time capsule...

In browsing through my picassa albums...I found these blog headers. It was fun to see what I had created over the past couple of years!
xoxo
nikki

Challenge 64

This weeks challenge over at Creative Pandemonium is to use striped paper and a photo(s) that are at least 4 years old. This was such a fun challenge for me...I got to dig through all my old pictures and I found one of my wedding day (which was over 9 years ago). It was so much fun scrapping this picture and to remember all the fun we had that day! Thanks for the great challenge Janelle.
dream.design.create.
nikki

November's K2 Layout Challenge

For those of you Sarasota locals...K2 is going to be hosting weekly blog challenges every Monday. I am responsible for the first Monday of the month...which will be a LO challenge. The second Monday, Kim will be doing a photography challenge, the third Monday Jamie will be issuing a card challenge and the forth Monday of the month Jessica will be issuing a new product/technique challenge! We hope you play along...and I know we are going to do something special for the person who completes the most challenges!!

November's challenge is to use: two patterned papers, two tags and one photo! Above is my LO, lets see yours!
xoxo
dream.design.create.
nikki

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday we had no school so went and bought some pumpkins, patterns and all the tools needed to carve. Riley chose the the spider and Brody chose the ghost and tree. We sat around the kitchen table cutting the tops off first, then cleaning the insides out...the boys thought that was lots of fun to reach into the pumpkin and dig out all the seeds and mush. Then you had to follow the pattern by poking hundreds of tiny holes into the pumpkin...then cut it out. Riley poked all the holes himself while I poked Brody's then I cut them out. They turned out great. We put a candle in them as soon as we got home and had them lit all day.
We are looking forward to getting dressed up tonight to go trick or treating... have a safe and happy Halloween.
xo
nikki

Art Journals...how to

(a picture of my art journal cover) Have you ever wanted to create an art journal, but not know where to start...well, I was thinking about what type of class I wanted to teach the next couple of months at K2...and art journaling kept coming into my mind. So, in doing some research here are some fun and informative articles I found...

This link here is a great start with lots of articles on what art journaling is and how to get started!
How to create an art journal...click here.
How to use an art Journal...click here for great wiki article.
Fantastic art journal photos from flickr are here.
This blog Pinch me to see if you are dreaming is fantastic...her outlet is art journaling and so she has lots of inspiration! On her blog here you will find a list of basics to get you started. The great thing is...I dont necessarily have these exact items...but I DO have things I can use in their place!
Check out this site here for free ebooks on art journaling and such!

Other fun things I found:
In looking for art journaling articles and ideas...i ran across this article on how to fold a paper into a secret note...if this doesn't take you back to high school, I don't know what will! I ran and got a piece of paper and folded it up...now i am going to have to put it into my journal and write a little something, like who I used to write notes to in high school...this is what art journals are all about...what inspires you right then!

dream.design.create an art journal.
xoxo
nikki

Art Journals

...check out this cool video about 2800 artists who each created a moleskin journal into a work of art!

Halloween Crop

This is the FREE digi LO I created for the K2 Halloween crop on Oct 23rd...yours will be minus the three black and white adorable pictures of my kiddos though- LOL! More good news...is K2 was bought by new owners Kathy and Jessica...WooHooo!! So, I will still have my place to go crop, teach classes and buy all my scrapbook goodies!
xo
dream.design.create.
nikki

Day Ten- any other areas or room you did not get to...

Today is the last day of spring cleaning our home. I tackled our laundry room and my studio.
Goal (for laundry room): To be able to functionally use our laundry tub and do the laundry with ease.

• empty room of everything but washer/dryer
• divide into my 3 piles: keep/give/trash
  
• replace cabinets with books/notes that i feel I will reference to in the future (this is where I store all my SLP,PTA and continuing education books)

Goal (for my studio): To have all my art/scrapbooking/sewing supplies organized in a way that I can find what I am looking for in 2 minutes or less. To make a space that inspires me to create.

• empty bins/cabinets/drawers and sort into 2 piles keep and give
• re organize in a way that keeps all "like" items together and labeled
  
• create a functional work space for scrapbooking and one for sewing and an area where one of the kids can create with me
  
• donate all unwanted items to either a new scrapbooker or use them for school projects or other projects where I would otherwise need to buy supplies
  

Goal (for office): This is Sean's room, and he keeps it clean and organized...so I am not going to tackle this room...Sean is! :)

Have Fun and SIMPLIFY
xo
nikki

Day Nine- Master Bedroom and Bath

Goal: To create a calm, relaxing area for just Sean and me.

