Home Helper

There’s nothing worse than losing track of your drink at a party. It happens to me all the time, especially at family gatherings where everyone is milling about and engrossed in conversation. There’s the tried and true permanent marker method, where everyone writes their names or initials on their cup, but let’s be honest – it doesn’t look very polished and sometimes if you don’t have the right kind of marker it rubs right off.

Every small child I know has a special blanket or a stuffed animal that they must NOT, under any circumstances, be sent to bed without. My own daughter can't sleep without "Bun-Bun," her stuffed bunny. She also has a special blanket that has been loved into little bits. Bun-Bun and her blankie are inseparable and a must-have item every evening at bedtime. The comfort they both provide for her is so priceless to me, I thought it would be sweet to find a way to honor both items and the special place they have in our lives. A visit to the local FedEx Office® provided me with the perfect inspiration. When I realized they offered custom canvas art prints, I knew immediately that it would be the perfect medium for creating heirloom-worthy art to decorate my little girl's room. No matter what your child's special companion is (my son's is a stuffed dinosaur), here is a list to get you started:

• A clear photo of your child's "Bun-Bun"

Here is a fun idea for storing small objects, and a great way to re-use coffee cans!   ...read more

I love simple, homemade gifts that are unique, serve a purpose and look like they took a lot longer to make than they actually do! To that end, I found a great idea on Keep It Simple for DIY bubble magnets. After I saw this project, I just had to recreate it for my desk. See below for my take and how to replicate it! ...read more

In 2012, I want to keep my home and family organized, so I went all out with calendars, to-do lists, and an amazing resource binder. I knew by starting the year off with all the right tools, I’d be setting myself up to keep what could otherwise be a pretty tough resolution! FedEx Office® was the ultimate one-stop shop for getting everything in order. I used them to make all the items that I hope will make 2012 my most productive and organized yet!

Holidays bring up many special memories from the year and seasons past. I enjoy looking at photos during the holidays to remember those times with family. Unfortunately, with each year that passes the details of the memories seem to fade. This holiday I used old family photos to create photo napkin holders and photo candles as a fun way to share memories and enhance the décor of our holiday dinner table. ...read more

Sometimes it’s the small stuff that makes a big difference in your day. Shave a minute off a task here, another minute there and suddenly you have time to get to the things you really want – like spending time with your family or sitting down with that book you’ve been meaning to start. The “small stuff” time saver I’ve added to my routine lately really is small in size. It’s a rubber stamp I had personalized with my address so I could speed up the process of getting my mail out the door each week, and I think it will come in very handy in a few weeks when I start sending out dozens of holiday greeting cards!  

 

One of my most-dreaded household tasks (besides cleaning bathrooms, of course) is the weekly trip to the grocery store. It feels like it takes forever to plan the meals and prepare the list. Then I inevitably forget at least one item that we needed and find myself headed back to the store in just a few short days. Sigh. 

I love lists! Top ten lists, best-dressed lists, and more. To-do lists? Well, they’re not so much fun. (Blogger Leah likes them – she’s sharing her reasons why later this month.) However, our Out of Office blog team recently saw some adorable summer to-do lists for kids. They include things like building forts, having a water balloon fight, going to the beach…things every kid should do in the hot summer months to have fun and stave off boredom.

The bloggers behind We Are the Champions and eighteen 25 both made delightful versions of this. Since I’m past the days of fort-building and water ballooning fighting, I got to thinking about other ways I could use the lists. Solution: A decorative piece for my kitchen with a list of all the local restaurants my husband and I want to try! ...read more