Admittedly, I have always procrastinated to get things done...my type A perfectionism sometimes slows me down...but I often get the most creative ideas at the eleventh hour. Deadlines are always met-who needs sleep?!?!
When we moved three years ago I tried to leave a lot of my bad habits behind and also establish new routines and stick to them.
Since I am a decorating fiend for most holidays there are a lot of tubs of decorations in our garage. Each tub is labeled by holiday and contains a mixture of home made and purchased decorations. As each holiday approaches I eagerly open the tubs and look through what is in each deciding what can be given away and what will be used. Any items I make or acquire during the year go right into the correct box. Additionally, any items that need cleaning or repairs are left out until they are ready to be returned. Seeing the out of season decor reminds me to get things done and get them back where they belong more quickly and I am relieved when I open up a tub next year and everything is ready to be displayed right away.
Hoping that I can complete a lot of partially complete projects in the new year and get them holiday ready or in their tub as soon as possible.
Hope you can join me!
Monday, January 5, 2015
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Inspiration
Who has inspired you and where do you get your ideas?
I have been blessed to have been inspired by my incredible maternal grandfather, Leo Jones who we lovingly called Gramps. Beginning as a young child I would dabble in his basement, greenhouse and gardens for hours on end. He was very creative and not afraid to try any home improvement project, craft or tackle any suggested or requested task. Gramps would drive far and wide to visit shops and craft supply outlets to gather new ideas and supplies for his next project. He would get "stock" for his basement-supplies for potential projects that he would like to create. Another source of inspiration for Gramps were catalogues and magazines. He was a notorious "clipper" and would glue his ideas on notebook pages with notes.
Today I am still inspired by Gramps and wish he could see how much he has influenced my creativity and how I have tried to pass on his passion and artistic talent to my children.
For years I have to admit I hoarded every monthly copy of my beloved Martha Stewart Magazine under my bed (arranged in piles by months). I was a purist-and used post it notes to mark potential future projects, recipes and inspiration. When we moved a few years ago I was encouraged to part with my hoard-and did save some ideas before recycling my collection. We are fortunate to have Pinterest today. Gramps would have loved this creative outlet and would have loved taking pictures and posting from his browsing trips, locating projects and finding like minded individuals. Another site he would love would be Etsy as he had always hoped to open a shop of his own, with the intended name "Peg of My Heart" in honor of my grandmother and can imagine countless hours of online browsing on the site as well.
Admittedly, I too have "stock" of craft supplies throughout my house and look forward to adding to my supplies and using some for potential projects. This year I plan on opening up an Etsy store and will hopefully satisfy my grandfather's goal of selling some of our wares, albeit online.
Thank you Gramps for your continued inspiration!
I have been blessed to have been inspired by my incredible maternal grandfather, Leo Jones who we lovingly called Gramps. Beginning as a young child I would dabble in his basement, greenhouse and gardens for hours on end. He was very creative and not afraid to try any home improvement project, craft or tackle any suggested or requested task. Gramps would drive far and wide to visit shops and craft supply outlets to gather new ideas and supplies for his next project. He would get "stock" for his basement-supplies for potential projects that he would like to create. Another source of inspiration for Gramps were catalogues and magazines. He was a notorious "clipper" and would glue his ideas on notebook pages with notes.
Today I am still inspired by Gramps and wish he could see how much he has influenced my creativity and how I have tried to pass on his passion and artistic talent to my children.
For years I have to admit I hoarded every monthly copy of my beloved Martha Stewart Magazine under my bed (arranged in piles by months). I was a purist-and used post it notes to mark potential future projects, recipes and inspiration. When we moved a few years ago I was encouraged to part with my hoard-and did save some ideas before recycling my collection. We are fortunate to have Pinterest today. Gramps would have loved this creative outlet and would have loved taking pictures and posting from his browsing trips, locating projects and finding like minded individuals. Another site he would love would be Etsy as he had always hoped to open a shop of his own, with the intended name "Peg of My Heart" in honor of my grandmother and can imagine countless hours of online browsing on the site as well.
Admittedly, I too have "stock" of craft supplies throughout my house and look forward to adding to my supplies and using some for potential projects. This year I plan on opening up an Etsy store and will hopefully satisfy my grandfather's goal of selling some of our wares, albeit online.
Thank you Gramps for your continued inspiration!
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Un-decorating and planning for next year
This year our home was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer in the Haven section for the holiday decorations (December 14, 2014). Here is a link to some of the images and the article.
For decades I have carefully collected and created holiday decorations. As I am currently taking down all of the decorations this week I am mindful of the way things looked this year and how I can modify or recreate each area next year. Some of the strategies that have helped me to be more efficient include:
For decades I have carefully collected and created holiday decorations. As I am currently taking down all of the decorations this week I am mindful of the way things looked this year and how I can modify or recreate each area next year. Some of the strategies that have helped me to be more efficient include:
- Take pictures of each area
- Label where things belong
- Search for products to make your life easier
- Mix it up from time to time
- Get rid of what you have not used
The image on the left shows an area of our stairs. The greens are enhanced with dried artichokes sprayed in gold, hand made ceramic snowflakes, stars and ribbon purchased from Michael's Arts and Crafts. This year the snowflakes and stars were new and made at Earth Center Pottery (Tyler Park-Bucks County, PA). Textures were imprinted in the clay and then the shapes were cut with cookie cutters. They really helped to enhance the appearance of the stairs.
One of the big finds I had this year, at Joann's, was Scotch Reusable Garland Wrap Fastener. It comes in a 20 foot roll and enabled the garland to be attached easily to the handrail without messy wires. What a great find!
As I am taking things down this week I am careful to label everything so that I know exactly where things were this year to make things go more smoothly and quickly next year. (image on the right)
This year I didn't want to once again ignore the Christmas boxes that get picked through and ignored. I took an entire box of holiday decorations to work and co-workers were able to pick and take "new to them" items for their home. Anything left at the end of the week was dropped off at the local thrift shop.
I'm already dreaming of what I can do to make next year even better!
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