• empty dressers, nightstands and armoire and sort into 3 piles: keep/give/throw
• empty closet and bathroom cupboard and sort into 3 piles: keep/throw/give
• create a nice reading area
• create a unique storage for towels and extra tp in bathroom
• give a local women's charity all my excess clothes and toiletries etc, and donate all Sean's excess to a men's shelter

Have Fun and SIMPLIFY
xo
nikki

Day Eight- Kids Room (charlotte's room)

Goal: To create a safe, clean and organized place for Charlotte to sleep and play.

• empty out armoire, changing table and closet and sort into three piles: keep/give/throw
• replace only toys that are age appropriate
• refill armoire and closet with clothes that fit and keep only one bin of clothes that are clothes she will grow into (we have quite a few people who give us their clothes...and as much of a blessing as it is, it can also be very overwhelming when we get too much)
  
• re evaluate all baby items and determine if we really need them or if they are just cluttering up her already small bedroom (really think if I already have something that could fulfill that same purpose) ie: a sling and a baby carrier
  
• gather toys/clothes that are not age appropriate and find another family(s) that could really use them
  

I have said this before and I will say it again...when you have a specific someone or a family who has a need...it makes giving so much easier!! Send an e-mail to your friends, family, people at church, your mom's group etc and see if someone has a need. You never know... and that way two families would be blessed. Yours, because you just simplified your home and theirs because they had a real need fulfilled!

Have Fun and Simplify
xo
nikki

Day Seven- Kids Bedroom (my boys bedroom)

Goal: For the boys to be able to find all their toys/books quickly and easily and to create an organized way for them to store their stuff. For them to enjoy playing in their room.

• take all their toys and sort them into three piles: keep/give/throw (I did this when they were not home, so I did not meet any resistance) :)
  
• organize all toys we are going to keep into like areas and keep only what fits into the organizational bin you are going to use. This I did WITH the boys, so they felt a vested interest in their room/toys.
• gather all toys and give to a shelter or another organization that deals directly with children in need

Have Fun and SIMPLIFY!
xo
nikki

Day Six- Bathrooms/Linen Closet(s)

So with half our house behind us, we start our second and final week of cleaning!
Today we will be tackling our bathroom(s) (minus the master bathroom, which we will address the day we clean our master bedroom) and our linen closet(s).
Goal: To keep towels and other essentials in the cabinets... nothing else! To have the bathrooms decorated with only my fav items displayed.
Steps:

• empty out each cupboard
• declutter (make 3 piles: trash/keep and give)
• go through kids tub toys and get rid of anything broken or moldy
• keep only a small basket of hotel freebies
• keep only 2 bathroom towels in good condition for each person in our family. Keep a pool/beach towel for each person in our family...we are in Florida for goodness sake! Take the towels with stains and holes and cut them up for rags, and when i get a full bag, Stop!
• re inspect all my linens for the beds and keep only 2-3 sets in good condition
  
• take all my extra towels, linens and toiletries to a local shelter
• organize and place only what is needed back into cupboards, find items around the house to use as organizational bins

I keep our plastic ice cream buckets and use them to organize the kids toys, cleaning supplies, socks etc (they work out great cause they have a handle on them!)
Have Fun and Simplify!!!
xo
nikki

Day Five- Foyer/Entry area

My foyer closet...before
My foyer closet... afterMy pile of things to donate... It feels great to get rid of all this stuff. Seriously, I had a leather jacket from high school, an extra vacuum (that was broken), sweaters and jackets I never wore...why I felt like i needed to hang onto this stuff is beyond me...but now its GONE!! (with NO regrets)Goal: For my guests to immediately feel welcome in my home.
a. entry/closet

• create my 3 piles: purge/give/keep
• organize and replace only what is needed

Have Fun
xoxo
nikki

Day Four- Kitchen

The first three pictures are of my kitchen (and little desk/computer area) all cleaned and organized.

My small appliance drawer...before.

My small appliance drawer after purging ALOT!!!

Above the cabinet display of all my favorite "white" antique bowls.

I love old printer's type... and so I use them to display different words on my backsplash.

Goal: To keep only my essentials/display what i love in a beautiful way and to get rid of any "appliance" or item that I already have that does the same function.
a. empty out each cupboard
b. declutter (make 3 piles: purge (anything that is broken), keep and give away)
c. organize only your essentials and place back into cupboards

Have Fun
xoxo
nikki

Day Three- Kitchen (pantry)

My spice cabinet after I cleaned it out...Below is a picture of my kitchen pantry before I cleaned it out.
My pantry after...My hall pantry which hold the bulk of my dry groceries after I cleaned, purged, organized and labled everything.
Goal for Pantry: to be able to find my food quickly, use if efficiently, and make an inventory.
a. pantry or food/spice cupboard

• empty everything into one surface (to inventorize all you have) this will help with you weekly menu planning
• clean
• re organize and label (labeling is turning out to be a huge help, especially when Sean help with the groceries or he makes dinner...he know exactly what we have!)
  

