Organization Part II

Hello Everyone!

So here is part two.  Yes, if you guessed pantry clean-out, you guessed right. (If some of you have no idea what I was just talking about, see my first post called Organization.) Anyway, I had my friend, Cheyenne, come over and help me totally empty my pantry, clean it, consolidate it and just make it more user friendly.
[The user being me.;) ] It really is amazing how much stuff can be crammed into a small place. I totally forgot to take before pictures.  About 5 minutes into it I remembered the camera. So here are some of the partially empty pantry and some of what my kitchen looked like with all the stuff.  And believe me, there was a lot of stuff!

Cheyenne helping to unload the goods.

Partial empty

Another partial empty.  Notice the wire pull-out rack.  Uggh!

Trying to find room on the bar.

Stuff, stuff, everywhere stuff.

We finally spilled over to the table and floor.  Don't be jealous of my mismatched table and chairs.  A new set is on my wish list for next year.  Hopefully, please, maybe.

We even put a few things on my desk.

Random items on the floor.

You should have seen what the trash looked like once we consolidated and emptied things.  Phew!

All empty and shelves cleaned. I would have loved to repaint the shelves but time was of the essence.  We had added another shelf after the initial building and I haven't had time to finish it like the rest.  Oh well, it's juuust a pantry. (That last comment is for my nephew, Brian, if his wife tells him about it.  An inside joke.) Sorry, I digressed for a minute there.

Putting it all back in a nice, neat, orderly manner.

This is that pull-out rack all nice and neat with all my jars and candy tins.  Notice the Freddie's cup in the front.  I couldn't throw that out.  It is from our last trip to Freddie's on May 22, 2011 the day of the Joplin, MO tornado.

There is actually empty space on the shelves now.

The top shelf is reserved for stock pots, canner, electric skillet, extra coffee maker, blender and other such appliances that don't get used very often.

So there it is, my "new" pantry.  Boy, that felt good.  And yes, there were some things in there as old as my daughter.  She just turned 10 this last summer.  Yikes!  I've kind of got the organizing bug now.  I'd like to tackle my kitchen cabinets next.  "Cheyenne, when can you come back?!?" That's all folks.  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Organization

Hello Everyone!

Ok, so the sewing room isn't complete but I thought I'd go ahead and show some before pictures and some "sneak peak" pictures along with a few in-process type stuff. (Boy, that was a long sentence.)  Anyway, here are a few of the semi-before pictures.  I had already started moving things around so this is not how I actually lived with it on a regular basis. (Disclaimer: This is a photo heavy post.)  (Enjoy!)

Looking in from the doorway.

Looking in from the doorway.  That is my new table against the wall.

From inside looking toward the closet.

Inside looking out the door.

Sewing corner.

It was all very cluttered, disorganized and didn't utilize the space very well. Now I will show a few sneak peaks. By the way, notice the ribbon holder on the wall in the above picture.  It is no more.  I'll show you what I used to replace it.

Rain gutter turned ribbon holder.  Cost was less than $5.00.  Score!

Here is one end of my cutting table with all my art, crafting supplies.

We added yard sticks from Lowe's as our trim.  Dual purpose, cover side of plywood and give me a measuring tool.

Ok. Here is the whole table.  This is the in-process part.  I am going to make a curtain to go under, at the front, to cover all my storage boxes and such.  I was able to get more fabric to match the curtains on the windows.  This was very exciting since I got the first piece several months ago.  Yay for Hobby Lobby!

I just completed this chalkboard today.  Instead of sewing, like I was supposed to be doing, I ran outside to spray paint while the weather was tolerable.  Actually, I did do a bit of sewing but my serger up and died on me.  I have to wait until tomorrow to borrow one from a friend.  I thought the message on the board might help keep me focused.

This is my little art table.  It is in the corner by the closet and next to the shelves with all my supplies.  Right now my computer is on it but usually, it is covered in some project that needs to dry or something.  It is covered with brown wrapping paper to protect the surface from glue, paint, etc.  It has a little rod type thing that goes in the back.  It was my son's drawing table when he was little.  

Another reminder.

