Getting organized with Amy Butler

Warning: This post contains graphic scenes of extreme clutter and

embarrassing levels of messiness!

Just getting home from our trip, it seems like all of life is in an uproar. Saturday morning, I took a look around my kitchen and saw this:
I decided it was time to declare a State of Residential Emergency. Time to get organized- NOW!
I had the supplies to make the Noodlehead Mail Organizer for some time....just a matter of getting to it. Now was the time! So I dug into my fabric stash, pulled out some more of my Amy Butler Lotus (paired with some stripes from Barbara Jone's Quiltsoup), and got busy. Without further ado, the finished product:

Well, still planning to put a wall vinyl or something above the cork/magnetic board, but mostly finished...you get the idea. I also added the black box on the side, which contains hanging files, for the million school notices, permission slips, take out menus, etc that end up on my counter. Now, every kid has a file, and everything has a place. There is hope for me after all!!

Any wagers as for how long this level of cleanliness is going to last??

I am sharing my new-found organization over at Quilt Story and A Crafty Soiree...go check out the other inspiration!

Necklace-obsessed

My fabric necklaces needed a buddy.
When I saw this linked up at Quilt Story a couple weeks ago, I knew I had to have one. The tutorial is at Flamingo Toes. She had a great theme week where she made necklaces inspired by those for sale at Anthropologie. This little number retails for about US$ 140. Including the cost of the silver chain, I made it for under $20. Not bad, eh? I used some kind of charcoal fabric...it shimmers a bit (I suck at fabric names beyond "quilting cotton", remember?) and paired it with some pretty little purple/pink beads to add a subtle splash of color.

I love the little detail of the baby flower at the clasp. So pretty when you have your hair up.

Thanks, Bev, for a great tutorial!

Bag Lady Week- Japanese Knot Bag

To continue with my bag fascination this week, I have resurrected these babies, which were my go-to gift last fall and Christmas for my girlfriends: Aren't they sweet? A nice variation from the normal purse. They hold surprisingly a lot of stuff, and can be casual or dressy, depending on the fabric. They are fully reversible, and look so cute dangling off your wrist. This lovely pattern is by Helen Heath of New Zealand, and the free pattern is available here. Go check it out!