No Idle Hands or Mind Around Here

Hey everyone!  I told you I’d be back soon with another post and let you know what I’ve been doing to keep busy and out of trouble...HAHA!   Well, I've spent quite a lot of time over the last couple of weeks, purging and reorganizing some closets....don't tell me you're surprised!  One of those closets is my craft room closet.  It wasn't really bad but did need some tidying up.  I would love to take off the doors, but there just isn't a good place to store them safely, and some day they would need to go back on the closet.  That being said, I tried to create my storage accordingly.

                         

Left side of closet is all things fabric-related....sewing/quilting, patterns, trims, etc.

Right side is paper-related...seasonal scrapbook/cardmaking supplies, plus the printer and

all of its related items.  Yes, of course everything is labeled!

 
   

I picked up some new cloth-covered boxes at IKEA to replace the old file boxes with lids (also from IKEA), because they were looking rather tattered and didn't completely fill the cubies like these do.  These come in several colors, but I liked the white and the polka dot the best.

       

I am thoroughly enjoying my little seasonal tree!  It's dressed in vintage-mode for now....birds,

fabric yoyos, garlands, etc.

Do you know about travelers' journals?  I'm guessing these journals were intended for just what the name implies, but I use them for daily journaling.  I've been having fun making my own since last Fall.  I prefer one per month, each with about forty pages to write or create on.  There are so many 

fun tutorials on YouTube and Pinterest, showing how to make these from scratch or even with recycled materials.  You can also find them all ready made up in a plain Kraft paper....these are super simple to cover with scrapbook paper you've been hoarding collecting.

                           

You can be just as creative as you want, or keep them simple and filled with your daily thoughts.

I like buying these faux leather binders that come with 2 or 3 of the plain Kraft paper journals inside. This way I can store 3 of my finished journals in each one....I still need to add some tags with the month and year.

 

I saw this cute printable and idea from Bev at Flamingo Toes and just had to make one!  I haven't embroidered in eons, but these stitches are easy.  This is going somewhere in my craft room, but I just haven't decided where....isn't it cute?

    

Finally decided to dedicate this Raskgog cart to my Project Life card sets, with the second basket down, holding my photos and any collected ephemera I want to put in a scrapbook.  The bottom

basket is up for grabs...right now it's holding a crocheted basket full of homemade pompoms, because why wouldn't you want a delicious little supply of those fuzzy cuties?  Just sayin'!

I adore decorating the top of my Kallax, but it seldom remains the same for very long!

I have a little crush going on with flamingos right now!

I just recently changed this little shelving unit to hold a few wood stamps, some jars of paper flowers, and some other cute little jars filled with "stuff!"  Anything that makes me smile is a good fit in my

"Crafty Happy Place!"

Catching up on my scrapbook albums can be time-consuming, but it's something I absolutely love doing.  These pages were from last Thanksgiving when our son and family were with us.  I'm almost

completely caught up!

I haven't changed too many things decor-wise since Spring, but I did put together a fun

vignette for the kitchen island.

So what are you all doing to keep busy right now?  I know many of you have finally started having Spring-Summer weather and are probably moving your activities outdoors.  Here in the AZ desert, we've already had some triple-digit temps and moving most activities (unless they are water-related) to the indoors.  Early morning and evening temps are still feeling good, but that won't last for long!  Well, it is what it is!  Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Hugs,

Carol

I hope to be joining some of these lovely ladies this week:

Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday

Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life  for Inspire Me Tuesday
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for WOW Us Wednesdays

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Carol at The Red Painted Cottage for Share Your Style Party

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home

Choosing to Change

Hey, everyone!  Wow, it's been almost a month since I blogged and that was a post about my back pain issues....ugh, who wants to hear about that?  Well, some of you have asked, so I'll just quickly bring you up-to-date.   I had my 3rd epidural this past week, have been doing physical therapy for 6 weeks, and I'm feeling much, much better!  I may need one more injection, but enough about all that.

For those of you who have known me for awhile, you know I was a "redhead" (from a bottle) for more years than I can remember and every shade from dark auburn to strawberry blonde.  Well, a couple of years ago, cancer and chemo took care of that very quickly;  but I was prepared for losing my hair and kind of excited to see what my "virgin" hair might be when it grew back.  As many of you know, either firsthand or otherwise, that new hair might be curly or all white and is as soft as a newborn baby's hair.  My hair came in very, very dark ash-brown, curly (that was short-lived), very little gray and super fine.  I truly did not recognize myself in the mirror and really did not like what I saw.  When my hairdresser decided my hair was strong enough, she finally caved to my whining and agreed to highlights....at least that would give my hair some body.  I lived and worked with this "weird" hair for a long time, but even after finally finding a cut I liked, I still did not like my hair.  Then one day, I had a "lightbulb" moment after seeing a woman with lovely red hair....I REALLY MISSED BEING A REDHEAD!  Even though I wasn't born with red hair (my natural hair color was medium brown with red highlights), I do have skin coloring to carry it off...plus, I'm pretty good with makeup.  I discussed it with The Man, and he said, "Whatever makes you happy, makes me happy!"  Now, is that a smart man or what?  Sooo....last week I did it!  Wanna' see the new me?