I know the suspense is just killing you all, you are wondering what came in the package right? Well remember my call out to all of you crafty people out there asking if anyone would take my left over jean scraps and turn them into something useful? Well here it is...
Kristin over at Grace Violet took the challenge on and the results were so much better than I ever imagined! I sent her my son's leg pieces and this is what was waiting for me in the mail when I got home from our trip...
I cannot get over how cute this turned out! This is the perfect size for my daughter and she will love carrying around all of her girly stuff in it. Actually she will probably carry around her brother's army men, but I like to tell myself she will be into girly stuff one day.
Isn't it adorable? I just can't stop looking at it. Thanks so much Kristin!
If you want to make one of these beautiful buckets for yourself, you can find the complete tutorial here. I love Krisitn's idea of filling one with nursery needs for a baby shower.
"My Stuff" Bucket
New Life For Old Jeans + Challenge
School is officially out for summer! My son's last day of first grade was on Thursday. It seems like he just started Kindergarten yesterday. I am so enjoying these early years with my children!
My son has a "dress code" at school which basically consists of plain jeans/slacks or shorts and polos or collared shirts for the boys.
He was pretty rough on his jeans this year, which is typical for the average 7 year old. But, why only the right knee? Maybe he really leans on one knee and walks like that all day, it wouldn't surprise me. Once his jeans get a whole they are downgraded to play pants. He comes home and changes into these before he goes outside. So, here I am with 3 pairs of wholly jeans.
To kick off the summer I decided to cut off the jeans at the knees and turn them into play shorts. We bought him new shorts for school this year so I hope that he will still be able to wear them at the beginning of the next school year. I told him his play pants are for outside and if we go out in public he can wear his nice shorts. :) That sounds like we're a couple of country bumpkins doesn't it?
Here is my dilemma, I am left with 6 pant legs. Previously I would have thrown these out without a second glance. Now, I am trying to become a little more conscious of things I contribute to the landfill. It is useful, sturdy fabric but what do you make with them? I am not crafty like some of my bloggy friends out there.
I found this organizer as an option which would be a great idea for kids or craft supplies. Or maybe some little bags to organize the contents of your purse?
So what do you think? What would you use this fabric for?
It might take me a while to find time to tackle this project on my own so let's have some fun with this. If there is anyone up for the challenge I would be willing to send my "legs" to you so you can work your magic. You can use your crafty skills to make something USEFUL with them and send it back to me. I will pay for shipping and any materials you use to complete the project. (within reason). If you are up for the challenge, leave a comment and if more than one person signs up I will pick one at random. The completed project and all the details will be featured here when completed.
Industrial Strength Storage
I just love the sound of that. "Industrial Strength" In other words in will last a really long time and will be nearly indestructible when my kids get their hands on it.
You may have seen these baskets in hotels being used for carting around laundry. Now you can get some of your very own from Industrial House. At Apartment Therapy they show three being used for sorting laundry. Industrial House also suggests using them for toys and sports equipment. I can see using one of the smaller baskets for gardening supplies as well.
I remember going to a friends house when I was a kid and they had a few in their garage. We would get in them and have someone push us around. So you don't even have to technically store anything in them, just add a couple of kids and take a little spin!
Although it is not exactly the same, I love my laundry sorter on wheels. Same idea but it has three sorting sections on one steel frame. Our sorter gets used quite a bit and I have never had a problem with it, even when my kids "help" me do laundry. I keep one in the master closet and one in the laundry room.
I also highly recommend this heavy-duty steel shelving for use in the home or garage if you are looking for industrial strength storage yet still wanting something aesthetically pleasing. I use the 3-tier shelf for shoes in our laundry room.
Flickr Group: Pretty Organized Part II
While I was working on my previous post about the Flickr group Pretty Organized I realized I really had pictures that could fit into two categories. Inspirational and Unique. Yesterday I showed you some inspirational spaces and today I thought it would be fun to show some of the unique storage ideas I came across.
I just had to start with this photo because I think it is such a lovely idea. Glitter in salt and pepper shakers. Cerri has a blog called Little Pink Studio and an Etsy shop where you can buy your very own glitter in a shaker.
These shakers remind me of a post that Aby did at Creative Organizing about using bowls for organizing small scrapbooking supplies. So, now we have bowls and shakers, maybe a kitchen theme for a craft room?
If you have a pedestal sink or just not enough storage space in the bathroom for those toothbrushes this oilcloth dental caddy may be the answer you have been looking for. Visit the Little Glimpses blog for more crafty ideas and a little Etsy shop coming soon.
When I first saw this wrapping paper storage idea I thought it was wrapping paper standing on end off to one side of the closet. Great idea for using dead space, however when I looked at the rest of Frank's pictures I realized.....
these rolls of wrapping paper are being stored at ceiling height. Now that is what I call maximizing space! Frank used 4 screws, anchors and galvanized wire to rig this up. Thanks Frank, I am positive I will use this one in the future.
The few ideas I posted here were like needles in a haystack in all of those pictures. I am so glad I was able to share them with you. I would love to hear your unique organizing and storage ideas as well. If you would like to share your unique idea (and a picture would be great) leave a comment or email me and I will feature some of your ideas in an upcomig post.
Over the past few days I have looked at nearly 3000 photos. I think I need to take a break before my eyes start to cross. You can only look at so many little thumbnail size pictures before they all start blending together. :) I will be back on Friday with another Flickr group.
Related Posts:
Flickr Groups: Inspiring You To Keep Clutter Away
Flickr Group: Pretty Organized
Spruce Up Your Plastic Containers
Plastic containers are one of this organizer's favorite organizing products. They come in all shapes and sizes and you can store everything from cereal to shoes. Sometimes I run into clients that prefer cute baskets or bins over plastic. When you have a job that requires twenty baskets or bins it can get a little expensive.
An easy solution to adding a little more life to those plain plastic bins is to line the inside with colorful scrapbook paper or wrapping paper. Then of course you would label the outside with your handy little label maker to identify the contents.
Now, let's take it one step further and spruce up those labels as well. Don't get me wrong I am all for my label maker but when I saw this idea at Deep Fried Kudzu, I just had to pass it on. I am a huge Scrabble fan and it turns out you can buy extra Scrabble tiles on the Hasbro website. Ginger used these tiles to label her plastic containers after she added adorable scrapbook paper to the inside. Isn't it beautiful?
Lace Pockets for Drawers
There is nothing worse than opening a drawer and finding a sticky mess from a leaky lip gloss or having to rummage around to find your favorite fragrance.
DIY Desk
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