Featured at Mom's Toolbox!

I'm so excited! Amy at Mom's Toolbox is using my tip for getting grease stains out of clothes for her Super Quick Mom Tip today!

Amy is the one who took Ted Cooper's ministry, The Bible in 90 Days, and offered it as a ministry for bloggers. I'm so very thankful for what she does!

I would so appreciate you heading over there and leaving a comment after you read my post!

Closet Clean-up

When Traci from Beneath My Heart and her sister, Cyndi, from CyndiSpivey.com/Walking in His Grace decided to collaborate on a January project, I knew I was all in. I met these beautiful ladies at Relevant, and I'm so thankful I got to know them a little bit. I wish it had been more.

They decided they wanted to do a series on organizing...Traci would take the home organization part; Cyndi would take the heart organization. I loved the idea.

This week's Heart post by Cyndi is "Three Tips to Organize Your Quiet Time with God." It's a great post, whether you have never had a quiet time or if you've been having one for years.

"Having a consistent Quiet Time can make a difference in how we handle this journey we’re on."

How true.

For my post, I'm linking up to Traci's half. Her challenge for organizing our homes this week was a closet. Any closet. Linen, bedroom, coat, whatever. I wanted to do my bedroom closet, but that would take so much more energy than I have I decided to do the next one that came to mind: the linen closet. I must give a disclosure here. My linen closet (and my linens, for that matter) is nothing fancy. By far. But it's what I have, and it needs to be neat, so I got to work on it.

Here's the before:

Full closet view
ShelvesFloor

One word. Yuck. We had been shoving stuff in there for who knows how long, never taking the time to really find the correct spot for it. The floor was so full when we'd put a new thing of TP in there we'd just set it down and squeeze the door shut, hoping it would latch. Pitiful.

After doing like Traci did and designating three piles (throw away, sell/give away, keep), it now looks like this:

Top two shelves...I actually was able to completely clean out the left half of the top shelf and put our extra pillows up there (the blue one is a body pillow folded over. And yes, those are hardhats. See, Sound Man has worked in the safety industry for 15 years, and, well, he had access to them, and when a tornado threatens...well, I'd just rather be safe - albeit silly looking- than sorry. I have a GREAT story about Sound Man and the hard hat in a hail storm...for another time). The second shelf is just better organized, plus cleaned out of expired stuff. I used a basket I found on the bottom for corralling sunscreen and extra shampoos and other stuff that tends to get knocked down.

Bottom two shelves. Okay, this looks really pitiful and it looks like we don't have any real towels to our name. But we really do. If you come visit, I promise you will have a towel to dry off with. Currently, our three big, huge towels are in use, hanging on the back of the bathroom door. We have a couple more preventing drafts from sneaking in under drafty doors. Anyway, the point is, this used to be a hodgepodge of towels, hand towels, and bed linens, none of which I knew went with what bed. Now, the towels and other bath linens are on one shelf, and the sheets are on the bottom shelf. I put them in bags I got from Dollar Tree to keep the dust off of them. Even if they are clean, if they're not put up like this, I think they smell like dust and I won't use them. I'm weird.

And the floor. Oh, I can SEE the floor! How nice! Or...well, aside from the '80's carpet, it's nice. And yes, that is a Boppy pillow. Which I will keep forever since not only does it have precious memories attached to it, but it's very useful for my tailbone when I'm in the floor brushing one of the pooches. I fell 15 years ago and bruised my tailbone and it STILL gives me fits. Anyway, I'm so happy to see this. You would not BELIEVE the junk I threw away from down here. It filled a huge bag up!

Ahhhhh...it's so nice to be able to look in there and actually SEE what's there. Especially the floor. And even though it still needs to be painted and the contact paper needs to be changed and the carpet is from the '80's...at least it's clean. So, that makes me happy.

Please click over to see other closet makeovers, some of which will make your jaw drop! Traci's own closet makeover is one of them!

Hmm...what now?

See this? This is the bus that is taking my child to camp for three days. What in the world will I do with all my spare time? Well, I could work on this...or this...or these...and I really need to work on this...and this...and even this...and thi...oh, my....I think they're multiplying.

And this...uh...no, wait...He's perfect just the way he is.

