Creative Storage Solutions

We lived in NYC for a year, and while we learned many life lessons through that experience, one of the things that I developed a true appreciation for was storage.  Living in a small space makes you get really creative with how you store things.  With all of that said, I'm proud to say that most of the ideas I'm about to share were things I employed prior to our stint in the big apple but sharing a craft room with a little person keeps me on my toes to ensure I'm using all available resources for storage.  If I had a zillion dollars, I'd probably have one of those rooms where everything matched, but I don't have a zillion dollars and I have an affinity for clearance sales, garage sales and junk shops so my storage solutions are a bit more hodge podge.

Case in point.  My halloween baskets from Pier One.  I got these (plus 2 more) for 10 cents each.  Seriously.  You wouldn't have walked by either.  The baskets sat unused last Halloween, but since then I've decided to put them to work in my paint room closet.  I used those temporary hooks on the bottom side of the top shelf, and they hang great.  Frankie there currently holds crepe paper, while the Jack-o-lantern holds our washable markers.  The pumpkin sees a ton of action.  The thing in the bottom left corner is an old bread/coffee/flour/tea box.  I found it a few years ago, and while I've threatened a few times to paint it, it sits as I bought it for a cool $20.

More closet storage.  Lime green is one of my favorite colors, and when the paint room lived downstairs (prior to the NYC thing), three of the four walls were lime green.  I found these cookie/flour jars at a garage sale I think.  The smallest one holds buttons, the middle one holds wine corks and the big one holds decorative scissors.  Every time I look at them I smile.

As I have gotten older, I've come to appreciate the dollar store.  We got this coat hook rack forever ago for a buck.  When I moved the paint room in to the spare bedroom upstairs, this hook was in the closet, so I use it to hold anything that has a hole or strap.  It's currently holding a bunch of skeleton heads that I got after Halloween last year.

Flower pots are rad.  They are so versatile and you can use them for so many things.  I've had this pot for years - at least 10 if not more.  It once held a plant, but now it holds court on the corner of my paint room table and keeps my pens, x-acto knives and scissors mostly in order.  It's another thing that just makes me happy.

What creative storage solutions have you used?

How To Make a Sticker Book

If you have kids under the age of 10 in your life, especially girls, chances are you also have a lot of stickers.  The stickers in our house are out of control - they are everywhere. Em is pretty good about not putting them where they don't belong, but we do have to watch the laundry to make sure we get all of the stickers off of our clothes or else run the risk of winding up with sticker residue.  

Over the weekend, we cleaned up her room and the paint room and I discovered how many sheets of stickers she really had.  I decided it was time to make her a sticker book.  If you've never done this before, it's super easy to do.  Not only will it give your kids a place to put their stickers, but they are reusable since the book's pages are made of wax paper!

Sticker Book Supplies:

Cardstock, construction paper or some type of heavier paper for your cover

Wax Paper

Glue stick or double-sided tape runner 

Paper trimmer or scissors

Ruler

Brads or yard

Hole punch

Step 1.  Decide the size and create your cover.

Since I have a ton of 12" x 12" scrapbook paper, I decided to go with a 6" x 6" book.  So I cut the paper in half, and then folded each half in half to make the covers a little sturdier.  Once I folded them, I used my tape runner to keep the paper folded in place.

Step 2.  Create your pages.

Considering the purpose of this book, I didn't get too fussy with trying to figure out how much wax paper I needed before I started.  I just pulled a big sheet of wax paper off, and figured if it wasn't enough I could always get more.  Once I had my big sheet, I first started by trimming each edge so that I was working with a straight edge.  Next, I grabbed my ruler and folded my first page at the 6" mark.

Step 4.  Fold the pages

I just used a simple accordian fold for the pages.  You can do whatever works for you.  I wound up with a little extra wax paper at the end of my sheet, so I just trimmed that off.

