Canvases!

I made these two little canvases, and they were so much fun! I'm going to find some more in different sizes, I want to make a few for my kitchen.

Taking Stock

I have been sorting out layouts that are in my existing albums, basically taking some layouts out of the kids' albums and creating some new themed albums: Celebrate, Travel, and Family. I think that all of my layouts have homes in an album now. I do have ideas for future albums, such as making a School album, or a separate Family album for extended family as opposed to immediate family, but this is good for now. I have a ton of school-related stuff to scrap for both kids this summer.

I've been planning a bunch of activities for me and the kids this summer, trying to work in educational aspects with each so we can learn about new things. For example, I'm thinking of taking the kids to Concord to where the Revolution started so we can talk about America's founding and birthday around July 4th. Also a trip to the Worcester Art Museum and then do some painting, etc. I am thinking of making a simple journal/scrapbook for Perrin to put photos and his notes, maybe a 6x6 spread per week.

I need to take more pictures anyways, I've hardly taken pictures at all this year. I took some at Perrin's party last weekend but I haven't even looked at them yet. I need to go through my pics and get a whole pile of them printed. I think that's been one reason I haven't done much scrapbooking, I haven't had any photos to scrap.

Fun Fair Results

We had the Fun Fair at P's school this past weekend, and I had my craft table set up. Mind you this is the first time I've ever done a fair, so I really had no idea what I was doing. I basically broke even, which considering my thoughts afterward, really wasn't that bad.

I realized I hadn't really considered my audience. While there were plenty of moms who looked at my stuff, the fair was mostly for elementary school kids, and if I did this specific fair again, I'd want to have more items that appealed to kids in that age group. Also, I definitely need more cards, including a better assortment of birthday cards.

I am thinking about doing another fair in May. It's a larger fair, and just for crafters. _E might make some wood items for me to sell too. I'm thinking I might alter some birdhouses and make some more canvases. In the meantime, I think I'm going to add some of my stuff to my Etsy store (I have nothing there yet, which is why I never mentioned it). I took a couple of pics at the fair this weekend, see them below.

And I actually started back in on my scrap space reorg last night. In the last few days before the fair I made a huge mess of my space as I finished things up. So, I cleaned off my scrap table last night, and sorted out some of my stuff. I need to make a run to Ikea sometime to get some drawer sets for my shelves for embellishments and other things.

*sigh*

Creative endeavors have been delayed a bit.....we've had some issues with ice on our roof and DH and my FIL have been out scraping snow and ice off our roof. One of these methods involves hanging out our skylights in our attic, so all my craft stuff had to be moved so they could set the ladder up under the skylights. So, things are on hold.

I've been brainstorming items to make for my craft table at the fair. I've made four more of those notepad holders, and I have the coasters to make a few more. I've found a few pre-made albums that I made at conventions or classes that I never used. I think next I'm going to make some cards. I have a bunch of ideas in mind, so if I can make six or so of each, I'll have a good batch. Some of the SBO sistas suggested that pre-made pages sell well. I have a whole bunch of pages that I made while teaching classes that I never added photos or titles to, so I think I'll embellish them up a bit. So far, all I've spent is the $15 for the table, so I'm in good shape.

Featured Article at Helium

An article I wrote was featured on the front page of Helium.com, an information portal. Oddly enough it was the lower ranked of the two in the category, go figure? It's a beginner's article, but go read it anyways, LOL!

Getting Started with Scrapbooking

Bad Blogger.

Nothing to report. Nothing new. Although my scrap table is mostly cleared off, and I've picked out some ribbon to make some cute coaster notepad holders (instructions HERE if you want to make your own).

Side Project - Craft Fair

Well, I found out the other day that P's school is having a Fun Fair in March, and they are renting tables for vendors. So, I got the bright idea of using up as much stuff in my stash as I can, and selling it at a table at the fair. E thinks it's a good idea, and the gals at SBO gave me some good advice and ideas for products that I hadn't thought of. So, I need to clean off my scrap table, and actually scrap and organize at the same time. *cringe* I could really use the extra $$, and I have so much extra paper and embellishments and alterables and albums that I could really put to good use, rather than just taking up space in my stash.

Sooooo......you may see some more crafty creations here too if I can get my act together. :) I have to pay for the table now, so that will get me moving!

Sorting, sorting, sorting

I haven't updated in a couple days, because I'm not doing anything too exciting. Right now I'm sorting through all of my scrap materials and putting like things together. I took a box and put all of the cards I've made, card blanks and envelopes in there. Any other cards I come across will go in there. Another box for ribbon, and so on. So like I said, not too exciting.

