Organization Rocks~

Now that the New Year has officially begun I have chosen my one word for the year.. and if you haven't guessed yet.. it is ORGANIZATION!  Yes, class say it with me one time.. O-R-G-A-N-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N!  This is what I struggle with most in my life.  As the Mommy in a 1950's type household (all I am missing is the apron.. anyone have a spare?) I am not only the primary caretaker of our children but also the cook, the maid, the secretary, laundress, chauffer and financial consultant (not to mention that I work part time, craft all the time and have a blog and etsy site!).  This leaves very little room for error.  I am taking a stand against my own disorganization by taking on both

and

Today I am cleaning out my computer work space!  Here is the before..

BTW if you saw the junk drawer this is right above it!

yes horrifiying I know.. it may be the area of our home that irks Mr. Pinkapotamus the most as it is starting to encroach upon the kitchen work space!

So I decluttered, put all of my paid bills and paperwork into my filing cabinet and found some useful organization tools!  Here is the after.. you will be AMAZED (I know I was)!

And a close up of the organizers

Can you say "Wow"?  I know Mr. Pinkapotamus is going to!

Stay tuned also because as this is a crafting blog.. I have redone both the pencil can and the bill organizer!  Check it out later!

And did anyone happen to notice my feature?  Yup the really messy junk drawer got featured at Sassy Sites!  Progress.. it's great isn't it?

Love,

Pinkapotamus

P.s.  All my cleaning is literally paying off.. I found $14.51!  I think I will put it all aside and take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese when I am done!

Hoo Are You 2011!

Look I finally got the button IN the blog to work!  Progress!So obviously I am participating and here are my answers to the burning questions on everyone's mind.. atleast those who are playing along!~ 1. Did you make any New Year's Revolutions?Yes!  My New Year's Revolution is to organize everything starting with my kitchen, then the rest of the house and ALL of the paperwork that life requires! 

This is the before!

2. What are some goals you have for 2011?My goals are to get healthy, exercise more, find a little more time for my husband and I and lots more fun activities with the kids! 

3. What is something that you got for Christmas? I got some new clothes and silverware.. both were missing pieces..lol
4. Did you see any good movies over the holiday season? I took the kids to see Yogi Bear.. but I'm not sure that it counts as a "good" movie.  I really wanted to see Harry Potter 7! 5. Do you do your own taxes or have someone do them for you?I love my accountant because he's also my Dad.. and he's awesome!So.. um .. yeah I have someone do them for me.

 

 Can't wait to hear what everyone else has to say!

Love, Pinkapotamus

Upcycled Snowmen

I have a confession to make...  I am addicted to bottled seltzer.  There I've said it.  I can't help it.  I love water but I drink so much of it that sometimes I just need something different and since I don't like the taste of soda; diet or otherwise seltzer with lemon is IT!  My biggest issue with my seltzer habit is the amount of bottles that I leave behind.. and of course they are plastic.   So the kids and I rescued a few of  them by turning them into happy snowmen and women to go with our winter decorating theme! 

Here's how you can make some with your little guys too!

Start with your empty bottles minus the label

Then give them a base coat of white paint.

Once they are dry make some textured paint.  I refuse to buy it at the craft store so I make my own using kosher salt and white paint.  Saves about $6. 

Paint the bottles again.

After this I sparkle them.. what's a snowman without a little glitter?

.. just a pile of snow!

While the bottles dry get all of your snowman accessories together.

We used pom poms, felt for scarves, gloves and ribbon for hats, wood shapes for noses and of course buttons.

Then build your snowman (or woman)!

Look how proud my guys are of their snowmen!

I think Will made a friend!

And by the way.. it is freaking cold here in NJ (okay maybe I'm exaggerating a bit) and we still have snow and I HATE the cold weather.  I go out in it because the kids love it.. but indoor snowmen are soo much more fun to make.. no lost digits to hypothermia!

Hope you have fun building a snowman indoors where it's warm!

P.S.  Don't forget to enter my giveaway with a comment.. entries are LOW!  You can enter here: http://pinkapotamus.blogspot.com/2011/01/first-day-giveaway.html

I am sharing with

Love,

Pinkapotamus

Pink Hippo Party #10

Happy 2011 and welcome to the first Pink Hippo Party of 2011!  I was pleasantly surprised this morning to wake up to 5 NEW followers!  So thanks.. I think you just made my whole week!  Well since Christmas there has been lots of reorganization going on so not too much crafting.. but with the kids going back to school I am hoping to have some more time.  So here is a pic of my reorganized kitchen cabinet:

Trust me when I say it NEEDED it.. you couldn't find ANYTHING in here before!

