Recycled Cardboard Paper Organizer

Hi everyone. As I mentioned before, growing up I didn't have much money so I was "forced" (not really.. i actually loved it) to be creative with the things I did have available.  I always had books and papers laying around but not enough storage for them. My grandma showed me how to do these recycled paper organizers!  She had tons of them full of her crochet and plastic canvas books. I did this one using the box in a long way but you can use it in horizontally and fit 12x12 scrapbook paper (depending on how big is the box you choose).

For this you are going to need:

• Cereal box (or any box, depending on the purpose of your storage)
• Masking tape (or any tape with any color design, or scrapbook paper, or stickers, ...anything would work)
• Washi tape (*optional)
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pen
• Imagination

Steps:

1. Use a pencil and a ruler to mark a line. Whatever many inches you want from the bottom. (I did 7 from the top because it was a big box;  I also marked the box about 3 inches from the side in order to have a flat part at the top instead of a complete diagonal opening, but you do not have to do this).
2. Use scissors to cut away the top section of the box (the part you previously marked). 
3. Cover the box in pretty tape, paper, stickers, paint or anything you have laying around in your scraps stach.  
4. Start using it!

Isn't it cute? The tape I used did not quite cover the design of the box, but since i was going to have this box laying against other storage containers, I didn't mind. Enjoy!

More to Bakers Twine, than baking and scrapbooking...

Find similar here

Today I got something super cute and unique in the mail, and I could not go to bed with out first writing a quick post about it. I'm so excited!! You know how much I love bakers twine. Well, now I get to wear it too - and I think that's super cool! Don't you love these earrings and bracelet?!

Buy Here

My new acquisition was handmade by the fellow scientist and Etsy artisan Rachel from AeroGirlDesigns. She's an aerospace engineer and physicist... Can you believe that? A real Rocket Scientist!!  As you can see, people with higher education have a creative side as well... and I think she is great at it.  What are you waiting for? Check out her shop....(Thanks Rachel!)

Got some free time?

If you like emotional romance readings, Love in Bloom is the book for you. And the best part about it is that it is FREE through amazon.com (So nothing to loose). I warn you, it will be very difficult to put down [or off in this case, since it is a kindle download]. (I read it in one night and didn't go to sleep until 5am or so..I'm crazy uh?! I hadnt read a book cover to cover in a very long time). Night time is the only time i have to do reading (or study).  (Warning: There are some explicit sexual scenes)


From the Author:
Love In Bloom is a book close to my heart. The hero's struggle after a climbing accident to find a new purpose in life is universal to anyone who has known hardship. But his new path has caused friction between him and his father. Our adult decisions often do that. When the heroine, Paige meets Clay she realizes he has chosen his path with dignity and strength. A doctor who has helped the most helpless in third world countries, Paige must struggle with her career path. Should she go back to that work or remain a small town doctor? These two people are admirable and I hope you enjoy reading about them. 

Love in Bloom was so good that 2 days later I decided to download another free book, The Lonely Millionaire. I read this one in a night as well. Pretty good reading. Somewhat similar love story (romance) but a cleaner version compared to the one above. 


Book Premise:
Dear Mr. Lonely....Mandy Clayton never answered personal ads, but this was one she couldn't resist and now she was falling for a guy she'd never met. Adam Gray was not interested in a mail-order romance, but he was willing to write some love letters for his friend. Then he had to go "check out" the bride to be. Off he went on an undercover job at Mandy's Bed and Breakfast in a small California beach town. Adam was a good guy who always played by the rules, but one look at Mandy and he couldn't help it - he wanted her for himself! He wasn't there to romance his best friend's fiancee. He knew that. It would be wrong... He knew that too.

Do not get mislead by the fact that these are free... These are SUPERB summer readings.  Almost as relaxing as doing crafts... and that's why I decided to share. :) Enjoy!


PS. These were 2 nights of no sleep, but hey!...I haven't sleep good since my daughter was born, so what is a few days more of complete insomnia. 

Giveaway Opportunity!!!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I was feature (for a giveaway) in Melanie's Modern Typography blog. For an opportunity to enter this giveaway ($15 certificate) and/or to take advantage of 10% off your entire purchase, please visit Modern Typography and follow the rules of participation. While at it, make sure to check out her etsy store Modern Typography!
Thank you Melanie! 

Summer Came and Left

Rio Grande, Puerto Rico

Hello there! So, summer came and left and it felt as if it only lasted a weekend... well..maybe 2 weeks.   As always, I was pretty busy at the lab, but I did get a chance to go to Puerto Rico for 10 days. Yes! 10 whole days... and I really needed it. I got to see family, relax by the beach, learn some crafting ideas from my grandmother, eat amazing food, relax by the beach, and did I say relax by the beach? It seems as if that was all we did (besides visiting the hundreds of family members i have over there). Yes! I'm exaggerating again. I mean, I do have hundreds of family members but I didn't set up to see them all during that time. During that time I kept the shop open but with some coupon code and a note letting customers know I was gone. To say the least, it took me about 2 days to catch up with orders.

OK.. I just wanted to share a bit of my summer since I didn't get to post anything during that time.
Have a great weekend!

It's officially S U M M E R!

These are some photos of items I recently added/or will
be adding to my shop whenever i can find a little extra brake... 

Hello again! Can you believe its summer already?! Is time going fast, or does this only happens to people with kids and school?!  

As if I haven't said it already, I'm sooo busy all the time that sometimes i think i wont make it till the end of the day. -Yes! I'm very dramatic sometimes ;)-  I will give you some insight on part of my ongoing-never-ending to-do list/current status: graduate student taking classes; working on my thesis proposal draft (due VERY soon) ; still nursing my 13 month old baby girl...which leads me to, trying to keep up with my 13 month old little hurricane; working 30 hours a week doing research; studying and preparing for the GRE; preparing application materials for PhD programs; trying to keep up with mommy and wife duties... and besides all of these, I dedicate some time to my etsy shop which kind of keeps me a bit sane. Some people might call it crazy, I call it LIFE!

Keeping up?!

I was really hoping to keep some consistency in regards to posting, but it is not that easy.  I’ll get there though; I’ll get there. These have been a very busy two weeks (as always).

Two weeks ago we (my husband, daughter and I) went camping with some friends to Hurkey Creek Park, which is about 10 miles from Idyllwild in the San Jacinto Mountains, CA. That was fun! (in it’s own way).  It was also pretty cold at night but we managed to stay warm. In summary, it was an eventful weekend to say the least...but if you want to know more about it, I’ll be glad to make a post describing our “adventures”…just let me know.

So it is evident that I didn’t get to do any crafts that weekend whatsoever.  However, on Monday, Tuesday (and probably Wednesday as well), I worked on a large order of owl cupcake toppers, which by the way I just took off my site.  I know, I know they were adorable and somewhat fun to do (when I just do 12 or so) but they are also very time consuming and what I charge for them doesn’t even cover ¼ of the labor. It was a hard decision to make since I’m attached to them given that they were one of the very first listings I added to my etsy shop. Sniff, Sniff. But if you are dying to have them, I can always make an exception (on a person to person basis). You'll also be seeing them in notecards and such. :)

Well.. I’ll be writing another post sometime this week to catch up with what I did this LAST week (cross your fingers!!).