So, that is about it for now on the sewing room.  I have a few other ideas brewing in my head but they haven't come to fruition yet. These things take time (and money) ya know. I was also going to show you another project that I worked on this week in the area of organization but I think I will put it in its own little post. Here's a few clue words or phrases. Food as old as my daughter, dust bunnies, dirt, out-of-date, pantry.  I guess you probably have it figured out. So read Organization Part II to see if you are right. So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

New Pictures

Hello Everyone!

I know, it's been awhile.  I also know that I promised finished pictures from my sewing room.  It's still in the works.  We had a day of decent weather last week and I went out to spray paint.  The bad thing is that I waited until late in the afternoon so I didn't get everything painted that I needed to paint.  Now, it is in the 20's.  Not exactly ideal spray painting weather. However, I am still working on a few things that don't depend on the weather.  (bought some fabric for a curtain in the sewing room today) I say all this to say, "No, I haven't forgotten and yes, you will just have to be patient."  Nice of me, huh?

Anyway, new subject.  Did anybody notice the new profile picture?  I had a friend take a few pics of me the other day.  I am wanting to give one to the hubby and one for our family gallery wall that I am also procrastinating working on.  I want to do individual pictures, one of the hubby and me and one of our whole family along with other miscellaneous family shots.  I was having a hard time deciding on which one to use for the profile.  As far as I can tell, Blogger only gives you one size to choose from so it is hard to decide which pose will work best.  I thought I would just show a few and let you all vote on which one I should use.  That is if you are so inclined.

This is the current one.

Can you see the blog name to the side of this one?  Might be a bit faint.

Going with that cockeyed look.

Love the yellow wall in the background.

Not looking at ya but showing off the scarf and flower that I made. ;)

So there you have it.  Let me know what you think.  By the way, I did make the scarf out of a $0.25 T-shirt that I bought at Salvation Army.  I brought it home washed it, cut it up and wore it!  Took me all of about 10 minutes to make.  I like the added accent and pop of color.  You can find a tutorial over at Studio 5 put on by one of the girls from DIY DISH. I also found the flower template and tutorial at DIY DISH.

I will be using my new cutting table tomorrow to cut out a dress for my daughter.  We have a wedding to go to and "nothing" to wear.  Actually, in her case, that is the truth.  At least nothing dressy enough and warm enough for 20 some odd degree weather.  I will be working with taffeta and velvet.  Wish me luck! That is all for today.  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Click it up a Notch Giveaway

Hello Everyone!

You all know how much I love photography.  I would love to have all the little tools, lenses, etc. to go with this love.  But alas, money is definitely an issue.  However, I am now entered into a giveaway for a great lens from Tamron.  It is a 18-270mm.  Would love, love this lens.  If you would like to enter this fabulous giveaway, go over to click it up a notch to enter.  Good luck everyone.

PS.  Getting closer on the craft room reveal.  Waiting for the weather to be close to warm enough to spray paint a couple of things.  Hopefully soon.

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge- "Bust a Gut"

Hello Everyone!

Happy Monday!  Once again it's time for I Heart Faces photo challenge. This time it is called "Bust a Gut".  In other words, big time laughter.  I had the perfect picture but it was from the "before digital" ages.  So I searched through my more recent pictures and found this one of my daughter and a couple of her friends.  We were at a girl's camp with some of our Christian friends.  Several were taking turns giving the younger girls a ride on a jet ski.  The weather was a bit chilly and the water cold.  I think I caught this picture as the girls felt the full power of the cold water.  You know kids though, they were just out to have fun.  They didn't care if their toes turned blue!

So there you have it, my addition to the photo challenge "Bust a Gut". This is by no means a professional picture; just a moment caught in time. Hope you enjoyed it and that it put a smile on your face as well. Until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

So today is my Birthday!

Hello Everyone!

Today is my birthday.  How old you ask?  I would like to say 25 or maybe even 39 but I have to admit to turning 41 today.  In my mind I still feel 25 (some days) but my body is reminding me not to kid myself and that 25 was a long time ago. I have had a blessed life so far.  I have a wonderful husband and two great kids.  Along with many family members and friends.  There have been tough times but many great times as well.  I am trying to learn each day what the Lord has for me and how to better serve Him.  This last week we have been trying some new things in our home in the area of discipline, communication and working together to love and respect each other better.  I'm really excited about how it is going so far.  I do know that the Devil is out to tear down families so we have been talking about being on our guard to not let him discourage us from our goal.  I'm hoping and praying we can stay on the mark, as it were.

