My DIY Jewelry Stand

Bought this at Goodwill for 50 cents with my student discount....

Then with a little spray paint magic I made it into this.....

I did it red, because that is the accent color in my bathroom. I still have the problem of the missing links in the middle. My plan is to get some magnetic strip and wrap that part of the stand so that I can attach my bobby pins/clips/stud earrings. I just don't have any yet. And I was too impatient to wait before posting (no, I don't have that virtue). I love this....at least I don't have everything thrown in a drawer anymore....

The Day I Made Wall Art for $5......

Ah, let this post be short and sweet. The day I made wall art for $5....scrapbook paper in dollar store frames. So satisfying (and looks even better on my wall)....

DIY Disposal Cleaner

I did this the other day, and I'm completely satisfied with the outcome and the frugality.

What you need:

Ice cube trays - or the like (I used mini muffin pans)
White Vinegar
Citrus fruit (orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, etc....)

Cut up your citrus fruit until it's small enough to fit the pieces inside of each individual opening. Then fill with vinegar. Freeze. Remove and place in freezer bag. Every few days remove one and run it through the disposal - NOT under hot water. It will degrease, degerm, degunk and smell good - for 1/4 of the cost of store-bought cleaners. And hey, it took me all of five minutes.

Cleaning out my closet....

Yes, it is a hard thing to do. Truly, it is. Even when I KNOW I don't wear or use half the stuff in there I can never seem to get rid of it. So while everyone is making resolutions to lose weight I have made the resolution to clean out my closet...yep, that's my resolution (of course I resolved to lose weight too...but it doesn't usually happen). So this is my plan: I am going to turn all of my hangers backwards. And every time I wear something I am going to turn that hanger the "proper" way. At the end of the year, I will donate EVERY piece of clothing in which the hanger is still backwards. Or, I will repurpose it (either way...) Fair enough, right? Has anyone done this before? It seems like a good way to get rid of the stuff I TRULY don't use!

Freezer Crockpot Meals (Save Time...oh, Sweet Time)

For those of you who don't know, I'm a full-time nursing student (but almost done - thank goodness!). I've been lucky enough to have the last few holiday weeks off but my mini-vacation is truly coming to an end. When the semester starts, it gets hectic. REALLY hectic. The older kids are back to school, the younger ones are back in daycare and I'm somewhere between school, running errands and the hospital. My husband (the hardworker that he is) works somewhere near 12 hours a day. So when I say we are busy, we are BUSY. Last semester I struggled with it all and what ended up happening was that we ate....horrible. Fast food, quick food, junk food - all the stuff that I HATE to pump into my children particularly (myself also). I decided to try to get a jumpstart on those busy nights by making crockpot freezer meals. The hubs and I made a big grocery trip and when we came home, I went to work organizing, prepping and bagging the freezer meals for future use. Quick note on that: I did buy the stuff on sale. I like to get the most bang for my buck. I did a lot of chicken dishes because the chicken was BOGO and so was the pot roast! All in all, it ended up making all the meals less than $10. That's good for a family of six! The best part? When you are ready to use you simply defrost in the fridge overnight and then stick them in the crockpot for the instructed amount of time....now if that's not a blessing on a busy night, what is? It took me about 2-2 1/2 hours to complete but I'm sure it is saving me MUCH more time than that. A glimpse of what's on the menu?

1) BBQ Pork Country Style Ribs
2) Cilantro Chicken with Corn and Black Beans
3) Beef Stew
4) Mexican Casserole
5) Chili Chili Chili
6) Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
7) Mongolian Beef
8) Traditional Pot Roast
9) Beach Boy Pot Roast
10) Taco Soup
11) Honey Dijon Chicken
12) Sweet Brown Chicken

and a few more:)

The first thing I did was label all the bags with the name of the food item and cooking instructions. Then I went to town. I will tell you that I completed the chili, mexican casserole and taco soup last because it required cooking the ground beef and that wasn't something I wanted to do first. The end result? A freezer that looks like this and a less stressed out me....I LOVE IT!

Intro and Tiled Mirror

I'm new to this. Well, partially new. I've had a blog before only its more of a family type thing if you know what I mean. My family is far away...I update them on my family and so on. Truth be told, I'm not very good at keeping up with that one so I'm hoping to keep up with this one. Lately, I seem to be on this inspired journey. It fits me...since I truly believe I have an "inspired" soul. If that makes sense. To me, it does. And if you're like me, it will. That kind of soul that gets joyous when you create something yourself....in any kind of way. I find joy in creating small things....and big things. I find joy when I create a mirror for $12 that would've cost me $100 (I'll show you that soon!), or when I simplify my life in some way (organization anyone?!?!?). I have four children (hoping for more someday - no, I'm not crazy) so sometimes being creative (code word: frugal) is the way it HAS to be done. But lucky for me, I like to do it that way! The house is busy....life is busy....but there is ALWAYS time for crafting (well, usually...).

I have an AMAZING husband (yes, there is a reason it is in all caps). He's one of those I-can-do-everything types. Sometimes I have a crazy idea in my head and he listens, and then makes it happen. He's the implementation to my design. He shows me how to do things that I don't really know how to do (mounting, painting, etc.). I don't have all the money in the world to go out and buy things to decorate my house with (and I wouldn't want to spend that kind of money anyways), so I do it with things I find at say...Goodwill, Salvation Army, a yard sale (gasp!). Yes, its true. I work with many beliefs and rules and one of those is that COLOR can always be changed. So if I see a shape I like, I go with it (then I ask my husband how to change the color). If I do buy something, it's generally on sale (fabric, for instance....or wallpaper....). I'm sure I could find fabric at Goodwill at least...but sometimes I can be particular. I'm a Virgo: I operate like that. It's my dirty little secret....only, its not really a secret. It's another thing you can ask my husband....I kind of HAVE to have things a certain way sometimes (am I really ANY different than anyone else?).

CLUTTER is my WORST enemy...only that's hard to get rid of with four children and a busy busy household. So I'm on the road to organization greatness...its a journey though. So bear with me. I guess that's what this blog is going to be about....a journey. A home decor, crafting, organization,
cooking, budget journey...and maybe a little (or a lot) of mish mash in between. So, with that
said....let's get to my first project....my tiled mirror!

I have been wanting a mirror like this for quite some time only....it's out of my budget. Or at least something I didn't want to pay for. Then I saw a few individual mirrors at the Dollar Tree (one of the loves of my life). So I bought them...nine of them. And then I did the unthinkable...I used DUCT tape to tape them together. A lot of tape...a whole lot. When I was done strategically taping, I used my hot glue gun to glue a foam poster board (also at the dollar store) to the back to stabilize the mirrors. And VOILA! $12 for a mirror? I will take it!

Quick note: don't mind the mess in the background. I was cleaning house this day so everything was in array!