Drawers

I really like having drawers for organizing things.  You can keep things out of sight and there are so many great inserts with different containers you can use in each drawer.  I buy a lot of greeting cards and send out cards to my students.  Before, they were in boxes.  I decided to take one of the deep drawers in my office and organize all of the cards by subject.  Then I put all of the empty envelopes separately in the right hand corner of the drawer.  Now I can finally see everything I have and I don't have to dig through boxes to find a card.

I also used one of the drawers to organize some of my Vista Print business cards and magnets I made.

Another Ikea Expedit

I have an Expedit in my office and I really like it.  So, I decided to buy another one in a different color for a space in my living room that needed some updating.  Eventually I would love to get a great piece of furniture in the same style as one of the pictures below from Restoration Hardware.

In the mean time, here is my corner with the Expedit.  

Entry Nook

In our entryway there is a small nook that I have a big plan for.  I want to get built in cabinets and drawers put there, but my husband doesn't have the time to build them right now.  So, I decided to take some things I had around the house and make it a functional space until I get my built ins.

This is a small cabinet I bought long ago.  We keep keys or other small things in the drawer.  I thought the wicker canister was perfect for a grab and go umbrella.  

The best part of all is topping it off with a painting that my son created.  :)  I love all of his artwork so much!

New Couch Pillows!

I have been looking for some new pillows for my couch for a long time.  I was going to make some, but after buying the fabric, stuffing, etc. it was just a lot of time and effort that I didn't have.  Then I discovered pillow covers.  On Amazon I found some adorable covers at a reasonable price.  I put my old pillows inside the new covers.  You can wash them easily too!  I can sew, but my projects have been limited to small curtains and simple pillows.  I have never added a zipper to anything.  These pillows are heavy duty and so cute!  In the photos they are the grey and white ones.  The other ones are pillows I bought to add in.

More Office Fun

I have been using canning jars a lot lately for everything....even canning food.  I collect other small jars and canisters and use them in all rooms in my house.  Here is a shelf in my office that I used to organize all of my small craft supplies.  I used salt and pepper shakers to hold buttons in color order.  

Office Fun

A friend of mine alerted me to a huge deal at a local hardware store.  I whole bucket of paint pods was less than $15.00!  I raced over to the lumber yard and got there when there were still lots of colors to choose from.  We used Benjamin Moore paint throughout our whole house and I found paint pods in the colors we used.  These are great if you ever need to do touch up paint.  I am always working on craft projects, so these paints will come in handy.  

New Canister Labels

I recently discovered chalkboard stickers and have been using them as labels on everything!  Here are some for my kitchen canisters.  

Cupboard Ideas

I am always finding new ideas on Pinterest.  I try to come up with ways to maximize cupboard space.  I have always used the steppers for canned goods because you can actually see what you have.  

I have a baking drawer and I have been really into using canning jars for everything lately.  I used jars to organize my cupcake holders, birthday candles and food coloring.

New Kitchen Tile

The best part about getting new tile put up is that it was free.  One of my husband's buddies gave us some boxes of tile and it just so happened to match our kitchen perfectly.  

Here is the kitchen before.....

Here I am deciding if it will work or not.

After......

We decided to stop at this wall and do a wall on the other side of the kitchen to tie the two sides together.  We have a large bay window on one of the walls and there was no way to make the tile look right along the window.  The great thing about tile is if you decide you don't like it down the road, you can always replace it.

LOVE This Photo Organizer

I love taking pictures.  I would really like to start a photography business of my own soon.  I have tons of pictures that I have kept in semi-organized boxes for a long time.  I found this awesome photo organizer on Amazon.  You store your photos in a case, but inside the case there are several small picture canisters.  I ended up organizing them by person, places we visited, and time period.  I need to order a couple more to get the rest of my pictures in order.  This makes it really easy for scrapbooking too.  No more going through stacks of photos.  They are all in one place.

A Couple of Hooks Make a Big Difference

I am constantly updating my closet and trying to come up with new ways to keep things organized.  I had these wall hooks laying around and decided hanging long necklaces on them would be a good idea.  I have a necklace holder for my shorter necklaces, but the longer ones ended up in a box.  Here is what they look like hung up.  It only took up a small section in the closet that wasn't being used any way.

Vista Print Ideas

I LOVE Vista Print.  There are always tons of great email coupons for discounts.  I am always creating new postcards, magnets, etc. to spice up my classroom.  Here are some of my projects.