A Note from Tina | №9
Hello There!
Welcome to 'A Note from Tina'. A monthly note where you can catch-up on all the projects, d.i.y.s, crafts, recipes, and life here at Maples & Stone. I'll also throw in favorite idas, inspiration, small businesses, home decor, recipes, instagram feeds, favorite purchases, etc or get on my soapbox about the price of eggs and/or social media! So grab your favorite drink and join me for a few. Thank you for being here!
● Life Lately
》》As you may know I lost my wonderful momma March 6th to Leukemia. She was diagnosed April of 23' with AML (3 months after my daddy passed). She refused chemotherapy and entered hospice and was doing so well she was released from hospice. Unfortunately in February she was admitted to Duke, they worked on her and she was released back into hospice a week later. She was doing good, then caught a stomach bug and just went down hill from there. But through all that she was still strong and positive!
● Around the Web
● Shopping (non-affiliated)
● On the Blog
you'll find me sharing at the parties listed here
What I've Read | April 2024
A Year of Puttery Treats (March & April chapter)
Welcome to A Year of Puttery Treats. One gorgeous, life-enhancing little something to do for each of the 365 days in the year.
Housekeeping you see, can be terribly dull. A monotonous round of chasing dirt and moving objects that we should seek to enhance with the kind of decorative little to-do’s that gladden the heart and help to bring both order and authenticity in to our homes.
While the treats vary from the pretty to the silly, the fragrant and the celebratory, they are each designed to remind us that keeping house is about more than getting busy with a vacuum and a duster and should instead be about enhancing the lives of those that live in our homes. In reflecting the soul of the Mistress of the house and marking the lives of those she shares it with, puttery treats are quite the most lovely way to ritualise life within our own four walls and more than that to celebrate the art of homemaking and bring joy to domesticity.
In a Year of Puttery treats you will find seasonal tasks and little to-dos for annual holidays and national celebrations. You will discover ways to journal your days and create a living museum of family life. You will find tiny pampering treats and scrubby housekeeping tips, and in the midst of it all, right there in the heart of your home you will find yourself…
Stop Pushing Perfection | Author: Bonnie Borromeo Tomlinson | HERE |
Remove from your mind the idea that organization equals perfection.Some of you reading this right now are hoping that this book is accompanied by a magic genie that will once and for all put everything right in your home, and as importantly, keep it that way. If that’s what you’re looking for, you may want to put this book back on the shelf. If, however, you are searching for a helping hand that comes with its share of sometimes blunt but always caring guidance, keep reading. STOP PUSHING PERFECTION may be just what you need.Like its predecessor STOP BUYING BINS, STOP PUSHING PERFECTION is also told through individual client stories. It strips the rooms in question to their bare bones before rebuilding them for efficiency. Along the way, you’ll learn what decor works best for the functionality of a space, what systems you can implement to keep it clean, and how to use what you already own without purchasing “organizers”.The goal of this book is not to teach you how to stage your rooms and rope them off. The intention of this book is to help you gain more time, space, and comfort by simply streamlining your life for workability. If you have that in place, the rest takes care of itself.“Perfection is not the intention.”“Create a home for yourself that’s neat, not neurotic.”“An organized life simplifies.”
The Sentimental Persons Guide to Decluttering | Author: Claire Middleton | HERE |
How can you have the organized home of your dreams when you're emotionally attached to almost all of your stuff?
In The Sentimental Person's Guide to Decluttering, Claire Middleton offers a real-life organizing plan that you can work through, step by step, to turn your home into the welcoming, roomy haven you've always dreamed of, filled with charm, personality... and none of the mess you live with now.
Declutter Your Home and Let Go of Your Stuff Without Losing Your Nostalgic Memories
In this book, Claire shares tips that will help you give up the bulk of your sentimental clutter while keeping your most precious treasures to use and display. Learn how to shrink your collections of nostalgic items such as:
Your children's baby clothes and toys
Mementos from your own youth
Clothes you've kept for decades
Heirlooms you inherited
Books you've kept for years
Gifts you don't want (but feel you have to keep)
Holiday decorations
And everything else that brings back happy memories.
Claire will teach you the art of discarding items that trigger your memories without actually losing those memories. If you've been hoarding too much stuff because you fear losing the memories along with the stuff, you need this book.
This Decluttering Guide is Packed with Advice
Whether you're downsizing the family home or you simply need to learn how to declutter in a way that honors your memories, this book is for you.
If your adult children are moving out, or you're faced with going through the belongings of a beloved parent or other loved one, this will be one of your books that you refer to again and again, as it lists categories of sentimental items, and how to deal with each.
Yes, You Can Declutter Without Losing Your Treasured Memories
You don't have to live with overflowing closets, an attic full of boxes and a basement packed with more of the same, just because it's so hard for you to sort through and give up belongings linked to your past.
The truth is, you CAN finally free yourself of clutter while keeping your most treasured belongings. There are many decluttering books and downsizing books, but this one is written by someone with personal experience.
Claire and her family gave up more than half their possessions when they downsized from their large family home to a much smaller house. She let go of things she'd been carrying around for most of her life, as well as treasured mementos from many years of raising her large family to adulthood. In this book, she spells out the steps a sentimental person can take to reduce their clutter while keeping their memories intact.
Read The Sentimental Person's Guide to Decluttering now, and start on the path to conquering clutter without giving up happy memories.
★ At this time I am NOT affiliated with any company/business shared on my website ★
You'll find me sharing at the parties listed here
Re-use It Wednesday | Yogurt Jars to Spice Jars
At this time I am NOT affiliated with any company/business shared on my website
You can use them to hold:
- hold q-tips 
- cotton pads or balls
- denti-sticks
- the small tester bottles of perfume
- toothpicks
- tasting spoons
- ring holder
- Paperclips
- Safety pins
- Beads
- Postage Stamps
- You can use them to make candles, to give as gifts
- Or for homemade bathsalts
- To hold tea lights
How I used mine:
Supplies:
- Oui yogurt jars -10 to 12 (depending on the number of spices you have)
- Labels HERE
- wood lids - 10 to 12 (the ones I used are sold out) alternatives can be found HERE
How-to:
- Wash jars, removing labels, (they come off easily) dry thoroughly
- Wash and dry lids
- Find the labels for the spices you have and place them on the jar
- Fill with spices
- Add the lids and you're finished!
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DIY Pie cabinet coming soon! |
You'll find me sharing at the parties listed here