Yoda Loves Borders

We all have our vices and guilty pleasures. Mine is buying books...in bulk. Much like potato chips....I can never have just one. Yoda is obsessed with licking plastic shopping bags....and sometimes it gets him into trouble.

Clothespins! Who Knew?!

When David M. Smith invented the two-prong clothes pin in 1854, I bet he never imagined that they would be such a big hit with crafters in 2011. I was recently inspired by a post I saw on nobiggie about hanging multiple clipboards on the wall to organize your home office or craft nook. Living in a tiny apartment means you have to use every single space available, which means all vertical spaces too!

I modified this idea a bit by using clothes pins instead. Here's

what you'll need:

Clothespins (find these are Walmart, Target, or any craft store)

Command strips (these are a must if you rent! I use them EVERYWHERE and for EVERYTHING)

Scissors

If you want, you can personalize your clothes pins. Paint, decoupage, go crazy! Start by cutting the Command strips down the center so they fit the clothespin better.

Press and hold for 30 second to make sure they bond. Next, do the same to the wall. Press and hold the clothespin with command strip to the wall for a good 30 seconds to make sure they really bond. Wait about 24 hours before hanging anything from the clothespins. Sometimes the weight can cause the command strip not to adhere to the wall.

Are you there friends? Its me Audrey

In case you were wondering....yes I'm still alive! Our move was very successful and I'm happy to be getting back to work on the blog and new website! I have been in a decorating/organizational frenzy and now that most everything is in its place, I can have a little fun here!

Since I can't sleep tonight, I've been doing a little surfing with stumbleupon and found a tutorial on photo printing onto fabric.

In the tutorial they printed on a hair ribbon but this technique can be used on other fabrics as well. I'm also curious to see how well it works on paper! Click here for the full tutorial from upcraft.it

Everyone's got problems...

Well, its been an interesting road this last month with the blog mishaps. I moved everything into my new site that I created and I was happy with the results for about 1 week. I've realized some things though. 1) with the new blog layout in iweb I'm not able to link to everything I want, 2) there is no way for readers to leave feedback by way of comments, and 3) the navigation was really poor. I just really haven't been happy about it. So I have redesigned my blog here in blogger, and thankfully, due to the new options available through blogger, I can have the best of both worlds. I can access all the links I want, there is a place for readers to leave feedback, and I can design the site much better and in a lasting way. NO MORE MISSING IMAGES! Plus, I can host my blogger blog right in the same place as my website.

I'm sure there will be a few more hiccups the next few days while I'm still smoothing everything out but soon everything will be up and running perfectly!

I'd also like to note that there are some exciting changes coming. I plan to have a more regular blogging schedule that's more organized (the 'o' word!) I also plan on sharing some how-to's and some freebies!

Stay tuned

We have moved!

We have officially moved! If you are looking for our new home click here!

Don't forget to change your bookmarks!

You can also Like us on Facebook.

Clean House, Clean Conscience

As June comes to a close, I have been doing my spring cleaning. Yes I do realize that I am a few months late doing this, however, I will be moving at the end of next month so it seems like a perfect time to purge.

After cleaning out a mountain of clothes and other household items, I discovered that I have a lot of STUFF! I absolutely hate throwing anything out and due to the green movement there are finally ways to start getting rid of unwanted items without all the guilt of creating more waste.

Here are a few places to do just that:

Freecycle

Freecycle is a place to give away, trade, and request items that you are looking for. Think Craigslist but FREE. The idea here is that your trash may be someone else's treasure. Lots of goodies are listed on Freecycle everyday, and for those that live in a large city or metropolitan area, there are literally hundreds of listings a day. If you are looking to get rid of items, simply join the group in your area, then list what you have. You can chose to have others contact you by email or phone to set up an appointment to meet you. The best part is, you don't have to lug your unwanted stuff down stairs, to your car, and to a drop-off point. They come and PICK IT UP! That's right, you list, then watch someone else haul it away. For those looking for specific items, such as furniture, Freecycle is the perfect place to look. Just make sure you have the man power to haul your treasures away.

