Organizing PDF Sewing Patterns {Self Care}

Organizing our things. How do we do it, how to get our plethora of junk squared neatly away in tidy places so we can find it when we need it and put it back when we are done with it? I am not the greatest at giving my things homes. I have too much stuff. And I am definitely not great at putting things away when I am done with it either, but I have been working on it and getting better.

But, as a sewist of PDF patterns, how do we organize those? And I am not meaning the ones already printed. I have yet to find a system in place for those. The hanging file folders in a crate is no longer working since it won't hold all of them! I am talking about those the digital copies we all have a knack for collecting.

Just having my pdf sewing patterns stored on Google drive, in a folder is starting to get a little bit stressful. I have a lot of patterns (not nearly as many as some though) and having them in one file got too cumbersome to sift through. Then I started separating them out by the designer.

It's really nothing special. But it does help a little. Surprisingly I am familiar with most the sewing patterns I have, but of course, tend to go to the same designers for the kids and certain designers for me.

Yet I needed a better way to catalog. So I went through and wrote down all the patterns I had in google sheets. I have them listed by designer, pattern name, the type, how many times I have sewn, and whether it is woven or knit (I think I may need to fix several).

Speaking of how many times I have sewn a pattern, these numbers are crazy and I definitely need to sew from my stash...
women's patterns owned: 52
                            Sewn: 17
                            Not sewn: 35...
                            that's about 33% of my sewing patterns I have sewn!
Kids patterns owned: 115
                      Sewn: 59
                      Not sewn: 56...
                      51% have sewn.

I locked the first row so I can sort the columns in alphabetical order by any of the categories. Which I love and has been a great help!

And I love having the different tabs at the bottom. Since In my folders the kids and adults patterns are all mixed in together, this makes it easier if I am looking for something for me or for the kids.

The kids' patterns I have listed the sizes so I can sort by size too.

I saw in one of the facebooks groups someone link to this tutorial from "Attack of the Seam Ripper" on using Trello to index your sewing patterns. Now, I am a huge fan of using Trello, but this process is taking me a lot longer than the spreadsheet! I am doing it a lot more slowly. I do love that I can link to the pattern I downloaded in google drive, I can link to project plans in another Trello board as I sew, and I can link those to my blog schedule board. 

I just don't know about organizing them at the moment, and I think I may end up changing the lists around. I'm just not super sure yet. But, it is neat to see them. all laid out so nicely.

There are so many different ways to organize your digital sewing patterns and to catalog them. How do you organize and catalog your sewing patterns?

What Kind of Example is My Messy Room!?

"Why should I clean my room, Mommy, when your's is such a mess?"

My mouth dropped open. I'm sure a fly might have flown in, buzzed around a bit and left. Those were the words that came out of my oldest, my 6-year-old's, mouth. Sure, I might have been scream yelling at him to clean his room for the last few hours days prior to that question's utterance, just to get the house ready for guests. But, come on. Your 6, child!

How do you respond to a statement such as that? How do you combat the logic and reasoning presented to you by a 6-year-old mind? Because, it's true right? I mean, what have I shown my son besides a messy room? What kind of example am I leading?

We celebrated the baby's 1st birthday a few weeks ago. It was glorious. Funfetti cake with bright blue frosting... The kids were playing their little hearts out in the backyard... We spent the better part of a week cleaning the same parts of the house over and over again just to be ready in time.

As a friend of mine went through our master bedroom to use the bathroom (the guest bath was occupied) I cringed at the thought that she would have to traverse the tiny pathway and actually see the mess! Oh good gravy, the mess... The Mess... With all the yelling and watching and supervising, I never got to lay a finger on my own room.

How much time a day do you talk to your kids about cleaning up? I am pretty sure I tell my kids about 10 million times. Ok. Maybe not that many times. But, I'm sure it's a lot. I tell them to clean up if they want to watch tv, clean up if they want candy, clean up so they can drive their power wheel car outside, clean up for this, clean up for that. I am sure I say it 10 million times more than is absolutely necessary.

