Spring Bookshelf Makeover

(or, "Hello, I'm Suzanne, and I'm a book-aholic.)

I've been crazy busy lately, but I've been trying to fit in some spring cleaning / reorganizing when I can. Thankfully, some jobs can be done in little bits. However, one are that has become completely out of control are the bookshelves in my office/homeschool room! 

I do have great bookshelves, and they were fairly manageable when we moved in a little over a year ago. However, I have to admit that I probably put lots of things on those shelves that were not needed (and are still not needed) because the circumstances of our move-in didn't allow for much on-the-spot clean out and reorganization. At that time, the room was also primarily for homeschooling and my home office as a wife/mom. Since then, I've added two paying gigs to the mix, which means more paperwork and more need for storage and organization! 

As a homeschooling family, we have lots of books. Actually, I think we would have lots of books even if we didn't homeschool, but that gives me an excuse. We may have book issues -- we even have boxes of books in our storage room that we can't put out right now because we don't have a blank wall big enough to put up our huge shelf unit (which formerly resided in an actual library).

With that said, I have a strong desire to mix functionality and beauty on these bookshelves. I mean, I love going to the library or a good bookstore, but that's not what I want my bookshelves to look like. I'd love to mix in some family pictures and things we love to break up the book look.

Just this morning, I remembered that our Willow House design guru, Melanie Grant, developed a great video, teaching how to do a "Spring Bookshelf Makeover". I can't wait to watch it and incorporate some of the ideas into my own bookshelf . I hope I can get to that before too long and share the results with you!


© Suzanne Jackson 2011.
{I'd love for you to share this post with friends, but please share the full link. Common courtesy dictates that you do not copy the post into your own blog without proper attribution. Thanks!}

I joined the party -- check it out!

He is Risen!

{Earlier this week, I posted this at my other blog. I wanted to share it with my readers here, as well.}

Easter has always been an important holiday at our house -- in fact, it's probably the most important holiday we celebrate all year! Through the years, we've tried to find ways to communicate the truth of our Lord's death and resurrection to our children. With our first, we used modified Easter baskets for a while; instead of candy in those plastic eggs, we'd insert Bible verses about Easter. And he would get a special gift, such as a children's Bible or special book. By the time our other two children came along, we were looking for another way to give them a good picture of Easter.


I wish I could remember who shared the concept and recipe for Resurrection Cookies with me; I do know it was while we were out at The Master's Seminary (undergoing our own transformation). By making these cookies with your children, you are able to share with them a bit of Christ's suffering, the grief of his followers, and the joy of finding the empty tomb. Click on the link and enjoy a sweet time of gospel story-telling with your family!

Super Savings at Willow House

I'm always excited about finding deals, even when they are on my own Willow House products. Actually, I have to say especially when they are on my own Willow House products, because I essentially get an additional 25% off the sale price, no matter how low! So I was very excited last week when I scored...

TWO Cathedral Luminaries (reg. $59.96 each) for only $11.96 each as a Mystery Deal. One of these has already found a home on top of my refrigerator, of all places...

A Chesapeake Appetizer Set (reg. $24.95) for only $5.96 at the e-outlet, which I'll try to save to use as a gift...

One Avery Birdhouse Trio (reg. $26.96) for only $12.96 at the Spring into Savings sale, and a second for just $6.48 by combining the Spring into Savings sale with my 50% off customer special. I'll probably split up both sets and use some for noteholders at home (so cute on my desk with reminders!) and some for little gifts with encouraging notes or momento photos...

After my deducting my 25% commission, I essentially purchased $200 worth of beautiful products for a mere $38! Score!


I'm so excited about it, I just had to share it at the Frugalicious Friday linky party over on Finding Fabulous!