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With All My Heart

Over the weekend I worked on my two hearts for Red Lead's "With All My Heart" valentine swap.  I made two heart collages using Red Lead's large chipboard folk hearts and collage images and rubber stamps.  Here are my creations:

I made an extra one with the cats on it to send to Matt and Jen.

I know I haven't posted any Getting Organized Challenge posts lately.  I've just about gotten my house back together and am ready to take on another challenge, which I hope to do tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

Organizing Challenge - My Day #7

Today the lemon lady's challenge was to organize your vitamins and medicines.  Since I did that the day I cleaned and organized my bathroom drawers and cabinets I decided to clean my bedroom!  After living with 2 dogs in there for a week it certainly needed it.  All but the blinds, I'll tackle them another day.

I've been working on cutting out the little boxes we are going to make for favors for Matt and Jen's wedding.  I have to make 200!  (just in case. . .)  My sisters Diane and Lesley are going to come help me one day.  Here's a photo of my prototype:

Cute, huh?  Filled with Ghirardelli chocolate squares!

I think we will have our work cut out for us!  (no pun intended.......)

21-Day Organizing Challenge - My Day #6

Well, I didn't post at all last week while our floors were being done.  I couldn't even get to my computer!  The floors are now done and look amazing!  Living in the bedroom for a week was well worth it!  So now my house is just about put back together and today I decided to get with the organizing/cleaning plan once more.  A Bowl Full of Lemons had Day #6 as Dresser Drawers day but my drawers really didn't need anything done to them.  The lemon lady, as my sister Diane calls her, had the pantry on Day #7 so I'm doing that for my  Day #6.  Here's a photo of my pantry before I cleaned/organized it:

Not too bad, you say - but I thought it was very disorganized even though I knew where everything was.  So now this is what it looks like after:

I guarantee that neither Jay nor Adam will be able to find a thing now! 

When I was cooped up in the bedroom I got quite a bit done:  all my ironing, and believe me, I had tons - and I cleaned and organized Jay's closet!  That wasn't even on the list!  Now all I have to do is get him inspired to do his dresser. . .

Getting Organized Challenge - My Day #5

So today the challenge from A Bowl Full of Lemons was to clean out and organize under your kitchen sink.  My stuff wasn't bad, I just had too much of it!  Much of what was under there I didn't use on a regular basis.

Before

I took everything out, cleaned the cabinet and lined it with wallpaper.  I have tons of leftover wallpaper in a drawer in my guest room (oh oh - an upcoming challenge??) and I often use it to line cabinets and drawers.  I took everything out that I didn't use pretty much on a daily or weekly basis and put the rest on my "household overflow" shelves in my garage.  After I got everything back into the bin I realized I didn't need that little turntable so I'll use that somewhere else one day.  I actually looked around today for some under-sink storage items but didn't see anything that would help any more than what I already had.  The plumbing underneath was also a challenge!

After

Well, another challenge finished!  Even though I could do this on my own, I know I wouldn't without A Bowl Full of Lemons challenging me or my three sisters participating.  I have even made a list of some things to do on my own after the challenge days are over.  I don't think she's going to challenge me to clean out all the cabinets in the butler's pantry. . . and that guest room closet. . . the list goes on!

Get Organized Challenge - My Day #4

Today's challenge on A Bowl Full of Lemons was to tackle the linen closet.  Every bedroom in my house (3) has it's own closet large enough to accommodate the linens for that room, so today I just tackled the linen closet in the master bedroom.  Here's the before photo:

Actually I don't think it was that bad, but I did have tons of hair and body products on the shelves that I ended up moving into the drawers in the bathroom - after I cleaned them out!  And the dust!  The cat actually got into the closet after it was empty and started batting around the dust bunnies.  So here's the after photo:

So not only did my linen closet get cleaned out, but the drawers in my bathroom as well.  Oh - except for Jay's, which is a project for another day!

Get Organized Challenge - My Day #3

Today's challenge was to clean and organize the cabinet where you keep your Tupperware and storage items.  I don't have an issue with mine so my one picture shows my cabinet (the second one up and the fourth one up) as it is and has been for some time.  I used to keep them in a lower cabinet and I could just throw everything in - which I usually did!  Having them above the counter instead of below has made it easier to keep things neat.

Getting Organized Challenge - My Day #2

Second day of the getting organized challenge on A Bowl Full of Lemons.  This was an easy one!  Today's challenge was to clean off the top of your computer desk.  My computer desk was not that bad, and the cat comes and goes!  Here's my before picture:

 

Here's my after picture:

Hopefully all the daily challenges will be this easy!

A Stitch in Time Tag Art Swap

Red Lead has a new art swap - A Stitch in Time - using their beautiful new "sew cute" art stamps and alterations tags.  Check it out on their Yahoo Group!  Here's my entry:

 

When I was a kid my mom made all our clothes - including coats!  My sewing skills were and still are, negligible.  At the time I really didn't appreciate all that hard work, all I knew that by the time I was a teenager I really wanted store-bought clothes like all of my friends had.  For the rest of my life, when my mom and I were shopping together and  I saw a piece of clothing I wanted to buy, she would say, "Oh Robyn, you could make that for so much less!"  No Mom, you could!