And, even though I have a lot of projects going on and even more than need to be started, more than likely, I'll just go shopping. And make a couple of these...And visit with Momma. We've been playing cards the past couple of nights. She wins almost every time. : P

What Do You Love...revisited

I have thought about my earlier post a lot today...Kat made a good suggestion in her comment about doing a Linky party. I think I want to jump in with both feet and try this!

So, Monday morning come on back here and get ready to link up with what makes you smile in my first ever "What Makes ME Smile" Linky party! Woo hoo! If you'd like a button, feel free to grab it. I can't wait to see what makes YOU smile!

<a href="http://butterflygenes.blogspot.com/2009/06/name-something-you-love-in-your-home.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0I986qWMCgkGk3_L6Sirb_fyau3-MmIEXgTaop18xrugCYtPAIHbM3R2vO7rYjxEqL12RK9Br1N87AOpWb4G8xTM2YoXvyM_o_ny-cJ2f6GP-pA6MZ3dkir2d3ANq9qRZDSkPNXh_tME/s400/What+makes+me+smile.png"/></a>

Drop Cloth Bedskirt

Edited to add on 7/2/09: The giveaway mentioned is over, but you are welcome to head over to my Etsy shop anyway! :) I'm adding this to Kimba's DIY Day party!
Before I go any further, let me remind you to head over to Like a Warm Cup of Coffee where Sarah Mae is hosting a giveaway of one of my tassels! Go on! THEN you can come back here.

A couple of years ago (or maybe not quite that long ago), our friends Jeff and Lisa gave us a king size bed. They were getting a new bed and we had wanted a king size for a long time. So, for the price of manual labor moving beds all over the universe (okay, around the corner), we got a bed we wanted. No, it wasn't new, but have you priced new king size beds lately? Sheesh.

With the bed came the bedding. The set they gave us with the bed came with the motherload: Comforter, pillow shams, bedskirt, and curtains (like, a bajillion curtains). The only problem was they didn't go with my bedroom. I knew I needed to update the comforter, but I wasn't going to go out and buy the first thing I saw. That is, until I saw this at Target. I was shopping with Kat one day and when we came upon it, I'm sure I heard the Doxology. I wanted that quilt reeeeeeally bad. So, with Mother's Day coming up, I hinted strongly to Sound Man that it would look bee-yoo-tee-ful in our bedroom. Long story short about that, he came through. He's a good man.

The only problem with this is that the set only comes in a quilt and shams. No bedskirt. I really need a bedskirt (or dust ruffle for some of you) to hide the massive dust bunnies boxes I have under the bed. So, what to do?

I had bought a 9x12 drop cloth at Home Depot for about $20 a few weeks ago to cover one of my tables at the A'Fair, knowing I could use it for something else later. After seeing a couple of posts from Susie Harris and Kimba I knew I could come up with something. Enter bedskirt dilemma. Perfect!

First, I washed and dried the thing. It had gotten dirty at the A'Fair, plus it had a funny smell that some things have when they're new. Plus, I wanted a washed, sort of messy look. I'm a washed and messy kind of girl. Then, I draped it over my bed:Then, I made sure that I had the hem on the floor where I wanted it, pulled a couple more inches and tucked those between the mattress and box spring:And took my very precise, very professional Sharpie and just stuck it in the tucked part and drew a line down the whole mattress:I was a Home Ec. Major. Dr. Diamond would heave if she saw this. I don't give a flippin' flop.

Next, I cut a very precise line where the sharpie line was:Or not.

Then I got my trusty glue gun out. You know what Nester says, "IDHTBPTBB!". What did I do? I glue gunned (is that even a word?) the fabric right to the box spring!I just pulled and tugged until I had it at the right level on the floor. Then glued that sucker down. At the end of the bed, I had more fabric than I needed, but I didn't want to cut it since I was feeling lazy (it was, after all, almost midnight...Sound Man and Kiddo were off camping), so I just made kind of a pleat:Then precisely and professionally cut another length for the foot of the bed. I had planned on making the seam the very middle of the bedskirt, but messed up and it was several inches off. Like, 24 of them. So, I made another pleat:All the while shoving and gluing and tugging until I liked it. Notice I didn't say, "Until it was perfect." Because it ain't. But look at it now:I think the picture is a little dark, but trust me, it looks great. Please do not look at the roll of tp on my bedside table. We were out of Kleenex, give a sistah a break.

