Style Lush

Simple kids craft: Pinecone bird feeders

by Emily

This is one of my favorite crafts to do with the kids. It is easy, it doesn't get too messy (and even if it does, the elements are pretty easy to clean up), it doesn't have to look perfect, AND it's cheap.

The only things you need are:

Pinecones (we gather ours around the neighborhood)
Peanut butter (I buy the cheap Target brand specifically for this project)
Birdseed (any kind will do, and you only need a small bag)
Butter knives
String
A surface to work on (we prefer a towel spread on the floor if we're working indoors)
A container about the size/shape of a casserole dish

First, gather your pinecones. We like to find big, broad pinecones with as much space as possible between ... uh, whatever those parts of the pinecone are called. You know, the parts that stick out. (Shut up.) Tie a string around the top of the pinecone before you begin -- this is how you'll hang the pinecone once you've finished. Then, have the kids spread the entire pinecone with peanut butter and when you've decided that's enough (and trust me, YOU WILL HAVE TO DECIDE THIS, because they will spread peanut butter for HOURS if you let them), pour some birdseed into a pan, lay the pinecones in the birdseed, and either roll it around in the seed or sprinkle it on top. Then once they're covered in seeds, take them outside and hang them up for the birds to enjoy.

Or, squirrels. Squirrels always steal ours, but the kids don't know that, so we just keep making them. Perfect for a slow winter afternoon!

[photo credit: craftzine.com]

A simple way to organize your workspace

by Emily

So I am late to the Nate Berkus party, but once I started watching, I got HOOKED. I love everything about the man, and I love the show too. Nothing against Martha Stewart, because I LOVE YOU, Martha Stewart, but there's something about Martha and her show that always felt... too hard. Too difficult. Too... GEARED TOWARD EXPERTS. I do not feel like this about Nate Berkus, although his show is very similar to how Martha did hers - recipes, decorating, crafts, tips on making your life easier and better.

Anyway, I was watching a repeat last week and there was an organizer on the show, talking about how to declutter your house, and what she said about decluttering and organizing your workspace was SPOT ON, and I am not even kidding, I went out the VERY NEXT DAY and bought supplies and did exactly what she suggested and it is ACTUALLY WORKING. Now, granted, this only applies to the paper/filing/bills part of your workspace - she said nothing about HOW to file your stuff or WHAT you should file, but this should get you started if you're struggling with keeping piles of paper off your desk.

Before this mini-makeover, I was keeping a basket on the stairs. I suppose it was my "inbox" of sorts - it's where I put mail I was planning to go back through, or bills I needed to pay, or trinkets I needed to save or file away in another spot in the house. The plan was to go through that basket often, and take things upstairs to put away, but I never did it more than once a month - maybe once every TWO months. The result was that sometimes I missed deadlines for bills, sometimes I couldn't find important phone numbers, sometimes I missed appointments. Never again - here's what's working for me NOW.

When you're organizing your workspace, you need five simple, relatively inexpensive items: a wall calendar, a cork board or magnetic board, a vertical file, an inbox, and a small organizer. (I should add we also have a large filing box we keep under our desk, out of sight, for things we need to keep long term.) I found mine at the Container Store, on sale.

Circuit magnetic divided bin, $7.99

Circuit desktop file, $14.99

Circuit stackable letter tray, $9.99

I also love this calendar by Real Simple, which I always buy at Target:

Flexible planning calendar, $11 at Target

And I also have a simple white magnetic board from IKEA. They do not sell it anymore! Obviously you may substitute anything you like for my simple white magnetic board.

Each of the aforementioned items serves a very specific purpose. Here's how mine is set up:

 

The letter tray becomes your inbox. That's where you drop your mail, your catalogs, your coupons, your bills. Throw away junk mail AS SOON AS YOU GET IT, and sort through the remainder of your stuff ONCE A WEEK, minimum (best if you can handle it as it comes in). The hardest part about sorting (for me, anyway) was that I didn't have specific places for all that stuff TO GO. Guess what? This system helps you with that. If you have something that needs attention (a form to fill out, or a card to send), leave it in the inbox. If you go through it once a week, you should be able to SEE the thing you need to do, as well as have enough time to do it in a timely manner. I bought a tray instead of a box because I knew a box would hold much more stuff. With this tray, if it starts to get full, stuff starts sliding out onto the floor, which is how I know I've gone too long without sorting through it.

