Mason Jar Lidded Cup using Grommets

Saw this DIY project on Pinterest and just had to give it a try!
Supplies Needed (where I bought mine):
Mason Jars (Cracker Barrel $3.47 each on sale)
Mason Jar Lids (Walmart pack of 12, $3.15)
Rubber Grommets (Lowes, in the "hard to find" drawers nail and screw section, I used size 9/16 OD x 1/4ID $1.04 for a 2 pack. Bring the straw you plan to use and measure by that)
Drill and large drill bit (a little larger than inner hole)
Metal cutters
Straws (Walmart, $2 bendy straw pack)
Sweet Iced Tea and a Covered Porch ;)

1. Drill hole in lid large enough for grommet to squeeze through
2. Clip off excess metal with metal cutters
3. Add grommet and test with straw. Make wider if straw won't fit through easily.

Very simple, hard part is getting all the supplies together. I have tested the Grommets in the dishwasher, so far so good.

Glenn Beck National Lemonade Stand and Bake Sale Day

My husband decided to participate in Glenn Beck's National Lemonade Stand and Bake Sale Day June 13th, 2012. He enlisted my services along with many others in our community and family. Some of you may have already heard about this movement but if not you can visit Beck's website to read more:
http://www.glennbeck.com/lemonade

So far we are the only stand in Alabama and have had calls from people as far as Tennessee who are planning to attend! As the date gets closer I find myself getting more excited to see how many turn out for the event. It's also wonderful knowing that my children will be there to experience and learn from it.

Cleaning Schedule

Here is a photo of my cleaning schedule. I use it more as a guide to help remember how long it's been between cleaning things. It's helped out alot to keep me from putting things off until I'm swamped and forced to spend 2-3 days trying to clean everything at once. I've since had to add a few things I forgot (Linens, Curtains, etc.) eventually I'll get around to printing and laminating a new one.

Cleaning Basket Organization

Below are a few photos of my cleaning basket. It holds the essentials for easy toting during cleaning days. A homemade all purpose cleaner, Windex, Bleach, Homemade Air Freshner, Stainless cleaner, Stove top cleaner (we have a glass top) and Wood polish.

After trying many homemade cleaners I discovered that no recipe could top store bought windex, bleach, stainless/stove cleaner and Old English wood polish. However the All purpose cleaner works wonderfully along with my Homemade Cleaner and Toilet Wipes (Wipes Link Click here).

I try to keep my cleaner collection simple. At one time I had every kind of cleaner imaginable (scubbing bubbles, clr, soap scum, wood floor cleaners, etc. etc) but have discovered bleach works well to knock most stains/growths out and vinegar works amazingly on wood floors. Long story short my small arsenal of cleaning supplies seem to work for us. I would like to replace the purple carry basket one day.....

And why can't they make brushes and dusters in neutral colors? What is it with making cleaning tools bright blue, lime green, orange....blah! ;)

Made the labels using silhouette sd and vinyl. Bottles are from Big Lots, as are the hideous lime green cleaning tools ;).

Homemade All Purpose Cleaner Recipe:
3 tbls Vinegar
1/2 tsp Washing Soda
1/2 tsp Castille Soap
10 drops Lavendar essential oil
2 cups hot water


Bleach Mixture: 1/4 bleach, 3/4 water

Air Freshner: 4 cups Water with 20 drops of perfume oil (found in soap section of Hobby Lobby). I'm not a big air freshner person since Scentsy Warmers came into my life ;) However I keep some on hand to spray trash cans and there is always a can of Lysol close by for disinfecting.

Below are a few homemade recipes that work pretty good for me however not as good as store bought. Give them a try they may work well enough for you.

Furniture Polish:
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Castille Soap
1/4 cup Vinegar
Fill rest of container with water (may need to add more or less depending on container size)

Stove Cleaner:
2/3 cups Dawn dishwashing liquid
2/3 cups ammonia
6 tbsp baking Soda
2 cups warm water

*All recipes were found from other websites over the years, if you recognize one please let me know so I can add a link and give proper credit, thanks!*

Kitchen Shelf Lining

The inside of my kitchen cabinets were always kinda....blah. Most of my cooking pots, utensils and other items don't match which makes everything feel disorganized. Not in our budget to replace all those items so instead I decided to line the drawers and cabinets with shelf lining in a fun print instead. It helps to liven the cabinets up a bit. We also plan to make custom wood dividers in the drawers (will post photos later). Hopefully these two projects will create a more organized space with an affordable price tag.

