Making a List and Checking it Twice

I always head into the gift giving season with the best intentions of staying organized: Receipts in this envelope, Kids' gifts in this box, hidden in this room, Lists updated...That all lasts for roughly a week. Then poof,  it's all a hot mess. I'm left scrambling at the last second trying to pull things together and I hate scrambling. Hate. My anxiety levels are high enough on their own.

I started this last year and I'm proud to report it was really effective. I'm using the spreadsheet I created last year (loooove my spreadhseets) to keep track of not only how much I'm spending, but who I'm buying for and what I'm buying.

Check it:

The Editable Version

I'm keeping track of everything. As soon as I buy something (online or otherwise), I write it down. Boom, done. 

Happy Holiday Gift Giving and Happy Organizing ;-)

<3 dani

Gift Giving Organization

I always head into the gift giving season with the best intentions of staying organized: Receipts in this envelope, Little Dude's gifts in this box, Lists updated...That all lasts for roughly a week. Then poof, as if I'd never attempted organization at all, it's all a hot mess. And I find myself scrambling at the last second trying to pull things together.

This year, I'm proud to report, is turning out differently. I created a spreadsheet (loooove my spreadhseets) to keep track of not only how much I'm spending, but who I'm buying for and what I'm buying.

Check it:

 

The PDF Version

The Editable Version

Last year, because I was super pregnant during prime holiday shopping time, I did nearly all of my shopping online. I didn't keep good track of things and with shipping times, I forgot about tons of stuff that I ordered and inevitably over/under bought for some people -- oopsie poopsie. 

Using this, I've managed to keep track of everything. As soon as I buy something (online or otherwise), I write it down. Boom, done. 

Happy Holiday Gift Giving and Happy Organizing ;-)

<3 dani

Keepin' Those Baby Legs Warm

Even before I got pregnant, I so badly wanted a pair of baby leg warmers. But first I had to get me some baby legs. Well, I have the baby legs now, but sadly Little Dude is not a fan...especially when the leg warmers are clearly for a Little Dudette.

Luckily for me though, my besties in California just had a Little Dudette.

Here's how I made these adorable little things.

Start with a pair of long socks. The length is dependent on how long the baby leg is that you're trying to cover. I prefer they scrunch up a bit, so I bought knee high, tweenager sized socks. 

Then you just cut 'em up.

Turn the right sides together of the foot portion that you cut out and sew on one side only.

Then flip her right side out again. 

Now, fold her in half. This is going to be your ankle cuff.

Stick the long portion of the sock inside the cuff, then sew around (the only difficult part of this whole project). 

Flip the cuff down and boom.

And my super compliant model, Little Dude, is less than thrilled...okay, so he doesn't look pissed, but trust me!

Try it. I did three pairs while Little Dude took his afternoon nap.

<3 dani

Etsy Favorites!

Hello folks!

Over the holidays I was hugely pregnant and long shopping trips were out of the question. So, I resorted to lots and lots of online shopping. In fact, 90% of my holiday shopping was online...it was liberating.

I spent a lot of time searching around Etsy and came across a few shops I think you should know about. I'm not being paid to advertise for these shops. I just happen to be a happy customer and want you to have the same opportunity.

First: The Sweetest Elements

I bought both expecting grandmothers necklaces stamped with not only their new grandson's name, but the name of their grandpuppies too. (furbabies are just as much a part of our family as our real baby).  Lisa was super accommodating and helpful. Love her other stuff too.

Next: Kriya Designs

 

This was a gift to our son's fairy god mother. Adores-able. Again, great quality. Super helpful and accommodating. Great shop.

Lastly: SlashKnots

I didn't make this purchase, my husband did. I requested a piece of jewelry with an elephant on it and the rest was up to him. This is what he picked out. Perfect, right? Sadly, when I opened it on Christmas morning I couldn't wear it because my wrists are HUGE, GIGANTIC, man-wrists. So, I contacted Beth and she made me a new, custom-sized bracelet. It's perfect. 

Spend some time checking out these shops. I'm proud to support them. 

<3 dani

Rub a Dub Dub...

...Vanilla Lemon Sugar Scrub!

I made this for all the ladies in the fam. It's pretty aswesome.

I used a combination of recipes. This one from Brandy at Gluesticks. And this one from Maggie at It's a Lunsford Thing.

I didn't take notes while I was altering the recipes, but luckily it isn't an exact science. Wing it.

I was making enough to fill the six jars above. I guesstimated the amount I'd need.

2 Cups(ish) White Sugar
2 Cups(ish) Brown Sugar
1 Cup(ish) Oil (I used olive oil)
1-2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Vanilla (or a drop of Vanilla Oil)
Mini Drop of Rosemary

I mixed the sugars first, then added the oil, lemon juice, vanilla and rosemary.

It looked a little runny at first, so I continued adding stuff until it looked 'right.' I wasn't really sure what 'right' was, but eventually it resembled something someone might use as body scrub.

Gluesticks linked me to Mean Mommy Academy, where I found the great labels I used. I added some hemp twine and a tongue depresser thingymajiggy.

They turned out pretty swell, I think.

**I used the leftovers in the shower and that taught me a few things...first I found that a lot of the sugar settles. Even after mixing it up a bit, it still helps to drain a little oil off the top. Which probably means I used too much oil to begin with. I also learned that pouring the oil out on the shower floor could make a serious slippery hazard. But, it works wonders for the skin. So super soft.

Try it.

<3 dani

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Jewelry Intervention

When Granny passed, I got a ton of her costume jewelry. Granted this stuff has no monetary worth, but the sentimental value is through the roof. Unfortunately, I keep it all in a box in the basement and only wear a few of the pieces that aren't completely dated.

Instead of leaving all of her stuff boxed up and unused, I grabbed a few pieces that had potential and went to work.

I'm no jewelry maker, in fact, I think this may be the first piece I've made from start to finish.

Check her out!

I disassembled the original green necklace.

Added the beads to a new wire.

Bought some chain and a clasp.

Connected the beads to the chain.

Added the matching clip-on earring and a ribbon with hot glue.

Done!

Purdy, right?

I gave it to The Momma for a Christmas Gift. 

Don't be afraid to break old jewelry. You might actually wear it!

<3 dani

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Tiny Bathroom, Storage Necessary

Eventually I'll get the go-ahead to demolish our miniature bathroom, but until then I gotta make this one work.

So you have a good idea of the space (or lack of) I'm dealing with, here's the best photo I could get. Tight squeeze.

Two tiny drawers and one cabinet. Make-up, jewelry, hair stuff...I hide everything in that little vanity. But lately, I've really let it go and searching for my jewelry was driving me crazy. So, I pulled up the bootstraps and got to work.

Disaster, right?

Here's the after. No more jewelry lingering, no more overflowing bins. Just the stuff I use daily (or close to it) separated into hair stuff on the left and body stuff on the right.

I used a plastic hook on the inside wall of the cabinet for my hair dryer. She's all outta the way.

Now, I have to find a home for the jewelry that came out of the bins.



Whathuh? The cabinet door? Fo sho.

I used:

an old towel rack (maybe, I seriously have no clue where or how I got this, but I've been hanging on to it for years)

adhesive felt
ribbon
hot glue gun

(I added more felt, but forgot the photo)

I started by figuring out where I could glue my rack. Being sure to leave space for the door to close completely. Then I covered with self-adhesive felt. I'm sure you could use regular felt and just glue it on. I used the felt for a couple of reasons. I needed something to put my earrings into annnnd I wanted to muffle the sound of the swinging and slapping necklaces every time I open the door.


I added a piece of ribbon with the hot glue gun to hold down the long necklaces, so I can swing open the door without fearing flying necklaces.

