Fast tricks to tidy your home

 One of the first things I've been tackling in effort to take care of myself is organization.  
How does organization play into nurturing yourself?  
Easy...the more organized you are, the less stress you have.  
I'm ALL about de-stressing these days.  
I still have some work to do with organizing my house but it is coming along.  
Hey, organizing takes time you know but it is time well spent I assure you!

If you missed my first post on organization, you can read up on it here. 

Today I'm sharing some quick and easy tools 
you can use to  tame the clutter crazies.

~ Stacks ~

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Have a cluttered coffee table?  
Make your stacks intentional.  
Corral those magazines and books, stack them high and add a nice little topper like flowers or a candle.

~ Trays ~

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 Have a bunch of loose items in your bathroom or on your dresser?  
Tidy them up by combining them all on a pretty tray.  
It will look like an artful arrangement rather than a bunch of strewn items.

~ Baskets ~

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 Baskets offer not only aesthetically appealing storage but they can help you clean up in a jiffy. 
Company coming over?  
Just toss it all in a basket and you're good to go.

~ Bowls ~

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Bowls can work much the same as baskets, 
and there are a ton of options no matter what your style.

Containers can be so much fun to shop for.  Don't be overwhelmed 
by the variety out there.  You can stick to something neutral to play it safe or 
you can get a little funky.  I adore the urn used for the kitchen utensils above.   
Its traditional in nature and style but funky in the way that it is being used...t
he best of both worlds!  
Use you imagination and have fun...
and watch the clutter virtually disappear :)

*Many of the ideas for this post came from here.
** Yes, I changed my look again...just can't help myself ;)

Favorites and a Shop link-up

Do you have an online shop?  

Do you also blog?

Then The Blogging Shop Owners link-up may just be for you ;)

The Goal: Get to know and be inspired by other blogging shop owners; share your tips, tricks, and favorite items with other people; and get some free marketing while you're at it. Each month's linkup will have a different topic. This is the first month and the topic is 

showing off a couple of your favorite items from your shop. 

Kim at the K.O. Story is hosting the link-up, so swing on over and check it out.

Link-up

It's a great opportunity to network with other bloggy shop owners and I encourage you to join in.

Happy Networking!

Here are my current favorites from my Etsy Shop

Royal Simplicity Necklace

It never fails to make me feel confident when I wear it.

Onyx and Obsidian Bangle

I adore the movement in this bracelet, all that flirty fringe is just so much fun.

African Bloom Earrings

These were sold out for a while but I have them now back up in the shop.  I love the colors of the African Turquoise contrasted with the warmth of the carved wood.  This pair looks stunning with an all black top.

The mud of love

 Jump in the mud, mud  

Get your hands filthy, love  

Give it up, love, everyday
All you need is  

All you want is  

All you need is love

-Dave Matthews "Everyday" 

***

 

Let's change the world today.

Let's jump in the mud of love.

Get everyone filthy with it!

Your neighbor

Your co-worker

Your kids

Your spouse

The checkout clerk

The waiter

Give filthy amounts of love today :)

***

Flexing the old design muscles

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So you may not know that I have a background in graphic design, although I have not been 

very involved in it for many years. You'd never be able to guess my design background 

from looking at my blog.  Admittedly I do not spend a lot of time on the design of this baby.  

Not because I don't care, I just have to prioritize other things (aka work, kids, hubby, jewelry biz) 

to come in front of it and alas there are only so many hours in a day.

But over the past week or so I've been doing some design work for for Hubsy's business 

and I've loved it.  And so now I'm itching to improve things a bit.  A few months ago we got a

 new Mac with the intention of getting Photoshop and some of the other greats but they have 

not yet shown up in the budgeting plan :)  

So for the past few years I've been using a free program called Inkscape.  

Not that it is terrible in and of itself but you just can't export it to anything without losing the 

effects and such.  If your a designer, you know this is BAD....like way BAD...

extremely frustrating and extremely limiting.

So I'm curious to know what you all use for creating graphics for your blog or business.  

Do you have an "in-between" program to recommend or is it essentially Photoshop or bust?

Spotlight on color | Amethyst

Oh yeah, I totally put Prince in there!

Many of you probably already know that February's birthstone is Amethyst. 
Oh how I wish I was a February baby!

Amethyst can range from gentle violet to brilliant purple.

 Long known as the color of royalty, purple has many other properties you may not be aware of.

It is said to be the color of spiritual fulfillment and purpose.  If you surround yourself with purple you will have peace of mind.  

No wonder I've always been drawn to it :)

Being the combination of red and blue, the warmest and coolest colors, 

it is believed to be the ideal color.

Even if you aren't a February baby, don't let that stop you from rocking this commanding color!

If you want to add some calm power to your look, go for Amethyst.  

Pair it with light or dark shades, you can't go wrong.

Find Amethyst in my Etsy Shop!

Sparkling Wines Earrings