You're my inspiration! Live 2 Craft

For my final installment of the "You're my Inspiration" series I would like to highlight my friend Erin at Live 2 Craft.

She is always trying something new and sharing her ideas. We've been friends since high school and I feel so lucky to have known her for so long.

Thanks to her, and her incredible blog, I am a rag quilt sewing maniac! Take a look at some of my most recent creations that she helped inspire.

A rag quilt for our nephew. He hasn't been born yet but he's already got plenty of people hunched over sewing machines on his behalf!

A fun one for our friends J & J (actually for their new little miracle CJ.) I had never done the rectangle pattern before and I loved it. I have two more quilts in the works that are using my newly discovered style.

Finally, a quilt for our friends. Their last name is Little and the pattern of this fabric says, "Little Buddy." So cute!!

I will include instructions on how to complete your own rag quilt in an upcoming post. I'll even include pictures of the process! Stay tuned.

You're my inspiration! Thrifty Decor Chick

I follow a blog called Thrifty Decor Chick. The blogger, Sarah, is a super cool girl who finds and shares clever ways to inexpensively spice up the decor in your home. She is the master of replicating Pottery Barn on the cheap. I have already used a couple of her ideas around my house. This post, though, is not how I used her ideas but how her blog inspired me to try to become my own Thrifty Decor Chick.
I went to Target today. If you're not already chuckling then you must have more self-control than I do.
Target has a Dollar section that I scour thoroughly every time I go to there. They are awesome about having very inexpensive holiday items, kids stuff (like coloring books and stickers), and paper products like planners and cards. I spent WAY more today than I normally do in that section but I am so danged excited about my purchases. Enough suspense, here's what we got.
I have almost no Valentine's Day decor. I usually don't like the style of store-bought Valentine items. I got all four of these items for around my house. The words are about 2" thick and will stand on their own. They are glittery but they aren't frilly. The font is still classic. Can you believe I found each of these items for $2.50?! I spent $10 and I have cute stuff to add all over my living room.

Next, I found this adorable, tiny mailbox. It came in white, red, or pink. How much? $1.00. Yup. ONE DOLLAR. For the record it came completely plain but it has a working flag!

So I decided I would add an interactive decor feature this year. I used stickers to write "Love Notes" on the side of the mailbox. Then, I put scrapbook paper, stationary, markers, stickers, and scissors into a box that I wrapped in Valentine type wrapping paper. Anyone who feels so inclined can write a note and leave it in the tiny mailbox. I think it will be a fun way for Chance and I to send little love notes around the holiday. I already owned the scissors and the markers but everything else was purchased at Target today.
It cost me a total of $9. It contains 9 items from that dollar section including the mailbox. There are 2 sets of heart stickers, 3 sets of alphabet stickers, 1 container of brads, an 8 pk of small cards with envelopes, and Valentine's Day paper. The paper came in 16 pre-cut 5x7 sheets.

Finally, I got some scrapbooking supplies. I got 2 sets of really cute 12x12 paper (8 sheets each, half are embossed), 3 sets of 7x7 metallic sheen paper, and two more sets of alphabet stickers.

Here are some pictures of the individual items:
All the papers:

The alphabet stickers:

The embellishments:

Finally, the little cards and the wrapping paper. I'm really excited about the wrapping paper. The dollar section sells these rolls that are shorter than normal. They have 40 sq feet of paper and it only cost $1!! I am certain I can use this paper for a number of things besides Valentine's. What a great find!

So, total I spent $27 on new Valentine's Day stuff. If you're not a scrapbooker but you liked everything else you would really only be looking at spending $20.
So, thank you TDC for helping me look at the world a little differently. I can't wait until February so I can show you how these items look in the house.

You're my inspiration! Organizement

Hello friends. I want to share a couple of websites with you that particularly inspire me. (To avoid super long posts I will only talk about one website per post.) I know what you're thinking. "Um, Jenny. You haven't posted about Christmas yet. Why are you jumping to something else?" I know. I know. While I AM excited to blog about some cool things that happened in December my mind is already in January. Part of me is actually already mentally blogging about Valentines Day. :) Anywho! You will get your Christmas updates in due time. Until then, let me tell you about Julie.
Recently, I blogged about some of my organizational habits. Organizing comes naturally to me. I see the world in categories. But even I need some fresh ideas every once in a while. My friend, Julie, is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers in the Metro Atlanta Area. She maintains a blog, Organizement, where she gives tips and advice on how to keep your home more organized. The link I provided goes to a specific post that I LOVED.
She told me about a program run by St. Jude's Ranch for Children.

You can donate the fronts of your old greeting cards to their program and they re-use them to make new cards. Chance and I always hang all the cards we receive on the back of our front door. It allows us to add decor to a big white spot in the room and we get to appreciate the cards people send for much longer. At the end of the season though, I hate the feeling of throwing the cards away! I was so happy to learn about re-using the cards. So, unless your Christmas card had your picture on it, it has been sent off to benefit sick children.
This is just one of the many ideas that she shares on her blog. I LOVE it! Thanks for all the ideas Julie!