I have been wanting to talk about this for soooooo long. I just kept putting it off. But now it’s time to talk Pallets. Yes, those nasty wooden things that are used to haul heavy shipments around in trucks. But somehow they are magically able to be transformed into gorgeous pieces to make your home feel cool, rustic and interesting. After looking at some of these, I’m ready to scour my city so I can use pallets as home decor around my place. Check out these ideas and my thoughts on them.

Pallet Wall Art from Love of Family and Home

I love this idea and its really so versatile.  You can do what they’ve done here and put words or you could paint something. I love the idea of painting it and then spray painting stencils of … really anything!

Garden Pallet from Our Little Acre with a full photo tutorial!

Bonnie has been all over these Garden pallet ideas right now. She and her family just moved and she really wants to great an herb garden on her new back patio using a pallet. I think I just might copy her especially since I live in an apartment where it’s hard to plant, but I do have a small patio that would hold it perfect. However, I also love the idea of mixing my herbs and my gardening supplies on one pallet {since they currently hide under the outdoor stairs of our complex. Shhhh… don’t tell anyone.}

Hanging Patio Pallet Bar from Today’s Nest

This one might be a little more complicated to create, however it seems like a great idea. Now, I’m not a drinker but I’d love to make something like this as a coffee bar. I’m obsessed with coffee…. Drinking my home made iced coffee now…. yumm….

Pallet Coffee Table from Mango Tomato with tutorial!

I’ve seen this idea all over the internet but I just loved the stain and gloss on this one. Plus, I’m happy to share a tutorial for it.

Pallet Coat Rack from Decor Racks

Now this is a beautiful thing. Such any easy and cheap coat/hat rack. Plus, it’s just half a pallet painted. So simple.

Pallet Walkway from Funky Junk Interiors with tutorial!

Oh My Goodness Gracious! This is a fabulous idea And the tutorial helps so wonderfully.  I might pass this along to Bonnie too :) You can use the pieces of a pallet or just some 2×4′s

Pallet Bookshelves from Sas Interiors with tutorial!

I have wanted to do this for a long time.  Either putting books or picture frames/decor pieces in them. What do you think?

Using Pallets as Home Decor? Whaaa?

One of the things my reorganized home needed was a fresh Command Center. Now as my usual, this isn’t a completed job {I’ll share that at a later date} but it’s a huge improvement and well on it’s way.

The first thing I wanted to do was fix up the board I have in our kitchen. It’s not really being used properly as you can see below. Uhhhh …. it’s filled with junk! Including an old prom picture of mine with my old friend Dax that I’d pulled out over a year ago. I have phone numbers scribbled on the chalkboard that I don’t recognize and at least 10 business cards we don’t need to keep. So after clearing out all the junk on here and tossing what we don’t need, I ended up with a clean slate.

Then I looked at the fabric and realized it didn’t go with my green, yellow, red and blue color scheme in the kitchen. So, if I wanted to keep it, it had to be recovered. Though I don’t have a play-by-play for you, I pulled the paper backing off, unplugged the buttons, covered it with my new fabric {attaching with hot blue}, pushed the buttons back in {this was really hard} and put it all back together.

Now it’s fresh and bright and fits my kitchen!

Next was to get some hanging files or compartments to hold the mail, pens and even some writing pads. But, I really try hard to make this kind of stuff myself {if I can} so that it’s FREE.  I had brought some small boxes home from work and after cutting, bending and hot gluing, I had some perfect compartments that only needed to be painted or covered.  I had some simple wrapping paper and spray glue so I just decided to cover them.

Ta Da!

I wanted the small one for the pens to be a different color and I didn’t have any paper, so I just used fabric.  I’m not crazy about how it turned out but it’s still cute anyway! Then I just push-pinned them into the wall {not sure if it will hold for a long period of time but it’s held so far.}

And there you have it! Another Free DIY from stuff in my own home. I know you can do this too if you just think outside the box. What other creative DIY’s have you done that didn’t cost you anything? I’d love to hear about it. It inspires me!

For my latest Free DIY, check out my Jewelry Frame

My Less Cluttered Home: Command Center

Hello again, my Organizing Pals!!!

Last week when I shared with you some of the progress I was making on my hall closet, I showed you a sneak peak of what I was going to be working on over the next week on top of my organization and decluttering. I’m sure after you saw that empty frame you just got ants in your pants waiting to see what I was going to do with it, right? Yeah not so much. But maybe you should have been…. :)

I have a whole crap load of jewelry. {See below for the official load}

Some of it’s just cheapy stuff I got from when I worked in a local womens clothing store with a fabulous discount. However, some of these pieces are dear to me and/or are expensive necklaces that I couldn’t ever part with. So, I went through all of this and got rid of a small plastic bag amount. The rest needed a fun and pretty home. I knew just what to do and always wanted to try it.