Getting Organized Challenge - My Day #1

So I organized my drawer and here it is:

Looks pretty good, huh?  I wonder how long it will stay that way!  There are four more drawers in the desk in my kitchen that should also qualify as junk drawers - maybe I'll get to them soon.  Now here's a drawer in my craft room that might need a little more organization - another label, perhaps?

Getting Organized Challenge

OK, so it's not one of my New Year's resolutions, but a good idea nonetheless!  My sister has found a blog called A Bowl Full of Lemons and it seems that her main goal in life is to be CLEAN and ORGANIZED - good goals!  She has put out a challenge to get organized in 21 days so we're in.  First day, today, is to clean out your junk drawer.  Now I have to say that I do have more than one junk drawer but the main one that we all go to first is the one I'll be working on.  Since it is the end of the day and we just came home from a New Year's Day party, I'll be working on mine tomorrow (Sunday is typically a "day off.")  Here's a photo of my junk drawer before organizing:

Pretty messy, huh?  Tomorrow I'll organize it and show the after picture!  Happy New Year!

My Christmas card

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Red Lead Giveaway!

Leave a comment on Red Lead's Blog and win a boxful of Christmas Red Lead style!  Their giveaways are always fantastic - not that I've won yet but I'll try again today! - so go on over and take a chance for some fabulous stuff!

Christmas trees!

Last year we started a tradition of going to our farm in NC to cut Christmas trees and bring them back to FL for us and our friends and we continued that tradition this year.  We left Sarasota on Thursday, Dec. 9 and arrived around noon on Friday.  Our friends from Charlotte, Ron and Terri, arrived late Friday afternoon.  Last year we had a winter wonderland on the day we cut the trees but we didn't expect snow for Saturday, Dec. 11, when we would be cutting this year.  And - no snow on Saturday but we had fun choosing and cutting our trees.  Then we woke up on Sunday morning to about 5-6 inches of snow!  It was beautiful!  But we couldn't get down our driveway to the paved road to get home!  We had planned on leaving Sunday morning for home at 9 a.m. but didn't get out until 2 p.m. and arrived home at 1 a.m.  Tiring trip - but well worth it! 

Here are a few pictures from last year:

Putting the trees through the baler.

All baled up and ready to go!

Don't we look cold?

Christmas trees for sale!  

Now here are the pictures from this weekend:

Snow in the mountains

Snow-covered Christmas trees

Birds are  hungry!

Ron and Terri bringing Christmas trees home to Charlotte

Yes, it was cold!

We had a wonderful time and I would not have minded if we were unable to leave on Sunday.  We had plenty of food, lots of wine, good friends and a fire.  What more could we have wanted?

A photo of the perfect North Carolina Frasier Fir to come!

Eclectic Paper Artists

Several of my crafty friends and I started a little swap group called "Eclectic Paper Artists."  Every month the hostess decides what we are to use to create a little project.  This month I sent everyone a 5 x 3 jewelry-type box to make a Christmas/holiday collage to send to each member.  I love making these little dioramas!  I originally got the idea from Chris and Sharon at Red Lead.  Take a look at their blog for some great seasonal ideas!  I'm posting a photo of the one I am keeping but want the others to be a surprise!

Annual Christmas Countdown

Every year Lisa Vollrath publishes images on her website, Ten Two Studios, every day during December that can be downloaded for free.  Take a look!

Getting ready for Christmas. . .

My very favorite online group and store, Red Lead, is having a great swap, Good Wishes Holiday Garland Art Swap.  Wow, the art these gals are making is just adorable!  Not to brag, but one of my creations is featured on the home page of the Yahoo group this week!    If you are interested in joining some really fun swaps with some very creative people, consider joining the group.  And the store is full of fantastic supplies and some very cool stamps that cannot be found anywhere else.  The store is in St. Louis - road trip anyone??

Here are the three chipboard garland pieces that I made.  I can't wait to see what I'll get!

Fall is here!

And has been here in Western North Carolina for a couple weeks.  The leaves are beautiful this year and the weather has been great!  Here's a little look:

I've been very busy this last month putting together and addressing all the Save-the-Dates for Matt and Jen's wedding.  It was time consuming, but Matt really did all the work designing and printing.  I think they look great and they went into the mail last evening except for about 12 that I made mistakes on and now I need some more envelopes that will be delivered next week after we're back home in Sarasota.  I should have known that would happen!  Extra envelopes are always a plus!

Here's a link to their wedding website which is a work in progress:  Jen and Matt.

Six More Days of Christmas!

Here are my Days VI through XII from Bonnie's Twelve Days of Christmas workshop.

              

Twelve Days of Christmas

My friend Bonnie down at The Art Room in Franklin held a great workshop today!  We made a box with chipboard tags in it, each side for the Twelve Days of Christmas.  Bonnie is such an creative crafter - I wish I had her imagination!  This will be a beautiful addition to my Christmas decor.  Here are photos of the box, all the tags and then tags Day I through Day V.  I'll post the rest tomorrow!