It's The Little Things

My basement rearrange/reorganize is complete, but I wanted to show you a couple of the things that I did to keep certain things corralled with a little touch of cute.  I'll start with the beloved Washi tape.  My original container was getting a little full and I also wanted to display it more with all the beautiful, bright colors.  So, I was on the hunt for a clear container to do the trick.  I first thought a couple Mason Jars would be perfect but I decided I didn't really want to dig through (or have to dump it out) to get what I wanted.  So I found this:

This item is called a 'Vanity Organizer', brought to you from Wally World (Walmart).  It cost a grand total of $7.97.  I was looking at a variety of choices but this one fit what I wanted.  Originally, I was going to put tension rods in this to hold the tape in place and then put a serrated edge from a plastic wrap box on each side to make it a dispenser (this was NOT my idea, while I'd love to say it was, it wasn't).  I decided against it for a number of reasons:  1.) I love me some Washi tape but I don't use it frequently enough so having it pulled out to use like a tape dispenser would cause dust to collect on the sticky part rendering it completely useless. 2.) I couldn't find tension rods that small.  And 3.)  If I need to use the tape in my hand, I'd have to take it off the rod and then dump the whole rod to get to the color I wanted...I don't have time for that.  :)  Enough reasons?  Sure.  BUT, the idea of turning this lovely piece of plastic into a huge dispenser is pretty cool!  Next:

My tape all on the floor...what to do?  What to do?  Well, I purchased these metal sticky labels at Staples for $4.99 for 6 (thank you Martha Stewart).  They work great and added just what I needed to the project.

Behold!  My Washi tape container.  I have 2 too many rolls for it to fit perfect, but I can get past that.  This container is perfect for me and also allows me to have a wee bit of "portion control" when I come across new tape that I see...I want but I don't need it because my container is full.  Of course, this is organized by color...and I also realized that I must have something against yellow because I don't have any.  Shucks!  I simply took the white paper label that came with the metal labels, covered it with some tape, added my nifty clear label and TA-DA!!!  Washi tape holder!

Next up is this other lovely container that I came across.

Oooh, me likey!  I found this at Wally World (again, Walmart) for $6.97 in the aisle with all the laundry accessories (such as drying racks, shoe organizers, ironing boards).  This was supposed to be my Washi tape organizer, but once I put the tape in, it looked empty and sad and just shouted at me to "BUY MORE", but I really didn't want (ahem, need) to buy tape just to buy it.  So, instead, I used it to organize some of my other crafting supplies:

This time, I used some paper scraps to give the labels some color, added my clear label....PRESTO!!!  Instant organizer for my paints, brushes and Mod Podge (as well as other types of glue adhesives).  There's plenty of room for me to add as I do new projects and it's all stowed away in this lovely container.  Loved this!!!

This last little bit is more of a DIY than a thing to organize.  With Valentine's Day being tomorrow, I wanted to give Peanutty and Sweet Pickles teachers a little something fun, rather than candy. 

So, using my sweet scraps I saved out of the remnants bin at Hancock Fabricks, some hair ties, buttons I had on hand, and some medium weight interface (I JUST learned what this was about 5 days ago...thank you MS [she gives me sewing/crafting advice]), a java jacket from Starbucks (I did order a chai so it's not like I stole it) and with a little help (OK, a lot of help) from Pinterest, I came up with these:

Little mug cozies!!!  They were super easy and didn't take too much time to make (the cutting out part stunk, not to mention I didn't think of seam allowance, so I had to cut all new).  They turned out just lovely!!!  The teachers will be getting 3 disposable to-go cups, two packets of hot cocoa (picked out by the kids) and my favorite hot chai tea pouches, as well as this little sweater for their cups.  In total, each gift (cozy, cups, cocoa, tea) set me back $2.  Yes, $2 (and a little time).  It was a sewing project that turned out WAY better than I thought (since I'm no whiz at the old sewing machine...just threading the bobbin stresses me out!). Here's the instructions:  http://www.onecraftyhome.com/fabric-coffee-sleeve-diy-tutorial  (It may have stated about the seam allowance...but I didn't read it, I just looked at the pix).

Sometimes it's the little fun things that you can do to spruce a space up!  In this case, it was the fun plastic containers I found at Walmart!  A little tape, a little paper, a few labels and you have added a personal touch to a simple item!  I love the way it all turned out!

Hope you all have a most wonderful Valentine's Day!!!