So, I started with a pretty frame Moviestar and I used in our wedding. I had thought about attaching chicken wire to it, stringing fishing wire across it or putting a strong back on it with pretty hooks or knobs but in the end guys, I just can’t spend any money. I’m really trying these days to do as much as I can with what I have in my home. Spending a whopping $0. So what I did was take that ol’ frame and this section of a window cover which I figured would work and look pretty in our room.

Now, it didn’t quite fit as you can see, so I had to trim it up.

After measuring it out, I realized I needed to cut about 1/4 in. off each long end {the other ends were almost too short so I didn’t need to touch them}.

Once trimmed I wanted to attach the plastic window cover but didn’t want to ruin the frame with super glue, nails etc. so I hot glued. Only time will tell if it actually holds up but so far I haven’t had one problem! I did however only glue the top part an leave the bottom loose so that I could move it if the jewelry was giving me issues. A little flexibility never hurt no one!

Here is the finished product hanging on the wall of our bedroom, just above the dresser. I’m not quite ready to reveal our dresser top yet {seeing as how we are doing some work on this small bedroom of ours..} So this is just the frame. Sure you’re cool with that.

And ta-da! The finished product. Doesn’t it look purdy? I’m pretty pleased with how it worked out because now I can actually see the jewelry I have instead of scouring the endless boxes of tangled mess after mess. Now, I do still have a box or two that I’m keeping my good pearls and rings but this is really helping me see what I’ve got. Plus, it’s so pretty in my room!!!

Now how can you make your own? What ideas can you share on how to do something similar with what you have? Think outside the box and search your home for a way to do this for free yourself!

My Less Cluttered Home: Jewelry Frame

Over the past 2 weeks I’ve been working pretty diligently on just cutting the clutter instead of re-organizing. If the clutter is gone, it will be easier for me to do my organizing overhaul. But sometimes I can’t help but do a little bit of organization after the decluttering.  This past week, I focused on my hall cabinets.

What a mess!

The issue here is that nothing had “it’s place”.  Because of that, I never knew where to put anything so it ended up wherever there was room. That meant I could never find anything. Also, as you can see all the way up top, I had all my extra linens and blankets shoved into bins and on shelves. It was taking up way too much space and looked awful.  Soooo…. I bought some vacuum seal bags and went to town!  I couldn’t believe how much these things really do save you space. Plus, now each bag houses specific items so it’s also organized. And I can slide them under the bed instead of taking up precious room in this hall cabinet. Yipee!!

{Now, of course, remember that this is not my finished product. I’m just showing you my progress.}

You have noooo idea how much crap I threw out! Half my medicine was expired – by more than 2 years! I still had stuff in there from 2009. That’s bad. Both because I shouldn’t be using it and because I probably hadn’t used it since then.

Keeping in mind this isn’t done, my top two shelves up there still need some work. One has electronics and cables, while the other holds hair styling tools.  Gotta find what to do with these ……

I hope you are taking notice of a few little things I added up there.  The mason jars filled with things I usually need often but have no room for in my bathroom are organized and easily visible {so Moviestar can find them without having to ask me “so where did you put those Q-tips!”}. And I placed them within reach and in front of a bin I don’t reach into often so I won;t have to move the jars more than when I need a new lotion for the bathroom sink.  Also, The sliding shelves {which are actually for your pantry spices} I wanted to use for medicine. I was keeping them in 2 bins just thrown in – this wasn’t working. This idea in theory is excellent! But because it’s made for small spice jars, it wasn’t fitting a lot of my larger medicine bottles.  So, I put a few things I reach for regularly and put the “cold remedy” items back in the bin. Maybe I’ll find a better solution after thinking about it.  Any ideas?

Want a sneak peak of what my next project will be?

What do think I’m doing with this empty frame? Hmmmm????  Hint: Check out My Small Bedroom Makeover Inspiration.

My Less Cluttered Home: Week “5″

Let’s take a break from monotonousness of the decluttering process, shall we?

Yes, Let’s.

I’ve been sorting through all my junk this past week. Trying to follow Stephanie’s plan {a pretty good way right?} and since it’s icky and boring to show you the progress I’m making in that regard, I thought I’d show you what I take a break with: Home Decor Inspiration!

As a reminder, there isn’t a lot of room in this old place of ours {a whopping 700 sq. ft!} so you’d think that I couldn;t do much with it. But all that small space means is that I need a lot of inspirational ideas.  My bedroom has been giving me a lot of trouble for the past 6 1/2 years so I’m tackling that room first.

