First you will need some plastic drink bottles. You can use any sized bottle, consider what items you want to organize, then choose the size of bottle accordingly. Of course, you can just start with whatever bottles you have. Wash and dry the bottles well, then remove the labels.

Use scissors and a cutting board to cut off the bottom portion of the bottle. It’s not difficult to do but be careful cutting the plastic bottle because it bends and can roll as you’re cutting it. Make the organizing container as tall or shallow as you want, it’s all about your preference!

Add decorative washi tape to the  edge of the bottle to cover the rough edge. This helps cover any small points from cutting the plastic. It also gives you an opportunity to coordinate your organizing bin with your decor.

These repurposed organizers are perfect for office supplies and/or craft supplies. They are cute enough to leave sitting out on a counter or desk, but they also fit well in a drawer. You choose how you want to use these versatile recycled organizing bins, I’m sure you’ll find lots of uses for them!

Susan

Organized 31

Be sure to check out more Repurposed Office Organizing Ideas from Susan at Organized 31.

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My daughter loves to craft, and although it’s totally not my thing, occasionally I’ll craft with her, especially when it’s to make something for the man we both love so much! Father’s Day is quickly approaching (how is it already June!?) so Malea and I put on our creative thinking caps and created this cute card for Matt.

I found this idea on Pinterest (of course) and since Malea loves to pretend that she knows how to do origami, she loved it.

It took us a little bit to figure out how to fold the tie, because the Pinterest image isn’t very helpful, but once we did Malea glued the tie in place.

I had to help her with the hot glue gun because it was her first time using one, but once the tie was attached to the shirt I let her go crazy with her creativity.

Things like stamps, glue and glitter give me anxiety because they’re so messy so I set a pack of my Huggies® wipes on the desk and let Malea make as much of a mess as she needed to because one thing I don’t want to do as a mom, is to let my crazy cleanliness, squelch her creativity.

The Huggies® wipes are thick so they are great for cleaning up creative messes, and turns out they’re great for cleaning the ink off stamps, hands and my desk!

Malea loved making this card for her daddy and I loved watching her come to life through her creativity. When she was done decorating the outside of the card I told her she could write whatever she wanted on the inside. When she’s older she’ll probably kill me for sharing this but it was so precious that I had to share. (Notice the picture story on the front of the card goes along with what she wrote on the inside – heart melt…)

Have you started working on your Father’s Day creations yet? It’s coming up quickly on June 19th! If your kids’ daddy wears a shirt and tie to work, like ours does, I bet he would love to get a custom shirt and tie card from your kiddos, and they will have a blast creating it.

And don’t forget, if your kids make a mess while they’re being creative, share your pictures of them, using the hashtag #HugTheMessSweepstakes on Twitter and Instagram for a chance to win one of four $2,500 prizes!!! Click HERE to enter.

Looking for more ways to surprise Dad on Father’s Day? Check out this Waffle Bar Station!

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The post Father’s Day Card for Kids to Make appeared first on Ask Anna.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Colorful markers
• White tissue paper
• Printer paper
• Scissors
• Wax paper
• HomeRight digital temperature heat gun

Step #1

Start by cutting a piece of tissue paper to the size of the candle. Then carefully tape the tissue paper to the printer paper so it won’t move around while your little one, or you, are coloring.

Step #2

Pull out the markers and let the creative juices flow. This was definitley Malea’s favorite part and I loved watching her really concentrate on what she wanted to design for each of her grandmas.

Step #3

Carefully peel the tissue paper off of the printer paper. Cut around the design, getting as close to the edge as possible. Once you’ve cut out the design lay it over the candle.

Step #4

Next tear off a large piece of wax paper, larger than the size of the candle. Lay the wax paper over the design and wrap it all the way around the candle.

Use the HomeRight heat gun to melt the design onto the candle. Turn the heat gun up to 500 degrees, then slowly move it back and forth. It takes a few seconds in each spot, you’ll know it has transferred when the tissue paper turns the same color as the candle and is no longer white. Slowly roll the candle, heating up each side, until the entire image has been transferred.

