We-Design-Day: Designing and Debunking Part Two

Picking up from last weeks Designing and Debunking, let's finish the Buzzfeed's "15 Lifehacks for your Tiny Bathroom" .

9. Use a stacked plate rack: My counter is too small to support more than a toothbrush stand and a bottle of hand soap. I would think that most truly small bathrooms would suffer the same problem.

10. Magnet board for makeup: I don't have room. I also don't have that much makeup. If you do, be my guest! I can see it being a focal point and a space save and art, all in one!

11. Mason jar wall storage: I could see using this but I would use it for holding toothbrushes and toothpaste (to get them off the counter). The cotton swabs and cotton pads would still sit in their respective containers in the baskets under the sink.

12. Use a large mirror to reflect the space: Mirrors are often used to help create the illusion of space and this is a valid design tip. Keep in mind the scale of the room when selecting the mirror. Having a 4' mirror hung in my small bathroom would be too much and would make me see all the ugly bits I try so purposefully to avoid. I would, instead, use small mirrors on the wall opposite of the vanity mirror to reflect the space (it wouldn't work in my space, this would assume that the two walls would be opposite and not behind other obstructions). One could also use several small mirrors, framed perhaps, as art as well as using them to create the illusion of space.

13. Roll your Towels: I don't actually store my towels in this bathroom because there is truly no room for them. If I did have room, I still wouldn't roll them, I don't like how they don't roll perfectly. I like the idea of rolling hand towels of face cloths for immediate use (again, I don't have room for this but have considered using this in my kitchen).

14. Install pull-out drawers in your cabinets: I like this suggestion, it is valid, assuming your cabinets will accommodate it. Keep in mind, these pull out style drawers will eat up valuable real estate in the cabinet itself. Although it looks flush mount, they typically are not, additionally, they need to be able to retract back far enough for the door to close. I personally use baskets in mine and find this works well. There are also "other" things you need to store under the sink (like the toilet brush).

15. Install multiple towel bars on back of door: Most interior passage doors are hollow core and may not support a sufficient amount of weight to actually hold up against the use. This would also mean folding your towels into 'airing cupboard' size after each use; this slows down the air drying ability because there are more layers of towel. I would opt for hooks or an 'over the door' system. IF you use an OTD system, keep in mind that in places with fluctuating humidity, this may make your door impossible to close. We have one (I bought for our housecoats) and it only works on one door in our entire house.

I realize it is highly unlikely that anyone will run out and actually apply all of the hints in the BuzzFeed article but I wanted to point out why it's so important to not just decorate a space. Design is so much more than paint colours and throw cushions. Always think of the principals of design before tackling any project!

Organizing Revolution: Week One - Office Space

Here I am, once again, joining an organizing challenge. Why? Because I am "organizing challenged". I did The Organizing Junkie's 52 Week Challenge two years ago and had many, many successes and have kept *some* of the areas organized still and can attest to the fact that the things I learned that year have certainly have influenced the way I do things now. I use Laura's "PROCESS" often and am a container junkie as I found the only way I stand a chance is to limit myself and create visual boundaries by using a specific container for a specific function. When I started this, I sat down with a coffee and sketched out my zones (I'm a visual person and I like to see everything) and reviewed the PROCESS and see how I'd apply it to this job.

A little background on the space that now constitutes my office... Back in July 2011, we started a renovation - this included opening up what had been my husband's office onto the family room. We moved his office into what had been my sewing room (really, it was a giant junk dump that "happened" to have my sewing machines in it). There are pictures of the reno in this post. Also, in preparation for the move, I did my (then) sewing room) as part of the 52 Weeks of Organizing - that post can be checked out here.

The space has been fully functional since late 2011. Early in the fall, we installed new cabinetry as what I had was not working. Many things were purged then and it was tidied but never really "done" and I was always doing a "stuff shuffle". Enter Christmas and all the crafts we did left the space a DISASTER and much less inspirational than a room referred to as the "Design Studio" should be.

This challenge was perfect for me - I work well with guidance, an audience, pressure and deadlines. Without further adieu, here is my space! My design studio - interior design, craft/sewing and projects office!

After - looking in from family room

Before - looking in from family room

Before - looking out to family room

After - looking out to family room

This is the cutting station but not much cutting was getting done. I'd moved a smaller mat to my portable table since I couldn't find the one on the raised table... Now there is plenty of room and I know where all my cutters are! Plus all my rulers and adhesives are back where they are supposed to be!


This has been my workstation for my "real" job since September when I went back to work a few hours a week. The computer is OLD and SLOW... So we got a new computer. It sat in the box until I decided to start this challenge - that's when my husband decided we should finally transfer everything. Soon, the dinosaur computer will be extinct and this desk will be really neat and tidy. I've also learned that my husband needs a kick in the behind in order to get his filing done. The big pile of papers in the "before" is his delinquent filing... It's now gone from the desk!

I really like that I can sit at machine again... And I've got space to open the other door on the sewing cabinet (that's where my serger sits). It's SO tidy! Once I can start feeling my arm again, I hope to sew something awesome!

The upright storage units are excellent. They are inexpensive, have lots of room but keep me confined (remember I said I need to be limited in how much space I can have?). They create clear and defined boundaries. I sew and have hundreds of metres of fabric - most of which is hung on pants hangers and lives in the tall cabinet on the left. It's awesome and tidy and I can find anything when I need it.

The table also rotates around the room - as an extra return on the computer station, craft table and as pictured here, my design space! I can't believe I once again have room to lay out my samples and catalogs!

Sharing in all the awesomeness of the super Organizing Revolution! It's like these lovely bloggers knows there are lots of "organizing challenged" people out in the world! They should really wear capes!

