Purse Organizer

My purse seems to be the catch-all for the entire family. You can often find a variety of things including sippy cups, snacks, sunglasses, keys and LOTS of paper including receipts and coupons. It drives me crazy because I can never find anything, so I finally put an end to it. I got myself a smaller purse for Spring. Now each kid must carry their own drink and snack, which has made my purse much lighter. However, I still had the "paper problem". My wallet overflows with receipts and then I can't close. I knew this Coupon Organizer was the answer when I saw it!

Because I had to have it right away, I had to make it with fabric from my famous stash. I didn't have the Velcro called for in the tutorial, but this sticky version seemed to work just fine. And even better, the whole thing matches my new purse!

The tabs are my own creation because I was too impatient to wait, but I actually love the way they turned out. I used used manila folders and cut them down to the necessary size. You'll notice I have one for receipts, one for coupons and a blank one (for now).

All in all a good day! My purse is more organized and I got to do a fun sewing project while the kids napped. That's a win in my book!

Proudly linking to Works-For-Me Wednesdays, What You're Workin' with Wednesday, and

1-2-3 Cornice

This was by far the easiest window treatment ever! I have wanted to add something to the family room & breakfast room windows for sometime. I had finally convinced my husband to make me custom cornices when we found this at our local craft store:

While it might have been more expensive than if we had made them ourselves, it was definitely easier! Here is the before:

Each window required two sets put together with connectors that are included in each package.

This system allows for many different variations, we decided to go with the dual fabric one. It took me forever to pick the fabrics! I like the way this pattern brings out the light blue from the walls and the couches without being too matchy-matchy (yes, that's a technical interior designing term!)



First we covered the entire thing in the green fabric and then we added the pattern. This was the hardest part of the whole project because the fabrics are thick.



My husband used a butter knife to push the fabric down along the joints and it worked great!



Each cornice probably took an hour from start to finish and we couldn't be happier with the results. It gives the windows a nice punch of color without being too formal.

Easy-Peasy Bandanna Skirt

This has to be the easiest sewing project in the world! I was cleaning out my closet and found a stack of bandannas and immediately started to think of things I could make. I was inspired by a friend who made pants for her son using vintage bandannas. I couldn't find any boyish colors, so I went the easy route and made a skirt for my daughter. It took me longer to convince her to stop dancing so that I could measure her waist than it took to make this!

BEFORE

AFTER



You basically sew the two together down the sides (right sides together) and then add an elastic at the top. No action shots because I had to run to class and she was sleeping when I got home. Let me know if anyone would like to see a tutorial.

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Tidy Storage Baskets

For two years we lived with dolls and pink everywhere. Then my son came along and we had to welcome cars, trains and balls. Unfortunately these items are all over the house and we are constantly tripping on them. I have been trying to figure out what to do with them and finally found a solution that works for us. This past weekend while at Target I walked by the Clearance section and noticed they had all the Easter items 90% off!!! My son immediately gravitated to some baskets and suddenly I knew we had figured out our storage issue.

OK so here is the dreaded BEFORE picture.

Enter the previously $9.99 but now clearanced to 99 cents baskets:

Cue Hallelujah music because I'm a happy Mommy!



I think these baskets were meant to be used for storage under this train table, look how well they fit!



It takes very little to make me happy these days. One sure way is organization!



And the best part is that the little man loves the baskets and can carry them to different rooms in the house to play with his little toys. This morning he brought the cars one to my bathroom and played nicely while I got ready. Once I was done he picked all the cars up, put them in the basket and took them to his room. Yippee!!!

I still have a ton of baskets that I scored for 9 cents each that I will highlight in another post since I'm not done with them yet. Stay tuned!

Proudly linking to Works For Me Wednesday, Frugalicious Friday, Thrifty Thursday and

Copykat Snickers

We always end up baking something on rainy days... not good for the waistline but it keeps the kids entertained and my husband's sweet tooth happy. I got a ton of books for my birthday last month, including Dorie Greenspan's Baking From my home to yours. I love this book!

I let the kids pick one thing to make from it and this was the winner- "Snickery Squares". It was perfect because it involved a lot of steps which meant they could help a lot along the way. This copykat snickers bar includes a shortbread base, a dulce de leche filling, caramelized peanuts and a chocolate top layer.



While a bit more labor intensive than our usual baking endeavours, I really enjoyed making this recipe. Everyone really enjoyed the end result, although we did find the dulce de leche a bit overpowering. I think I might only use half of it next time.

What do you do on rainy afternoons?

Ballerina Bag

My little ballerina recently starting taking tap along with ballet and needed a bag to carry her shoes.



We decided to raid my fabric pile and found this cute ballerina fabric that would be perfect for a bag. I also had the pink gingham for the lining and the pink ribbon/button in my stash. (Yes, my fabric stash is ridiculous at this point!)

I found this cute pattern and went with it.

This is the first bag I've ever made... and I'm SO proud!

I plan on making more, but I will change some things. I'll probably use something sturdier for the handle, add some fusible interfacing and maybe even some pockets.

This one is working out very well for my little ballerina though, so far no complaints!

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