One morning last week Rory bopped into my room all excited about the cool new lacing she’d done on her shoes. I had to admit it was pretty darned cute. So we decided to share with you tutorials on how to do a couple of shoelace designs.
So, without further ado, we present:
Zipper Lacing
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Corset Lacing
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Here are still pictures of the competed lacings.
Corset Lacing
Zipper Lacing
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Wouldn’t these be fun for back-to-school?
I know Rory has been enjoying trying different designs.
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Be cool at school or just have a little fun, and check-out other awesome lacing styles at Ian’s Shoelace Site, where he explores 42 different shoelacing methods!
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Are you a shoelace traditionalist, or would you give one of these designs a try?
You may have read on my blog before, here and here that I am still trying to recover from an upstairs bathroom flood, which caused a waterfall in my living room for over 5 1/2 hours, just 5-days before Christmas last year. On top of this monumental disaster, I am trying to de-clutter and re-organize my home. I live in the house I grew up in with my daughter Rory. So, after 42-years and 4-generations, there is LOTS of work to be done around here.
Pinterest is an amazing source for organizational tips and tricks. I am gathering quite a collection of Pins on my Pinterest Board. I thought I would share a few of those Pins with you, and I hope you will SHARE This Post with others too!
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Organize Your Home
Let’s Get Organized!
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In Southern California, flip flops are almost everyday wear. So, needless to say, we have a lot of them around our house. Here is a fantastic way to control the flip flop clutter and abolish the flip flop black hole that steals away just the flip without the flop. And bonus, you get to re-purpose those awful wire hangers you get from the dry cleaners! Make a set for a friend for Christmas.
Organize Your Flip Flops with re-purposed Wire Hangers! DIY Tutorial
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In case you are short on hanging closet space, here is another great idea for flip flops…
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Flip flop organizer for closet – use Letter Organizers. Clever if I do say so myself.
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Do you hate digging through your “Junk Drawer” looking for things? Get all those small loose things organized.
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Labeled mint tins (or similar) as a solution to organize “Junk Drawer” items.
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What do you do with all of your Big Ticket Receipts, Manuals, and Warranties for your household appliances, electronics, gadgets, furniture, decor, etc.? Here is a neat way to stay organized and have everything you need at your fingertips.
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How To Organize Big Ticket Receipts, Manuals, & Warranties. However,I keep all of my vehicle maintenance and repair paperwork in a separate folder tucked under the floor mat in the back of my Suburban. This way the records are handy when I need them. DIY Tutorial
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Try this adorable and inexpensive idea for your Grocery List, Message Center, or Reminder Station!
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Awesome Grocery List, Message Center, or Reminder Station Idea! DIY Tutorial
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If you’re like me, you have a collection of gift wrap, tissue paper, and bags that need to be organized and managed. Check out this awesome idea.
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What a great way to store Gift Wrap, Tissue Paper, and Bags! DIY Tutorial
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Have you ever had to lift a bunch of pans to retrieve one from the bottom of the nesting pile? It can be heavy, especially if you have some cast iron skillets in the mix. Here is a solution to that problem, and it keeps things neat and organized.
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You can remove one pan without having to remove them all. Turn a vertical bakeware organizer on its end and secure it to the cabinet wall with cable clips.
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Tired of fumbling through your gadget drawer hunting for measuring spoons? Ever have to try to convert measurements after a long hard day when your brain just does not want to focus on math? Look at this really cool idea!
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Make this Chalkboard Hanger for Measurement Conversions and Measuring Utensil Organization. DIY Tutorial
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Don’t know what to do with those bulky small appliance attachments like dough hooks, whisks, and batter paddles? Now you do…
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Get bulky small appliance attachments and gadgets out of your drawers. Organize Your Kitchen For Cheap. DIY Project
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Can’t find the right lids for your Plastic Storage Containers? Keep them organized with this simple trick.
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Use a CD Rack as an Organizer for Plastic Storage Container Lids.
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Need to pull one cord, but you don’t know which is the correct one? Here is an easy solution.
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Label Closing Tabs from bread wrappers and the like, and attach them to the appropriate cords. Simple, yet a HUGE problem-solver.
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You have loads of chargers and cords for you phones, computers, cameras, music players, etc. How do you keep track of which charger goes to which gadget?
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Label your charger and cord with the name of the item it goes with. Lots of organizing tips for electronics here.
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Hate those unruly Cords in your drawer? Try this little DIY Project to tame the wily beasts.
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Use empty Toilet Paper Rolls to hold Cords and store easily. Decorate with tape, stickers, ribbons, or drawings. If you wanted, you could even label them for what product the cord belongs. If it’s an extension cord, label how long it is.
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I cannot stand the tangle of wires and cords laying about underneath desks, entertainment centers, etc. This is an awesome idea.
