Sew Much Fun!

Crafting is something that I have always enjoyed doing.  Sure, you can buy just about anything you could ever want/need at a store these days, but there is something so satisfying about creating something out of nothing!  I guess I get this from my mom.  Throughout the years we have gone through all types of crafting phases ~ candle making, soap making, basket weaving, latch-hook rugs, (all of which were pretty big "flops" by the way), scrapbooking, knitting, and crocheting (these last 3 are still pretty popular with us).  The past few months though, I have been learning how to sew on a machine and I LOVE it!  There is something so relaxing about it.  I sit down at my sewing table and I instantly feel the stress of the day melting away.  I don't know about you, but I really like to see pictures of how people set up their crafting spaces.  I decided to snap a few pictures of my sewing area to post here.  I'm sure it will change as I get more into sewing, but for now it is perfect for my needs!


Sewing tray: scissors and fabric pens are in the cup, extra bobbins are in the drawers, misc. sewing notions are in the big glass jar (it makes it easier to see what I have, and it adds a decorative flair), snaps and buttons are in the snap-n-lock containers.

My sewing table in the corner of my craft room.  Fabric is organized by type in the bins.  All of my supplies are on the wooden tray.

As many of you know, I use cloth diapers on my baby girl, so I have recently been really into making cloth wipes out of super-soft flannel. Even if you don't cloth diaper, these wipes are great for sticky hands and faces! I keep a basket of them by my kitchen sink to use for after mealtime clean-up. I just throw them in with my daily laundry. Simple as can be! Softer than paper towels, and better for the environment (and your wallet!). Here is a picture of some adorable puppy-print wipes that I made for a lady today. These were my first official "special order" for a paying customer. Yay for a new side-business! :)

Fluffy Goodness! {My Cloth Diapering Set-up}

A few people have asked me what my cloth diapering "set-up" is like - where I store them, what I do with dirty diapers, etc.  So I decided to do a blog post with pictures.

First, a picture of the changing area in Sophia's room.  I still prefer using a changing table because it helps me keep her "contained" a little bit better. Please excuse the messy bottom shelf.  That is the catch-all area for stuff.  On the first shelf I have 3 fabric bins from Target that hold diaper inserts.  I also have a basket of disposable diapers (yes, disposables! Sigh.  Chris still won't use the cloth diapers when they are going to his house).

This next picture shows how I store my diapers.  I am currently using a hanging organizer, but my diaper stash is starting to outgrow this area, so I may have to come up with a different system soon.  For now though, it works.  I am totally OCD about organzing and labeling (as most of you know!) so I have labeled each of the sections (Pocket Diapers, All In One Diapers, Covers/Shells, Overnight Diapers, Cloth Wipes) to make the different types of diapers easy to find.

Okay, so now that I've shown you how to store the pretty, clean diapers, let's talk about how to store the dirty ones :)  There are tons of expensive cloth diaper pail liners on the market, but I honestly don't feel that they are necessary.  What I have been using is a kitchen trashcan with a swing top (having a lid is pretty important to control odors).  I put a regular trash bag in it and then put a mesh drawstring laundry bag on top of the trash bag.  When it's time to empty the pail, I simply pull out the mesh bag and leave the trash bag.  Every couple of weeks I change the trash bag too.  Anyway, I dump the diapers into the washing machine, then throw the mesh bag in too.  Then when it's time to get the diapers out of the dryer, I can put them in the mesh bag to carry them upstairs.  Easy!  Another option that a lot of people go with is a hanging zippered wet bag.  Some of these can get REALLY pricey, but I just ordered one from a really sweet Mama who sell handmade baby items in her online store Maxille Love.  If you go with this option, you don't have to have an actual diaper pail at all.  If I had a 2 story house, I would probably go with the diaper pail option for the bedroom, and then the hanging wet bag option for the living room because it takes up less space.

That's it!  See, cloth doesn't take up that much more storage space, and is way cuter than a box of disposable diapers. :)

Move Over Martha; There's a New Girl in Town!

Okay, so those of you that know me, know that I LOVE to organize!  It's one of the few things in life that brings me peace and a feeling of accomplishment.  When life gets crazy, you can do two things: sit down with a glass of wine and some chocolate, or ORGANIZE!  :)  And while the first option DOES sound appealing, I usually go with the second one.

Anyway, over Spring break I decided to organize some of the more commonly neglected areas of my house: the linen closet, the coat closet, and the laundry room.  I'm sort of embarassed to admit how bad these 3 areas had gotten...  I guess this is where I will pull the "single, working mom" card so you all have sympathy for me instead of thinking I'm a slob. ;)  Honestly though, it is almost impossible to find the time and energy to take on large-scale projects in the evenings when my little "helpers" are around.  So, I sent them to spend time with their dad this week and I got stuff done.  I took before and after pictures because I wanted to remind myself how BAD the areas were to begin with so that I never let them get in that shape again.

First project was the linen closet, which really doesn't hold "linens" (unless you count the girls' bath towels), but a menagerie of other things...  I guess the pictures will do a better job of explaining.  The first picture is (obviously) the "before," and the other pictures are the "after."  I purchased baskets from the dollar store to organize all of the stuff, and then labeled them to make them more user friendly.  I figured this would also be helpful for babysitters or guests to find what they need.

My second project was the hall "coat" closet (although it has never had a single coat in it since we moved in!).  This closet was pretty much the "throw things in and slam the door" closet.  It was never useful at all.  NOW, however, I find myself opening the door just to gaze at its loveliness! ;)  I used more of my handy little baskets in this closet to organize "hair stuff" (I usually do the girls' hair in the living room before we go out for the day), "household stuff", and "dusting and mopping" supplies.  I also splurged a little on this awesome wire cubby thing at Target.  Now we each have a place for our school bags, diaper bag, purse, etc., and the bottom compartments house my reusable shopping bags.

The third (and most difficult!) area that I organized was the laundry room.  With 2 littles girls (one of whom wears cloth diapers), I spend a great deal of time in the laundry room, so I have no idea why I had let it get in such bad shape.  It was depressing and down righ hazardous to walk in before.  Now I think I could meditate in there (or at least hide out from the kids!  Hee hee.) 

Anyway, I started off by taking everything out of the room and cleaning the floors, then I did a lot of tossing out junk that had accumulated.  I also splurged for this room on a new utility table to use as a clothes folding table.  Yay! :)  I also got a shoe rack to contain the pile of shoes that get kicked off by the garage door.  I even decided to hang up some artwork to make the room more inviting, and I hung up pictures of my loves over the folding table. :)

My "mini" project of the week was organizing my kitchen junk drawer.  I used more of those little baskets and some fun contact paper to make it pretty. :)





Hope you enjoyed seeing all of my hard work!  I think I've inspired Sophia to start organizing cabinets! ;)