At least I got a "deal"...

A local quilt shop is going out of business. Everything is 50% off. I went today and picked out these pretties. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with them.

I see this one in by bedroom in some form. Maybe a new quilt?

On most of the craft and sewing blogs I read they always know the designer of their fabrics. Sorry, can't help you. I tried to remember, but there are more important things for my brain to retain.

A bag?

Another bag?

An apron?

I found this great Car Organizer pattern and might take it on with these beauties.

I also bought a really cute fabric with little fishes on it to make Grom an apron and chef's hat. He grabbed it and ran. I didn't get a picture before it disappeared.

I hope to post some pictures of finished projects soon.

Christmas 2007 - The Debriefing

Merry Christmas! Here's the good, the bad and the ugly of our Christmas 2007. Also my plans to improve next year. No particular order.


GOOD! - Gingerbread House kit from Costco. Inexpensive. Everything is included. Box lid forms the base for the house so it's easy to assemble. Grom, Surferman and I had a great time decorating it. Grom and Surferman had fun snatching candy off the house thinking Mom didn't know what was going on. And the candy doesn't tempt me (much).

Next year - no changes.

BAD! - No Christmas Card. I blame my computer switch around Thanksgiving, but truth be told I don't think I've ever had a Christmas card go out on time. One year I sent 3 years worth of letters at once. I manage to get the letters done, but not sent.

Next year - Order Christmas card by October 15th. Mail at Thanksgiving.


GREAT! - Grom and I made and decorated sugar cookies.
The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies and Sugar Cookie Icing were foolproof and delicious. These were the best sugar cookies I've ever made. Mixing the dough was fun. Rolling was challenging as Grom wanted to help more than I wanted him to. I rolled and baked the dough on parchment paper. The parchment paper made it easier and faster. When the cookies came out of the oven I slid the paper off the cookie sheet and onto the counter to cool. We made stars, hearts, Jesus stars, Christmas trees and BIG hearts. Icing and decorating the cookies was a lot of fun and went better than I expected. After my frustration with rolling the cookies, I decided I needed more control over the decorating if I was going to keep my hair. We did the cookies by type and kept the decorations simple. All of the Christmas trees were green with multicolored dot sprinkles. All of the stars were white with multicolored sugar sprinkles. Etc. The big hearts we glazed white and after they were dried I used a food marker to write "Happy Birthday Jesus" on them.

Next year - Roll and cut one sheet of cookies with Grom right before naptime (I realize I'm dreaming that a 4 1/2 year old will still be napping, but a girl can dream right?). Do the rest of the cookies while he's occupied.


BAD! - Advent Calendar from Trader Joe's. The calendar wasn't bad. I was just out of my mind when we started it. I had the brilliant idea to start the calendar with the highest number and move down (as a sort of countdown). But if you forget (and how Grom forgot to get me to give him chocolate is beyond me), you have to try to figure out how many doors you have to open to catch up and it's all backwards. If you're confused reading this, I'm sure you'll understand the confusion. The best part of being forgetful with the advent calendar is that we had a couple of days where Grom was able to share candy around the house. The joy we experienced with him sharing made it all good.

Next year - I plan to do a Jesse Tree and use that to countdown the days until Jesus' Birthday. My friend Stacey is going to organize an ornament exchange, so we should have beautiful, wonderful ornaments to display. I'm going to look for a little tree when I shop Target tomorrow morning.

OK! - We went to Christmas Eve service at my parent's church. It was a very nice service, but it wasn't our church and I missed my "family".

Next year - I hope to be able to attend service at our church.

GREAT! - For family Christmas gifts, Surferman and I agreed on 3 gifts each. One to wear. One to consume. One for fun. We budgeted and did very well at using only money we had set aside. Surferman turned all the change in his mug into a Starbucks card for me. Lattes are on me for quite a while.

Next year - No changes except to shop more throughout the year.

GOOD! - Our family tradition for stockings is that we each buy 2 items for everyones stocking. Grom and Gigi buy one item. Our stocking are great fun. We had some last minute racing around.

Next year - Collect stocking stuffers throughout the year. When I'm out somewhere and see something that would be great for brother-in-law I'm going to buy it.


BAD! - We never made it out to look at Christmas lights.

Next year - Set a date early and make a night of it.

GREAT! - I made some more cloth gift bags. I bought the fabric on sale last year. I didn't wrap a single present in paper! All reusable.