Bills should be relegated to the divided bin. The bin is a great place to also store pens, a checkbook, a calculator, and stamps - this way, when you go to pay bills, all the stuff you need is RIGHT THERE in front of you. No digging in desk drawers or hunting through wallets. It's all right there, and makes paying bills painless, except for the part about how you're spending your hard-earned money on HEATING, which sucks. See how organized it is?

 

Things you need to keep or save go into the vertical file. I have several folders in mine - right now they're labeled Coupons, To File (meaning in the Big Box Under the Desk, a job I plan to do monthly), Tax (right now we're getting lots of tax-related mail, and I don't know what to do with it, so I'm just saving it in that folder for Dave - I will get rid of that folder once our taxes have been filed for this year), Info (for things I need often, like the doctor's office handbook or Asher's class list), and Browse (where I keep catalogs until I throw them out). Then once those files are full or you have some spare time, you can transfer the To File stuff into your permanent file (ours is under the desk, remember?).

The wall calendar records all upcoming appointments. If you get an appointment card for a haircut or a doctor's appointment? Record it on the calendar and then THROW THAT CARD OUT. It's just more paper to have cluttering up your desk. Make the calendar the official place to log activities and appointments, especially ones that the whole family needs to be aware of.

Finally, use the corkboard or magnetic board for things that you will be using soon. This includes tickets, receipts for purchases that you may need to return, or library receipts - anything you need to SEE that you don't want to file away for the long-term.

The key here is to deal with all the paper you have right now, and then once you've gone through it all, to try to deal with paper RIGHT as it comes in your door, rather than letting it stack up. This system has helped me IMMENSELY, so much that I rarely have anything in my inbox at all!

[photo credits: realsimple.com, containerstore.com]

Custom house portrait

by Emily

I have been looking for a good excuse to gift someone with this for months now, and although I've come up with many Big Reasons to gift it (bringing a new baby home, celebrating a ten-year anniversary, moving to a new home), I find that the real reason I've been looking is because I ACTUALLY WANT THIS MYSELF. Very VERY badly.

Of course, this home I currently live in is the ONLY home I've ever shared with my husband (we moved in together the night we came home from our honeymoon). We brought both of our babies here, our only dog (who passed away more than a year ago) only knew this home as his own. It's filled to the brim with memories and I think this is the perfect way to take the memory of this home with me whenever we leave it. (And we will eventually leave it, SIGH.)

These are custom house portraits by Rebekka Seale. She does watercolors from photographs, and they are adorable and amazing and she isn't even OFFERING them currently because she's been so inundated by orders, and RIGHTLY SO. If you can even GET one right now (you can't at this moment, there's not one listed for sale), the turnaround time is four months. But isn't it worth it? So whimsical and gorgeous and the perfect gift for an anniversary, a new baby, a going away gift. OR FOR ME, ANYONE WHO IS READING THIS.

I am going to stalk her Etsy page until it comes back. And then drop some more VERY OBVIOUS hints for anyone around me.

[photo credit: etsy.com]

Target REDcard

by Emily

According to my husband, we spent in the neighborhood of SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS at Target in 2011. It isn't so horrifying when I think about it: I buy most of our dry grocery staples there (macaroni and cheese, granola bars, condiments, kid snacks) and of course, our cleaning supplies and diapers. Then there's the clothes I buy for the kids and the toys we buy for Christmas and the birthday presents and the vacation supplies and the toilet paper and the occasional knick knack or pair of shoes I treat myself to...

Yeah, so. Seven thousand dollars.

I knew Target had a store credit card, and I was simply not interested in it, despite the fact that it offered a five percent discount on everything that was purchased with it. I don't need another credit card - I don't need a way to potentially spend more than I have. So when I found out that there was also a Target DEBIT card... well, PEOPLE. Sign me up! Sign me up RIGHT NOW DO IT DO IT DO IT.

The Target REDcard debit card is linked directly to your checking account, just like a regular debit card is. There are no fees unless you don't have adequate funds in your account (just like the penalties associated with writing a bad check), and you get the same benefits as you would with the Target credit card. That means five percent off all purchases, free shipping on anything you buy with your card on the Target website, and while you don't get any discounts on prescriptions, you DO get a five percent off one-day shopping pass with every five prescriptions you fill. Use your shopping pass AND your debit card and you can take a whopping TEN PERCENT off whatever you put in your cart! HEAVEN!

