reflect things we discuss here regularly:

1. DIY

2. Crafting

3. Food/Kitchen (tips and recipes)

4. Organizing

5. Scrapbooking

I'll be back later with an update on the Homemakers Challenge and how the crochet is going...(oy crochet!)

Learning to Crochet

2011-09-10T11:08:00.000-04:00

While I was planted on the couch sick earlier this week I spent some time catching up on my blog reader. I was painfully behind. ;) One of my favorite crafty bloggers is Allison at little lovelies. She is so talented and creative. She's single-handedly rekindled my love for embroidery (something I've loved working on since childhood, but lost touch with as I got older). She doesn't know who the heck I am. ;) But anyway...now she's gotten me interested in something I've always wanted to learn how to do...CROCHET!

My mother was super talented. She could do pretty much whatever she set her mind to. Crocheting was one of her many talents. Unfortunately, I never acquired that talent. ;)

Anywho, while I was catching up on Allison's awesome blog...she mentioned joining up for a free (don't we all love FREE?) crochet-along class at Maybe Matilda. I was instantly hooked (crochet joke...get it? hook? Har har.) and signed up. It's for crocheters of all skill levels including newbies like me! I'm so excited. If you crochet (or want to learn) check out the button below for more information.

The Scrappy Housewife

How to Clean Your Microwave (And Proof I'm Losing My Mind)

Saturday Scraps #3 - DIY Smash Tabs

What's a Maggot Basket?

Laundry Care Flip Chart

Social Media Blog Hop Monday

Saturday Scraps #2 - DIY Smash Book Pockets

Blogger Meet Up Recap

Frank Lloyd Wright Frame

Guest Posting Today!

Some Saturday Fun!

Saturday Scraps #1 - Dollar Section Embellishments

Gym Clothes Gone Wild

An Exciting Update on the What's Your Nude? Campaign

What's Your Nude?

Stop SOPA/PIPA

Taking a Break And My Blog Word of 2012

Saving Energy in the New Year

Just an FYI

Sunday Pinspiration #5 - Valentine's Day Ideas

Goals for 2012

2011 Wrap Up and an Announcement

Leftovers Make Over - Part 1

The Christmas Ornament

What Your Child's Teacher *Really* Wants for Christmas

Our Christmas Tree 2011

How to Make Those Advent Pockets

Advent Calendar! December Before and After

Christmas Tablescape

DIY Clip On Poinsettias

Cyber Monday (And why you should support small businesses...)

Thankful Week 4

The Liebster Award

Thankful Week 3

What I've Been Up To - List Update #2

Mending a Burned Towel

Thankful Week 2

Sunday Pinspiration #4 - DIY Tips and Tricks

An Update on The List

New vs. Old

Thankful

Craft Area Reveal

Pintegrity Pledge

It's Time To Give Away A Journal!

The List

Sunday Pinspiration #3 - Crafty Containers

Bloggiversary Celebration - Day 5 - My Halloween Decor and a GIVEAWAY!

Bloggiversary Celebration - Day 4 - Guest Post from Haley @ the distracted blogger

Bloggiversary Celebration - Day 3- Going Forward: Blog Goals 2011 - 2012

Bloggiversary Celebration - Day 2 - Guest Post: Tales of the Scotts

Bloggiversary Celebration - Day 1 - The Year in Review

Sunday Pinspiration #2 - Swanky Side Tables

Where Scrappy Gets Crafty - Pt 1

Fall Wreath Dollar Tree Style

Sunday Pinspiration #1 - Repurposed Bookshelves

Dollar Store Fall Decor

Martha Hacked - Newspaper Recycling Station

Homemaker's Challenge - Kitchen Reorganization

Happy Birthday to Me!

Learning to Crochet

What Your Child's Teacher Really Wants for Christmas