Inexpensive Wall Art ~ Decorating with Paper

I love when I find a great print that can bring an entire room together.  Usually I'm looking for it in the form of fabric, but when I can't find exactly what I want, sometimes I have to turn to other sources ~ like paper.

Several months back I was shopping at my local Home Goods store and as I was going to check out this fabulous wrapping paper caught my eye.  You know how much I love patterned fabric so it was no surprise that I was drawn into this bold wrapping paper.  I needed some wrapping paper for a wedding shower gift, so I picked it up and it said $3.99 and I said 'sold!'.  Well, I wasn't even paying much attention, but when I got it home I noticed that is was Vera Bradley wrapping paper.  No wonder I liked it, I love her designs!

I used this wrapping paper to wrap of the wedding shower gift and then had quite a bit leftover.  I noticed that it actually picked up quite a few different colors that I have going on around our house, especially in the family room.  So I pulled two frames off the wall that were needing an update, cut the wrapping paper to size and framed them. 

Instant wall art ~ how great is that?  And inexpensive, to boot!

Here is a little corner of our family room with the two framed pieces of wrapping paper.  In addition to wrapping paper, think about framing fabric, wall paper or sheet music as well.  It's an easy update that can really bring a room together.  And if you get tired of it, no biggie, just change it out and move on to something new that you love.

Above is a picture of our bedroom, where I simply framed two squares of fabric to tie the room together.  Another easy, inexpensive wall art project.  Definitely a great bang for your buck!

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Operation Organization: Velcro Toy Storage Labels

This year is going to be about some serious organization here at The Cottage Home.  With having three children under the age of 4, I sometimes feel like certain spaces in my home are spiraling out of control.  Well, no more!  I'm taking action and going to try my best to gain some control over the clutter that seems to come with having small children.

Now, I know there will be messes and chaos from time to time, but I'm going to try to implement some systems for our family to make life a little more orderly.  And hopefully help me keep my sanity.  I don't know about you, but when things in my home and life are in order I can accomplish SO much more.

"A Place for Everything and Everything in it's Place"

One of my friends over on The Cottage Mama Facebook page chimed in with this quote recently when I was asking about tips for kids toy organization and I just love it.  To some this might sound somewhat sickening, but I like it and plan to keep in in the forefront of my mind this year.

My girls toys have been out of control lately.  There are so many pieces to so many different toys and they just kept getting all jumbled up.  I spent four hours one day just reorganizing the kids toys, only to have them turned into a jumbled mess two days later.  I thought, "oh my gosh, what a waste of time!"  But then I realized that I can't expect my kids to know where things go without me showing them.  This was definitely a 'duh' moment.  I am a big fan of my label maker, but it doesn't do much good for those that can't read my labels.

This lead me to try a new tactic for our toy organization ~ Velcro Toy Picture Storage Labels.  Why didn't I think of this sooner?  IKEA was having a great sale on these bookcases, only $9.99 each!  So I bought several.  One for the play room and three others for the 'Cottage Mama' storage loft conversion that is taking place in our house as well (more on that at a later time).  Then my in-laws gave me a gift certificate to The Container Store for Christmas, so I bought a bunch of clear storage containers to get this project underway.

Want to make your own Toy Storage Labels?  Here's the 'how to'........

Operation Organization: Velcro Toy Storage Labels

Supplies:

A computer and printer

Cardstock or thick scrapbook paper

Laminating Sheets

Sticky Velcro

Scissors

Paper cutter (optional)

Instructions:

Take inventory of the toys you would like to contain.  I pretty much used containers for the toys with lots of pieces.  The larger items are still being stored in our woven cube storage system.  Once you know what toys you need to store, google the name of the exact toy and save a picture of it on your computer.  Print out the pictures at a reasonable size to fit on your containers.

Cut out the pictures of all the different toys.  There were only one or two toys where I couldn't find the exact picture, but try to make sure you come as close as possible to the correct toy ~ this will make it much easier for your little one to clean up.  I also added a black border around each picture, just because I liked the way it looked.

