Time Management

I only work part-time, but I always have been very good with my time management skills. I have learned to crochet granny afghans for hours, and never look down at it until I come to a corner where the stitches must be divided equally. I keep extra paper and pens in my purse at all times to make grocery lists, jot down names of people with upcoming birthdays to send cards to, or just to write down a title or idea for a blog.

There is a good sized plastic tub in the trunk of my car that has everything I need (and more) in case I get stranded while on the road. I've been known to get into that well supplied tub and come up with all the items needed to clean my car windows off while waiting for the kids to leave from ball, or band practice. My husband tells everyone that the only time he sees me still is when I'm asleep. A friend came to help me get ready for a party a week ago. In the middle of the day, she told me to sit down and rest a little. I kept jumping up to do tasks that I would think of. She got tickled at me, and started timing how long it was from the time I sat down, until I jumped up again to do a chore. I knew I was really bad when she had done it a few times in a row, and couldn't time me past one minute and thirty-two seconds before I was up and running again.

After listening to many within my circle of friends tell me that I don't know how to relax;I have come up with a new thing to do for time management. SIT STILL!

Punch Bowls

Punch Bowls can be used for many things besides serving punch in them. You may use punch bowls to serve foods such as fruit salad or potato salad in when you are hosting a buffet for larger organizational meetings. There are also recipes that call for the use of large bowls to hold several cakes, which have been pulled apart, and mixed with other ingredients, that a punch bowl would be adequate for.

The larger bowls make a nice display centerpiece when used with lit floating candles on a buffet table. Weave a small set of clear or colored lights into greenery around the base of a punch bowl to add a reflective aura to your festive table.

Use a decorative punch bowl to display a cherished collection of ornaments in. You can use fresh-picked pine cones with red bows sprinkled among them in one of the large bowls. Setting it on a side table near your guests at Christmas will add to the holiday mood at a party.

Punch bowls come in all types of decorative styles. Some have pedestals, and others have glass spoons which add an elegant touch to them. I have a set which is designed so the glass cups hang on the rim of the bowl itself. A beautifully decorative punch bowl sitting on a buffet is a centerpiece in and of itself.

Miniature Flower Vases

I sometimes enter flower contests in our local county fair, and one of my favorite categories is the miniature flower arrangements. I enjoy cultivating the tiny plants, and I am intrigued by the miniature flower vases that I display them in. Each time I visit consignment and thrift stores, or yard sales, I look for items that I can use to show the blossoms in.

Some of the neatest items I've used for my flowers are salt and pepper shakers, tiny pitchers and toothpick holders. They come in such a wide variety of shapes, and are made in a rainbow of colors. Some unique salt and pepper shakers are faceted, some are in the shapes of animals and other configurations, and others are made with plain, simple lines. I prefer the shorter ones over those that are tall, because the shorter ones keep the eye nearer the flower. The judges seem to like that variety more than the taller versions.

Another pretty container for your smallest flowers are miniature pitchers that are usually found with tiny tea sets. I have a collection of these; with many of them having come from my mother's what-not shelves that I had gleaned over all through my childhood. They also come in a huge array of shapes, sizes and colors. The cream or white versions, with tiny blooms painted on them in matching colors to my show flowers, seem to have been most coveted by the judges who handed out ribbons.

Small toothpick holders that have fluted tops can be used to display the dainty little posies too. They also come in various, shapes, sizes and colors. Everyone has one or two of these sitting on their kitchen counter top, or on a shelf. Whichever type of vase you prefer to use, try your hand at entering the miniature flower category in your local fair next year. You may win first place!

Fabric Uses

Fabrics of all kinds can be used for than making skirts, blouses and slacks. Some of the ways I have found for fabric uses are things you may wish to try sometime. Cloth is being made with all kinds of images printed on it now. Even our favorite old storybook and recent movie characters are appearing on fabric. Decorating bedrooms with the newest character-themed fabric has become something that is a yearly project for a lot of Moms that sew.

Lamp shades, pillows and vanity chair seats are some items that can be covered with fabric to brighten a bed room. Even if you can't afford to purchase a new bed comforter, an inexpensive pair of curtains can be made with nice material from discount stores. Cover a binder with cloth to make a new family photo album. The small items you can change will make a big difference in a room.

