Inventory

Buntings may be the theme of the month this month. Lauren texted me pictures of a few new ones she was working on. That was followed by a Facebook conversation in which her husband may or may not have tried to curb the bunting production at her house.   My cousin posted pictures of a cute bunting she was working on for her little boy's play room.  (She blogs at Husband, Wife, Blessed Life and we love lots of the same things.) I have plans to put this bunting print bedding to use in Cil's room this week which means I will need to make a new one for her too.  All this made me think that we have a lot of buntings at our house.  They are pretty, they are colorful, they are inexpensive and they add a new dimension to the space that they fill.  As an added bonus, they take very little time to make. Unless you are mom and you ask for my help. Then they take forever, right Mom?   So let me give you a bunting tour of my home.

The living room.

All the extra buntings that live in the basement.

Cil's room.

This one is a gift from Lauren and I love it!  It is currently draped across the island. 

 There are buntings in Grace and Josie's room and in our room.  I just don't have pictures of ALL of them!  I am sure this trend will disappear as quickly as it came but for now, I am going to enjoy every minute of it.

Pictures are all courtesy of Jan.  I know this surprises you.  She's like my own personal photographer.

 

Collections vs. Hoarding

I like a lot of stuff.  As in, different things.  Pyrex, cookie cutters, books, cookbooks, milk glass, Jadeite,  melamine, vintage tablecloths, vintage sheets.  Just to name a few.  Since I like so many things, I also have  a lot of things.  I  have convinced myself I have collections of things and have them all neatly organized and displayed so as not to appear on an episode of Hoarders. 

So when I took the Christmas decorations down I decided to mix it up a bit and showcase some stuff that was stashed away in boxes in the basement.  It's kind of like finding a hidden treasure and getting a whole new box of stuff :)

95% of my melamine collection 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melamine resin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Idealized structure of melamine resin

Melamine resin or melamine formaldehyde (also shortened to melamine) is a hard, thermosetting plastic material made from melamine and formaldehyde by polymerization. In its butylated form, it is dissolved in n-butanol and xylene. It is then used to cross-link with alkyd, epoxy, acrylic, and polyester resins, used in surface coatings. There are many types, varying from very slow to very fast curing.

Applications

In the kitchen

A melamine-resin plate

Melamine resin is often used in kitchen utensils and plates (such as Melmac). Melamine resin utensils and bowls are not microwave safe, as they absorb the microwave radiation and heat up.^[1] As with all thermosetting materials, melamine resin cannot be melted and, therefore, cannot be recycled through melting.

During the late 1950s and 1960s melamine tableware became highly fashionable. Aided crucially by the stylish modern designs of A. H. Woodfull and the Product Design Unit of British Industrial Plastics, it was thought to threaten the dominant position of ceramics in the market. The tendency of melamine cups and plates to stain and scratch led sales to decline in the late 1960s, however, and eventually the material became largely restricted to the camping and nursery market.^[2]

When I grow up I want to be a professional organizer

I love Christmas and all the trimmings that go along with it.  I also love neatly packing everything away and finding new homes for all the gifts we received. 

There are so many wonderful organizational ideas out there and products for every size of home and style of organizing. 

One of my favorite blogs is  Tatertots and Jello.  She has some of the best crafty link up parties and she also writes a segment called The New Home Ec over on Babble. Check out the series she just started about organizing your home, room by room, and then hop to it!