Pretty Storage Boxes, Containers & Storage Baskets...Continued..

How did I forget to post the rest of them? Heehee.
Here we are:

Inside this box came a beautiful zodiac necklace. I was born in the year of the monkey..which I've been called many times heehee.

The lid of this box makes room for a photo. Right now I keep candles in here.

What do you do when you're desperate for some storage space and have a lot of messy bottles? Put them in a basket of course! This basket now functions as a lotion bottle holder in my linen closet. but it has always held bottles of some sort.

I love this basket because it can be used for pretty much anything & look adorable. I placed it in my closet to hold winter scarves, hats and mittens.

Pretty Storage Boxes, Containers & Baskets

I love pretty storage containers. They not only look great, but they're super useful too.

The thing is, I need help with maximizing the use of my storage while creating a beautiful look.

Here are the ones that I have accumulated so far:

Chinese Storage Box

Coffee Storage Box

Winnie the Pooh Storage Box

Jewellery Box

Christmas Star Book Basket

Office Paper Basket

Storage boxes are often most impactful when placed together in one area. Right now mine are all over the place, with different functions. If you have things that you simply don't want others to see, pop them in one of these. Also when having children, those small toys can disappear in a jiffy.

Do you have any suggestions or tips about storage box use & display?

The New Gardener - My Quest for Flower Power

I have never had a green thumb. Every plant I've ever owned has either sadly passed away and gone to plant heaven or has been revived by my super green mom before following the light. Yesterday my friend mentioned a garden centre near her house and I knew I just had to give it another try! There just has to be a plant out there that I won't kill!

So we set out and learned a few things about flowers during our quest for some new plant babies.

Out of all the seemingly thousands of different plants and flowers, I chose the Yellow Loosestrife Circle Flower. I just adored the features of this flower: perennial, likes full sun or partial shade, likes moist soil, grows quickly & most of all is labelled as "very hardy". Not just "hardy", "very hardy"!

Lesson #1: Garden centres often label plant "hardiness", which is a definite must for the new gardener.


I thought buying the pot would be the easiest aspect of plant shopping, but I was very mistaken. When asking an associate a question about replanting, she looked at the pot on my cart & said "That pot is way too big. You should replant into a pot that is only a little bit larger than the original pot or else the plant will spend too much energy growing it's roots to accomodate the larger pot and the plant will wilt. Only when the plant has grown into it's slightly larger new pot, can you replant it again into an even larger pot." Wow. I did not know that!

So I returned the original pot and after about 30 more minutes of searching I finally found one that looked to be about the right size! (It was still a teeny bit too big but was the closet I could get!).

Lesson #2: Many plants should be replanted in very slightly larger pots.

Lesson #3: When in doubt, always ask questions.


When we finally took our goods to the counter, I asked what kind of replanting soil I should use(thanks to my friend - as I hadn't even thought about this!). They looked at my plant & were surprised to see that I was putting my flower in a pot. Uh oh. For a moment I thought I had to go back and get an entirely different flower, but they were just concerned about drainage. The associate recommended a common soil & also recommended that I use gravel (such as fish tank gravel) on the bottom of the pot in order to fill it up, but also to help with drainage. This was a great idea, but upon returning home I found that my gravel was at my parent's house. Luckily I had this lightly used fish tank filter. It looks just as good to me!

Lesson #4: Always consider the plant's water drainage requirements when choosing a flower pot.


Upon the associate's recommendation, I purchased a standard potting soil at a sale price of only $3.59!

Lesson #5: Always consider a plant's soil requirements. Fortunately, most plants require standard soil.


Upon returning home I went to work and planted my flower. Here it is on it's first day on the balcony.

Lesson #6: Replant with care. Be gentle!

Lesson #7: Watch how much sun your plant is getting through the day. You might have to play around with the pot location in order to ensure that your flower is getting the right amount of sunlight.

Lesson #8: Love your plant & be happy!

Now I have a question that I always forget to ask. Can anyone tell me why some pots do not have holes on the bottom?

Sophia Quilt ~ I don't know which week!

Oh my goodness! I have been MIA for a really long time! I haven't forgotten about my blogs, but rather have been very preoccupied with a bunch of unexpected things.

Anyway, I'm not sure what week this is for my quilt progress, as it has been so long since I've been here!

I have been dedicating almost every day to working on my quilt for the last couple of weeks and am seeing some definite results. Most of the progress since last time has been white stitching, which should explain why it doesn't look like a huge amount of progress!

I have pretty much completed a few specific shades of pink, purple, blue & of course the white (finally).


The photo below reveals some of the pink, white & purple that I have been working on:


I would love to know if you have ever cross-stitched or done any other type of stitching, sewing, or knitting. Which do you prefer & why?

