oversized rustic Christmas star

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we broke out our Christmas stuff.

Yay!! On Saturday I put up the Christmas lights. Silly me didn't test them before putting them up because hey, they worked last year when we took them down, so why wouldn't they work now, right? Well, most of them don't work. So now I get to drag the ladder out and test each bulb one by one.

On Sunday we put up our Christmas tree and our special "symbols of Christ" Christmas ornaments that Jason's mom gave us the first year we were married. I sure love these ornaments! 

Yesterday afternoon the girls helped me test a recipe for cooking class--a little Christmas tree snack and project in one--and then we put up the rest of our Christmas decorations (we have a lot). We finished decorating our tree for Family Home Evening, while listening to the Chipmunks, just like we did when I was a kid.

Today I was hanging out on Pinterest when I saw this awesome giant star. I really loved it. I really had to have it.  But I am the cheapest person alive and I didn't even want to spend $5 on yardsticks. Plus Juno was asleep so I couldn't go to the store for any supplies and I didn't want to wait. I needed instant craft gratification.

Luckily, my neighbor's old wooden fence saved the day!

Are you sick of me using my neighbor's old wooden fence for craft projects? I've used it as my headboard in our new master bedroom, a window shade, and in my garage mud room. I'm almost out of it, so this is probably my last old wood fence project.

 I cut the boards down to about 3 1/2 feet and arranged them in a simple star shape. I overlapped the ends so that each point has a rounded end on top (instead of the straight edge that I cut). Then I screwed each point together. DONE in about 15 minutes!

It's a very big star. I put it on the mantle and wrapped Christmas lights around it. I really love it. Next year I might hang it outside the house on the chimney, still wrapped in lights.

What are you doing to get ready for Christmas?

Dresser into desk!

Back when I did my first bedroom mini-makeover (accent wall, new quilt, etc), I got a little dresser from DI for our clothes. It had a nice shape, but wasn't very functional. Too small, no runners on the drawers so it was hard to open, you get the picture.

Well, I've had this idea in my head for quite a while, and a few weeks ago, I pulled out my handy jigsaw (which I love--used it here and here and for a couple other things) and went to work.

The result?

My non-functional dresser (no idea why I took the picture from only the drawers up) is now the hub of my mom command station!

I took out the bottom two drawers, cut the supports off, and gave the whole thing a new paint job. Voila! New desk. I put it where the kids old art table was, next to our red couch in the family room. I was worried it would look too crowded, but it fits in just perfectly and doesn't feel crowded at all.
I've had the chair in my garage for over a year, just waiting for a makeover, and I really love how it turned out. This picture was taken before I really "moved in" to my new desk, so I added the captions so my lovely readers could get the whole idea. I'm excited to have a space of my own that I can use to keep our family organized--especially with Tempe starting school soon!
What are your best organization tips for all the paperwork that keeps a household running smoothly?