Once the image has transferred, carefully peel the wax paper away from the candle and “voila!”, you’ve got a beautiful, one of a kind candle designed by your little artist.

Malea was so proud of her creations, the only challenge now is going to be getting her to keep it a secret until Christmas time! Have fun creating! I’d love to see the designs you come up with, you can share with me on Facebook or Instagram.

And just in case you have any fun DIY projects coming up, you can enter to win a HomeRight Heat Gun. Fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter to win. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer – This post is sponsored by HomeRight but all opinions are my own, as always. I will always tell you if I think a product is just “okay” but if I tell you I love it then it means I really LOVE it! I have included a few affiliate links to the products I used in this post, if you buy through the link I get a small commission but you don’t pay a cent more than you normally would. Thank you for supporting Ask Anna!

The post DIY Decorated Candles {Gift idea} & a Giveaway appeared first on Ask Anna.

For the last 3 years I’ve been collecting Malea’s art projects, cute notes and other random things she made at school or at home. A couple weeks ago I sat down and for about an hour I scanned it all into my computer. Then I went on Shutterfly.com and made a photo book featuring all her artwork.

Here’s the deal, you save all their artwork, but do you ever really look at it? Really? I honestly hadn’t looked at that huge pile of Malea’s artwork in a couple years, other than to move it from one location to another. But now that I’ve made the photo book I look at it all the time and now our friends and family can enjoy it too.

I saved a handful of my favorite pieces, to add to the gallery wall in our living room, but once I had the rest of it scanned into my computer I tossed it. I know you are probably thinking that’s a terrible thing to do but like I said, if it just sits in a pile, no one is ever going to look at it anyways. And now that I have all her art saved on an external hard drive I can upload it back to my computer and print large prints of it any time I want.

The photo book was genius though because it’s the perfect size for a coffee table book (I ordered a 10″x10″) and my daughter feels so proud seeing it displayed in the center of our living room.

It has also been fun to watch our friends and family look through it and comment on all her cute pictures and notes. I know she loves hearing all their comments and seeing their reactions to her drawings.

If you have multiple children, like I’m assuming most of you do, you could combine the artwork and make a 1st grade art book to see how similar, yet different, all of them were in 1st grade. Or you could do what I did and combine multiple years of school for each kid, Kindergarten – 2nd grade art book for each child. Or you could do it totally differently, it’s up to you!

No matter how you end up making your art photo book I know your kids will love it and they will feel so proud having their artwork turned into a book! This would also make a great gift for their grandparents for Christmas. Sign up for Shutterfly’s emails and you’ll get coupons, sales and even free photo books from time to time!

This is not a sponsored post, I just really love Shutterfly and how fun and easy it is to make photo books on their site. However I have included a few affiliate links to the Shutterfly products I used for this post, if you buy through the link I get a small commission but you don’t pay a cent more than you normally would. Thank you for supporting Ask Anna!

The post How to Save and Feature your Kids’ Artwork {Gift idea} appeared first on Ask Anna.

Let’s see those creative Father’s Day Gift Ideas…

Free Father’s Day Printables  by Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom 

Photobook Gift Ideas by Find it Make It Love It

Free Father’s Day Printable Coupons by My Love for Words

Superhero Print for Father’s Day by Today’s Creative Blog 

DIY Photo Holder by Simply Designing 

Father’s Day Dad Mug by A Night Owl Blog

Father’s Day Gift Tags Free Printable by Uncommon Designs 

Wood Burned Father’s Day Card Idea by Cherished Bliss

Mod Podge Photo Canvas by Finding Home 

Father’s Day Photo Frame Craft by At the Picket Fence

Daddy Date Jar with Free Printable by While He Was Napping 

Monogrammed Necktie Coffee Cuff by Dukes and Duchesses

Toddler Activity: Tacky Tie for Father’s Day by Simple Home Blessing

The Stache Jar by Thoughts from Alice

Printable Tie Card from The Crafting Chicks

I know that you guys must have found something for Dad with these awesome ideas.  Enjoy every minute spent with that special guy in your life!

 Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing dads!

The post Creative & Mostly Free Father’s Day Gift Ideas appeared first on Ask Anna.