But, how often do they see you cleaning? I am pretty sure I spend most of my time standing at the sink washing the gazillion bowls they thought was necessary for breakfast. Apparently a kid needs more than one bowl for cereal in the morning. I don't understand their rationale, or how they manage to get the bowls. I place them high in the cupboard on purpose. They are ninjas... But, do they see me tidying up my own things? Not really. I leave them where I put them, set them down on the counter real fast so that I can pour a glass of milk and forget what I was doing in the 10 seconds the action of pouring milk takes. They don't see me clean.

After everyone at the birthday party went home, we were left behind to take in and absorb the shambles that only a really good birthday party leaves in it's wake. I walked into my kids' rooms and saw the mess. My son looked at me with defeat in his eyes. I just shook my head, shrugged my shoulders and gave him a hug. "did you have fun with your friends?". "yes" he told me. Then I walked to my bedroom and looked at the mess there. No one except my 1 friend went through there and it was worse than my son's room. What am I showing my son? What kind of example am I setting with my own room a mess?

Have you read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up (check out my initial review here) or ClutterFree with Kids (initial review here) or Allie Casazza's Blog? Even the multitude of the organizing/tidying/purging/cleaning facebook groups say to do the same thing when it comes to teaching your kids how to clean/tidy their own spaces. I'm sure if I search harder I could find it stated more. Lead by example. Eventually they will do it too. 

Really, that's what I need to do to get my kids to clean their rooms? Lead by example? At least that's the position we are in now. The towers of boxes and books and fabric and patterns all need to get torn down, purged/cleaned/organized. No matter how long it takes, I need to clean my own stuff and my kids need to see it being done by me. 

Maybe they might not clean it right away. Maybe they will find another excuse. But if I can get it under control at least I am leading by example, and they will learn through their interactions with me and my things. At least I wont hear him say "why should I if you don't."

Living Intentionally: My Start to Getting a Planner

I have no idea how these last few months have flown by. Halloween, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years... It's all come and gone in a blink of an eye and it takes everything from me just to keep my eyes open and not fall asleep on the rocking chair in my living room. But with everything going on, the constant theme is that I am flying by the seat of my pants and end up stressed because of it. I described in my Goals and Resolution post, I needed to be more intentional with my day, with my kids, with my husband. Just intentional about living...

This last year had every intention and possibility of being great. But, my lack of organization and intentionally getting things done prevented a lot of the greatness. It was still great, don't get me wrong. This last year has been fantastic! But, there is always room for improvement. Always room to make it better! 

I decided to take the Best Year Ever mini course that was offered by Living Well Spending Less and the first day was what got me realizing that I really needed to plan: Intentionally planning for intentional living.  

Do you know how many planners, planner inserts, pages, printables, etc are out there? Tons! A little overwhelming. I am still overwhelmed. And, it probably doesn't help that I really have no idea what I need in a planner! I dug out my old FranklinCovey compact (I had discarded an old classic, shouldn't have) and am working on looking up different ways to organize the pages. I think I am going to start saving for a classic and try to get the hang with what I have now.

These so far are my favorite binders:
FranklinCovey Striped Binder

FranklinCovey Gold Dots Binder

FranklinCovey Confetti Binder

Are you like me, do you need some help too?
So far I have found these sites that seem really helpful ... From basic type to scrappy... In organizing your planner...

A Bowl Full of Lemons: My Planner Set Up

My Life as a Teacup: 2015 Filofax Setup

Creative Homekeeper: Setting Your Planner Up

Cocoa Daisy: Setting Up Your Planner

I like this printable, but I am not sure how to get it to work with my compact planner... 

