Hello everybody! Welcome to

Whoo! Things have been a little crazy this week. I’m trying to get so many things done before we leave on vacation that I almost forgot it was Wednesday! Thank goodness I remembered because I have been so excited to share this next room.

This week’s featured room is
The 4th Bedroom
(or Craft Room)

I feel like I need to insert a “Bum bum bum” sound here. Our fourth bedroom has truly been the bane of my house cleaning existence. It deceived me by making me believe it could just be used to hide my messes.

“It’s okay, dump whatever you need to. You can always close the door. It’s like I’m not even here,” it would whisper seductively in my mind.

Evil, pure evil I tell you!

It has been my secret little room that I just wanted to keep locked up and never show anyone, EVER.
I then decided I couldn’t take it anymore. The room looked like it could be right at home on a hoarder tv show, and I knew I would just have to roll up my sleeves and clean it.
So I did.

Here it is:

Pretty great, right?

Neat and organized crafting corner. LOVE.

Place to cut and store my fabric. Also LOVE.

I must tell you that I tried to time myself, I really did. It just got a little depressing.
I will tell you this, this project took me about a day.
I would say maybe 3 or 4 hours altogether, but I didn’t do it all at once.
I would work on it for an hour or so and then go do something else.
Doing it that way kept me from getting discouraged, and I think it also kept me sane.

Tips & Tricks:

-Like I said above, take your time. If you can do 3 hours at a time, then you should. If you can only do 30 minutes at a time, then you should. Do whatever works for you. If you feel yourself getting discouraged, STOP working and take a break.

– I liked to focus on one task at a time, some of these were: picking up all the clothes, picking up all the toys, throw away any trash, put away any crafting items. When I was able to focus on just something little I was able to stop focusing on the bigger mess at hand.

-Organize, organize, organize. As you can see I had about two desks I was able to store any crafting items in and it was a BIG help when it came to putting things away. I also had about 4 laundry baskets so I could sort, carry and put away any items that didn’t belong in the room.

I hope this was helpful. I know it can be hard and discouraging when faced with a huge, beyond gigantic mess. Just remember it CAN be clean. It might take just a little time, but it can be.

Have a good week and
Happy Cleaning!

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Reba
November 17, 2011 at 4:07 AM
Nicely done Eliza 🙂

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Meredin
November 17, 2011 at 8:51 AM
Good Job Eliza, It encourages me to tackle my laundry room.

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Celiece
November 17, 2011 at 11:56 AM
Thats how I had to do my basement last week, just a little bit at a time, it was gross!

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LIZALOU
November 17, 2011 at 4:52 PM
@Reba- Thank you! I saw your home transformation and loved it as well. Way to go!
@Meredin- I’ve been wanting to do my laundry room for a while. Let me know how it goes and send me any tips you have!
@Celiece- I know how that feels. Doesn’t it feel good to have it all clean??

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EvA. . .November 17, 2011 at 5:55 PM
yay looks good thank you for the tips!!!

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I feel like I’ve been in a creative slump lately.
Ideas come then go. Some of these ideas I test out, but most of them have turned into epic fails.
I think sometimes your creative vision can get blurred.
You can look and look at something but you just can’t see it.
You know that it can be turned into something a-mazing, you just can’t see what.

Then today I had one of my friends come over for a visit. We chatted and looked at some awesome 90’s craft books We talked about ideas we had about things to make, and about doing some craft fairs in a year or so.

After our visit something seemed to just click. It seemed like all of sudden I had five ideas for headbands I wanted to make. I knew what I wanted them to look like and how I was going to make them. I then sat down and actually made one, and it turned out how I wanted it to on the first try!

It took all my willpower not to shout
HALLELUJAH!

So, for all those in a creative slump, keep trying.
No matter what your vision will always clear and something will always click.

Here it is, the felt flower headband:

Isn’t it just lovely?

Aww, felt. There is a reason I love you so much. You just make everything gosh darn adorable.

These flowers are similar to the ones in the tutorial I did here.
To achieve the look of the flowers in the headband, don’t scallop the edges.

I will also be posting a tutorial for the headband soon.
They are super easy and absolutely perfect for winter!

Happy Crafting!

There is still 4 more days to enter the Crafting Over Sweeting giveaway.
Go here to enter!

Linked up to:
Fabric, Bows, & More
Lil’ Luna
My Girlish Whims
Sew Much Ado
Blue Cricket Design
Organize & Decorate Everything
Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night
the Creative Itch
We are THAT family
JAQS Studio
Southern Lovely
Someday Crafts
Rae Gun Ramblings
Between U & Me

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Karen
November 16, 2011 at 9:02 AM
So cute! I love the black grey and orange together! I get in creative slumps too. I always get myself out. We just can’t give up! Have a great week!
Karen@PocketFullofPink

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marissa
November 16, 2011 at 10:10 PM
This turned out great I’d love you to add it to my link party at http://raegunwear.blogspot.com

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Between U & Me
November 17, 2011 at 11:07 AM
I LOVE this! I would love if you would share this at the Crazy Cute link party happening at Between U & Me right now! I’ve got a totally awesome giveaway this week, too!
OOH! AND, I’m your newest follower! 😉
www.betweenuandme.com

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EvA. . .
November 17, 2011 at 3:07 PM
oh what a cute headband! Love me some felt:) found u over at Vintage GWen! Happy new follower:)

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Jennifer
November 22, 2011 at 12:41 PM
Very, very cute!!
Thanks for sharing at Show & Share!

