How-To: Organize Your Crafting Life!

First...

Find the dachshund in the following picture:

Hi.



Next....


It's a rainy day and I'm just coming out of a nasty cold, so my cabin fever has lead me to wander through the house looking for an easy project to do. One that I can take my time doing... with allowance of plenty of time for nose-blowing breaks, of course.

I went up to my room and began to pick up a couple of books by my bed...

And then I saw it.

What in the world is this conglomeration under my bed?

Oh right.

It's my crafting stash.

So this week's post is me letting you into the dark recesses of my life.... or, rather, of under my bed!

How did this get like this?

This calls for some serious organization!

I looked to Pinterest for help....and here's what I learned:

-Label everything.
-Make sure all of the supplies are in one central location.
-Everyone organizes differently....so basically do whatever you want.
-Use Chalkboard paint for all labels. Tie them on with twine.

Thanks, Pinterest.


So... here's the Shelbylicious version:


Step 1:   Unearth everything you have related to crafting.

like, that random tote of yarn you acquired...

Oh look. Some more crafting stuff.

Where did this yarn even come from?

Step 2:  Lay it all out where you can see it.

Step 3:  Cry. You never wanted to become one of those crazy-crafting ladies who had more stuff than they could remember they had...

Step 4: Grab a glass of water and move onward. This is going to take awhile.

Step 5: Start going through your stuff.

Unearth it. All of it. As you're going through it and saying, "I had some of this?," sort your stuff into piles of like-categories.

Also, don't be afraid to throw things out. Like this awkward polka-dot ribbon that I probably got for .99 and haven't used in 34859086509 years...

Bye!

And make sure you're weeding out the things that don't actually belong in a craft bin...

like this cute frame! Totally doesn't belong.

Out!

Step 6:  Figure out what kind of container you'd like to hold your craft stash.
I had my crafting stuff in 3 different small bins. I decided that I wanted all of it in one bin, with my yarn in its' own separate storage area.

I bought a clear plastic bin that you'd probably see used for under-the-bed storage.

Buy one that's clear, so that you'll be able to see where everything is!

Step 7:  Begin to put things in containers with their mates.

Glue...

Glitter glue/puffy paint/paint...

Ribbons/cords/string...

Glue sticks/hot glue guns...

and YARN.

sooooo much yarn!

But... after lots of tossing, labeling and bagging...

Yay! done! Everything fits!!! And what is that burlap potato chip bag for?

Well, it's from T's grandma. :) She's pretty awesome. I hold all of the glue guns and glue sticks in it.... until I can find a better crafty purpose for it!

My yarn stash got a do-over, too!


I've come to really admire my crafting stash. It allows for you to be a little more frugal... rather than going out and buying a new spool of red ribbon  every time you need ribbon, having an organized stash allows you to see what you have... so there's less waste! :)

Who needs 12 spools of red ribbon, anyway?!




I hope you enjoy your newly organized stash as much as I do.


Or I hope this has at least inspired you to get organized!

Love and blessings 'till next time,

SL
Shelbylicious


P.S.- This week's post was brought to you by:

Pink Hydrangeas! This blossom has been cut since Monday and still looks gorgeous. It's in a nifty milk glass vase... or at least what I'm calling a milk glass vase.

See you next week!

A Sneak Peek!

Well, it's the end of the first week of July and there is so much going on!

What's going on? Want to get a sneak peek of what you can expect from the Birdsnest for the rest of the month?

Read on! Here are just a few things:

1.) That's a cool door! Mama B will make her first appearance on the Birdsnest when I debut our wreath-making adventure. We did our own spin on a high-end "designer" wreath.

It's true.

A wreath can actually be "designer."

2.) Fourth of July was this week. At the house, we really love red, white & blue.

We had a great family meal on the back deck and I'll soon be featuring the recipe Mama B made for dessert that day!

(I would have taken a better picture of it, but it barely lasted long enough to grab a quick photo before it was devoured!)

Remember how I said that we love red, white and blue?

mmm! Well you'll love this cheesecake torte! It's guaranteed!

3.) Oh my gosh! Have you ever seen leaves this big??? I wonder what plant this could be.
Well, I used it to make dessert on a rainy Monday. I'll be featuring the recipe!

There it is! What could that mystery ingredient be?

4.) I was inspired by this cute little arrangement from the garden. I decided to give a friend flowers for the garden, but couldn't find the sunflowers I wanted to. I'll be sharing some tips on how to arrange flowers from your garden, and wrap them up in such a way that makes them a beautiful gift!

5.) Daisies and Queen Anne's Lace are in full bloom, and I'm absolutely obsessed with dyeing them with food color water!

Did you know that was possible? It is! Try it!

Also, do you have any idea who Queen Anne was?

6.) On the topic of flowers....

check out this (terribly blurry and small) picture of our purple heather bush.