PS Please ignore the open ceiling tiles. We are waiting to get the electrical completed and inspected so I can't close up the ceiling. It's an eyesore but now that the space is positively beaming with tidy, organized awesomeness, I hardly even notice them!

PSS I CAN'T believe I forgot to make the office reference to the movie "Office Space"! I had it all in my head before I wrote this and then, like so many things in my head these days, I forgot. So yeah, "Office Space"; a way cool movie.

Christmas Countdown - Day 2 - Bird Snacks!

Stir it up!

It snowed early here this year and our usual bumper crop of sunflowers wasn't so bumper! What does this mean? Hungry birds and an easy peasy craft for us to do! Cruising FOLK! magazine's blog, folklifestyle.com, I saw a crafty little idea for a bird seed ornament. We have a feeder in our tree (my mother in law gave it to Brennan) however the birds haven't exactly flocked to it. But with a few dozen hungry chickadees roaming around our yard, we headed off to get birdseed! He is a very helpful helper. He only splashed flower out once. We pressed them into a wax paper lined cookie sheet - finding the backside of a spoon was much less messy! Add some cookie cutter (press them REALLY hard into the mix - getting them out and flipped later was challenging and we found they didn't seem to cut through much).

STICKY!

Just a little higher! 

Brennan is very independent and must always, always have a hand in anything - especially if it is very awkward and requires some form of parental acrobatics!  The end resulted netted us a large ziploc bag full of ornaments (mostly "blobs", our shapes didn't withstand the taking out phase). We've hung four in our tree and are now awaiting some fine feathered friends!

Nothing says bird food like a bear!

Unfortunately, our neighbourhood has a load of cats that have the local bird population hesitant to land anywhere) but we remain hopeful, especially since we're only a few months into winter! 

Why people with memory problems (shouldn't be allowed to shop by themselves)!

As I may or may not have mentioned, one of the medications I'm on for managing the pain from the compressed discs in my neck causes "reduced mental acuity . More or less, I forget stuff easily, I know I know something but can't remember it, I get pretty muddled sometimes and I get confused pretty easily.

This could also easily be confused with "Pregnant brain" or "Mommy brain" or "old age" but let me blame the medication, it's easier for me to cope (and subsequently forget about).

Some of you, who are closer to me, know that I've recently discovered I've purchased duplicates and triplicates of some things (rice, croutons, kid's snack foods, pasta) but I truly outdid myself this time.

With Christmas approaching, I've been unearthing all my Christmas stuff... Which I dutifully cataloged when I packed it up last year. I knew exactly what I had (and where, which is even a bigger miracle). Pinterest has led me to a plethora of new (and cooler) projects to tackle this year so back in early November, I took advantage of a 30% off coupon and shopped Michael's early on a Sunday morning.

Having raffled off all the Perfect Bows I've made in a fund raiser for TroublerMaker's old preschool, I knew I needed to make new bows for my banister  So... I picked a nice plaid, wired ribbon, identical to the previous bows (as I really liked it).

So today, as I finally unpacked all the stuff I bought nearly a month ago, I discovered the ribbon. And found the ribbon I packed last year... Then I found the other new spool I bought at Costco during our annual Christmas Shop in November to Avoid the Insanity of December.

How much plaid ribbon do I have? 100 yards. Which is 300 feet (91.4 metres).

That's a lot of ribbon. Plus I bought the gold and the pine cone for bows too.

So I've figured out my new business venture... Handmade Christmas bows in plaid or pine cone... ;)

This is why people with memory problems shouldn't be allowed to shop alone! This is also why I baked my husband cookies and made him promise to love me forever.

Inventing a Countdown Calendar

I've been giving a lot of thought to making a countdown calendar for TroubleMaker. Advent calendars were not something we did as kids but I always knew that I'd want to do one with my little ones, if I ever had them. TroubleMaker is getting old enough now that I really want to have something special for him. But as the end of this month rapidly approaches, I'm still "without" an idea on just what to do or make!

I don't want to spend a lot of money - Christmas, for us, is about family and sharing and being together so I know I want to have a list of "things" to do and not worry too much about little gifties for each day. I like the idea of including a chocolate for each day but my concern is that he's going to want to eat the chocolate every morning before breakfast! I also know, somewhere in this house, I have "things" - holiday pencils, erasers and other such stuff. I did a fun Countdown calendar years ago for my niece so I know had leftovers (but where, or where can they be?!).

So I've been searching online, on Pinterest and blogs for inspiration... And there are SO many good ideas out there!

But none seem just quite what I'm looking for! But I have lots of ideas and thoughts in my head that I'm going to try and put together tomorrow! Need something fast and quick? Check out this cute idea!

Here is a simple print, cut and stick countdown calendar. It's cute, bright and easy! Thanks for reading - see you soon!

Christmas Crafty Goodness - paper crafts!

As the holiday season approaches, I am addicted to Pinterest and all the lovelies being shared far and wide. One thing that has been catching my eye is all the great ideas for paper crafts!

For TroubleMaker's Halloween party, I folded some lovely Spooky 12x12 scrapbook paper into envelopes... They were all the rage with the Mom's so this got me thinking about what I could do with some of the fantastic festive 12x12 paper so I've been amassing a whole bunch of ideas!

I'd like to share a few of my favourites with you... And soon, I hope I can upload the pictures of my creations! Enjoy!


Paper Gift Box



























Finnish Paper Star Ornament

















Paper Wreath













Scrap Paper Tree












Do you have a favourite paper craft? I'd love to see! Thanks for popping in! Hope to see you again soon!