Pillows in the House

Er, shop.  That’s right folks.  Our first set of pillows are on the market in our Etsy shop.  To be completely honest, these pillows aren’t a recent creation.  I made them for our house back in 2008 when we had a duck egg blue and red color scheme.  You may remember catching a glimpse of them in this post about our living room phases. 

Well, I was clearing out our linen closet the other day and I stumbled across these.  I decided it was time to part with them.  So, if you have a duck egg blue and red color scheme, I’ve got just the pillow covers for you. 

The covers are sewn from duck cloth, a canvas-like material which is very sturdy and durable, making the pillows great for families with children.  At 14 inches square, these pillow covers are perfect for a couch, chair or bed.  Depending on how fluffy of an insert you want, you can buy either a 14 inch square form or a 16 inch square form. 

I hand embroidered the modern red flowers.  Here’s a closer look at the fine details. 

The pillow covers are machine washable.  Simply turn inside out and wash on a cold, gentle cycle.  Then, tumble dry on low.  If you forms have stretched due to use, this will shrink them back down a little.  I need to get my butt in gear to add a few more pillows to the shop, but now we’ve got something!

(Re)Organized Boys Closet

As our boys grow, I find the need to reorganize their belongings, namely, their closet.  With Ev out growing clothes at a rapid rate, I need access to larger sized clothes without the hassle of digging them out of storage.  Without a dresser in the room, I have to get creative with their storage.  When we last shared our closets, I had it organize, keeping larger clothes on the shelf in a clear covered bin, but it became cumbersome for me (being 5 feet, 4 inches tall) to get large, heavy bins down often.  We needed a change.

Here was Vincent’s side.  All of his current sized clothes are hanging, larger clothes in the big bin on top, diapers in the small bins in the cubes, and socks in a bin.

Here’s Everett’s side.

Everett’s side was pretty much the same story.  After a while, I started hating that I had to slide the doors to get to their stuff.  As I mentioned above, the large bins were really becoming a hassle, too.

What was our solution?  Ben installed a second closet rod.  We didn’t move anything around, so the rods are close together, but they’re boys.  They don’t have anything that really hangs down, so it’s fine for a while.  By installing a second bar, we can hang both boys current clothes on one side, eliminating the constant sliding of doors.

Another benefit, we now have room to hang larger clothing on the other side of the closet.

We still use a laundry bag to save shelf space.  A small hook holds it securely and out-of-the-way.

As for the storage cubes, we keep our baby wipes (which we buy in bulk from Costco when we have a coupon), bedding, Everett’s socks, and one bin of diapers for each boy, rather than all their diapers.  The clear bins on top of the cubes have Vincent’s socks and underwear and the yellow bin has pajamas.  I love those yellow bins because they fold flat when not in use, saving space.

We still have a large bin of clothes, but we don’t need to access it often.  We also have shoes, puzzles and a bag of other random items that I still have to sort through.

Where did all the diapers go?  On the top shelf of the right side.  The yellow bin is our donate box.  Anything that I decide our boys no longer need, I put in the bin until it gets full.  The next time I go to a thrift store, the contents get donated.

Previously, we had a plastic baby bath tub.  Everett has since outgrown it, so I donated that, too, which freed up a lot of valuable space.  Now we have a box in its place.  Whenever one of the boys outgrows something, I put it in that box.  When that box is full, I sort the clothes into the proper bin in our basement.

By adding a second closet rod, we’ve doubled our storage space and we have plenty of room to expand.  Score!  Do you have any storage tips, tricks or products you can’t live without?  What do you do with outgrown children’s clothes?  Do you hang your kid’s clothes or prefer to fold?  If you hang, do you use the size dividers?

Dog Gone Cute

Did you know I have a blogroll at the bottom of the home page?  I do and it’s filled with my most favorite blogs, including Yellow Brick Home.  Kim and Scott have created a fun, vibrant home filled with personal touches.  Even better, Yellow Brick Home also offers a way to bring a touch of their style into your own home with their custom pet paintings.  Seriously, how darn cute are their paintings?  I just had to have one for myself, so I contacted Kim.  I sent her this photo and my ideas.

