DIY Wall Art- {In Progress}

I've been on Spring Break! (whoo hoo!) So I apologize for the large gap in posts. 

Being on break has given me a chance to really reflect on a lot of things- including my house. My husband and I have moved a lot in our 3 years of marriage, and  anything that wasn't absolutely necessary or absolutely loved has since been lost, donated, or unfortunately broken. This includes the large majority of anything that goes on our walls.  

Now that we've moved into a new townhouse and it looks like we're going to stay for awhile, I'm eyeing my naked walls and the wheels in my head have begun turning thinking about what I can do to cover them.  My first post was about the paintings I did in my living room- and I kind of want to stay on the same track. (...free I mean.)

Even if we do stay here for a long time- I'm not compeletely invested in purchasing large portions of expensive decor just yet.  So- I browsed my faithful inspirational friend: Pinterest.

And here's what I came across:

 

 

 

(These particular images pop up in google image search for "toilet paper roll wall art" which is why they aren't cited.) 

Pretty neat huh? And GENIUS! I mean... we all use toilet paper right?  (please just say yes for the sake of my public restroom sanity.) So just start saving up those puppies because you can slice them up and stick them together into virtually any design your creative little mind can come up with!

I only have a few saved up so far so I don't have enough to really create anything as of yet- but I couldn't resist laying out some patterns for fun.  Here's some of my (not so creative/ copy-cat) brainstorming so far. 

After I have enough I plan to staple them together (... way too lazy for glue. Plus then you'd need to clip them together until they dry. However, I do think it would probably look nicer.) and then I'm going to spray-paint the whole thing a single color before hanging it on my wall.  I also considered getting a really fine glitter spray to go over the top- but I'm thinking that may be too much for right now.

The nice thing about this wall art (I mean aside from it being cheap AND easy) is that it's already built to nicely hang on nails.  No additional "now how do I actually get this on the wall?!" thoughts necessary. I'm definitely excited!

So next time you're cooling your buns on the toilet- don't feel guilty going a little liberal on your T.P. usage. That just means you're one step closer to more supplies for this spectacular project!

I love upcycling projects.

What are some Toilet Paper Roll crafts you have tried?

(... I feel the need to say I am in no way endorsing the over-use of paper products. That is wasteful. But please make sure your bottom is clean.)

Decluttering Sentimental Closets

They say it's something called "hoarding"... this irrational need to keep things that serve little to no purpose purely based on this emotional connection you develop to inanimate objects.  True... some people take the whole collecting thing a little too far- but to some extent I think it's human nature. 

Most people have things in a box somewhere stashed away- getting moldy/dusty/eaten by bugs or what have you.  You may not be too concerned about that box of stuff on a daily basis- but when it comes time to clean out the closet... you better believe you find yourself hours later still digging through that same box of stuff, caught-up in memories and all but unaware of anything around you.

Things can hold a powerful ability to take you back in time. There's something about a physical object that gives you a sense of comfort when recalling memories all but lost. One look at that grungy stuffed animal, that threadbare t-shirt, that sweat-stained baseball cap- and you are transformed to another dimension.

Unfortunately things can also hold a powerful ability to make a total wreck of an otherwise perfectly clean and organized home. 

Do NOT get me wrong. I really do feel like it's important to keep some sentimental items.  But it's important to know when to draw the line between memory-saving, and straight-up hoarding!  We've all heard the typical stint about sorting everything into three piles

1.) Keep

2.) Give Away

3.) Throw Away

From there we can get rid of the last two- and begin dividing our "keep" pile into more specific categories like 1.) Wash  2.) Put Away  3.) Fix etc...

But recently I've begun implementing a whole other dimension for sorting my memorable items. The wonderful possibilities of digital photography. Paired with the internet and possibilities are virtually endless!  While it may not be the "same" as directly being able to have that item in your hands- it's true when they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

When you find something sentimental while you're cleaning out your closet... take a deep breath and prioritize.  Think to yourself- is this something I really NEED?  I'm not saying toss out everything- but really think about it; and if you don't need it- snapping some quick pictures may be a great way to  preserve that memory in a smaller- more condensed way. Sometimes it also feels better to give something away after you know you will still be able to look back on the pictures and have those same visual memory cues the object used to give you.

For instance- I present my high school Show Choir character shoes.

I wore these shoes for countless performances in choir and drama productions.  I can not begin to tell you how many memories I have just looking at these pictures again.  

While we were packing up for one of our moves we were limited on space and I was sorting through our "needs". I realized that in all reality I would probably never wear these shoes again (they were pretty worn-out and not incredibly comfortable) and they were just taking up space.  So- I carefully laid them out on the drive way and snapped some pictures.

I was careful to get a couple of angles of the shoes so I would have a full visual picture of them to look back on.  For instance- I can see the "triplet" note on the bottom.  We all wrote our names on the soles of our shoes and since my last name was "Triplett" I drew a triplet note on all of my show choir uniform pieces.  I can see how I wore out the bottoms- and I can almost feel how they fit just by looking at the inside soles. 