Next year - I have quite a stash. I think I can get away without making anymore next year.

BAD! - No caroling. No visiting neighbors.

Next year - Make cookies earlier and take them to our neighbors with invitations to Christmas Eve Service. Not sure what to do about the caroling, but maybe friends with kids would like to go early one evening. Caroling with church was a little late for us.


GREAT! - Grom and I rang a bell for the Salvation Army with a friend and her boy (Grom's buddy). We did it right after Thanksgiving. It helped jump start my Christmas spirit and also set us out helping others rather than focusing on yourself. Plus, after whenever we saw someone ringing bells and collecting money for the Salvation Army afterward, Grom and I had a memory to share and another opportunity to talk about helping others. I don't think I've given so much change ever to the Salvation Army. In our community, the Salvation Army is the first stop for people in need.

Next year - I want to encourage my friends with kids to take some time and ring a bell. I'm also going to encourage the volunteer who schedules ringers to consider one hour shifts for moms and kids.


GREAT! - I didn't know how Santa was going to play out in our house. I knew I didn't want Grom thinking Santa was a real person who was going to bring him presents, but I also didn't want to kill Santa either. We let him be a fun thing that is a part of celebrating Christmas, the birth of Jesus. Grom had a couple of funny conversations with Mimi (my paternal grandmother). She asked him if he had made his Christmas list for Santa yet and he asked why - like why would Santa bring him anything. And then today, she asked him if Santa had been here and he said, "No, but he's coming to town".

Grom and I have had some great conversations about Jesus during this season. His questions make me think, make me appreciate all that Jesus did for me, make me appreciate my God who would humble himself and come to the world as a helpless baby just for me (and you too!).

Next year - I want to read more stories with Grom about Christmas and look into some of the ways Christians celebrate Christmas in other parts of the world.

I'm sure there could be more...

Gingerbread Fun!

We were invited to a Gingerbread House Building Party this weekend. It was great fun. Grom did great even though he was the only person there under 4 feet tall.

The hostess had a table full of every kind of candy you can imagine, boxes and boxes of graham crackers, and the biggest bowl of frosting I've ever seen.

Surferman and Grom built a house together. It weighed at least 5 pounds when they were done. I snuck off to another room to hang out with the girls. I made a gingerbread nativity. It was great fun.



I'm still trying to figure out how this MacBook works. For now it seems posting pictures is harder.

Change is good. It will get better. Change is good. It will get better.

Easy M&M Costume and How To Use Halloween to Spread the Gospel

I know that there a hundred different ways to celebrate, ignore, deal with Halloween as a Christian. Here's what we're doing / have done this year.

For the past few years we have attended a Harvest Costume Party with some other families from church. It's always great fun. Surferman gets into it and loves to wear a costume with Grom. This year we were M&M's. It was an easy costume, comfortable and well received.

Here are our shirts. I found a font that looked the M&M's "m" and expanded it to full size for Surferman and mine's shirts. For Grom, I made the m fill half a page. I printed them out and then cut them out of adhesive backed felt. The felt was less than $1.50/ sheet. We used shirts that we already had. The adhesive on the felt held well and the m can be pulled off when costume season is over.

We have Calvary Kids Club on Wednesday night. Grom is supposed to dress up as a Bible character. I'm going to make him a coat of many colors and he'll be Joseph.

At home we'll be passing out these to any kids who stop by. It's a poem with the Gospel. Redeem the day. Don't let Satan blow out your light - even for just a day.

Scripture Scrappin'

Finally found some time to do a little digiscrapping. These are very simple - nothing fancy.

I'm going through Loving God with All Your Mind by Elizabeth George with a gal from church. I started writing down the scriptures that we were looking up. I plan to have them printed and give them to her as a gift when we finish the book. The layouts are 4x6.

I'm using a kit by Heather Roselli called Play.

Watch for more.

Works For Me Wednesday -

Here's my tip this week.

Keep your frequently used tools close at hand when sewing. It's quicker to fix the mistake and get going again when your tools are close at hand. You know the saying, "A place for everything and everything in it's place." Pieces of velcro on the front of the machine are the designated place for my seam ripper. Works for me.


Check out more Works for Me Wednesday ideas at Rocks in My Dryer.

I WON! (ok, not really)

The results are in and even though I didn't win a prize, I still maintain that I'm the biggest winner of the challenge. I know it's only been a couple of weeks, but my room is still neat, organized and makes me smile every time I walk in the door.

