Very high on my list of things I hate are those bags that you put your produce in at the grocery store. By the way, my husband and I have an ongoing fight over whether or not to put bananas into one of those bags. Um, dude, bananas have peels. A year or so ago I went super Earth Mama and made some bags for produce out of an old pair of pants, but as many many many things in my home, they went missing. And so I returned to those icky bags.
But not for long! This week the busy bees and I did a little bit for the Earth and made ourselves some new produce bags, and made them even more awesome by using fruits and veggies to decorate them. It definitely was a fun (but slightly messy) project. I’m not gonna lie, fabric paint is not easy to get out of your favorite, perfectly worn in grey tee shirt. Boooo.
To make these bags, you will need
1. 1 – 2 yards of lightweight but sturdy fabric. I got mine at Joanns in the utility fabric section.
2. Fabric paint
3. Meat trays for the paint (yay recycling!)
4. Various fruit and veggies. We used apples, pears, oranges, broccoli, celery, cucumber and carrot.
For a little educational value, I labeled two pieces of fabric “fruit” and two “veggie” so we had a little conversation about sorting and categorizing, and even talked a little nutrition.
like the blue splatters? Heres a tip – put the lid on the paint BEFORE you shake it.
How awesome does that celery stamp look? That might have to make an appearance in a later project…
After drying overnight, I whipped up some drawstring bags (there are 400 bazillion tutorials online, so I will forgo the laborious instructions) that will be perfect for produce, and will spare me from those horrid grocery store bags! And my store gives me a $.05 discount for every bag I bring myself so cha ching! I figure these will pay for themselves in, like, a year or two. Ha ha.
What baby steps have you made to make the earth a little happier this month? It doesn’t take much! Every little bit helps.
Happy Earth, um, Month!
Category Archives: Organize
April
2013
Stamped Produce Bags – a belated Earth Day craft.
February
2013
Kid’s Photo Gallery with DIY Memo Board
Today’s project has been on my to-do list for quite some time! I have had all of the supplies to do something with my girl’s big blank wall for quite some time now, but finding the time to put it all together was another question! They wanted some place to put their own pictures up and I wanted a clock and a weekly schedule for them to see daily! I think the wall gallery turned out pretty cute for a little girls room. Knowing me though, it might be a work in progress. If so, stay tuned for a part two!
The memo board was super simple to make!
Items used:
Ikea frame
About a half yard of fabric (mine was from Hobby Lobby, I just love the new Greek key pattern out right now, so fun!)
duct tape to secure the fabric around the backing of the frame! SO simple and now you have your own dry erase memo board for virtually anything!
Canvas from: Canvas People (picture taken at Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market, yea!)
Magnetic Boards from: Pick Your Plum
Clock from: Home Goods
Shaped frame from : Hobby Lobby
Inspiration from: Jill Ruth
Any fun projects you are doing for your self or your kiddos lately?
I would love to hear it in the comments below!
Karie J.
Pinterest: HERE
Instagram: @kariemjohnson
Linking up at:
House of Hepworths
The CSI Project
Crafty Scrappy Happy
Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons
February
2013
VOTE for MANDY!
Do you guys remember this awesome file cabinet that Mandy made over a couple weeks ago? Well she has been entered into a design contest over at Earth911. The contest was to create a functional storage solution for your desktop or workspace made primarily out of reused, recycled or upcycled materials! Mandy creatively came up with the idea of using this old file cabinet and giving it a beautiful makeover! It turned out great. If you don’t remember
this post, go check it out HERE. And then head on over to Earth911 and vote for Mandy! She is in the lead now, but she needs our help to keep her there. You can vote as many times as you want, so lets get voting!
January
2013
a new drawer
I kept seeing this photo of a painted file cabinet on pinterest. I LOVED it. But of course I don’t really have room in my studio for a full sized file cabinet, nor did I really have a use for it. So when I saw a little mini one drawer file cabinet at the thrift store for $4 I knew I had to have it. It was the perfect compromise, small enough that I could actually use it, and still get the same look. It was a typical black metal. So I started with a coat of primer and then used 3 coats of ballet slipper pink in gloss. Because well why would I not paint it pink?
