OLW--Inspired by Nature

I can't think of anything more inspiring than autumn leaves!

After stamping the basket with brown ink and coloring in with a SU marker, I used peg stamps to "fill" the basket. I used my Scor-Pal to make a square around it, then outlined it with a marker. The embroidery floss bow is attached with a glue dot.

DE-CLUTTER DE HOUSE--Kitchen

Having your microwave struck by lightning isn't always a bad thing. It forced me to finally get this part of the kitchen under control. In fact, I like it much better this way:

First, there is now a "Coffee Station" where the old microwave used to be. The shelf above, which used to house all manner of clutter, is now perfect for boxes of the Tassimo discs used in the coffeemaker below. I also rearranged the shelves to the right so that they're no longer stuffed with "stuff" that was hard to get to.

Across the kitchen, on the counter next to the stove, the new microwave now sits. Not only will it be more convenient to use there, but the plug is now accessible (which it wasn't before.) When there are t-storms in the area, I can now unplug it before any damage is done. The mixer that was in that corner has been moved to the other end of the counter in place of the bread basket which is now on the table.

That was a lot of work, but that's not all. What you can't see is that I also de-cluttered all the outdated meds and vitamins, consolidated them into one drawer instead of two, and cleaned out some of the other cabinets. I plan to do more as time permits during the next few weeks.

What have YOU de-cluttered lately?

SEPTEMBER 19th--A Special Day

That's the day I was born, many years ago. I'll be spending the day relaxing, doing the Sunday Times crossword and maybe even catching a catnap. At my age, I keep the celebrating down to a dull roar...(lol). My DH is taking me out to dinner in a few hours with our son, DIL and 2 grandchildren. We'll have champagne and snacks here before we go--that's excitement enough for now!

Next week I'll drive to Long Island (2 hrs. from here) and celebrate with my sister and Dad who are taking me to dinner there. If my sister gets Friday off, we'll meet in NYC at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (my favorite museum in NYC) and then I'll drive us to her house from there after lunch.

Since this is not one of those dreaded "milestone" birthdays, a nice quiet celebration will be just fine--especially with no dishes to do!

SIMPLE SATURDAY #18 (on the 18th!)

De-Clutter De House--Paperwork

Okay, now that summer is over and school is back in session, it's time to get things back in order. Let's start with collecting all the paper piles, so grab a large garbage bag and start sorting.

You decide what categories will work for you, such as magazines, bills, tax receipts, to-do lists, catalogs, etc. Handling each piece only once, divide into separate piles, discarding unnecessary papers as you go. Place the bills into a container or drawer that you can keep within easy reach so they don't get mixed in with other things or forgotten.

Toss outdated catalogs or give away older magazines as the newer ones arrive. Storing like things with like in a specific place makes them much more manageable--a stylish bucket for catalogs or a sleek magazine holder, for instance, help define the allotted space.

We'll be getting a lot of Christmas catalogs soon, so I keep a large decorative basket specifically for those. When I'm ready to start ordering gifts, I just pull out the basket and start shopping. Once the buying season is over, I toss the catalogs and use the basket for decorative paper goods (fancy napkins, paper plates) for holiday entertaining. After the holidays, the basket goes back in the closet until next year.

Don't let those papers pile up--be creative with ways to deal with them and go for it.

Leave a comment and share ways you've found to tame the paper tiger in your house!

ONE LAYER WEDNESDAY--3 OF A KIND

It's definitely getting Fall-ish around here, so pumpkins are very appropriate. Since we couldn't add a layer, I used my wavy scissors at the bottom and sponged the brown ink onto the inside bottom of the card. It really is a challenge to keep to only one layer!

DE-CLUTTER DE HOUSE IS BACK!

Isn't that crisp Autumn air invigorating? Dontcha just wanna get your house back in order after all that hot and humid weather? It's de-cluttering time again!

I've been drawing inspiration from a new TV show on HGTV called "Get It Sold" which offers ideas even for people who aren't planning to sell or move. The only thing I want to move is the clutter. Here's a picture of my dining room after de-cluttering and rearranging some of the furniture to make it look more open and roomy.



I wish I had taken a "before" picture so you could see the difference. The left wall had two of the chairs up against it, one piled with "stuff". There was also a small cabinet, which I moved out to another room where it was actually needed. The wine rack (foreground left) was centered under the pictures, which made it feel crowded when people were sitting on the left side of the table.

According to "Get It Sold," there should be 3 feet of space between the table and other pieces for people to walk around it comfortably. This is not always possible, but you can give it that look by removing pieces that are "just there" taking up space. If my house were on the market, I'd remove the table and lamp in the back and replace the candle chandelier with an electric one. Then I'd also remove one of the table leaves to make it look even roomier.

Since our dining room is separate from an eat-in kitchen, there's no excuse for the table to become the usual catch-all spot. It never ceases to amaze me how much bigger a room can look once the clutter is gone and the floor is vacuumed!

(After taking this photo, I used some coupons to buy a new set of matching light brown cushions for the chairs.)

SIMPLE SATURDAY #17

ONE LAYER WEDNESDAY--B&W with one color

I just KNEW I'd find a use for that Marvelous Magenta marker someday! The cat images were stamped with a roller I pulled from my stash.

Thanks for the challenge, Susan. It truly is a challenge to use only one layer.

OLW--Trees

Susan Raihala (of Simplicity) has issued a One Layer Wednesday challenge using trees. Here's my take on it!

The verse from Isaiah seems to fit Autumn perfectly, just as it's also meant for each of us who will wither and fade in turn.

The tree stamp is from a set by Paper Trey Ink, and the verse is from a wonderful Scripture set by Our Daily Bread designs.

P.S. After taking the photo, I added some white gel pen on some of the branches and under the trees. What a difference!

World Card-making Day

Did you know that Sat., Oct. 2nd, is World Card-making Day? In honor of the event, I will be hosting a workshop where each stamper will make 8 of this design.

All stamps and supplies are from Stampin'Up, featuring one of the new Christmas sets in the Holiday catalog. The card base is Crumb Cake, the image will be stamped on Very Vanilla with Soft Suede dye ink and mounted on Soft Suede cardstock. The verse is mounted with SU dimensionals.

Torn edges add a little texture, although I plan to redo it with the torn side a bit more parallel with the curved image. The only embellishment is some gold glitter gel pen on the 3 halos.

I kept the design simple to reflect the simple Birth of our Saviour.

RETURN TO STAMPING!

Now that my daughter has flown safely back to Prague and I've caught up on restoring the Stamping Tower, I'll be stamping up a storm--especially since I have to stay indoors with the A/C during this latest heat wave. I must say, we had perfect weather during their visit, though. The last few days were in the 90's, but the humidity didn't start up until today; so it was still comfortable.

Joan and Jackie will be stopping in tomorrow to play with the two new stamp sets I got that haven't even been opened yet. Watch for some new posts coming SOON!