It's all about the turquoise

Sometimes you find the best inspirations in places you least expect! I found this turquoise picnic utensil organizer at hobby lobby in the new spring section! I was looking orinally looking for some sort of desk top organizer to hold my pens, scissors etc. When I saw the utensil organizer I instantly loved the color and the fact that it had divided sections in it. So today I decided to decorate it in true Arlene fashion. Here is how it came out. I am super happy about it because it is cute and functional! Can't beat putting this whole thing together for less than $6.00

 What's the oddest place you have found inspiration?

I was going to throw that out???

In keeping with my new years resolution to be more organized, I moved along to my kitchen this week.
While cleaning my cabinets out I came across a metal sign that used to hang in my kitchen. You see for years I have had this tuscan vibe going on in my kitchen. This year I decided..OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW! So this means things have been stacking up in my "trash bin".
Okay, back to the sign...where was I? ah, yes! Okay so I decided to take another glance at the things in my "trash bin" one more time to make sure these were things that I could live without.  Well while I was crafting this week I realized I needed a new place to gather all my Stickles (glitter glue) in one place. Anyone that knows me, knows that I hoard anything that contains glitter! So right when I was at the thought of purchasing some sort of organizer, I had a GREAT idea! One time I saw someone use a metal sheet with velcro to attach their Stickles. Hey wait!!! I have a metal sheet in my trash bin that would work great! So this is what I ended up doing to my metal sign.

I spray painted the sign to cover up the pears that were on there. The spray paint I used was purchased at hobby lobby. This is the color and name of it.

I had everything to make the stickles holder EXCEPT the velcro! So I went and purchased some velcro tabs and attached one part to the bottle and the other to the actual metal sign. All the embellishements were added with things I already had in my craft room! I was sooooooo happy that for only $3.00 I was able to make this board. From now on, I will have to rethink things in my "trash bin". LOL.

What has been your favorite re purposing project?

Sisters by birth...Friends by choice

Having sisters is a wonderful thing. As previously mentioned before I have 4 sisters, with me being the oldest. Over a year ago I made this album with pictures of 2 of my sisters and I.  It is by far one of my favorite projects!
Hopefully soon I will be able to create an album with pictures of my other 2 sisters and I.

That is the front of the album. I used a set of papers from BO BUNNY to create this album. Of course I added a little of my own flair to it using glitter and flowers.

Do you have a tribute album that you have made? If not, who would you like to make one of?

Organizing and Storing Ribbons

There are so many different ways to store ribbons and organize them. I find it is best to do it whichever way is easiest and most efficient for you. I am not a super fan of micro-organizing...frankly, I don't have that kinda time or patience. As long as my ribbons are in the same area and not unraveling everywhere, I am happy! When I was shopping at Home Goods one day I came across this zebra print box. This box is originally used to organize things in your drawer.  A few days earlier I purchased some ribbon cards to wrap the ribbons around. The ribbons are held down with a glue dot on the end to keep them from  unraveling. Because I am such a shopaholic I will have to purchase another box soon because I keep adding more ribbons! LOL. Sshhhhh...don't tell the hubby :)

Here is a link to where I purchased the ribbon cards: http://www.cropperhopper.com/3x3ribboncard.aspx

 

Budget + Teresa Collins= Not Possible

Last week I went into the scrapbooking store with a set budget of $20 and I was determined not to go over! Well, that all came to a halt when I saw Teresa Collins line of scrapbooking products. Teresa, why did you have to make such fabulous products??? Her products are everything I love, black and white, bling and girly! Everyone who scraps has a line or designer that totally appeals to their taste and for me that is Teresa Collins. Below is the first item I purchased from Teresa, it comes from her POSH line. It is a set of trim to decorate any pages or projects. I loved it!

Today I went to one of my new favorite websites www.peachycheap.com (they offer 1 item a day and a significant discount)  and to my surprise there was an ENTIRE set of stuff from Teresa Collins. Don't worry I snagged it up immediatly. Here is what I purchased. It comes with papers, stickers, ribbons etc.

So  now I can totally assure you that whenever I see Teresa Collins products any budget I have will be obsolete. Hey, at least my scrapbooking projects will look fabulous! LOL