10 Clever Ways to Organize Your Stuff!

I was browsing on Pintrest and came across a really awesome blog post about simple and clever ways to organize your household items. The list contained 50 ideas but I picked out my favorite 10! Check out the entire blog post from DIY Home Sweet Home Blog HERE .

Keep your cell phone off the floor or counter while it's charging by cutting an empty lotion bottle into a nifty cell phone holder. (BE CAREFUL: If you attempt this make sure your holder is resting on the plug and not the metal prongs which could cause a fire.)

My husband is constantly picking these up around the house lol. Add a magnetic strip to the inside of your bathroom cabinet or cupboard to store bobby pins, nail clippers, and tweezers.

Add shelving to the inside of closet doors to organize books and games!

Use shoe boxes to organize your drawers. This is an easy solution to typical messy drawer!

 Keep kids art work from getting out of control by making this fun art display. This allows kids to easily change and hang different artwork on a daily basis! You could also paint the clipboards to look vintage or rustic.

Attach jar lids to the underside of cabinets or shelves to organize all of the little things. Perfect for craft items, nuts and bolts, girls' hair accessories, or any other small items you have laying around the house. I am hoping that my husband will do this in his shop! :)

Recycle drawers by adding some wheels and use for under-the-bed rolling storage.

These shoe organizers are great for ANY door or cabinet. You can hang them in the laundry room for cleaning supplies or the kids bedroom to organize toys. Also perfect in the craft room for yarn, fabric, or other craft items. They are relativity inexpensive too!

I know we have all seen different ways to make jewelry holders, but his one caught my eye. Glue some clothespins or use screw hooks on a strip of wood for a creative way to organize belts and necklaces. You could also use the clothes pins to hang a small box or basket for chunky bracelets or other items that wont fit the clothespins. This would be great on a wall in a closet.

I don't know about y'all but I have these laying all around my bedroom and bathroom. Use this nifty clip to keep them together!

I may be attempting some of these ideas this weekend! I love how most are such great organizational ideas yet they are hidden from the public eye. If I could just get my children to love to organize at an early age with their toys....

DIY Piñata Ice Cream Cone

Want an deliciously easy tutorial that can be fun to make with your kids? Want a tutorial that is a fantastic idea for a kiddos birthday party or treat for his/her classroom? Don't all kids love Piñatas? 

I saw this idea on Pintrest and FEEL IN LOVE! I know if I loved it the boys would love it even more! I cannot wait to make these with my kids! It is super easy too!

Ingredients:

Sugar Waffle Cone

Candy of your choice

Meringues Cookie

Vanilla Cookie Flavored Icing

Sprinkles

Let's get to the steps: 

 Now for the specifics. Here are a description of the steps:

1. Take a Sugar Waffle Cone and fill it with your favorite candy.

2. Set a meringue cookie on top of the cone and affix it to the cone using the icing.

3. Hold cone over a plate and pour sprinkles over icing, pressing it softly into place.

4. Cut crosses into an empty cone box for an instant holding station! Put it in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Enjoy! I believe adults will love it as much as the kids will! What a fun new experience to introduce!

Are you an 80's Girl??

A few of my friends posted this link on Facebook and I LOVED IT! It brought back so many memories and honestly I had forgotten about some of my favorite toys and accessories of the 80's! The website lists "53 Things Only 80's Girls Can Understand" but I just picked 15 of my favorites. I would suggest reading the whole article though, it is fabulous! READ IT HERE

Remember when...

#1 

It was such a struggle getting your Popple into its original ball shape!

#2 The importance of nailing the sideways ponytail...

#4 

Getting a new Cabbage Patch Doll, hanging her Birth Certificate on the wall and carrying her around with you everywhere?

#5 

Every 80's girl owned every style scrunchie imaginable? It was your "statement" piece!

#6 

Every girl organized her cosmetics, jewelry, and hair products into their awesome Caboodle?

#7 

You weren't cool unless you had a SWATCH WATCH

#8 

You went through like one Sweet Valley book a day?

#9 

"You Can't Do That On Television"?? Did it completely creep you out yet you still continued to watch? Yep...they were "slimed"!

#10 

You raced home to watch "After School Specials" b/c you felt edgy watching them?

#11 

It was a struggle to try to keep your shirt clip tights?

#12 

This was a status symbol? I couldn't believe this was included on the list. I totally owned this! It was my first phone :)

#13 

You loved NKOTB and every type of memorabilia that your allowance would afford you to buy? I seriously wore a pin to school haha!

#14

La Gear high tops?....yes please!

#15

We were the first to experience Easy Bake Ovens? You would think after 30 years the treats would taste better....

There you have it! Fifteen incredible items that made our 80's experience complete. Hope you enjoyed strolling down memory lane with some of these things that we have brushed under the rug for so long. I don't know about y'all but I can't wait to show my kids how cool I was back in the day! LOL

Football Season Is In The Air...

If anyone knows me just a little, they know I am a huge Auburn Fan! I not only attended there and earned my undergraduate degree, but it is sincerely where I learned to "grow up". College is a place where I believe you learn a little about life and a lot about yourself. At Auburn I met some of my dearest friends, learned that love doesn't last forever if it isn't honest and true, and I figured out pretty quickly how to avoid being naive. There is a certain feeling you get driving up onto campus where you feel like you are falling in love for the first time. Maybe it is because Auburn will always hold a little piece of my heart.

Football season is around the corner and I am determined to go to a game...Mississippi State and Auburn to be exact. My husband has NEVER been to Auburn much less an Auburn game! I know....you can believe my shock as well! He graduated from MSU and thought this would be the perfect opportunity!

