Mini Vacation!

My husband and I were to get away for a long weekend and much-needed vacation! :) We spent two days at water parks, ate lots of yummy food, slept in, explored the Dells, and rode the Ducks!

We had so much fun, and it was wonderful to get away together before I'm hugely pregnant! We were both not feeling our best this weekend, so weren't as active as we might have been, but I was glad we were on vacation and could rest all we wanted! :)

Here are a few shots from the weekend...

My faithful driver! :)

Exhausted after a day in the water park!

Yummy pizza dinner! We love Pizza Hut. :)

Downtown Wisconsin Dells.

Sandstone valleys while riding the Ducks.

Entering the water!

Annndd... it floats! :) So fun!

Sandstone cliffs along the river.

This is what the Ducks look like in water. :)

Amphibious landing!

Office Organization

Warning: some images in this post may cause anxiety and stress to more organized viewers...

I often skip the office when I clean the house... And considering the fact that the rest of the house has pretty much been skipped for the last six weeks, let's just say the office was a sad state of affairs.

I had moved the desk, it was under the window before, but this is pretty much how it looked!

Blocked in. :P

Mess mess mess...

I started by sorting through everything, moved the craft/sewing table to the other side of the room, and added a shelf unit made up of a shelf and two crates. The hanging organizer I hung from a plant hook nailed to the wall. ;)

Some progress being made! I sorted through all my supplies and sorted them by type of project.

I have stuff for jewelry, scrapbooking, card making, sewing, crocheting, and wood crafts all in one area, so the baskets and drawer units are a lifesaver!

Finished! I'm still going to label the bins and drawers, but haven't decided if I want to do chalkboard labels, or something else. I may print them. :)

I sorted my ribbon into a glass jar instead of using a bin, all my ribbon is on the rod. Scrapbooking is in one the drawers and in the right hand crate, and jewelry supplies in basket on the left. The other drawers have card making supplies, general craft supplies, and glue. Spray paint and brushed on are the top shelf.  The bins hold mending projects, yarn, scrap scraps, and fat quarters on the bottom. I used an old oatmeal canister to keep my rolled larger scraps from escaping. :) I also have a sorted bin of larger pieces of fabric under the table.

I also hung a curtain to give it a more finished feel, and hide the old nasty window. :P

The desk, dresser, and bottom of the cabinets hold my business supplies. :) I also moved the hedgehog to the counter to block junk-collecting. To the left (not pictured) is hubby's computer area, which I did not finish all the way because I didn't want to completely disorient his current projects. :)
I didn't have a matching curtain for this side (I was sure I did when I hung the other.. pregnancy brain I guess) so I'm keeping an eye out at sales and second hand stores for a matching pair.

What organization projects have you done lately?

Small Projects :)

As I finish up the first trimester, I have started to gain back a little energy. :) I have been doing some smaller projects, but have been terrible at pictures/tutorials.

I made this necklace quick using some charms I had laying around, and gave it to my sister-in-law for her 17th birthday.

I also made her this picture using a Simply Said design I had on hand, some ribbon, picture corners, and scrapbook paper. She loves polka dots, so I thought it would match her style. ;)

(excuse the off-center photo...)

Next up.. my organization project! :)

Absence...

I apologize for my sudden, unexplained absence these last weeks. I have had little to no energy or inspiration lately, and have put aside some things for a season.

And yes, there is a reason. ;)

Baby Wagner is coming soon! ;) We are so excited and happy, and are anxiously awaiting the birth of our blessing!

Oxi Clean and Stain Remover-make your own!

I have learned two valuable lessons recently.
Lesson one.
Double and triple check your load of laundry to make sure none of your husbands filthy work clothes are in there with your clothes, otherwise, your favorite turtle Aerie tshirt WILL get stained. And you will forget to check said shirt for stains before drying it, thus setting the stain in. And causing me to give up hope it will ever be recovered.

Next lesson.
Do NOT forget a load of laundry in the washing machine for several days. Something will mold. That something being your very favorite, new Gap sweatshirt that happened to be a gift from your favorite little sister. Sigh. I was NOT happy about this second laundry lesson in the last two weeks. I threw a fit calmly rewashed my sweatshirt three times. The little evil red splotches all over the once-pristinely white Gap letters across the front..not fazed.
Frustration.
I googled how to get mold out of clothing. No go. Sigh. And then I remembered. Recipes for Oxi Clean and stain remover from my favorite DIY blog, One Good Thing by Jillee. And I had all the ingredients! Worth a try, right? I have to admit I was a little skeptical that it would actually work. I made the stain remover first and sprayed it on the moldy spot, rubbing the fabric against itself. Better, but not quite there. I decided to whip up a batch of the Oxi Clean as well, and let it soak in that. When I went downstairs, I also found my poor, discarded, stained tshirt on top of the dryer. Ehh. Why not? A true test.
After soaking for a couple of hours, much improvement. However, I knew those two lingering red splothes and barely-precieveable stain would drive me crazy. I whipped up another batch of OC and after I spot-cleaned the stains again, I left them to sit overnight in my concoction.

This morning I cautiously inspected my items. It worked. The shirt is stain free (even removed some old stains that have been washed and dried in for months), and the white on my sweatshirt is bright-white again. YES! :)


Homemade “Shout” Stain Pre-Treater

2/3 cups Dawn Dishwashing Liquid (I had Palmolive on hand, so that’s what I used)
2/3 cups ammonia
6 Tblsp baking soda
2 cups warm water

"Mix everything together then use a funnel to pour into an old Shout bottle or other spray bottle.

To use: shake bottle then spray on stains as you normally would.  I usually let mine “soak in” for a few minutes at least.  Then launder as usual."

source: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2011/08/shout-it-out-homemade-version.html

Homemade OxiClean
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide
1/2 cup washing soda

"Another thing I learned is that once mixed together….the hydrogen peroxide and washing soda only remain effective for up to 6 hours.  If it sits around, it will loose it’s efficacy because the oxygen boils off.   I guess that explains why the original recipe was for such a small amount. :-/ So I basically wasted my “quadruple” batch.

Finally, for maximum effectiveness you need to let the clothes SOAK in the solution for awhile, preferably overnight…but at least for a couple of hours."

source: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/02/move-over-oxicleantheres-much-cheaper.html

IKEA Cork Trviets

I picked these cork trivets from IKEA in April. Not to actually use as pot trivets, but as cork boards. They came in a pack of three.

I picked out three coordinating scraps of fabric, and after trying to figure out the best way to attach the fabic, I settled on thumb tacks, which actually worked excellent. :)

I added a loop of jute.

All done! :)

Blank for now, but eventually they will have things pinned to them, I'm sure.

                               

Washboard Repurpose

I found this little beauty at an estate sale for a mere $4, and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it! :)

Since the top open space was in pretty rough shape, but I didn't want to permanently cover it, I used double stick tape to cover it with fabric. :) The picture is just printed from my computer and taped on, as well.

 And because the board is also metal, it doubles as a magnet board. Pretty spiffy, eh?