I matted each picture onto a thick scrapbook paper or cardstock to add some durability and body to the labels.  I put a little piece of scotch tape on the back of the picture (just to hold it in place) and then cut a mat out with my paper cutter.  You could also use a ruler and scissors as well.

Once your pictures are matted, you will want to laminate them to keep them looking nice.  You can buy self-laminating sheets at your local office supply store.  I don't think a lot of people know you can laminate things at home without a fancy machine, but you can!  It's really easy and they look really nice.

The laminating sheets are generally the size of a regular sheet of paper, so you will need to cut out each label after laminating.

Next we are going to add velcro to the back of each label.  Why, you might ask?  Because this way if we ever want to store something different in the box, we can simply replace the label without damaging the box.  Also, if you decided to re-organize or add to that certain, specific toy, you can change it to another box and still use the label.

Cut a piece of sticky back velcro and stick to the back of each label.  The card stock I used happened to be double-sided, so that's why there is a different print on the back.

After you've secured your velcro to the label, you will peel off the other side and stick it to your container.  There are some boxes where I secured it to the lid (as the box was too small to place it on the container portion), but for the larger boxes I place it on the actual container.

Once you've got the velcro applied to all your containers, begin to organize and sort all the toys.  You can have your little ones help you with this.  My girls love to help organize (now if I can just teach them to stay organized) and they get a little more excited about the new organization in the playroom if they feel they were part of the project.

Once you've got all your toys contained, place them on the shelves.  I decided to place the toys that the girls have free range to access without me on the lower shelves and the ones where I want them to ask me before using up higher.  I think this is also a great method for when you have a little baby around.  You might not want your older children to have certain toys out when baby is around because of choking hazards, so this will give you some control over that.  That way the older children can play with the 'big kid' toys when baby is not around or napping.

We are also really, really going to try to make sure the girls clean up one toy before getting out another.  I don't mind all the dress up and pretend play things being out because I want to foster and encourage that kind of play at all times, but for the toys with lots of pieces, I think a good clean up is definitely necessary before moving onto to the next toy.

Also, I think if you are a really visual person (as I am), making some picture labels would be good in an adult space too.  I can see these being really helpful in my studio, so that I don't have to read a bunch of labels that all look the same, I can simply have the picture jump right out at me.

I originally wanted to paint my super great deal IKEA bookcase black, but my husband said he liked the raw wood.  So we're going to live with it for awhile and see, but I still may paint it.......

I know I can't have everything in my life be organized, but I think we all strive to have some type of order in the everyday.  I feel much better knowing that we are off to a great start on the road to organization for 2012!

Be on the look-out for more 'Operation Organization' posts to come this year.  

What aspect of your life are you trying to organize this year?

Anyone else's kids toys taking over their space?

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Dish Towel Cake ~ A Bridal Shower Gift

A couple weekends ago was my sister-in-law's bridal shower that was given by my mother-in-law.  The shower was french themed since the couple will be honeymooning in France.  I took lots of pictures of all the amazing details from the bridal shower, but I'll share those with you in another post.

For now I wanted to share a fun little gift idea that I came up with.  I really wanted to make something for my sister-in-law, but with the craziness that comes with life with a newborn and two toddlers, I just decided that this was not the right time.  However, I still wanted to do something kind of crafty.  Have you seen those diaper cakes that some people make for baby showers?  Well, I thought I would try to make something similar, but use dish towels instead of diapers.

I purchased three packs of solid color dish towels as well as one with a print.  I rolled up each dish towel and put a elastic hair-tie to hold it in place.  I got a pie dish that I decide was going to be the base for my cake.  I put a small, round craft box (the cardboard kind) in the middle and put the dish towels on their sides surrounding the box.  Once I had put the dish towels all the way around, I took a grosgrain ribbon and tied it around all the towels.

For the second tier, I laid a dish towel that was folded on the top of the craft box lid to give me a little more height.  Then I placed more rolled up dish towels all together.  This time there was nothing in the middle.  Once I had them all on top, I tied the grosgrain ribbon around them to hold in place.  I used straight pins to secure the top tier to the bottom tier.

