Craftzilla conquers the world

Overwhelming Week

2012-02-13T16:37:00.000-05:00

Source: sayingimages.tumblr.com via Gillian on Pinterest

I am feeling exactly like this lately. The need for more employment, a cleaning everything out project that has gotten out of hand (there is stuff in the middle of being organized everywhere) and trying to get everything done for school, the Etsy shop and every other thing going on right now is making me pretty darn tired and overwhelmed. Thank goodness next week is Reading Week! Although we may not get too much time to actually relax, as we are actually going on a little trip to Niagara Falls, courtesy of an awesome gift voucher that my parents gave us for Christmas! But I just wanted to pop in and let you all know I'm still around, just might be a little quieter in the next little while. So I'm get ready for Brownies tonight, but if you need a pick me up, there is always Whitney, which I've been listening to in order to prepare for a possible Skype karaoke memorial Whitney session sometime soon with a friend or two.

Enjoy the rest of your Monday!

♥ Craftzilla

Craft Swap Fun

2012-02-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

I've participated in a few craft swaps lately, and I thought I'd share some of the fun!

Here's a recent gift I sent off to a swap partner in British Columbia for a handmade gift exchange. I'm still waiting for mine to get here!

These flower brooches will be appearing in my Etsy Shop soon too! They're super fun to make and pretty darn cute (if I do say so myself!)

I also participated in a craft swap in person with some other crafters in town that was a lot of fun! I swapped a bunch of things, and got some awesome Christmas gifts for my family.

Here are some of the tables set up-hats made out of recycled materials, from Noggins hats

I swapped for a monster hat for my sister, as well as for a hat or two for myself!

Fancy soaps!

And here are all of my wares I set out...I realized how many finished things I have lying about that I need to post on Etsy!

At any rate, my first in person craft swap was a great success, and I hope to go to another one soon!

Have you ever gone to an craft swap in person or participated in one on-line? What was your experience with it? So far, mine have been pretty positive, especially since I love getting things in the mail.

♥ Craftzilla

Friday Fancies 2/10/2012

2012-02-10T18:32:00.001-05:00

I can't help it, I am not super into Valentines Day, but I sort of love cards with hearts on them, and this one is so cool!

Doctor Who mittens? Just nerdy enough for this girl!

More nerdy Valentines cards--I love these

My friend April's contribution to the 29 Leaps project, Project Prom Dress, is super inspiring

Not to mention this list of 29 nice things to do for others

I can't even pick what I love most on this blog -- this, this and this for sure

Adorable printable valentines cards!

I want to make these lovely wood buttons very badly

I love this idea for mixing and making your own tea bags

Maps and such, wherever they are, are pretty amazing

I want to make and eat SO many of these

This tutorial is so sweet

Have a lovely Friday friends!

♥ Craftzilla

February Photo a Day - Day 3-8

2012-02-09T13:19:00.000-05:00

Just a little catch up on all of my February photo Challenge photos! I'm enjoying this challenge so far, although sometimes it's challenging to take a photo that fits the prompt as well as bring something personal to it. But I guess that's the whole idea!

Day 3- Hands

Day 4- Strangers

Day 5- 10am

Day 6- Dinner

Day 7- Buttons

Day 8- Sun

♥ Craftzilla

It's Been a Lucky Week!

2012-02-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've had super luck in some lovely giveaways again, so I thought I'd share some of the things that are currently headed my way in the mail.

I won the shop credit giveaway from Whimsical Poppysmic on Living Apockylypse's blog, and Chrissy has this awesome phone case on the way for me :

I also won the yoga mat bag giveaway on The Simple Boxcar's Blog. Ani made up this awesome custom yoga mat bag for me, since I loved this rainbow hat from her Etsy shop and hoped she could do it in similar colours. Pretty awesome, right? The yoga mat bag is like this one, but rainbow colours!

I'm going to have a hard time not waiting next to the mailbox in anticipation!

♥ Craftzilla

Things I made and saw: Puppies and Sewing and Doilies

2012-02-06T10:24:00.001-05:00

Busy week all around--was babysitting last night for a friend's kid and hemmed some jeans for another friend, so ended up not quite having enough time to do this post last night. But cuteness demands to be shown, so here we go:

Jesse had an adorable nap yesterday, and I managed to snap this photo of him with his eyes rolling back a bit and looking oh so sleepy:

I've also been working on a few things crafty wise--a friend gave me some doilies and I thought I'd try stretching one in an embroidery hoop to see what it looked like. Result-cute, though I think it needs something else (as well as to be finished)

I originally knit this as a cowl, with some twists in it, but it was just too wide and had too many twists, so I sewed a few seams on the sewing machine, held my breath and cut it. I zigzag stitched the edges, and voila, it's now a scarf. I just have to weave in the ends and block it, and it'll be ready to wear. I love these bright cotton yarns so much!

