Summer Cleaning

The past couple of days I’ve been spending lots of time on the following blogs:

Young House Love

A Bowl Full of Lemons and her 21 Day Organizing Project

Organizing Made Fun

With these blogs as my inspiration, I’ve been getting some organizing done around the house! I’ve been meaning to do some more Spring cleaning, but now it’s become Summer cleaning. Ha!

To start off, I organized under the sinks.

The kitchen sink first:

It wasn’t a disaster, but I knew I could make it better and get rid of even more stuff I wasn’t really using. I added some pretty green contact paper (from Target), and some various bins and baskets all purchased from Dollar Tree or the dollar spot at Target.

Before:

 

After:

There was so much stuff there that didn’t need to be! And now everything is organized into bins. The small green bin holds microfiber cloths. The cleaning products that are used daily are in 1, those used less regularly are in another, dish soap in 1, and everything I use to make daily shower spray are in another. By the way, I’m hoping to eventually make more and more of my own household cleaning products.

 

Then the bathroom sink.

This was more of a mess, but I already had some things in bins, so not awful. There were still lots of things to get rid of. I also decided to move some items to a different location since they weren’t being used enough to justify keeping them in our small bathroom. My real goal was making a place for a small garbage can to fit under the sink. Cash Howard has been making big messes in our bathroom because he likes to go into the garbage and pull out empty toilet paper rolls and tissues and such and shred them all up on the floor. I was getting really tired of it! I decided the only solution was putting the garbage under the sink. Hopefully this takes care of that!

Before:

It was a little hard to get to things…

 

After:

That’s a little better, huh?

And here it is with the garbage can added (got it at Dollar Tree):

 

I’ll be back with some more photos of what I’ve been organizing around here. It feels great to get this done and to get rid of a bunch of stuff we aren’t really using, especially when we only have 1000 square feet to live in.

 

 

 

 

Yarn wreath for Mom

A year ago I showed you a couple of yarn wreaths I had made to hang on our doors. I decided to make one for my mom for Mother’s Day this year! To get some ideas I looked around on Pinterest. Have you been to pinterest yet? If not, why not? It’s fabulous! Anyway, I found some inspiration that led me to this. I made my very own version of one of the wreaths, and this is how it turned out.

And here is Mom with it on Mother’s Day, as posted on Facebook:

Making this one made me want to make some more! It’s sort of addicting. Making the felt flowers is pretty fun. The hardest part is guessing on the size of what you cut because it’s hard to tell how big the flower will turn out! Here’s a tutorial I would like to try out next time.

Office picture collage

This is the final project I worked on last weekend. I have been meaning to replace the framed poster that was hanging in our office on the same wall as our desk and computer. I wanted to change it up. Recently I acquired some budget friendly items and I decided that it would work to hang them together in the office:

One 8×10 photo canvas from canvas people which I got for free ($49.99 value) and paid $14.99 shipping.

One 8×10 photo canvas from winkflash which I got for free ($49.99 value) and paid $8.99 shipping.

One 11×14 photo poster from Snapfish which I got for free ($6.99 value) and paid $2.99 shipping.

One matted picture frame (for 11×14 photo poster) from Big Lots for $12.

One photo frame which I purchased a couple years ago from Target clearance.

Two pieces of wall art from Goodwill for $1 each.

I started with all the recently acquired items and then added the picture frame I had to complete it. I am pretty happy with how it turned out!

Clockwise from top left: Trev and I in Sheboygan by Lake Michigan, Laguna Beach from our CA trip last March, Spring trees last year on Theo Wirth Parkway 1/2 mile from our house, a dahlia from my garden last summer.

Here’s where it is in the office. Looking at this photo makes me want to do some organizing!

This is in the same room where I have all my scrapbook stuff, as well as my dresser and closet! We live in an old house, and the closet in our bedroom is barely big enough for Trevor’s clothes, let alone both of ours. This room isn’t completely *mine* but almost, but don’t feel bad for Trevor- he has his work from home desk and video game room downstairs.

The Slide Lamp

The second project I’ve been wanting to complete for a while and finished last weekend is a slide lamp! I originally saw this idea on She’s Crafty, a TV show I didn’t know existed until we canceled cable over a year ago. It looked like a fabulous idea! At one point I mentioned to Mom that I had hoped to make one. Several months ago she gave me a small bag of old slides that she didn’t want to keep. Most of them were of a parade and of Mom and her brothers and other family opening Christmas presents when they were kids. I knew they would be fun to use, but I didn’t have enough yet. Well, when we were at my parents’ for Easter Mom handed me a whole shoebox full of slides that were her great aunt Linda’s, (so my great great aunt). All of these slides were taken on trips she took, some in California and the southwestern states, and many on her travels in Europe. They appear to have been taken in the 60’s, and a small percentage of them have people in them. Once I had this box of slides I knew I could make my very own slide lampshade!

On Friday my friend Jen and I went thrift shopping and she helped me find an old lampshade I could tear apart to use as my base. It was $1.40 at a small thrift shop near her house. Not long after that we found a lamp at the Salvation Army for $5.99. At a craft store I purchased parchment paper to attach to the back of the slides, and 225 jump rings that I would be using to attach the slides (with a glue stick). I was really excited to make it, so late that night I started attaching the parchment paper to the slides while we watched TV. On Saturday I completed the project. It did take quite a bit of time to put this together, but I’m really happy with the results.

I have the lamp on an end table in our living room, which is the perfect spot.

I don’t know the stories behind any of these pictures, but it is fun to imagine. The strangest slides I found where a pair- one of an ambulance, and one of a woman on a stretcher going into the ambulance!

With the help of two Jens: The hoop wall.

I finished off the month of April working on projects I’ve been meaning to do for months! Here’s the first one I completed.

I saw this on Apartment Therapy and had to do one in my house!

I have been seeing lots of similar wall art, and had discussed it with my cousin Jen. She got me started on the project by sending me three little works of art for my birthday that she had made for me.

How cute are they? After she sent me those, I couldn’t wait to get them on the wall. I found some embroidery hoops at a thrift store, and then the other day I decided I wanted to get everything else. My friend Jen went to some thrift stores and crafts stores with me to get everything else I needed, and Friday night I made all of my hoops while Trevor and I watched the final season of Friday Night Lights on DVD.

I cross-stitched this one:

The rest I just put fabric in. Trevor helped me hang them all up on the wall in our front room. So this is what you see when you walk in our front door now:

I love how it  turned out! I bought the mirror at IKEA for $9.99.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

Now if only it were in a place where I’d actually see it more. 🙂

Ten on Tuesday….On Thursday.

I missed Ten on Tuesday so I am giving it to you on Thursday instead. Ten on Thursday!

1. My friend Ariah wrote a children’s book called Clean Water for Elirose that he is selling to raise funds for clean water wells. Here are a few organizations that Ariah encourages others to donate to that help bring clean water to those who have none.

2. This Saturday I am going with the Sanctuary Choir to sing at Gospel Fest in Duluth. The event is at the College of St. Scholastica. I’m excited that Tonia Hughes, Darnell Davis, and Triad 4 Christ are also performing! All proceeds from the concert will go to help local food shelves. It should be a great day trip and a blessed time.

3. After having bedding that was dry clean only for too long, I finally purchased a new comforter that I can machine wash. Why is this so important? I realized having a dry clean only comforter when you have a dog that sleeps on your bed all day while you are at work is not a good idea. Ha! I looked around for a while and then stumbled upon this bedding at Costco. It was the best price I had seen AND machine washable! I hadn’t imagined I would buy purple, but it goes well with our green walls.

4. I hadn’t imagined I would end up with something so floral either but it’s nice for Spring!

5. Speaking of the bed. The other night I left the room to get something in the other room and when I came back I found this:

6. I’ve stopped watching a lot of shows on a regular basis. Some of them still sit on my Tivo with hopes I will find time for them, but others I’ve canceled my season passes to. Gotta make time for when Friday Night Lights comes back, right?

7. Oh that’s tomorrow! Woot! The last season of Friday Night Lights starts for us who don’t have Direct TV. It’s in my top fave dramas for sure.

8. What are my current faves? The Good Wife, Parenthood, and Friday Night Lights.

9. By the way, did you know April 28th is Michael Scott/Steve Carell’s last episode of The Office??? NO!!!!

10. I shop, I scrap, I watch stuff, and I do read! I’m currently still reading the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. Reading “The Girl Who Played With Fire” right now. It’s hard to put down!

Friziday

Hello there and Happy Friday!

In the past week I took pictures on ONE day. Glorious! I will get back to taking photos. It’s just nice to have a break. 🙂 But, because of this I have no new photos to post on my good ole blog.

Is there anything you would like to see me blog about? Have any questions you’d like me to answer or anything you’d like to see photos of?

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Ten on Tuesday

1.      It’s currently 51 degrees in Minneapolis. This is very welcome! And Saturday it’s supposed to get up to 65! I can hardly imagine.

2.      The Silhouette Store is having a sale right now so I downloaded a bunch of designs last night. It ends today April 5^th. Hopefully I can find some time this week to scrapbook and use my Silhouette!

3.      I’m even happier that I chose the Silhouette after discovering that ProvoCraft has sued the companies that make the software that’s made  to be able to design your own stuff with the Cricut. Sure Cuts A Lot and Make the Cut.

4.      Today is the anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death. You should watch my fave mash-up of Nirvana and the Jackson 5, “Smells Like Rockin’ Robin.”

5.      I really want to listen to these streaming albums before they come out: TV on the Radio: Nine Types of Light and Low: C’Mon. Both bands are on tour and will be in Minneapolis this month while I’m out of town. Boo.

6.      I ordered a couple of photo canvases through deals where I just had to pay shipping. They both shipped and I am waiting for them to arrive now. I’ll let you know what I think. I paid $14.99 for one from canvaspeople.com and $6.99 for one from Winkflash (and this deal expired already). Click on this link for the Canvas People deal.

7.      Snapfish has a deal going right now for 111 4×6 prints for $1.11. Use coupon code 11PRINTS at checkout by April 7^th. I pretty much only order prints through deals like this these days.

8.      Thursday was my birthday. Trevor got up early and made me waffles, and took me out for dinner at Green Mill where I got my free birthday Sunday. He also surprised me by getting his hair cut after he had been letting it grow for months. I was happy. 🙂

9.      Now that the snow has melted, our yard is covered with shredded up newspaper because we get the Star Tribune Express for free on Sunday (for the coupons) and the squirrels have been stealing it for their nests. It’s crazy.

10.    Also, there are plants starting to grow in my garden! That is the most exciting news I’ve had in a long time. 🙂

Who I Am & What I Love

Today is my birthday, and I’m 31!

I saw this on a blog I read, and thought today was a good day to do this since it was my birthday.

Who I Am:

a follower of Christ,

wife, daughter, cousin, aunt, friend, preacher’s kid,

church-goer, college graduate, singer, choir member, dog owner/mama,

blogger, journaler, photo-taker, documenter, scrapbooker/paper-crafter,

list-maker, organizer, Wisconsonite/Minnesotan, Scandinavian,

home owner, gardener, cook, bike-rider, blue eyed, glasses-wearer, music lover

 

What I love:

the Lord,

my husband, my family, my cockapoo,

my cozy home, North Minneapolis, my church, my friends,

working (temporarily) in a diverse place,

meeting new people, going new places, travel, learning new things,

texts/calls/e-mails from friends,

handmade gifts, candles, IKEA, Patina, Italian food, trying new recipes,

being at the lake in the summer, walking Cash,

blogs, hoodies, jewelry, good TV,

indie films, foreign films, documentaries, a good action flick,

singing gospel music,

grapefruit, morning coffee, smoothies,

Spring blossoms, birds, sleeping in, party games, driving in the summer,

Norwegian things, house guests, summer fires,

Arcade Fire, Over the Rhine, Eisley, Radiohead, Sigur Ros…

 

Project 365: It was a good year!

Today is my last day of Project 365!

My first photo:

My last photo:

My friend Becca inspired me to try it. I had seen it all over online but wasn’t sure I could pull it off. Once I saw she was giving it a shot I thought I might as well try too! So thanks to Becca for inspiring me to try Project 365! I also want to thank the people who encouraged me along the way, especially my family (and I’m so excited that you are doing Project 365 now Dadio!), Trev, Britta, Scott & Emily, my cousin Jen, and Ariah. Thanks for motivating me to keep going. I actually never missed a day. There were a couple of days that I almost forgot, but always managed to find something to photograph!

You can see all the photos here.

I documented my life at age 30, so I started on my 30th birthday last year. During the time I did the project I worked 2 temp jobs, celebrated 6 years of marriage with Trevor, went camping twice with cousins, had many visitors, went to Phoenix, AZ and Huntington Beach, CA, and much more. Taking the photos helped me to see each day with a different perspective and to appreciate all the events and even the little things that much more. I hope that it made me a better photographer as well!

Favorite Photo: Day 269

Least Favorite Photo: Day 189

Hardest to shoot: Day 87

Most fun to shoot: Day 201

Best day: Day 203

Worst day: Day 149

In the 365 photos there are 121 friends and family members!

There are 9 dogs! Of course our cockapoo Cash Howard is in lots, especially because sometimes he’s just in the background. He’s in a grand total of 16. But the other dogs included were Kirby & Dakota Dwyer, Kia Pedersen, Barkley Shaw, Brody Pedersen, Nellie LeDuc, Nemesis Kraft, and Ralphie Rymsza.

The photos are taken in 20 cities/towns and then various suburbs: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Duluth, Fergus Falls, Dent, Alexandria, Moorhead, Cannon Falls, New Prague, Almelund, Miltona, and Perham, MN; Sheboygan, Madison, and Montello, WI; Fargo, ND; Waverly, IA; Fountain Hills and Phoenix, AZ; Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach, CA.

I took a photo of our house in each season, but wish I would have gotten one in actual Spring.

17 photos involve my gardening!

50 photos include food or beverage or are taken at a meal!

8 involve celebrating birthdays!

3 have something to do with weddings.

11 photos have me in them.

It was fun and I highly recommend it to anyone else who is interested. Give it a try!