Try wrapping seasonal gifts with scraps of fabric to give the quilters you know. I can promise that those small pieces will probably end up in one of their beautiful projects in the future. Don't throw out clothing which has stains that won't come out. Save the buttons and parts of the garment that are not stained for future projects. Or use the old garments for dusting cloths that you can then dispose of. Some gently used bed sheets can be cut into strips and crocheted into plant hangers, or crocheted baskets. Walk through your home and look for ways that you could use fabric to change things around a bit.

Recycled Containers

All of us need things to put small items in around our homes. One of the best ways to help ourselves, and the environment, is to use recycled containers. You can use cereal boxes as magazine or book holders. Cover them with decorative contact paper to make them fit into your decor. A 303 size tin can is just the right size to hold pens and pencils. You may want to spray paint the can, or cover it with white paper, and let children decorate it with markers, crayons, colored pencils, etc. You can cover them with used greeting cards too. This would be a great gift for a child to personalize with their own picture on it for Grandma or Grandpa's birthday!

The use of tuna or sardine cans will help you have a place for rubber bands, paper clips and other smaller items. Some of the divided plastic containers, such as old ice cube trays, make a great place to put earrings, to keep the pairs together.

The green berry and cherry tomato boxes are good places to store cotton balls, and other items, inside your bathroom drawers. Before you toss a container out...think of ways it can be reused to keep it out of a landfill a little longer. A good rule of thumb is...Unless it's falling apart, it has another use.

Vintage Sewing Notions

I have enjoyed sewing of all kinds over the years. Many of my family and friends have given me some beautiful vintage sewing notions at times when they no longer wanted them, and some have come to me by way of when family members have passed on. I have my grandmothers old thimble, darning needle and a pair of scissors that come apart by a hinge clasp. My mother-in-law's mother's old tatting shuttles are especially meaningful to me. I decided to put some of the things together in a shadowbox collection. It is hung on a wall where everyone can enjoy looking at them. Always include a little plastic sleeve on the back of family pictures and collections such as this, to put a slip of paper in recording who the items belonged to, how you came to get them, and always try to put names and dates of the items or people on the paper if you can. You never know where these items will end up when you are gone. This makes the pieces much more valuable when there is a trace system on them. Don't be afraid to use the items when you can. I received a jar of buttons from a relative once, and inside among all those old buttons were three that had at one time hung on the uniform of a Civil War soldier; and quite possibly it may have been one of our distant relatives. Others enjoy hearing the history behind the pieces, and some younger people who are learning the art of sewing may never have seen some of the unique pieces. They are truly historical pieces!

Silverware Crafts

Silverware that has been worn out can still be useful. I have made several types of silverware crafts over the years. One of them came from an idea I got after a neighbor burned their garage that was old and falling apart. A couple of days after the garage was burned, I helped clean up the mess, and found some old pieces of flatware that had been buried in the dirt inside the structure. A knife, two forks and two spoons had been run over so many times by the vehicles pulling in and out of the garage, that they were now as flat as could be. I threw them on the pile of trash we were going to dispose of, and turned my head back quickly toward the heap when they fell together with a twinkling, melodic sound.

I picked them off the heap again, and thought that surely I could make something out of the old pieces. The next morning I thought about the sweet sound they had made the day before as they were thrown together on the trash pile. After cutting a four inch width circle out of a plastic butter bowl lid, I cut five evenly divided notches around the edge of it. Then I tied five 12 inch lengths of fishing line to each of the pieces of silverware. I touched a small dot of strong glue to where the string was tied around the flatware so it would not slip off (allow the glue to dry for an hour or so). I then tied all five pieces of the other end of fishing line around a key ring that was tarnished from use. I hung the key ring on a nail protruding from the top edge of an outside kitchen window. Separating the strings, I placed each of them in one of the notches that I had evenly cut around the butter lid. The wonderful sound of the homemade, silverware wind chime tinkling in the slight breeze was worth the effort to save the old pieces.

I have also found some beautiful old tablespoon patterns at flea markets and thrift stores. Double over a 10 inch piece of 1/8 inch ribbon. At the center fold, tie it with a knot around the top of a tablespoon. Drop a spot of glue between where the ribbon and the spoon touch. Also, tie the top ends of the ribbon together in a knot. Make a small bow with another length of ribbon. Glue it to where the bowl side of the ribbon and spoon are tied together. Now glue fancy, vintage buttons or tiny artificial flower buds inside the bowl of the spoon. These make very pretty gifts for any occasion.