Free Printable Friday - Formal Table Setting Reference Card

I can't believe it's already Friday again! Well, if I don't have time for crafts, at least I can throw together a few freebies here and there for you guys.

Here is a quick reference card you can stash away in a drawer in your kitchen or something. Whenever you're having guests over for dinner you can pull it out so you know you're setting the table right! How fancy you are!

The JPEG:

Click for full size, right click, 'save image as' to download.

The PDF (for easier printing):

Download Now!


I link here!

Free Printable Friday!

I'm going to try and make it a point to hand out a free printable for everyone weekly. How exciting! It will help me to stay on my creative toes, and it will help you because free things are always awesome! We'll see how long I can keep it up. Hopefully, a very long time!

This week, I have something that I have always needed very desperately in my kitchen. I find myself constantly scrambling to the computer while I'm cooking to look up quick measurement conversions. So I did myself (and you) a favor and made up this cute little printable chart to hang right up on my fridge!

You can either download the JPEG file or a PDF version (easiest for printing, in my opinion).

The JPEG:

Click for full size, right click, 'save image as' to download.

The PDF:

Download Now!

Home Organization Tip: Jewelry Art Board

Add a little decorative kick to your home while also doing away with that tangled mess of jewelry you have lying around. Take an ordinary cork board and hang your bracelets and necklaces off of it in a pleasing arrangement. Not only is it functional, but it's also beautiful!

For a little extra flair, try painting the cork, adding a pretty fabric over top of the cork, or slapping a nice wall decal onto the cork board.

Home Organization Tip: Hideaway Drawer Storage

Wait! Halt! Stop right there! Don't throw away that old dresser!

Instead... reduce, reuse, recycle and get rid of that awful clutter in the meantime.

Dresser drawers make excellent storage components that slide neatly and nicely under so many convenient pieces of furniture in your home.

For example, I have a large drawer to hold all of Adrianne's baby blankets in a neat space under her crib.

When I'm all done getting out the blanket I need or putting away a few things from the laundry, it simply slides back under and the bed skirt hides it from view. That way Adrianne won't get into it and start throwing blankets all over the house.

See? Good as new!

The best part is, you can put whatever you want in the drawer and you aren't limited to just cribs and beds. If you can find a small enough drawer, you could probably even fit it under a couch or chair. Be imaginative and cater to your own organizational needs.

Typically, a drawer can slide easily enough along a carpet or rug, but if you have hard floors you want to use a drawer on, you probably don't want it scratching up the surface. No problem! Use some strips of carpet samples or an old doormat rug and attach them carpet side down to the underside of the drawer to help it slide. Another alternative is to get your hands on some simple wheels for the corners of the drawer. This will make the drawer a little taller though, so do whatever works best for your home!

Good luck!

Home Organization Tip: Storage Caddy

Well, I've been blessed with a tiny bathroom lacking both storage space and a medicine cabinet. All I've got is cramped leg room and a flush mounted wall mirror. So naturally I ran into some problems with bathroom organization. It seemed like no matter what I did, the bathroom always transformed into a chaotic mess of toiletries by the end of every day. Seriously, it was like we had a daily tornado running through the place.

I had to think fast. I needed something small and compact that could hold all of the junk that just didn't seem to belong in the under-the-sink cabinet. Some things you just need out and on hand. Well, for these things I made a remarkable discovery.

Shower caddies, sold in pretty much any retail store's home section, are exactly what I was looking for. They are small and compact and can hold a lot of stuff right out in the open where I need them.

Hmm...But I didn't need my caddy in the shower. The solution? A wall hook!

So with the power of these two things combined, I managed to transform THIS:

into THIS:

Here was my outcome, close up:

The reason I love my silly little shower caddy shelving unit is because it is temporary and repurpose-able. I don't intend to be living in this tiny apartment forever. So when I leave, I can take my "investment" with me. Also, as far as DIY home improvement projects go, this was cake. So here was an easy fix to my bathroom chaos conundrum. I'm sure you could use this in any other room of your house too, but I think the shower caddy fits best in the bathroom. Go ahead and splurge on some real shelves for your living room if you need them!