According to the book, you shouldn't even think about buying any new containers until you've sorted and purged, so you can see how much storage space you really need. Makes sense, but still hasn't stopped me from perusing the Ikea web site. I like their stuff because it's simple and cheap. So, later on after I've done my sorting and purging, I'll be making a road trip to our nearest Ikea (1+ hour drive, unfortunately).

I have been coming across a lot of scrap projects I've never photographed or scanned, so maybe I'll share those here occasionally so there's at least some interesting content once in a while.

Organizing Acrylic Stamps

My friend Nicole at SBO was asking about ways to store acrylic stamps in a method that's efficient yet accessible. I totally LOVE my storage method for my acrylic and unmounted rubber stamps, and it's probably one of my best organizational items in my scrap area. I do not honestly know where I found the idea, I did not come up with this idea myself.

I use a 3-ring binder, 8.5x11 transparencies, and page protectors that hold 8.5x11 sheets. I can then flip through the binder to find the stamps I need, and this method also allows me to store Technique Tuesday stamps that are already stored on their own full sized sheet.

I start with a blank transparency and the sheet of acrylic stamps that I want to transfer. I adhere the printed plastic piece that the stamps are adhered to in their package to one side of the transparency, then cling the matching stamps to the opposite side of the transparency, matching it up with the image on the printed plastic piece. The pic below shows the "stamp" side of a transparency, so everything looks reversed.

Rearranging Furniture

I made a slight change to my scrap space furniture, and I'm really happy with the results. See photo below. I moved the second bookcase next to the first bookcase (scroll down a few posts to see the original setup), and I like how much more "homogeneous" it looks. I have some ideas for storage elements to go into the shelves that will make everything even more consistent looking.

My thoughts for "zones" is to have materials in the left bookcase, tools, albums, photos, books, and such in the right bookcase, and display of items across the top of the bookcases, and across the wall in front of my desk.

A side note, see that little table to the right of my craft table? That's the kid craft table, and while it's covered with my junk for now, it will be just for the kids later. I also have a trash can that will go between the two tables.

Next step will be to start sorting through my stuff. I've been starting to put like things together to simplify that process. While I sort, I'll purge out things that I really don't need. My sister has volunteered to take any unwanted materials off my hands for her own crafting needs.

A Break in the Action

I took a break in my organizing activities to scrap a couple of thank you notes that I needed to send out. Thought I'd share those today instead of my philisophical ramblings about my lack of organizational prowess.

Cards are made completely from scraps. No sheets of 12x12 paper were harmed during the construction process. I don't know most of the manufacturers, though the ribbon in both cards is Strano (Strano = yummy). I had a couple of scraps that were just about the right width for the card.

Part 2 - Strategize!

After analyzing what I like and don't like about my space, and all of my therapeutic postings below, it's now time to strategize what I need.

A. Define Your Zones

I figured out that my scrap space has six zones:

1. Work space - My crafting table. This is where I'd sit and work.
2. Material storage - Where I keep all of my papers, embellishments, etc. Pretty much consumable stuff.
3. Tool storage - Where I keep all of my cutting tools, stamps, inks, and other non-consumable stuff. Also includes idea books and mags that I want to keep.
4. Project storage - Where I keep projects that are in process. I am the type of person that works on more than one thing at a time, and I want a logical way to store things that I'm working on so I'm not pushing piles around on my table.
5. Project display - I do have several things I'd like to display in my space, such as cards, altered items, ATCs, and other things.
6. Computer space - This is only sort of related to my crafting space, but includes my printer and CraftRobo, which I REALLY want to start using more. Also storing CDs with fonts and digi elements.

The goal is to have each of these zones be discrete areas, such as one bookshelf for material storage, one for tools, etc.

My next steps are to map out my space, and rearrange furniture to get a general configuration that I'm happy with. I'll take pics at that point.

Analyze - Continued

Here's the rest of the "Analyze" phase of my scrap space reorg. Parts 1 and 2 were posted last week, scroll down to read those.

3. What items are essential to you?

Is this a trick question? I think I need everything. :) There's no one category of items I know I can toss, or there's no one area of stuff I'm really missing. I'll evaluate what I need and don't need on a case by case basis when I sort and purge later.

4. Why do you want to get organized?

-So I have a place to be creative.
-So I have a home for all of my supplies and tools, and it's easy to get things and put things away.
-S0 I eliminate all of the crap I'm never going to use.
-So I have an attractive workspace that I look forward to working in.
-So I have space to work efficiently.
-So I finish projects and am able to share them.

5. What's holding you back?

This is that deep philosophical question, right? Something I need a therapist to help me with? Basically, I am overwhelmed with the clutter, and the task of sorting, purging, organizing and just coping with it. I have issues with large projects: I see the clutter and I just avoid the situation. I haven't scrapped layouts in months (outside of the SBO retreat) because I have no space to lay out the project. I hardly even take pictures, and I want to keep recording the memories that my family is making.