PaperBackSwap.com

Book lovers beware! This site is addicting! List your old books for other members to browse. When someone requests your book, simply mail the book to receive credits. You do have to pay postage yourself (usually about $2.41 for an average sized book), but in return you get to request your own book for free from another member. If you're like me and purchase books often this can save you hundreds of dollars. I have received brand new books many times that would have cost $15-$20 in the store. Once you're done reading, re-list your book and send it to a new home!

DropBox.com

I have TONS of papers...everywhere. I keep pages from magazines of things I like so I can be reminded later...thanks Martha! I also have all of my important documents like check stubs, income tax forms, bills, and insurance. To make more space in my home...and on my computer, I've scanned all my documents and magazine articles into my computer than stored them in Drop Box. With 2Gb of free space, I can store everything important and recycle all the paper lying around the house. Plus you can access Drop Box online, on your other computers, and phone.

Before I go, I just wanted to let everyone know this may be my very last post made on the LPD blog with blogger. Almost everything has been moved to the new site and I expect it to be ready by the end of next week! I'm very excited and can't wait to share what I've been working on with the rest of you. See you on the other side!

Audrey

New Design?!?!

As ya'll have seen, I've had many many problems recently keeping my graphics in place here on the site. As it turns out, using a free template is not all its cracked up to be. I also want to start posting more but sometimes it is just a hassle to log on and post pictures and spend an hour trying to get them to be still and not jump around the page.

So I will soon be starting the process of moving everything into iWeb. I have it so I might as well use it and be inconvenienced no more! So be on the lookout for a new page coming very soon.

Take a Class!

Hello everyone! I'm back from vacation, rested and ready to get back to work. I'll post some photos soon for you to see, but first I wanted to share some news. I will be be teaching classes through Leisure Learning Houston starting in July. These classes will be affordable and I'll be teaching you how do make some of the items I make and post right here.

The first class will be called Snail Mail Therapy and is a combo class. The first half of the class will be an art therapy session where you will create art cards from scratch that you can send as post cards. This is my favorite part of the class because we will be getting a bit messy and crazy! The second half will consist of creating your own artistamp, which is actual postage just like you get at the post office, as well as your own rubber stamp and you'll learn several ways to create personal and artistic pieces of mail.

The second class will be bookbinding. That's right, I'm going to teach you how to make books just like I do. You'll come with nothing and leave with a book handmade by you...from scratch!

So if you live in the Houston area and you are interested in joining a class, you can click on any of the links within this post or go to www.llu.com and sign up in the arts and crafts section. I hope to see you all there!

The "NO PINK!" baby book

I wanted to share a few photos with you guys of a book I just made for my friend Elizabeth. She wanted a baby book for a friend that is having a little girl, but she didn't want any pink. So, it was a bit of a challenge to figure out how to make a feminine baby book without pink. So, what is cute and cuddly and says baby girl and isn't pink? Birds...that's right, birds! Enjoy. (yes I know I am in great need of a manicure, hence the chipped nail polish. no wise cracks please!)

A Train Wreck

As some of you can tell my blog is somewhat disheveled at the moment. Some of the images originally used were lost. I don't know how or why this happened. I'm just trying to focus on what I can control in this situation. I'm doing my very best to get it back up and running in top shape again. This is gonna take me probably a week. Why? Well because I have to dig into code that I don't entirely understand to find the problem. Then after hours of doing this and not finding what I'm looking for I'll get frustrated.....swear...a whole lot....and then give up for the night, only to start again the next day. I've also lost posts that were sort of attached to the old code. Basically, I salvaged as much as I could and the rest is starting from scratch.

So cross your fingers, legs, toes, anything that you can cross, that I can fix this with minimal pain and swearing. See you soon with an update!