Archived Ideas for ‘Home’

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IDEA 31: DO SUMMER LIKE A KID

Summer_kids

The combination between the end of school and summer’s warm weather provide the perfect opportunity for an annual family trip. Here in the mid-west, countless families head “North to the Cabin”, and I’m not the first to notice how time slows down these hazy lazy days.

We take the annual summer vacation to the family farm in northern Michigan. And since our children were born, it has become the time and place that, once a year, they bond with their cousins.

Northern Michigan cherry orchards, sand dunes, and lakes have been the backdrop for relationships that have been playing out two weeks a year for the duration of their young lives. And as a parent, it’s one of my favorite things. It has not only cemented the relationships of the children, but of myself, my siblings, parents, and in-laws.

Jacqueline M. deMontravel, editor of Romantic Homes Magazine, in her letter from the editor, expressed what I consider a near perfect reflection on summer. I had to share it with you. Here is Jacqueline’s letter, with a title that could have been the title of today’s idea. May everyone reading this take a moment to breathe in and quietly savor summer, whether you choose to travel to the woods, or just the back yard.

Let It Go

July follows the loose, relaxed style of a past-season sundress. Fully entrenched in summer, stray towels, flip-flops and all the necessities brought back from beach day can wait an hour, or day, to be tidied up.

July is the coffee break of the calendar year. Urgent matters become less urgent. Casual conversation lingers into the evening. The style of the summer follows these tenets. You are less likely to succumb to modern conveniences, opting for the entertainment provided by the season. There are many: falling asleep outdoors, losing a day to the garden and listening to the sounds of night.

At home you cook more. Meals are made with fewer ingredients but fresher foods. People come over frequently. There is more of a desire to entertain when you are so relaxed, feel less strained and have no qualms if a guest may spot a basket of laundry.

It is a forgiving season. It is also fleeting, which is what July is about.

Filed under 07 July, Celebrations, Costumes, Holiday, Home, Inspiration, Kids, Traditions | Comments

IDEA 30: REPURPOSE THE PLAY-SET

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After saving up for the kids, the house and the yard, like many, our next investment was the play-set. In my neighborhood, this means one or two swings with optional monkey bar, fort, sandbox or slide, all held up by a structure made of 4×4 timbers. The whole thing cost a ton and weighed about that much too.

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My husband lovingly put the play-set together (cheaper than having it assembled by the play-set guys) and the kids enjoyed countless hours swinging, digging and holing up in their tiny room just above our heads.

Then one day we noticed that all our kids had become teenagers. Despite my youngest child’s opposition, talk of wanting to reclaim some of the yard turned to talk of getting rid of the play-set. It was a sad notion, until close inspection revealed that the bottoms of the beams had begun to rot, and although it hadn’t created a danger yet, prudence dictated it be dismantled before anything happened. And so, I took about 100 more photos than needed of the last fun day on the play-set, and it was taken down.

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I’m not saying my husband (the gardener) had an ulterior motive, (he WAS the one who pointed out the rotten beams), but once the play-set was dismantled, he created the snappiest bunny-proof garden out of the lumber.

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Full disclosure, he did have to buy some 2×4’s to complete the plan, but it was really nice that all those big beautiful beams did not just go to waste.

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So, for any gardeners out there anticipating an empty nest, a little bit of DIY inspiration for you. Our resulting garden gives us so much beautiful bounty, we’ve never looked back.

Okay, maybe a little.

Garden_PL2

Filed under 06 June, Home, Inspiration, Kids, Projects | Comments

IDEA 29: DOOR HANGER DIALOG

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You probably feel like there are things that would go smoother if the members of your family would just listen and retain. No one likes to hear themselves constantly repeating things like a parrot only to have the sentiment go unheeded.

After spending the evening on my knees scrubbing a particularly grimy bathroom floor near our back door, it occurred to me that if people were not wearing shoes in there I wouldn’t have to do it again so soon. So I printed a cute door hanger on my printer and cut a circular hole and hung it on the knob. It said simply: No Shoes Please. And then a funny thing happened. Everyone took their shoes off. Even the guests. Even the repair man. And all the floors of the house stayed a little cleaner.

