Organization?!

So, I'm not so hot at the whole organization thing. I'm slightly too right brained. I do try though. And, to be fair, I know where everything is. Just my system makes no sense to anyone else in their right mind. I'm okay with this.
Nonetheless: I had no place for mail. Which meant I lost things. Which meant I annoyed the hubs. Change had to be made. And because the mail sorters I like are expensive and I am poor, I decided to make one.
And I had to buy NOTHING. You heard that right. This project was FAH-REE!
(Note: It's only free if you are me and hoard things that go on sale at Hobby Lobby because you get a discount. It might cost you like... $3. Still a good deal though.)

How to make a Mail Sorter
(To make your husband less mad at you)

You will need all this stuff:
Scrapbook paper, Modpodge, glue gun, shoe box, scissors. Optional: Fabric.

Cut your shoebox (I started with the lid, you don't have to) like so:

Measure it to the size of an envelope.
Draw a line where the edge was:

Glue:

And there you go.

Repeat with the shoebox.
Podge paper all over that sucker. I did alternating strips of black and white paper. Don't measure, just wrap the excess underneath the box. I added a cute paper flower to the lid. Tutorial here.

Sorry, I didn't take good pictures of this part. I was in the zone. Using another shoebox or some other form of cardboard (in my case, a pizza box), measure and cut dividers that fit inside the box. I decided to cover the inside of my box in contrasting jersey fabric I had leftover from some hair flowers. Yes, you can podge fabric. Just like you do paper. Why did I use fabric? Because it was there and I didn't have enough blue paper. And I liked the blue.

I added a blue strip of paper across the top of my box to finish of the edge (the edges weren't pretty). I also added the word "Mail" to the outside. I did that by cutting strips of paper and curling them just like you would ribbon, forming letters with a few pieces, and gluing them in place. Tedious? Yes. Super cool and totally worth it? Indeed.

I wasn't smart, and my lid didn't fit on my box when I was done. But I actually liked them stacked way better, so it worked out. Let your box dry, and there you go! Beautiful!
I added a little ceramic bird I had laying around. Because I like birds.

If you have a free Saturday afternoon, I would definitely tell you to make one. I love projects you can finish in less than a couple hours! Instant gratification.
What do you think??

Accessorized.

Look what I've been making! ... Hair flowers!





I will teach you how later, promise. Right now, I have to clean and pack for my awesome spring break trip.

In the meantime, you should check out this. And this. So you can get stuff like this:

Paper Flowers!

So, I have been on a crafting kick. Like... seriously, I've made like 29 things this week. I think maybe it has something to do with being surrounded by all the fabulous things at the HobLobby all the time. Whatever, I'm being productive, so let's run with it.

Sidebar: I really like flowers. I do. I would love to have them all over the place. There are, however, two fundamental problems with that. One, I live in an apartment with no outdoor space. Two, I can't grow things. Seriously. I'm really, really good at killing stuff. You know how some people have green thumbs? I have the black thumb of death. I once tried to grow things on the windowsill of my college dorm room. One pot promptly died, and pigeons nested in the other pot. Apparently pigeon poop is not good fertilizer. I digress.

So. I had this really pretty glass bowl thingy. For winter, I had cinnamon sticks in it. And now that it is not winter (sadly, its like 80 degrees outside. I already need sunblock and its only March. Stupid weather), I felt like I needed to zuzh it up. So I made a bouquet. That won't ever wilt. Because I'm awesome. And modest.

How to make paper rosettes

You will need this stuff:

Draw this shape:

Cut it out and start rolling:

Keep rolling until you have this:

Let it go, and hot glue like this:

Press, and you have a lovely rosette!

And, you can use nifty scrapbook paper, and make stuff like this:

Which makes a cool arrangement that I can't kill, and looks super nifty in my living room:

You can use the same method to make felt or fabric flowers, for cute pins or hair clips. Which may or may not be what I shall post about later.