Jamberry Nails Organization & Storage

I've recently been introduced to the wonderful world of Jamberry.  As I was applying my most recent set, Crystalline, I realized I need a better storage system for all of my Jamberry stuff.

Here's my awesome new set, by the way.  I love that it will take me from Christmas right on into the New Year.

Jamberry - Crystalline

Life is chaotic, right?  I know that I have certain triggers that will make me totally overwhelmed and basically my productivity can quickly come to a halt.  One of those triggers is clutter and disorganization.  For me, when there is place for everything, and everything is in its rightful place, then that trigger is less likely to be pulled. Now, granted, with life's chaos, it's truly not possible for me to have ALL of my ducks neatly lined up in a perfect row. I acknowledge that.  However, if all of my ducks are at least present and accounted for - well, then I'm off to a great start.  But, I digress ....

As I sat down with the few minutes I had to spare between getting the kids to school and getting myself to work, it was difficult to finish in time.  Not because the Jamberry application was hard to do, but because I didn't have all of my tools for it within a quick reach. I kept having to get up for "this" and get up for "that".

Where there's a problem, there's a solution! And in this case the solution costed $2.00!

Yes, I see the dust on the bottom of the heater now that the pictures are on my computer screen instead of my iPhone.  Please forgive me, as I am not going take the time to retake the picture or Photoshop out the dust.  LOL

I scavenged through the house for things to use, but only found one item that I could upcycle.  I needed a small divided storage item for the little tools that are used.  I found some holiday sprinkles from last year's school Valentine parties.  It has 4 divided sections and fits perfectly into the caddy I found (we'll get to that next).  I dumped the sprinkles into a baggie for later use and washed out the container.  Now, I could've checked Pinterest for solutions for removing the print on the jar.  That's just not in the time budget, though.

upcycled sprinkles jar - free from my pantry

Next, I packed up the kids and we went to Dollar Tree.  They had the perfect caddy with just the right divisions in it for $1.00.  I really wanted a handle, too, for a quick grab & go functionality.

Caddy - $1.00 at Dollar Tree

Another item that I needed was a photo album.  This also costs $1.00 at Dollar Tree.
While I do not sell the products myself, I know 3 lovely ladies who do sell it.  One of these consultants, Noel Giger, has been working with Jamberry for a while now and not only has incredible knowledge of the products, but also has a great way to display them. She brings several 4x6 photo albums loaded FULL of Jamberry wraps to our Bunco games and we can all browse through them so easily (it's like a shopping frenzy on Black Friday, actually!).  The photo album protects the wraps from getting bent or damaged inside a box or bucket or even from getting lost while getting shuffled around from person to person.  She keeps an album for each of the main categories.  I only need one album ... for now.
For me, this is a great way to remember what I do have, as my memory is not the greatest.  It also keeps them tucked inside a protective barrier against my children.  So, naturally I had to "steal" her idea.
I put the application instructions on the first page of my photo album.  However, the wraps are so easy to apply, that this is probably unnecessary.

photo album - $1.00 from Dollar Tree

back of photo album

      

Jamberry On Display, thanks to rockstar Noel Giger's own storage solution!

Now to put it all together! 

1. The heater tucks quite nicely into the largest opening with plenty of room for the cord to sit next to it.  I turned the heater upside down for a better fit.  Doing so, it fits perfectly.
   I do find this heater **monumentally** helpful, by the way.  I plan to find a small bottle of rubbing alcohol to put next to the heater, or maybe fill a travel-sized container with it.  In fact, I'll go look through my travel stuff this afternoon.  I think I have one on hand.
2. The photo album with the wraps tucks perfectly into the medium opening.
3. The sprinkles jar that now holds my basic tools fits into the small opening.  In here I keep q-tips (to prep the nail surface with the rubbing alcohol), scissors that are both left-handed and right-handed, a rubber cuticle thingamajig, nail files, and a nail clipper.  I added some tissue paper next to the jar to hold it in place because it rocked around a little (ya know: round peg in a square hole).

Jamberry Wraps Organization & Storage

So there you have it!  Since I do not sell the products, my needs were quite simple and didn't involve accomodating any travel further than from the bathroom to the kitchen table.  I needed a quick-grab caddy that would fit inside the bathroom drawer to keep everything in one handy place.  So now when I want to replace my wraps, I can do so without hunting for the right tools.  This helps me to maximize my rare, wonderful, precious free time.

I hope this helps someone else looking for some organization.
Have a wonderful and blessed day, all!

How To Store Your Witch Hat

This Halloween I purchased a fun witch's hat.  Now that the holiday has passed, I didn't know how to store it so that the hat rim and the bling wouldn't get damaged.  So ... what to do? what to do? 

(no, that is not me ... just a snap from Party City)

 

The one thing we know about the holidays is that holiday merchandise hits the shelves early!  So as I was browsing Christmas (before Thanksgiving .... I know, I know .... too early), I happened upon a wreath storage box.  Eureka!  Voila!! 