I also got this printed fabric panel awhile ago, and am getting ready to quilt the top of it--deciding whether to machine quilt it or quilt it by hand. I'm leaning towards by hand, just because I can't get enough of the adorable monkey. Zen loves monkeys and is a little bit wanting of a grown up duvet with a monkey on it too :P

I also made up a few simple flannel baby blankets too, since I'm trying to use up a bunch of my stash fabric, as well as finish a lot of projects I started ages ago.

So far, I'm making pretty good progress, but lots more to do, especially since my mom just sent me an awesome care package of fabric and crafty things that I'm looking forward to playing with. I may share some of the goodies she sent on here soon.

♥ Craftzilla

Friday Fancies: Valentines Day is coming!

2012-02-03T12:59:00.000-05:00

These embroidered valentines are pretty darn adorable

Watch this video (be sure to enter your name)--it's hilarious!

I just found this site via Twitter--super adorable robots

I also love this DIY valentine card from Liesi!

I also enjoy these kinds of heart garlands--so fancy!

Source: todaysmama.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Another awesome heart banner ...clearly my apartment is going to end up covered in hearts!

Especially since I also want to make this one!

Also, Martha always knows how to make the tastiest looking cupcakes!

&hearts: Craftzilla

29 Leaps - Get Involved

2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

I found out about this video from my friend Jeff (Guelph has quite an active local community on Twitter) who passed this video onto me (and 28 others) with the message to spread the word and help get people involved in something called the 29 Leaps project.

The premise

The idea behind this project is that since this February is a leap year, we have an extra day to help those who are sick. lonely, homeless, or hurting, and try to make a genuine difference in other people's lives. I know I don't spend enough time doing this kind of thing, and it always feels good to give back to the community in some way.

How to get involved

Use the magic of the number 29 to do something special to celebrate this month that helps others in some way. Be creative, use your skills and strengths and do something meaningful.

Some ideas include donating 29 cents, 29 dollars or some other amount to charity, spending 29 minutes helping someone else, crafting up 29 things to donate to a charity, or passing the word on about this project to 29 people, like Jeff did. One participant, A Crafty Cupcake, is donating 29 knit hats to her local NICU for premature babies.

Above all, be kind, help others and be creative!

Connect

You can connect with 29 Leaps on Facebook, Twitter (hashtag #29Leaps or #Guelph29 to check out what's going on in my town) or on Youtube.

If you participate in any way, make sure to count your 29 leap on the website's Leap counter!

My first leap?

To spend 29 minutes to watch the video, research the project and write this post to get you all informed, and hopefully involved in this great project !

What's next

I'm brainstorming a few more ideas that I'll share throughout this month on the blog. If you're going to get involved, I'd love to hear any of your 29 things! If anyone would like to collaborate on a project, also leave me a comment or send me an email.

♥ Craftzilla

Day 2: Words

2012-02-02T18:24:00.000-05:00

I bought this mug originally for a friend, but I couldn't find it when it came time to give it to her and ended up keeping it myself. In case you're interested, this is the whole text:

For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time to still be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have. And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time and remember that time waits for no one.

- Alfred D'Souza

I'm trying to keep these words in mind myself, when I'm having a down day and everything seems difficult.

♥ Craftzilla

Blog Design Updated

2012-02-02T14:19:00.003-05:00

In case you hadn't noticed, I made a few changes to the design of the blog, and I'm much happier with how everything looks! (If you're in a reader, you can check out the whole thing here)

I will likely do something fancier with the header at some point, but I wanted something simple for now until I have time to do that. I also spiffed up the side links, changed the font of the posts, headings and page links, and put up a new profile photo that I think is pretty darn fancy.

I even learnt a few new skills, of how to change the fonts in html and other fancy things like that. Overall, I'm feeling pretty darn accomplished!

Future plans:

Go through labels--there's a lot of extraneous ones
New Blog buttons
Redo pretty much all the pages
Add images to go to specific sets of posts, i.e. features or DIYs.
Perhaps change up how sponsor ads are displayed
Changes to Sponsor page --likely an embedded form

Phew! That's a lot of work just thinking about it! Since this is still a work in progress, please let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions for me. I'd appreciate it!

