Purse Organization

Finally! A post about one of my all time favorite topics.... ORGANIZATION! =)

Where do you keep all your precious bags and purses? Mine were definitely being neglected in this chest...

That's a sad sight! :'-(

So they got upgraded to a luxury suite...

• Shower Hooks: $1 Dollar Store (Mine are mismatched because I already had a few laying around from moving)
• Extra Closet Space: Priceless!

CLUTTER TIP: When you run out of shower hooks, it may be a wise idea to donate a few of those bags. (Ok.. I may have doubled up on a couple hooks... Shhh!)

I'd love to see where you keep your purses Odds & End'ers!

Heidi

Chalk Vase

Hi Everyone! Happy Monday! It was quite a long one for me.. but I'm glad I can come here and take my mind off things =)

I'd like to share a small craft I did over the weekend. It's a Valentine's day gift for my mom and sister.

I've been wanting to try out chalk paint for a while, but I couldn't find any spot in my house to try it out. So I thought I'd try it out on a glass vase! The idea behind it, you can personalize it for whatever the occasion. 

Here's what you need...

•  A Glass Vase, Pitcher, Wine Bottle or whatever you like to put flowers in (I picked up 2 for $1 each at the dollar store)
• A small foam roller and tray (under $5 bucks any hardware store)
• A stir stick (free!)
• Painters tape (unless you are planning on painting the whole vase)
• White or color chalk
• Chalkboard paint (this is the pricey part - I paid $16 for a quart - but it will last me a while just doing small projects like this)

Make sure the surface you are going to paint is clean. Tape off the areas you don't want to paint.

Shake or stir the paint well. Pour into tray. Roll in foam roller and fill with paint. Roll onto vase.

Let your first coat dry for four hours, then apply a second coat. Make sure you clean your tray and roller in between!

Let dry overnight. Fill with fresh of fake flowers and whatever else you'd like!

It's really hard to write with a brand new piece of chalk! 

Have fun with this - there's endless possibilities! I'd love to hear what you do with it =)

Happy Valentine's Day Odds & End-ers!

Heidi

What's Valentine's Day really about?

Valentine's Day is coming up! Lately, it's been getting a bad rep.

"It's just a hallmark holiday" 

"It's just another way for businesses to make money"

Who says? 

Valentine's Day is about love. Love doesn't have to mean spending money. It doesn't mean you have to be fake. Everybody loves something, it could be your significant other, your family, a friend, even your dog or activity you love doing!

My boyfriend is one of those people that goes out of his way to bad mouth V-Day. So for the past four years that we've been together, I've been trying to change his mind about it.

For our first Valentine's day, after recently finding out about his negativity towards the wonderful day, I made him a card with the dictionary definition of Valentine's Day:

• noun; a day for the exchange of tokens of affection

Well, what's a token? It could be many different things...

• something serving to represent or indicate some fact, event, feeling, etc.
• a characteristic indication or mark of something; evidence or proof
• a memento; souvenir; keepsake 

 And affection?

• fond attachment; devotion; feeling; emotion; love

No where in any of these definitions do I see "You must go to the store and buy your significant other a lavish and expensive gift of jewelry, chocolate, flowers, food..."

Let's just celebrate love!

Have a significant other? Do something for them that you know they would enjoy, maybe something they don't have the means or time to do them self? Cook them their favorite dinner; bake them their favorite dessert; spend time with them doing something they enjoy.. the possibilities are endless (and don't have to cost a thing!)

For our first Valentine's Day, along with my homemade card, I bought my boyfriend his favorite ice cream - Superman! This was a big deal since we were roughing it in North Carolina, sharing a trailer with a couple of his fire dept buddies, and scraping by to buy milk and bread!

Another Valentine's Day, I set up a candle light dinner for us, complete with non - alcoholic champagne and a heart-shaped pizza from Papa Romano's, and homemade heart shaped brownies! Then we snuggled and watched one of our favorite movies at home.

This year? I have something in mind... but I can't share here in case he reads this post! =)

Don't have boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife? No problem! Spend this day doing something thoughtful for a family member or a friend. A card in the mail; a phone call; drop off some yummy baked goods; just spend the day together! Want to show your dog/cat you love them? Bake them some homemade treats; take them for a long walk; play a game of fetch (or w/e cats like? sorry I'm allergic so I don't know what they like!)

When my sister and I were little, my dad would ALWAYS get us and my mom something special for this day. Sometimes we would wake up to some candy on our dresser, or our pb&j would be cut in the shape of a heart in our lunches, or he would bring us home a bouquet of carnations after work. None of these things cost a ton of money, but it is something I will remember for the rest of my life and pass on to my kids someday =)

I have something in mind for my sister and mom this year that I will post in a couple days!

Maybe spreading love to others is just not your thing. Then show yourself a lil love! Take some time to do something YOU love. Go to your favorite workout class; do a craft you been waiting to try; cook yourself your favorite dinner or dessert.

Now that you have a better understanding of the meaning of Valentine's Day, don't boycott, don't bad mouth, celebrate! However you please, just have fun with it!

I'd like to end this post by sharing my festive nails for the week of Valentine's Day... =)

Thanks for reading Odds & End-ers!

Heidi 

Homemade Foaming Scented Hand Soap

It's been wayy too long since my last post! It's been a busy holiday season...

Happy New Year everyone!! A friend of mine told me that 2013 is going to be my year =) I'm hoping that's the case!

Today I am going to teach you how to make your own scented foaming hand soap. I discovered how to do this about a year ago and haven't used any other kind of hand soap since. It's soo easy I think you'll be impressed!