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Use Hook Screws to attach a Wire Basket under the desk to keep cords off the floor.
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And last, but not least, is a really cool idea for anyone with a pool. Live by a lake? This would be great for you. This would make a unique gift for Christmas!
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This PVC Towel Rack for pool owners or lake home inhabitants would be easy to construct. What a great way to keep things organized and not have them just strewn around the poolside.
Around the World with I Am Meg
TODAY – The first of MY two Guest Posts are up and live. Please go check it out! Lorelai : Huntington Beach, California
Check upcoming schedule: Here
My daughter, Rory, has a Mitochondrial Disorder that she has suffered from her entire life. When she was young (2-8 years old), she would periodically have to deal with Alopecia Areata, where she would have dime-size to silver-dollar-size areas with no hair. Her hair would just come out in clumps for no apparent reason. This made for a challenge in trying to hide these spots and keeping her hair looking nice.
When Rory was in 1st Grade, her school did an event for Locks of Love. What an amazing organization. They provide wigs for children with medical issues such as what Rory had, cancer, and more. My sister, niece, and I all cut our hair (a minimum of 10 inches) for donation. Rory could not do it but made it a personal goal to someday donate to Locks of Love.
I have no answer to why Rory no longer suffers from this affliction, but the girl has a head of hair now that you would not believe… long, thick, gorgeous, healthy! A couple of years ago, Rory’s hair was long enough and healthy enough to reach her goal.
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Before~
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Then, mom went to town chopping and hacking off Rory’s pony-tailed hair and trying to make a nice style for her. Here is the result…
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After~
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One very happy girl!!!
But best of all, Rory finally got to make her contribution to this extremely worthy cause! If you would like to organize an event or just want to donate some hair, check out Locks of Love, here.
Since this post was originally written, Rory has again cut and donated her hair to Locks of Love. She got together with a friend to support this amazing project. Why not host your own cut-a-thon? It is easy to donate to Locks of Love.
Times are tight and tough right now for Rory and me. So, I thought I would do something to remind us that we are still blessed in many ways. There are still things for which we can be happy.
We have long had the tradition of a Christmas Blessings Box. This decorated box sits below our Christmas Tree with Christmassy paper and pens next to it for everyone to write random blessings and place them in the box. We do our big celebrating and gift opening on Christmas Eve, but on Christmas morning (after the excitement of stockings), we settle in next to the tree and read the notes in the Christmas Blessings Box.
I thought it would be a nice idea to turn this long-time holiday tradition into an everyday opportunity. I knew I had seen something on the internet regarding a Happiness Jar and it had reminded me of our Christmas box. I did a search and found lots of photos and even the originator of the idea. Read about Elizabeth Gilbert and her Happiness Jar, here.
Remembering that I had found an old mason jar when cleaning off the shelf over the dryer, I went to find where I had stored it. I grabbed my prize and went to scrub it clean. It had bits of old labeling stuck to it. Have you any idea how to get off those pesky bits? It’s really very simple…vegetable oil! I ran the jar under hot water to heat the leftover labeling and then scrubbed the jar with vegetable oil. The old labeling came easily off the glass.
Now, I had a sparkling jar to decorate. I tied a beautiful floral print bow around it and designed a printable (watch for this Printable DIY as a post soon).
I liked the idea of using a clear Mason jar for my Happiness Jar because you can see the blessings piling up inside. I figure that once a month Rory and I will sit down together and read these happy notes. Long live the Happiness Jar!
18-months, 3-years old – preschool, 8-years old – Dancing with her Godmother.
11-years old – Rory was the star of the Christmas Play in 2006 –
as Norma Gene, Sassiest Angel in Heaven!
Rory has spent a multitude of time in the hospital.
Play-doh Snowball Fight in the hospital garden, and her 13th Birthday.
A little Web-Cam fun…
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15-years old – 1st day of Sophomore year; the Sadie Hawkins Dance with Dean.
Rory went to her first ever Summer Camp at The Painted Turtle. We had never spent a night apart. It was a wonderful experience for the both of us. (The Painted Turtle is a camp created by Paul Newman where children with medical issues can experience normal-life activities, like horseback riding, swimming, and everything else that goes along with summer camp. It is truly an amazing place!)
Rory – 16-years old.
1st day of Junior year; Dressed up as Tonks, from Harry Potter, for the midnight premier of the last HP movie; Rory finds a boyfriend at Sugar Plum Boutique; and at Disneyland with her life-long best friend, Paris.
Rory, 17-years old, ready for Senior Prom (in a free dress she was given and that I made a detachable asymmetrical attachment for), and a new hair cut for Graduation.
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Time to Graduate High School…
Rory and Lane – High School Graduates, Class of 2013!
