Tip Tuesday: Drawer Organization

I absolutely love organization.  To tell you the truth, I would rather stay home on a day off and clean my house then go out! haha!  I definitely get this "love of order" from my Dad... when we were kids, he would have us organize our rooms and toy closet at least every 3-4 months (and I mean take everything out and get rid of stuff we haven't used since the last cleaning, stuff like that).  I hated it back then, but now I just LOVE when things are neat, clean, and put away.  

I promise you that my house (or my life) does not always look like I want it to...  but I definitely try to have a place for everything so that its easier to put things away.

My tip for today is how I organize my dresser drawers, specifically, my top drawer.  It has been a life-long struggle to keep everything organized in that hot mess of a top drawer! Nothing stays where it should, socks get lost, I can't find anything quickly... you get the idea.  Also, to make matters more annoying, my top drawer happens to be a lot smaller height-wise then most other drawers, which is difficult for organizing lots of things.  In the past with my old dresser I used whole shoe boxes, but that would definitely not work in this situation.

I stumbled upon my solution on accident.  I was in a store (Ocean State Job Lot), just walking around aimlessly, and I found a pack of plastic utensil holder/drawer organizer things that you can link together to be in whatever shape/order you want them in! I was so excited, I bought two!

Here is what they look like after I installed them in my drawer!  (and no, I do not keep towels in my top drawer, I just don't want my underwear to be on display to the world!! haha!)

As you can see, they came in different sizes and shapes, but the best part is that they can be taken apart to fit any space you have.

(and yes, these pictures were taken before I made my DIY Earring Holder)

While we're here looking at my drawers, I'll let you in on my organizational madness.  I have the rest of my drawers organized by type (short sleeve, 1/2 sleeve, tanks, long sleeve, pants/shorts, PJ's, etc.) and then I have my shirts organized by color.  Honestly, it may sound like overkill, but it really helps when I want to find a specific shirt or color.

If you can't find a set of drawer organizers, you can take this idea from Real Simple (one of my favorite magazines/websites) and cut shoe boxes in half, along the length or width, to create dividers. 

I hope that this gives you some inspiration to organize your own drawers!
Mrs. Modern

Tip Tuesday: Braided Belt Trick

I have a favorite black belt and I love it because its so versatile: it can be worn on the hips or on the waist, the width is perfect and it goes with almost everything... BUT, I had to figure out how to keep the end tucked in so I could wear it without belt loops... and I wanted to figure out a way to do it that didn't look stupid!

So if you have a braided belt that you would love to wear but don't know how to keep the end  from hanging, here is my tip!

It's as simple as a bobby pin........ yes, you read that right, a bobby pin!! :)

(check out my DIY Earring Holder post to see how I made what's on the wall behind me!)

Here's how it's done:

Take the extra piece that is hanging and put it where you want it (mine goes alll the way around to the middle of my back). 

Start from the back/underside of the belt and feed the top of the bobby pin through the first layer of the belt (you can twist the belt around so its in the front to make it easier to see).

Feed it through the extra hanging piece...

...and then up about a 1/4 inch and then back through so that the end doesn't show.

 TA DAA!!!

    

This green shirt looks really awesome with my mustard yellow purse that I'm in love with!  (This outfit can also transition into fall with a pair of black boots and a black cardigan)

I usually like to wear this shirt with long silver earrings because of how open the neckline is, and my silver bow ring (I LOVE bow rings!!!)

 Having cute bright-colored nail polish is always good too! =)

I hope that this tip will help you if you have a braided belt that you don't know what to do with! 

Mrs. Modern

Tip Tuesday: Cutting Peppers

I know that cutting peppers may be something that you just do without thinking about it, but one day I realized that I was wasting WAY too much with the way that I was cutting them.  So, I came up with this new way of cutting bell peppers to minimize the amount that I throw away.

1. Place your knife at the top of the pepper, about a half-inch from the top, and cut.

This is the best cut you can end up with: cutting off the top of the stem, but not the whole top of the pepper and also so that you can see part of the inside.

2. Next you want to cut off one 1/3 of the pepper, avoiding the white membrane.

 3. Cut through the membrane on one side of the pepper.

4. Place your knife in between the membrane and cut off another third of the pepper.

5. Continue cutting using the same cutting technique above. 

This is what you end up with!  The only parts that end up getting discarded are the parts that you don't want to eat: seeds, membrane, and the stem.