I dabbled in both knitting, sewing & hooking years ago. My favourites would be hooking & cross stitching, however I think knitting and sewing are by far more productive.

Mini Haul - Bath tub accessories

Ok - I admit it. I..strongly dislike Wal-Mart..but, I went there. I recieved a Wal-Mart gift card for Christmas & although I don't like Wal-Mart, I felt very grateful for this card. No matter how much I dislike the store, it has almost anything one would need in a pinch. I purchased some food & other randoms, but I was mostly excited about my new little bath mat & bath pillow.

I wish I knew what brand this is, but the cover fell off of it. This bath mat was inexpensive & has really good grip. It's also easy on the eyes (it's nearly invisible!)

The picture shows the mat on my dining room table so that it is easier to see - this isn't my tub lol

I'll admit that this bathtub pillow is not very pretty, but I bought it because it looked like decent quality. It was also inexpensive. I can't find this product online either but it is called Mainstay Mildew Resistent Head Rest. Every time I've used it so far, it has thoroughly impressed me. The suction cups work! This pillow doesnt slip in the tub at all, and it is super comfortable. I will never get a plastic blow up pillow again :)

The picture on the packaging shows how it looks when placed in the tub

So my recent bathing days have been improved! If you have any favourite bath tub accesories, I would love to know :)

5 of my (other) favourite things

Last week, I posted 5 of my favourite things. I wanted to post 10 of my favourite things but didn't have enough time to take the pictures. So here is installment #2 of some of the things that make my condo feel like home.

One of the most appealing things about these items is how unique some of them are. I just love having things that are rare or totally original.

New York Painting

When I visited my very good friend Melissa & her husband in New York in 2009, her father brought this painting to her house. He works for the telephone company & someone actually discarded this. She didn't want it, so I gladly took it. I just love guessing what the meaning behind it is. If you look closely, the Statue of Liberty is holding the phone book!

I will be posting again on this painting when I re-frame it, as the current frame is just cheap plastic & doesn't fit properly (at least it protects it).



Couch Cushions

I love pillows & cushions! They just cozy everything up, are useful & totally adorable! I have more of them, but these are my favourite ones. The brown one on the left has stripes on the other side of it. The one on the very front only costed $4.99 in China Town.

'Relax' Sign

I got this wooden sign in a little town called Elmira. Elmira has all kinds of great shops that have one-of-a-kind stuff for your home. I just want to go and spend a week shopping there. Honestly, every time I look at this sign sitting on my fridge, I feel myself relax..



Rotary Phone

I love old & new, but nothing beats old things sometimes.. Among these old things are old telephones. The previous owners of my condo left this phone behind & I was ecstatic. Although it's not the cutest phone in the world, it's genuine. I use this in my bedroom, & I'll tell you that it definitely has a different sound to it than the modern phone. I wanted to repaint it but I don't think it can be done (if I ever find out how, I'll post it). The table this phone is sitting on is one of my future projects by the way...just look & see how badly it needs to be cared for (another antique of mine!).



Coffee Storage box

I bought this box at Michael's craft store because I wanted to someday decorate my future living room around the concept & colours of this box. The box is now sitting in my living room, & my budget is waiting to be able to reach my living room dream. I promise I will post when this happens!



I would really love to know what some of your favourite things are. What makes your house a home?

Week 2 ~ The Sophia Quilt

So week 2 went really well! If it wasn't for committing to post on this blog, I know I wouldn't have gotten this much done.

Unfortunately the photo doesn't give away how much I got done because I stitched with white thread this week (against the white background, it's nearly invisible).



Here are a few close-up shots of the white stitching:

For the next week, I plan to complete the rest of the white & hopefully complete the rest of the lilac.

5 of my favourite things

Hi all! These are some of the things that make my house (ok it's a condo, not a house) feel like a home. I had 10 favourite things but I didn't get all the pics done on time, so I'll post my other 5 favourite things next week.

In no particular order, here they are:

Alarm Clock
It stopped working a couple of years ago & now the store that sold it to me is shut down :( I'm going to find a repair shop for it because I love the tick tock tick tock sound it makes.

French Tickler
Ok this might seem like an odd choice but I honestly just love the fluffy softness & the beautiful fusion of colours. I still don't have the ideal "container" to place it in, but I'll find one eventually.

Chinese Storage Box

I went through a period where I was so in love with all things Chinese. I still love Chinese art work but I have expanded my horizons. I have a much larger version of this box that I will never part with either.

Framed Ballet Picture

I'm actually not sure where I bought this picture. I always wanted to be a ballerina, & this picture just makes me feel happy :)

Witch's Ball
I think this is called a Witch's Ball. My good friend Suzy gave this to me as a gift & I hang it by the window (as you can see). When the sun comes shining through, the colours trickle around the room.

The other 5 things coming up next week!