Well, happy organizing!

Home Organization Tip: Clay Pot Storage

 

I love glazed clay pots as storage receptacles!  Here I have my big kitchen cooking utensils all tucked neatly into a medium sized clay pot meant for plants. I happen to have one of the tiniest kitchens in the world and that means not a whole lot of cabinet and drawer space. So I had to innovate. There simply wasn't any room for my big, clunky utensils!

I tried a vase but it turned out it was too narrow and also too long. My utensils would slide all the way down to the bottom and wouldn't want to come out. It was a tight squeeze. 

I got this glazed pot at the Bargain Outlet for a few dollars! It's nice and wide and shallow, meaning the utensils fit nicely inside and come out easy too. Not only does it look nice and neat, but it sure is handy when I'm cooking to have all of my utensils out and ready for me!

These clay pots are very useful, not just for kitchen utensils, but for all kinds of organizing. And like I said, I got this one at the Bargain Outlet for only a few dollars! There are all kinds of places you could go looking for some of these little guys for cheap.

Here are a few more ideas for clay pot storage to inspire you:

Remote "Control." Get a little glazed clay pot that will match your family room colors and stick all those television remotes in them. I don't know about you but remotes have a knack for getting lost in my house. I still have one that has yet to be recovered. A little clay pot can make your remotes look like part of the decor, while also keeping them contained and always at hand.

Desk Tidiness. Stick all those pens, pencils, scissors, paint brushes, whatever else you want inside a small clay pot. Again, it looks pretty and keeps it neat!

Kindlewood Container. Make a decorative display out of all those twigs you're hoarding for winter fires. Stick 'em in a large glazed clay pot!

Slipcover Help

So, just recently I purchased a simple slipcover to bring some new life into my living room. The couch we have is old, torn in a few places, dirty, abused. So I figured, until a new couch can fit into our budget, why not slipcover it?

Now, if you have ever used a slipcover, I'm sure you have encountered a few problems with tucking and re-tucking...over and over and over...

After a little bit of research and some trial and error, I have discovered the answer to your slipcover prayers! With just a few simple tools, you will have no more re-tucking nightmares. Here's what to do:

YOU WILL NEED:

1. A flat spoon. It doesn't matter if it is wooden or plastic, but this bad boy will help you to tuck into places you never thought you could. AND! He won't pull the fabric back out unintentionally like you hand does.
2. Pipe insulation. This stuff is the best. I bought this pack of four for about 3 bucks and it has been a slipcoverer's lifesaver. You can cut it with scissors and it is very anti-slippage.



STEP ONE:

Once you have the slipcover in place and fitted to the couch arms, use that spoon to shove the excess fabric into the creases of the couch. The spoon will be able to tuck much deeper and the best part is that it slides out nice and smoothly.
What I've found with tucking the slipcover by hand is that I can't get the fabric in very well and even if I do, my hand will end up un-tucking as I pull it out of the creases. So frustrating! The spoon doesn't have these problems. Just make sure that it's flat! Even spatulas are angled slightly. I'm sure you could use a spatula or other type of spoon if you really couldn't get your hands on a flat spoon, but if you don't have one you should get one! They're handy and great for their true purpose: cooking!


STEP TWO:

When your slipcover is all tucked and looking perfect, (if you have experience with slipcovers) that sinking feeling may set in saying "Don't sit on it, it will just un-tuck itself..."
Never fear! Cut that pipe insulation to size with a pair of scissors or, in a pinch, a sharp knife. Then shove it down into those creases. It has a rubbery feel so it will eliminate any possible sliding around that you may get if you used, say, a rolled up magazine instead. This baby won't be moving, and as a result, no excess slipcover fabric will be able to get past it. You can sit without fear!

YOU'RE DONE!

Now toss over your pillows and throw blankets and admire your seemingly new piece of furniture that you will (hopefully) never have to re-tuck again!