And look how much material I have left over to make curtains!This project was so easy. The hardest part was trying to move the bed where I could get to the box spring easier. Did you know that king size beds weigh 20,000 lbs more than queen size? It's a proven fact. Ask my back.
I plan on gluing some brown grosgrain ribbon to the bedskirt, just to give it a little more presence. Then I can use that ribbon to hang the curtains. When I get it finished you know I'll show you!
Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

So, what did you do on Memorial Day?

While I have some surprises up my sleeve for later in the week, I wanted to "unwrap" what our family did yesterday.

Nothing.

Blessed, relaxing, absolutely...nothing.

We haven't done that in a loooooooong time. No where to go, nothing to have to do. Sigh....it really was nice.

I won't tell you the ungodly hour we slept until, but suffice it to say that Kiddo beat us up by a while. Long enough for him to concoct a plan for the day. He came in our room and announced that he was in charge of breakfast, lunch, and dinner that day, and informed us of what we'd be eating. And while we had to burst his bubble about dinner (we had planned on hamburgers on the grill, after all), we moved some stuff around and enjoyed his plans for the most part.

For breakfast, cinnamon rolls and a banana, with a glass of milk on the side. For dinner (I'll get to lunch in a sec), to go along with our burgers, cheese fries a la Outback, with fries, cheese, and bacon bits piled on top. He had a great idea that Sound Man and I would probably never have thought of!

And now, for lunch, I give you...Kiddo's Gourmet Sandwiches: (sorry I didn't take any pictures)

(btw, this is directly from my Kiddo's instructions, written the way he wrote them)

Ingredients
2 pc. Whole Wheat bread
(about) 1 TBSP.Mayonnaise
3 slices lunch meat
1/2 cup Parmesan, Colby, Monterey Jack, and cheddar mixed cheeses
Lettuce (optional)
Toast bread.
Put all ingredients
together in
between
slices
of
bread.

So there you go. A nine-year old's version of a gourmet sandwich. And let me say, they were really good! Especially since Momma didn't have to make lunch!

He made us so proud yesterday, wanting to serve his parents. I hope he gets those ideas more often, not just because I want him to serve me, but because I want him to learn to serve others. To feel the joy that comes from giving to someone else just because. As an only child, it's hard for him to "get it" because we have no other children he has to share with. So, when he wakes us up with these kinds of surprises, he delights his parents in more ways than one!

See what others are unwrapping at Emily's blog, Chatting at the Sky.

My Hero

No, I'm not talking about my Sound Man. Although he does fit that description. No, I'm talking about a dish detergent. No, I haven't lost my mind. And no, I'm not even talking about doing dishes.

See, one lovely day last year my Kiddo forgot to tell me that he had placed crayons in his leg pockets. The pockets that I didn't check before putting the pair of pants in the washer and subsequently the dryer. Oh, what a mess. All over my dryer as well as my clothes, was red crayon. Melted, waxy, red crayon. I cried. I wailed. I Googled. Yes, I put in "How do I get red crayon out of clothes?" or something along those lines. It said anything from WD-40 to Borax, but the one thing I had on hand was Dawn dishwashing liquid. Enter my Hero.

I used Dawn on those awful red crayon spots, washed the clothes again, and you know what? It worked. Dawn dishwashing liquid got out dryer-melted red crayon from my clothes! So, I figured, hey, it might work on all my grease spots. Nothing I've ever used before has worked, so what do I have to lose? And guess what? (you probably know where this is going, don't you?) It has worked. Every. Single. Time. Even clothes that I had put in the dry cleaning bag that had sat for months came grease-spot clean. Here, let me show you.

Here's Kiddo's shirt with two greasy stains on it. It has already been washed AND dried. I used to think, "Well, this shirt's done for!" But now I know better. See the grease stain on the shoulder and the one on the tummy? Here's a closeup on the shoulder:

Now, all I do when I find one of these stains is pull out the old Dawn liquid. It can either be the original or ultra, they both work the same.

And here's the shirt after washing.