♥ Craftzilla

February Photo a Day - Day 1: My view From Here

2012-02-01T22:11:00.002-05:00

Since one of my challenges for my 30 before 30 List was to participate in some kind of photo challenge, I thought I'd take part in the February Photo a Day Challenge, and kick it off by posting my first photo here. Here's the daily list so you can know what to expect or if you want to take part yourself

Via @FatMumSlim

I'll be sharing my photos mostly on Twitter (you can follow me here or search hashtag #FEBphotoaday ) and doing a weekly collection here on the blog and in a set on Flickr. There is also a linky with tons of other participants that you can check out here.

Day # 1--My View from here --this is my view from this afternoon, as I attempted to leave the house to do some errands. Jesse's adorableness was almost enough to make me stay!

♥ Craftzilla

P.S. I'm featured today on my lovely friend Kelly's blog, Living Apocylypse! Check out the feature here to learn a bit more about my goals for the year and blogs I love!

Knitting Admissions, and a Giveaway winner!

2012-01-31T15:58:00.004-05:00

I'm going to make a knitting admission to you that I feel a bit silly about.
I thought I knew how to read a knitting chart, but guess what?

I didn't have a clue!

Usually I get around using charts by just using the written instructions, but these often seem to be wrong for lace stitches and goodness knows, the written directions for the Ishbel shawl made me throw up my hands in despair and put that shawl promptly into a bag in the back of my closet for a cooling off period.

So here are the basics of chart reading that I've learnt this week that hopefully will save you from making the same mistakes as me!

If you're knitting on straight needles:

Start reading the chart at the bottom right, and read right to left (right side rows)
The second row is then read left to right. (wrong side row)

If you're working in the round on double pointed or circular needles:

Read and work all rows right to left

Now that you know, you're all set to try out a chart! Maybe a cute Batman chart (this is for a hat) catches your fancy?

Batman Hat

Or maybe adding this adorable Goth skull to something fancy?

Goth Skull chart

I'm currently working on a hat using the lace pattern mentioned in this hat pattern , although I've messed it up by not realizing knitting in the round was different until too late! I still think it looks good though:)

Also, while I'm here, without further ado, the winner of the giveaway from The Treasure Chest, is comment #102, Angie Stevens! Congrats! You'll be hearing from myself and Maria soon to get these pretty earrings in the mail for you!

♥ Craftzilla

The Last Unicorn - Handmade Lovelies

2012-01-30T17:36:00.000-05:00

Have any of you seen the movie The Last Unicorn? I have it on today as I'm working away at home, and am remembering how much I loved it when I was a kid. I started looking around to see if anyone had made any items inspired by the movie. Here are some of my favourites.

Modded My Little Pony --amazing !

Source: bee-chan.deviantart.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Pretty Bracelet:

Source: etsy.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Adorable unicorn statue

Source: etsy.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Lovely cigarette case

Source: etsy.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Batik inspired by the movie--so amazing. I'd love to know how this was done.

Source: etsy.com via Gillian on Pinterest

♥ Craftzilla

Things I made and Saw: Hodge Podge

2012-01-29T17:16:00.001-05:00

Just a quick pop in to share some of the things I've been up to this week. Working on some more phone cases--these should be finished and listed this week in the shop, hopefully along with some other things I've been working on

The demolition continues next door--it's sort of neat to see a cross section of the building

Delivered a necklace to it's new home

We got lots of snow here the other day--snow on trees looks so neat to me. We finally got a video of Jesse romping about in the snow as well, making doggy snow angels:P

We got a Munchkin Cthulhu expansion recently - I can't decide whether this one or the original is more fun

Finishing up a hat for a bloggy friend, Julie from Tri-ing to be Althletic...almost done!

♥ Craftzilla

Friday Fancies: Snow, Snow and more Snow!

2012-01-27T12:50:00.000-05:00

Well I guess we got a lot of snow here last night, since the buses were not running for some of this morning, and it's pretty slippery and such outside. I'm off today for a meetup, and will hopefully get to snap some fancy snow pictures (why do trees always look so much cooler with snow on them? ) and hopefully get to take Jesse out for a dog walk later in the park, because I just can't get enough of watching him roll around doing dog snow angels in the new snow.

