Reorganizing and Mention Monday

It's a quiet day here. Slept in, made a delicious dinner (marinated chicken in chilli-mint zulu sauce, fried plaintains, and long grain wild rice), installed the AC (it's very humid), and reorganized the craft area.

This shelf area really needed an overhaul. I am very happy with this clearly labeled boxes; makes it a lot easier to find things.

My new toy. :-D I love the heck out of it.

The whole craft area. It's a corner of my living room (my fiance and I live in a small apartment at the moment), but there is plenty of room to make items. Having a small area also forces me to use what I have rather than hoard a bunch of stuff.

Also today, I added one more item to my etsy shop, this cute wall cupboard for a dollhouse kitchen, bathroom, or bedroom. :) Check it out.

Last, it is Monday, which means it's Mention Monday. Here I feature a blogger/website which I enjoy reading that you may also find interesting. Today, I'd like to point you to Dollarstore Crafts. This site includes LOTS of tutorials and if you feel creative and don't want to spend a lot of money, this is a GREAT (free!) resource. I am also a little biased since she mentions a lot of dollhouse crafts!!! (Examples include: micro planters made from wine corks, a calendar, and more!). I hope you find some projects to make!

Thrifty Thursday 1

Well, here goes my first Thrifty Thursday post! I hope this becomes a fun resource for upcycling ideas, including some fun ideas I’ve figured out, cool things I’ve read, what friends from the blogosphere have done, and inquiries to you about how everyday household objects might be used for minis.

Thrifty on the web: 

So today, I’d like to mention an amazing miniaturist, Tanya, who lives in Georgia. She posts often on the Greenleaf Forum, Small Stuff and the Miniature Collector’s Club Yahoo! Group. The reason she is being mentioned today is that she has a special knack for turning trash to treasure. Her online photo album, chock full of ideas, can be found here: http://www.picturetrail.com/tanyamc123. She finds some great pieces from the Dollar Tree, or around the house, that make great minis, especially those that may be useful in modern scenes! See for yourself!

This week's thrifty idea: 

Do you have a lot of ribbon, still on the cardboard spools? Ever want to know how to easily store them without shelling out money for a ribbon dispenser?  If you have a large wooden disk (or sturdy base larger than the largest hole in your ribbon spools), some glue (Tacky, wood, whatever you have) and an extra dowel lying around (who doesn't?), you can whip together a quick and easy ribbon holder.

This is a super-easy idea for cleaning up your storage space and a lot easier than fishing around in a drawer for just the right ribbon. I think the neatly stacked ribbon is also pleasant to look at as I have it easily accessible in my craft area. :)

What Would You Do With This?

Alright, guys and gals. We've recently cleaned out our pantry and we found that we had a lot of those Crystal Light drinks. I kept the containers because I thought they might work out well in this hobby. Here's what one looks like: 

Now I am too lazy to get up and measure it at the moment, but I think it's about 6.5 inches tall. Can you think of a mini-related use for this? So far, I've thought: storing or packing delicate minis to send in the mail, storing brushes, strip wood, or other tools...what else? Share your ideas in the comments below!