I have no idea if this is something that everyone else is already doing, but I thought I would share it anyway.  I hope this was helpful... let me know what you think! 

Happy Cooking!

Mrs. Modern

DIY: Earring Holder

For a long time, I have hated the way that I've had to store my earrings: in a mini plastic drawer thing.  Not very good when I need to throw on some jewelry quickly to get out of the house and I have to rummage through a little drawer to find 2 earrings! 

When I was younger, my best friends Dad made something like this for his wife... and I thought it was a genius idea! So I decided to make one of my own!

This is how to make your own earring holder display.

Materials needed:

Aluminium Screen (used for windows)

Good Scissors

A Picture Frame (large enough to eventually hold all of your earrings) 

Staple Gun

Hammer (optional)

Ribbon (optional)

This is the aluminum screening that I purchased from Home Depot, in case you wanted to get the same kind:

Take out the backing and glass from the frame (I picked a wood frame because I thought would be easier to use the staple gun).

Place the frame on top of the screen and use the scissors to cut it to the correct size. 

Place the cut screen on top of the frame and make sure that it doesn't overlap on the edges.  If it isn't the right size, cut it until it is correct.

I used my staple gun to secure the screen to the frame, but unfortunately it wasn't as smooth and easy as I had hoped.  I'm not sure if it was because the frame was made out of wood or if it was from something else.  

Regardless of the issue, I wasn't going to give up!  I found a hammer and just flattened them out!

I then cut a black ribbon, burned the edges a tiny bit so they wouldn't fray, and stapled them to the top of the frame.

I realized when I went to hang it up that it wouldn't work unless it was kept from touching the wall.  To fix this problem, I used small nails and hammered them into each of the corners, without putting them in all the way, so it stood off the wall about a half-inch.

Here is the finished product!  The back of it isn't the prettiest, but no one is going to see it anyway!! haha

Hope this provides some inspiration for your own jewelry projects!

Mrs. Modern

I can make it through anything...

I've been feeling a lot of adversity recently.  I won't get into specifics, but the most important thing is that I've decided that I'm going to be positive.  

Sometimes, when you feel like you're stuck in a funk and you get down on yourself thinking that you can't do it, you aren't good enough or don't have the skills or drive to get things done... well, face your fears!  Come up with a few sentences that you can write down about yourself that are positive and tape it to your mirror (I know, it's cheesy!) and say them to yourself!  Examples: I am going to be positive today. I am determined to fight for what is right. I am not giving up.  I will achieve my goals.  I will be proud of myself today.

See, for a while I was wallowing in self-doubt, disheartened about general things, not feeling fulfilled, and not able to find a way out. Well, it's time to let that go. 

I know when the "Monday Morning Blues" hits and I'm back to the grind, I may not always feel this way, but that's why I'm posting this short little self-encouragement, so I don't forget.

This is what I posted on my personal FB page today:

"I feel like being negative. But I refuse! That is not who I am called to be. I will speak only positivity, even if it is the opposite of what I feel inside. I will find and do what God has designed me to do. I will be happy. I will be content when I need to be, but I will always be striving to be and do better. I will not just put up with the way things are because "its just how it is". It is not my destiny to be miserable, it is my destiny to be all that I can be, using all of the gifts that I was blessed with. I will never, ever, give up. The end. Bite me Satan for disrupting my positive mentality."

I have so many dreams and aspirations that I am not willing to let go of, just because I haven't completed them yet!  Life is too short and things need to change.  I'm tired of being content with an "average" life and I'm praying to have the guts to be the amazingly wonderful person I was meant to be!

"I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am." Philippians 4:13 (MSG)

Making the most of life,
Mrs. Modern

DIY: Christian Louboutin Shoes

For a long time now, I've loved the look of Christian Louboutin's classic black pumps with red bright red soles.  It's such a beautiful and classic style but I definitely cannot afford a $625 pair of shoes!

I was browsing on Pinterest a few weeks ago and I saw this girl's DIY shoe makeover using nail polish.  I re-pinned it because I thought, "oh that's cool, but I don't have any shoes that I want to make neon..."