Even though it's blurry, can you make out a giant circular black patch of dirt in the middle?
That's right. The whole middle of this bush is gone, and what's left has been flattened outward...

...As if something decided to take a nap in it.

....Our coreopsis bush, once full of life and blooms, has been reduced to 4 small blooms. The whole bush is now the size of my fist.

...and our hosta bush was scalped! Something ate all of the leaves off it.

Yet the rose bush remains. Obviously whatever critter this is doesn't like the taste of thorns!
Any ideas what critter this could be?

Anywho, I hope you've enjoyed this preview to what's to come!

Be Blessed,

SL



This week's post was brought to you by:

the All-American combination of white alyssum and red geraniums on the front porch! The alyssum really likes the rain and humidity we've been having; we've never seen it get so big and full!

How-To: Pick a Bridesmaid's Dress (A Comedic Commentary)

Greetings, All!

Right now, E and I are on a "girl date" while my brother and his friend are on a "man date."

Our girl date tonight.... well, EVERY night that it's possible, consists of:
Pretzels, ice cream, and the wedding dress show.

Oh my.

I do love the wedding dress show.
However, I try to limit my intake of it to when I'm with E-Mac.
She's planning her wedding to my awesome brother.

He's so cool!
And he makes me laugh.
All the time.

So today's post is dedicated to E-Mac and Sean.

Just like Say Yes To The Dress: Bridesmaids, E-Mac had to go through quite a few dresses before she found the dress that she envisioned for their wedding.

The following is our commentary on "How to Pick a Bridesmaid's Dress."
E-Mac's thoughts are in italics, and mine are...not.

Step 1: Pick a color.

"I really like this petal pink."


Step 2: Find a dress.

"I really like this dress. Really. But look..."

"...I really don't like that price tag. Whoa. We can do better than that."

Step 3: Find a dress. For a person on a "normal" budget.
Three online stores later, no dresses for people on a "normal" budget.


Step 4: Start to think outside the box.
Step 5: Hit the mall and go to every store that sells dresses.

                

Hold on to your hats, folks. Here come the dresses!

"I like it.... but not the color. That's really the only color it comes in?"

What about a short dress?

"Cute. Too casual."

"It's nice, and I like that mint green, but it's not the original color I wanted."

Okay.

Pink.

Pink.

Pink.


Must keep the vision in mind:

Step 6: Shake it off. Remind yourself you can do it.
Remember the vision.
Focus.
Eat an Auntie Anne's pretzel and press onward.

Next!

Let's get creative... What about a high-low dress?

"Nah. Too young."

Next!

"I like it, but it doesn't come in all the sizes we need! But I like that minty green...."

Ah-ha! Mint green!

What about mint green? 

"MINT GREEN AND PINK!"

Step 1: Find a color. Which dresses also come in minty green?

"too floofy."
Floofy.

Next!

"Cute, but I'm unsure about the spaghetti straps."

Next!

"They say that this comes with ivory lace instead of black, but there's no picture. Can't do it."

Next!

"Oh my goodness this is epic!... Wait. How much is it?"

Oh no.

Step 2: Go home and cry.

Step 3: Accept defeat.

Go get ice cream.

Ice cream makes it better.

Step 4: Go online and look at all of the dresses you already looked at... all over again.

Step 5: Decide on the mint dress that you tried on the first time you went dress shopping:

"Who wears a headdress to Prom, anyway??"

Step 6: Attempt to order said dresses in 4 different sizes. 

Step 7: Realize that the dresses were from the clearance rack and the sizes aren't available online anymore. 

Even though it says right there that they are.

Step 8: Cry some more. More ice cream helps, too. 

Step 9: Accept defeat and go to the store to return the two dresses that you already bought. 

Wear black.

You're mourning. 

Step 10: Feel ambitious and try to find out if there's a way to "find" more dresses in the sizes you need from other stores.

Step 11: Cry more when the associate you talk to has laryngitis and can't really talk.

"That actually happened."

Step 12: Get a receipt that lists every Macy's in the country that has the dress in stock.

Proceed to call every store.

Get put on hold for an hour before getting to speak with a representative. 

Cry.

More ice cream.

"We live way too close to Nicky Doodles."

Step 13: Find the final dress in Texas. 

Good 'ol Texas!

Success! 

After about two weeks of heartache, a dress was located and bought. Hallelujah!

A preview to next week's how-to: How to choose what color the groom will wear. 

Step 1: "Refer to the cutest childhood photo you can find!"

(Aren't we adorable?)

That's right folks! He's wearing pink.

Wow.

That was easy.

If only the bridesmaid's dresses were that easy.

Love,

Shelbylicious

SL

This week's post was brought to you by: 

Mama B's petunias! As well as daisies and Queen Anne's Lace, which are both in bloom now. I'll share some fun tips for flowers next week! Stay tuned!