I really like Polka Dot Posie's Undated Printable Planner, but she has a tutorial here The Polka Dot Posie: Printable Planner Pages
I think I might be waiting to see if A Bowl Full of Lemons comes out with a new one
I heart Planners has a huge selection and I really like the Goals printable.

There is so much to put in a planner. 

Once I get it more figured out I'll write it down to share with you what I end up doing. :)
*update* I've been working on the set up for a week now. I'll have it figured out eventually...

I want to hear from you:
How do keep your day to day intentional? 

If You use a planner, what type and what setup do you use? What resources do you use/have you used to help you set it up?

Happy New Year: Resolution and Goals {Welcome 2016}

First off...

Happy New Year!!!

Last year ended. It was a whirlwind of a year. So much going on, so many new things.. And now a fresh start. A new year to make it better. To make things better, easier, more. A time to plan and prepare and become intentional about living.

I shared last years goals and how I did with meeting them (you can read about that here), and there was a lot I set out to accomplish without success. There was a lot I did accomplish that wasn't on the list, but they were surprises. And yet, with everything that happened last year I kept getting that little whisper in my ear, "you need to be intentional". I didn't understand but as the year progressed I became more aware...

Be Intentional...

Intentional about my time with my husband. We have to schedule the time to be together. We need to remember to be intentional about our love towards each other. Day to day becomes monotonous and we become jaded. We need to be intentional with our interaction with each other and the direction we wish our relationship to go (you know, into old age).

Intentional about my time with my kids. How many times have I set out to start preschool with little man only to have it thrown to the wayside? How many good intentions are cut short only because I didn't make time for it or just let it slide? I love my kids and I know they know it. But I need to be more intentional in my time I spend with them.

Intentional about my time for myself. No more feeling guilty when I ask my husband to watch the kids so I can take an evening out with the ladies. I laugh at that because that is hard not to feel. He says I shouldn't feel guilty. But, I do. I need to be more intentional with the free time I get when I do get it. Scheduling that free time into my day, my week, my months. I need to schedule that time in for Brandon too. A family I look to as a roll model in this takes every Saturday and trades. One Saturday is mom's, next is dad's, then it's the family day and starts all over the fourth Saturday. I love that idea!

This all boils down to planning. I need to be intentional in my planning. Living intentionally requires some intentional planning. A lot of intentions, a lot of being intentional, right? But it seems necessary to be successful. Successful in relationships, successful in meeting goals, successful in life.

So starts my list of goals for the year...

1. Planning. I have a planner. I intend to plan out my weeks and months. I hope that this makes things run smoother, if not easier. At least I can look to what is happening. I am not looking to throw a whole year into the planner all at once, but a few months in advance. With the baby being due in a few weeks and little man starting school, it will be more necessary to keep things straight.

2. Getting out of debt. We want a life without being strapped down by credit. No more credit card bills, no more owing money and having so much of the paycheck go towards things that we borrowed money to buy. Sad thing is? I can't even remember what those things were! Being able to set aside money for the things that are going to need to be replaced soon, like a new dinning table, washing machine, Christmas tree. We can't get those things until after that credit debt is gone. And as my son breaks another chair I can only imagine how much sooner we are going to need another table and what we can do in the mean time while we can't get one...

3. Finish the KonMari Purge. I need to establish a timeline for this one, but I am hoping to finish all of it by August. That gives me 8 months and I am already into the Kimono (miscellaneous stuff). I am thinking I might want to start over with the clothes after the baby has arrived and I have gotten closer to pre-baby body.

4. Establish my Capsule wardrobe. I took some time off the wardrobe because I was limited my clothes once I started getting bigger. I'm down to 1 skirt, 1 leggings, 2 pairs of pants that fit, 4 long sleeve shirts, 2 '3/4' sleeved shirts and 3 short sleeve. This is maternity wear, the leggings don't match a thing, one long sleeve shirt really only works under things but doesn't match with the colors in the short sleeves... My wardrobe is a mess. I may need to start figuring things out for nursing anyway! 4 more weeks!

