Organizing Idea -- Make Frugal Closet Size Organizers!! {tutorial}

Hey there Tatertots & Jello readers!  

I am Anna from over at Ask Anna and I'm so excited to be here with you today. '

 Ask Anna is a blog that answers reader's questions about cleaning, organizing and decorating.  Today I am going to show you how I organize my daughter's clothes for the upcoming seasons by sizes.

As you all know kids have a lot of clothes and they grow in and out of them so quickly!  I am seriously so jealous of my daughter's wardrobe, I wish that every season I could get a whole new set of cute clothes, don't you?  When my daughter was younger I used to get a lot of hand-me-downs but now that she's older I don't get as many so I've been buying more and more clothes for her. The only problem with that is that I'm a little cheap {let's be honest, aren't we all} and I don't like to buy her new clothes at full price, every season.   

What I've started doing is buying her new clothes for the next year at clearance prices this year. 

It's pretty hard to turn down a super cute shirt for only $2.00, even if it is a 5T and she's only 2!!!

But what do I do with all of the clothes?





Currently I'm only use the right side of my daughter's closet for the current season's clothing so I decided to organize the upcoming sized clothing on the left side.

• First I started out by separating the items into three categories: 3T, 4T and 5T.  


• Then I headed out to Micheal's to purchase what I needed to make separating tags.  Since my daughter is my little princess I wanted to make something glamorous and fabulous, even if it is just going to be in the closet. :)


• Here's what I ended up buying: pink, sparkly letters, plastic charms (that look like large diamonds), small crowns and colorful ribbon.

Aren't these cool? 

I thought these would be the perfect charms for a Princess closet. 

What girl doesn't love a little bling?!

And these too, just adorable.

• I started by putting them together on a small ring.  Then I closed the ring so that I could add the ribbon.

• Then I added the sparkly letters to show the different sizes that we have stored in the closet.  Here's what they looked like without the ribbon.  


• I also made a "w" because I think I might use it for winter coats. 

Here's what her closet looked like before.  Still looks organized because it's color coordinated by size, but it's a little boring, don't you think?

Here's what it looked like after I added the dividers.

They turned out even cuter than I had imagined.   

The best part is they were inexpensive to make and only took me about 5 minutes to put them together!

I've enjoyed putting together this little organizing tip for you all and I'd love to see you over at Ask Anna to hear your organizing, cleaning, decorating questions! 

Thank you so much for having me Jen!

Thanks Anna!! 

One of my goals this year was to get organized. So this post is so helpful!!! And I am hoping we can talk Anna into sharing more organization ideas to help us get our lives on track.





Some of the other ideas on Anna's site are: 

Fridge Organization 

I never know how to Organize Electronic Cords, love these ideas from Anna!

Have you ever wondered How to Clean Your Washing Machine? Anna tells us how!

Be sure to check out all of Anna's Organization and Cleaning Ideas at Ask Anna!!

PS -- I'm sharing 15 Great Candy Corn Projects at The New Home Ec today.

Check them out to spruce up YOUR Fall Decor!!

Guest Project -- Make Beautiful Beaded Napkin Rings!

Hello! My name is Jen and I blog about crafting, kids and my never ending renos over at

Let's Make it Ours. 

I am super excited to be here today to show you how to make a pretty napkin ring, perfect for your holiday table!  

Supplies: 

Beading Wire - I used nylon covered stainless steel cable (7-strand)  purchased for $1 at the dollar store. 

Glass Beads - I used two sizes, the smaller being seed beads. I bought one package of each size for $2.99 each at Michaels and had more than enough to make 6 napkin rings. 

I started with approximately 45 inches of beading wire, folded it in half to double up and folded the end over a bit so the beads didn't slip off. Next, I strung the larger beads on to the double wire, until it was approximately 13 inches long. At this point, I grabbed one of my rolled up napkins and wrapped the wire around it to make sure it was the correct length.  

I also made sure that the wire was even and not twisted at all on the backside.  

Next, I inserted the end of the doubled up wire in between the two strands of wire on each row and also the loop at the end. 

 I pulled it all tight, separating the two ends  and tied a couple knots to secure the center. 

Next I cut a piece of r, approximately 35" inches long and leaving a 7 inch tail on one side, tied it in a double knot around the center. Then I began to string the larger beads onto the long end. Once I had 4-5 inches of beads, I threaded the wire through the center, pulling it tight and tied it together with one of the ends. 