And don't forget to enter my First Day Giveaway @ http://pinkapotamus.blogspot.com/2011/01/first-day-giveaway.html

Now on to my favorites from last year .. (funny to say that right?)

The most adorable dress made out of a onsie from Jennifer Dawn

@ http://thelifeofjenniferdawn.blogspot.com/

The coolest growth chart EVER by Lori

http://paisleypassions.blogspot.com/

(p.s. we use a wall to measure my kids growth vs. my grandmother's shrinking I may have to make one!)

One of the cutest way to store all those Christmas cards by Shannon

@ http://enjoylifeandlove.blogspot.com/

So ladies grab your featured button and wear it with pride!

Now onto the rules!

1. Grab a party button

2. Link back to this party

3. Link to your specific post and not your home page

4. Become a follower (cause it's just nice)

5. Don't forget some love to your fellow crafters.. everyone loves a compliment!

Operation Organization! Part 1

I am totally participating in this!  There are several reasons:

1.  If you ever met me.. I am the most disorganized person EVER!

2.  I am tired of losing things because they get shoved somewhere and forgotten.

3.  Mr. Pinkapotamus will LOVE it!

4.  I need some help and support!

All of that being said I started this morning.  Now originally I had planned on ONLY working on my JUNK drawer.. so here is the Before..

*Warning* if you are squeamish or faint of heart.. avert your eyes.. NOW!**

Wow!  Right?

Then I cleaned it out to this:

Put all of the homeless items into new homes and reorganized the drawer to this!

Nice, right?

So then I got a little carried away and reorganized the whole kitchen so that ALL of my cabinets and drawers are clean and arranged properly.. want to see?

Of course you do!  Here it is!

A Before of my tupperware cabinet! (Can you say AVANLANCHE?!)

And the AFTER!

And here are some of the other spaces I reorganized.

 

So a BIG thanks to Sassy Sites for this wonderful idea!  Hopefully I will be able to maintain this for the rest of the year.. but even if not.. what a GREAT way to start!

Love,

Pinkapotamus
I am also sharing with

I am doing this ALOT because I NEED all the HELP I can GET!

Snowflake Banner!

Does anyone else around here feel the pressure that the stores put on us to move into the holidays faster than ever? 

Christmas starts being celebrated in October before Halloween has even arrived.. and as I was Christmas shopping all sorts of Valentine's Day decorations were leering at me from behind the aisles. 

Well, I am just NOT ready to be moved on YET!  So I am taking a stand and sticking with the season that we are currently celebrating.. and that for me is WINTER and New Year's!  (Okay.. I will probably make some Valentine's decorations.. but only because I have a soft spot for the holiday because it's my little guy's birthday.. insert the "AWWWWW's" here!)

So here is my first project of the New Year.. a wintery Snowflake banner with tutorial!

I started with Woodsies wooden sticks with the fancy edges, some yarn and glue.

I glued three sticks together to make a snowflake.  Then I wound the yard around the indentations in the stick so that it had a woven look.

After all of the snowflakes were made I Mod Podged my clothespins and sparkled them.

Then I got my letters together for painting.. I chose "Let It Snow"

Then I made some textured paint to look like snow with Kosher salt and white paint.

Then I painted my letters.. here is a close up of one!

Then I glued all of the letters to the snowflakes and the snowflakes to some polka dot ribbon with the clothespins.. and Viola!  Snowflake banner!

Cute and fun and compliments all of my winter snowman decorations!

I am sharing with

Love,

Pinkapotamus

First Day Giveaway!

Last year I rang in the New Year with a First Day 5K! 

This year I would love to ring it in with a First Day Giveaway!  So what am I giving away you ask..?  Well, I am giving away two mirrored jewerly boxes and a hair bow holder!

The first is a 12 x 12 jewelry box that has been embellished with the Once Upon a Time scrapbook paper.  The words and castle are 3 dimensional. 

It has a small square mirror at the bottom and has 6 hooks for hanging jewelry.

The second is a 6 x 6 purple jewelry box with small mirror and braided hair for hair bows.

It has 4 hooks for hanging jewelry.  Perfect for any little girl!

Last is a Pink mirrored hairbow holder complete with 16" braids.

Now on to the rules!

To enter..

1. You must be a follower (I will check.. so if you're not.. no cheating!)

2.  Leave a comment about your favorite post of 2010!

3.  Leave a comment about what you would like to see in 2011

4.  Blog about this giveaway!
1 entry for each

I will close the giveaway on January 10th and then choose 3 lucky winners one for the large jewelry box, one for the small jewelry box and one for the hair bow holder!  Good luck in the New Year!

Love,

Pinkapotamus