Clean and Crafty

I feel like a child...not really, I've just been getting in touch with my inner child lately.  First, let me start off by saying that another room in my house has been cleaned out and cleaned up! THE KIDS' ROOM!!! My darling husband is the reason this happened...not because he helped, but because he threatened. Haha. He tripped over some toys in the living room a few days ago and fell. He was so frustrated (because our kids have WAY too many toys) and told the kids they need to have everything organized and put away by Sunday or else he's throwing away anything he sees out. So me, being the mother that I am, couldn't bare the thought of my children's precious toys being thrown away. We worked for two days going through everything (downstairs and upstairs).

We started in the living room and pulled out all the bins.  One by one a bin was dumped and we sorted through it...kept what they wanted, threw out what was broken and boxed up for donating anything they didn't play with.  One day two, I first went in there and folded all the clothes that were everywhere, then we did the same thing.  Sorted and organized. I am so proud of my kids for agreeing to fill up TWO big boxes! We even filled up a whole trash bag of junk! Now they have room to grow, the rooms have order AND dad won't be throwing away any beloved toys.  Let's hope they can keep it that way.

(Sorry, no before and after pictures. I'm a dufus again and completely forgot to take any. Hopefully I'll remember when I clean the next room.)

Now on to my craftiness. So for Mother's Day this year, I decided not to get my mom her usual flowers.  I really wanted to get her something special, useful and pretty. I went to the Family Christian Bookstore to look around but didn't see anything I loved...and if I loved it, it was WAY too much money.  For instance, there was this super cute, little red cookie jar that had a Bible verse on it. I just loved the shape of the jar, the size was ok (about 6-8" tall), and the verse was so cute (Psalm 34:8).  I was like, this is it.  I'll get this for her and an apron and make cookies! I turned that sucker over to see how much...$54.99!!!!! UM, NO!

I love my mom, but seriously, $55 for a dinky jar...I don't think so.  So I left and thought about what to get her.  I thought about gardening things, clothes, gift cards, etc.  The cookie jar kept coming back in my head...then it hit me! Why don't I just make my own?! Duh! What a brilliant idea, I'll go find a cute jar, write the same cute verse, and fill it up with goodies!  And that's exactly what I did.

Found this adorable cookie jar (10-12" tall) at Home Goods for $12.99:

Picked up some of her favorite treats for about $8 (I thought about making cookies, but I honestly don't think she'd eat them).

Then, went online to get some inspiration for how to write the verse.  I saw this "Taste & See" and pretty much copied it because I loved how it looked, but then wrote the rest of it myself.  I honestly LOVE the way it turned out and kinda want to make one for me (but I won't because I do not need more jars in my kitchen, haha).

So for around $20, there is my gift for my mom, but worth so much more since I made it and it is one of a kind! So cute, right?! Even if you don't think it is, I don't care...I love it and that's all that matters.  Well not really, my mom needs to love it too. Haha. Hopefully she will.  I forgot how much fun it is to make things for people.  Now I see why my kids get so excited giving me handmade gifts...you just feel so proud of all your hard work and can't wait to give it to them!

There you go...I was clean and crafty this weekend. And it feels good. Crafts and creativity are good for the soul! I need to do more of this!