My biggest problems in this room:

• Moviestar likes to throw his “home clothes” or “today’s out clothes” in a pile on the floor or on top of the dresser. Cluttered and disgusting. We must have an organized solution.
• The room is small and it currently looks small. I need ways to make it appear larger.
• Our bed has a good amount of pillows on it and every night {or during the day if we are lazy} the pillows are all over the small amount of bare floor available.
• I have a lot of jewelry and nowhere to put all my jewelry boxes. Help!

If you are in the same boat as me {welcome aboard, by the way!} the best thing to do is know those problem areas so you can find perfect solutions. That’s what I did and it was so much more helpful that searching: Small bedroom decor.  Now that I’ve identified my whoas, here are a few inspirational solutions. Hope they inspire you!!

This shelf with hooks just might be the perfect solution for my hubby’s clothes problem. Plus, I can put some boxes .  BHG

This is another option I like. Thanks Apartment Therapy!

Using a basket to corale all those pillows would be awesome. Love the look too. BHG.

If I end up realizing I don’t have room for my nightstand anymore, this would be an awesome solution. BHG

I think this is pretty self-explanatory.  Lovely. Decor-4-All

Mirrors placed around rooms can help them look larger and I have a sneaky way I think I can do this without having to spend money….. hmmmm….. yes….. {evil laugh}. BHG

Another way to make my room appear larger is with a lot of curtains and placing those curtains high, high, high! BHG

Well, that was fun! You too? Great!

My Less Cluttered Home: Small Bedroom Makeover Inspiration

Easter is here and I’m in the mood for some colors and crafts. Oh you too, eh? Well, ten check out the Spring loveliness from around the web I’ve compiled for you. Fun and easy easter crafts make for a more beautiful home on this blessed holiday!

Carrot Table Runner

Bunny Tea Towels

Easter Egg Candles

Wooden Easter Sign

Paint Chip Garland

Fabric Easter Eggs

Felt Carrot Garland

Easter Egg Garland

Easter Crafts of All Kinds!

So, I’m back on the wagon! Or is it off? Well whatever it is, I’m back to my organizing!!!!!! <— Can you tell I’m just a little excited? And I am. Very excited.  You know what did it? I looked back at my first posts. I re-read them. Then I went back to Stephanie’s 8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home and realized something:

I was trying to do too much, too quickly.

Stephanie’s whole idea was to do a little everyday. Spending no more than 30 minutes a day on one area or set of items.  I ended up thinking, “I’ll get my whole bedroom closet done today. Yeah, then I’ll feel good.” Instead I ended up using 2 hours to go through my clothes and sort by purge category {see My Rules to Purge By for more on this} as well as fold my tanks and some pants into cubbies.  That’s it. That in and of itself took me 2 hours. So, I decided to stop.  It’s probably going to take me two more hours to finish the closet and I just couldn’t spend 4 hours in one day doing this. I have a life outside of organizing, people.

{Yeah Right…}

Plus, I want to be able to show you all my progress and when I’m only doing a little bit at a time, it’s hard. Or is it? Maybe you want to see the piles of stuff I’m getting rid of and my slow-mo progress. So, I’ll start with that!  For now, here’s the progress I made on the ol’ Bedroom Closet.

{I’m so embarrassed it got this bad…..}

{Pics are terrible. Forgive…}

Looks better, right? Not done yet but better.  I’m on my way.

I also started work on my Coat Closet which is not finished either but it’s soooo much better and definitely moving forward.

And then I did a few things in my bathroom which is like a 5×5 ft. room with no built in storage.  So we put in a few shelves awhile back and have {what use to be} a nightstand there to help out too.

As you may remember I already went through my “medicine” cabinet so that’s done.  It’s feeling better everyday.

{I didn’t do much and I’m still playing with the basket but it will help with storage. Flower, no flower?}

{Yes, I did get rid of all that other stuff. Not necessary for my pretty life}

So that was it for my 3rd week. Obviously I started a long time ago {not 3 weeks ago}, but since I got off track for so long I’m just going to pretend that time didn’t happen :)

Thanks for sticking with me through this!

My Less Cluttered Home: Week “3″

You’ve probably figured I gave up on my 8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home, but I have not! It’s just taken me a lot longer to organize my life than I thought it would.  I think Stephanie’s Plan is awesome and I’m still following it to a degree but the 8 week timeline is probably better for a home that is relatively well organized but just needs a good purge. Now, don’t get me wrong I am big on organization {I can actually be crazy OCD} but in my 700 sq. ft. apartment built in the 1930′s with no storage space, it’s really hard to stay organized. So I started this plan and it was going great in the kitchen, but as soon as I started moving into my hall cabinet/linen closet I hit a major snag.  I had to do some research to get ideas on different ways to organize and realized what I needed were bins. That lead me to DIY bin tutorials.