5. Read. I have totally met a goal of 24 books this year and read 27 (Goodreads is awesome for this). I am thinking of joining the BookRiot Read Harder Challenge this year and upping my number to 30. In 2013 my goal was 20 and I read 23, so I think I can do it! :)

6. Establish a day for family and independent time, like what my friend does. It might take some husband coercion, but even if it takes most the year. I think I need the time. I haven't had a day in a long time. Rushing to the grocery store and back doesn't count.

7. Health. I need to take care of myself better... I need to drink 8 glasses of water a day, sleep 8 hours a night and not skip any meals.

8. Crafting/sewing. Finish a few more of my WIPs! More specifically those quilts taking up space in the craft room what is to be the baby's room. I need to get back into the FAL for next year. There last few quarters have been sadly lacking. You can check out my current list here. If I finish each one in a month, then I can finish by the end of May. I'm thinking more August/September though for the one where the top is started but not finished.

Let me hear from you:
What are your goals for this year?

Read A Book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo {Book Review}

If you follow organizing blogs/facebook groups and what not, you have probably heard of the KonMari Method. You purge the things that do not spark joy. The goal is to surround yourself with the things that spark joy, and thus are less stressed and can focus on living your life instead of the things that surround you. The book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, is essentially the step by step process of her method. 

I feel like this is almost cheating. I haven't quite applied the know how presented in her book just yet. In fact, I just finished the book! But don't get me wrong. I did start. I did another pass through of my clothes after my initial sweep when setting up my Capsule Wardrobe. and I managed to get 'rid' of a second trash bag amount of clothes. In quotation because they are still sitting on my floor begging to have something done with them, like be turned into clothes for the kids. Or, actually get sent off to GoodWill, which the closest is 22 miles from me. That's a long drive. 

The Method

As I was going through my clothes, my husband kept looking at me like I was crazy. I was talking out loud the process of asking myself "does this make me happy?" I knew what did and what did not. Some things I wasn't so sure about, but this is the process for the book. Why bother, right? How weird. But, I am happier with my clothes that are in my closet than I was before. I feel like the clothes on my floor (that have yet to get taken away) are sad because they have gone so long being unworn. 

But it's more than just clothes. It is everything. She has a list of what items work best in the process of what to go through first, then the rest of the items typically stored in the house. People have created printables for this method even. like this one here...

It seems silly at first. I still feel silly. But I knew, as I was going through my books what brought me joy and what did not. I shouldn't have. It leads to regression, and whatever other reasons you are supposed to stick with the list. But clothes were hard for me because of the repurpose upcycling that I do for the kids. I needed to try somewhere else less sentimental. I put stuff back on the bookcase because the kids asked to read them (not the point!), but I could have cut my books by half had I just done the joy thing and not given another thought to it!

The Author

At first, the book was hard to read. It almost felt like so much background information was given and repeated in the beginning that it nearly dragged. But at the same time you form a connection with the author that would not have taken place otherwise. She comes off as crazy. She even says towards the end that she is eccentric! But what she says makes sense. 

Some Ah-Ha Moments

The basic part of it: The purpose of the item is to be used as it was meant to be used. Clothes to be worn, books to be read, etc. If they are not being worn or being read they are not being used as they were meant to be. Why keep them if someone else may enjoy them or use them as they were meant to be used? There is no point in keeping something just to keep it. It defeats the items purpose.

The two main things that keep us from getting rid of something that does not make us happy are these: 1. We are attached to the past (living in the past) or 2. We are afraid of the future. I have found this to be so true! I miss the way things were in the past and don't want to get rid of something because of that (like a broken chevron car from my grandfather who recently passed away) or afraid of the future (if I get rid of clothes, what will I have to make the clothes for the kids? My budget is based on being able to make things with what I already have).

Everyone needs their own space, their own sanctuary. A place to call their own. 