You have knobs all over your house that are just waiting to display a “suggestion.” A closet door could say “Hang it up, Please!” The pantry could say “No snacks before dinner.” For the laundry room: “Fold it and take it.” And maybe a second, “Just sayin’.”

You get the idea.

Filed under 05 May, Home, Kids, Short cuts | Comments

IDEA 27: GRADUATION CELEBRATION

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I think I began stressing about the dreaded “Graduation Open House” when my kids entered kindergarten. I had been invited to a few, during which the main topic of conversation was how much the parents went through to get their house in order and make it all happen. One family attempted a remodel before the big day, and another decided to power-wash the house. Needless to say the whole thing had me in denial. When my oldest was nearing graduation, I pretty much decided we wouldn’t do anything. (Did I mention I have an aversion to stressful situations and avoid them at all cost)?

Over spring break we happened to be visiting out of town relatives. My sister-in-law stated that if we would have a grad party, they would come. The offer was just too good to pass up. Besides, I figured a family party was something that I might even be able to handle. There is something much safer about that prospect.

I am not a big party expert but I do know that if I give myself a few small, creative tasks to accomplish, I can throw a party that I won’t worry over, too much. The truth is, anyone who comes to your home to a party is not passing judgment on you, but quite happy to be there. And if you throw in a few creative touches, the whole thing is just more interesting and memorable. I’m not saying you HAVE to make things. But if you tend to be a crafty person, I say, go with your strengths! It will calm you down about the whole thing.

I knew I wanted to make a “theme” cake, and when my husband suggested the shape of a “mortar board” (graduate’s hat) I was thrilled. I happened to have a very large, very square pan, but you could always make a smaller one with a regular square pan.

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One of the easiest ways to make a very professional looking cake is to use fondant icing. And the best part is, it’s more like a craft project than cooking. Buy a box of pre-made fondant from the cake decorating isle of your local craft store. It comes in a package roughly the size of cake mix. Inside is a plastic bag containing a moist material that resembles white play-dough. The same store will also carry paste-based food colors. Depending on your school colors you may be able (as I was) to get away with buying only one color.

Now make and cool a square cake. I cut a piece of foam-core the exact size of the cake and covered it with foil, but you could also use corrugated cardboard covered with foil. Place the cooled cake on the square so no edge is showing, and ice the whole cake with your favorite butter cream frosting. Instead of placing the fondant directly on the cake, it’s preferable to ice the cake first with fluffy butter cream frosting. This not only helps keep a smooth surface, but tastes much better!

Here’s the fun part–you actually use your hands to squish and knead the color into the fondant. We used plastic gloves so that our hands weren’t dyed green. But make sure it’s not a latex or rubber glove which could transfer an unwanted flavor. We used thin plastic gloves, the kind you get in a box of home hair dye. When you start this, you have the impression the color will never even out, but have patience, eventually it will.

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Once the color is even, the fondant is rolled out like a pie crust. Roll it as thin as you can, stopping to lift and turn over much like you would a crust. Rolling between two sheets of parchment paper makes lifting easier. Then it’s ‘easy as pie’ to lift the fondant and place it over the cake.

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Trim the fondant around the bottom edge with a knife. Then, use extra fondant to cover an upside-down bowl for the “hat” part of the mortar board (seen in the book display photo below). Make sure to affix the cake board on top of the overturned bowl well, with more blobs of fondant as glue.

Flatten a ball of fondant for the button. Cut fondant strips for the tassel, and letter your message on top in your fanciest script with tube frosting. I then carefully removed the gold year charm from my grad’s hat and used it to temporarily decorate the cake, but this charm is also probably available at the craft store.

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Now, you have worked so hard on this masterpiece it deserves to be displayed. And this leads me into the next little grad party detail. I’m sure you have heard of all kinds of photo boards parents have made of their grad so guests can take a little stroll down memory lane. Well a simpler solution is to decorate the cake table with memorabilia. I surrounded the cake with photo albums, each with a ribbon bookmark (school color, green) at a particularly significant (or embarrassing) page. Guests could do a whole lot of browsing simply walking around the cake table.