Okay, so I should be ready to go right? Oh, no. Of course not! What else could I be snagging on, you ask? Why none other than…

The Purging Process….

If you’ve ever tried to seriously get rid of things in your home you know how hard it can be to part with things. But unless you are a hoarder with a serious condition you should be able to part with almost anything. My biggest problem is that I don’t have a lot of stuff, just too much for the space I live in. I keep hanging onto things hoping one day Moviestar and I will be able to buy a house and I’ll need these extra things. But I can’t live that way anymore. I have to live in the life I have now.

Oh the life lessons your learn while organizing….

So, I created this list to help me purge once and for all. I realized I need rules to follow or I’ll never get it done.  Though I created this for my specific needs, feel free to use it for yourself or as inspiration for your own home purge.

Lindsey’s Rules to Purge By

1. When I start a room I need to have 4 boxes: Donate, Sell, Move to Another Place and Throw Away. {Sometimes, when organizing I’ve realized something is not in the best place it can be. The ‘Move to Another Place’ box will be helpful}
2. If I haven’t worn/used it in a year, get rid of it. {This includes everything from bath soap to computer accessories to giftwrap}
3. If I have duplicates of anything {as long as I don’t use more than one} get rid of any extra.
4. Being a crafter, if I am holding onto things I hope to recreate with but have no specific plan for it in the near {one month} future….. out it goes! {This one’s going to be a toughy…}
5. If it doesn’t make my life pretty {a Stephanie Tip!!} get rid of it. We are after all Inspiring Pretty here….
6. If I’m having trouble parting with things, put them in a separate box and have a trusted person help me go through them again. {They’ll be less emotionally connected and be able to show me why I don’t need to keep it}
7. Take any Donate Boxes immediately to my car and out of the house. {If it sits there, I may end up going through it again and things will sneak back into a random terrible place in my home…. cluttering and cluttering….}
8. Lastly, hold a yard sale within 2 weeks of a finished purge. If it sells, great. If it doesn’t, in the car and off to Salvation Army it goes. Right. After. The. Sale. Why? Refer to #7

Well that’s it folks. I’m planning on tackling my closet right this very minute so my handy, dandy rules will be just that. Come back next week to see how I did!

My Less Cluttered Home: Rules to Purge By

Well, my organizing adventure has been a tough one. Mostly because organizing is more than just cutting out the clutter. It’s also about sorting items into bins and containers.  And that’s where I’ve run into a snag.  I can’t really afford to go shopping for home decor stuff right now. Baskets, bins and containers are expensive right? Really, expensive. Money is a bit tight so I sort of have to make do with what I have, which is nothing. That means I have to make what I need.  And what I need is storage bins. So, I went on a search for different tutorials so that I can find one that will suit my needs and supplies.  Here’s what I found! Oh the joys of decorating and organizing on a budget!

1. Fabric bins from Make It & Love It

2. No Sew Fabric covered boxes from I Heart Organizing

3. Fabric Bins from Design Sponge

4. Felt and Burlap bins from Eco Karen

5. No Sew Felt Bins from Abernathy Crafts

6. Hanging Fabric Bins from The Mother Huddle

I know this isn’t a storage bin per-say, but when I redo my “command center” this tutorial will come in handy.

7. Fabric mail organizer from Noodle Head

DIY Fabric Storage Bins

Well the past few weeks I’ve been sharing the progress on my  8 weeks to a less cluttered home, but this past week was a rough one with work {The CEO was coming for a visit and we had to get things in ship-shape!} and I simply ran out of time. But that’s part of Stephanie’s step-by-step guide: not to let the decluttering overtake your life.  Unfortunately, it may take me a little longer to finish because I just lost an entire week, but when life gets a little hairy the organizing just goes on the back burner. So I am going to start up again this week however I didn’t want to leave you clean-freaks and organize junkies from your new weekly dose, so I thought I’d just share a bit of the ideas I’ve been using {or planning to use} on this life-altering project. Sound like fun? Well, hop on for a wild ride around the web!

Fridge Organization from HelloHome

Hall Closet Organization from Simplicity in the South

Command Center from Achieving Creative Order

Utility Closet Organization from Pinterest

Jewelry Organization from Curbly

Bedroom Organization from Pinterest

I just love all of those and am going to use them as inspiration for sure.  Now for a few Home decor ideas that I totally want to use. I know it’s not necessarily organization per-say but redecorating like this will help me get more clutter-free!