At first I tried to take the hardware off the drawer, thinking that would make it nice and simple to paint the drawer. But of course it never goes that easy. It would not come off. So I resorted to painters tape. Which took a while to get it all covered, but in the end it worked just as well.
After it was all finished I added a few things to make it a nice little desk organizer. I used two old plant pots that I had sitting around to hold makers, pens, and pencils. Then I used three small prep dished to hold my business cards, washi tape and blank tags.
When all said and done I really like the way it looks. A pretty pink drawer that holds all of the odds and ends I use to package my Etsy products. Perfect!
Linking up at Create & Inspire
January
2013
Pinterest Tuesday: How to Organize a Craft Room in a Closet!
To round out this monthly theme of organization, I thought I would update my “craft room in a closet”! When we moved into our new house in March I didn’t have any where to store my crafty supplies. They ended up going in the girls play room with no real organization purpose, let alone design. For those of you who have a lack of space issue like me, a closet works just fine! It’s all about organization, and purging when necessary.
Inspiration from: Martha Stewart and Better Homes and Garden
BEFORE and AFTER:
Fabric-covered cork board:
Free 2013 printable HERE
Valentines free printable checklist found HERE
Washi tape covered clip board:
organizational bins:
Mason Jar Storage:
Monogram Clipboard (free printable HERE)
Chalkboard Clipboard: create your own chalkboard by simply putting up a piece of black cardstock paper!
So what do you think? I would love to paint the wall behind the bulletin board next. What color do you think would be the best? How do you organize your crafty supplies? I would love to hear it in the comments below. Thanks!
Karie J.
Pinterest: HERE
Instagram: johnsongram
Linking up at DIY Dreamer,
House of Hepworths
The CSI Project
Crafty Scrappy Happy
Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons
January
2013
Storage Room Wars
My husband and I decided to tackle the storage room this weekend. It was a big junk pile and now I can actually find my paint and brushes!
Before (this is a little embarrassing!)
After…
Before…
After…
Before…
After…
I would love to slap some paint on the walls, but if we buy the house this has to be torn down anyway so hubby wouldn’t let me waste my time. Smart man, but it would look so cute in a bright fun color right?
Did you do any organizing this week? Post some pics on our facebook page or tag us on instagram #junkinthetrunkvintagemarket
Happy organizing!
January
2013
bathroom organization
I could easily spend hours drooling over pretty, clean and orderly bathroom photos on pinterest. But when it really gets down to it I am either too cheap and or too lazy to make one happen in real life. Because well, we use everything so much it is just nearly impossible to keep it all looking AWESOME at all times. I have done my best to meet half way with the attractive and also the functional. But consider yourself warned these photos won’t dazzle you.
On the counter I keep my body spray, current lotion, current nail polish, cotton balls and Q-Tips. What I deem to be some of the more attractive bathroom items I use daily. Both the cotton balls and Q-Tips are in small apothecary jars that I have picked up from thrift stores over time. If I ever found the right one I would like to put them all on a small colorful tray, just to give it a more finished look, and a little more color.
Then we get to the drawer. Now my bathroom just has ONE drawer, and a larger open cupboard. It was really difficult for me to figure out the best way to use it. I was used to having multiple small drawers or shelves. I didn’t like that with one drawer everything fell together and rolled all around. I am the type of person that likes everything to have a home, and that was just not working for me. So I ended up getting an organizer from Ikea that fit perfectly inside. I got it over a year ago, and it looks like they no longer have the same one, but these are similar.
As you can see there is a little compartment for everything that I use daily. Makeup, toothbrush/toothpaste, moisturizer, hair clips and so on. I started out with all my makeup in a cute bag that was in a basket with my hair products, and curling irons that I kept under the skink. Which totally worked, but when it came to the day to day I never put the basket back away, it always sat out on the counter, making it look messy and cluttered. So I sorted thorough all of my stuff and tried to separate out all the things that I use EVERYDAY, and I found a place for all of those items in the drawer with easy access, then the non essential maybe once a week items got put in the cupboard.
