Show Off Your Cottage Monday

Sunday, May 29, 2011
Hello to you! And welcome to Show Off Your Cottage Monday. If you're new here, thanks for stopping by and if you've visited before, thanks for returning! For our next Show Off Your Cottage Monday I’m suggesting we celebrate the color “WHITE”. Anything white!—in your cottage, in your garden, whatever you want! If you rather show off something other than our theme feel free to link that up too!

The House in the Roses

Today I’m celebrating family. We’ve been having a lot of rain lately, and it’s been very cold, but we had a marvelous sunny day last Sunday, and we had a nice lunch on the patio… I set the table using some thrifting finds and things I love….


And what are you celebrating today? Take us to your cottage by linking! But please don't forget the rules: Link your post, not the main page of your blog. Include a link to the party or the party's button in your post (in your post please). Celebrate life and see how others celebrate theirs by visiting!




Thank YOU!

Saturday, May 28, 2011
I have never seen so much rain in our valley. It had been raining for days—heavy rain, green tropical rain, and is unbelievably cold. Hard to believe June is almost upon us. This morning when I woke up and looked outside the window, I thought for a minute that maybe I was someone else living somewhere else, or perhaps, I was still dreaming and forgot to waken up… It was the fog…. the morning was unearthly still and a heavy fog had settled everywhere in the valley making everything looked dreamy and ghost-like... bizarre images drifted and floated around, as if in a dream. Is it this cold where you live too?



Oh, and can I tell you something else? Have I told you lately how very special you all are! I’m so utterly amazed at all of your prayers on our prayer chain in my previous post… I have been so blessed reading each of them--my cup is filled, and I sincerely thank you all with all my heart for the inspiration you bring to this world... and particularly to me. Be blessed…






Outdoor Lighting

Friday, May 27, 2011

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Hello!  Today, I want to show you my new outside lights!! 

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I am really excited about this!  I actually had these lights in my basement for a year or two but never have the time to install them.  (Actually, we still didn’t have the time,  my parents helped us!)

They were able to find these lights for about 50 cents each!  Can you believe that?  Yes, the are new!  It was a going out of business sale! WooHoo! :)

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Aren’t they pretty?

 

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They even added lights to shine the trees!  I love these! :)

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I think they came in a 5 pack and we used all of them.

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We also shined our Serviceberry!

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Now, the walkway will be lit at night!

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We even have them in the back yard and around the patio.  :)

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Here are some night shots! 

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love how it lights up the bay window.

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     I just love them! :)

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WOW!  That made a huge difference! :)  We have them on a timer so we don’t have to worry about turning them on or off.

Do you outdoor lighting? 

How do you like them?

Have a great day!

Bonnie

changing brands

How to Organize Crafts

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Welcome to my series called, “Organize Your Life”!  This is the 13th week!  Are you feeling organized yet?  I know I am! :)  I love having a weekly challenge to keep my going!!

 

Organize your LIFE

HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR CRAFTS

 

 

how to organize your crafts

Hello everyone!  We just finished organizing our papers and now we are moving on to the fun part, organizing our THINGS!!!  Oh, yes!  We all have way too many things, don’t we?  Well, let’s go through them, sort, toss, donate and organize them!  Woo Hoo, how does that sound?  I am excited too!  I could always use a little motivation to simplify!

This week, we are organizing our CRAFTS!!!  Some of you only have a little and for others, craft supplies might be taking over!  I think our collection keeps growing, ha!  As the kids get older,  they like to try new things out which I love!  I just need a place to keep it all!

I actually posted this last year but I have to be honest, it still looks the same except I added a little to the bottom cabinet.  I also replaced a couple of things that we used up.  I keep everything in labeled, clear bins.  Everything has a spot, so basically, THERE IS NO ROOM FOR SHOVING!  I have caught my husband standing there trying to find a place to shove something and he can’t.  He spent more time trying to squeeze crafts in the wrong place rather than just reading the label and putting it away, lol!

 

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After, I fit everything in how I wanted to, I made labels for each bin.  I used address labels and love how it turned out!

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I love that the kids can see through the bins!

Now everything has a spot and I can just take out one bin at a time.

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I even saved a spot for easy access to some books, coloring books and color wonder/explosion books.

 

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This is the lower cabinet.  On the top shelf, I have a bin for each child with their own school/activity books.  They love having their own bin.  At the beginning of the day, I just have to bring out 2 bins and the  kids always know where keep their stuff.

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I also keep extra supplies in here.

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Construction paper and scrapbooking supplies are also kept in here.

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Here is how it turned out!  I am so happy!!!!

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My house did get messy while we were trying to get organized, lol!  But the kids loved helping me!

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Challenges For This Week!

Gather Supplies.  Do you have crafting supplies all around the house?  If so, go around and collect everything.

Sort/Toss.  Check all your supplies and toss all the bad/old supplies.  (ex: old paint, dull scissors,)

Categorize. Sort supplies by category.  (ex: stamping, painting, stickers)

Get Containers.  Decide what you are going to store everything in.  You can use bins, baskets, etc.  Don’t forget to label them! :)

Storage Space.  Find a place to keep your containers.  I use a kitchen cabinet but you can use a closet, under the bed, a craft station, etc.

 

For some of you, this will be an easy challenge, and for others, it will he difficult… but NEEDED!

Please follow the steps above and have fun with it!

How do you organize your crafts?

Where do you keep them?

What do you keep them in?

Please feel free to link up any organizing post here and to help spread the word, can you please add my button to your blog?  Thanks so much! :)

 

Organize your life

Have a great day!

Bonnie

 

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