Pretty Soup Cans

These pretty soup cans are where my daughter will be storing the countless coloring supplies she received for her birthday and Christmas this year. We spread the word that her favorite thing to do was color and our family and friends obliged. She has every kind of coloring pencil that exists and we needed a way to organize them. Enter my new obsession, Pinterest and I present you my inspiration pieces: tin can desk organizers and embellished cans.

I had to change the process a bit to use what I had which is how I like to craft. After cleaning the cans I spray painted the the inside and borders with pink spray paint. Once that dried I applied leftover scrapbook paper with spray adhesive.

My daughter had a blast organizing all her pencils in her new pretty cans. I now need to make her some baskets for the little things that all girls collect. I also would like to do a small can (think tuna) for her paperclips and erasers.


This is a cereal box covered in scrapbook paper that I made to hold her magazines. The paper I used was very thin and bubbled up. I'm not happy with how it looks but need to wait until they finish the current box of cereal to make a new one. My daughter was able to look past the bubbles and had to have it on her desk when she saw it. I guess it's ok for now although every time I see it I think #craftfail. Thank you for stopping by, I hope you like our pretty soup cans!

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BlogHer Book Club: Why Women Need Fat

Why Women Need Fat is a book written by a former assistant surgeon general and an anthropologist that will change how you look at food for the rest of your life. Their theory is that we have it all wrong and that in fact the things we are doing to lose weight are increasing the number on the scale. The authors compare populations across the world and realize that the US has implemented a lot of changes based on faulty research and the obesity rate has increased. On the other hand other countries have left their nutrition untouched and their populations are stable with no obesity epidemic.

The authors identify the need for healthy facts for organ systems to function including the brain. This is not a new idea but they chose to present it in a different, more effective, manner. They then go into detail about where the excess weight goes and why that is the case. And lastly they give us the tools necessary to each reach our healthy weight by eating like our ancestors.

The last part of the book goes through a detailed list of food groups and explains how each should be approached. There are several things that are surprising such as the fact that butter is healthier than margarine. Perhaps the most important thing to note in this section is the need to decrease Omega-6 and increase Omega-3. Several tips are provided regarding how to achieve this so that the readers don’t feel lost. The rest of the tips are more common and include a lot of natural, un-processed foods.

Please join me at the BlogHer Book Club page HERE for more discussions about this book.

This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Monogrammed Tote Bag

These monogrammed totes, inspired by TidyMom, have been all the rage on Pinterest for a while now. I initially had wanted to make my own tote and then monogram them but ran out of time. So what you see here are totes purchased at JoAnn's that I monogrammed following TidyMom's tutorial here.

What initially drew me to these is the black & white look- I love it! The ease of this tutorial can't be beat, I made both in less than 30 minutes. Patience is key because you want to make sure to cover all the spaces created by the doily. I used a small round sponge brush from the dollar store and it helped me get good coverage.

In my circle of friends we are all using reusable bags these days. I made these totes for two of my friends who are some of the busiest people I know. I figured they would appreciate something made for them that they could distinguish from all the other grocery/kid bags in the car.

Once the paint dried I bundled them up and tied them up with a big bow. As you can see I also included a key fob. As you know, I love making these. There is nothing I love more than making gifts for my family and friends!

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