I have been thinking about my mom today.  She was my age when she had me.  I look at my life now and can't image having another baby.  To top it off, she already had 5 children.  Fortunately for her, us kids were pretty spread out so she had older children to help take care of me.  I only have two children and as we've been working on things this week I have had more respect for what my mom must have had to go through raising 6 kids.  I thought I had a picture of my mom holding me when I was a small infant but I couldn't come up with it for this post.  Instead, I found one of me when I was a couple months old.

Cute! Right? I can't believe how big my eyes were.

So what are my big plans for the day?  Well, I'm not sure.  We are having around 60 people over for dinner tonight.  I know, your thinking, "WOW!"  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not cooking for that many.  And, it isn't for my birthday.  We are having a hot dog cook-out for some friends from out-of-town along with some local ones. Everyone is bringing a part of the dinner so it won't be too bad.  My hubby said we would celebrate next week.  He did sneak off to the store early this morning to get "breakfast items".  We'll see if he comes home with anything extra. (flowers) ;)  He did already take me out to dinner earlier in the week.  Also, he is making me an new cutting table/craft table for my sewing room.  Didn't I tell you he was wonderful? ;)  Anyway, I have been in the process of organizing all my junk creative materials.  Stay tuned for an update of that project.  I can't wait to show you.  I forgot to take before, before pictures but I did get a few before it all got cleaned up.  I'll get some of the finished project and then share.  It may be after Thanksgiving before I can get it all done.

Well, I better go see if he made it back from the store and get breakfast started for the over-night company we had.  Stay tuned for the sewing room update and maybe more of our weekend.  Until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Cheyenne - Senior Photos

Hello Everyone!

Just dropping in to show you a few shots from a photo shoot I did on Saturday.  I took senior pictures for a friend of mine.  I took almost 200 pictures.  We went to several locations around town and just had a lot of fun. I will show you a few of my favorites.  Someone suggested that I start a business on the side doing portraits.  My immediate answer was, "No way."  I have to admit, that I've always dreamed of being able to do portraits professionally.  However, ever since the suggestion was made, I've thought more seriously about trying to get a few jobs on the side.  I would prefer senior pictures, engagement pictures or family pictures.  No weddings at this point.  So without further ado, here are a few of my favorites.

This was the look near the end of our time.  Can you tell she was tired of smiling?

This is just a small number of my favorites.  She was an easy person to photograph as she has an easy, ready smile.  Thanks, Chey, for letting me "shoot" you!  Now comes the fun part for her and her mom.  Deciding which one to get enlarged and framed for the wall.  :)  If I do end up getting some jobs, I'll try to share some of those.  I have a few feelers out with people so we'll see if I get any calls.
So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Sock Bun Curls

Hello Everyone!

Tried something new the other day.  I had been perusing Pinterest (doesn't everyone do this now?) when I came across this new method for curling hair.  My hair is pretty long (to my waist) and very thick.  I wasn't sure if it would work for me but decided to give it a try.  I thought I'd saved the link that tells how to do this but I can't find it right now.  There are several on Youtube if you want to see a video demonstration how-to.  Anyway, the idea is to put up a high ponytail and then roll it in a sock that has had the end cut off and then rolled into a donut shape.  Sounds complicated but it actually is pretty easy.  Now like I said, my hair is long and thick so I didn't think one ponytail would work.  I parted my hair down the middle and put it into two ponytails.  Can you guess what I looked like?

Yep!  Minnie Mouse!  When I came out of the bathroom my hubby got a good laugh and asked what in the world was I doing?  I told me and he just shook his head and chuckled again.  The lengths we women go to to look good.  Vanity, vanity, all is vanity!  Ha, Ha!

So you ask, "Did it work?"  Yes, it did.  It wasn't real tight, last for days type curls that I get out of sponge rollers but it gave nice body and just what I was looking for for a day in town.  (It ended up being really windy so I put my hair up with just the ends hanging down with the curl. Perfect.)