Cooking Utensil Drawer (see told ya nothing matched ;) )

Bakeware cabinet

Mixing Bowls, Measuring cups, Funnels and Strainer Drawer

Jo Totes Millie Camera Bag Review

My quest to find the perfect camera bag has been on going for years. Usually the problem is that the bag is just too large/small for my needs, second is price. I'm just not willing to spend $300 on a bag, not going to happen ;) My perfect bag would be large enough to hold my camera w/ attached lens, phone, keys and a few misc items....on occasion I would like to have room to squeeze in a flash or extra lens. It would still need to be small enough to be comfortable carrying around a store, sitting under a restaurant table, etc. Basically I wanted a bag that I could take with me everywhere without drawing attention to "that crazy lady carrying around a suitcase in Hobby Lobby". I think other moms with DSLRs can sympathize with the issue of wanting to carry your "nice" camera for those spur of the moment photo ops but at the same time needing to have it compact for keeping up with kids or running errands. The Millie arrived today and I believe it may just be "the one".

Dimensions have it at almost 10" high, 11" wide and 4" deep. I've owned a Epiphanie Ginger, Shootsac, The Joy Bag "It" insert, a few different camera backpacks but the Millie's size seems to be spot on. Price is $87. Purchased on a Thursday and it arrived on the following Wednesday. Customer service was very prompt in replying to any emails. You'll also enjoy the website simplicity and minimalism.

Mine is in the color "Pewter", though I would have loved to have it in Bronze or Pink instead. It's faux leather and water resistant. Foam lined and comes with two dividers. You can wear it cross body or shorten the strap and wear it higher under your arm. Removable shoulder pad, two zipper pockets (on back and front).

The first thing I noticed is that my magnetic clasp was not underneath the bag. On the website and other reviews the snap was located on the bottom, mine snaps on the bottom front. Not sure if this is a new design and the website hasn't been updated yet? Regardless it does what it's intended to do which is keep the flap closed. The main compartment has a zipper so no worries of losing anything even if the flap opens.

Link to Jo Totes Millie bag: http://www.jototes.com/handbags/millie-pewter

I'm 5'3" average build and weight and this bag fits my size pretty well. It holds my Canon Mark ii with attached 50mm lens perfectly. Leaving space for a combination of items:

Combo 1: Camera w/ 50mm lens, sunglasses, Small bag of misc items (see photos), phone, keys w/ extra room for cf cards, battery etc.

Combo 2: Camera w/ 50mm lens, flash, extra lens (24-105 4.0 L lens), phone, keys, extra room for cf cards

Combo 3: Camera w/ 50mm lens, Small bag of misc items, Ruger .380 (yes, I pack heat whenever possible ;) ), phone, keys, cf cards.

Just a few examples of things I've had a chance to place in the bag and try out. Should give you an idea of capacity. I'm a simple girl in that I only need my keys and my phone (which has a credit card slot and serves as my wallet) and that's it. For those women who need lotions, checkbook wallet, nail files, a book, tablet, makeup etc....this might not be the size bag for you.

I think I've covered everything so on to the photos!

*I wasn't compensated for this review, nor was this bag sent to me for free to try. Just a Satisfied, Paying ;) customer who wanted to share a good product*

FRONT

SIDE

BACK

BOTTOM

FRONT UNDER FLAP

INSIDE (comes with two dividers but I just used one)

Camera and my misc stuff bag

Items in Bag, Hard to tell but there is still plenty of room to squeeze in more items if needed. My camera has a super long cross body strap attached and it fits in perfectly too.

Christmas Advent Calendar Update

Picked up this Christmas Advent Calendar from a second hand store. I wanted one of those mirrored ones from Target but just couldn't justify the $50 price tag. This one was $2 and I used leftover paint from other projects to update it. First I spray painted it silver, then went back with white and metallic acrylic. Swirled the paint on to give it a bit of texture and interest. Then cut out numbers on the Silhouette SD vinyl cutter. For $2 it'll get the job done and the kids will love opening the door each day to a surprise. Might go over it with some clear gloss spray paint for a layer of protection.

BEFORE

AFTER

Yearly Blurb Books

Every year I make a Blurb book that contains all my photos from that year. This serves as my coffee table album 1. Because it takes up a lot less space than print albums 2. I prefer my hard copy prints be stored in a fireproof safe just in case. They're fairly simple to make, there is a program on the website (www.blurb.com) so you can design your own. Although if you have any graphic knowledge and Indesign you can install a plugin and design from that software. A few other blurb book examples can be found in my pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/jessiegray/photo-organization/

For our Heritage album I scanned a genealogy chart my mother created. Every person has a number and I made sure to place the number in the photo captions for easy reference. This book was by far the biggest undertaking since I had to scan all the old photos & add captions. But it was well worth the effort to have something to pass on to the kids.