Nails inspired by literature? Yes please! Holy awesome Tin Tin nails!

This post from Chantilly from My Girl Thursday makes me need to watch more Arrested Development! Luckily we've just restarted watching the whole thing again to make a friend watch it !

I'm hoping to go and check out some of the events going on for Fourth Fridays here tonight. Do any of you have a similar thing in your city? I love things like this that promote creativity and the arts! I will definitely be on the hunt for the miniature ice robots around downtown!

I think I want to join in on the monthly photo challenge here for February

This is happening next to my apartment...I'm glad most of the demolition is finally over. Living room shaking = lame

I very much want my pins to live on this adorable pincushion.! I'm really loving all things felt lately

This giveaway is pretty darn amazing! Winning a lovely fair trade goods shopping spree would make this girl pretty happy

Adorable crocheted edge valentines...the need to make more things with hearts on them is rising.

Happy Friday everyone!

♥ Craftzilla

New Job Jitters

2012-01-26T14:01:00.000-05:00

Source: tumblr.com via Gillian on Pinterest

So good news--I'm starting a new contract tomorrow for a job in IT, that will be flexible and part -time, and possibly even have me working from home, although the office is right across the street from my house! I'm pleased that this opportunity worked out, since it's really the first time I've been a part of basically creating a position for myself to fill a need in a company, and actually used my networking skills to get myself in. So I'm pretty positive about the whole thing, and looking forward to it.

But, the worst part about starting a new job is that first day, when you have to meet everyone, remember their names and feel out how the office environment works and what its dynamic is like. I think I have a pretty good idea from the interview and communications with the company so far, but it's still a bit nerve-wracking. Basically, I think I just need to stay positive, work hard (especially since this is on a trial basis for this project), know that I have the skills and stay confident in myself and that everything will work out for the best.

Probably I will also wear a fancier outfit than I usually would to help me with the confidence boosting. And hopefully remember to brush my hair.

If any of you have any tips for starting a new job, I'd love to hear them!

♥ Craftzilla

Craft Hope : Craftivism and Project 16: Beanies and Tote Bags for Kids with Cancer

2012-01-25T15:17:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of Craft Hope? I've written about my involvement in some of their previous projects making a quilt here and fun bracelets here, but thought I'd let you know about their latest project, and hopefully inspire you to participate!

Project 16: The Littlest Warriors

The latest project is calling for knit beanies/hats (sized from babies to teenagers) and tote bags filled with fun things such as small toys and colouring books to send on to kids who are currently battling cancer. Inspired by 41/2 year old Pierce, the song of a friend of Jade who runs Craft Hope who is fighting a battle with leukemia, this project is easy to do, can be done by yourself and in a group, and will definitely help touch the lives of kids like Pierce who could use some brightness and cheer.

I thought I'd collect a few ideas for totes and hats to get you (and myself) started!
(click the images to go to the tutorials)

This tote would be perfect for stashing some crayons and a colouring book:

Source: mygratitudeattitudes.blogspot.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Totes made of tshirts would be fun and functional

Source: moredesignplease.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Felt or fleece bags would be really soft and customizable with shapes and animals for younger kids

Source: marthastewart.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Easy knit hat for kids

Source: petitepurls.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Aborable hat--love the bow!

Source: fiberflux.blogspot.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Easy hat for older kids

Source: store.cocoknits.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

For more information, check out the Project 16 Post on the Craft Hope site.

♥ Craftzilla

Spicy Black Bean and Tomato Soup

2012-01-24T14:17:00.000-05:00

I love soup, especially in colder weather, and this black bean soup is hearty, tasty and easy to make!

4 cloves garlic
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (leave the seeds or add another pepper for a spicier soup)
2 onions
4 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 Tablespoons oil
3 vegetable stock cubes, crumbled
10 cups of water (to start)
3 bay leaves
2 cans diced or crushed tomatoes
1 bag of dried black beans, soaked overnight (You can also use 2 -3 tins of black beans)

Add the garlic, onions, celery and carrots into a big pot ( I used a 10L pot) with the oil. Saute lightly in the bottom of the pot until the onions and garlic start getting soft. Add the stock cubes, water, bay leaves, tomatoes and beans.

Simmer on medium heat for 3 to 4 hours, stirring every once in awhile and adding water every half hour or hour to keep the water level consistent and saturate the beans. {Note: If you're using tinned black beans, be sure to drain and wash them. You also won't have to cook the soup for as long or continuously add as much water.]

