A Sweet Hello

Today the doorbell rang and no one was there when I opened the door (this happens occasionally at our house), but I looked down and found this on the rug...

Flowers, a leaf, and bark chips from our yard arranged into a pretty little greeting. Totally made me smile.

Reading Nook

I keep looking at this beautiful reading nook on stephmodo. I relax just looking at the photo. Further inspiration for me to finish my book organization project.

Tooth Fairy Jar

Last night B lost a tooth so I thought it would be fun to share our Tooth Fairy tradition that a friend shared with me a few years ago. Previous to this new tradition I just had my kids put their tooth under their pillow and in the morning the tooth was replaced with money (that's how I did it growing up). Well, I woke up my kids more than once while trying to do the "exchange" and it would go something like this:

Scene 1: [Mom is kneeling next to the bed with a hand or two under the pillow, trying to search for the darn tooth.]

Son (eyes all of a sudden wide open): What are you doing?

Mom: Um, just checking to see if the tooth fairy made it here yet.

Son (picking up pillow and still seeing the tooth there): Nope.

Mom: Oh...well...go back to sleep, I'm sure she'll be here soon. [Mom wonders how long she will need to wait to try again].

Our new tradition is the Tooth Fairy Jar. Just fill up a jar with water, place it on your child's nightstand, and have your child drop the tooth inside before bed. The next morning, the tooth is replaced with coins and the water is blue (food coloring). So much easier! Well, as long as the mouth of the jar is wide enough for your hand to reach inside and grab the tooth, and you don't overfill the jar with water, that could cause issues.

Last night I also sprinkled some silver glitter in the jar and that was a fun addition. And the presidential $1 coins make a great prize (like pirate booty).

Lost Button Studio Magnets

I just bought a button machine and I'm so excited about it...I've wanted one for a long time. I'm going to use it to make little thank you magnets (that match my business cards and packaging) to send with my orders. You can't tell from the photo but they are just 1-inch, so little and cute.

Twenty for Twenty Menu

{image from allrecipes}

Cool idea on Allrecipes...twenty recipes you can make from just twenty ingredients (plus a few staples). I would love to come up with a list like this using some of my favorite recipes. That way, I would have a list of things I could make if I always had certain ingredients "in stock" in my fridge, freezer, and pantry.

And wouldn't it be fun to swap lists like this (with maybe ten recipes instead of twenty to make it easier)? If anyone is interested in doing something like this, let me know...

Books, Books, Books

Over the weekend we had a mini flood in our basement. Luckily it was in an unfinished area, we caught it early, and most of our stuff is in Rubbermaid containers, so there were only a few things that were ruined. But moving things around and cleaning up helped me realize I still have too much stuff (even after a few recent de-junking sprees). I definitely still have too many books. Boxes and boxes and bookshelves full. And I love books so it's so hard to part with them.

I've been searching around for ideas to help spur me on. Here are some great articles:

Bringing Your Bookshelves Back to Order and
Cookbook Organization Tips at unclutterer

5 Ways To Limit Book Clutter at simple productivity blog

20 Ways to Get Free or Cheap Books, and Give Away Your Old Ones at zenhabits

Bookshelf Makeover at Real Simple

So, after reading these articles, I've decided I'm going to:

1. be honest with myself and get rid of books I really don't plan on reading (or reading again) by selling or donating them
2. only keep what will nicely fit on the bookshelf space I have (including the cupboard I have for cookbooks that is too full)
   
3. organize the shelves by category and separate what I've read from what I haven't read (and maybe use some of the tips in the Real Simple article to make things look pretty)
   

Then, before future book purchases, I will:

1. make sure I check at the library for a book before I buy it
2. get rid of one book for each new book I buy, so I don't start storing them in boxes again

I hope I can do it! I am going to help my kids do this as well...

Org Junkie

Our Lego table from the playroom makeover was featured on orgjunkie.com. Thanks, Laura!

Waste Not, Want Not

{image from Cafe Johnsonia}

I watched a little bit of the Today Show this morning and they had a segment on how much food we waste in America. The suggestions for combating this waste were to go shopping more often so we only buy what we need (I'm not really sold on that strategy) and, obviously, use our leftovers. I sat in my kitchen for a little while and pondered what we do in our family that helps eliminate waste and what we could do better. Here are some ideas:

• Use It Up - I love when I find recipes that use whole cans or packages of food so I'm not throwing away a little here and a little there. For instance, the Strawberry Pina Colada Smoothies recipe uses a can of coconut milk and two small cans of pineapple juice. I'm going to focus more on finding recipes like this or modifying my recipes so there's no waste.
  