We're looking to try to cut our spending this year, but I am looking forward to knowing that however much I end up spending at Target (and it will be a lot, I know it will), I'll be spending less than I did last year thanks to the REDcard. Last year it would have saved us close to $350 - my only regret is that I didn't sign up for it sooner.

[photo credit: target.com]

Coolest Christmas Tree EVER

by Emily

How would you like to absolutely BLOW YOUR CHILD'S MIND this Christmas? We've all heard of the time-honored tradition of trains going around the base of a Christmas tree, but no one I know actually DOES this when they have kids, because HELLO, that's where the presents go, and also KIDS BREAK STUFF LIKE TRAINS. So how about a train that goes around your tree... except that it goes right in the branches?

Last year we stumbled across this little beauty at the after-Christmas sale at Home Depot; I think we scored it for $3 or something and figured we'd give it a shot this year - if it didn't work out, hey, we were only out $3. Turns out, it was easy to put together and the kids absolutely LOVE it, and we have the hands-down COOLEST Christmas tree in the whole entire world. (I am only SLIGHTLY exaggerating.) The track supports are attached to the trunk of the tree, and the tracks go around and sometimes a bit through the branches of the tree.

And hey! You can get one yourself RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE. The price is a BIT steeper than $3, but I can officially vouch for the fact that it's easy to assemble and that it will be a total crowd pleaser. TOTALLY WORTH IT. (Or you could wait and hit up the after-Christmas sale and cross your fingers.)

[photo credit: homedepot.com]

Winter Penguin collection at Gymboree

by Emily

I'm not usually a Gymboree patron. I mean, yes, I wander in sometimes and my children do own the occasional clearance-priced item, but for the most part, I don't shop there. Don't get me wrong, I love nearly everything in the store, and the quality is pretty good. My problem is getting back out without buying 84 coordinating items. You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you? A cute sweater and pair of coordinating pants turns into a ginormous shopping bag filled with accessories, a matching hat, some adorable shoes, and hey, a coordinating skirt, you know, JUST BECAUSE. Gymboree can theme UNDERWEAR, you guys, and PEOPLE WILL BUY IT.

But my nearly three-year-old daughter is currently OBSESSED with penguins, and so it is getting harder for me to pass up the store lately. Everything in the Winter Penguin collection is so darned adorable, and until Sunday, a good portion of it is 50 percent off.

Penguin tee, $12.48

Penguin Fair Isle sweater, $18.48

Penguin Fair Isle sweater dress, $39.95

Polka dot sweater jumper, $39.95

Cute, right? But now you're INSIDE GYMBOREE and you're going to have to buy these too. SO GOOD LUCK.

Penguin dot boot, $39.95

Penguin sweater hat, $16.95

Penguin bow tights, $14.95

[photo credit: gymboree.com]

DIY pillow mattress

by Emily

I have been in the market for bean bag chairs for my kids for a couple of months. We have hardwood floors downstairs, and yet, they love to lie on the floor to watch movies and TV. On special movie nights, we usually just drag a pile of blankets downstairs and lounge on them. Well, the kids do, at least. I cannot risk the health of my 33-year-old back. I thought they might LOVE having bean bag chairs instead.

Except WOW, did you guys know what some places CHARGE for bean bag chairs? I wanted one with a cover that I could take off and wash, and I wanted one that was big enough to use for several years and through many growth spurts, and it turns out finding one the right size and quality was going to cost me close to $130 EACH. Each! Yeah, no.

Then I stumbled across this pillow mattress on Pinterest and an idea was born. (Our very own A'Dell wrote about similar mats earlier this year, too.)

Now, the honest truth is that I have no idea how to sew. My grandmother happened to be in town and she whipped up TWO of these babies for me over the course of two hours. But I do find that the tutorial is easy to follow, if you know how to sew.

I will add my two cents, which is that you can make these super, duper cheap if you can find a twin-size bedsheet. It's the perfect amount of material, it is designed to hold up through many, many washings, and I found mine at Walmart for $5 each in a cute striped pattern. Throw in four pillows for each mattress ($2.50 each, also at Walmart) and each pillow mattress came out to $15 (Grandma's labor was free).

I am giving them as Christmas gifts - each child is also going to get a copy of a beloved DVD to go with it.

[photo credit: pinterest.com]

My absolute favorite cleaning product

by Emily

I clean my house a lot. Not necessarily because it's dirty or grimy (as if I could not clean long enough to let it GET THAT WAY) - mostly just because I like having a clean house, and I like having a house that smells like cleaning products. Does anything smell better than lemon fresh Pledge? Doesn't that take any of you back to your wax buildup-free childhood?