These next pictures are courtesy of my 10yr old want-to-be photographer.

 
This method of curling was much faster to do than my normal method of using sponge curlers.  I didn't like putting my hair in high ponytails though. You know the feeling when your hair gets "moved" from it's normal position for a few hours and then the soreness that happens when you take it down?  That is what I was feeling almost all day.  That  I didn't like. I tried it again later in the week with one ponytail mounted a little lower on my head (more normal position) and then separated the hair into two sections and rolled those up.  This was much more comfortable.  It didn't curl quite as much but I think it was because I did it right after I washed it and I don't think I got it dry enough.  So, this will be my new mode of curling if I'm in a hurry.  I don't think I will pitch the sponge curlers just yet but now I have choices.  Every women's dream, choices!

So go give it a try and let me know what you think.  If you come up with any other tips, pass them on.

So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Velkommen (Welcome)

Hello Everyone!

Just wanted to pop in with a quick project that I did for a be-lated birthday present.  With all the wedding happenings, I missed a friend's birthday.  I wanted to make her something but was in debate with myself as to what to do.  I have been wanting to try painting on fabric using the freezer paper method that so many have blogged about lately.  I found a great tutorial over at I am Momma - Hear Me Roar. She has a great video tutorial.  So with that in the back of my head, I finally struck on a idea.  Her dad is part Norwegian and his parents live up in Minnesota.  I thought, via another friend, that I had heard that there was a specific way that they say "Welcome" up there in Minnesota that traces back to the Norwegian roots.  I called her mom to confirm my thought and she said yes, I was right.  So, without further ado, I'll show you what I came up with.

"Welcome" in Norwegian

This was a very simple pillow.  My friend is very simple in her tastes.  She goes for the vintagey feel without a lot of froufrou.  It looked a little plain to me so I added the linen flower.  I told her if she didn't like it on the pillow she could take it off and pin it to a sweater or something. ;)  I just love double duty gifts.  Anyway, I think she was pleased with it.  It took me no time at all and was cheap inexpensive.  I used some left over white fabric that I had from the wedding.  (From the chair and bench.  It was free to me even at the wedding!)  So really, the only cost was in the stuffing and the fabric paint.  Not too much.  I love being able to make something fun and not have to spend tons doing it.  I also know my friend is not offended by my cheapness because so also likes to reuse, redo, and be a Frugal Freita!  (Is Freita a Norwegian name?  Don't know but sounds a little like it to me.)  ;)  So happy late birthday, T!  Until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

THE Wedding

Hello Everyone!

Well, as promised, I am going to share a bit about my niece's wedding.  I know, I'm only 2 weeks behind.  Wow, has it really been 2 weeks since she got married?  We really do miss her around here but it has been so busy that the time has flown (hence me taking so long to get a post up about the whole thing.) ;)

She got married in the yard of her cousin.  This is the second time a wedding has been held here so we were kind of familiar with the lay of the land as it needs to be for a wedding.  This one was set up differently but we still used some of the same branches to hang things and such.  I kept hearing myself say, "Remember at T's wedding how we tied it off here?" or "hung it from there?" or whatever.  Anyway, we started doing a few things Friday night that we knew would weather the cool damp night.  Then it was up early Saturday morning to get the rest finished up.  I could really make this a long play-by-play but I will spare you the details.  Besides, this was two weeks ago and I kind of forgot everything we did in a play-by-play way. ;)  So, I will just show you a few pictures and caption them underneath.  I might throw a little narrative in once in a while just because I'm kind of like that and enjoy over-explaining things! ;)

This is the start of the set-up.  We had a big tree to use as a backdrop.  She wanted tulle used as "curtains" to separate the background woods from the wedding site.

This is my trusty helper, aka: husband.  I did some directing from the ground as he scaled the heights of the ladder to get the tulle just right.  I will explain the sign on his back later.

The flowers were done by another friend.  After we got the tulle up, she came and assembled the center piece.

From a distance, the is what the front looked like.  We had to battle a bit of wind but it did settle down by the time the wedding took place.