You can only make the decisions regarding your own things, you cannot decide what brings joy for others

Confused about still

I need to really experience the purging fully to really grasp this part. That all those organizing tools out there are not going to work. They do not address the problem of too much unnecessary stuff. 

I need a video to see what she means for folding clothes and socks.

How to go about doing this with kids. They get into everything as I am working on them. It is not helpful and makes it harder.

Once you go through this you have found the magic click for what works for you and the clutter wont come back.

I know it is going to take me a few more passes over the clothes to really get the hang of it.

What do you think?

Have you read the book or heard of the method? I would love to hear your opinion! 

Are you looking to start a purge of items, or organize your house more? Are there things that you have tried but the clutter keeps coming back? Does this sound like something that would be interesting to look into?

Read a Book: Clutterfree With Kids by Joshua Becker {Book Review}

*This post contains affiliate links. I have not received compensation for this review nor was it requested of me to do so. All opinions are my own.*

I saw someone mention this book, but I cannot remember where. So I decided to pick up a digital copy for the Kindle app on my phone and see what it was about. I know that I could use some help cleaning up, organizing and de-cluttering my home.  Clutterfree with Kids: Change your thinking. Discover new habits. Free your home is about minimalism, not just de-cluttering but about living with less. This book is written by the man behind Becoming Minimalist and his other book Simplify (2.99 for the kindle version right now).   It's about living with simplicity and helping your kids to do so as well.

At first the beginning of the book (the first 1/3) focuses on the benefits of living with less. I know I have accumulated more stuff than necessary. The points that the author makes towards living with less make complete sense. That with less stuff, you spend less time organizing, cleaning, and maintaining said stuff and more time doing things you enjoy doing. I know I would love to spend less time organizing stuff and more time sewing, or playing with my kids!

The chapters are set up nicely with a story that pertains to the subject (toys, pictures, collections, etc) where a person makes a change to live with less. Brief, but gets the point across that there are different reasons for people to take a step towards minimalism. It helps to connect to the process of how to minimize the contents.

Then it gets into the nitty gritty of how to go through things as almost a step by step process. I say almost a step by step process because it is not quite a step by step process. It's more like a series of questions and guidelines to base your needs off of and make your own decisions on how to declutter and de-own. In the section about clothes it mentions project 333 where you limit yourself to 33 articles of clothing for 3 months (don't worry, there are exceptions).  Or the craft room and my fabric supply would be a beneficial place to go through (the opening story for collections is about a knitter and her yarn... close enough!). But, baby steps. I'd rather start with my clothes instead.

As I think about this book, and share my findings with friends, I can only think about the difficulty. Sure, I have started going through and purging damaged items in my sock drawer. I've removed clothing articles that no longer fit me (they are now sitting in a re-purpose pile in the craft room). But, I am horrible at comparison and fall prey to envy often. It's something I am working on.

I still need to get rid of stuff. Several months ago, prior to reading the book, my son and I had a game of tug-o-war about cleaning up toys. After an entire day of making requests, spending time in the corner and more requests, toys got 'taken away'. When this happens, they need to be earned back. Needless to say, most of the toys are not yet earned back. Seriously, that's a lot of toys! And it isn't even all of them!

You can imagine what his room looked like when we took all those toys down and put them in his room. Can we say overwhelmed child?

This took a while. We got a box for trash and a box for toys to get rid of and started going through them. There is probably a lot more toys we can get rid of that are too young for little man, but a baby wipes box full of broken toys and trash and a huge box that held his desk/easel full of baby toys is not too bad.

One of the biggest helps is having a place for toys. we are still working on a designated place for some toys, but now it is not as much of a fight to get him to clean his room. And, he is even earning a commission for it (that is based on another book to be reviewed later).... But seriously, so much better than when we started! Still have a ways to go but already we are feeling better. Even little man is proud of his hard work when he cleans his room.