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Another very simple decoration is to wrap white napkins around the flatware and tie with a ribbon of the school color. So, what’s so great about it? Don’t they look like little diplomas! (And if you point that out to your guests they will look even more like diplomas).

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And of course, I shouldn’t have to tell you to photograph your lovely accomplishments. If for no other reason, it will be a handy reference for when the next kid graduates!

Filed under 04 April, Celebrations, Food, Home, Inspiration, Kids, Milestones | Comments

IDEA 26: HAPPY EASTER BASKETS

Easter_eggs

When I was a kid I just loved Easter morning, which ranked way up there, somewhere between Christmas and Halloween. My mom is a practical soul and it became pretty obvious she did not believe in investing in a new brightly colored, plastic grass-filled Easter basket every year for each of four kids, that would eventually find its way to the basement (or worse).  So, on Easter morning the hunt would begin, but we never knew exactly what we would find. In the name of practicality, my Easter surprise would be housed in something that was already around the house. My mom is a potter, so often, those sweet chocolate eggs would be nestled in a hand thrown bowl.

I didn’t inherit my mom’s talent for ceramics, but I do think I adopted her penchant for practicality. When it came to my kids, rather than fall for the “temporary” Easter baskets that line the shelves every spring, I chose a special basket for each child. I wrapped the handle in grosgrain ribbon and attached findings from the craft store floral isle. My eldest son got a dragon fly that will forever hover one-and-a-half inches over the handle via a wire. My second son got a frog at each point where the handle attaches to the basket, and my little daughter got a row of paper rosebuds tucked into the ribbon that wrapped her handle. The baskets were thus decorated, and then christened as each child’s permanent basket.

Easter_basket

Basket_frog

Basket_Dfly

Much like their Christmas stockings, the children learned to recognize their familiar basket, alleviating any pressure to designate whose basket was whose.  And the plastic eggs and even the pastel shredded paper “grass” have gotten reused countless times.

In the off-season they reside in a big bin in the attic where I can get a glimpse of Easter any time I need it. So, maybe it’s not the most earth-shattering idea. But I do think my mom’s thinking was way before her time. And that she taught a lesson that was “green” before people even knew what that was.

Filed under 03 March, Celebrations, Holiday, Home, Keepsakes, Kids, Traditions | Comments

IDEA 24: PHOTO ORG

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If you are looking for a photo album solution, it means you probably have boxes (or drawers, or computer files) of photos that have piled up. This tidbit is not exactly about organizing those. For now, I would either ignore them or if they have been printed, buy a whole bunch of matching photo boxes and at least get them all in one place. Once you have seen how clever you can be at photo org, you can go back and tackle them.

This is about This Day Forward. Because if the very next time you take pictures you start doing this, the number of organized pictures will eventually surpass the number of disorganized ones. And hopefully you will inspire yourself to one day work on the others. (Besides, by then you’ll be a pro).

Here’s the first key: In most of our lives there are really only a handful of photo events in any year. OK, if you have a newborn, there is a photo event every day. But generally, most of us haul the camera out a half a dozen times a year, usually centering on holidays or other significant ceremonies, etc. Even if you do snap away every day, use the big picture events to do this.

As soon as possible after the next picture event, download your camera to your computer. Right now, before getting up, you are going to decide which ones to print. Just start going through them. If you like the picture, either name it or put it in a folder (whichever works for you). If you don’t like the photo, just skip to the next one. Don’t worry about throwing it out. (That’s the part that makes it way too hard). All you’re doing is identifying the ones you LIKE. Once you are sure the files are all in your computer, delete everything on the camera.

Now, go to a photofinishing website. I use my local drugstore. On the site you will learn to send your photos to the store (you’ve just identified which ones to print with your naming or file system) and they will make prints which you will go pick up. There will be options for paying online and/or having the prints sent to you. Do as you wish, but I find checking the box that says I will pay when I pick up is the easiest.

This next part can be done at the same drugstore, or in my case I like the big box stores: Find some reasonably priced photo albums and buy as many as you are comfortable, like a row as wide as your shelf. Do the albums HAVE to be the same? No. Get what you want. Sometimes sameness helps one to feel organized. And a whole row of identical albums is beautiful. My collection consists of chunks of like albums interspersed with the occasional fun surprise, partly because I like a little variety, and partly because of the way the collection has taken years to grow. Purchase a sheet of letters of the alphabet from the scrapbook aisle and letter the spines of the albums starting with A.