Step 5.  Trim the pages

Again - my rule here was to keep simple, so I did not cut each individual page.  Instead, I left two pages together and cut the third page off, repeating the process until I reached the end of my sheet.  I did have a couple of single pages, but once they were all bound in the book, you can't tell what's where.  Just make sure that once you have all of your pages cut, you have all of the folds on the side that will be bound.  I think I wound up with 9 pages total.

Step 6.  Assemble the cover and pages

Stack the pages the best you can - wax paper can make this a little tricky.  Align your front and back cover, and again - get all of the paper aligned the best you can.  You can trim the excess after the next step, if you want.

Step 7.  Bind the book

For this project, I just used brads.  I eyeballed the holes and punched 3 small holes.  I used brads that I had on hand, but you could also use yarn to tie the pages together, staples or binder rings...whatever works for you.

Step 8.  Trim the excess paper and decorate.

Now that your book cover and pages are secure, you can trim up the edges.  If you have an 7+ year old, they can probably do this entire project on their own and they might not want to trim - which is totally fine.  We finished our book off by adding (mommy's) stickers to the front where we spelled out, "Emily's Sticker Book."

And as soon as that was done, someone had the perfect sheet of SpongeBob stickers to christen the first page with!

Where to find Green bird of Happiness!

Source: robot-heart.tumblr.com via Kerry on Pinterest

I'm so so happy to have so many new followers of the blog - WELOME! Each new fan makes my heart smile - thank you! In case you weren't aware, there are several other places where you can connect with me:

You can become a fan of Green Bird of Happiness on Facebook (don't tell anyone but I plan on doing a fun giveaway when I get to 100 fans)

You can find me on Twitter

You can also find me on Pinterest.

That's all for now - heading back into the Paint Room to work on some new projects!  Happy Sunday everyone! xo

Telling the negative inner voices to shuttup

Emily Balivet's Mezzo Goddess

We all have it.  That voice.  Just when you are feeling anything is possible, that voice comes in and starts whispering to you.  The whispers become shouts and soon enough you are paralyzed by fear.  You swim in your own insipid ocean of self-doubt and not-good-enough, and no one cares.  You feel alone and stupid and can't believe you even had the "good" idea in the first place.

I hate that damn voice.

I've thought about naming it, so I can yell at it and curse it properly.  It feels like it would be easier to make it go away that way.  Perhaps I should think of a name, but in the meantime, I've been working on getting him out of my head again (my voice is male which I've always thought was a little odd, but I roll with it since this isn't the kind of dude I really want to argue with).

Thank goodness I've been able to sort out the ways that work best to silence the voice. For me, it's 2 things work consistently well.

1.  Finding someone to talk to an acknowledge the fact that I'm feeling vulnerable.  Usually once I can spit the words out of my mouth or type them out in a note or message, the feelings and thoughts suddenly start to lose their power and the clouds and darkness start parting.  Sometimes it's really, really hard to get to that point but it always feel so good when I do.  Oh, and there is usually a tear or two involved too.

2.  The second thing that helps is re-setting my focus.  Instead of thinking "I can't, I can't" I start to think about what makes me happy and how far I've come with my personal goals and I start to hear my own voice again.  I give the power back to me and that voice, that damn voice, goes away again.  If only there were a proper receptacle in which to dispose of him.  I would crumple his sorry butt up and stuff him inside.

It's a part of the process I guess.  I don't know anyone who hasn't had a moment of self-doubt.  The trick is not to get stuck there.

How do you deal with that negative inner voice?

Creative Flower Vases

I love flowers.  I especially love cut flowers in my house.  Although big, fancy arrangements are nice, for every day charm little arrangements suit me fine.  Sometimes I'll break out the stool to get to the cabinet where my nice vases are stored, but usually I just opt for a simple, more casual, fun way to display the blooms.

Tin cans are one of my favorites.  They are so versatile.  You can wrap them in paper, you can tie a simple ribbon around them, you could paint them, glue things on them and the list goes on an on.

