Everyday Celebrating

Ribbon touches

photo credit: Country Living

Add fun punches of color to your table by attaching ribbon to vases.  

Match your ribbon to the colors of your flowers and hot glue on.  

 

New year, new calendar!

 

 

It's a new year and that means... a new calendar!  I want to tell you about this great calendar that really provides a way to keep up with many aspects and schedules in your life.

The Busy Body Book is a weekly planner with a grid system.  For every day, there are 5 sections.  You can keep up with 5 different aspects or people in your life.  For example:

• each child would get one column
• if you're a blogger, you can use one column to plot out your posts
• volunteering or church activities
• spouse schedule
• work commitments

In my calendar, I would use the following columns:

1. Work - work appts
2. Personal - personal appointments and birthdays and special occasions
3. Blog - plotting blog posts and other blogging activities
4. Projects - various projects I'm working on 
5. Husband - my husband works a non-traditional schedule and it changes weekly.  This column is great in coordinating schedules

I do have a son, but he's 3, not yet in school and so we don't have much to coordinate with activities and such just yet but this calendar is perfect for those with children.

You can also use it for personal goals like below or this calendar is even good for students to use each column for a different school subject.

 

  This calendar has many other features including, places for notes, bookmarks, pockets, removable shopping lists and more.  It has a sturdy, heavy plastic cover and tough spiral.  

The Busy Body Book can be purchased through the website and also on Amazon.  It makes a great gift!

Here's to more organization in the new year!

Disclosure: I was given one Busy Body Book in return for conducting this review.  My reviews and recommendations are always products I believe in.

Never forget a card again...

Inside reads:  You go ahead and I'll be right behind you.  Happy Birthday!

Did you make a resolution to become better at remembering special occasions by sending cards?

Introducing Jack Cards.   Jack Cards is an online calendar and card service.  Here's how it works:

 - Fill in your calendar with a year's worth of special occasions.  Birthdays, anniversaries, etc. 

 - Browse through the Jack Cards and purchase cards for each occasion.

 - Jack Cards will send you the pre-addressed, pre-STAMPED card to you in time for you to send for the occasion. All you have to do is sign the card and drop it into the mail.

The selection is varied and the prices are comparable to store bought cards. And you don't have to worry about getting stamps. If you have trouble remembering holidays as they come around, this is perfect for you!  

 

$2 DIY vase

Well, the holidays are officially over and that means.... we're moving on to Valentine's Day!  LOL   You may have noticed that V-Day decor is already in the stores (can you believe it?)

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays mostly because of the colors involved.  I love red and the good thing is... a lot of the leftover Christmas decor can be repurposed for Valentine's Day.  

If you're planning something special for Valentine's Day, want to give flowers, and plan on making your own arrangement, here's an easy way to create an interesting vase from Dollar Store items.

You'll need a tall vase and one candlestick and a clear, strong adhesive.

Simply glue the two together and you have a modern vase with a bit of a fancy flair.  At $2 per vase, you can make a few and use them as gifts or one on either end of a buffet table, etc.

Sidenote:  make sure the glue you use is clear.  The glue may overflow and seep into the candlestick. Clear glue will go unnoticed.

Final product!

 

Happy New Year!

From my family to yours, I hope your holiday season was fabulous and 2010 is your best year yet!

Here's to another year of celebrating every day! 

 

Easy New Year's Centerpiece

photo credit:  Better Homes and Gardens

Throwing a get together for New Year's Eve and need something easy after the hectic holidays?  

Go to Walgreens, CVS, Target or the like and buy a plastic New Year's hat (like above).  

Cut a hole in the top and stick a piece of floral foam inside the hat.  

Make an arrangement by creating height in the floral foam.  Stick in noisemakers,  holiday picks you bought on clearance in NYE traditional colors (silver, black, blue, etc.) and even stick in some plastic champagne glasses.  Maybe glue on some mini disco balls (found at party stores like Party City) to symbolize the Times Square ball.

Done!

 

Give it to GOODWILL!

You'll notice that I use quite a bit of Goodwill items in crafts or event preparations.  Goodwill is one of the first places I go to in searching for items to recreate.  Of course, one of the main reasons for this is because you can find unique items that are inexpensive, but the other reason I shop Goodwill is because I believe in the cause itself.

The Goodwill mission is simple:

Goodwill sells donated goods to provide employment and training opportunities for people who have disabilities and others who have trouble finding and keeping jobs.

I recently was invited by the staff of Goodwill to take a tour of the main Nashville facility.  This is the main sorting and distribution center for 32 Tennessee stores.  Talk about impressive!!  I truly couldn't believe my eyes!

 

See those blue bins?  They are HUGE and they are filled with donations to be sorted.  Everything from children's books to purses to televisions to clothes.  Every single piece of clothing is put onto a hanger.   Placing clothes on hangers is a job that is provided by Goodwill for a person who needs work.  

While Goodwill is considered a nonprofit, it does not actively raise money.  That is very rare in the nonprofit world. The donations that come in are processed and sold at the stores and the money it makes goes right back into the programs.  These programs not only provide jobs but also job training and skill training.  It gives people skills they need to learn to live successfully on their own.

In touring the process, it is a well oiled machine, to say the least.  But the best part is the people.  The people that work there are positive and welcoming and thrilled to be working.  They take their jobs very seriously and are grateful to Goodwill and their supporters for giving them a job and a purpose.  Their faces beam with pride.

This year has been both good and bad for Goodwill.  With the slow economy, more and more people are shopping at Goodwill due to their great prices.  While the influx of shoppers is fabulous, donations are having a hard time keeping up with the need.

With this being the last week of 2009, I want to use this post to encourage you to give it to Goodwill.  This is the last week to get your tax deductions of the year by donating to a non-profit and I encourage you to choose Goodwill as one of your causes.

It's easy to donate to Goodwill.  No money needed!  Please start your new year's organizing early, clean out a closet or two or your garage and donate items to your local Goodwill.   It will feel great to start the year fresh with less clutter AND know you're supporting a great program as the same time!
 

 

Plate dress up

Photo credit:  Better Homes and Gardens

Ever want dishes to match a special theme but either don't want to spend the money on a one time use or can't find what you're looking for in color or theme?  Or maybe you're like me and don't have enough storage for another set of dishes.

Purchase clear dishes!  Stack 2 and slide scrapbook paper in between.  An easy way to dress up plates for any theme, any time.  This is a great idea for children.  Slip in character pictures or feature a different letter or color per day, etc.
 

Whoville Christmas - Part IV - the tree skirt

If you are new or haven't visited in awhile, please visit posts:

Whoville Christmas - Part I

Whoville Christmas - Part II

and the Whoville green fur wreath

Next up was the tree skirt.

 

Making a no sew tree skirt is very easy.  I used felt.

Here's a great tutorial with pictures of how to cut the fabric. 

For the letters I bought sheets of adhesive backed felt.  Much better than messing with glue!

I downloaded the grinch font and printed out the letters of my son's name.

Placed the letters on top of the felt as a template and cut around them. 

Then pulled off the backing and stuck to the skirt.

Easy!  And I love how the font is the true Grinch font that matches the DVD. 

Easy tree!

I love this idea from Ladies Home Journal.  What a great backdrop for your home or a holiday party.

This is 12 strands of twisted multi-colored lights.  Make one long twist. 

Then take the center of the strand and lift it into a point on the wall and secure.  Then make the 2 other points on the base of the floor.  Fill in bottom with gifts!