I know that this process is already helping me attack the situation, and I am far less anxious about it than I have been before. Next up? Planning the general layout of my space, and maybe moving furniture around a bit to see how I like the looks of things.

P.S. I have to offer my apologies to Ms. Morgenstern, the author of the book I'm using as a guide for my organization process. (Organizing from the Inside Out) I have misspelled her name several different ways in every single post, and her first name is Julie, not Julia! I've gone back and corrected her name. I'm really picky about name spelling myself, and I feel bad when I get someone's name wrong. Not that she's reading my blog or anything, but I feel better knowing I've got it right.

Analyze - Part 2: What's not Working

Oh, where to begin....

My biggest beef is that so many of my things in my craft space do not have a home, or have a home that is not adequate. Here are a few of my specific peeves:

1. Chipboard - Currently, most of my chipboard supply is in an overflowing shoebox. I hate trying to go through it. The shoebox does not include my Fancy Pants Big Board chipboard, which I keep with my 12x12 paper because it's that big, or my grungeboard, which wouldn't fit into the overflowing shoebox anyways. The grungeboard moves around depending on whether I need whatever it's currently sitting on top of.

2. Inks - I have several different kinds of inks, and they are scattered in three or four places. I have a drawer in one of my little drawer sets that is supposed to be for ink, but I keep my acrylic blocks in there too, along with some well-intentioned organizing bins that really don't fit anything. I also have ink pads sitting on my scrap table, in my scrap tote, and all my Ranger distress inks and accessory stuff is in another shoebox on the other side of the room.

3. Larger embellishments - These are also scattered all over the place. Some are in drawers, others in shoe boxes, no real system at all.

4. ATCs - I have a whole bunch of artist trading cards that I've made myself or received in swaps and they're all in a box that doesn't see the light of day. I'd love to find a way to display these somehow.

5. Projects in Process - One of the things I've been doing as I start going through my stuff is making a list of unfinished projects. So far, and I've only hit the tip of the iceberg in terms of organizing, I have twelve unfinished projects. They are everywhere. I think eventually I will go through and divide them into "projects I'm really going to finish" and "projects I'll never finish, so I'll recycle what I can from the project".

6. Photos - I have NO problem with 4x6 photos. I have a big Cropper Hopper photo box with individual boxes inside sorted by year. It's all the rest of the photos I have problems with. We have a TON of 8x10s from our trip to Hawaii, a whole bunch of panoramic photos (remember that funky camera that shot three different widths of photos? We had one pre-digital), school photos, and other stuff. Not sure what the heck I'm going to do there yet. Then there's negatives and those little film canisters and contact sheets from said funky camera.

7. Cutting Tools - This is really a case of a drawer that is just not big enough for all of my tools. So, other tools get left on the table or in my crop tote.

8. Foam Stamps - Currently in shoe boxes, but boy do these take up a lot of space. Alphabets are each stored in a ziplock bag. Need a better solution so I know what I have and they are more accessible.

I think I could go on and on with this. But these are the things that stand out the most.

Analyze - Part 1: What Works?

I took a look over my existing scrap and craft space and tried to make a list of the things that DO work for me. I've been focusing so much on what doesn't work, and stressing over not being able to find things, that it was nice to think about what I actually do like about my space.

1. Setting - I love the space where my scrap table is. The skylight gives me some great natural light. I also have an old recycled table from my husband's aunt and uncle that I just love. It's the perfect size for the work I do there.

2. 12x12 paper storage - I use vertical Cropper Hopper paper holders for my 12x12 paper. Cardstock is easy, it's sorted by color in its own holder. Patterned paper is a little different, and I'm not as satisfied with my system. Older paper I have in one holder sorted by color. These are mostly papers I bought before I even knew anything about specific manufacturers, etc. The other holder I have newer papers sorted by manufacturer. I keep large scraps with the whole sheets of paper.

3. Scrap paper storage - I have an accordion file labeled by color where I store all of my paper scraps. I define a scrap as at least 12 square inches, anything smaller I toss, generally. The only problem is that I don't use my scraps as much as I should.

4. Pens and frequent tools - I have an altered metal beverage container on my desk where I store pens, pencils, files, and other tools. It definitely works, but could use some purging.

5. Acrylic stamps - All of my stamps are clung to transparencies, slipped into page protectors, and stored in a 3-ring binder. The one I have is quite full, I either need a second binder or a larger binder. The only problem I have with this system is that I don't have a good storage location for the binder.

6. Ribbon storage - All of my ribbon (other than full spools) is wrapped onto cardstock pieces and filed in a wooden box that I think is part of a drawer organization system. I need to start a second box, because I have too many whole spools of ribbon to fit in the box I have. Ribbon scraps go into a glass vase. I don't have a good location for the vase.

