Storage ideas a la vintage

Greeting on a beautiful Saturday! Browsing among decorating websites got me itching to share some new storage and decorating ideas for all of you in blog land who need ideas, pronto!
Truth be told, by camera was left in my car, and the battery was dead, so I had to troll the web for something to post, and what better than some of these...

First we have a large vintage frame, that has chicken wire strung across it, and hung to camouflage an unattractive window. The owner then tucked in her favorite bits of old photos and paper ephemera.

Love this old drink carrier that now stores some cheerful kitchen dish cloths.

Simple idea, but super cute, this old shutter painted a bright green holds the mail.

A vintage suitcase, has now been retro fitted to hold craft supplies. Love the mini clipboard and the scissor holder.

This is actually an old light fixture that has been re-purposed into a vase for some sassy flowers.

My favorite yet, the birdcage that is now a stationary holder and mailing center.

How about an old heat grate, now used to hold the newspaper?

If you had a really large bathroom, (and some skill with a saw), you can turn architectural details into a massive towel rack for your bathroom.

Finally, cute old bottles and silver pieces from teas sets can be turned into little storage holders for your toiletries.

All these storage ideas and more can be found here.

Have a great rest of the weekend, ya'll. It's actually warmed up here in Colorado to almost 60 degrees!

I'm working on it!

Yes, I'm still working on organizing my paper clutter! I've gathered it from the four corners of the earth kitchen, and put it all on the kitchen table to go through.
The hardest part is finding a place for everything, and then having a system in place for keeping it off the table, the microwave, and two other hot spots in my kitchen.
I've also been painting my little laundry closet, and we're going to hang the cabinets we bought off Craigs List, and maybe a cute sign to spruce it up. I'll post pics of the "underwhelming" afters, when we get it done.
It was also a day to clean the bathroom, do lots of laundry, and get several bags ready for an upcoming fundraiser yard sale for our church group. Whew!
Wish me luck on the ongoing battle of paper clutter, and if you've devised a way to keep yours under control, let me know!

Quote for the day:

In April, all over America, the doors fly open, fresh air permeates & the spring cleaning ritual begins. Storm windows come down, blankets & pillows flap from clotheslines (among crowds of daffodils) & dust bunnies are evacuated to the great outdoors to be recycled by home-minded songbirds. The breeze through the open windows carries the fresh smell of the blooming earth.

~ Susan Branch

Happy spring!

Let's get organized

Yes it's Spice up your Life Sunday, once again! I know I'm posting late, but today I just had to take a long nap after church, seeing as I was up until almost midnight last night, painting and cleaning. I'm working on my family room, and laundry area. We're almost there. I bought some cabinets on Craigs List for above the washer/dryer, so I can shut stuff away, so no-one sees MY clutter!


I just read that the last week in March is Clutter control week! Goes right along with the Spring cleaning bug we all get at this time of year. I've been ruthless, cleaning and tossing stuff that should've seen the trash or the donation center a LONG time ago. It feels so good, freeing up the space!


Hence, my SUYLSunday will fit right in with this.


Your challenge for the week is to tackle ONE area of your home that has been driving you CRAZY! If you feel really motivated, do more!

Maybe it's the medicine cabinet, you know, the one that everytime you open it, you have to move stuff and dig around everything to find your toothpaste. (That's me.)


Or the kitchen cupboard that has 2 million Tupperwares that fall out when you open it. And isn't it ironic how you can NEVER find a lid to match the container you need!? (That used to be me!)


I happen to have a couple of hotspots that accumulate paper clutter on a constant basis. I shift the paper from place to place, because I haven't come up with a organizational solution for it yet. That is what I intend to do this week.

Here are a few websites to motivate and help get you started on your quest this week.

clutterdietblog is a good one as well as getorganizedtips. Tons of articles and tips for getting stuff organized. The other one is a blog that also has a ton of good tips and articles, as well as stuff you can purchase to help the issues you're facing. Check 'em out!


The other thing that motivates me to get cleaning and unclutter my life is to look at home decorator magazines, like House Beautiful, or Country Decorating Ideas. Then I can't stand to live in a messy, cluttered house one more second!
I want my living room to look like this one, below. NO Polly Pockets, no mismatched Barbie shoes (oops, just vacuumed one up), and no smashed cereal in the carpet. Just......clean!