I rarely wear different earrings. My plain silver hoops and diamond studs have been in my ears for years now, but I do have a few pair and I just shoved them into the felt.

Out of necessity comes the most novel ideas. And lack of space forces us to make tough decisions about what we need and what we want. Making a small spot functional seems to maximize the space. It's like magic.

<3 dani

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I Am The Fire Starter!

Well, the pine cones are the real starters, but I definitely helped.

In early November I made this post, highlighting a few projects that I couldn't wait to try. The pine cone fire starters were first on my list. The apron you'll see in another post. I followed almost exactly what Mrs. Adventure did in her tutorial with the exception of changing the amount...why change a good thing, right?

Here's what I used:

12 cinnamon smelling pine cones (half off at Michael's)
Soy Wax (leftovers from several used and abused candles -also, I just eyeballed the amount needed and melted more as I went)
Wick (leftovers from my "I'm gonna make my own candles" phase)
Cupcake Pan
Cupcake Paper Liners

And we're off.

I started by prepping my wax and my paper liners. I rigged a double boiler and stirred and stirred and stirred until all the wax melted.

I forgot to take a photo of this step, but next you should take your wick and wrap it around the cone. Now the cones are ready to drop into the wax.

Then pour your wax into your muffin pan, sticking your cones in as you go.

Here they are. The house smelled amazing after I finished too. 

These are great gifts for anyone with a fireplace and took about fifteen minutes start-to-finish. High five!

<3 dani

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Bottle Cap Coasters

The gift giving season is nearly upon us. We have, at the minimum, 47 days to get our acts together and this little project should help motivate us!

The Hubs and I usually only exchange gifts with immediate family. We have a pretty small family considering I'm the only child to a single (superstar) mom. Dave has one brother and a sister-in-law. And none of us have kids...yet.

Around the holidays I start to feel extra crafty, so only making gifts for, at the most, five people just doesn't satisfy my craving. That means our friends get the extras! Our closest friends live 2,500 miles away in Berkeley, CA and because of that I make them things that remind them of home. Nothing says Michigan like...Microbreweries. More specifically, beer bottle caps of local brew pubs.

Of course you could use any kind of bottle cap, but we really enjoy a good local brew and happen to have a lot of those caps on hand.

What you need:

Cork (I used a package of thin crafting cork)
Stiff Felt (one regular sized sheet (or halfish of an extra long sheet) per set of 4 coasters)
Hot glue
Trim (I used extra hemp I had lying around)
Caps (36 per set - You'll have to start collecting these now if you wanna have enough in time to turn them into a gift, but there are places like this where you can purchase them)

Lay out your cap pattern for each set first. I was making three sets, so I created a theme for each group and separated.

Then I measured the dimensions of each coaster and cut a piece of felt and cork to match those dimensions. I suggest doing this because each cap is a little different in size and shape. You don't want it to look like you were actually drinking the beer while making the coasters, do you?

Hot glue the felt to the cork and begin gluing your caps to the cork. This takes a little patience. If you've ever read my blog, you know that I have zero of the 'P' word. So, I got a little help from the Hubs on this project. He's married to me, the man must have patience! After you've got your felt and cork covered with caps, trim your rough edges. I used hemp because I have a lot of it laying around, but you can use whatcha got!

Once we had finished gluing, the Hubs had to try one out. He discovered that we needed a little height on bottom (like lifts on a bed frame, knowhatimean?), so that the coaster sinks a little when you set a bottle on them making the bottle less likely to slide off. He cut me little felt 'feet' to glue onto each corner of the bottom of each coaster. You can skip this if you're happy with your results. --and yes, I do have a photo of the one and only time he's helped me craft!

The most time consuming part of this project (besides collecting the caps) was measuring and cutting. Once that's done, you sail right through.

Our friends really liked these and every time they use them they see a little piece of home. Try 'em out!

<3 dani

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