Making a list...

Yikes! I was so excited about my summer party, I completely forgot to share the news about a new, weekly link party happening over at Ordinary Days. This link party is like none other I've seen. It's called "Make a List Monday" and it's an opportunity to post up your weekly goals. What a great way to organize and narrow in on a specific task for the week!

Personally, I'm terrible at lists. I'll start one, and it quickly grows out of control with minute details. I read once that you should never focus on more than seven tasks at a time, to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Hm, I think I'll start with four for this week.

So, in honor of my friend over at Ordinary Days, here is my Make a List Monday:

1) Finish porch redo

2) Successfully re-pot a plant (don't laugh, this may kill the poor thing)

3) Create a necklace/bracelet holder for my 9-year-old

4) Find & install new towel hooks for the guest bath

If you get a chance, hop on over to her blog and check out what other people are tackling this week. Who knows, it may inspire you to get things done and that way, you'll finish in time for my summer link party in 8 days! *gasp* Perfect timing! LOL! ;)

Don't forget to help me spread the word about my link party, especially if you are, or know any newbies!

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Linking to: Ordinary Days

Mail Organizer: A Craigslist Transformation

Happy Monday!

This post will be my last one for February. I'm working on an "Entryway Transformation" that I want to have ready for Sarah's Before and After Party, so please look for that post sometime during the first week of March! I'm nearly done and my tiny entryway is now my most favorite part of the house.

A-mazing what a can of paint can do!

Moving on, this project was done during our winter storm and I was saving it for last. Your jaws are gonna drop when you find out how much it cost.

Curious yet?

I have been searching for a mail holder for months! Many stores have these but I wanted mine to be 1) wood, 2) less than $10, and 3) I had to love it. I hunted at thrift stores and Craigslist but never saw one that I loved. Well, looky what I found a few weeks ago:

 A wooden mail holder that I loved for only..... TWO DOLLARS! I don't think I have ever found something priced so low on Craigslist! The lady I bought it from looked at it disgustingly, but I saw possibilities. And, I was in love.

I brought it home, sanded it down (it had some faded off-white paint), cleaned it, and gave it 3 coats with my black spray can.

I know it looks blue, but it's black. The light was pouring in that day. ;) So, even with a new color, it looked better, but not quite finished.

Following my DIY stencil steps, I painted "Letters" onto the bottom with the same sample paint I've used for other projects. Why? Because it looks white I tell ya.

I did one coat for the letters and chose not to smooth out the lines because I wanted it to look "stamped." (haha, get it?) Anyway...

I wanted it to read "Letters" as opposed to "Mail" because something about receiving a letter in the mail makes my heart skip a beat. To know you were thought of, and loved. It's comforting. Mail could be any 'ol junk or bill. Is this making sense? Ah well, "Letters" says "romance" for me. :)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Total Project Cost: $2 (for the mail holder)

I already had all the other things.

I haven't hung it on the wall yet because I am thinking about sanding it down to give it a "worn" look. What do you think? Keep it glossy or distress it? Which, by the way, I have no idea how to do. Anyone know how to distress painted wood?

On a side note: Thank you to all my new followers! This has been the best month, with the addition of 24 more of you! Please make sure to send me your blog link, because I love to also "follow my followers." ;) Have a great week! See you in March.

Linking up with: Keeping It Simple, Thrifty Decor Chick, Christina's Adventures, At the Picket Fence, French Country Cottage, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, A Vision to Remember, House of Grace

Organizing My Craft Area: The Frugal Way

May I just say:

GO PACKERS!!!

That has been my team since I was a little girl and I feel like a proud Mama right now.

WOO HOO! SUPER BOWL BABY!

Okay, I'm done. Glad I got that out.

I have been having so much fun reading about the projects bloggers did during the MLK weekend. I really wish I had some fantastic craft to share, but in truth, I spent that weekend cleaning and organizing.

Our three bedroom home is maxed out with four occupants, so I don't have the luxury of having an office or craft room, like some of my lucky blog buddies. No, my craft room is downsized to compartments on wheels that I push into whichever room the kids aren't climbing over me in I feel like working in.

Observe, my craft drawers:

and...

and in the end, I counted 42 of these:

Do these things annoy anyone else? I mean, you spill half the paint by just opening and closing them. Then, you can't pour any of it onto a plate for little hands, because what's the point?! I really didn't want to designate a spot for these, so I opened them all and with a stack of papers let these two go to town:

 Monday morning, painting before breakfast: a treat for them

Getting rid of those pointless drops of paint: a treat for me

While the little ones were occupied, I was able to organize and label my craft drawers:

I printed my labels and taped them to the inside (frugal way)

Inside the drawers, I separated all my markers, pens, pencils, highlighters, sharpies, and crayons with freezer bags (this post is called "The Frugal Way" after all, people).

I prefer this method because boxes take up too much room. I had all our crayons in 3 empty wipe boxes. There was always a box in the kitchen, the living room, and in my older daughter's room. Now, they are all together in ONE location so they can be found easier. By the way, the OCD in me went and threw out all the crayons that were broken or missing the paper. ;)

I did use a couple of boxes though. Office Depot was having a buy one, get one free sale. So, I grabbed two small boxes ($2.99) for my ribbon and paint (the real kind).

Then, I grabbed two file folder boxes, $5.99, that were also buy one get one free. One I really needed for files and the other one will probably be used to store all my spray paint.

Total Project Cost: less than $10

Linking up with: Thrifty Decor Chick, Organize with Sandy