Review: Craft Mates Ribbon Storage Container

I love ribbon and have gobs and gobs of different types of ribbon. I will buy it for no real reason, just because I think it is cute. Luckily though, I use ribbon in a lot of different craft projects so it does not just sit and collect dust.  With all the ribbon I own, storing the ribbon can sometimes be an issue. In the past I have had to come up with creative solutions of how to store my ribbon. I have written before about using photo storage boxes to store my ribbon and while this worked it was also a tad time consuming to put holes in the sides of the boxes and sometimes the ribbon got stuck and wouldn’t thread through properly. It was working but it just wasn’t a perfect system.  And then I received one of the new Craft Mates Ribbon Storage Organizers. These organizers are made out of a hard durable plastic and are clear so you can easily see what ribbons are stored on the inside if need be. There are no decorations or anything on the containers however it does say “Craft Mates” in small letters on the front. It has seventeen plastic dividers that can come out easily so that you can store up to seventeen different ribbons in the container. If your ribbons are wider, it will hold ribbons up to 3 ½ inches wide. Once inside the container, the ribbons slide through a little plastic part and hang out. You can easily roll out whatever amount you need and snip it off. There are also two little locks on each end of the container so that it won’t accidentally come open. If you have lots and lots of ribbon like I do, don’t worry, you can easily stack these containers on top of each other creating a great storage solution for ribbon. Thus far, I have no complaints with the Craft Mates Ribbon Storage Containers.

The 32 Year Old Me

I took the pictures of myself featured in this layout the day before my 32nd birthday. I usually don't like pictures of myself very much but for some reason, I liked these so I decided to make a little "32 year old me" layout. I love the way it turned out and think this is something I'm going to start each year!

I used a digital scrapbooking kit by Shabby Pumpkin but I don't think her kits are available anymore.

Charlie's 7th Birthday

Today is Charlie's (my birthson) birthday! It's hard to beleive that he is seven years old. It seems like only yesterday I was holding him as a tiny baby in the hospital preparing to let him go.

Over the seven years that I have been Charlie's birthmother my life has changed drastically. I was given a second chance and I have sincerely tried to make the most of that second chance. I've tried to be the best Mom to Noah and an advocate for birthmothers. While I know placing Charlie for adoption was the best choice I could make at that time in my life, that doesn't mean that my heart doesn't ache at times. Birthdays are bittersweet. I usually get to spend time with Charlie and his family on his actual birthday. This is the first year we haven't been able to do that. Charlie's Mom's best friend's husband (that's a mouth full!) died and the visitation was last night and funeral today so it just didn't work out to get together today. A (Charlie's Mom) wanted to try and get together tomorrow evening but I'm afraid that will mess up Noah's routine too much and (I hope this come out the wrong way) he is my priority. She may try and re-arrange things so we could get together Sunday afternoon but I'm not getting my hopes up in case it doesn't work out. If nothing else, I'll see Charlie next weekend for his birthday party. Happy Birthday Charlie! (Photo taken on Charlie's 6th birthday)

Space Mom

I have been having some real Space Mom moments lately all that involve Noah and his school. I’m sure his new teacher thinks I’ve lost my brain!! I was really feeling badly about it and felt like a terrible Mom but yesterday when I was watching The View Sherri and Elizabeth were talking about some of the spacey moments they have had lately. Elizabeth even forgot when the first day of school was and sent her child a day late! I guess we all spacey moments. Last Friday, I completely over slept and Noah missed the bus. J had to come home and take him to school late. Then Monday, I was going to make Noah’s lunch and I realized we were out of the already made, frozen, no crust PB&J sandwhiches Noah takes for lunch. So, I go to just make him a sandwhich. Nope, no bread! (In my defense, J fixed Noah’s lunch Friday AM and failed to tell me he was out of PB&J sandwhiches.) Don’t worry – I wrote a note to his teacher and I asked that he get a school lunch that day. Then Tuesday morning, I completely forgot to put his braces and shoes in his backpack! Geesh! So far, no crazy space moments today!!