Digging Out From Under The Laundry Pile

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So my house has slowly turned into a disaster zone with piles of projects needing to be finished, laundry to wash and/or put away, shoes without mates, toys stuck in every nook and cranny of the kids' room, an organ that doesn't work and is STILL in my house, and three extra chairs that need posting on Craigslist. Whenever I have a moment or an hour to myself I think,"You should probably use this time to tidy your studio or fold that clean load in the dryer." And then I look at myself sternly. However, I'm not afraid of myself and I tell myself to put my feet up and catch up on a few blogs or make something just for fun. And the cycle continues.

So, I'm wondering...how do you set the stage for a good old fashioned deep clean in your house? Hire a sitter and order pizza? Send any extra people out for the day so you can focus on the dust bunnies? Take it an hour or two here and there all week in order to fit it in with your own busy schedule? Medication and loud music? Ha!

I know you'd love to see a photo for proof but I dare not loose something of this nature out into the great wild web. You'll just have to use your imagination on this one. ;)

Messy but happy.
xoxo,
Rachel

Today I Will...

Prettiest stack ever.

* Sweep my floors
* Refold the piles of fabric in my studio
* Find a place on the curb for my broken organ
* Make pizza with Sebastian
* Water my grass
* Teach Ruby how to do the dishes

Enjoy the last weekend in August. I'm pretty fond of this time of the month.

xoxo,
Rachel

It's Starting To Feel Like This...

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I hear fall is nearing.
What are you most looking forward to?

xoxo,
Rachel

Decluttering for Better Health

I consider anything that doesn't serve me and helps me live my best life to be clutter. Recently my husband and I got rid of our microwave for several reasons: (1) we rarely used it, (2) it was ugly and taking up valuable counter space, and (3) we'd rather not ingest radiated food (According to Carolyn Scott, microwaves transform the chemical makeup of foods on a cellular level. While the little waves are heating up, they mutate the food -and mutated food not only loses it texture and taste, it loses all its nutrients and causes us to ingest radiation).

L: counter before with microwave; R: counter after with wheatgrass

We used the newly freed up counter space to grow our own wheatgrass and install a juicer. Not only is it a much healthier thing to have in our home, I think it looks a lot better too! Now I just have to be consistent with growing the grass, making the juice, and drinking it everyday. Admittedly it's somewhat time consuming but wheatgrass is highly alkaline and the health benefits are absolutely worth it.

August Sponsor Highlight

I've had some lovely new sponsors this summer as well as some loyal returning ones. These are a few of my favorites from their little corners of the internet.

Welcome cool weather and fall colors in this pretty headband.

So cute with bangs!

Wrap up your Pumpkin Spice latte in this!

For the lactose intolerant or not.

Get ready for fall with this cozy hat.

A place to keep your pretty things!

One of my favorite new designs from Lisa Leonard.

Sunday Morning Sugar is gearing up for a shop opening but has a fun tutorial and a giveaway in the meantime!

See what she's up to at Blue Bird Lucy's!

Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo,
Rachel

Your Ad Here

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Smile And Wave has ad spots available in it's pretty little side bar for the month of September. The fall season is the best time to start advertising your shop or blog as people are gearing up for a season of indoor crafting/reading/sharing! Smile And Wave is getting between 3,000 and 4,000 hits a day from crafters, moms, DIYers, students, artists, and vintage lovers alike and would love to have you join us.

Each sponsor receives an end of the month highlight and giveaway option to increase traffic to your shop or blog. You can see single and package rates here or contact Leigh-Ann for more details: Frecklednest (at) gmail (dot) com. It's cozy over there in the side bar!

xoxo,
Rachel

p.s. SMALL CRAFT registration post below.

Small Craft Online Class [Details & Registration Information]

I'm thrilled to introduce you to our brand new online class called Small Craft! Small Craft is a six week class full of fun projects for kiddos (newborn to age 10). Projects are primarily designed to make as fun gifts for kids with some interactive projects that children can participate in as well! This class is designed for anyone who has a cute kiddo in their lives that they'd love to craft for!

What is Small Craft?

This 6 week class is open to students worldwide. Tutorials are posted throughout the week and students are encouraged to work at their own pace, there are no deadlines! The class includes 30 Project Tutorials with 6 video sessions included in those projects! The class starts September 13th and runs for 6 weeks. There are two video Q&A sessions with Elsie & Rachel included (Students get to ask questions in advance and we answer them in one big private video... it's so much fun!). Note: There are a few sewing projects included in this class that require access to a sewing machine.

SMALL CRAFT
$60

*These are just a few peeks at projects we've created for this class! Rachel and I both agree that this is one of the most inspired classes we've created. We've had SO much fun developing it together.

Meet Your Teachers...

I'm a work-at-home mom of two! I love coming up with D.I.Y. projects for my son, Sebastian, and daughter, Ruby. I love interior design and have created some amazing kiddo bedroom projects for this class!

Elsie is a full time independent boutique owner and proof that you don't have to be a mom to be in love with creating pretty things for little people. She's an aunt and loves making things for the kids in her life as well as for her shop! ♥ We're both excited to share our projects and know they'll be so fun to work on into the fall season and through the holidays!

Projects include: Pretty, Pretty: Customizable dress pattern for all sizes, The Well-Styled Child: DIY scarves for fall, A Mid-Century Modern Fort, Abra Cadabra: Bedroom makeover tips and tricks, Here's The Skinny: Two necktie patterns and embroidery samples, Use Your Words: An art journal just for them, Traveling Puppet Theater, Modern Geometry: A block set you can both live with, What's For Lunch: DIY lunchbox, Monster Bibs, Snack Attack: Fun snacks for little fingers, Storybook Plushies, The Starving Artist's Smock/Apron, All Dressed Up And No Place To Go: Fun photo shoot ideas through imaginative play and handmade props, Upcycled Dress Up Chest: Includes three felt mask patterns and tips on creating costumes....and more!

Class cost $60 (only $10 per week or $2 per project!) Payable via paypal (button above) or through credit card in our online store.

*Private blog info will be sent within 36 hours of payment.

Questions? Please e-mail racheldenbow(at)gmail(dot)com

Hope you can join us!! We've put a lot of extra love into this class and can't wait to share it with you!

xoxo,

Rachel