For added decoration, I folded a printed dish towel and wrapped in around the top tier and made a bow.

Once the cake was complete, I needed to add something to the top.  I had purchased a french rolling pin and I stuck that into the middle of the top tier.  Then I placed bamboo cooking utensils into the middle of the rolled up towels on the top.  I put an oven mitt over the top of the rolling pin and put the other oven mitt in front.  I had one extra dish towel, so I folded that and place it behind the rolling pin which actually added a little more support.  I tried to pick a print on the dish towel that looked sort of french country.

Since the shower was french themed, I thought I would try to make the gift entirely themed.  I bought four Le Creuset french ramekins and a baking dish as well as on of my favorite cookbooks, Barefoot Contessa Paris by Ina Garten.

I think my sister-in-law really liked the towel cake and now she and her hubby-to-be will never have to buy another dish towel again!

Linking Here.

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Crepe Paper Flowers

The crepe paper flowers that I made for Matilda's "Tea for 2" party were really simple to make and incredibly inexpensive.  I bought three rolls of different colored crepe paper and was able to make about 10 different flowers and a ton of ruffled streamers (and I still had some left over).  At $1.00 per roll, I would definitely say this was budget decorating.

Here's how to make your own crepe paper flowers........

Supplies:
3 rolls crepe paper (different colors)
Tape
Sewing machine

Directions: 

Grab your three rolls of crepe paper.   I chose two different shades of pink and yellow.  I purchased these at Walmart for $1.00 per roll and they coordinated with the napkins and plates as well.

Place your three different colored crepe papers on top of one another.

Set your sewing machine to the longest stitch length (mine is 5.0) and run a straight, gathering stitch along one of the edges of your crepe paper.  Do not back-stitch at the beginning or the end of your stitching or you will not be able to gather your crepe paper.

The length of crepe paper you cut is really up to you.  The longer the crepe paper length, the larger your flowers will be.  I used many different lengths for a variety of sizes, but you could do them all uniformly as well.  You might test one out first to see how long you want your crepe paper.

Pull one of the threads and begin to gather your crepe paper.  This will take a little effort, but keep pulling and sliding the gathers until you have successfully gathered the entire length of your crepe paper.

Here is what your crepe paper will look like after gathering.  You can see that it already starts to form the shape of a flower.

Work your crepe paper around in a circle and tape the back with clear tape to secure in place.

Above is your crepe paper flower before you fluff it out.  To fluff it, just seperate each layer of crepe paper from the other until you've achieved your desired look.

And when you have successfully fluffed your flower, you will have a gorgeous, full-looking crepe paper flower to use for your next party.  Try making these in a variety of colors and sizes to coordinate with any party theme.  These would also be really great for a baby or bridal shower as well!

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For the Love of Yo-Yo's

I have always loved yo-yo's and no, I'm not talking about the kind you probably played with as a child, I'm talking about fabric yo-yo's.  These fabric embellishments have been around for forever and they have such a lovely vintage, nostalgic quality about them.  They used to be used on quilts, aprons and dresses and still are today.  Add a yo-yo to any of your sewing projects and it will instantly have a vintage charm about it.

At the beginning of April I attended a very large local flea market in our area that is held once a month.  This is one of my favorite places to hunt for treasure.  You can find anything your heart desires here - vintage fabric and linens, antique furniture, salvaged wood, old buttons, crates, vintage jars and the list goes on and on.  It seriously is one of my favorite weekend outings!

During my last trip to the flea market I came across this huge glass container of old fabric yo-yo's.  I couldn't believe my eyes!  If you know much about yo-yo's, you know that they can be a little time consuming to make and this jar contained over 100!  It was a yo-yo lover's dream come true.

These yo-yo's were some of my favorites in the jar.  I have so many ideas for projects and creations that could be made from these beauties.......oh, the possibilies.

So, does anyone else share the yo-yo love?  Or is it just a strange addiction all to my own?

What would you make if you came across a huge jar of yo-yo's?

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