I love this idea from Pottery Barn, but I don't like the $129 price tag. I can make these myself for paper clutter, out of an old frame and some material. Stay tuned!
Keep at it girls! I know it's hard to get rid of things we think we'll use again, but guess what? You probably won't, and if you suddenly did need it, you can go buy another one easily.
Free up your space, feel the clutter leaving, and look forward to less stress, and an easier life!

I'll leave you with a quote from my quote book, which I talked about in this post.

Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the small voice at the end of the day saying "I will try again tomorrow". -unknown

Happy organizing!

My very own spot!

I was over at Daisy Cottage, and adorable blog done by Kim, and she posted about how important it is to have your own space, a space that is uniquely yours. Go on over and visit, and tell her I sent ya! (I'm not afraid to ask for credit!) I decided to post about my journey to creating my own space.
In the last few months, I had soo wanted one, but just couldn't figure out where to put it!
I wanted a space to craft and create in, because I hadn't done anything creative in so long! I kept looking at this wall in our "Master" bedroom, and when I say Master, I say it loosely. (It's so small!)

On that wall was an old cedar lined chest that was my Grandmas, given to me in my late teenage years by one of my Aunts. I took it more for storage purposes, than anything, and moved it around with me through the years. The thing is huge, like bigger that your average charming cedar chest, made of walnut, and is a 1930's art deco 'waterfall style".

I decided it had to go, because I pictured me putting a long table there, so I could set up a craft area. The big dilema? I had NOWHERE else in my small house to put the chest!

I decided to call my cousin, and offer it to her, after all, it was my grandma's, and I knew it had to stay in the family. She gladly took it, and my craft area was born.

Below are some pictures I took of my little area that I use all the time.

I took one of those cheap bookshelfs that you put together yourself, and put it on my table, to create "shelves" at the right height for me.

I am a ribbon addict, and have another whole box up on the shelf, to use in all of my projects.

I don't do alot of stamping, but I love the ones that are very vintage-y, and I use my mini alphabet stamps all the time. The standing lamp next to the table was a yard sale find for $3!

I found this little metal box at Goodwill for .99 cents, and it was this ugly gold. I painted it with cream white paint, and then glued on a cute picture from an old children's book, then stamped the word " Play" in brown ink. I also glued an old button on the flap of the lid where you pull it open. Look what's inside.....

Some of my favorite old buttons and earrings for my many projects!

The old copper sugar bowl (I think), had lost it's lid, so I use it for pens, scissors, etc.


The box below was also a thrift store find. I painted it on the bottom, and then glued ric rac around it, and adhered buttons on each side. The top was blue, so I kept that, and went through my vintage postcards, finding the perfect one to glue to the top. I keep my tags in there.


I have alot of old books, that I use the pages and illustrations out of. I'll have to post closer up pictures of some of the cool pages in these.

A metal shelf from a garage sale ($1) holds my decorative scissors in a handy place, and I put some of my fave pics of my daughter as a baby. I painted the edge my favorite color, Robin's egg blue.

I love old buttons, and keep many of them in an old mason jar, so I can dump it, and dig through.
I put a bubble gum pink vinyl leter on the back of my vintage chair, which I scored at an antique auction for $1.50!

Who is brave enough to show what it looks like UNDER their craft desk? I am! Lots of stuff waiting to be painted, covered, and redone!

Love the old wood magazine holder. (Yes, another yard sale find!) I painted it white, and glued on a wood scrolly accent thingy. It holds old sheet music (Ebay), and composition books waiting to be covered.

I love my space, it is so perfect for me. Someday? I'll have my own craft ROOM. (Be still my heart!)

Show me your craft space, or where you relax and unwind , that you've created. Leave me a comment with the link to your blog, I'd love to see them all!

Have a creative day!

Edit: For those of you that have tried commenting, I'm sorry, right now for some reason only those of you who are on Blogger, or Anonymous can comment. I'll try to fix the problem asap! Please keep trying to leave a comment, or if you've personally experienced this, email me if you know how to fix it!