FABRIC STORAGE in a FILING CABINET

Hey all!  What a beautiful weekend we have had here in the Northeast!  I've been working hard trying to clean up the landscaping around our home.  How about you?  I just love weeds.  LOVE. them.

I hope to show you the new look of the front of our house shortly.  We have made a few changes that I am really excited about.  But in the meantime, I have also been feeling the crazy spring fever of cleaning things out and trying to find ways to better organize our home.

It seems I have a fabric problem.  Yes, I am addicted.  A fabric hoarder.  Where do I go with all of it?  

When trying to decide what do do with all my fabric, I was also changing up my office.  I really wanted to get rid of a very large filing cabinet we got for free, when an office building was closing in the area.  Let's face it, a 4 drawer filing cabinet is just not that pretty.  I really only needed 2 drawers for our paperwork.  DUH, Cheryl.  

Those extra drawers could be used for my fabric!  Lined up over hanging files, I can see all of the fabric and just pull it out when needed.  I love it!  I was always digging in a box or tote and would pull something out in surprise - I forgot I had that!  

Now the only issue is how to make that filing cabinet look more.... fun.  You can bet I will be dragging it outside to paint very soon!  Do you have a creative way to store your fabric?  

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Feel free to leave a comment below - I would love to hear from you!


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PARTY DECORATIONS FROM 30 PIECES OF PAPER

Hello! What a crazy week it was - and the weather this week is so beautiful.  I am feeling ready to paint a whole mess of things!! How about you?

This past Friday, I volunteered to run a PTO (Parent Teacher Org) Event at my son's elementary school- their annual spaghetti dinner.  I was given a budget, but I wanted to use as little $ as possible to help toward the proceeds.  

So, for decorations, I decided on: Pinwheels!  Everyone loves a pinwheel right?  They are cheery and very simple to make.  The key to a decorative pinwheel is paper that is printed on both sides.  That way there is no extra gluing and cutting.  

Here's the simple how-to: 
-Cut paper into a square.  
-Fold paper so that you have an X on your square.  (Make a triangle, press for fold.  Pull back apart and fold a triangle in the opposite direction.)  
-Cut each fold line about 3/4 toward middle point.
-Make hole on right side of each cut (See below.)
-Make hole in center of folded X.
-Using metal brad, put brad through each point hole and finally through center.  Open brad in the back to secure.

I made pinwheels of varying sizes for 16 centerpieces, two paper banners, and had enough paper to make many more tiny pinwheels.  I still have a bit of paper left over!  

Here's what I did with 24 pieces of patterned 12X12 paper:
16 - 8 inch pinwheels (cut 8X8 squares from 16 pieces 12X12)
32 - 6 inch pinwheels (cut 6X6 squares from 8 pieces 12X12)
As needed: 4X4 squares cut from the leftover pieces.

I used one 8 inch and 2 - 6 inch pinwheels for each centerpiece.  I gathered up mason jars and galvanized buckets (thanks mom!) to put the pinwheels in, "gift grass" for filler and styrofoam in the bottom to make they stayed put.  

Here's the only downfall with these types of pinwheels - they aren't functional.  I added glue dots to a small circle of the paper I had left and a BBQ skewer.  I know they are not as fun if they don't spin, but these were mostly for decorative purposes.  

Plus! Extra Bonus with your paper: When you get a pack of 12X12, they sometimes are perforated and have small strips left at the top.  I cut them up to make a small banner.  

Just place them down and sew right through the middle, keep adding papers until you have it the length you want. I couldn't believe how simple it was to make and how cute it looked hanging up!

I also used left over round paper rosettes (the extra 6 pieces of paper to make 30) from my Mom's County Fair Party and changed the center to match the paper pack.  

Everything turned out great.  Brown Kraft paper and red crepe paper down the center of each table finished the look.  

The Bug did a great job helping me set up all of the tables and everyone loved the cheery look of the evening!  I still can't believe I got all of these decorations from 30 pieces of paper!! What a bargain!

Have you ever had to make party decor on the cheap?  I would love to hear about it!  Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a great weekend!






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KIDS DROP ZONE

Howdy!  How was your holiday?  Ours ended up being very low key with the stomach flu invading, yuck.  But, it was nice just to find a bit of time to relax and play games with the kiddos.

Speaking of the kids, I wanted to share a bit of their rooms that helps keep me sane.  I have mentioned before that we live in a teensy house.  You come in the back door, you are in the kitchen.  You come in the front door, you are in the living room.  No foyer, no mudroom, no garage.  Cheryl, bummed.  LOL.

You know what this means, right?  Book bags, coats, STUFF left all over the place.  For us, this causes people to fall over things and we were constantly moving things from place to place.  Drives me bonkers!

Their stuff needed a HOME.  Insert IKEA.  Don't we all just love it?  I decided to purchase their kitchen rods and hooks to use in their bedrooms.  At their LEVEL of reach.  Wowser.  What a difference!

I just luuurrveee when everything has a place.  Don't you?  Even buckets for their winter hats, and as they grow older, keys, ipods and such.  Ya know, doodads.  

It's so nice to say to my 3 and 5 year old - go put your stuff away, hang it up where it belongs.  This Mommy is not tripping over stuff or picking up anymore!  [Now, if we could only convince the scrumptious hubby to find a place for all his crap really important piles of really important stuff]

Have a great week!  Thanks for coming over to say hello!






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Love of Family and Home Thrifty Decor Chick - It's the Little Things Party All Things With Purpose