{List Makers} Personal Goals

My family and friends know that I love making lists.  At this moment, I have a sheet of note paper, double-sided full of bulleted points describing things that I need to do, want to do, and could do, either today, tomorrow, or...never.  "Clean oven" has been on many lists for the last two months.  My oven is still not clean.  (Dearest husband...it WILL get done!!)  Remember that pretty weekly planner I completed two weeks ago?  I'm just hanging it up today.  

To me, lists are 'happier' (because a list can express emotion), when they are pretty.  

For fun, I thought I'd share my 2012 goals list with you.  It's not the only goal list in our home.  Mr. vL and I made another one together, but this one is clearly the prettier of the two.  

As you read my list, feel free to speculate over the goals I've accomplished, and those that I haven't; however, I cannot promise to disclose that information with you.  

Happy List Making!

Project: Week-at-a-Glance

My weekly visual organizer is DONE!  From all of the fantastic ideas I discovered, I decided that I appreciated the simplicity of this one found at the Silhouette Blog:

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I started out by painting the frame of my board.  This is paint that I've actually purchased for another project...waiting to happen (soon!).

I used the same shape as above, which is found in the Silhouette online store.  If you click on "source," you can read step-by-step how the shape was actually adjusted for cutting.  I also altered the size of my shape to fit on my board and then had my Silhouette machine cut out seven polka-dotted 'tags' for me - one for each day of the week!

I used the "Smiley Monster" font (available for free download here) to create "this week:" and a small elephant punch by Martha Stewart for a little extra something near the bottom.

I plan to pin a weekly bible memory verse under the elephant...something to keep me a little more accountable.

The white sheet on the bottom left lists all of the little projects that I've had on my mind over the last year or so.  Yes, there are a LOT...over 100 of them.  Honestly, I really need help in taming the chaos of my mind!!  

I'm excited to start using this each week to organize my thoughts, ideas, and plans!  I think that I may also tack some ribbon on the back and hang this little beauty from the wall.  

{1 down, 134 to go...EEK!}

Happy Crafting!

I plan to link up to these great blogs:

Tip Junkie, Someday Crafts, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sew Much Ado, Polka Dots on Parade, Thrifty Decorating, House of Hepworths, My Simple Home Life, Homemaker in Heels, WhipperBerry, The Blackberry Vine, Kojo Designs, Debbiedoo's, Simply Klassic Home, Six Sisters Stuff

I'm Baaaack!

Birthday parties, church events, and everyday busyness had my mind spinning in circles, and so with some sadness, I closed down "vonnylein" to take a much-needed break.  

After several months though, I realized how much I missed writing!  I miss the community of crafters, mommies, and God-loving ladies, as well as the opportunity to share bits of my life with family and friends that they may not otherwise have the chance to see and experience.

And so, I am back.  *happy dance!*

I'm sure that bits and pieces of those past quiet months will trickle out through various blog posts; however, I thought I could start off with an introduction to a little project that I've been working on for far too long now.

We shall call it: Taming the Chaos of My Mind!  

I decided one day that I needed a way to visually display (perhaps only in words) projects that I am attempting to accomplish.  My hope is that this will ultimately keep me accountable to FINISHING something!

Here are some fancy-dancy ideas that I found through Pinterest.  Ahhh....the beauty of organization.

Image Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Image Sources: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 

Tomorrow I will share which design I chose to go with, and how I tweaked it to fit my personal taste.

Happy Wednesday!

Toy Labels: Cars & Trucks, Music and Animals

Too many times, my husband and I have walked into disorganized playrooms.  Toys strewn everywhere.  Dolls mixed with the trucks.  Blocks with the dishes.  Orphaned puzzle pieces with the dress-up clothes. It can look like a tornado blew through!

Toy rooms can easily be left in a mess, as it is much easier to close the door.  "Out of sight, out of mind."  Or, parents may give in and organize the toys themselves, picking up after their children each night, only to have another tornado blow through the next day.

We do not have a toy room in our home.  Our play space consists of a corner in our upstairs living room, and a (future) shelving unit in our small basement rec. room.

Of course, as more toys have entered our home throughout the last 10 months of Baby J's life, that little 'corner' has started to grow.

As a result, we thought it would be wise to begin early in teaching our little man to organize his own toys, thus helping to keep the chaos under control.

In my kindergarten classroom, every bin and shelf that the children were responsible for, had a label attached to it.  This label included both a picture and the associated word(s).  They knew quickly where writing utensils, books, manipulatives, and toys were to be put away.

Giving children the opportunity to put away their own toys teaches:

• independence
• organizational skills
• respect for ones belongings
• one-to-one recognition (i.e. the trucks go into the truck bin)
• literacy skills (i.e. matching the image to the word on the label)

Of course, I can replicate this system in a simpler form in our own home!  I recently inherited three very rugged milk crates from my father-in-law.  It is my goal this week to sew covers for these otherwise unattractive crates, and attach some useful labels.

We are beginning with the most frequently used toys: Cars & Trucks, Musical Objects, and Animals (mostly 'stuffies').

I will share more labels over the next while as our home and toy organization continues.

Happy Organizing and Playing!

I plan to link up here:

Tip Junkie

Someday Crafts

Skip to My Lou

The Girl Creative

A Bowl Full of Lemons
Toys in the Dryer