Then, it hit me! I had just bought a pair of BCBG black pumps at "Savers" (a store that's similar to Salvation Army but a little nicer) for $8... I could turn those into really expensive looking red-soled shoes for pretty cheap, and if they turned out like crap, it wasn't like I spent a lot of money.

So here is how I turned my regular black pumps into Christian Louboutin knock-offs!

These are the BCBG black pumps that I started with:

In the post that I got my inspiration from she suggested using sand paper to rough up the spots that you are going to paint. Well, I didn't have sandpaper but I had something just as good: a nail file!

I used the nail file to rough up the sole and heel of the shoe where I planned to paint.

Then I used masking tape to tape off all of the edges of the shoe, including the heel.
*Note: I realized after that I should have used painters tape! DO NOT USE MASKING TAPE!

You want to make sure that you tape it really well (use your fingernail to press it into the corners) because if there are gaps, the polish will go where you don't want it to go! Also, I didn't want to waste nail polish on front of the sole where the ball of the foot is because it will just get scuffed up anyway.  I taped it off just past where it hits the ground so you can't tell its not all red.

Be especially particular taping around the places where its curved, like the heel, and use lots of small pieces to make sure the corner is rounded.  

Then, once the soles were roughed up and taped, I used my white nail polish as primer and let it dry (mine only took about 10 minutes).  You can choose to let it dry overnight if you want to, but I was just too excited to wait!

You may think that it is difficult to make sure that the tape is in the same spot on both shoes, but all you need to do is touch the shoes together (sole to sole), use a pen to make a couple tiny marks, and put the tape on in the same places.

Time for the RED!!  I used the only paintbrush I had in the house, which was a cheap foam one.  I found that it was much better to use a paintbrush then the nail polish brush because it dries very fast and you need to cover a larger area in a short amount of time.

I also found that it was easier to just pour some polish right on the sole and then spread it quickly with the brush.  Don't be too concerned with the first coat looking perfect because it will just be covered up by more paint.  

This is what happens when you use the nail polish brush and don't spread it quickly! oops! It ended up being fine because I did a few more coats on top of it.

The only thing I would do differently (other than NOT using masking tape!) is I would do another coat of white "primer" and then make sure to get the edges really well during the first and second coats of red, because that is the part people will see first when you're wearing them.

I let my shoes dry overnight after then third coat of polish.  The next morning I decided I should probably go and get a better paintbrush so I went out and got this white one for $2.99.

All-in-all I think I put about 5-6 coats of the red nail polish... I know, it sounds like a lot, but I really wanted the red to be bold and perfect.

Even after that many coats of polish, I still have some left for my toes! 

I let the last coat dry for several hours while I made me and Mr. Modern some dinner and typed most of this blog post.  Then I added the coat of clear nail polish:

You should let it dry as long as you can stand to wait (preferably overnight), just so that when you go to remove your tape it doesn't peel away all of your hard work!

I ended up needing a mini razor blade to make sure I wasn't going to ruin the edges.  I also found that it came in handy to trim off the excess paint on the edges, especially around the heel.

As it turns out, the masking tape was a BAD idea... so if you decide to do this, use painters tape!!

Now, it's hard to tell if the white on the edges is just masking tape or if it's from the primer... either way, it had to be fixed!  So I made a second trip to the craft store and bought black acrylic paint and a tiny angled brush so I could clean up the edges.  

Once the black dried, I used the same brush to add some extra clear polish to all the edges to prevent chipping. 

Here is the before and after with the addition of the black paint:

Here is the final product!!!

I cannot tell you how fabulous I feel wearing these shoes! Plus, it is even more fabulous knowing that I spent WAY less than $625.00!!!

Here is the cost breakdown:

Shoes (used) - $8.00

Tape - free (I had it already)

Nail file - free (I had one already)

Wide paint brush - $2.99

Small angled paint brush - $2.99

Sally Hansen Xtreme wear nail polish in "White On" - $2.49

Essie nail polish in "Forever Yummy" - $7.79

Black acrylic paint - $2.99 (originally $4.99 but I had a 40% off coupon!)

OPI Top Coat - $6.68

Total Cost: $33.93!!

It actually cost me even less ($19.46 total) because I also already had the Essie and OPI polishes!

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think!  If you liked it, please share my blog with your friends, and if you try it yourself I would love to see pictures!! :)

Dancing in my Forever Yummy shoes,