When the soup is done, you can either eat it as is, as blend it up using an immersion blender or a regular blender. It also tastes great served with cornbread or fresh bread!

Makes about 7 litres of soup.

♥ Craftzilla

A Little Sherlock Holmes Love

2012-01-23T08:30:00.000-05:00

I realized lately that A LOT of my reading, show-watching and movie-watching has revolved around Sherlock Holmes. I've recently read The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, and Zen and I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie last night, which we'd been waiting to see together, since we'd gone to see the first one when I first moved to Guelph, which was just a little over two years ago this month. Time certainly flies!

At any rate, I'm going to share some of my favourite Sherlock Holmes related images and crafts, since I'm so obsessed of late!

Some of the book covers and art for Sherlock Holmes books are amazing

Source: Uploaded by user via Gillian on Pinterest

Source: piccsy.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Source: spinelessclassics.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Source: ufunk.net via Gillian on Pinterest

Plus, Robert Downey is pretty full of awesomeness!

Source: weheartit.com via Gillian on Pinterest

I've also been watching the BBC Series, Sherlock on Netflix, and it was pretty darn good as well!

Source: hyacinthsatdawn.tumblr.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Also, what's not to love about Sherlock Holmes inspired crafts? I love this felted soap, detective beagle pillow and moustachioed cowl !

Source: etsy.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Source: designer-cushions.artsydog.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Source: wanelo.com via Gillian on Pinterest

♥ Craftzilla

Things I made and Saw: Knitting and Birds and Scrabble

2012-01-22T17:59:00.000-05:00

This week I made some pretty things- Iphone cover for Jessica (see how I totally put a bird on it?) , mittens for Beth and I started knitting a cowl:

There was also some funny pictures taken:

As well as some cute ones:

I also set up a zen garden that a friend gave me awhile ago--I love the little mushroom figurine that I got at a craft swap (more on that later this week)

I let Jessica do my makeup, and we also played some Scrabble ( I won, by a small margin!)

I hope you all had a fabulous week!

♥ Craftzilla

Giveaway from The Treasure Chest: Sterling Silver Earrrings

2012-01-21T13:07:00.000-05:00

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!!! WINNER ANNOUNCED SOON!

Today I have a giveaway from a lovely local jewellery maker, Maria, who runs an Etsy shop called The Treasure Chest. Up for grabs is this beautiful set of sterling silver and crystal earrings from her shop!

Maria is a dedicated crafter, whose committment to art has been lifelong:

Art has always been my favourite way of exploring the world, of inwardly processing new experiences.The power of light, colours and shapes has always charmed me. My jewels, mostly but not exclusively, made with semiprecious stones and glass beads, are the tools with which I represent the beauty and harmony we can still find around us.

She channels this love of art and seeing the world into each piece of jewellery that she creates:

Each peace is unique: designed with love and artistic passion, professionally made with care and attention to details. I believe that my mission as an artist is accomplished whenever I succeed in touching the soul of other human beings with the caress of beauty.

Yay! I'm glad to have Maria's thoughts on art and creativity, and to have met such a fabulous jewellery maker! Her shop is also full of other delightful pieces!

How to enter:

Mandatory entries: (Leave a comment for each)
1) Like The Treasure Chest's Facebook page, and leave a comment here saying you did so
2) Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect, Blog Lovin' or RSS, and leave a comment with your email address saying you did so

Additional entries: (leave a comment for each)
3) Visit The Treasure Chest's shop, and leave a comment with your favourite item
4) Like the Craftzilla Conquers the World Facebook Page
5) Follow me on Twitter --@Craftzilla
6) Tweet about the giveaway using this tweet: "I entered to win a fancy pair of earrings from The Treasure Chest on @Craft_zilla's blog. http://bit.ly/yxOq0n "

The giveaway will be open until January 29th at 11:59 midnight EST, and is open to anyone! The winner will be chosen by random.org generator. The winner will be emailed as well as announced here on the blog.

Have fun entering, and good luck luck to all of you!

♥ Craftzilla

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!!! WINNER ANNOUNCED SOON!

Friday Fancies: Keeping Cozy

2012-01-20T18:40:00.000-05:00

Fun site with lots of fun graphics

This DIY for recyled sweater mittens sounds fabulous

I still really want to try doing some felting--I even have the right tool now, yay! Great tutorial from The Zen of Making here

An awesome depiction of the main characters in Ghost World

This blog is full of art made from 3D drawings of proteins--so cool!

