This weekend I was feeling very proactive and decided to complete a few project I've had on my backlog for quite some time.
The first is repurposing project using some leftover ribbon from my wedding (which was three years ago this week). We used 1 1/2" black ribbon to tie bows around the napkins for the place settings. Being a functioning hoarder, I took all the ribbons home with me. While digging around in my old room at my parent's house, looking for items my sister might be able to use for her upcoming wedding, I came across an entire Central Market shopping bag full of these ribbons. I've been racking my brain for months for something to do with these ribbons because it would just break my heart to throw them all away. I've also been staring at stacks of magazine tear outs and miscellaneous paper and it hit me - I need a bulletin board! So I bought a cork board at Joann's and decided to weave the ribbons into a checkerboard effect on the cork. Here's a picture of the finished project!
I'm so excited to finish something I've been thinking about for a while and also to reuse something that probably would have gone to waste otherwise. I still have tons of ribbon leftover, so I think I'm going to get some smaller cork boards to cover and sell them in
my Etsy shop.
So once I had completed something, I immediately moved on to the next project - getting my office organized post tax season. Luckily, my husband and I have a housekeeper that comes every two weeks. That has been one of the best decisions we have ever made as a married couple! Because of her, my house has stayed pretty clean and the laundry has always been done. However, my office has become a jumbled mess. I had been working so hard and trying to do as much as I could for my sister's bridal shower, that all of my supplies just got strewn around the room randomly. When I went in there this weekend there was barely enough room to walk! So this weekend I made it my mission to get more organized.
The next thing I wanted to try was to make some fabric storage bins to house some of the smaller items I use in my crafting. Right now I have larger Rubbermaid tubs and the smaller items are getting lost in those. The idea of having smaller bins to keep those in made me feel much better, but also the thought of using up a lot of the scraps of fabric I have made me very excited! I tried a few different patterns for making fabric bins, but I didn't find one that I liked. The two I tried utilized cardboard to make the bins stiffer, but I just had a hard time getting the lining and cardboard to fit exactly how I wanted to. I just couldn't see myself cranking out quite a few of these bins like I had expected. Instead, I decided to get some stiff fusible stabilizer so I wouldn't have to use cardboard. The stabilizer was stiff enough that I didn't even need to make a lining layer. Here are some pictures of my finished project.
I started out with some bland pink fabric that I knew I wouldn't be too upset about if I ended up tossing it. I plan on making my next bins in my favorite bright, graphic prints. I have enough leftover fabric and stabilizer that I will probably start selling these in
my Etsy shop , too. I need to play around with larger sizes, though. This size bin is about six inches square. I'd like to make some that are a little larger and can serve different purposes.
So at this point it's only about noon and I'm moving right along! My husband is out playing golf, so I have the entire afternoon to work on whatever I want to!
About a year ago I was hosting a bridal shower for my best friend. I came up with quite a few projects to help get my house ready to host 25 people. I got in a time crunch and got a little overwhelmed, so some projects didn't get completed. I had bought quite a bit of foam to make some cushions for stools and the ledge by my fireplace so there would be more seating in my house. The foam was so expensive that I really needed to do something with it, but I've been struggling with motivation to do anything. Today I was feeling so ambitious, I decided to finally make the cushion to use on my fireplace.
This is what I ended up with! It's not perfect, but it's a pretty functional cushion that I think I can use for years to come.
Now that I've put a dent in my list of projects, it's time to get somethings listed on Etsy!
I also helped my mom re-do her Christmas decorations this year. Here are some selected pictures of the pillows I put together for her. It took me almost a month and lots of hours on my new machine, but I think it was totally worth it and I'm really happy with how they turned out. 
I've also joined Pinterest recently, which has NOT been good for my productivity! I've gotten caught up in a lot of the DIY projects out there and have had a hard time prioritizing. Here is evidence of my first experience with chalkboard paint. I bought these metal trays at Hobby Lobby and painted them with the black paint. I am really excited about them! They will make great serving trays for entertaining. I made a few extra, so you can see them here in my Etsy shop for sale! I know the pictures are pretty terrible, but my husband currently has custody of our Canon SLR, so I'm having to take pictures on my iPhone.
