Ready for the Summer - Grab n' Go Outdoors Kit

 

I shared this easy but hugely helpful idea when I guest posted over at Crafty Meggy 2 weeks ago. 

I blogged last summer {here} about how happy I was when I found this cute puzzle box at the thrift shop. When I saw the puzzle box, I knew immediately what I wanted to repurpose it into.

 

 

 

 

 

With 3 children and lots of summer activities, I found that since we were always running 20 different  places every day I kept forgetting to bring sunscreen or bug spray.  I got tired of the "duh, I forgot it again"  moments.

 

 

 

To solve the problem and take good care of my family, I collected the items we need at a typical outdoor activity:

                  Baby Wipes                          Bug-off spray                    Sunscreen            Hand sanitizer

 

 

 

 

These items easily fit into my cute little puzzle tin.

 

 

 

 

 

In case you don't have a cute little tin laying around, you could repurpose a pencil box (especially now with kids bringing used school supplies home at the end of the school year).

 

 

 

 

 

Or if your children are younger, you could repurpose a baby wipes box (do they even make this style any more?)

 

 

 

 

 

My handy Grab n' Go Summer Outdoors Kit has found its happy home in the trunk of the car and now I never forget to bring these items with me in the craziness of herding a family of 5 out the door to the next activity.

 

 

 

Easy Painted Flag Tee

 

 I'm not a big fan of in-your-face American flag tee-shirts.  But I do like subtle images of the flag on tees.  I also like quick, easy projects and this is a quick, easy one.

 

 

 

I got a 100% cotton tee because it's softer (and who doesn't love a soft tee?).  Be sure to wash it first, but do not use any fabric softener (it interferes with the paint some how).

 

My shirt came out a little wrinkled so I gave it a quick ironing.

 

 

 

Then I used painters tape to block out a simple flag shape.  Be sure to rub the edges of the tape down good so the paint doesn't bleed under the tape.

 

 

I used a foam sponge brush to pounce and brush the fabric paint on for the stripes.  I used a small star rubber stamp to add the stars.  I found it easiest to use the foam brush to brush the paint onto the rubber stamp and then stamp the image onto the tee.

 

The taping and painting took me about 15-20 minutes.  The longest time was spent waiting for the paint to dry so that my daughter could model my new tee-shirt for me.  I'm very pleased with the way it turned out and can't wait to wear it on the 4th of July.

 

 



Inspire Us Thursday Link Party # 3

 

 

 

I was so thrilled to be inspired by all the great projects linked last week. 

 

 

 

The top 4 links that inspired you are:

 

 

Clothes Closet Organization by The Coconut Head 

 

 

 

 

12 Kids Craft Ideas by Family Home & Life

 

 

 

How to Bind Inside Corners by The Crafty Quilter

 

 

 

Summer Cleaning Tips by Organized Island

 

 

 

Thank you for the inspiration and grab a button if you were featured.

 

<div align="center"> <a <span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">href</span>="http://organized31.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">blogspot</span>.com/" title="Featured at Inspire Us Thursday at Organized 31" target="_blank"><<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">img</span> <span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">src</span>="http://i1078.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">photobucket</span>.com/albums/w484/Organized31/c49a9bf2-ef51-4ccf-9a13-f98337b1cf2b.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">jpg</span>" alt="Featured at Inspire Us Thursday at Organized 31" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 

 

 

 

Now, on to this week.

I don't know about you, but I'm terrible at coming up with a new project idea out of the blue. I have to be inspired by an object (like in my repurposed projects) or by someone else's project. I know I'm not alone in looking for inspiration and so my ongoing search inspired me to start Inspire Us Thursday Link Party.

By participating in this linky party, you agree to let me use a photo from your post if I decide to feature your project on this blog or my Facebook page

 

 

<div align="center"> <a <span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">href</span>="http://organized31.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">blogspot</span>.com" title="Inspire Us Thursday at Organized 31" target="_blank"><<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">img</span> <span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">src</span>="http://i1078.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">photobucket</span>.com/albums/w484/Organized31/ad1917bd-6843-4815-b34f-40909dbcc971.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">jpg</span>" alt="Inspire Us Thursday at Organized 31" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Repurposed Cheese Grater Earring Holder

 

 

I've been cleaning out and getting ready for the impending move (cue ominous music).   I often struggle between wanting to get rid of everything and not wanting to get rid of anything.   It happened recently with a starting-to-rust old cheese grater.  I have other newer non-rusty cheese graters.  Why would I feel an urge to keep a cheese grater?!

 

How to Organize Your Kitchen Layout

 

Moving with the military, I've organized over 20 different kitchens and have learned a few tricks principles along the way. I talked about how to set up the kitchen in a new home using the layout of my current kitchen last year. {here}.  If you want to understand the principles I use in planning be sure to read last year's post.

 

 

Here we are about to move again into a new home, so I have a whole new kitchen layout to plan.