What I really DON'T like about cleaning my house is lugging 84 different products from room to room. I have this enormous bucket 'o products that weighs 92 pounds and stuff falls out of it (usually the toilet brush, which GROSS THE TOILET BRUSH IS TOUCHING STUFF IT ISN'T SUPPOSED TO TOUCH) and somehow I still always forget to bring something along and it just drives me insane.

Luckily, this never happens in the kitchen. Do you know why? Because when I need to quickly clean up the kitchen, I only use one product. Granted, when I need to do a deep clean, I DO need to use specialty products for different things - polish for the granite, stainless steel cleaner for the appliances and the sink, wood cleaner for the cabinets. But on a day where I just need things to be clean, not necessarily "I'm throwing a party for the President" PERFECT, this stuff is the absolute BOMB.

Why? Because it cleans everything. Take the oven, for example. This works on the cooktop, the stainless door, and the glass window without streaking or smearing. It cleans my granite without leaving a dull film. It is perfect for the wood surface of our kitchen table which is always covered with fruit cup syrup and ketchup and chocolate milk after the kids are finished eating. I can spray it on a soft cloth and clean the television and our electronics, too. That's really the best part - I don't even check the can anymore to make sure whatever I'm spraying it on is on the Acceptable list, I JUST USE IT. So far, so good.

[Photo credit: pledge.com]

Body wash and lotion for the upcoming winter

by Emily

I'm the kind of person who switches her moisturizing needs with the season. Or, wait, does everyone do that? In the summer, I really love using a body oil in the shower so I can forget about moisturizing altogether; in the cooler months, though, I need to use something almost immediately upon exiting the shower or I will itch like crazy.

One thing that makes my control-freak personality extremely happy is when I can find a body wash and lotion that do the trick and also SMELL THE SAME. I am overly paranoid about combining scents - I don't want them all to mingle together and turn into the smell of DEATH or something, I guess. What I really like are simple scents, nothing to flowery or fruity, which is why I generally lean towards your basic shea butter and oatmeal scents, or something made with cocoa butter.

I hit the jackpot finding St. Ives Moisturizing Body Wash and the corresponding St. Ives Advanced Body Moisturizer, both in a lovely Oatmeal and Shea Butter scent. The scent is muted and soft, and the products themselves are fantastic, especially when you consider they're both priced around $5. The body wash feels luxurious and the moisturizer goes on smoothly and doesn't feel sticky or heavy. Yet even now that the weather has turned dry and cold, I never feel itchy or scaly.

As an added bonus, this product is also endorsed by my mother, who - and I am not even kidding here, not one little bit - has tried every lotion available at every drugstore or big box store in America. No seriously, my mom's bathroom is often LITTERED with lotion bottles; you name it, she has tried it, and she has no problems not finishing a bottle if she hates it (MY ISSUE, I CONFESS). If my mother says this is the best lotion she has ever tried, YOU BEST BELIEVE HER.

[photo credit: amazon.com]

Your Birthday Book: A Keepsake Journal

by Emily

My son turned five on Monday. That means we've had five entire birthday parties for the kid - and for the life of me, I can't really remember what we did for each one, though I'm sure we kept it small (we have a tiny house) and made it mostly family-centric. And every year, right after his birthday party (JUST LIKE I AM DOING ONCE AGAIN), I regret never buying this adorable little birthday party scrapbook and filling it out for him.

The concept is simple - for each birthday, there's allotted space for photos and a few notes, for example, who was invited, gifts that were given, what kind of cake the birthday kid ate. What I like most about it is that it doesn't make you feel like you have to write a BOOK about the day - some simple rememberances is all there's room for anyway. I love what the little blurb at barnesandnoble.com says about it: "This is not anything like a baby book. It’s a birthday book! It was born from the simple idea that birthdays provide the perfect annual opportunity to preserve a sweet moment in time as your child changes from year to year."

I love that! The perfect annual opportunity to preserve a sweet moment in time. Yes. YES.

As your kids get older, the book provides some quick interview questions, too. This is actually one of my favorite gifts to give when I've been invited to a baby's first birthday party! The price is really reasonable, too - you can buy it almost everywhere (Amazon, B&N, Target) for under $10.

Ok, so now I'm tempted to go ahead and buy two and fill them out for both kids even though we've gone through seven birthday parties already.That wouldn't be lame, would it?

[photo credit: barnesandnoble.com]