I probably would have waited to start going through the toys until they were taking over our entire house. Just looking at this picture is giving me motivation to tackle baby girl's room!  We just have so much stuff. But, we are slowly working our way through it all.

With having developed a better way of budgeting, and us working on eliminating debt, I know that stuff is a bit of a road block for us. This book provides a nice stepping stone with questions to ask yourself as a you prepare to make a purchase, tips for controlling clutter like having designated spaces for stuff (I don't think an old fishtank stand counts as in the first picture of little man's toys), and advise for overcoming envy and comparison. It also gives some lee-way and understanding that one person's version of minimalism may not be exactly the same as another person's.

Check out his books Clutterfree with Kids: Change your thinking. Discover new habits. Free your home or his other book Simplify  and tell me what you think. Was it helpful for you?

Here is to working on living simply. Living within our means and working on having our children growing up with a sense of gratitude without a sense of entitlement.

Live Well,

Halloween Costumes: Planning the Outfits {Free Printable}

I am so excited to share with you a printable for planning out kids Halloween costumes! I need lists to get things done. You should have seen my hair-brained attempts last year at creating the halloween costumes. I felt I was all over the place! After having created and {finally} shared my party planning printables with you through GYCT Sizzlin Summer Series and Baby Girl's 1st Birthday, I figured I could make one for Halloween costumes! Maybe then I might be a bit organized with it?

Download the Printable here: Halloween Costume Planning Printable. I use one for each member of the family.

I know this is a bit early too, but if you are like me and need as much time as you can get then this is even pushing it! 

So on the sheet, I have a spot for the patterns to use and a place to paste the inspiration picture for reference! I wish my printer was printing in color. So don't mind the black and white.

I am using a combo of the Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop's Aloha Burn Blocker and Classic Footed Pajamas  for baby girl's costume and a combo of the Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop's Lullaby Line Bodysuit and Lap Tee and the Classic Ringer Tee (affiliate links). They are still a work in progress, we'll see. I don't even have a clue about what to do for my costume yet.

I thought this would be handy for taking with when shopping. I cannot shop for a ton of fabric at one time, and need to have a list handy and ready to just grab, cut, then go. The kids get super fussy super fast. So I have a section for the notions and fabric amounts needed.

The "to do" section is a checklist you can use to write down what needs to be done in order to finish the costume. Complete with a finished check box at the bottom of the sheet. Yeah, because it is always fantastic to say, "hey, I have finished something!" :)

As you can see, I actually added a background to this printable and I cannot handle not having it printed in color. I already started coloring in one as I was filling it out! LOL

Download the Printable here: Halloween Costume Planning Printable

What are you going to be this Halloween?

Our Costume inspiration images used: Batman here; Cat Woman here, Baby Harley Quinn here, Scarecrow here

Font on Printable: KG I need a font family; For the Boys: Boys Chevron in Orange by Riley Blake Designs

Baby Girl is 1! {Happy Birthday}

On July 19th, my baby girl turned 1! On July 20th we celebrated her birthday with friends and family. :) Over at GYCT Designs I'm sharing the sheets I made to help me with planning and organizing the birthday party as part of her Sizzlin' Summer Organization Series.

Enjoy some of the pictures here of the party, her cake Hubby decorated and her 'eating' it, and the dress I made her. :)

We used a Koala theme for the birthday cake and invitations. It also happens to be the mural that is on her wall in her bedroom! :) We used the Koala from the Create a Critter for the  (affiliate)for the Cricut Expression Cutting Machine (affiliate) , cut it out from cardstock and used it to make an impression in the frosting.  Hubby then filled it in with frosting once removing the cardstock.

She was shy listening to happy birthday

Baby girl, just like her brother, was not a fan of the frosting!

And some more cake eating pictures, mostly because I missed the first bite...

We had family and friends over, and I am so thankful for them celebrating with us. I was too busy to take too many pictures, but here are a few good ones.