These dog drawings are right up my alley, and include my favourite breed of all, cockapoos (like my pup Jesse)!

I'd like to make some of these easy drawstring bags

Totally cute vintage (and printable!) Valentines

I want to eat this chocolate dipped toffee pretty much immediately

I love this adorable heart chain DIY

I like this collection of Hunger Games images more than I'd like to admit

Enjoy your weekend friends! I'm hanging out with friends a bit, doing some crafting and hopefully seeing the new Sherlock Holmes movie!

A Thought for Thursday: Life Doesn't Come with An Instruction Manual

2012-01-19T17:54:00.000-05:00

Source: imgfave.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Unfortunately, as this quote points out, life doesn't come with an instruction manual. I'm not sure if anything would really be easier or better if it did, since we'd inevitably feel constrained by having to follow a manual, as well as miss out on all those things in life that wouldn't have happened unless we got something wrong, but sometimes it would be nice. Sometimes I really wish there was an FAQ for me to turn to in times when I'm totally stuck and am not sure what to do or how to make things better than they are at the moment. I have a suspicion that things will end up working out in terms of jobs and everything else going on, as long as I keep trucking and don't give up, but I'm feeling pretty low a lot lately, and I know I've been slacking on some of my happy outlets like blogging and hanging out with friends, since I don't really want to bore you all with all the negative thoughts swirling about in my head.

I think I'm also feeling a bit low because I'm having trouble structuring my days so that I get everything done that I have to do, and this is making me feel even worse. So, my thoughts for this week are that I need more structure in my day to day, while I'm in this period of transition and to make myself feel a bit more accomplished with what I've gotten done in a day.

Given this, I'm setting some goals for myself for next week to help shake myself out of this funk.

Goals for next week:

1) Keep and use detailed To do Lists and time blocking - there's nothing like crossing another item off a list to make you feel like you accomplished something, as well as to categorize and prioritize everything that needs to get done. I've also found that blocking out things to do in specific time periods is very useful for me in terms of my productivity; I just fell out of the habit of doing it lately.
2) Wake up at the same time every day--sleeping in is nice, but not my friend when it comes to getting things done.
3) Continue with 21 Day Yoga Challenge- exercise is good for the soul!
4) Tackle at least one area for cleaning every day - the apartment mess is keeping me down, and I was making some good progress on de-cluttering and getting rid of things.
5) Go to the studio at least 4 times- I haven't been feeling much like getting out and going anywhere, but I should get myself to the studio to get work done, and get some quiet and calm.
6) Relax a bit. I can't worry all the time, and if I do, I'll get less done and be even more cranky. Seeing friends and watching a show with the boy or walking the pooch is definitely happy-making.

There! I feel more organized and better prepared to meet the challenges facing me, even without an instruction manual! If any of you have ever been in a similar funk and have any suggestions for me, I'd definitely love to hear them!

Wordless Wednesday: Where I'd like to Be

2012-01-18T14:41:00.000-05:00

Organizing Projects Inpsiration

2012-01-16T14:13:00.002-05:00

I mentioned in my post yesterday that I've been working on some other organizing projects. So far, the only one I've shared was my reorganized crafty bookcase, but I've got a few other projects underway that I am currently gathering up some ideas to get me more organized. My thought is basically that if something is in total disarray, that the current system for organizing the stuff probably has a flaw to it. So as usual, I headed off to my Pinterest to collect some needed ideas!

Something like this is totally needed in our hallway --things are always piled up on top of things, and I'm not sure why I have like 4 different ceramic dishes for change right now

Source: spaceforlivingos.com via Gillian on Pinterest

I love the idea of jar storage like this --my dad actually used to have storage like this in our old garage, but with Players tobacco tins instead of jars (clearly this was a throwback from the 80s)

Source: bhg.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Something like this for extra spices that don't currently fit on our spice shelf would work really well

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Kate also did a similar post of late which also had some great ideas in it like this sheet storage idea --I'm totally going to organize my sheets inside a pillowcase from now on to stop the avalanche every time I try to change the sheets on the bed.

Source: marthastewart.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Organizing and de-cluttering links I've been looking at today:

Unclutterer
11 Myths of decluttering - The Happiness Project
Fly Lady
Organizing Made Fun
18 5 Minute Decluttering Tips to Conquer your Mess

Off to the organizing trenches with me! I'll keep you posted on my progress!

♥ Craftzilla