Reusable Paper Towels

Made these Reusable "Paper" Towels using a cotton print fabric and layer of terry cloth. Blanket stitched the edges and added Kam Snaps to all the corners. Just unsnap a towel, use and throw in the wash. Saved us lots of money in wasted paper towels, though for grease or other hard to wash out liquids I still recommend disposable paper towels.
Place a couple Kam Snaps on an old paper towel cardboard center to make it easier to roll up your reusable towels.

Homemade Fabric Softener

Homemade Fabric Softener:

2 cups cheap Sauve Conditioner (your choice of scent)
6 cups Hot water
3 cups Vinegar

Mix in spray bottle. Spritz on a rag and throw in dryer with wet clothes.

Homemade Baby Wipes Recipe

2 1/4 cup water2 tbsp baby wash
1 tbsp baby oil

Blend together in large container with lid. Cut roll of Bounty paper towels in half, place inside container and let sit 30 minutes until soaked through, remove cardboard center. Don't use store brand paper towels, I found that out the hard way ;) Bounty holds up better.

Homemade Cleaning & Toilet Wipes Recipe

Homemade Cleaning wipes:
3-4 old t-shirts cut into squares (I made 36 squares from 3 Men's Large size undershirts)
2 cups filtered water
1/2 cup vinegar
Few drops of lavendar oil
Squirt of Castille soap
Pour over rags, let soak for 30 minutes

Homemade Toilet wipes:
3-4 old t-shirts cut into squares (I made 36 squares from 3 Men's Large size undershirts, chose bright red so that I could make sure they wouldn't be washed with anything else)
2 cups filtered water
1/2 cup vinegar
Few drops of tea tree oil
Squirt of Castille soap
Pour over rags, let soak for 30 minutes

Estate Sale Finds

Here are a couple of my finds at an Estate sale the other day:

An Underground Atlanta Poster from 1971 printed by Phoenix Publishing, Co.

The Alabama Alphabet by Lynda Smith Touart http://lyndatouart.com/ . These were my favorite find. Printed in 1982 by Southeastern Alphabets and designed by a local artist. Letters A-Z 11"x17"

Emerald Green Bedroom

Here is our master bedroom. The walls are an Emerald Green (Laura Ashley paint color Emerald 6). I installed 1x1 boards to the ceiling and used velcro to attach 108" Pearl white drapes from Bed, Bath, Beyond to the ceiling. Headboard is a Shantung brand tufted pearl color from Amazon.com. Nightstands and Photo Frames were both painted white to match. I pintucked a cheap duvet cover from Target and covered our old black comforter with it since it was much cheaper than buying one which was already pintucked. Also pintucked a set of white shams. Medallions over windows were from Hobby lobby, just added a bit of silver spray paint. The ceiling over bed was left white to make the bed a focal point. Hoping to replace the ceiling fan eventually, replace lamp shades and add a rug/bench with flowers at foot of bed.

Glass Etching

I love to etch glass! It's super simple too if you have a vinyl cutter. Simply cut your vinyl and apply to glass, coat in the etching cream (craft store), wait 5 minutes and wash off. Permanent and everyone will wonder how in the world you did it. Below are a few customized Christmas gifts I did, which were a hit! Make sure to cover any part of the glass you don't want etched, the cream is so strong that it'll actually bleed over.

My Home Decor

Here are a few older photos of my home decor.

Morrocan Pattern painted backsplash. We couldn't afford tile so I used a wall stencil and Martha Stewart glazes to create my own.

My dining room. Mirror from Amazon (knock off of Ballard Designs version). Table from Haverty's. Table Runners Etsy. Plates are Lennox (found on clearance table 18 plates for $18!!! They don't match but worth the savings). I'm in the process of updating the chandelier with crystals and shades. Napkin rings are Pier 1. Rugs are seagrass from Pottery Barn. Stencil on back wall is gold metallic paint using a stencil from cuttingedgestencils.com

Chandelier over my kitchen island. It is a knock off of the Pottery Barn version, bought at overstock.com

Magnetic Makeup Board

Things Needed:

Old Frame

Galvanized Metal (for the magnetic backing)

Magnets (get the thick round disks available at craft stores, magnetic strips aren't strong enough)

Magnetic baskets (optional)

Fabric

How To: Wrap the Metal in fabric tightly. Slip into frame. Glue magnets onto blushes, powders, etc. Things you don't want magnets on (like brushes) place in baskets.

Hide Unsightly Electric Panel door

Hide your Electric Panel Door behind a wall stencil.