Thoughts on Thursday...

This was in my fortune cookie...

"No matter what your past has been, you have a spotless future."

Hmmm...makes you think, huh?

I like this one!

Have a great Thursday,
~Karen~

Tool Time Tuesday...Photo Album Recipe Organizer

Recipes...we all have them. Some we use ALL the time, some we have committed to memory and some we only use once in a while. Where do we keep them? In a box, in a drawer, in a folder, in a book...messy or organized. 

I keep mine in a photo box organized by category. They are a mixture of my recipe cards, my mom's cards and cut outs from magazines. However, I probably only use a quarter of them. I keep going to the same recipes over and over...and those are just thrown on top of the file in a big mess.

Why not take just your FAVORITES and put them in a special place. I found this photo album in a thrift store...50 cents.



It has three hanging booklets stored in the wooden box.

Each booklet has 12 double sided pages for 4" x 6" photos. That's 72 pages.

I don't print too many pictures any more. The pictures I do print go in frames or on the refrigerator. The rest are stored on memory sticks or on the computer.

So why not use this for all my favorite recipes. You can use 4"x 6" index cards or the 3" x 5" cards fit too.

I labeled each hanging section with my most used categories.

If you want to be really organized you can re-print all your recipes on the computer in 4" x 6" text box in your Microsoft Word program or the program on your computer.

For Microsoft Word Users...

• go to top left corner and click "insert"


• then towards the right, click "text box"


• from drop down box, I pick "simple text box"


• once your box appears, go to upper right corner and put in 4" and then 6" or the size you need for your photo album


• type what you'd like inside the box


• click another text box and drag it to bottom of page


• you can fit 2 per page

 Print out the pages on regular paper or card stock.

Cut out the 4" x 6" recipe card. It fits perfectly inside the page protector like a picture. They are protected from the mess by the plastic holder.

I like this method, because I can make the font larger for these "getting too old" eyes.



Easy to find and easy to see.



Not bad for 50 cents and a little organizing time.

Happy Tuesday,

~Karen~

Sew Darn Crafty Party...Week 27

Welcome to another Sunday party...a Sew Darn Crafty Party. If you're new to Sew Darn Crafty (every Sunday at Sew Many Ways), then grab a cup of something tasty, sit back and join in on the fun.

• "Sew" for anything to do with sewing,


• "Darn" for anything to do with knitting. I always think of darning to do with knitting, but in my case "darn" usually is similar to the word I say when I mess up crafting!!


• Let's not forget the word "crafty"...that can mean just about anything we do to create.

So now we all know what Sew Darn Crafty means, let's explain a linking party again. I subscribe to a linking service, which provides the ability to link thumbnail pictures on my blog. The picture is a link that other bloggers provide to share their projects.

Two things can happen at a linking party...looking and/or linking

• you can be greatly inspired by wonderful projects, ideas or vacation pictures (looking) and/or


• you can share what you've been up to (linking)

If you want to be inspired by all the great ideas...just click on a picture and it will take you to that post from a wonderful blogger willing to share her thoughts and ideas.

If you want to link to the party...see the directions below.

So let's get going...

Sew Darn Crafty is all about YOU!! Show off your projects, share a tutorial, show us your vacation pictures, share a family favorite recipe...share anything. Not only does linking inspire us all, it also brings lots of new people to your blog for a visit. Click here for past parties and lots of inspiration

Easy steps to join in on the fun...

• link up to the specific project post, not your whole blog. Makes it easier to link right to that post and not  search through all your entire blog. To find the http address to a specific post, just click on the Title of your post.


• link as many projects as you'd like...old or new


• anything goes...cooking, sewing, knitting, crafts, organizing, remodeling projects, vacations, parties etc...


• visit other links to share some blogging love! You know we all love comments!


• grab a Sew Darn Crafty button for your blog (on my right side bar) or just link to the party in your post.


• the more we share, the more people will join and then there's more inspiration to look at!


• linking is open til Saturday night, so plenty of time to join in


• just click the "click here to enter" button and follow the easy steps

Have fun linking up! Don't forget to come back and take a look at all the great projects during the week,

~Karen~

A Place for Dog Leashes...

We've had this mirror for a long time. It's been used for many things...keys, hats, coats, necklaces etc, but poor thing landed in the basement. What to do with it? We have a blank wall in the back hallway where to take our dog Annie outside.

I thought about these sticky scrap book letters, but

decided on these chip board letters. This was my practice placement.

and here's the finished mirror in the back hall. "Doggonit, I have to GO!!!

Holds here leashes, collars and brush.

Great spot so you always know where her things are when she has to GO!!!