I  strung the large beads onto the long piece and again, pushed through the center and tied off. I repeated this step with different sized beads until I had the number of loops  I wanted. I ended up with two loops made of larger beads and three with the seed beads. 

Finally, I cut the ends down to half an inch or so and tucked them into the center of a couple of bead strings. 

The possibilities are endless with the colors, number of loops and the shape of the beads you could use for this! Have fun dressing up your table this holiday season! 

Jen - those napkin rings are so elegant.

They would be beautiful for Christmas and for New Years Eve.

Jen is a mom of two who loves to craft and create in her spare time. Check out her beautiful tutorials: 

{Reverse Stencil Tutorial}

{Mod Podged File Cabinet}

{Thrift Store Lamp Makeover}

{Fireplace Before and After}

You will love Jen's great ideas over at Let's Make It Ours!

xoxo

PS -- It's Friday! The last Weekend Wrap Up before Christmas is coming up tonight. I hope you will come link up your great ideas. I would love to feature you! The party goes up tonight at 6 pm {MST}.

And, it's the last day of The Holly Bloggy Christmas Party with a great linky party over at Tidy Mom!! Be sure to link up - there are more awesome giveaways too. Don't miss it!



In case you missed it - here are the parties you can enter to be eligible to win prizes. I will be featuring my favorites from my Homemade Gift party this weekend!



Monday Dec. 13 Homemade Gifts hosted by ME!

Tuesday Dec. 14 Christmas Crafts hosted by Craft Envy

Wednesday Dec. 16 Christmas Decor hosted by The Shabby Chic Cottage

Thursday Dec. 16 Christmas Recipes hosted by Simply Sweet Home

Friday Dec. 17 Christmas Edition I’m Lovin’ It hosted by TidyMom

Guest Project -- make Glittered Burlap Paper Mache Letters!!

Hello to all the Tatertots and Jello readers!

I'm Allison from

The Soladay Family

I am so excited to share an easy project with you today!

Easy = doable in my book.

I am constantly decorating and redecorating our mantle...especially during the holidays.

You can see our Halloween mantle here.

I start by clearing everything off...minus the mirror...laying out my decorations and going for it.

I always have a general idea in mind of what I want the finished product to look like,

but it never looks exactly like my original vision.

If you are a follower of my blog, then you know I love to decorate with words,

so I decided to incorporate this love into our Christmas decor.

This is where this project came to life.

Here's what you'll need:

* Paper mache letters spelling your desired word...in my case NOEL.

* Enough burlap fabric to cover the front of your letters...in my case 1/2 a yard of red burlap was plenty.

* Black Sharpie

* Red glitter

* Red spray paint

* Sewing scissors...I found through trial and error, that they work better than regular scissors.

* Spray adhesive (not pictured)

* Clear top coat (also not pictured

1. The first step in this project is to trace the letters onto the burlap.

I found the best way to do this is to place the letters face down

so when you cut them out, you won't see the sharpie like this:

2. The next step is to cut out all the letters:

3. Now spray all sides of the letters red:

4. Once the letters have completely dried, coat just the front

of the letters with a generous amount of spray adhesive, and adhere the burlap to the letters:

5. Next, spray the burlap with a generous amount of spray adhesive,

and coat it with the glitter.

Don't be afraid to overdo it, friends.

You can never have too much glitter!

Once you are satisfied with your bling,

spray the front of the letters with a clear top coat,

available in the spray paint section, to keep the glitter in place.

On a side note, keep this clear coat stuff in your craft room 24/7.

I use it all the time.

For instance, I sprayed my monogrammed, polka dot painted pumpkins with it in early September,

and the paint lasted outdoors in the elements for over 2 months.

6. After the letters are dry, let the fun begin!

I decided to use mine on our mantle.

 They really sparkle!

And I love the way they look with everything else the mantle.

I can see these letters done in traditional burlap with

silver glitter in a natural holiday decor setting, used in a tablescape,

one large letter hung over the mantle

or on the front door from a ribbon or a strip of burlap,

the numbers "25" for the Christmas holiday,

the numbers "2011" for a New Year's celebration.

The possibilities are endless and can extend way beyond the holidays!

Thank you so much for having me as a guest!

Happy holidays from The Soladay Family!

Thanks Allison!! 

That Sparkly NOEL is awesome! And your mantel is beautiful!! 

I think Allison is just amazing! Here are some of my favorite projects she has shared: 

{Magnetic Chalkboard Teacher Gifts}

{Thankful Tree}

{Mirror turned Chalkboard}

Such great ideas! Be sure to check out  The Soladay Family!!!

xoxo