Bedroom Layout from Savvy Sugar

{I have a small bedroom and our bed takes up a good amount of space. I think trying to use this layout – minus the couch – would be perfect}

Pretty Closet from Apartment Therapy

Small Living Room from Lane Designs

{I also have a small living room – kind of like this one – but we have massive couches. We are looking into a smaller sectional and I think this layout with some book shelves and whatnot will make things a lot easier}

Hopefully I can get some of this stuff done in my place. What do you think? Let’s see!

My Spring Organization Inspiration

Last week, I told you all about how I was going to be giving my home a much needed de-cluttering by following Keeper of the Home’s 8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home. I showed you what I did that first week and now I want to share with you what I did this last week! I was planning on doing more but work was a bit insane so I could only do so much.

I started with my large pantry but unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture and the after pictures didn’t look so hot. Don’t hate me for not sharing but I did make some big changes by adding lots of plastic bins to house specific things. It’s making it a lot easier to keep things from getting cluttered up again. And labeling, labeling, labeling!

Next, I wanted to finish up the kitchen by focusing on my kitchen sink. Or rather what’s under it. I had a disgustingly hot mess. It literally became a a pile of any and every cleaning spray I have. Not to mention there was all sorts of car junk and gardening supplies under there. I was bad. I mean look at it!

I used a lot of the same storage containers {minus the crate and plus the drawers} but just organized a lot better. I also added a tension rod to hold many of the spray bottles. Now obviously, you can see the before and after complete {Nice huh?} But one part that took the longest and made me feel the most accomplished was this:

When I took everything out to wipe it down, I just about threw up. It was so dirty. I really wanted to just bleach the heck out of it, caulk all the open crevices and put down some shelf paper. However, Moviestar had all the caulking in his truck and is planning on doing all of that stuff to our place after his current job site is finished. So, I just decided to clean the heck out of it and run a quick fresh coat of paint everywhere {We have tons and tons of it. Moviestar comes home with at least a gallon after each job he finishes}. Doesn’t it look much purtier? I smiled from ear to ear. I still am. After it dries, I loaded it up with everything.

Now that the kitchen is all complete {I can breathe}, I moved quickly onto the bathroom. Here is our cabinet. I didn’t do much but it looks and feels cleaner, right?

It’s an old cabinet with only the one shelf but we make it work. All I did was clean it, add some pretty shelf paper and then did what I’m suppose to do: take out at least 10 things I don’t need and organize  it.

Well, thats all she wrote kids. I’m getting there, one day at a time. Soon I will have the organized home I always dreamed of.  Can’t wait!!!

* If you missed My Less Cluttered Home: Week 1 go here.

My Less Cluttered Home: Week 2

In my home it’s officially Spring Cleaning time! And it’s all about organization.

I know February isn’t officially spring but I’m getting a jump start and hopefully inspiring you to actually do some spring cleaning this year.  Usually {probably like you} I just spend a month doing as much deep cleaning as I can and then maybe go through my closet and get rid of a few clothes and shoes, but as I said this year I am all about organizing. I’ve always been a pretty organized person {I can thank my perfectionist, neat-freak mother for that. Thanks Mom!} but Moviestar and I have been in our teeny, weeny apartment now for 6 years and I have to say that after years and years of collecting things but not having any additional space to put it we now have a bit of an organizational problem. It’s frustrating me to no end.  Basically every week, when I clean our place I end up spending hours just moving stuff around trying to find betters homes for it all and let me say that Moviestar is fed up too. Not so much for the lack of neatness {he is a man after all} but he’s tired of not being able to find anything because I move it every other week.

So, what’s the solution? We don’t really have a lot to begin with so I don’t want to toss/giveaway everything, however we do have too much for the space we live in. During the Christmas season I really started thinking about this and came across a gem:

Stephanie has created an awesome step-by-step decluttering list that made my jaw drop when I read it. If you want to learn more about this,  head over to KeeperoftheHome.org. I have read and re-read her post to try and glean as much insight as I can but really it’s all about just going through one small area of your home everyday {Monday-Friday}, pulling out 10 things you don’t need and then organizing it. Then those things you don’t need can either be thrown out, given to GoodWill, or be sold in a yard sale.