Aside from getting a couple of angles, I would suggest making sure the picture is a good quality too. You want that image to be nice, sharp, and clear.  After you take the pictures back them up (the internet is always a good portable place to store photos you don't want to lose- save them on a couple of different sites in case one goes down.)

After I took these pics I was able to set these shoes in the give-away pile with a much lighter heart. And I was able to free-up that closet space too! If you're not sure whether this virtual memory method will work for you and your decluttering needs- try it out with something that has a lesser sentimental value first. 

-What are some of your sentimental item experiences?

-Do any of you have great ideas about how to store and organize things that hold sentimental value but aren't used regularly?

-What are your opinions on keeping things that no longer have a practical use?

Happy organizing!

DIY Custom Bookshelves

This project is back from my nesting craze last year when I was pregnant. My husband and I were living in an apartment with my mother in law.  I was in my final teaching internship so I was gone basically all day (like now) only when I came home I could NOT relax. Despite swollen ankles and an aching back I was stir-crazy beyond belief and I just had to get things done!

One project I had my eye on was doing something about the books stacked on our dresser. Looking back on it now- it really wasn't so bad... but at the time it irked me to no end to see those books stacked there.  They needed a home!  All my bookshelves had been lost or broken during previous moves and so my poor books just sat in homeless stacks on our dresser.

So... I set to work.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

So here's the quick and simple process for custom-decorated bookshelves.  :)

Please excuse the mess on the floor. I seem to recall that I was mid-process of reorganizing our closet at that point. What I would kill for a little bit of that motivation now...an occasional burst of energy would also be nice. ;)

Anyway-  I had my eye on some plain white bookcases from Walmart.  They were cheap- and perfect for our budget. I convinced Brandon to let me "invest" in a couple, and he agreed.  At that point I ran immediately to the store to get them- and insisted on bringing them up to our third floor apartment right away. Being hugely pregnant and the bookcases being surprisingly heavy, I ended up opening the boxes in the car and carrying the shelves up piece by piece.  My mother in law helped carry some of the pieces up too.

After the shelves were all upstairs, I enlisted Brandon at his next available moment to start assembling them. (I even did a bit of hammering myself!)

And while he finished up- I began the beautification process of the shelves. First I ran some Elmer's "tape" glue across the face of the shelves.  This was easily the most difficult part of the whole process. The only reason being that the "glue" was clear and it was difficulty for me to see without a bright light reflecting off the surface.  If I did it again- I think I might use some kind of fabric glue. I was worried that using hot glue would cause the ribbon to become discolored.

The benefit of the tape was that it didn't dry out or run anywhere. I would have liked it to be stickier but in the end I'm happy with my choice.

  

Next I measured and cut some ribbon to lay across the front.  Here I was laying down the first ribbon while I was taking the picture so you can see it was starting to go on a little crooked.  Nice thing about the Elmer's tape-glue stuff was that I could lift the ribbon up and stick it right back down again.  

I used a trick I learned from laying down masking tape lines in theatre technology. Stick the very left edge down, and hold the ribbon up directly above the rest of the surface before sticking it down. Basically, line up the ribbon ABOVE the surface and then while you are holding it there use your other hand to slowly smooth it down from left to right. (... Let me know if that doesn't make sense and I'll try to explain it a little better.)

Super simple- I've seen people get really creative with some cute stuff decorating the edges, but this is a quick cheap way to dress-up a bookcase (or dresser?) in just a few minutes!  You could easily stick some ribbon, fringe, lace, buttons, etc... on the shelves after it's already assembled too!

I love alternating my books vertically and horizontally on the shelves to give some visual texture.  Weaving some knickknacks in with the books can help break-up the rectangular look and make a bookshelf an interesting focal point instead of a regular piece of storage furniture.

I also like the idea of mixing reading-levels on a bookshelf. Now that our little man is actually here and reading books is becoming a realistic part of his daily routine I will probably begin taking into consideration the "filtering" of more mature books from the shelves where he will find the books he will be looking at. (Not that any of my books are incredibly inappropriate- but I'm not sure my 8 month old is quite ready to handle the complexities of Middle Earth or Fahrenheit 451 quite yet. lol) I do want to keep some "older" books  on the shelf as he grows though to encourage him to let his reading selections grow with him. (Add beginning reader books with the picture books, then add some chapter books, young adult books, etc...)

Since we've moved one of these shelves didn't quite make the transfer. I salvaged the shelves and am currently using them in my kitchen.  The other shelf is also in my kitchen serving as a storage unit for baby food and baking supplies. It looks pretty cute! And the green matches with the citrus-y feel I'm going for in the kitchen. I'll have to fill you in with my books' new home at a future date.

Until then- happy reading!