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I am so exciting to be doing another giveaway here at LizalouLOVES!

When I did the Crafting Over Sweeting challenge, I really wanted to do a giveaway that had a selection of the different crafts that I featured during it.

Now that things have gotten a bit less crazy, I finally get do it!

This giveaway will feature these 6 items that 1 lucky person will win:

#1- the Felt Flower

Originally featured here.

Oh my goodness, this is probably one of my most favorite accessories. It’s more versatile than it may appear. I use mine for my hair, my purse, and even as a little accent for my jacket.

#2- the Felt Rosette Clip

Originally featured here.

I believe that felt and tulle were a match made in cuteness heaven,
and I believe these clips prove my point.

#3- Harvest Cupcake Wraps by WiltonOriginally featured here.

These aren’t just for creating cute designs on pumpkins. Thanksgiving is right around the corner and these would be a perfect addition to any dessert table.

#4- Tie It On hair accessory with Fabric Rosettes

Originally featured here and here.

I have to tell you guys, this is my favorite one. The eyelet lace, green ribbon, cute fabric, and bronze buttons combine to make something oh so gorgeous.

#5- Black Sparkle Letters
I used these on my “I See You” Halloween wreath, but they are becoming one of my favorite little somethings to have around. They are just perfect for adding that little sparkle to a craft.

#6 – Halloween-themed Brads
These brads are cute and perfect for this year’s Halloween scrapbook pages.

Originally featured here and here.

There you have it!
Are you guys excited yet??

They’re are two ways to enter this giveaway.
Each of the options will give you one entry.
If you do both you get two entries and double the chances!

1. Leave a comment telling me which of the featured items you
would be most excited about winning.

2. Become a follower of this blog then leave a message in your comment saying you did so.
(If you already follow my blog you can still have 1 entry… I love you that much! :D)

This giveaway will be open for a week, and I will announce the winner next Saturday.
Remember to make sure I have a way to contact you, whether through your profile or the comment.

Good Luck!!

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sarah
November 12, 2011 at 11:16 PM
ummm i would be excited to win any of these!!! but i think the felt flower or the tie it on hair accessory. 🙂

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sarah
November 12, 2011 at 11:16 PM
& i’m a follower!!

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My Happily Ever After
November 13, 2011 at 8:54 AM
I have two little princess’ that love flowers in their hair…. Just like rapunzel so I would have to choose the flower clips. 🙂 also I am now a follower! Love your blog.

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Becky
November 13, 2011 at 3:53 PM
Liza,
I absolutely love the tie on hair accesory with fabric rosettes. It is just beautiful!

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Meredin
November 13, 2011 at 9:33 PM
#4 is my favorite, but I like all of them! I am also a follower of your blog 🙂

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Heather
November 14, 2011 at 1:14 AM
I want the felt flower!

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Sarah
November 14, 2011 at 2:23 PM
The tie it on hair accessory is my favorite! & I’m a follower 😀

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Leslie
November 16, 2011 at 12:02 AM
Sweet I am a follower =)

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Leslie
November 16, 2011 at 12:03 AM
They are all so cute but the one that i love the most would be the tie it on hair accessory with fabric rosettes

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Mary
November 18, 2011 at 1:28 PM
I love the felt rosette clip! I have cute hat for my little girl that those would look great on!

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Mary
November 18, 2011 at 1:29 PM
I’m a follower now too! 🙂

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It’s ALWAYS this bad.
The good news is that with just under a half hour it can be fixed to look like this:

26 minutes broken down:

— Picked up and organized toys.
–Made beds and changed sheets if necessary.
–Gathered dirty clothes and began a load in the washing machine.
–Vacuumed… my favorite part.

TIPS & TRICKS:

1.) Having something to organize any toys is key.
This is my boys’ toy shelf.

find this here.

This is absolutely perfect. There are lots of bins for all their different toys, and the great thing is that they can be taken out separately and played with a bin at a time.

2) Make cleaning into a game.
This trick was more for my kids, but I had a lot of fun too. My kids are still a little too young to grasp the concept of why we need to clean up, but once I started making up games even my 16 month old started helping.

Next week I will hopefully be featuring my craft room,
which is sadly the second worst room in my house.
Until then…

Happy Cleaning!

I’m interested in seeing your messy room transformations!
If you have a room you would like to have featured here at LizalouLOVES,
e-mail me at lizalouloves@gmail.com.

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