So, I started last week. I printed out her PDF Guide {which you can access on her site or click the link at the bottom of my post here}, laminated it with the new fancy laminator Bonnie gave me for Christmas, stuck it on the fridge and am checking off my tasks as I go.  Each task should really not take you any longer than 30 minutes but because I am spring cleaning as I go it’s been taking me about 1-1 1/2 hours each task. I’ve been re-lining my shelves, wiping everything down with 409 and just giving it a good scrub. So, this may or may not take me 8 weeks {or 40 days not including weekends} but in a few months I will be all Spring Fresh! I just can’t wait.

I started in the kitchen, and here’s a sneak peak into what I was up to last week:

Believe it or not, this was not my junk drawer, though all kinds of random crap ended up here. I decided to make it just a Baggie/Foil drawer with Plasticware and paper goods.  Plus Moviestar and I always need an extension cord because this kitchen was built in the 1930′s and there’s like 2 outlets. What did people do without small appliances?!

Next I tackled my Kitchen accessory drawer. What a hot mess! I had all sorts of dividers and whatnot but they were not doing any kind of job at all. So, I decided to go with small baskets that would house larger items {like my electric hand mixer} as well as the pieces that go with them.  Ever since I did this, I find it much easier to find what I need and to keep it all together. Plus, I’m sure you noticed the disgusting black junk in all of the old trays. Yeah that was from this grill cover we were keeping in there. All the black gunk that builds up from a grill that we couldn’t wash off was falling of onto all my stuff! How nasty! No more.

As you might be able to tell, I did as Stephanie suggested and pulled out a ton of stuff that I don’t need or use and it’s going in the garage sale box {cleaned first, of course:)

Then it was time to take on my only lower cabinet. This “Before” shot is not accurate.  I had forgotten to take one before I actually started and there was a lot more in these. I had another set of pans on top with all the lids just hanging out wherever and on the bottom were as many small appliances as I could fit. It was really hard to get out what you needed without first taking out what you didn’t. My biggest problem in this kitchen is using my space well, so I moved all the nice pans to the hanging rod on my open wall {got rid of all the nasty ones} to clear space for other things. I moved some stuff out of my pantry {which I’ll show you next week} and places tension rods between the floor and ceiling of the cabinet to house cutting boards, cookie sheets etc. sideways and with easier accessibility. Plus, I got something to hold all my pot/pan lids. All I have to do is pull the holder out, grab the one I need and it slides right back in.

Lastly, I tackled the only kitchen cupboards I have.  They became a haven for anything and everything.  I think my descriptions speak for themselves. I got rid of a ton of stuff in here {like the bagillion coffee mugs we have} and moved some of that wooden decorative junk out into boxes. Its all from my mom who used it in the 90′s. Some of it’s cute and has sentimental value but I really need to go through it and decide what I’m actually going to use and what would be better in someone else’s house.

Ever since we did this, Moviestar and I find that cooking is easier and we can just plain find what we need! And {ahem} please don’t mind the mismatch shelf paper…. I ran out before I got to this point so I have to go back and do that. Don’t judge :)

Well, that’s where I’m at for now.  I’ll keep you posted every Tuesday so please come back and check on me. If you end up taking on this challange {and it is a challenge} please let me know. I’m sure Stephanie over at KeeperoftheHome.org would love to know too! Oh yeah, and here’s her PDF that you’ll find your essential tool during this process of decluttering your life home.

8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home PDF Guide

* To see My Less Cluttered Home: Week 2 go here!

My Less Cluttered Home

This week I have a DIY Chrismas gift idea that’s pretty easy to do and would be a great decorative piece for any female you know {sorry, I’ve realized most of my gifts are for females….} I got the idea when my mom gave me a couple little pillows around Thanksgiving.  I had been looking for Fall/ Thanksgiving decor for my home because I didnt have much. I’d made a banner but wanted more.  She happened to be out and about shopping and came across a few that were so simple and easy.  I thought, “Hey, I could make these easy!” So, I did. And you can too.

This week, It’s Decorative Throw Pillows.

Really, It’s so easy you just have to find the right fabric.  To show you, I made a little decorative Christmas pillow but you can make yours with any colors for any design.

I started with my fabrics. The best way to make these pillows interesting yet easy is to find a fabric with big prints that are easy to cut out in squares or rectangles.  Like this snowman fabric. The patterns are squared which is perfect. I had thought I wanted to make the pillow base green but decided it was too much and changed to brown.

Next I cut my pieces to the size that I wanted. The image I was using was square but I am going to add some tulle to one side later so I made it rectangle to leave room for the embellishment. As I was figuring all this out, it started to rain and that put me in the mood for a Christmas movie.

This Scrooge is a musical and one that holds many memories for me. My sister and I use to watch it every year with our dad when we decorated his tree and when we celebrated Christmas with him on Christmas eve. Oh how I miss those days.