I also love using spice jars.  Back in the day, I used to hunt for cheap spice racks at yard sales or junk stores.  Back in the day, I painted them.  Now, I just use the left overs for mini arrangements.  These are great for kid's rooms, bathrooms or small shelves or window ledges.  I like that it's unexpected and that after closer inspection people usually really get a kick out of the fact that these are spice jars.

I'd be a bad southern girl if I didn't mention mason jars in this post.  Mason jars have so many applications, but there's something pretty perfect about the mason + flower combination.

I've also been drawn to old tins and flowers.  I've seen a number of different pictures across the interwebs lately, and it's definitely inspiring me to look for tins as I hit antique stores this spring and summer.

What fun ways do you display flowers?

How To: Make a Wheel Card (with your kid)

I've always loved cards and books that have interactive elements to them.  I've made pop-up cards, volvelles and moveable paper projects in the past, but this time I decided to involve my 3-year-old.  If you want to make a fun card for someone special in your life, here's a short list of things you'll need:

Wheel Card Supplies
Cardstock (I used 12x12" and scrap, but you can use anything you have on hand)
Scissors
X-Acto Knife
Brad
Ruler or Paper Trimmer
Pencil and eraser
Markers, crayons, paint, or whatever your coloring tool of choice is
Glue Dots
Optional:  Hole Punch (you can use an x-acto knife, pin or sharp scissor tip if you don't have a punch)

Step 1.  Decide what size you want your card to be, and make sure your paper is 3x as long as the finished width and 1x as tall.  For mine, I wanted a square card, so I started with a 12" x 4" piece of card stock.

Step 2.  Fold your card into 3 equal sections.  I used a ruler along each side to indicate where each 4" interval was reached.  From there, I used lined my ruler up to each tick mark and gently folded the paper.  I did this for each fold and made sure that the paper lined up correctly before going back and scoring with a harder edge.

Step 3:  Using a pencil, sketch a design for your card on the first flap of your card.  It can be anything - it just needs a middle element that will be a part of the final card.

Step 4:  Use your x-acto knife and cut our your design.

 Step 5:  Once your design is cut, make sure to erase all of your sketch marks.

Step 6.  Take another piece of card stock and measure it to your finished card size.  From there, cut your circle.  For this particular project, the circle doesn't need to be perfect.

 

Step 7.  Give your kid the circle and your favorite coloring tools of choice and let them go to town.

Watch their little faces for concentration.  Enjoy their process of filling in all of the spaces. Give your kid a high-five when they are all finished!

Step 8:  Punch/create holes.  First, punch a hole in the middle of the design you have created on the first flap of your card.  Once you have that card, fold the card over so that it's laying on top of the middle flap.  When you take this step, make sure that the third flap is still open, otherwise you might accidentally cut the inside of the card.

Once you have your card punched, take your circle and line it up in the middle of your design.  Rotate the circle around to make sure that it doesn't get to wongo (technical term) on any particular side.  Once you are satisfied with where the middle is, either note it with a pencil or go ahead and punch/create the hole.  Make sure that the hole in your circle has a little extra wiggle room than the hole in the card.  Doing this will ensure that the piece spins easier.

Step 9.  Insert your brad through all three layers.  You will see the back of the brad on the inside left cover of your card.  You can always cover this with a piece of paper, sticker or some other thing.  I chose to just leave mine exposed for this card.

Once you have the brad in, notice where you circle falls.  Mine fell slightly inside my card, so I trimmed the edge of my paper slightly to create a lip so that the circle was easier to grab and spin.  I also created a little notch.

Step 10.  Once you have your notch and you've tested the spinning action, use two small glue dots and affix them to the corner of each card cover so that the circle is enclosed inside the folds.  You could choose to glue all of the edges except for the one that is used to turn the wheel, but because Em was involved, I chose the simple way out which works just fine.

Step 11.  Write your note on the inside and give to your special someone.

Handmade Mother's Day

Look what I got for Mother's Day.  I L-O-V-E it so much!  With a little digging, I found out that it came from the Noisy Cricket Etsy shop, where there are so many beautiful hand-stamped designs.  I also received a pretty card yesterday as a kick off to Mother's day. (Read:  a 3-year-old who couldn't wait to show me the card that she picked out since there were a lot of "ugly cards, and who would want those, mommy?")