I want to congratulate the winners. If you want to be inspired, go check out the great jobs they did. I also want to thank Organizing Junkie for providing the motivation to get something done that I'd be putting off for far too long. And thanks to Lifeorganizers for sponsoring the challenge.

Three Cheers! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!
1st Place - Marianne of Wigglywourms
2nd Place - Stacy (Aussie in America)
3rd Place - Cindy of Life with Littles
Honorable Mention - Stacey of A Measure of Grace

Organizing Challenge - Wrap Up!

I DID IT!

Here's my wrap up and entry into the contest. I apologize for the photographs. The room is small and it's hard to get great pictures. The best light is probably first thing in the morning and I was at work.

BEFORE PHOTOS


looking in from the door


the closet


work area


wrapping cart, sewing cart and lots of mess


knick knack shelf


shelf above work desk


bookshelf in work area


closet

1. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it?

• There was so much stuff. I was very discouraged and felt like I didn't have enough time to get it done. Our weekends are pretty full. We had to be diligent to find the time to clear the room, paint and then move some of the stuff back in.

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order?

• Everything has a place.
• If it doensn't have a place, does it belong here? Where should it go?
• I make sure things are put away when I leave my space. No more empty coffee cups left behind.
  

3. What did you do with the "stuff" you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

• The toys were relocated to Grom's bedroom and toy shelves.
• 3 big boxes went to a thrift store.
• I returned things to people.
• I gave my mom back a lot of things that she gave me that I never really wanted.
• I had to make some hard decisions. I'm a quilter with many UFOs (unfinished objects). I gave five projects up, knowing that I don't want to finish them.

4. What was the biggest lesson you learned from this experience?

• The time limit of the challenge was very motivating. I developed a "just do it" attitude in order to meet the deadline.
• Sweeping the room clean of everything was also very helpful. I was very thoughtful of what was coming back into the room.

5. Now that you have completed the PROCESS, do you think having and keeping your space organized will make a difference in your life?

• It already has. My room makes me happy. I look forward to the time I'm able to spend in it. My sewing machine was out. I can't remember the last time it was. My projects are organized, I know what I have and look forward to completing some projects.

AFTER PHOTOS


scrapping area, bookshelf and knick knack shelf

work desk


wall above work desk - this just makes me happy - exactly what I wanted!


closet - doors removed - curtains added


closeup of gift drawers


closet curtains closed - "mail" and "at hand" by entrance door


relocated ironing board - new painted orange door


my custom upholstered brick door stop


baskets on shelves about work desk


shelves above work desk - closeup


shelves above desk - closer up - I love the key tag labels


scrapbooking stuff on shelf above scrapping table


wrapping cart - bag on top is package to be wrapped


sewing cart


We painted the walls "toasty tan" and the door "october orange". I had the funky retro fabric in my stash. It was purchased to be curtains for a VW Westy Camper at one time, but I think it was supposed to go in my room. I love the tan, orange, green and turquoise together. SO me.

While I hope I win a prize, I know I already have the best prize I could receive. I have a functional, clean, organized and very happy space. It's a great place to spend the little bits of free time I blessed with. I feel more creative already.

My Nest - What's Left To Do

May 3rd is quickly approaching. I haven't given up, but I don't think I'll be able to complete everything that I want to do for my room.

Here's what I have left (no particular order)...

1. paint door
2. sew valance
3. sew closet curtain
4. go through "basket of stuff"
5. mount over door ironing board
6. label baskets
7. declutter and organize bookshelf
8. go through bag of baby stuff
9. decide what to do with the birth announcements
10. decorate door
11. mount R on wall
12. mount clock
13. label drawers
14. take after pictures
    

I'm not giving up.

Let's Get Real Monday - The Outfit

Randi at I have to say... has chosen "The Outfit" as the topic of Let's Get Real Monday.

You know the one. It hangs in the back of the closet or maybe it lies in state in a photograph. You always loved it, but everyone around you hated it.

A beloved dress jumped into my remembrance.

During High School I was quite the seamstress. I worked at a fabric store and most everything I wore was a hand crafted creation. It was the days of big white t-shirt with big black letters on them. Like Wham!'s "Choose Life". I had one the said "Material Girl". It had nothing to do with a love of stuff or Madonna, but instead, my passion for textiles.

My best dresses were made from a sleeveless dress pattern that I used over and over. The bodice was fitted to the gathered waist. It was simple to make, modest and quick.

"The Outfit" was created from a china blue decorator fabric that had LARGE peach chrysanthemum flowers and leaves. Almost like this. I wore it with the cheapest huarache sandals. I bargained for them on a trip to Mexico. Even though they were falling apart from day one, I wore them for years. I probably looked like a VonTrapp child after the drapes had been attacked, but I thought I was all that when I wore that dress.

The dress wouldn't fit right now. It's not hanging in my closet. I don't know where it is, but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned up packed away in a box of memories.

My Nest - Update #1

I had a huge list of things to do this morning before Surferman came home from (wait for it...) surfing. I was clicking through my list (well, I had checked off at least a couple of things), when my sister dropped by. She was a distraction, but it was a great visit. She didn't leave until after Surferman got home.

Surferman was single-minded. We were going to get my room cleared and painted today - ready or not.

The mess was relocated to our family room. Fortunately I had some boxes and was able to group similar items as I was packing them up. I'll sort through it all and organize it before it goes back into the room.

Two coats of paint later and it's ready for Surferman to clean the carpets tomorrow after church.

The furniture goes back as soon as the carpet is dry.

We painted the inside of the closet so I'm not going to put the closet doors back up. I have plastic drawers and a dresser that have lived in the closet. The closet doors make it difficult to use the drawers and dresser. To conceal the stuff and to add color to my space, I think I'll put up a curtain.

Here are some pictures of the mess progress.

My Nest - Before Pictures

Robin's Nest - Before Photos



This is the ugly entrance to my Nest.



The view from the door. YIKES!




The closet



Work area.



In the front left of this photo is my rolling sewing cart. Back left is a fancy Elfa Wrapping Center that is covered with clutter. I wrap gifts on my dining room table.



Knick Knack Shelf



Shelving above work area.



Book shelf in work area

It can only get better! The challenge is on!

Preplanning for my project

Organizing Junkie's challenge is about to start. She posted these preplanning questions.

1. What do I want the purpose of my room or area to be?

• Creativity
• Computing
• Quilting
• Scrapbooking
• Digi-Scrapping
• Present Wrapping
• Present Storage
• Bill Paying
• Ironing

2. What do I need in or near the room to serve that purpose?

• Computer
• Sewing Machine
• Work Space
• Ironing Center
• Project Storage
• Gift Storage
• Seating for me and guests

3. What can I remove from the room?

• CLUTTER!
• Toys

4. What problems do I see with the room?

• No system for paperwork
• Crummy shelves that make me unhappy
• Pink Walls
• Empty Baskets
• No drapes / window treatments

5. What organizational tools might solve those problems?

• In / Out Box and USE it!
• Lock on door to keep people from dumping things in here
• More shelves

6. What habits need to change to solve the organizational problems?

• Procrastination
• Messiness
• Resentment of responsibility for bill paying
• Putting things away when finished
• A place for everything and everything in it's place

7. What kind of a budget do I have to create the organized room of my dreams?

I have been approved for

• Paint
• Shelves

I already have

• Baskets
• Fabric for window treatment

8. What kind of a timeline is necessary to organize the room?

30 Days! I've been challenged!

9. What is my plan of action?

This is the BIG question. So big, it'll be another post.

10. Who can I ask to help me with this?

Surferman is on notice that I'll be looking for help clearing the room and painting. I have a wonderful friend who is on board for some decorative painting. She's awesome.

Knit Wits

I guess I'm a knitter.

My mother is a prolific and talented knitter. I think she knits in her sleep. I know she can knit in the dark. She is constantly working on something. She has made some amazing sweaters for Grom. She creates gorgeous scarves, purses, and hats. Frugally she scours eBay and garage sales for wonderful wools to create her masterpieces. She sells some at a local shop. She way undersells her goods. She really just wants someone to enjoy her things. She's a modern day Proverbs 31 Woman.

Me? I knit washcloths. They are useful. They are easy to finish. Not exciting, but it keeps me out of trouble.

Mom and I met with a group of women from church tonight. We sit and knit and talk and drink tea and have a marvelous time. Mom is our expert. She is such a patient teacher. Humble when she doesn't know how to do something, but always willing to put down her needles to help a new knitter. The room was full of fun projects - scarves, hats, afghans, purses, bowling pins and I finished... you guessed it... a washcloth.