Now, I’ve found with projects like this where something can be worn down over a short period of time that it is best {though we will be sewing it later} to put fusible webbing or stitch witchery to the back of your fabric image.  When I made my niece Lily’s Owl I had to do this with almost everything because she had loved the old one so much that all the little pieces were ripping right off.  Follow the directions that come with your fabric adhesive of choice!

Mine just had me cut the webbing to the size of  y image, then iron press to get the image and pillow base to hold together. There you have it!

Then you’ll just want to reinforce it by running a stitch around the edge. Now, I have a cheapo sewing machine that doesnt do much. So I just ran a zigzag stitch but if your machine has the capability to do something more fun, do it! Now lets just sew the pillow together. We’re almost done! So easy right?

Before you finish sewing it together {right sides in and then flipping it inside out}, be sure to leave a space to stuff. You wouldnt want to sew it all up and forget about that. Now stuff it and make it fluffy!

Then just close up the hole.  I usually have troule with this but this time around it came out pretty good.  You can either do what I did here which is to just run the sewing machine down it or hand-stitch it closed. Whatever is easiest for you and will look the best.

Then I simply added a bit of tulle ribbon {any ribbon will do} and it was done! I would really love to maybe add a Christmasy charm dangling from the ribbon but I’ll have to go out looking for that later.

Super cute, fun and easy to do. Another perfect DIY Christmas gift for someone you know and love.

Handmade Christmas Gifts: Throw Pillows

Last weekend Moviestar and I decorated our apartment for Christmas. We went out and got our tree, pulled all the Christmas boxes out of storage and got to work.  Now, I dont know about any of you but we like to get Christmas going really early.  Usually we get our tree the first or second weekend of December and of course this time we did the first. Mostly that is because we will only get to enjoy it for about 2 weeks, then it’s off to {hopefully} snowy Colorado to visit the in-laws.  The whole family will be there and I just can’t wait. I’m so into the Christmas season this year that after decorating and hanging all sorts of lights all over {Moviestar is obsessed with Christmas lights} I started looking into more unique ways to use our lights.

I’ve always been a big fan of wrapping lights around things but usually I do it around these large Christmas tree candles I have.  Look around your home to find something. What do you have?

Bottles are a pretty yet rustic way to decorate all year round and I usually use them as vases. But this idea is so classically beautiful and surprisingly modern that if I were you…. I’d run out and empty a a few bottles so I could make this. Uh, no I don’t mean drink them all….. crazy :)

This one has the same feel. Beautiful for outside.

This is so cool. That’s pretty much all I have to say. Find a blank wall, some tacks and go for it.

I want to tell my mom to do this. My parents have a long stair case I think this would look so gorgeous.

This sparkly hallway is right up the same alley. But simpler and a great way to cover and decorate a blank wall. I’m going to try this one in my room.

Okay so this is nice right? It’s got a nice rustic feel to it but the green goblets and clean lined chairs help it have that traditional feel. I have a ceiling fan above my dining table. You think I can wrap it around the blades? huh, huh…

Honestly this is my favorite idea of all. Especially if you do not have a working fireplace.  I would probably get some logs {real or fake} and drape the lights along them, that way it at least feels more like a fire. Isn’t that so cool. Now if only I had a fireplace….

Well, I hope these unique Christmas light decorating ideas have inspired you to think outside the box as you make your home pretty for the holidays!

Unique Christmas Light Decorating

The whole idea of Fall is rusticness….. risticity? Being rustic. However you want to say it, that’s Fall.  So when you are looking to start making your home feel more of this season, rustic is the way to go. When I was thinking about what would make my home have that more down-to-earth feel, I thought of copper.  The shiny bronze just sings fall.  Sometimes I think it’s going to be too country for my taste {and maybe yours too} but here I’ve compiled a few ways you can use copper as Fall accents in your home while still keeping your trendy decor up to date!

Copper Table Runner 

Copper  Wood Bin

Copper Pitcher/Vase

Copper Terrarium

Copper Curtain Rod

Copper Tub and other bathroom fixtures

As much as I do actually adore the additions to a table or shelf {such as the runner and pitcher} my favorite idea is incorporating it into your homes normal decor in a big way.  No the terrarium isn’t a “huge” move on your part but it would take a decent amount of effort to get it up there. And once its there, it will fit all your year round decorating needs.  But this tub…. oh this tub….. is my favorite. Okay, so it’s not by any means an easy “fall addition”, but it is pretty cool right? Don’t you just feel like you are sudsing up in an old hotel in the wild west?

The Fall. It brings out the gun slingin’ cowgirl in me.