Have Fun
xoxo
nikki

Day Two- Main Living Area (this includes my living and dining area)

My new display of photos behind our couch.
My decluttered and organized home entertainment area.
Behind the top 2 doors are the organized media, behind the bottom 2 doors and in the baskets are all of our family games.
My little pink dresser (which is now empty) and I displayed my antique coke box filled with all my scrapbook mini albums.This corner of my dining room is set up for a reading/devotional nook.The basket next to my buffet is my library book/movie area.Goal: To create a relaxed/organized/uncluttered feel so we can relax in here as a family.
a. sort toys and only keep what fits in two baskets in my entertainment center and behind closed doors of the entertainment center (as I was half way through organizing, I realized it would make more sense to have games out here, and move all the toys in the bedroom... especially since Riley and I play games when Brody is taking a nap)
b. sort and organize all media alphabetically
c. clean under couches and rugs
d. electical wiring and cords (wrap with twist ties and label if needed)
e. clean out my buffet and re evaluate the dishes I want to keep and what to give, organize all the dishes and tableclothes
f. look at all surfaces/shelves and declutter, immediately dividing into donate or keep for later (one of my favorite things to do around my house is to switch my accesssories around... it is an inexpensive way of "re decorating" and it is fun too!)

NOTE: as I do this I am reminding myself of our family principle (from our "mission statement") to live simply... allowing us to spend more time on the important stuff... each other)

g. create my zones (library book basket, reading nook with journal/devotional/pen)
h. take all my "keep for later" items and see if anything fits back into my new space

Have Fun
xoxo
nikki
PS all my inspiration came from here.

Day One- Clean Sweep

Goal: to clean the surfaces off in every room of my house, keeping me from distractions, allowing me to deep clean and organize the house much easier over the next two weeks.
Supplies: laundry basket (for the gathering) 2 bins and a garbage bag (for sorting)

a. this involves walking around your house and gathering ALL the "clutter" off the surfaces around each surface/room in your home (i used a laundry basket to gather everything).

This picture shows all the "clutter" I gathered off the surfaces in my home (this took about 1 hour)
b. On the floor is the start of my 3 piles... Trash, Donate and Keep for later (which some of the "keep for later" will get donated once I have gone through my entire home and decided what I want to use in other areas and what I really do not want/need anymore.) This took about 2 hours.
Note: Chances are you are going to regret at least one decision as you go through this decluttering process... but the peace of mind you gain greatly outweighs it.
Have fun
xoxo
nikki
PS all my inspiration came from here ... she is amazing!!

Journey to getting your home in order...

For the next ten days, I will be posting pictures, goals and tips on how to clean and organize each room in your home. If you decide to join me on this journey, your home could be your sanctuary in two short weeks.

Spring Cleaning Schedule
Week One:

• Day One: Clean Sweep (9/28)
  
• Day Two: Main Living Area (9/29)
  
• Day Three: Kitchen pantry (9/30)
  
• Day Four: Kitchen cupboards (10/1)
  
• Day Five: Foyer (10/2)
  

Week Two:

• Day Six: Bathrooms/Linen closets (10/5)
  
• Day Seven: Riley/Brody bedroom (10/6)
  
• Day Eight: Charlotte bedroom (10/7)
  
• Day Nine: Master bedroom/bathroom (10/8)
  
• Day Ten: laundry room/den (10/9)
  

Set a goal for each room before you begin.
Write down step(s) to achieve your goal.

Use one of these ways to get your home clean and organized
5S Management System
1. Sweep
2. Sort (purge/give/keep)
3. Set in order- a place for everything and everything in its place
4. Shine- in depth as well as daily
5. Sustain- ongoing improvement process

SPACE (by organizer Julie Morgenstern)
S sort like things together
P purge unused or multiple things
A assign a home for your things
C containerize
E equalize everyday

Resources and Blogs to help simplify your life:
www.simplemom.net
www.stuff2borganized.blogspot.om
www.smallnotebook.com
www.organizedhome.com
www.simplify101.com
www.organizingyourway.com
www.orgjunkie.com
www.themealplanner.blogspot.com
www.delicious.com

Hope you take this journey with me. E-mail me with any questions...the link is in my profile in the sidebar.
Have Fun and SIMPLIFY
xoxo
nikki