Week 1 ~ The Sophia Quilt

My friend Suzanne is one of the first people I ever knew who cross-stitched. I never really thought about it until I was walking in a Michael's store (um I just noticed they're having an up-to-80% off winter clearance event?!?!). I happened to wander into the quilt isle. The cross-stitching quilt isle. I had never known anyone who cross-stitched quilts before, but how hard could it be?

With my second neice on the way, I took on a project that I call ~The Sophia Quilt~. This project has nearly taken over my life at times, and then has nearly been forgotten at other times. It has taken 2.5 years to get this far:



A little bit of detail shown below: The light blue marks are the stitching guides. These will wash off when I'm done. It's actually starting to smudge so I'd better work fast!



This is what the finished product is expected to look like:

The funny thing is that I started working on the project while my sister was pregnant & thought it would be ready by Sophia's birth, but instead she just had her second birthday with no quilt on hand. It's ok, it'll be an heirloom. Generations down the road, people will look at great-great aunt Michelle's handiwork, drawn from her blood, sweat & tears..ok maybe I'm going too far but our ancestors walked to school up-hill both ways in the dead of winter for 100 miles in no shoes right? :)

So every Thursday I will update my quilt status & by the end of 2010 it will be done! Then I can start on ~The Emily Quilt~ (It doesn't even exist yet).

P.S. ~ I somehow landed upon an old blog of mine that I forgot ever existed & it has a post about The Sophia Quilt!! Checky outy! What do I do with the old blog now?

http://alittlecraftylove.blogspot.com/

Dollar store door hooks

So for a time, when I had virtually no furniture (and zero dressers), I had a bunch of stuff laying around & nothing to put it in. I was also on a budget & didn't have time to make a storage creation that I would have beautified my home.

One day I went to the dollar store & found these decent looking hooks for $1.50 each (cdn) & bought 8 of them. It's a no-brainer but I honestly didn't know the dollar store has some cute little useful things like this. Anyway, it helped to declutter my place big time.

Since then, I've fortunately moved & do have furniture (yay for furniture!). I still use the hooks because they just keep things out of the way.





This is how the hooks look on the other side of the door (but they're silver - the pic makes them appear black).



I know this looks horrendous but hey its working for now! The black backpack is dirty from my recent skating trip - whoopsy.

When this door is shut, I don't see any of these bags which is nice. The room it opens to is my storage "locker".



This one is holding random things - hats, bags, work tag.

This one is holding my scarves & head bands. Please tell me how you store your headbands :)

I need a new shower cap. Last time I dyed my hair, I used the shower cap & it's never been the same. Anyway, this bathroom door keeps a couple of necessities on hand.

So as you can see, these hooks are pretty helpful! Eventually I will look for some higher end ones to replace these but I don't see myself eliminating them completely. They costed me a total of $12.00 (cdn).

Thanks for reading & I'm always welcome to suggestions!

P.S. ~ My apologies for the low quality of these photos. My camera is a dying breed, & I'm saving for a new one. In the mean time I will be sure to take photos in the day time only as the ones above were taken at night & are extremely dark.

Hello! & my 1st project post ~ Decorating a Journal (for kids!)

Hiya! I'm Michelle a.k.a 'Shella' (my neice coined the name & it totally stuck!). I started a health / beauty blog over the Christmas holidays & have also been toying with the idea of starting a new craft / home projects blog. Since blogging is something I wanted to be sure I could commit to as a regular routine, I was hesitant to create a second one at the same time. Then, just a few days ago someone suggested that I get into this interest of mine now, as she believed I would have a knack for it. Do I have a knack for these projects? I honestly have no idea just yet. However, I do love art, in almost any form.

So I took the bull by the horns & started this blog because I know it will kick start my butt into gear.

I anticipate that most of my projects will be inexpensive & very easy to do. I'm the farthest thing from a pro so my ideas will always be open to suggestions & feedback. I'm just learning like the next person, but it's nice to think I might inspire someone (including myself).

I will try to update this blog as often as possible. I've commited to updating my health / beauty blog daily (so far so good) because I simply have more ideas for that one. So I guess we'll see how this one goes!

Thanks for reading & I hope you enjoy my first, super duper simple & cheap project:

This journal is from Chinatown. The stickers are from the dollar store. The pictures & letters are from old magazines. I used a special craft glue from a craft store (ask a rep to suggest the best one), but you can use any glue...just be aware that the 'regular' lower priced ones can often distort the paper.

Cover:



What I dreamed last night...



Inside Cover: I just stuck some stickers & magazine cut outs on there.



I love this paper:



Inside back cover:

"You run. Your worries can't keep up. It's not complicated."

So there you go - nothing fancy, but fun to do with the kids on a cold winter day when there's nothing else to do. Thanks for reading!