Cousin's helped open presents. They are such good helpers.

I made her a dress for the day too, in a very thin material to help stay cool. It's the Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop's Sweetheart Halter (affiliate). I just extended the shirt to make it a dress. 

Don't forget to head over to GYCT Designs and check out the sheets I made that help me plan birthday parties (and other parties). 

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! May you have many more!

Just Wanted to Share... Household Budgeting System from A Bowl Full of Lemons

I had been searching for a different way to budget for a while. If you follow me on Pinterest, you have probably seen some of the stuff I have pinned about budgeting.

I have wanted to make this wallet for the last 8 months. But I don't have the zippers nor have I taken the time to sit down and make it... But then, what good is it going to do for me without actually doing that type of budgeting? I used to do that way back before I met Brandon, but then stopped (why I have no idea). I needed to improved the system I had been using, but wasn't sure how.

Me, being the type of person I am, have to share this with you!

My Craft Space

I am excited to show you my craft room, though right now it isn't nearly anywhere I want it to be. But hey, it's a craft room and it's usable! :)  And, it is a lot better than what it used to look like. Isn't it just the way that things seem to go, the craft room or spare room seems to turn into a catch all for stuff around the house when trying to clean... Maybe if we had spots for everything it would be easier, or not as much stuff.... ;)

So when you first walk into the craft room, to the left is the desk where my sewing machine is located. I love the size (though a little big for the room). We acquired it in the move into this house 5 months ago. Brandon wants to cut a portion off the table to set the sewing machine down into it, but I don't think that is going to happen and now I am not sure if I want it to. The red chair was an acquisition with the house too.

The drawers are filled with scissors, sewing notions, thread, bobbins, old eye glasses and other crafting supplies, even baby food jars!

On the other side of the desk is an old couch that folds out into a bed but I am not totally taking a picture of that as it is in need of reupholstering, not to mention is has a box of carousels in need of a home and my yarn supplies for crochet work.

One more look at my Huge desk... It's awesome...

I have my ironing board set up in front of the window. That window gets so hot during the day. I think this room is one of the hottest in the house! I would show the view, but it is of the broken trampoline and the chicken coop. Granted the mountains are awesome, but not the other things...

My one bookcase is crammed with fabric in photo boxes, books, papers, albums, crayons and markers... I think I need more bookcases, but there is no room for them. The small plastic containers holds my scraps and WOF cuts organized by size. I very much prefer having these sorted by size than by color. If I need something 1.5" then I go into that container. It's so easy! The photo boxes are organized by color. :)

Then it is my craft table. Brandon made it when we lived in the old house. It's great for scrapbooking when I am putting my layouts together. I like to spread out. Course now it spans almost the full length of the room! The unpainted top was supposed to be a second table, but I am not sure the plans with it now...

I like my little cork display above the table... and my music notes...

This just makes me happy...

My grandpa made this, and my grandma painted it. It will always be special, and hopefully the current children can keep all the pieces together!

My project wall. A simple fleece blanket pinned to the wall. It works for what it has been used for. Right now it is sporting the blocks I got from the baby shower. I am still waiting on a bunch and trying to figure out the layout which has changed many times and probably will again before it is actually pieced together...

Last but not least, my music notes above the door... :)

I am linking up at Ellison Lane: Studio Spotlight Linky Party! :) Check out the craft/sewing spaces of others for some inspiration, admiration, or just to snoop... ;)

Potty Time!

It feels like it has been forever since we started trying to get Nikolai to use the potty. We tried naked, only to have him demand a diaper. We tried underwear, only to have him demand a diaper and accidents galore. (don't mind the yellow on the walls in the bathroom, we haven't decided what color to paint yet)

 

Then I started to tell him, as soon as the diapers are gone, you have to start using the potty. So then, after every diaper change we counted the number of diapers left and talked about when you wear underwear you have to tell mommy and daddy when you have to go potty...