Pretty in Pink

I have been working on giving my office a little girly appeal. I need a space that motivates me, as well as keeps things cheerful as I work. My daughter's boyfriend walked in and said "What in the world is this? It is girly."  BINGO, mission accomplished. lol. Well, partially accomplished, as I do have an IKEA trip planned this weekend with the girls from my previous job, so I will be adding just a bit more. Next mission...to make it just a bit more girly. It may just become the only room in the house that stays clean, since boys don't like pink. Stay tuned for more pictures and a bit more organization to occur with the pile on my desk.

Window treatment...Craigslist

Awe, found a little star left on the wall from when this was the kids room. Can you find it?

Scored this lamp for $20 at Meijer

This adorable metal pen/pencil holder was a only $5 at Meijer, and it coordinates well with my homemade paperclip holder. Yea me!

Dry erase / Magnet board...Before = boring

and with a touch of love....After = priceless

 

LOVE my binders!

Piece of cardstock paper and black electrical tape do wonders

My new 'trash can' for papers. Clearance at Meijer $10

Modge Podge Magnets

I had some fun with this project. I was trying to create some fun magnets that I could utilize for a fundraiser, and I thought of these. Very simple to make, and you could select a series of patterns or themes. Easily use scrapbook paper to match your decor. For this project you will need modge podge, flat clear marbles (I purchased from Hobby Lobby), circle magnets (also purchased from Hobby Lobby), and a glue gun. For these particular ones, I chose to print symbols and various sayings that reflected Crohns Disease. Once I printed these, I cut them down just a bit smaller than the flat marble. I used a pencil to trace around the marble and then cut out the design. You then will need to place the design on the flattest side of the marble (design facing inward) and modge podge it on. I applied a couple coats to be certain that the edges were adhered well. I then used a hot glue gun and placed a dab of glue on the magnet and applied it to the back of the flat marble. Simple as that!

I have made a couple other types also with patterned scrapbook paper. To see this idea, take a peek under my project tab and view the photo of the magnetic recipe holder. These turned out really cute! Have fun!

Creative Couponing

I found this cute folder when going through my daughter's school supplies. I thought it would work wonderful for my coupon idea, and she no longer uses the folder, so bonus for me! I believe I purchased the folder at Target.

This folder has 3 clear double sided (totaling six) double pockets on the inside.

Plus, it has a pocket on the inside and backside covers. I thought this would be great to have the front section hold my grocery list, and then the coupons that correspond with my grocery list could go into the cute little folder flap just below it, labeled 'This trip'.

Each pocket, I labeled for two months. I placed the corresponding index file cards into each pocket. I found that organizing my coupons by monthly expiration works better for me, than by product category. Therefore, behind the monthly index files, I have the coupons that will expire in those particular months. This way I can quickly pull out the ones that will expire the soonest. Also, if I find any deals that are running a particular month, I can print them and place in the big pocket above the coupons for that month.

On the back page, I placed a 'receipt' label. I thought this was a great way to hold onto my receipts until I can file them, instead of adding them to the inside of my ever so heavy, catch-all purse. Plus, we keep track of our receipts for our gluten-free products.

This folder makes it so simple to take shopping with me, and then if I find a special deal, all of my coupons are still with me if I need to sneak into an upcoming months coupons. Happy Couponing!

Binders Galore

I have to share a funny story with you. I have been having so much fun organizing and labeling everything in our house lately. Well, the other night, our daughter made a loaf of banana bread. After everyone had a slice, I set it in the cooled oven for the night, just so it was not sitting on the counter. Well...hubby came home from work and I told him about the bread, in which he proceeded to have a slice. The following day, he was cooking our family dinner, and happened to preheat the oven. Needless to say, after a beautiful horrific aroma in the house, he proceeded to open the oven door, discovering that he had forgotten that the bread was in the oven. Well, the banana bread went through another 'bake cycle'. So, guess what hubby's comment was to me? "I am surprised that you didn't have the oven door labeled stating that bread was in the oven." Oh, isn't he funny!? Ok, so I thought I would have a bit of fun with that one, and quickly generated a label and applied it to the handle on the oven door, just as a nice reminder to check the oven prior to pre-heating. As much as I love to label, I did remove it from the oven later that evening, as it did not look very attractive. Ok, so on to my reason for this blog....