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Then, attach a “sticky note” inside the cover of album “A” and write the month and year of the photo event followed by a dash. Now put in all those photos you picked up.

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Repeat the process immediately after each picture event, with all shots that are in the camera, deleting the camera files when you have downloaded them to your computer. When the album is filled, write the current month and year on the sticky note (after the dash) and move on to album “B.” Once you’re sure the album is done, if you like, you can write the dates directly on the album page and scrap the sticky.

I have used this system for years. The resulting books are a constant source of joy for me and for anyone who comes in my kitchen (where the albums are stored, taking up more shelf space than the cookbooks). Of course I started the system long before there was digital photography. The main thing is to just start putting the pictures in books. And making it part of the photo-taking experience. You don’t have to feel bad if you don’t want to print them all, or put them all in the book. I’ve had occasions where I used most of an album on one single occasion. And others where there were only one or two photos that told the whole story. Since you don’t throw out the computer files, you will always have them as back-up. So you can proceed without feeling the burden of getting it exactly right. You rest assured knowing you can always go back in for “revisions” if you want to. Although we both know, you never will!

Filed under 02 February, Home, Keepsakes, Organization | Comments

IDEA 23: FOREVER VALENTINE

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My daughter was born in February, which meant I had one very pregnant Valentine’s Day. So that may have been the reason I got this idea. But never-the-less it’s one worth sharing. Who, but your new born baby could possibly be your best Valentine ever?

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Look for some sweet old fashioned Valentines at an antiques shop and frame two of them for the nursery wall. Frames are available everywhere, but I liked these vintage gold leafed ones. Many come equipped with a mat, but since I wanted very small pictures, I took mats from a larger frame and cut them down to fit small frames. This way I got the fine professional bevel of the mat and I just had to cut the outside to make it fit my small frame. You can also have small mats custom cut at the craft and floral store. Or, cut your own mat from a piece of wrapping or wallpaper. I used another matching solid white piece of mat board under the card and stuck it down with a little double stick tape.

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Of course you don’t have to use antique cards for this. Any Valentine you love will do. And when it comes to your little one, it’s sweet sentiment really does last all year long!

Val_1

Filed under Holiday, Home, Keepsakes, Kids | Comments

IDEA 22: CURE FOR CABIN FEVER

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In many places across the nation, this winter has been one of the most, well, wintery on record. Some of us are having weather we’ve never seen before. Here in Minnesota the snow came early and stayed. Well, in true BellaPamella fashion, the following suggestion (on the order of “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em”) is to embrace the weather. Celebrate the flakes.

Once we take down all the holiday stuff, the house takes on a certain simplicity, and I love that. For about a month. Then I start to wonder how long winter is going to linger. This year my daughter brought home a lovely snowflake project that she taught me how to do. We hung the flakes in the window in celebration (or was it defiance?) of a bright white yard that just refuses to melt.

It’s one of my favorite kinds of projects because it requires only things we already have around: 8 1/2″ x 11″ white paper (printer paper is perfect), scissors or a rotary cutter and mat, tape and/or glue, and string or ribbon. We have a supply of fabric ribbon and so we used red grosgrain. You will also need a pen with a smooth, even barrel on it to form the first loop. For this size snowflake, a pen that’s a little fatter than a pencil works well.

SFP_1

Start by cutting the paper into six 3 1/2 inch squares. Each snowflake will take one sheet of paper.

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Fold each square in half diagonally, into a triangle.

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Then fold each in half again.

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With scissors or the cutter, cut three slits on each triangle. Cut parallel to the cut edges (not the folded ones) and cut to about 1/4 inch before you reach the fold.

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Carefully open the triangles back into squares. Each square should have six “V”s cut into it.

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And gently smooth your finger along the middle crease to help flatten the paper. It’s best if you do the steps to each piece at the same time. You will have six squares for each snowflake.

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Now, wrap the two corners of the innermost square around the pen and secure it with tape.