Heather, aka Mama, got a handmade present too, made by the hands of Emily and me. 

We also made Mama a card and the colors of the flower spin.  I'll probably post a tutorial for this tomorrow.  Until then, Happy Mother's Day everyone!

open to change, a metaphor in painting

Sometimes you start painting and you have a crystal clear picture in your head of what you want the end result to look like.  But somewhere along the way, things change.  You start to see things in a different way.  You think of something else to add.  You tinker.  You pull out stamps.  You use different brushes, and then finally you say, 'screw it' and you use your hands.  And then things get really interesting.  You start to see movement where there was nothing before.  You turn off your brain and just go with where your hands take you.  You stop thinking and stop worrying and you just do. 

And then you know you want to do more, but there are too many ideas and you know yourself well enough to know that you need to let the excitement die down just a bit to see what still floats.  So you daydream and think grand ideas and get excited about all of the possibilities.  Then you worry a little - what if I mess it up?  Then you start to compare yourself and your ideas to others and know that you have to get those voices out of your head before you return to the work at hand.  Then, if you listen carefully, you'll hear this magical voice inside you whispering that the final piece will make your heart sing and one day, very soon, you'll go in the paint room and surprise yourself with what comes next.

That's what painting this canvas was like.  That's what starting this blog was like.  I started with one idea, but things change.  Not too much, mind you, but enough to add some excitement.  I'm almost ready to lay down the next layer onto the canvas and I simply can't wait to share what I'm cookin' up for this space.

Cinco De Mayo Frame - Frida Kahlo

Considering I missed Valentine's day and St. Patrick's day, I couldn't let Cinco de Mayo pass by without doing something creative to celebrate it.  What better way than by honoring one of Mexico's most celebrated artists (and one of my favorite), Frida Kahlo.

I picked up the frame at Michael's in February - for a Valentine's idea that I had, if memory serves me correctly. It came unpainted but hooked together with the two wooden pieces and red ribbon.  It sat on the shelf waiting for non-gooky paint (technical term) to be purchased.  I finally got some paint last Monday, and went about painting the wings and red heart.  I let that sit a couple of days and did the black frame and monkey details in 3 sittings - probably 5-15 minutes in each sitting. From there, I just found one of my favorite Frida paintings on the innerwebs and printed off a copy, cut and framed. I took the monkey from her shoulder and put it in the red heart on top.  

It's the first completed painted piece that I've done in awhile, and I'm pretty happy with it, especially since I've decided to bring back our Frida curtains in the kitchen.  More on that soon I hope.

Mother's Day Ideas Round-up

There are so many fantastic, fun ideas out there for Mother's Day gifts.  Being one of the moms in a two-mom household, this is especially great for me because I get to help our kid make something for the other mom.  We are still trying to figure out exactly what that will be, but for now, I thought I'd share some of the cool ideas I've seen from the blog land in case you needed some inspiration.  These ideas are great for kids of all ages - enjoy!

Button Necklace from sillyeaglebooks.com

SillyEagleBooks - Button Necklace
Just three things needed for this cute necklace - button, paper and string.  Vanessa shows how this can also double as a headband!  Cute!

Watercolor beads from TinyTwistCreative.

TinyTwistCreative -Watercolor Bead Bracelet
These are darling beads!  For a little more fun, I bet these would be equally cute using an air-dry clay to make the beads different shapes before painting.

Spring Bouquet by American Crafts

Oh my do I love this one!  Definitely something for older kids, but I think the whole idea is adorable - especially in the coke can!

Picture frames from Family Fun Guide

Picture frames are a classic, easy gift and something that is great for all ages.  You can get unfinished frames at pretty much any craft store, and kids can go to town with paints, glue, and get as creative as they want.  Just make sure to put the date somewhere on the finished piece, because it's always so amazing to see how fast time flies!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there!