These are some traditions and experiences that make Auburn so special. I can't wait to share these with my Husband when we visit. Maybe he'll appreciate my love for Auburn after we go :)

#1. Jordan Hare Stadium

There is nothing like the roar 80,000 plus tiger fans in one place. The stands are flooded with Orange and Blue, and shakers are flapping in the air. It is an atmosphere that you won't fully understand until you experience it!

#2 Toomer's Corner

I decided to include a picture from when our tree was at its prime.  Basically, after each sports victory fans will travel straight to Toomer's Corner and roll our huge tree with toilet paper. It is such an amazing site to see! Unfortunately, it no longer stands due to a person poisoning the tree. One of the saddest moments in history for the Auburn Tigers. I have friends who have gotten engaged by this historic tree, rolled the tree myself after dozens of Auburn wins, and had hoped to one day bring my kids to do the same. Where tradition stands, I truly believe we will do this again one day.

#3 Tailgating

Walking the Auburn Campus on game day is such a breathtaking experience. There are tents upon tents lined up on campus of fans cooking, playing frisbee, walking their dogs, and visiting with friends. It is like one big family reunion at every game. 

#4 Tiger the Eagle

Before every game, Auburn's mascot, "Tiger" the Eagle, will sour around the stands of the stadium. The fans will shout "War Eagle" until he gently returns to his perch on his trainer's arm. It is a tradition that fans look forward to before the start of every football game. It is amazing!

#5 Tiger Walk

Before fans begin to wander toward the stadium on Game Day, Aubie (the other mascot...yes we have two mascots) and the football team parade through town meeting and greeting fans. The kids especially love this and look up to those athletes like they have seen a star. I can not wait for my children to experience this!

I know I only included 5 must see things when attending a football game at auburn but there is much much more! Auburn is a place full of uplifting spirit, love, and generousity. Take it from me...if you have not visited Auburn you need to! You won't regret it!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

We found out the gender of our third sweet pea on Monday! With this being out last child we tried to be creative in finding out and revealing it to our other kids and parents.

We decided to have the ultrasound technician put the gender with a "potty" shot into an envelope. Shane and I would take it and go to lunch or a park and reveal the gender privately. I have to admit it was extremely difficult and took a lot of patience to look away when our sweet baby was on the big screen when getting the ultrasound. There were times we were allowed to see it but for the majority of the time we had to look away. After the baby moved its foot and the tech found out the gender so easily, my husband and I both decided we thought it was definitely a boy!

We were so blessed to be able to see our sweet baby and most importantly, he or she was completely healthy!

After seeing the Dr we took the envelope and hurried to the car. We drove to a park and were so ready to have our "moment". I opened the envelope and removed the paper so Shane and I could both see. I saw it and immediately started crying....

What a shock!!!! We feel so blessed! This experience was one of the most exciting and exhilarating experiences of my life. I am so glad we branched out from the traditional way of finding out.

I got supplies from Hobby Lobby decorated a box that would reveal pink balloons for our boys and parents. We were so excited for them to find out!

We videotaped tour reveal experience with our family and then posted it for our friends:

What a fun day and night! Wouldn't change the experience for the world <3

Now for deciding on a name...

We Have A Winner...

Thank you so much for everyone who makes an effort to read and support my writings. I hope to continue to have a variety of giveaways in the future. The bigger my blog gets and the more followers I have, the better items people will donate :) If you have any ideas for post or just a topic that interests you, feel free to comment or write me about it (jenntram44@yahoo.com). I am always looking for fun new ideas to write about.

Congrats to Peggy Davis of Madison, MS for winning an adorable chapstick key fob of her choice. Please contact me with your best contact email and I will pass it along to Amy at Gabrielle's Good Tidings so she can ship it right away for you. Don't forget you get to choice the pattern of your choice and can browse her store HERE .

Thanks again for everyone's entries and support! My blog has reached almost 3,000 views since I started just a couple of weeks ago! Tomorrow we will find out the gender of our third sweet pea and will likely post our reveal experience to our kids in the next few days! Sweet dreams!

Giveaway Time!

This Giveaway is going to have some of the same rules except I will be promoting a lovely little Etsy Shop that has been featured on Very Jane! I will introduce the Shop and give a little bio before announcing the prize.

Gabriel's Good Tidings was founded in 2005 by Amy Gabriel. Her love for stationery design began when she served as a missionary in Africa from 2002 until 2004. As her days came to a close and the sun set over her village, Amy created handmade note cards and personal stationery to keep in touch with family and friends on the other side of the world.

By the time she returned to America, her designs had developed into an art and were appreciated by many. Inspired by Luke 2:10 "The angel said to them, '...I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people...'" Amy founded Gabriel's Good Tidings to minister to others by providing high-quality stationery at a reasonable price.

Today, Amy's stationery has evolved to sewing gifts for both baby and mommy. She enjoys creating new designs and giving traditional items that handmade touch. While paper crafting will always be her first love, she has fine tuned her sewing skills and is enjoying expressing her creativity through fabric. 

Amy lives in Orlando, Florida, with her wonderful husband and two crazy kids.

You can read more about her shop here!

Browse her handmade items and make a purchase here!

Amy has generously allowed me to write about her shop and will give our winner a chapstick key fob of his/her choice! 

 Here are a few examples of these beautiful and VERY useful items:

HERE ARE THE

To be entered you MUST:
Become a Follower or Google + Follower by clicking the links under my short bio and family picture

For additional Entries:
1. Sign up for Amy's Email Newsletter here
2. Share this post with any social media site (FB, Twitter, Instagram, Pintrest)

Please remember to comment that you have done one of the above (or every time you have entered) so I can be sure to enter you in this giveaway!

Stay Tuned this Sunday night, July 28th @ 8pm when the winner will be announced!

Start entering now! You never know if you could be a winner!