I use my computer all day every day, but that doesn't mean I don't also have about two thousand pens and pencils. As a writer, I love to collect writing implements. I've stored them in everything from flower vases to tiny galvanized buckets, and of course, the requisite artwork-covered tin cans lovingly made by my children. For our French Desk Set series, we knew we needed a couple classier Pencil Cups. Ours are quilted and feature a leather accent tie and cute button. Classy? Yes. Easy to make? Double yes!

I adore being organized. Actually ... I adore dreaming about being organized. I pour over my catalogs from Pottery Barn, Storables and Crate & Barrel, picturing my life neatly tucked away into matching bins and buckets. I even drool over those circulars from Target that show up this time of year when all the plastic tubs are on sale. Surely if I could see everything at a glance, I'd get more done. In this alternate, tidy universe, my children also pick up all their clothes and no one leaves their dishes on the coffee table in the family room. To further inspire me to coordinate my world, and you yours, we've come up with five French Desk Set tutorials, using the gorgeous French General Rouenneries fabric from Moda. These easy-to-make liners are a great way to add color and pattern to otherwise ordinary wicker baskets.

Traditionally, I've kept my recycled plastic bags in an old, cracked plastic bucket under my sink. Very stylish, don't you think? It was a mess, and nearly always overflowing. Nature Brights Kitchen to the rescue! I love the Patty Young Flora & Fauna fabric so much, I was searching for all kinds of ways to use it and display it in the kitchen environment. This clever plastic bag keeper/dispenser fit the bill perfectly. I put mine on the pantry door, but it would also work great over a doorknob, inside a cupboard or just hanging from a hook on the wall. Easy to store; easy to retrieve.

It would be an understatement to say we love the handmade gift here at Sew4Home. But even we run short on time during this busiest of seasons. So, how about a store-bought treat in a handmade tote? Of course, we'd still vote for homemade inside handmade (like a riddle wrapped in an enigma), but these tiny, two-tone felt totes are so cute, they'll make anything you put in them just as adorable.