OK, the sign on my hubby's back.  We both had one.  It said, "Weddings R Us".  This is a running joke between my niece and me.  Every time she would call to ask a question on the wedding or to tell me something she found or wanted, I would answer the phone with some business like response.  "Hello, Weddings R Us, how may I help you?"  or "This is your wedding consultant extraordinaire, how may I assist you today?" or some other such thing.  So, for the big day of set up, I thought we'd wear signs to remind her of our fun of the last few months.  There were a few who got pictures of the both of us and our signs but I have yet to see those. Anyway, signs explained.  On to more pictures.

This was a little cabinet that I picked up to redo for my house and never got around to it.  We were looking for something to place the water container on and this cabinet came to mind.  We did a quick paint job and added a little wedding accent to make it stand out a bit more.  Then water with lime was served from here.

This was the center of the reception table.  Sad to say, I never got a shot of the whole area.  We had two round tables on either end of this long table.  On either side of the candle center area was a punch bowl with a coffee drink and the other was pitchers of milk.  Milk you say, wait until you see the groom's cake and you will understand.

This was the bride's cake.  She loves Rice Krispy Treats, wanted something different and was on a tight budget.  This fit the bill.  It turned out really neat and everyone enjoyed something different.  Let's face it folks.  How many of us actually love wedding cake anyway?  All that gooey, overly sweet icing. Yuck!

The Groom's cake.  OREOS!  What doesn't go better with oreos than milk?  I do wish we would have come up with a topper for this cake.  I don't think either one of us thought about it.  Anyway, everyone enjoyed both the cookies.  I don't think anyone missed the traditional cake.

Here is a close-up of one of the candles.  We came across this idea on Pinterest.  We used split peas to get the green color added.  They turned out just like we envisioned. 

This was a special table dedicated to the bride's birth mother. She passed away of cancer when my niece was just a little girl.  She wanted to remember her mother and the special place she had in her early years.  I thought this was too sweet.  

Here is a picture of her with her mom not long before her mother died.  Pink was her mother's favorite color so even though it didn't "go" with her wedding colors, it honored the memory of her mother.

On the bottom of the little table, was a picture of her mother in her wedding dress.  

This is the area we set up for people to drop their gifts and sign the guest book.  It looks a bit jumbled now.  I didn't get a picture of it before all the gifts arrived.  There was a little bench that a friend and I recovered along with a chair that held the chalkboard. 

This is what the chalkboard said.  This was also a Pinterest steal borrow.  

This was by the road pointing the way into the yard.  There was a parking lot up the road that we used for most of the guests and this was just a help to point the way.

Over all, the wedding went on without any major hitches which is always a good thing.  Wedding set-up is a bit stressful and nobody wants to deal with last minute catastrophes.  We did have a couple of "hiccups" but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle quickly.  For example, the table cloths that came with the round tables were not the right ones.  They were oblong instead of round.  It was too far to go exchange them at the rental company so we just did a little tucking here and pinning there and made them work.  Also, we had some Chinese lanterns hanging from some walnut trees.  So? You say.  Think fall and walnut trees.  Yes, a few dropped down and did a little ripping.  Fortunately, the way we tied off the lanterns was easy to drop the one down and add a bit of packing tape and then pull it back up into place.  They were so high up that you really couldn't tell.  Later another fell.

It made a perfect basket through the top and then got stuck in the bottom.  No damage was done to this one.

Anyway, all very fixable issues.  The wedding was beautiful, the weather was beautiful, the message of the minister and the music was beautiful. Did I mention that it was beautiful?  Thought so. ;)  Anyway, I feel like I wouldn't do you justice if I didn't leave you with at least one of the bride and groom.

The happy bride and groom.

I also posted a picture of the bride's little sister who was the flower girl here. I love that picture and entered it into a photo contest.
Well, this has been a rather long post.  Just be happy I didn't show you all the pictures I took. (187)  Sadly, I didn't get a picture of my family while we were all decked out in our wedding finery.  I guess I was too busy taking everyone else's pictures. :(

Boy, I'm glad I finally got this post out of the way.  Don't get me wrong, it's been fun but I have lots of other things to show but I felt like I couldn't do it until I posted about the wedding.  Because, ya know, I promised. I kind of like to stick to my promises.  So, stay tuned for more to come. Until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane