4 Desk Organization Ideas to Make Working from Home a Little Easier

Working from home for the foreseeable future? I have four simple suggestions for keeping your desk organized to make working from home a little easier.

I’ve been working from home for more than ten years now (well some of that time I worked from a studio space, but still), so I feel like I have at least a little bit of experience on this subject. Here’s what I’ve learned over the years…

If you’re struggling to get motivated in a work from home environment, my first thought would be not to buckle down and just do the work. Although sometimes I guess that is the answer too. It would be to get your workspace organized and clean and see how it makes you feel when you’re done.

For me, there’s nothing more distracting than a cluttered and disorganized office space. Even when the snacks are calling from the next room trying to convince me I need yet another break from work.

And while I’m always looking for new ways to stay motivated working from home, the thing that helps me most nine times out of ten is a clean, clutter-free workspace. That’s it! I don’t know how, but like magic, if I’m feeling stuck or overwhelmed with work, and step back to organize some things or at the very least clear my desk of non-essentials, it really helps!

So, with that in mind, I put together a handful of desk organization ideas that can quickly help you tame the clutter once and for all.

Block Printing 101: How to Block Print Fabric

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to block print fabric, bookmark this post! It’s easier than you think.

Block printing was one of my favorite techniques to experiment with in my printmaking classes in college. But it took some getting used to before I felt really comfortable and confident in what I could create with this new skill.

This printmaking technique is super fun for printing on fabric, once you know the basics. And it’s easy too. So, today I’m sharing the complete guide to block printing fabric for beginners.

If you’re just starting out, this guide will show you everything you need to know to get started with block printing. From the tools you’ll need to the steps for going from a blank linoleum block to a finished, block printed piece of fabric.

And one more thing… The steps for block printing fabric vs block printing paper are really similar. In fact, they’re identical. The only difference is in the type of ink you’ll use and in some cases the ink drying times. That’s pretty much it!

So, if you learn how to block print fabric, you’ll also know learn how to print on paper. Which opens up a lot more possibilities for printing, right?! Click through to get started.

My Favorite Brands for (Well Made) Cool, Gender Neutral Baby Clothes

If you have a son, you already know what I’m about to say is true. Cool / cute boy clothes are WAY more difficult to find than girl clothes. It’s just a fact.

When I found out we were having a boy (back in 2018), I couldn’t have been more excited. Boys are way more my speed than girls, to be honest. But what I quickly learned about having a boy was that I was going to have to search MUCH harder than I thought to find cute / cool baby clothes for boys.

Cute girls clothes are a dime a dozen…you can find those anywhere it seems…even Target has some cute baby girl stuff. But boys stuff – it’s just not easy to find….at least for the style of clothing that I like. I don’t generally like kid’s clothing that has illustrations on it, but especially don’t love the typical trucks, cars, and dino motifs that seem to be on nearly every mainstream boy item around.

BUT, good news! Once I started finding brands and shops that carried things I was drawn to, I realized that nearly every single thing I like also happens to be gender neutral. Which honestly made me like them even more, for many reasons really. But one of the obvious ones is that if we have more kids and end up having any girls, they’ll still be able to reuse literally anything that our son has worn.

So, I started searching online and on trips when we would go somewhere new (pre-Covid obviously) and eventually put together a pretty big list of brands and shops with awesome gender neutral baby clothes. I mentioned this one day on my stories and got soooo many DMs from moms asking where I shop. So today I’m sharing the BIG list! Here’s my list of cool, gender neutral baby clothes – broken down into shops AND specific brands to make it easy.

Life Update! We Moved to California. And I Have a Bunch of Before Photos to Share.

This post is long overdue, considering we actually moved a month ago. But for anyone that doesn’t follow along on Instagram and maybe didn’t know… Surprise, we moved to California last month!

And oh yeah, when we arrived, our place was (and still is) partially under construction. It’s been a pretty wild ride, so far. So click through if you want to see the before photos of our new place, why we moved, and everything else.

36 Amazing Black Owned Businesses to Shop/Support + My Action Plan Moving Forward

Firstly, I want to be clear in stating that Black lives matter and what has happened and continues to happen in this country to Black people is absolutely unacceptable, to put it mildly.

I personally have so much work to do, to support the Black community in the way they deserve to be supported and in educating myself in anti-racism. But I hope this list is helpful to anyone who wants to support Black people with their dollars right now (and years from now).

Before I share anything, there are amazing anti-racism resources being put together to educate non-black people, like myself, on anti-racism. Like this anti-racism resources document and this list of ways you can help. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend starting there. And if you are able to donate, here are a handful of organizations to look into: Black Lives Matter / Color of Change / Black Visions Collective / Loveland Foundation / The Conscious Kid.

And after that, if you have the financial ability to make any purchases, here are some amazing black owned businesses you can support simply by buying something from them. *I shared these shops on Instagram here as well, if it’s easier to click over to IG handles instead.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s a place to start. If you have any suggestions for additional brands / companies to include, please feel free to comment on this post or email me directly.Read More →

How to Make Fabric Bowls (Similar to Paper Mache but with Fabric Scraps)

It’s fabric paper mache! Use up those leftover fabric scraps for cute housewares that are also totally functional.

On a day that I just really needed a creative project, I made a handful of fabric bowls with just a couple of supplies and some leftover fabric scraps. And loved how they turned out, so I shared them on Instagram and then you loved how they turned out too. So, I turned it into a blog post and here we are!

What I love most about these DIY fabric bowls is that they’re so easy to make, but also look pretty unique, if I do say so myself.

When you look at them, they seem like they’d be soft to the touch (especially the ones with visible fabric layers. But they’re actually hard to the touch and function great at bowls for office supplies, jewelry, makeup, etc. Basically anything that’s not food-related is fair game with these.

So, today I’m sharing the tutorial for DIY fabric paper mache bowls.

How to Create Large Scale Artwork for Under $15

Large wall art projects like this one make it easy (and budget-friendly) to DIY your artwork instead of buying. And it looks great too!

It’s no secret that I love canvas projects around here and DIY art ideas too! So today I’m sharing a large wall art idea that I made back in 2018 and never shared. It’s held up great over the years.

And I’ve been asked about it so many times on Instagram, I thought it was probably time to create a tutorial. Especially since I finally found the original step by step photos. Haha.

Paper and Stitch