The 15 Minute Project Girl

Hello friends!  It is a quiet evening here, and we are waiting on a storm to arrive.  I love storms during the day, but at night they can be a bit scary for both man and beast.  Our little poodle/Italian greyhound mix dog is 13 and she gets scared when we even mention the word 'rain' or 'boom booms' (our silly talk for thunder.)  So I hope they come and go before bedtime or I will have a little friend in my bed tonight.  :)

This post is about a little trick I'm using to help me get big projects started and sometimes even finished.  A big project looms large to me...I'm really a quick project person.  I like to see results right away and not spend hours on one thing.  The trick I have learned is to spend 15 minutes at a time on something, unless I really want to spend more.

For instance, gardening.  I LOVE flowers.  All the color and cheer and the little bouquets to bring in and the butterflies and...you get the picture.  But by late July I am pretty much 'over' working on them in the humidity.  I hate to sweat.  That's a problem in the summer isn't it?  Ha!  But if I go outside and work on the garden and flower beds for just 15 minutes, I can get some things done and not get too hot. Tonight I tackled the spent Black Eyed Susans.  In 15 minutes I got them cut back and thrown away, plus pulled weeds in another small bed.  Ta Da!  Then I came inside without feeling like I needed a shower, plus knowing that I got another part of the yard back into shape.

My little friend Gracie kept me company.

Another big project on my summer list was to clean the tile grout in our bathroom.  Oh how I dreaded it.  But one day I mixed up the potion (see the recipe above) and gave it 15 minutes.  The success was unbelievable!  This recipe really works!  Leave it on for 5 minutes in each grout line before you scrub with a toothbrush and you'll be amazed at the difference as you can see in my photo above.  I worked on this project 3 different times for 15 minutes, and it was all done.  

I make handmade cards for my Perfect Darlings business (on Etsy and on Facebook HERE.)  Sometimes getting myself started on a new set of cards feels like a big job.  But if I take 15 minutes to choose a design (here I was using vintage book pages) and papers to coordinate, then lay it all out on my ironing board (such a fancy work space!) then I feel like the job is 1/3 done!  It's easy to come back later and get started with the fun part...creating!  PS..if you 'like' my Perfect Darlings Facebook page, you'll be eligible to enter a drawing for free product very soon!

In 15 minutes you can take a couple of photos of something you want to sell, list it on Facebook or Neighborhood Next Door, and wait for your sale.  This sweet girl sold in 24 hours.  

Redecorate your fireplace mantle for the season in 15 minutes.  Especially if you took a photo of how you did it last year at this time and can refer back to it for quick inspiration.  I have started a private Facebook photo album of my mantlescapes so I can quickly locate the pictures of previous designs and do them again.

Write a letter to your grandchild in 15 minutes.  We have 2 little grands going back to school this week, so it was a good occasion for sending them a real letter in the mail.  :)

And even start decluttering your home in 15 minutes.  This little pile came together on Sunday, and I plan to add to it before I take it all to the Evansville Rescue Mission Thrift Store for donating in a few days.  I purge our house 2-4 times a year, but can always find more 'stuff' that we don't need or use any more.

So there you have it!  Are you a 15 minute project girl too?  What kinds of things do you work on for 15 minutes at a time?  Organize a drawer?  Wipe down baseboards?  Read a magazine?  Dust the house?  Order photos online?  I am creating a Summer 2018 photo book online, just a few minutes at time so I don't go crazy.  Those things are so tedious.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  I have more posts planned...come back soon!

Blessings,
Donna

Snapdragons of Many Colors

Long ago, I blogged about a form of miniature greenhouses made using milk jugs...you can read about that HERE.  I used that little trick again this winter to start seedlings!  A sprinkle of tiny  Snapdragon seeds in one of my outdoor milk jug greenhouses at the end of February, brought tons of little seedlings to transplant into my many flower beds by April/May.  

The fun has been seeing how MANY different colors of Snapdragons I have!  They are truly beautiful, vibrant, easy to grow, and will bloom til October.

Are you ready for a little visual tour of my Snapdragons of Many Colors.  Some of the photos were taken after a big rain, so you'll see a few tiny splatters of dirt.  Watch for the peach and yellow mixed ones...my favorite.  "Cue the music...."

Ahhhh, wasn't that refreshing?  They look so cool and vibrant in the heat of July.  So glad the rabbits haven't been interested in munching on these little beauties and that they will keep me company far into the fall.  

What's growing well in your garden this summer?

Thank you for stopping by!  

Blessings,

Donna

Puppy Puppet...Made in Minutes

Hello friends,

Good evening...I'm just sitting here in the living room relaxing with my husband, son, and puppy-girl, Gracie.  She's 13 years old, but still very puppy-like for the most part.  It's been a full day of housework, gardening, and alittle card making.  By 8:00pm, I try to just 'sit' and relax.

Earlier this Spring, our 3 year old grandson, Sawyer, was sick with a virus for several days.  I wanted to send him a Get Well card so he could get some fun mail.  But I really don't like to send cards without something fun in it...either a letter or a small gift.

I remembered a paper puppet tutorial I had 'pinned' on Pinterest long ago, and gathered up the supplies to put one together to slip in his card, quickly before the mail lady came.

I found my tutorial at familyfun.com but since that website isn't working tonight, I'll post the tutorial from another website at the end of my post.

You just need 1-2 pieces of paper, some glue, and a marker.  I also punched some 1/2" white  paper eyes and used a hole punch with black paper for the pupils.  Here's how Sawyer's Puppy Puppet turned out.

This little puppet can also be a frog with a change up in eyes (and no ears) as you'll see in the tutorial.  It's easy to whip up a few to have on hand, for sending a little gift across the miles to a favorite child.  These would also be fun to make with your grandchildren, kids you babysit, or your own kiddos.

Click here for the tutorial LINK.

Thank you for stopping by!  Here's hoping for a good night's sleep after last night's fiasco...Gracie is afraid of storms, and woke me up many times last night because of that.  :)

Good night from Gracie and I in Southern Indiana,

Donna

Tip Toe-ing Back Into My Blog...

Hello Friends!

I've been gone from my blog for 2 years.  I've been teaching preschool, and that took most of my time and creative energy.  :)  It was fun, rewarding, and exhausting.  I love children.  But since I've decided to just substitute teach at preschool next year, I'm having fun getting back into the creative pursuits I enjoyed before.

I have no idea if anyone will still see this and read it...if you do, I would soooo appreciate a tiny comment of "I'm here!" or something like that.  :)

The pursuit I am enjoying most right now, is that I've re-opened my Etsy shop, Perfect Darlings.  Instead of foraying back into the world of sewing travel organizers, I am creating with my first love...pretty papers and old books.  Here are a few photos of the cards I've been making:

There are more, involving darling old books, but I'll save them for another time.

In other news, we have 5 GrandDarlings now with a 6th on the way!  Isn't our little 6 month old Emmett just darling?!

He will have a sweet little boy cousin joining the family in July.  Such adventures they will have!

Thank you for stopping by!  I'll be back with flowers, crafts, recipes, cards, and life.

Summer Blessings,

Donna