Now to Organize the Hooligans!

Summer is such a paradox…time seems to be crawling by when everyone is home and bored, but then when I look at the calendar, school starts in six weeks. We’ve done a lot this summer, and from now until school, the hooligans have a week of YMCA camp, then a week of me entertaining them. They couldn’t keep it straight, so I made these calendars to help them out.


I bought a wrought-iron plate holder at Hobby Lobby, then 3 brushed nickel document frames at Walmart for next to nothing. I “organize” us using Cozi, a great free program that the hubs can link up to via smart phone or computer.

That way, he knows what we’re up to, as well as any groceries I might need him to pick up on the way home.  In theory, that is.  He rarely checks Cozi, but as our kids become more involved in life, I think that will change. I hope.

Cozi allows you to color code each family member’s activities, which is really helpful to the kids when they’re looking at their week.  The iPhone app also has great list and note-taking sections, as well as a journal to write down all those funny little things that happen in life.  I always think, “I have to remember that” but now I don’t…I just type it into my phone! And Cozi even has a weekly menu plan for you. All for free!

Anyway, I just printed our calendars for the next three months and popped them into the frames.  They can easily be switched around as the month passes. Since they’re covered by glass, I can write on them with dry-erase markers if I need to add something.

Of course, I still have to answer questions like,”How many minutes do I get to stay at camp?” and “When will my birthday party be?” pretty frequently, but this definitely helps them know what to expect and what we’ll be doing on any given day.

Not that I’m a control freak or anything. Really.





Linking up to The Frugal Girls Chic and Crafty

I Hope Organizing Is Not My Superpower

I mean, that would be handy and all, but there are times that I feel like it’s all I do.  Compulsive much?  Me?  Movers fear me because everything is so well-organized it looks like a deceptively small amount o’stuff we haul around every couple of years.  The hubs always warns them, and they never believe him.  Too bad for them.

But I digress. Another of my projects for this summer is getting my stamps organized.  I tend to forget what I have.  I prefer to believe my memory is failing, not that I own too many stamps. Anyway, I made a catalog to keep track of them.


I found a small three-ring binger at an office supply store.  It holds 8-1/2” x 5-1/2” papers.  I designed a cover paper using My Digital Studio, Stampin’ Up’s digital design program.  I thought since the stamps are all Stampin’ Up!, the cover should be, as well.  Plus, I need to justify buying the software.


To make the dividers, I just cut cardstock in half, then attached a tab I punched out of cardstock. I set my three-hole punch to fit the binder. Then I hid it so no one could reset it before I finish my catalog.


And now begins the rather tedious part…adding all the stamps. For clear stamps, I simply copied two covers from the cases on a sheet of paper, folded it in half, and punched along the open edge.  For wooden stamps, I either cut the set out of an old catalog and adhered it to a half sheet of paper or stamped each one from the set on a half sheet of paper. Guess which was easier? 

While I’m pretty sure I’ll still forget stamps, this makes it easy to page through instead of looking through my stamp sets on the shelves.  I’m also going to attempt to add each new set as I get it to the catalog, so I don’t have to devote another whole day next summer. 

This was a perfect project for this hot, sticky summer day…but tomorrow I’m taking the kids to see “Big Miracle” at the bargain movie and enjoy the a/c and polar scenes!

Repurposed Marker Organizer

My markers make me crazy!  They should be stored horizontally, since they are dual-tipped, so one end doesn’t go dry. Like everything else, I want to be able to reach them at any moment while I’m creating (which makes for a very cluttered work area, but so be it.). And, last but not least, I like having them in their Stampin’ Up! color families.

Recycling also makes me crazy.  It seems every glass jar I put in the bin ends up broken before recycle day, and I’m worried one of the hooligans will get cut. Don’t ask why they would be rummaging through the trash. I’m sure it happens.

So I repurposed these spaghetti sauce jars from Costco to make a marker organizer.  I cut a piece of polka dot DSP from each color family 3” x 12” and taped them in place.  I put some E6000 on each surface that contacted another jar when stacked (top and bottom of jars, basically) and wedged the four jars between two stacks of books to dry in this configuration.

After the adhesive was completely dry, I wrapped some hemp twine around several times, mostly because I liked how it looked.  It also helps hold them together a bit. 

This works pretty perfectly for my current craft room.  Who knows what will work when we PCS again, but until then, I’m happy with my solution!

My Cards, Hangin’ Around

After I design a card, I usually put it in a basket of samples on my work desk. Then I forget how much I liked it until I’m rifling through the cards, looking for a layout to reuse. So I decided that I need a bulletin board type display area, on which I could easily swap out cards as I design. I don’t want to put holes in my cards, though, with tacks or metal clips, so I wanted to use clothespins.

I bought the largest barnwood open frame I could find (at Hobby Lobby with a 40 percent off coupon) and thought I was done. But then I remembered that I have a whole kit of Martha Stewart Glitter in about 20 colors that has been woefully under-utilized as most of my paper-crafting is done with Stampin’ Up! supplies. I immediately set out to rectify this!

I first covered one side of each clothespin with imitation Sticky Strip, 1/4” wide. I thought it looked better to do two short strips, leaving the spring arm exposed. It really was a quick process. Then I glittered them, four at a time, on scrap paper. After each color, I used the scrap paper to easily funnel the excess glitter back into the container. I used 6 colors of glitter and 24 clothespins…not the smallest I could find, but not regular clothespins, either. I found these at Michael’s in the unfinished wood section, about $3 for 24. They’re not quite 2 inches long.

To finish the frame, I stapled heavy hemp twine across, as tautly as I could get it, and tied each end in a knot around the staple. I dabbed a bit of E6000 on the knots and let it dry overnight.

I used a wide striped ribbon to hang it, wrapping it around the front of the frame and stapling a couple of times. GI Joe thinks it will stretch and I’ll be unhappy with it, but I can always fix that if I need to. Without being that unhappy.

I have way more glittered clothespins than I need, but wouldn’t they look cute holding a paper gift bag closed? Or a wrapped bouquet of flowers, attaching the card? Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.

This frame is one more aspect of my craft room to be organized. I’m pretty sure I’ll get the whole shebang just as I want it eventually. Most likely the week the movers come to pack us up for our next move. But a girl can dream!