little projects

It's no secret that I'm a little completely obsessed with organizing and cleaning. Lately, I've been finding so many great ideas on pinterest and elsewhere, so I thought I'd make a list of ten great little ideas that I hope to accomplish soon!

1.
Paint and hang letters for our initials above individual towel racks/hooks... I've also seen this done with framed pictures. Not sure which idea I like best!

Source: somewhatsimple.com via Jess on Pinterest

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2.
DIY fridge shelf liners {plastic placemats}. So easy to clean and super cute.

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3.
Get food staples {pretzels, rice, flour, pasta etc} out of boxes, bags, etc and into clear containers for both in the cupboards and on the countertops.

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4.
Use a plastic silverware organizer to hold and label everyone's toothbrushes in a drawer... gets them off of the counters and out of cups. Also holds toothpaste and floss.

Source: indulgy.com via Jess on Pinterest

5.
Make a cute magnet board and attach magnet strips to makeup.

Source: Uploaded by user via Jess on Pinterest

6.
Print and organize favorite recipes into binders to put on the kitchen counter- love the rainbow. Would also probably doing something similar for all of our important documents and paperwork.

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7.
Colorful wall photo gallery for hallway. Either with different colored frames or mats. :)

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8.

Photo wall with string/ribbon and clothespins

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9.
Find an antique dresser to paint for our bedroom. Also add cute knobs or handles from Hobby Lobby.

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10.
Handpainted tree rungs.

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I'll be sure to post when I get around to doing each of these!

more reasons why we need to decide on a name!

You know, it's really bothering me that we still haven't been able to agree on baby boy #2's name. Why, you may ask? Well, first of all, I'd just like to know his name!

Second, I have a lot of crafting and decorating ideas that I'd like to get started on, but can't until we, of course, decide on his name. Because his name or at the very least his initial is involved.

I want to put all four of our initials (A, J, E, and....? along with a big G) on a wall in the living room, something sort of like this:

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or THIS:

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I also can't wait to add baby boy's name above Elliot's on the nursery wall. I plan to use chip decor letters and fun scrapbooking paper again, so they coordinate well with Elliot's :) Some other interesting ways to do nursery baby names are below:

Different sized letters- not sure why I never thought of this?

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and how cute is this?

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Cute, right?!
I know, I know... just pick one! If only it were that easy!

I may be brave enough to narrow our choices down to just three:
1. Sullivan Grey (Sully)
2. Finnian Jude (Finn)
3. Milo Benjamin
... but I'm not sure that I want to let go of Cyrus Grey yet, though... so we'll see.

Part of me thinks that the perfect name is still hiding somewhere, and we just haven't found it yet...

I've been driving my husband nuts with this name thing. So I'm sure we'll decide soon... if for nothing else, just so we can be done with it and my husband won't have to listen to me talking about names 24/7.
I'll be sure to let you all know when we do!

a photo wall? yes please!

Today, I got 100 of my favorite pictures of Elliot developed. Okay, they're not ALL of Elliot... a few of the other important people in my life managed to sneak in there too... but they're mostly all of Elliot. And by mostly I mean 96%.
So, tomorrow I think I am going to tackle a new project: creating a photo wall. Since this will be the first one in the new house, I plan to make it as simple {and cheap!} as possible. No fancy frames, different sized photos, or anything like that. I simply don't have the time right now. Nonetheless, I'm excited and can't wait to finally put up some pictures of Elliot {somewhere other than my blog.
For some reason, I still feel like this "little" project might turn out a whole lot bigger than I think it will. Creating a photo wall is is item #11 on my day zero project, and I gotta start somewhere, right?

Inspiration:
via pinterest. You follow me, I'll follow you.

Source: thecreativemama.com via Jess on Pinterest

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Source: paisleepress.blogspot.com via Jess on Pinterest

when I feel more adventurous:

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I'll be sure to post a picture of the finished product... once my new camera battery charger arrives, that is. UPS assures me that it is on its way.

Coming Soon :)

I've always wanted to create my own blog layout- but never tried it. So today, while Elliot caught up on all the sleep he missed over the last week, I went ahead and started one! Here's a preview of the header.
What do you think?

What I've been up to

Okie dokie folks: Now that I'm finished with the project, I can {finally} show you what I've been up to! In case you didn't guess from yesterday's post- I was busy making letters that spell Elliot's name to hang on the wall above his crib. I've been wanting to do this for awhile- but I couldn't make up my mind on how to do it. Originally, I thought I was going to buy wooden letters and paint them, but then I stumbled upon this idea, and fell in love. Since you can pick out your own scrapbook papers, the possibilities are endless!

Materials:
♥ "Chip Decor" letters from the Paper Studio- these are basically made out of SUPER thick heavy duty cardboard.
♥ Scrapbook paper in your choice of colors, patterns, and/or textures
♥ Elmer's Memory Book Glue Pen
♥ Mod Podge waterbase sealer, glue, and finish
♥ Pencil, scissors, and paintbrush

Instructions:
1. Trace letters {carefully!} onto scrapbooking paper
2. Cut them out
3. Cover each letter with an even layer of memory book glue
4. Place cut paper onto letters, carefully sliding it into position so that all edges line up. Once in place, rub/smooth paper firmly into place using your thumb and a paper towel. {This was ANNOYING! For some reason, no matter how carefully I traced, the edges just didn't seem to line up quite right.}
5. Let dry 30 minutes
6. Brush a thin, even layer of Mod Podge onto each papered letter
7. Let dry
8. Hang & enjoy! :)


Paintbrushes- the pesky material that I completely forgot about!


The papers that I chose- it's hard to actually see the detail here, but none of these are plain/solid. The brown actually has polka dots and the blue has an interesting faded yellow texture. And the orange looks neon, but it's not.


The letters- these are bigger than a lot of other ones I found in other stores





The Mod Podge will be white and streaky- don't panic. It WILL dry clear.


Finished product :) I have yet to decide how I'm hanging them- so they're not on the wall yet. But I'll get them up there soon and get you guys a picture of the whole shebang- crib, bedding, AND his name
Happy Crafting!

Whoops!

I realized that I forgot one very crucial material for the project I'm working on. And it has been snowing like CRAZY here all day {plus I just had to take my little brother to see the new Harry Potter movie} so... it took me awhile to get to the store.
The reveal is postponed until tomorrow!
Sorry ladies!
Here's another little preview/hint:

Winter wonderland?

I woke up this morning to this:



Winter wonderland? Well, some would say so! As for me, I'm not sure. It is pretty... but it's awfully cold and windy out there! So I spent the day inside, watching the snow fall from the warmth of my living room, while I got in touch with my crafty side and worked on something for Elliot's room that I am very excited about. Here's a little preview:



Don't worry- you can expect a full post about this tomorrow. Until then, I'll just leave you guessing! And I'm off to eat some homemade turkey noodle soup! YUM!

We ♥ votes!