I didn't want one of the plastic, round ones ... thought that might be overkill.  But this little gem at The Container Store is the perfect diameter.  Fortunately, the witch's hat tip (or cone) collapses easily, so height won't be a problem.  ULine also carries them.

From a Recovering Helicopter Mom

So I read a book recently that has me wishing I could go back in time and do a few things differently.  I guess we'd all like that opportunity a time or two, right?!? 

                                                    Photo Source:  BikerAndBride blog

As I was cleaning out a magazine file, I stumbled upon an old brochure for Jim Fay's Love & Logic series and noticed the book, Tickets to Success on that list.  I read it fairly quickly as it's short & to-the-point.  It was life changing!  For both of my kids' lives, I've been right there to protect and guide them, as most parents do.  But now I'm seeing that perhaps I've done that way too much because sometimes, in certain situations, they can't do it all that well by themselves. 

Maybe I should have let them resolve their own problems during toddler playdates. 
Maybe I could have let them fall off the scooter (instead of catching them before they hit the ground) to learn to hold their balance better (because my hollering "keep balanced!" is far less effective than an actual fall).
Maybe if I would have let them work out a sibling argument without intervening, they'd be better friends now.  It's hard to say. 

But WOULD'A--COULD'A--SHOULD'A won't

help now, because that time has passed.

So now, at ages 7 and 9, I get an opportunity to correct the wrongs I've done as a Helicopter Mom and hopefully get them back onto a "normal" path.  By solving all their problems and handling any adverse situations myself, I have been robbing them of the opportunity to learn to handle those problems and situations independently. 

I always thought my "hellicoptering" would protect them ... but protect them from what?
   Protect them from learning how to resolve problems?   
   Protect them from learning how to adapt to unexpected results?   
   Protect them from learning how to take criticism (because that's everywhere!)?
   Protect them from knowing how to fix a problem that their bad decision caused? ......
.... No, I don't want to protect them FROM those things; instead I want to expose them TO those things. But I'm 7 & 9 years late!! Better late than never, I guess.

In the book Tickets to Success when Jim Fay is writing about letting a child miss a meal or go without a coat as consequences to the child's own decision and/or lack of responsibility, he writes:  "When we let children make decisions and they get a little cold or hungry, they learn about the real world.  If we rescue them, we've robbed them of their tickets to success."   (Jim Fay. Tickets to Success, page 51. Love and Logic Press. 1994).  Robbing them of this is something I have perfected, I'm sad to say.  But at least I have a chance to change it.  

Jim Fay writes about using Love & Logic as a golden rule for raising our kids: "Kids grow best with a balance of love and logic.  Love allows children to grow through their mistakes.  Logic allows them to live with the consequences of their choices."  (Fay, page 4) 

He also writes that "building responsible children is a four-step process. 

We give a child a chance to act responsibly.

We hope and pray the child makes a mistake.

When the child makes a mistake, we stand back and allow consequences, accompanied by liberal doses of empathy, to do the teaching.

We give the child exactly the same assignment, offering another chance to act responsibly."

-(Fay, page 13)  

At first glance this may seem harsh.  But it's not.  Isn't it better for our kids to learn big lessons when they're still home with us?  The world can be a cruel place.  And when our kids go out into the real world, they need to know how to make real decisions and fully understand real consequences.  It's a tough world out there.  Some lessons are better learned at age 5 than at age 15.  Lessons come with a cost (and I don't just mean monetarily), and the cost is much higher as our children get older.    

"Raising responsible children is our greatest objective as teachers and parents.  Responsible children own tickets to success. But children are not born responsible.  They learn responsibility as we allow them to make decisions and to live with the consequences. In the end, we cannot give children tickets to success.  There is no free lunch, no free ride, and no free ticket.  Day by day, choice by choice, decision by decision we can allow our children to earn their tickets to success."  (Fay, page 107)  

Lastly, the blogger's article (a college professor, I believe), "Helicopter Parents" from which I found that perfect image of helicopter parents (above) closes with this:  "FOR HEAVENS SAKE .. Please let your grown child live like a real adult, and take responsibility for their own life. Thank you!"

So I'll close with the same.  Thanks for reading. 

All the wisdom of Jim Fay and the Love & Logic crew in Tickets to Success is exactly that:  their wisdom.  I'm simply quoting from the book to relay it's general message to others who may be struggling with this.  I would encourage anyone to read this book in its entirety. 

The next book I'm reading is on entitlement.  Now isn't that a snowball rolling out of control these days!?!?!?

Knipsa Basket Labeling

How would you label these baskets?  I don't want something dangling off of a ribbon, or something cute-sy ... just classic & discreet so we know what's in each basket (so that the rest of my family can put stuff away, too, where it belongs.  LOL!).

You've Been Ghost'ed!!!!

