Happy Holidays!

Peace, love, and joy. 

Happy New Year! 

I did some craft room organization yesterday...
and realized that I finally had gotten tired of losing track of my jewelry pliers. ;-)

I had most of my pliers sorted in these vintage memo/paper sorters,
but they sat on one of my craft desks.

The three pliers I used the most I just took "to" each project.
Since projects were/are generally done wherever I could find surface space,
this was not necessarily near the neatly organized sorters. ;-)

Often I'd end up losing track of them under some bin of beads,
or in amongst a basket of beads, or wherever.

Yesterday, I realized that this green basket was now going to be empty and an idea
just came to me. Luckily it worked!
The basket was big enough so that conveniently my two sorters of pliers fit into it together.

So here is what I came up with.

I posted this photo on Facebook and had several inquiries about how the storage was put
together, so I took a series of photos to show the details.

Finding the basket that will fit two memo/paper sorters is probably going to be the trickiest part. The basket should also be of sturdy plastic with a sturdy handle,
since it will get a bit heavy when it's full.

My two memo/paper sorters are from the thrift store and both vintage.

The blue one is one of my very favorite vintage finds ever.
It's marked on the bottom eldon office supplies 1980. I love the cool color and shape and that it has a space for pencils, which allows me to have a space for all those small tools.

Of course, now I won't be able to see the awesome blue color much, but
that does not detract from the overall awesomeness (and usefulness) of this item. :-)

I have a mishmash of pliers. LOL

Then you just stick the pliers in however they fit most conveniently for the space and for you!

I didn't check the original photo before I put the pliers back in,
so the order of how they went in changed somewhat, but that's the beauty
of this DIY project. You can put them in and take them out, any way you want! :-)

Happy Creating!

~stephanie~

I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 yesterday!

And I like to dress up. ;-)

I could not wear the robe after all,
because it was already 90 degrees out when we left for the movie at 8:30 am. LOL

Two of my dogs were quite fascinated with my real wood wand.
Bella, the black and white, was actually trying to bite it.

My t-shirt is a Harry Potter themed one, but a bit non-traditional.
It's this one from teefury.com. I love teefury.com!

I took a photo of the the movie poster as we were leaving.

I'll miss there being new Harry Potter movies to look forward to.
I was exhilarated and devastated when book 7 finally arrived.

But as J.K. Rowling said at the London premiere
of Deathly Hallows: Part 2...

"Whether you come back page by page or by the big screen,
Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

I am very happy that I have had and will continue to have
Hogwarts in my life.

Happy Creating!
~stephanie~

Friday, May 20, 2011 was my 39th birthday!

To celebrate, I was lazy most of the day, just hanging out at home with the dogs and watched The Scarlet Pimpernel on Netflix. ;-)
After my husband got off of work, he took me out to dinner.
Traditionally I have go to my favorite Japanese restaurant for my birthday, but this year,
I decided to try something different.

We went here:

Luna Bella Restaurant

And I had the Shrimp Scampi appetizer (wonderful!)
and this Ahi Salad as my entrée.

My camera phone flash doesn't really do this gorgeous salad justice!
And it was very good.

My husband had the Calamari appetizer, and though I only had a bite,
he assured me it was the best calamari dish he'd ever had.
For his entrée, he had Chicken Sweet Basil Fettuccine Alfredo (with the chicken on
the side, since he is a vegetarian...lol). He enjoyed the fettuccine very much.

For dessert we shared the Risotto Cheese Cake with Ginger Crust.
We both loved it!

There was live jazz music,
though I did not get the name of the singer with the beautiful voice.
It was a nice accompaniment to dinner, as we were seated only a couple
of tables away in a back booth.

I think we will definitely go there again soon.
My husband's birthday and our anniversary are in early June.
And looks like, from their website, we were just ahead of enjoying the
Summer Light Luna Bar Menu
I have a hankering for some Fish and Chips. ;-)

Chef Steven Shultz is also hoping to be one of the final two contestants
in the Iron Chef Tucson Culinary Experience in late June,
so I definitely placed my vote for him online.

If you haven't tried Luna Bella, I do recommend it!

How did you celebrate your last birthday?

Happy Creating!
~stephanie~