My suggestion for bathrooms is easier is always better. The easier it is to put things away the more likely you will actually do it.
January
2013
Pool Noodle Boot Shapers!
This year I fulfilled a lifelong dream – I finally found a pair of cute leather boots that actually fit over these 18-years-of-soccer-calves. All right, lifelong dream is an exaggeration, but I do love these boots. So letting them sit on the shelf, falling over is a tragedy. But this cheapskate is not going to pay 15 bucks for some boot shapers, so I got to work. I can’t remember where I first saw someone use a pool noodle as a boot shaper, but the first thought I had was of all those little chunks that flake off and how much I did NOT want those in my boots. But then my eye caught this old sweater I had languishing in the closet and I had an idea.
Here’s what you need
- A pool noodle
- An old sweater
- A pen
- A serrated knife
- Scissors
- Your boots!
- An episode of Wonder Pets…never mind, this only helped for like 3 minutes. Mama’s projects are just too interesting.
This is a super easy project. You could probably figure it out on your own, but just in case…
Put the noodle in the boot and measure how long it needs to be, and mark it with the pen. Use the serrated knife to cut the pool noodle (it’s super easy) then measure that against the sweater sleeve. Cut the sleeve and slip the pool noodle in.
Wrap a rubber band or two around the bottom and stick it in your boot. I wanted to add a special touch so I left the sleeve a little long and used some lace to tie a sweet bow.
There you go! Super easy and super cheap boot shapers! For the other pair, I used a pair of the Little Bee’s leggings that had a huge hole in the crotch (thank you very much playground swing) that I knew I would never mend. I love that they have a cute little detail on the hem already.
It also occurred to me that you could use a pool noodle and a knee sock as well. Just cut the pool noodle and slip it into the sock! Even easier.
Have fun boot shaping!
Beth
Hookin up with House of Hepworths
Happy Hour Fridays
January
2013
Hello
Hello, my name is Coley and I have an organizing problem. I have great vision of my house being labeled and organized and well, perfect. I know that’s not totally possible in REAL life, but in my head it really does look fabulous! When I organize, I can’t do a little at a time. I have to literally take everything out of a room so I can then put it back together perfectly. Does anyone else do that? But then my kids wake up, or I need to change a diaper, or it’s lunch time… (I could go on all day). So I am left with everything out in the middle of the hallway with two bins labeled and nothing put away. It is then time to go to bed and I have to throw everything back into the room unorganized once again and hope to try again another day. With all this to say, I have not finished the organization project I wanted to share with you so how about some more inspiration to motivate me to try again tomorrow?
Now I am off to organize!
PS Who’s coming to the Blog Conference??
January
2013
How She Organizes It: Handbags
For us women, our handbag is our essential item that we take everywhere. It holds our iPhone, lipgloss, credit cards, and everything else in between. It’s our staple accessory that we are always seen with, and it’s one of the accessories that we love to swap out and switch out for a new look based on our outfit….which means we have a lot. How and where do we store these beauties? We’ll show you how JITT does it, and then you can show us your tips!
Mandy
“The perks of being single would be having a full closet to yourself –so there is plenty of shelf space for me to store my purses and duffle bag on the top shelf of my closet. Next to my extra pillows, are more sun hats……because I mean obviously living in Arizona one needs to have at least one sun hat in every closet of their home. right? Then I also have two hooks on the side wall of my closet, one for robes and the other I use for my tote bags.”
Beth
Such a neat idea of hanging purses on your hangers! And her shoes look so organized too…(sneak peek into next week’s topic!)
Chantelle
Luckily for me, I only have one purse that I use everyday, so I have a “get out of organizing” card! And I don’t have to worry about switching bags and, knowing me, misplacing things. But I am working on my collection slowly but surely..
Here are some fun ideas that I found as well…
Couldn’t find a source for this, but I absolutely love the shelving idea! It makes all those handbags and wallets look so neat.
Or use hooks in your closet!
Here’s a nifty little caddy as another option too.
Hope you all found some inspiration today! Have any sweet ideas for us? Show us on Instagram or Facebook! Have a great Sunday!
-Chantelle