Cleary Mission Statement

Good Morning. For those of you coming here via my e-mail from Mom's Group...welcome. For those of you who just happened on my blog, or if you read it regularly...let me fill you in. I challenged myself and a group of women from my mom's group to write a family mission statement.
I, in no way want to take credit for the handout (the one I gave out at Mom's group) or the amazing ideas I will be sharing... I can only take credit for being organized enough to share them with you. :)
Simple Mom is the site where I got 99% of all the info I shared about the creation of a mission statement for your family. Another great site for info on writing a mission statement is here.
As you will read below... I pretty much copied the mission statement from Simple Mom blog and I tweeked it to fit my family. It is all about simplifying... not making this a complicated process.
Have fun creating yours... xoxo

Cleary Family Mission Statement
As a family we will...

Put each other first

• diligently do our chores without complaining
• help each other as we see a need
• take each other's emotions seriously
• be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry

Cultivate deep relationships with one another

• eat almost every dinner together
• go on weekly dates as a couple
• spend one-on-one time regularly, each parent with each kid
• guard our outside commitments, and do our best to keep four nights per week unscheduled

Extend love to those around us

• keep our home tidy enough to welcome spontaneous guests
• have on family, couple or individual over for a meal per month
• regularly communicate with our friends
• cultivate a heart of grace, so that we do not judge others
• practice forbearance while parenting our 3 young kids

Live Simply

• continue working on becoming debt free
• provide enough tie for each of us to pursue one hobby
• make homemaking a priority, taking care to plan ahead of things (budgeting, meal planning, etc. )
• keep our home clutter free so it is our peaceful haven
• generally pursue excellence as we steward our time, talents and treasures

Be true to what God made us

• regularly spend time with God through a devotional, reading the Bible and in prayer
• pray for each other daily
• provide ample room for each others interest
• encourage excellence in goldly pursuits
• encourage our children to live the purpose God created for them

Take care of our health

• eat food our bodies were designed to eat
• eat most of our meals at home
• move physically at least once a day (make a fitness goal)
• spend time together actively
• vigorously protect the boundaries of bedtimes for children and adults

Be good stewards of creation

• spend time outside as a family at least once a week
• do what we can to be good stewards of the environment
• take a vacation, and make sure that much of it involves the outdoors
• enjoy nature in everyday life with things like gardening and neighborhood walks

Be lifelong learners

• regularly read quality books
• learn new things together as a family
• take care to enjoy only quality books, movies and other forms of entertainment
• understand the times in which we live, and keep abreast on what God is doing worldwide

xoxo
the Cleary Family

2009 Girls Weekend

me and kim at sunsetthe beautiful rainbow...after the summer shower on the beach
our wine from dinner on thursday night
me and trisha
enjoying the sunset after a walk on the beach
me and tomi
me and kim
robin teaching us all how to whistle (really loudly)
me
kim
elena
bethany
tomi
sherry
sherry, robin, tomi, me, trisha, elena, ashley and kim at dinner on thursday night
To say we had some laughs (till we cried)... some drama (uninvited guests)... some crazy dancing (heels breaking off of shoes)... flooding of our rooms (they had to move us to new rooms)...would be an understatement of the year! Usually our girls weekends consist of laying by the pool, drinking margaritas and getting caught up on everyone's life for the last year....that is not exactly how it played out this year. I feel like I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.
Some highlights were having my cousin Kim fly in from Wisconsin for the weekend, and having her meet my friends. Robin's hubby sent her a dozen roses, and so we wouldn't feel left out, he sent us a dozen roses too...it was so sweet!
As crazy and emotion filled as it was...I am already looking forward to next year. xoxo
nikki

Stress Free Christmas...

Do you want to save 750 dollars in the next 100 days till Christmas?? Well, check out this article and follow Andrew Housser's 9 simple steps.

Here is the link to a free holiday budget.

Do you want to be totally organized by Christmas?? Then check out this great site for tips, free downloadable forms and some great ideas for creating a Christmas notebook.

xoxo
nikki

haPpY biRthDay sEaN

Happy 38th Birthday! I love you.
xoxo
nikki

a fEw LO's i haVe beEn WorKinG On...