  One thing I tend to throw away is produce that is past its prime. In addition to things like making banana bread with overripe bananas or shredding un-crunchy apples to put in muffins, one thing that has really helped me are the Rubbermaid Produce Savers. I was a skeptic but they really work. I can chop a whole head of lettuce, wash it, and store it in the container for a whole week without brown edges or wilt. This has not only helped us eliminate some waste, but has helped us have more salads, lettuce on sandwiches, etc. I've also used these containers with other chopped and washed veggies like carrots and celery.


• Fridge the Leftovers - We don't mind eating leftovers. Well, unless they are in the fridge more than three days...I don't like taking chances with food poisoning. This Mayo Clinic article on leftovers says I can increase that to four days (my husband will be happy about that). We also organized our fridge so there one shelf dedicated to leftovers and we've been fairly good at keeping it that way. This way the leftovers are easy to spot.


• Freeze the Leftovers - Lots of leftovers will freeze well. Just remember to always add a label to identify what's in the container and also list an expiration date. A guide to freezing prepared foods is handy.


• Take Inventory - I usually just make a menu based on what "sounds good" that week, but I'm going to start checking the freezer and pantry before I go grocery shopping so we can use what foods we already have before they expire.


• Underfill Your Plate - We remind our kids frequently that it's better to put less on their plates and have seconds if they are still hungry.


• Share - My husband and I are getting pretty good at sharing a meal when we go out to eat. Restaurants usually serve way huge portions.

What do you do that helps eliminate waste or what ideas have you heard about that you want to try?

A Gathering of Giveaways

Seems like there have been a lot of great giveaways lately. You never know when you might win something (like when I won the cutest handmade felt cat purse). Here are a few fun giveaways I found this week on some of the blogs I read...

keepsake journal at according to kelly

lifetime subscription to Pear Budget at simplemom

The Host by Stephanie Meyer at petit elefant (and some other cute giveaways like a PoppySeeds tee and a Shea Terra Organics gift set)

handpainted angel doll (and other goodies) at Love Boxes

Any others you know of?

Craftzine Feature

I was surprised and excited to see the Shirt & Tie Bookmark project was featured on Craftzine. Thanks for the mention!

Baked Mac & Cheese

I like this recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese from Southern Living. It's simple and homey. I make it with whole wheat or whole grain pasta and top it with some whole wheat breadcrumbs (I just sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top without mixing with butter or anything because the extra cheese that is on top of the macaroni mixture helps them crisp up). I also only use half of the black pepper and that always seems like quite enough. This is good served with steamed broccoli (and the whole wheat and broccoli cancel out all of the butter, milk, and cheese, right?).

Most of the time I try to make meals without dairy since B is allergic, but this is one where it's just not possible...and trying to substitute those ingredients would totally change the recipe. So I just cook extra pasta and he has it with marinara sauce or his dairy-free butter substitute.

Business Cards & Boxes

I decided to change the Lost Button Studio look a little bit and I got things back from VistaPrint recently. I wanted to do something different for my business cards and this is how they turned out...

{I made a little collage and printed it as a business card}


{I printed my contact info 2-up on another business card}


{I'm cutting the contact info cards in half and attaching them with a staple to the collage cards}


{I also use the collage cards for decorating my gift boxes and the look changes depending on how I trim the card}

Next project: redesign my site, blog, and Etsy banners to match!

Stepanka Ceramics

I love these beautiful porcelain pieces by Stepanka Ceramics. Great textures and colors...

{photos from Stepanka}

Flower Buckets

{photo from country living}

I love the colors of these coffee and soup cans painted with sample jars of paint (7/08 issue of Country Living). More inspiration here.

Shirt & Tie Bookmarks

So this weekend I'm in charge helping a few kids...okay, about 80 kids...make a Father's Day card. I found this project on Family Fun and decided to do a bookmark variation of it since I have a lot of plain, cardstock bookmarks left over from a past project.