Happy Friday,

~Karen~

Tool Time Tuesday...Recycled Cake Container

Happy Tuesday!! This first picture may seem like we eat a lot of cake...WE don't, but my husband does!! Well, Kelsie helps out too. In all fairness, I've been saving these for a while. If we go grocery shopping, he'll buy a small cake and say..."it's some one's birthday somewhere!!"

What to do with all these plastic containers that would fill up the land fills? Lots and lots of things...

First thing to do is remove those pesky labels. I love Goof Off...nothing better. Smells to high heaven, but works great.

Projects using the cover as a bowl or container.

Chips, popcorn, snacks etc...great for parties, picnics, camping.

As an ice bucket to keep drinks cold for a party...

Other ideas for the bowl, but not pictured...

• large one for lettuce and the small ones for all the salad bar fixings (tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, peppers, croutons, onions etc). Great for big functions where everyone doesn't like all that stuff in their salad.


• ice in the large cover and food in a smaller one to keep the food on ice


• punch bowl

Next, we'll transform the cover just slightly with a knob...

Find and mark the center on the top.

Use an awl or pointy thing to poke the hole in the plastic.

Goes through easily.

Make sure hole is big enough to fit the screw from the knob you've picked.

Push in small, flat tipped screw into hole from the inside of the cover to the outside on the top.

Make sure the screw is short. Sometimes the knobs you buy have longer screws to fit wooden doors.

Screw on the knob onto the screw.

Cute little handle for the cake cover.

Instead of a cake cover, this would be great to cover food outside during picnics. Keeps the BUGS away!!

They act like domes that fit your own plates.

Portuguese sweet bread. Yummm

Next time you buy something from the bakery...don't throw that container away. You know there is always something else we can do with it!

Have a great Tuesday,
~Karen~

Super Cheap Polyester Fiberfill...

Hi Everyone...some of you may remember when hubby and I went to Ikea last fall. Click here if you want to read all about it. It's not like reading Gone With The Wind, but it has cinnamon buns in it. LOL !!

On that trip, we bought 2 pillows for 99 cents each. Yes, 99 cents!! My original thought was to buy them for pillow shams on our bed. However, we have used them to sleep with. They are the most ridiculous pillows ever. The fiberfill is bunched up and separated, but for some reason we love them. You can mold them any which way to fit your neck. We've tried all the expensive pillows too....down feathers, memory foam etc, but these are what we use.

Ok, focus Karen...that isn't the point of the post.

I was lying there in bed thinking...this is polyester fiberfill, just like the kind we all use in crafting. 

The pillows are 13 ounces of fiber fill for 99 cents. That ladies is the cheapest crafting fiber fill ever. I just looked online and it can run from $2-$13.00

Uses for pillow stuffing...

• stuff handmade children's toys


• pincushions


• Christmas ornaments


• cut the bed pillow down to a square and sew the edge up for a square pillow form. Those forms are expensive


• pillow sham forms

Here are the dimensions and info I found on their site.

Product dimensions

Length: 20 "
Width: 26 "
Filling weight: 13 oz
Total weight: 14 oz

Length: 51 cm
Width: 66 cm
Filling weight: 365 g
Total weight: 390 g

Unfortunately you can't order the pillows online. If you live near an Ikea or any store that sells cheap pillows, check them out.

Shop for fiber fill with a "Sew Many Ways" mind...thrifty!!

Take care,

~Karen~

Sew Darn Crafty Party...Week 26

Thanks for stopping by another Sunday for "Sew Darn Crafty". Sunday is the day where we all share what we've been up to this past week. It can be anything, if you willing to share it. Come on...join in on the fun. You can also stop by and just look around til your hears content too. There are so many wonderful bloggers out there and inspiration abounds!!

If you want to link to the party...see the directions below.

If you just want to be inspired by all the great ideas...just click on a picture and it will take you to that post from a wonderful blogger willing to share her thoughts and ideas.

So let's get going...

Sew Darn Crafty is all about YOU!! Show off your projects, share a tutorial, show us your vacation pictures, share a family favorite recipe...share anything. Not only does linking inspire us all, it also brings lots of new people to your blog for a visit. Click here for past parties and lots of inspiration

Easy steps to join in on the fun...

• link up to the specific project post, not your whole blog. Makes it easier to link right to that post and not  search through all your entire blog. To find the http address to a specific post, just click on the Title of your post.
• link as many projects as you'd like...old or new
• anything goes...cooking, sewing, knitting, crafts, organizing, remodeling projects, vacations, parties etc...
• visit other links to share some blogging love! You know we all love comments!
• grab a Sew Darn Crafty button for your blog (on my right side bar) or just link to the party in your post.
• the more we share, the more people will join and then there's more inspiration to look at!
• linking is open til Saturday night, so plenty of time to join in
• just click the "click here to enter" button and follow the easy steps

Have fun linking up! Don't forget to come back and take a look at all the great projects during the week,

~Karen~