SPINsimplify
2 days old
baby bump
a girl
A long 9 months...worth every minute!
charlee.Pick it.
Over the last few weeks, I have felt my creative bug come BACK!! woohoo. Nothing feels better when the ideas start flowing and your mind is moving faster than your fingers can create. I got the above LO's done a week or so ago...and I am working on the 20 LO's for my kits... I have 10 of the total 40 I need to have done... Amanda, Kim, Patty and Jennie... they are turning our REALLY cute. (Most of the above papers are October Afternoon...i just love how verstatile their lines are!) TFL
dream.design.create.
nikki

cReatiVe paNdemOniuM

Creative Pandemonium is weekly blog challenge site...and guess what?! I was asked to be on their creative team. I am so excited! As you know, I am usually the one creating the sketches...so I love the challenge of creating a LO from someone else's sketch! Thanks Janelle, and the rest of the girls over at the CP blog...I look forward to creating some fun stuff and to be inspired by all of you too!
xoxo
nikki

Layout Bootcamp Kit

**edited 9/2/09 The kits are all spoken for***
One of my favorite classes I have ever taught at K2 is my layout bootcamp. For those of you unfamiliar... I draw 20 sketches, compile a kit (filled with LOTS of goodies) and then create 20 layouts... that I teach in a ONE day bootcamp. We have had so much fun in the past during the LONG day of marathon cropping, but when you leave with 20 layouts believe me, no ones complaining. :)
Amanda (who has taken both of my classes in the past), left me a comment asking if I would make up one last layout bootcamp kit, so after thinking about it (for all of one minute) I said yes. (Cause that gets me 20 LO's closer to being caught up!!!)
I will NOT be teaching this layout bootcamp as a class, but the kit will include sketches and/or pictures of the 20 layouts for you to follow.
There are 5 kits available for sale... I know they will go really fast, so if you want one call K2 and reserve your kit today (941) 926-1744.
dream.design.create.
nikki

back to school gingerbread house

(caught red handed) :)

I am not sure how we got on the subject...but a couple of weeks ago, family friends were in town and we were talking about making a gingerbread house at Christmas, and I said we could never do that because everything contained "nuts". A week after they left, a package came in the mail for a gingerbread mold along with a recipe for home made gingerbread. I got the fun idea that we should make a back to school gingerbread house and the boys both thought that was a GREAT idea...so here is our creation before and after we ate it!! To decorate it we used: chocolate chips, skittles, swedish fish, carmel dots, licorice bites and teddy grahams.... it was so much fun!!

xoxo

nikki

First day of school

Wow, I can hardly believe summer is over and school is starting. Both my boys had a great first day. Sean and I took them to school... then Sean went back to eat lunch with Riley while I picked up Brody. Later that afternoon we all picked up Riley from school. It seemed like such a long day for him, but he said he loved every minute. We really like both boys teachers and they seem to be a great fit for them. We are looking forward to the school year and seeing how things progress...

xoxo

nikki

(this was the rainbow we saw on our way to school the first morning...a good sign or what!!)

sad.

I was sad to learn that K2 (my local scrapbook store) will be closing its doors October 1st. K2 is filled with women that love creating things just as much as I do... and the comraderie is second to NONE!! The women I have met, and the frienships that have been created because of the store (and the women that own and work in the store) are amazing. I feel lucky to have had K2 to use as my creative outlet... as well as be inspired by all the amazing talented women that flock to the store (cause as everyone knows... the hospitality and customer service is amazing at K2). I feel like I am on the "Cheers" set when I walk in... always greeted by name and made to feel welcome! Karen, Amy and Gail, it has been a true pleasure to be your design team coordinator and I will miss that greatly. You have always been so generous with me, and it did not go un noticed. Love you guys.

xoxo

nikki

A change around the house...

This summer my mom had all the wood floors in their home redone...which led to re painting the inside of the house...which led to redecorating...which led to me being the recipiant of new pieces of furniture, like the one above.

As any of you who know me, repurposing all my accessories, is one of my favorite things to do. I change things around in our entry/living/dining room at least once every few months... sometimes more.

I love how the arrangement on the top of the antique cabinet turned out...now I get to display some of my green glass and some of my special dishes. This change led to a plethura of changes in our home...more posts to come about the creation of my "home management" notebook as well as spring cleaning, re organizing my home and easy menu planning ideas!

xoxo

nikki

notes & daydreams

I made this notebook/journal a couple weeks ago and was going to use it for my "home management" notebook... but that took on a life of its own and is now in a HUGE 3-ring notebook with every aspect of the Cleary family organized!! LOL

Still don't know what I will use this journal for...I guess I will just enjoy looking at it for now!

xoxo

nikki

Wow, time flies...

... yikes, I just realized it had been almost 3 weeks since I last posted. I have had so much going on, and working on so many new things. Here are a few adorable pictsures of Charlotte... She just had her 4 mo check up (even though she is almost 5 months) and she is off the charts! TFL

Have a great weekend.

xoxo

nikki