Now, because I believe in full disclosure, let me say that this was with two washings. It was movie butter popcorn that made those stains. I had some on my jeans that required two washings, too. Man, whatever they use for that popcorn is scary industrial grease. Makes me wonder if I will ever order butter popcorn anymore, for sure.I have wanted to write Dawn and tell them what a miracle product they have in the hope that they'd send me a lifetime supply of the stuff, but that's probably not going to happen. Oh, well, I'll just let this little blog post suffice.

So, if you've got some greasy stains you've been putting off trying to get clean, try putting some Dawn on it (regular dish liquid might work too, but I've only tried Dawn). I really scrub it in the spot, then I leave it on for a LONG time. Like overnight. If not, it might need another washing to get it out. If the first try isn't completely successful, keep trying. Dawn has given me back many of my shirts that I had forgotten about in the abyss of the dry-cleaning bag.

Yes, Dawn is truly my Hero. At least for my laundry, where I need all the heros I can get. Whatever that means.

Mini Mistreatment

Since I was just too ding dang busy to get in on the fun of the Mistreatment party the Nester was throwing, I felt a little downhearted. I mean, yeah, I was having fun singing and wearing my voice completely out and wearing cute clothes and all, but I wanted to get the button!

So, in honor of all you mistreaters out there, as well as for my own decorating entertainment, I did a little mini-mistreatment. All because I won a tassel. Yep, Susie Harris's Rooster showed up at my doorstep a few days ago. But since I have been soooo busy, I haven't had time to find a place for him, much less post about him.

Let me just say that if you order a tassel from Susie, not only do you get your beautiful tassel, but she throws in a few beautiful little happies as well. When my husband came in the house with the box from the mailbox I did a happy dance. I went through everything (including the GREAT bag that was included in the giveaway...it's huge and perfect for when I have to take my homeschooling stuff with me) before I allowed myself to unwrap Mr. Rooster. My husband kept saying, "That's really pretty!" I wanted to find a place for him immediately but because my kitchen still hails from 1992, he just didn't go with the decor. I'm trying to convince my husband that it's the next thing to redo, all in Tobacco Road. He's getting there.

Anyway, in order for me to find a perfect home for Mr. Rooster, I knew I was going to have to invent something new. I looked around the house until I came upon this little blue shelf.

One of my problems in my home is that I don't update stuff nearly enough, as evidenced by this little country blue shelf with a few little country things on it. There are a few morsels on there I can use, but for the most part it just screams early to mid 90's, no? Not to mention the dust on my wall. Ugh. Don't look at that. I bet you just did, didn't you?

Anyway, I knew that in order to give Mr. Rooster a proper home I would need to do some updating on this little shelf. I like the "bones" of the shelf, just not the color or the little heart in the middle. Being the Kimba-ite that I am, I went to Wal-mart and bought a can of black spray paint, knowing that anything looks better with black spray paint on it. I also wanted to cover up that heart, so since I had to go back out toward Hobby Lobby yesterday I just hopped in and bought just a little bit of black toile.

After I spray painted the whole shelf black I took the pegs out and hot glued the toile to the front of the inside of the shelf, then folded it under and hot glued it to the back of the shelf. I then cut holes where the pegs should go and put the pegs back in. If I had it to do over again, I would mark where the holes would go and then cut them out a little bit better before gluing the fabric onto the shelf. It pulled the fabric a little when I put each peg back in. You can't really tell, and as you know, it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!

Here's the result: I love it! It can stay where it is now and look like it halfway goes there. And when we paint the living room Tobacco Road it will still look great there. As for what I put back on top of it, I edited what I originally had on there. How many times can I say "there" in one paragraph?
All of these were my Mimmie's, except for the little basket hanging, and that's no longer there anyway. I just love those tiny little bottles and the camera and thimble. Every time I see them it makes me think of my beautiful Mimmie.

Here's how it looks with the tassel hanging from it. I had those measuring spoons hanging in the kitchen and needed something else to hang here, so I tied the checked ribbon around them and hung them by Mr. Rooster. I think it's so pretty! It makes me happy every time I walk by it!

So even though I didn't get to par-tay with the rest of you mistreaters, I did my little part. Now to come up with a use for the rest of that black toile!