I wanted a blue-ish green background and possibly a thought bubble with a bone or something in it, depending on what Kim thought looked best.  I was so excited when she sent an e-mail telling me my painting was (already!) done.  Later that afternoon, she sent this picture of the finished design.

I knew whatever Kim made would be cute, but this was beyond my expectations.  It made me even more excited to get my painting.  Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long.  I received it two days later!  I opened up the package to find a beautifully coördinated package.

Even the YBH stationery and business cards are cute!  After opening the tissue, I found this:

I love the attention to detail, too.  Check out the shading on Jack’s face.

And the thought bubble and dog bone are equally cute.

When we released our Modern Portrait print line, I decided to switch up the artwork on my office bookshelves.  I had a geometric cut out set.

When I ordered my painting, I knew right where I would display it.  Right next to the rest of our family.  Oh, here’s a cool feature; all YBH paintings are created on a 4 inch square by 3/4 inches thick canvas, requiring no frame!

I love the pop of color against the black and white portraits.  I think Jack is pretty happy, too, even if she looks unimpressed.

Thanks again, Kim and Scott.  Our entire family loves this custom little painting of Jackie.  It’s prefect!

Simple Solutions: Lighting

Along with replacing out dated hardware, changing light fixtures can make a big impact.  Before we were married, Ben installed oil rubbed bronze lights in our kitchen, hallway and dining room.  We began the phase out process of oil rubbed bronze on the main level when we installed a drum shade over our DIY dining table

Then we replaced the ceiling fan in the guest room for a coffee filter pendant.

Anyway, we chose brushed nickel flushmount lights.  I would have loved a semi flush fixture like the one in our master bedroom, but couldn’t due to the linen closet door swing.  Here’s what we started with.

Notice the junction box with out a fixture?  Yeah, that needed to be fixed, too.  After about 20 minutes, we had two new lights in our kitchen.  After a little work in the kitchen, Ben moved onto the hallway.

And here’s what we have now.

Our upper level lighting is much more cohesive now.  We still have a ceiling fan to replace in the boys’ room, but the rest of the lighting is either brushed nickel or white (fabric or coffee filters).  Anyone out there inspired to change out their old light fixtures?

Office Storage: Revealed

To continue our bookshelf week, we’ll share our office storage system and what’s inside.  Sounds like fun, no?  Well, hold on to your seats because this is a wild ride.  We’ll start with my wall o’ shelves.  Here’s an overall picture, just for reference.

First up, these IKEA storage boxes hold my assorted envelopes. 

The storage boxes to the right hold overflow and odd sized envelopes, ink cartridges, and miscellaneous junk because I don’t have drawers yet.

The large boxes at the very bottom in the center hold 12 inch by 12 inch scrapbook paper.  Below those, boxes store fabric, yarn and thread. 

In the far right column, I have a row of magazine files, some empty, some not.

Let’s take a look inside.

These two files have tutorial books, including a trim, origami, and Ben’s workout book.  Another has the boy’s baby books and other baby items like a baptismal candle.

A few more files hold mine and Ben’s baby books and cards from our wedding and showers.  To the far right is a spiral bound scrapbook.

That completes the wall of shelves, but what’s above my desk?  Glad you asked!

To the right, my stock of papers fill a row of magazine files.  I found three-ring binders that look similar to the magazine files at Office Depot a few years ago.  One keeps samples of my designs.  Another is empty but I like to keep it out so I have room to expand.  Helpful hint: The binders also work great to store cds and dvds.  We removed the pages from a four square dvd file and placed them in the prettier file and it’s great!

To the left of my desk I have a few more magazine files (gotta love ’em) storing mailing labels.  Next to those are two boxes for mailing envelopes and files.

Oh, I created simple labels for everything, too.  I know, my OCD tendencies are back, but at least it’s useful!

Above that, I have a shelf that looks purely decorative.

But I’ve got a secret.  I use those pretty marble vessels to store extra paper clips, rubber bands, and pencils.

Pretty sneaky, huh?  That completes our office storage for the day.  I want to know if you have any helpful hints or surprise decorative storage in your home?

P.S.  All the magazine files and storage boxes hail from mother Sweden (aka IKEA).  The boxes are part of the Kassett series and the files are the Flyt $1.99 for 5.  Great price when you need so many and surprisingly durable!