Lately I have been having the urge to organize things into binders. There are so many pretty binder colors and designs, it makes it exciting and fun to organize. (And for those of us who are a bit OCD, it just gives us a reason to shop for cute binders). Plus, all of your important information is right at your fingertips. For instance, I organized a simple Menu binder of our favorite take-out food restaurants. I received the cute idea from skiptomylou.org. She is so kind, that she offers a free download of her template, just stop by and visit her page.

When thinking of how this binder would accommodate my family, I decided to adapt my main page to list the restaurant name, the hours they are open, or when they close, and the contact phone number. I placed the menus into a clear page protector and placed a nice bright color paper behind each menu, just to make it appealing to my eyes. As I receive coupons for the restaurants, I can place them adjacent to the menus. I love having all of this information in one place. Believe me, our 'junk' drawer made it a bit difficult to locate all of this information previously. And yes, I do happen to have a junk drawer. Guess I need to work on organizing that too! Maybe I could rename it 'the organized drawer'. Oh, I could have fun with my hubby on that one. "Yes honey, we have a tape measure...it is in the organized drawer." Where would he ever begin to look!?

Well, here is a peak at my take-out menu binder. Thanks again to skiptomylou.org for the cute idea and cover sheet. Now, it is nicely kept together in the binder, and adorns my office bookshelf.

New Fun Projects

Well, I have been working on a few new fun projects in my office. Trying to get things coordinated and a color theme going. Lots to do yet, but thought I would share some of the pics showing my progress. The first two pictures are a separate project that I did over the weekend.

This homemade file holder is made from a cereal box and card stock paper. This cute gadget will hold Kaidin's homework until it is due on Fridays. 

This is where I decided to place it, since this is where the kids hang their backpacks everyday. 

Now, onto my office...

My goal for this was to pull some more pink into my office. I used a cute file folder to cut out my initial.

And then, I changed the color of the inside of my file drawers. 

And, this was my final project. I made these adorable cherry blossoms from card stock and glued them on some tree branches from my back yard. To incorporate a bit more pink, I added pink ribbon to my existing black baskets. So much fun, and I am happy with how they turned out. 

The Delightful Pantry

I have to say that organizing my kitchen pantry was one of my favorite projects so far. Designing the cute labels and printing them in a bright cheerful green color. I was so excited to place items in the labeled baskets. Once I start on a project, I find it really difficult to stop for the night. Which, can be a problem, due to lack of sleep. Anyway, check out the picture...I am so excited to share it with you. (oh, and sorry for the white labels on the shelves themselves...that was my daughter's doing at one point, and now I need to have my goo-be-gone make a visit). I couldn't wait to post the pic though, so here you are!

Hodge Podge to Harmony

Let me start by saying that I never ever go downstairs to our basement. Basements are gross to me, unless we had a newer home with a remodeled basement. On that note, my hubby does all of our laundry (his preference, so who is to argue with that). He says that I use to much laundry detergent. Wonder if I used to many cleaners on the rest of the house, if he would clean that for me too!? Just kidding. So, I finally took a leisurely stroll down to our basement, as our daughter was painting her bedroom and wanted me to see it. Well, as I made it to the bottom of our basement stairs, I glanced to my right into the laundry / storage room. My gracious, I almost hit the floor and hid under a coffee table. Without notice, I thought a tornado was moving through. Needless to say, I set forth to turn this hodge podge into harmony, with Hubby's help of course. This is still a work in progress, as I have some straightening of labels to do (now that hubby is not down there). I also really hope to talk him into that he will offer to paint the walls a cheerful color for me. Yes I know that I said that I don't go into the basement, but if it was a happy, organized space, maybe I would assist in hanging up the clothes and folding them (if he so allows). Well, here are some pictures of the work in progress. I honestly cannot believe that I am going to post the before pictures. This takes alot for me to post, but my hope is to help someone else that is in the same predicament realize that they too can have an organized space.