What you need is...

Some wonderful Dr. Bronners Pure-Castile Soap, any kind you'd like (lavender, citus, peppermint, or original)

Some warm distilled water (distilled is better but tap works too)

And some empty foaming soap dispensers. You can use an old one you already have, or I bought mine (because I like the clear bottle so I can add my own pretty label and give to friends and family) at http://www.bulkapothecary.com/ <---- great website for buying empty containers of all shapes and sizes

Optional:

A lil Vitamin E Oil - or any other kind of skin oil you may have laying around. Great for those bitter cold winter months when your hands are fighting the elements

And last but not least... (also optional - but I highly recommend using some) your favorite essential oil. I match these up to the scent of Dr. Bronners I use and it just gives the extra potency to your soap and I think the scent lasts on your hands a lot longer.

Let's get started...

Step One: Add about 30 drops of the skin oil of your choice (if you are using some) to your empty container

Step Two: Now fill your container with the Dr. Bronner's Castile soap of your choice (I chose Citrus for my kitchen) about 1/8 of the way full ...

Yes that's really all you need!!! =)

Step Three: Add about 15 drops of the essential oil of your choice (I chose grapefruit - much more fun than the usually lemon scented kitchen soap)

Step Four: Fill up the rest of your bottle with the warm distilled/tap water...

Don't forget to leave room for the pump! Those foaming hand soap pumps take up more room in the bottle than regular liquid soap dispensers.

Step Five: Add your own label so you can show off to all your friends how crafty and frugal you are ;)

You can go with a simple design...

Or go all out and fancy it up!

Enjoy your hard work!

I will be back soon with a recipe for homemade chapstick - so order some empty chapstick containers from Bulk Apothecary when you order your soap dispensers =)

Thanks for stopping by Odds & End-ers!

Heidi

ABC.. Easy as 123 Bulletin Board for Daycare, School, or Kid's Space

My sister recently had a little baby boy (my first nephew!). She was a Catholic school preschool teacher, but decided to start an in-home day care so she can stay at home and raise her son. Oh boy, is there a lot involved in running a day care! I helped her with one small project this weekend...

She needed a place to display important documents for parents. Instead of a plan old brown bulletin, I decided to add some color! 

Sorry, this picture is a little blurry. (I have misplaced my camera charger for quite a long time now... so I've been stuck with just using my cell phone! Time to get a new camera =) )

So, all you need for this project is....

• A few pieces of foam paper (I got a pack from the dollar store - I believe it was about 2mm  in thickness, but you can go thicker if you'd like)
• A pair of scissors
• A box cutter (to cut out the inside parts of some of the numbers and letters)
• A hot glue gun
• A bulletin board (we found ours at a rummage sale - $3 - can't beat that price!)
• Optional: Stencils to trace out the letters and numbers (I just free-handed mine - it's not as hard as you would think!)

Finished product...

Well... what do you think?? =)

I will share another photo once she hangs it up on the wall.

Stay creative Odds & End'ers!

Heidi

'See-through' Glass Cleaner with a Spa-like scent

I've been on this home-made cleaning products kick for a while now. I never understood how something was clean yet I couldn't stand to be in the room because it smelled so bad - all those harsh chemicals. Yuck! I would actually get a headache from a clean house!

Here's an easy one to start you off with, and honestly - Windex doesn't even come close.

Equal parts white distilled vinegar and isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol

1 spray bottle (your old, empty Windex bottle works great)

4-5 drops of your favorite essential oil (optional - but... I like to pretend I'm at the spa when I'm cleaning ;) my favorite scent: Peppermint)

Your window may look foggy when you first start wiping it - but don't worry! It dries quickly.

WARNING: Your windows may be so clear that people may walk right into them ;)

I have lots more simple and natural cleaner recipes i'll share with you soon!

Have fun cleaning Odds & End'ers!

Heidi

Under $30 Garage Workbench

So, I'm going to start you folks off with our most recent Saturday project. This is something I never thought could be accomplished in half a day! But my boyfriend on the other hand was very optimistic.

Ever since I moved in to my new condo, the one car garage has been the "dumping ground" for everything that has yet to find its permanent place inside. Me, being the organizing queen that I am (I organize people's homes in my spare time for some extra fun money ;) I love it!) it has been really hard for me to have such a chaotic space in my home. The majority of the chaos is my boyfriends tools. Ohhh the tools... I thought it would be a fair trade for me to let him keep all of his tools and what not at my house since he is my maintenance man and contractor :) and his current living situation doesn't provide him with much storage. Let me give you an idea of what I'm working with...

Time to build a workbench! Yes, this is my grand plan for this space. Looking online, the very basic of the basics in work benches start out at about 200 buckaroos! Time to think outside the box. Did some searching online for some basic home-made work bench plans and showed them to my boyfriend. Should have known... he already had the blue prints in his head. So.. off to the lumber yard we went last Saturday morning. Picked up 8 2x4's and some indoor/outdoor wood screws. Yup, that's it! Total bill: $25.

I finally got to get a lesson on using the miter saw :)

Here is the basic structure:

We had a 2x10 just laying around (leftover from another project) so we used that for the top along with another 2x4. Dimensions of the top are 5ft by 2ft.

We used the palm sander to make the top nice and smooth.... and Voila!

Custom fit workbench! "That thing is solid - It will last 50 years!" says my contractor. My organization skills must be rubbing off on him... it was all his idea to put up the peg boards. We will be adding a shelf on the bottom where you see that extra 2x4 for some more storage.

 

Till the next post Odds & End'ers!

Heidi