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When you pull the pen out it looks like this.

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Turn the square over and loop the next two corners and secure with tape. This loop will be bigger than the first, AND FACING THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AS THE FIRST.

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Turn over again, and tape the next corners the same direction you did the first loop.

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They now look like this.

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Now turn them over again and tape the last two (largest) corners.

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From the side, your squares should now look like this

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Notice how each piece has become a point of your flake. And also that each one has a large “V” on one side and a small “V” on the other side. Line up the six points with the large “V”s on the right. Now start to turn the points into a star. Make sure that each point is oriented the same way so that a large “V” is always next to a small “V”.

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We found the easiest way to attach the points together was to first tape two “pairs” together as shown.

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Fasten the pairs together.

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And then, tape on the last two points. You now have a full snowflake. But you will probably find if you try to hang it, gaps will form between the points that are pointing up. Hold the snowflake by it’s top point and let it hang. Where you see the gaps, put a dot of glue or a dab of glue stick, and pinch the spot together until it holds.

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Finally, cut a small slit in the top point and lace your ribbon through.

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Make as many snowflakes as will brighten your room and stave off the winter blues!

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We have one snowflake hanging in each window. They make me smile every time I see them against that snowy yard. They serve as a reminder that there is beauty in all the seasons. You just have to look for it.

Filed under 02 February, Home, Projects | Comments

IDEA 21: IDENTIFY WITH SOMETHING

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One day I discovered that you could order a Paint-by-number kit of your own photos. I sent in a picture of my daughter and the resulting painting was so beautiful and fun to do, I did the rest of our family. Now, the five portraits identify the hooks in our mudroom. Each picture sits above two hooks belonging to the person in the picture.

Of course it would have been much easier to write their names. But, that’s not the point is it?!

Filed under 01 January, Home, Inspiration, Keepsakes, Kids, Organization, Projects | Comments

IDEA 20: JUNK DRAWER RESCUE

Kitchen_Drawer_org_2

Here’s a test for you: Open your kitchen junk drawer. Now, does it make you feel all happy and on top of things? Or is it just another reminder of the myriad of things that need your attention? My theory is that something as simple as organizing your junk drawer can have a halo effect on your general well being that will last you until spring.

So, how does one even begin this horrendous task? And even if you do, how will it STAY organized? We all know, the more people in your family, the quicker the organized junk drawer turns into chaos.

I’m at the time in my life that I need glasses, “readers” at every turn throughout the day. I tried to house a pair in the kitchen junk drawer for those moments when I needed to read a recipe, or the microscopic print on the back of a package. And inevitably they would end up on top of my head where they would travel to various parts of the house so that next time I opened the drawer they would not be there. So one day I bought a pair of red glasses. This is a color that looks fab in my kitchen, but not very good on my face. Amazingly, whenever I would begin to take the red glasses to another part of the house I would either stop and deposit them in the drawer, or, if I happened to see them, say, sitting on my desk, I’d bring them back to their place. And thus was born an inspiration. Like most junk drawers, ours was full of the miscellaneous bits and pieces people find and stash but never have a use for. What it did NOT EVER have was a working writing utensil, paper, tape, scissors, you get the idea. The junk drawer was a place you went to look for something, and never found it.

Try this and see if it makes life just a little better: First of all, empty the junk drawer and wipe it clean. If it doesn’t have dividers you may want to purchase an insert at one of those “get organized” stores. Now, (this is the fun part), whenever you are out at the grocery, drugstore, office supply or big box store, start collecting red stuff. Yes, you can choose a different color if you like. The point is that everyone in the family knows that that particular color stuff goes in the drawer. If you use the scissors, they go back. If you find them around the house, bring them back. You would be amazed at how this simple rule helps keep the drawer full of its useful stuff.

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So, what did I find in red? Pens and pencils, scissors, tape dispenser, stapler and staple remover, paperclips, rubber bands, those gripper clips (great for closing chip bags) a ruler, flashlight, address book, key ring (and red plastic marker for spare house key), post-its, folder to hold rosters and school directories,  lined paper notebook, and last but not least…my glasses!


Filed under 01 January, Home, Organization, Twin Cities Live | Comments

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