Well, those are the things about my system that work. Tomorrow, my complaints about the things that don't work!

Happy New Year! And so it Begins...

As I start my scrap space re-org and search for my missing mojo, I thought I'd share where I'm starting from. My scrap space is along one wall in our finished attic. It's a beautiful spot, and I love that there is a skylight right above my work table.


This is my main scrap area. The table is my workspace, and the bookshelf to the left is for storage. I had a matching bookshelf to the right of the table (you can see the edge of it off to the right), but we had to move it because we put a floor vent in so that our attic can be heated finally! So, I will not be able to move the bookshelf back into it's original position, which is fine.

To the left of the bookshelf shown in the previous picture is my desk with computer and such. Because my scrap table has become overrun with junk, I started scrapbooking on my desk, and now it's overrun. Part of my organization will include converting my desk back into a desk and using it for my business office space, although that is a secondary objective.

I'll be providing more pics and more details about the things that actually work in my space, and things I want to change, and I'll be sharing my planning approach as I go along. I am trying to take this one small step at a time, so that I don't get overwhelmed and procrastinate and abandon the project altogether, because I really REALLY want to get this space into a state that really gets my creativity flowing.

One rule I'm setting for myself: I am NOT starting any new projects while I reorganize, unless it's something small like a card for an occasion that I can get done in one sitting without disrupting my organization process. I'll be keeping a notebook of project ideas, and also collecting all of the unfinished projects I have (and I know I have several) as I go.

This is a lot to say, and enough for now. I need to actually get in there and start planning. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm using a book by Julie Morgenstern as my guide so I do this right. One of the first things she recommends when you're looking at a space is to figure out what parts of your system are actually working for you, rather than starting by focusing on what doesn't work. I'm going to spend today assessing what I actually do like about my space, and I'll post about that tomorrow.

Prelude to the Impending Chaos

My thoughts, plans, and process about my scrap space reorg will start tomorrow with the new year. However, I just wanted to share a couple of things before I get started just to give you all some background.

A while back I discovered a book called Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern. She has some other time-management and other types of books, and I intend to read them at some time since I've been happy with this book so far. The book basically helps you to not be overwhelmed by the organization process, to understand the underlying reasons for clutter and/or disorganization, and lays out a step by step plan for organizing things, whether it's a single drawer, a closet, or your complete kitchen.

If you do read this book and want to try out her stuff, I suggest starting small. A couple months ago I used the process on our master bathroom and it was fabulous. I dumped so much stuff I no longer needed, and although I want to change some of the organizational containers I use, I've been very happy with the results, and more importantly, the room is staying organized!

I'll be applying the processes from her book to my scrap space reorg, so you can get a feel for what she's all about.

On a related note, I took a "before" pic of my scrap space yesterday. I knew it was bad, but jeesh, I'm almost tempted not to post it tomorrow. But I will, so you can all see what sort of pit I'm starting from!

*sigh*

My creative mojo for the last year or so has been fairly non-existent. In 2007 I was a member of two scrapbooking design teams, and I was also trying to submit to a lot of publication calls, so I think I really got burned out on creating things that were not purely for me or using my own ideas or choices of product. As a result in 2008, I didn't do much creating at all. The two SBO retreats in the spring and fall did help me a lot, but I haven't really kept up much of a momentum.

One of the issues that I have is that I have a GREAT space for scrapbooking, but not much at all of a system for organization and storage. Plus, I have way too much crap...things I don't use, half finished projects I really have no intention of finishing, half finished projects I want to finish but got overwhelmed, and so on.

I don't like making resolutions, there's something about the word "resolution" that carries too much weight and expectation with it. Since I've done a lot of project management for work, I've decided to create three "projects" for myself for 2009. One is a personal project, where I'll be improving my overall health in several ways. The second project is for my business, where I'll be working to "book myself solid". Finally, the last project is for my creative side. I am planning to reorganize my scrap space, purge my product stash, and set down some processes to help facilitate my creative work.

Since this blog focuses on my creative side, I'm going to use this space to document the progress of my third project. Starting on January 1, I'll be posting some info about where I'm starting from, including pictures of my current scrap space and the chaos that is currently there. I'm hoping that if I know people are reading and keeping up with what I'm doing, I'll be more encouraged to show some progress, and I'm always up for ideas along the way. I may ask you questions or your opinions on a lot of things, so please feel free to comment on my posts.

I am a bad, bad, bad blogger.

New Suite 101 articles

My more recent Suite101 articles have focused on scrapbooking tools. I am such a tool junkie. One day I will write a complete ode to my Crop-o-Dile.

5 Essential Cutting Tools

Useful Paper Craft Cutting Tools

Digital Paper Cutting Systems