Here are the instructions:

1. Cut bookmarks out of cardstock that are 2-1/2 x 7"
2. Cut 1/2" slits on each side, 1/2" below the top of the bookmark
3. Fold the flaps so the top corners meet
4. Cut out a tie* and attach to the shirt with a glue dot
5. Add buttons to the collar (I used mini brads because that is what I had on hand, but I am going to get some mini buttons for this weekend because I think they are cuter)

* Here's a little tie template I made that fits the bookmarks.

And there's plenty of space left over at the bottom to write a message.

Giveaway on According to Kelly

Kelly is celebrating her upcoming birthday by having a contest each week for the next month...and this week she is giving away a package of jewelry from Lost Button Studio! You have until midnight PST on Monday, June 16th to enter.

Thanks, Kelly, for the sweet post!

Sparkle Button Earrings

A few days ago I found a card of brass rhinestone buttons and a card of slightly smaller silver rhinestone buttons in an antique store. I cut off the shanks, attached them to my handmade earwires, and made them into earrings. I have a limited number of each available in the shop.

Sparkle Button Earrings in Silver
Sparkle Button Earrings in Brass

Also available on Etsy.

Eraser Carving Fun

Today B and I did some eraser carving. Totally fun. A few tips:

1. I taught B to always carve by pushing the tool away from his hands/body...just in case there were any slips (luckily there weren't but these tools are sharp so you want to be careful)
2. He started drawing his designs on the carving material with a pencil, and I had to help carve those because the lines were so delicate...we then switched to a big Sharpie and that worked great, he was able to follow the lines much more easily
   
3. Cutting the finished stamps out of the carving block is best done by the parent because you have to cut through so much material

Strawberry Pina Colada Smoothies

Last night we had chicken fajitas, and when we have chicken fajitas we almost always have strawberry pina colada smoothies. This is modified quite a bit from the recipe I started with, so I'm just going to call it my own...

Strawberry Pina Colada Smoothies

1 1/2 cups pineapple juice, refrigerated**
1 14 oz. can of unsweetened coconut milk, refrigerated
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar
10 whole frozen strawberries

Add all ingredients to a blender container, then fill the coconut milk can with ice cubes and add that to the blender as well (this fills my blender almost to the rim). Blend on high until the mixture is pink and super smooth and creamy. Serves about 3-4 people.

** I buy the small 6 oz. cans of pineapple juice and just use two cans. It's more expensive than buying a larger container of juice, but we don't really drink pineapple juice otherwise so this way there's no waste.

Enjoy!

Flannel and Terry Cloth Burp Cloths

{photo from Small Notebook}

Love these burp cloths from Small Notebook. Rachel kindly offered the directions to me:

1. Sew rectangles of flannel and terry cloth together with the right sides of the fabric facing each other (this slides through the machine much easier if the smooth flannel is on the top side and the towel is underneath).
2. Leave a space a few inches wide for turning it right side out.
3. Clip the corners before your turn the fabric so the corners won't be bulky.
4. After you turn it right side out, topstitch around the edges of the fabric to close the space and finish the seams.

So simple I think I could even make these, but so darling. Don't you think these would be great to have on hand for gifts?

Isabell's Umbrella

Remember the hedgehog notecards from Isabell's Umbrella in this post? I swapped an Antique Key Necklace for some of her cards and my package arrived yesterday. Everything is super great quality with cute packaging. If you're looking for cute paper goods, this is the place to order them. Thanks, Ashley!

Bee Friendly Flower Seeds

I just read in Domino that Haagen-Dazs is giving away free packets of bee-friendly wildflower seeds. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:

Haagen-Dazs Save the Honey Bees Program/Domino
50 San Fransisco Street, Suite 400
San Fransisco, CA 94133

Not sure how long this offer is good so I'm going to send for mine today. Other ideas for helping honeybees are here and here.

Lemon Pepper Tilapia

{photo from Cafe Johnsonia}

Just wanted to share another simple, yummy recipe from Cafe Johnsonia for Lemon Pepper Tilapia. I made it tonight in my toaster oven/broiler so as not to heat up the whole oven (and the house) and served it with steamed asparagus and wild rice pilaf. Even my husband who isn't the biggest fish lover loved it. Thanks for another great recipe, Linds...