Picture of the Day: Baby Turtle Heading Out to Sea

Tulum, Mexico
10.06.2005

Ribbon Organization for My Craft Room

So, as I have mentioned before, my craft room is a hot mess and I am trying to do something about it. Unfortunately, it is turning into a bit more of a marathon rather than a sprint, but at least I am slowly making some progress.

One of those organization projects that I have been working on was to figure out a way to store my ribbons. Previously I have stored them in glass Burken jars from Ikea. It looked pretty sitting on a shelf, but practically it didn't really work for me. The ribbons would get tangled and if I wanted to find a particular ribbon I would need to dump the whole jar out to find what I was looking for.

A few months ago I had pinned an idea to organize embroidery floss by wrapping it around clothespins onto my Organization Board on Pinterest. I thought that the idea would work equally well for my ribbons and decided to give it a shot. I picked up a few packs of clothespins (a set of 50 will run under $3) and I was on my way.

Wrapping the ribbons, especially the wide ones, took a little practice to find a good way to make it work, but once I did I was on a roll and got everything wrapped in no time. I would start and the top of the clothespin and wrap the ribbon back around on itself to secure the end. I would then wrap up and down the clothespin, overlapping the ribbon a little bit for each turn around. Once it was completely wrapped I gently pressed the prongs a bit to open the clothespin and secure the tail end between the prongs. 

To store the ribbons I bought some cute wire bins at Target for $2.50 each and then sorted them into warm colors, cool colors and neutral colors. Now it is super easy to find what I am looking for by rummaging through the bins. I also don't have to deal with tangles and as an added bonus it looks cute, too.

Have you been doing any organizing? Do you have any tips for keeping your craft supplies neat?

Picture of the Day: Burning Temple Incense Coils in Macau

Macau, China
11.14.2006 

Autumn Front Garden Bed

With the colorful autumn leaves that decorated the trees in my yard having finally all fallen, things look a little bleak outdoors around here, especially since we have been hit with a recent rainy spell.

The one bright spot in this dreary weather are the autumn plantings in my front garden bed. Winter is so long here in Michigan that I like to have some color outside as long as I possibly can. Planting kale is a surefire way for me to do that. Mums will generally last me through until early November (I had two large pots of yellow mums on my steps until recently) but nothing outlasts kale for me. I have had luck in the past with kale looking lovely in my yard until December which is really quite wonderful.

Typically flowering kale can be a touch on the pricey side so I usually wait a little while until they go on sale at the end of the fall planting season. I got the large purple kale for $3 each at Blocks Farm Stand and the little green ones from Lowes for $1.50 each. I planted them in a border along my front stone bed wall in front of my boxwood shrubs and then added a fresh layer of mulch to keep things looking tidy and clean.

Seeing a little bit of vibrant life left in my yard as I pull up to my house really cheers me up. That purple really is striking!

Have you planted anything this autumn? Is anything still left alive in your yard?

Picture of the Day: Conch Shells For Sale

Along Fig Tree Drive, Antigua
7.05.2009 

Michigan Tailgate Cake: Simple Football Cake

On Saturday Michigan played Northwestern and the tailgate theme was Chicago, since Northwestern is in Chicago. I wasn't really sure how to translate that into a cake and I had some extenuating circumstances so I just made a generic football cake instead of something fancier.

This week's cake was a bit of a cop-out for me. I had some late nights at work so I was planning on whipping something up on Friday night. Unfortunately, there was a huge traffic jam in town as I was trying to get home that night due to some road closures so it ended up taking me nearly an hour and a half to go the last two miles to my house. It was annoying but the real problem is that due to my frugal ways, I drive a little hatchback that happens to be a stick shift. Holding in the clutch for that long was just miserable and since we were creeping almost the whole time I didn't have much chance to put the car in neutral with the parking brake. By the time I got home my left leg was so sore I was having some trouble standing and there was no way I was baking. That was the first time I wished I didn't have a manual car.

So instead I woke up early on Saturday (6:30 am!) and whipped up this simple football cake. I have a Wilton pan that is shaped like a football so I baked a chocolate cake in it, popped it in the freezer to cool it down quickly and iced it with chocolate buttercream frosting. I used a star tip to pipe the laces and then wrote "Hail to the Victors" on the cake. It was super simple, but sometimes you just need to get things done quickly. Plus it still tasted delicious so I don't think anyone really cared. 

For tailgate food Frank made Portillo's style sausage and Italian beef sandwiches which were awesome. He also made waffle fries and a wonderful sausage chowder which I especially loved.

The weather was unseasonably warm (mid-60s in November? I'll take it!) so it was a great day for tailgating and watching the game.

The game was up and down and towards the end it looked like Michigan had really squandered their chance to win. With barely any time left and an unbelievable catch to move the ball down the field, Michigan made a field goal to tie up the game at 31-31 and send it into overtime. In OT Michigan managed to score a touchdown and stop Northwestern making the final score 38-31 for a Michigan win. Looking back I really don't see how Michigan pulled out that game, but we'll take it!

How was your weekend? Did you get up to anything fun?

Picture of the Day: Member of the Swiss Guard in Vatican City

Vatican City
3.19.2012 

Picture of the Day: Overlooking Machu Picchu

Macchu Pichu, Peru
11.2007 

Picture of the Day: Koala at Healesville Sanctuary

Melbourne, Australia
1.01.2010 

Secondhand Treasures

Last weekend I picked up a few secondhand treasures at the Ann Arbor ReUse Center and the Treasure Mart and I thought I would share. Some of the items look a little rough right now, but I have fun plans for them.

In the top left corner is a cute little tin with a lovely stamped design on the side. The gold and green is a little much for me but I think with some spray paint it could be a cute addition somewhere in my house.

Below the tin is a lazy susan that I picked up for a dollar. It's in a little rough condition, but with a little sanding and painting it will look as good as new. I plan to use it for an organization project.

In the top of the middle is a red Le Creuset salt cellar than I bought for $6. It was brand new and still had the tags on it. It will be perfect in my kitchen.

Below the salt cellar is a little pewter chalice that I picked up for $0.50. I think it will be cute as a vase for flowers or branches.

On the right side is a wooden frame that I grabbed for $2. I liked how the corners were rounded off instead of square. The gold and green chippy paint is sweet, but I am not sure yet if I will keep it or do something different with it.

Inside the frame is a stone tablet with the Golden Gate Bridge on it. I know it looks really cheesy right now, but it is a bit of a throwback to my days living in the Bay Area plus it was only a dollar and I have a fun makeover plan for it.

Have you picked up any fun secondhand things lately? What was your best deal?