Use Copper as Fall Accents in Your Home

Fall is a great time to make your home look and feel a bit more rustic and as I was trying to figure out exactly how to do that, I thought of wheel barrows. I do not have one but Bonnie did a wonder fall post on practical uses for pumpkins and that gave me the idea. These are a few of my suggestions for decorating with wheel barrows.

This is the most traditional or basic way to use a wheel barrow as home decor: a planter. You’ll find ideas for it everywhere. But what I adored about this one was that it was filled to the gills with everything Autumn has to offer. This wheel barrow would also look great with firewood pied inside sitting right next to your fireplace… wouldn’t it? I know it would.

No, this is not your traditional wheel barrow {its just made to look like one} but I dug the idea of using it as a side table with books or whatever you might need in it.  The apples are a nice fall touch.

I know you are probably thinking “A wheel barrow as a chair? Come on now.” But I got a kick out of this.  I think it makes a great porch addition. And a comfy one too!

This was just an amazing idea that I so want to use. Here they just added some palette wood to the top and viola! Instant rustic fall coffee table.

Okay now I know this is a wheel barrow full of fabric scraps {not really home decorish} but when I saw it I immediately thought of filling a wheel barrow with things to use it in a practical sense. So, put your barrow in a corner and use it to house blankets and pillows when not in use. But it would also be a great place to hold your kids stuffed animals or toys, even story books.

Decorative Ways to Use Wheel Barrows this Fall

Last week I told you all about the amazingly world renowned hostess Elsa Maxwell of the 1940′s and 50′s. I also told you I was looking for this book:

I’m still struggling to find it for anything less that $20 {which I don’t want to spend}. However, I just can’t keep myself from trying to prepare for the upcoming holidays by becoming a noteworthy hostess myself. Elsa! Help me! And then I was listening to Suspense on my Old Time Radio App {which I mentioned in my previous post about Elsa Maxwell} and she was right there, during the advertisement with my helpful tip. Elsa says:

“It’s smart – yet simple – to dress up ordinary meals. For a festive note, spread your table with a colorful cloth, a centerpiece heaped with fresh fruits and nuts, a basket of crispy brown hot rolls and at each place … a glistening glass full of wine – well chilled.”

As I was listening, I knew this was it. I knew it was what I had to share with you. Yes, she does mention “ordinary” which is our everyday meals, but I thought, this would be the perfect opportunity to use her tips to share perfect Fall Table Settings. Your friends and family would be envious of these on Thanksgiving as well. Just an idea :) So I took her inspiration and here’s what I’ve got for you.

I loved this one because it’s so simplistic yet you’ve got your colorful runner, your bowl of fruit and your golden wine. Beautiful.

This table is much more whimsical to me with the leaves strewn about. But I’m a big fan of using pears as Fall Decor and I love the green and gold.

Though the table cloth is not overly colorful, I think the basic color lends a clean palette to the rich grapes – which are the focal point of this classic centerpiece.

But I must say that this is the epitome of what Elsa was talking about. Here we have the colorful cloth table runner, the bowl full of fruit and nuts and the “glistening” glasses of wine.  Can’t you just see a steamy basket of crispy rolls right there behind the fruit? I can and they smell delish.

The Amazing Hostess: Fall Table Settings

Have you ever heard of Elsa Maxwell?

Probably not.  But you should. However, I won’t hold it against you because I’ve only heard of her via my Old Time Radio App.  I listen to a mystery show called Suspense and one of the sponsors was Roma Wines.  Ms. Maxwell was a spokesperson for Roma Wines and on each commercial break she would give her “Renowned Hostess” tips and tricks when drinking Roma.

After listening to her speak every 10 minutes or so {during an episode} for the past 6 months, I finally decided to find out just who this woman was. I knew she was a famous hostess but I did not know that her parties {introducing party games to the mix} were world famous and always included celebrities and others in high society. Born in 1883 and dying in 1963, she lived quite an extensive life that also included book writing as well as singing and songwriting. She was quite the woman.

“Existence is a party. You join after it’s started and you leave before it’s finished.” ~Elsa Maxwell

I have written a few posts in the past about hostess gifts and have always wanted to look into more about throwing parties and how to be a great hostess because {though I don’t really get the opportunity often} I love to host parties. Not party parties, but gatherings of people. So, after doing some research on Elsa and finding that she has a book or two on the subject, I am going to do just that.

I am now on the hunt for this book:

I’m hoping to have it in my possession by the end of the week, read a bit and have some insights from one of the greatest Hostess’ in recent history.

“Serve the dinner backward, do anything – but for goodness sake, do something weird.” ~ Elsa Maxwell

The Amazing Hostess: All About Elsa