It's time to bring back (or start!) the GHOSTING tradition!!  Basically, you GHOST your neighbors, friends, coworkers, teachers, etc. by **secretly** placing a goodie bag of .... well, goodies ... and the ghost print-out and instructions.  Then, they have to spread it around to their "people".   It's fun!!

 I roll up the instructions and ghost - like a scroll - then wrap it in ribbon and put it in one of those Halloween-themed goodie bags.  This picture is a super quick pic .... you can make these SO much cuter.  

The instructions are small, so here is what they say:
Good Evening!  The curse of the Halloween Phanton is upon your house.
To lift this curse:

• Immediately cut out and place the provided ghost in a window that can be seen from the front of your house.
• You must deliver a treat to 2 homes, in your neighborhood, or to other friends, within 48 hours.
• When you deliver your treats, place a copy of this letter along with a ghost picture in each of your treat bags.

It is very important that you deliver your treats secretly to a home that DOES NOT already have a ghost posted in their window.
Wait until dark to deliver your goodies and have a frightfully good time watching the ghosts spread throughout your neighborhood....

Here is the Pin

Pinned There, Done That, Got a Review

With the discovery of Pinterest, there are a gazillion projects now on my to-do list.  I thought I'd chronicle a few of the ones that I've actually gotten around to on this blog, just to keep track.

Mongolian Beef -  thumbs up!  But definitely need to strain off the excess corn starch, as the recipe instructs.   I didn't and it was gummy.

Crock Pot Orange Chicken  thumbs down! This we didn't like. It had a funny taste to it. And the purpose of a crock pot is to set it and get on to work or other things. This dish required the chicken to be pan-cooked first ... not easy at 5am. I'm removing this from my Kitchen & Kibble Board.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili   This was really good, but spicy!  I used 5 frozen chicken breasts and it still wasn't too heary, but enough.  I used Rotel (Original flavor) for the diced tomatoes & chilis ~ next time I'll either get the mild version and/or nix/reduce the chili powder.  It was a tad too spicy for the kids, but great otherwise.    It was also much soupier than in the picture.  I strained the veggies, but not the Rotel, so maybe that's why.  I was still really good, though!

Duct Tape on water bottles... so cute and no printing running in the ice!!!! Brilliant!  do this all the time, such a great idea!!!  there are so many varieties of colored duct tape these days (i've gotten it at Hobby Lobby & Wal-Mart)

DIY Zebra Print Mani/Pedi tutorial.  I tried this on my toes, but without the Nail Art pen.  It was hard and doesn't look that great.  I used a toothpick for the fine lines and didn't really like the results.  I found a Nail Art pen at CVS and will try again with this attempt wears off or whenever I get a chance - whatever comes first.  LOL!
YouTube tutorial here

Protect those expensive shoes!! I bought a dusting thing like this for $3.99-ish from Ross (and removed the acrylic handle). Place it on the floorboard of your car. Then the back of your right shoe won't get worn & scratched by the rough mats in your car..... at least for the shoes you can't easily kick off in order to drive barefoot. Go people-watching or go in your closet and check out your own shoes .... you'll see what I mean.

Over The Door Storage - not just for shoes! Gloves, hats, swim goggles, hair accessories, medicines, scarves, ..... you name it!! I have one hanging on all the closet doors.               

Homemade Ice Cream without the Ice Cream Maker!  This works and is so fun!! A pint of homemade ice cream in a bag in 10 minutes - no ice cream maker required. I remember doing this in high school science class!!  Here is the tutorial/recipe

Easy Clean for the Microwave  

This Works!!! Easy way to clean your microwave - heat a bowl of water and vinegar for 5 minutes, the steam will dissolve stuck on stains. Simply wipe off.

 

 

This has been great to transfer old VHS's of the kids into digital format.  You can also use it to transfer something from your DVR to your computer (minding all copyright laws, of course).  $14.02  This comes with its own software, but I prefer using Roxio with it.   product link here

 

 

Elf on the Shelf  we did this last Christmas and what a remarkable improvement in behavior!!                   

Needing Inspiration ...

I've had this Southern Living Dress Me Up Plate for ages.  And now that I see all the creativity on Pinterest, I'd love to update the look for this plate ... but am at a loss for what to do.

Currently I'm using 2 Fall themed floral picks.  I have the basic Fall one - leaves, berries, acorns, etc -  that I'll keep in there until Thanksgiving.  On top of the Fall one I have a Halloween pick - with the ghost and candy corns - that naturally I'll take out November 1st. 

If you have this plate, what do you do with it?  Feel free to comment below and/or add the Pin# (if you have one).  I've searched Google and come up with more dresses and plain plates than what I'm actually looking for.  I had also gotten the rectangular Dress Me Up Platter.  That one I'm just using some of those Jolee's holiday themed 3D stickers.  I know, kinda lame, but it works .... for now.