Here is a better photo of it, than the blurry one in my LAST POST…
And Kelly Goree with Basic Grey just posted this over at 2peas:
“Mistletoe and Pear is an exclusive line to M’s. It will only be available in a paper pack and there will be no embellishments (chipboard, buttons, brads, stickers, etc.) available for this line. From what I understood, this line wasn’t to be displayed at M’s until their Thanksgiving sale. That might explain why some of you are finding it and some are not. Technically, no one should have it just yet.”
So I guess, technically, I was very lucky my Mike’s doesn’t read their corporate memos very closely, LOL. {Actually, the manager there is a MAN and we know they don’t cotton much to reading directions}. But I wanted you to know that if you aren’t finding it in your store, that’s why. Hang in there for their Thanksgiving sale…see the amazing ad HERE and HERE. Supposedly, Michaels will be open from 6-9pm on Thanksgiving night. In the meantime, maybe THIS coupon will make you feel better?
I found it on THIS post at 2PEAS from Kristie D. who was sharing her new ‘craft studio,’ as she insists it’s called (hee). If I had a darling room like that, I’d make ya’ll call it a ‘studio’ too! She says, “I ordered my dress form on ebay BUT Hobby Lobby has similar ones and you can get them half off!!” Also, that she “got the idea from a blog.. I think it was Donna D. but I am not sure.” If you’d like to see more photos of her room, go check out the 2peas post or her BLOG.
Do you like the ribbon on a dress form idea? I know you cat moms and toddler owners can’t implement this, but how about the rest of you?
I was lucky enough to have the day off due to a State holiday…Columbus Day. Since I now work M-F 8 to 5, it was nice to have a weekday for errands. Went to get some labs done, met with our financial guy, met with the school principal, etc. Of course, I needed some retail therapy after all that! Got my 2 new scrap mags at Barnes & Noble…
I heard the November issue of Scrapbooks Etc is out but I haven’t been able to find it yet. Anyway, I’ve skimmed through the CK so far and it looks REALLY good! I’m so happy to see that BRENDA ARNALL is back with some EASY PATTERNS. This time, she incorporates some of those fun journaling stamps…of which I have more than plenty, and other great journaling ideas. HERE are the free downloads from the article (as of 10-13-08, they aren’t working but it says to keep trying back). LIZZY K talks about where you can turn your blog into a book, which is something I’d already planned to do, so I was happy to find a $10 discount code for CK readers! My girl NOEL is featured in an article on kids Thanksgiving projects. And there’s a fun scrap space featured that is geared towards having your friends in to scrap with you. I’m such a sucker for those Scrap Space features. I could read an entire book with nothing but ‘real people’ scrap spaces, couldn’t you?
After B&N was the craft store I sometimes call my LSS…cuz they are pretty cool and get some recent stuff, unlike Mike’s. I got a few sheets of Bazzill, and this paper from Little Yellow Bicycle’s ‘Frightful’ collection. It’s meant to be Halloween paper, but I’m just going to use it on some boy pages. I think it’ll look great with a bright shade of blue or teal.
I only have around 25 sets of acrylic stamps and obviously need more, so I also got these (They were $25, but only $15 with my coupon):
Won’t they be fun to color in with marker or colored pencil?? I swear, half of the appeal of scrapbooking is that I can play and doodle and be artsy-craftsy like when I was a kid. So please don’t pee in my Wheaties and tell me I didn’t need these stamps, k? They are part of my regression therapy, part of my ‘live like there’s no tomorrow’, part of my ‘recapturing my youth.’ You support that, don’t you?
Lastly, I went to Mike’s and used a 50% off coupon to get another Jetmax 3-drawer cube (remember, I’m STOCKING UP). I threw in 2 sheets of Bazzill ‘cuz I’ve heard at some stores they’re including Bazzill in the 4 for $1 sale (which applies to 59 cent sheets and Bazzill is 69 cents, but some are doing it anyway). Well, the butthuggers at the Mike’s I went to charged me full price for them so I’m glad I only grabbed two.
Okay, fess up, what scrappy goods have you bought lately? And whatya think of the latest CK?
It’s Sunday night, and I just got done watching Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters. That Sally and Calista, they had me a-booin’ and a-hooin’ again tonight. When Nora is telling Kitty how she thought she finally saw her as more than just the mom who drove her to ballet lessons, and Kitty shows her the book dedication…all to Nora, who she couldn’t have written the book without. {Sniff, sniff}. Mother/daughter relationships are so complex and deep…that show really knows how to capture it all.
Okay, well, just wanted to give an update on some of my past posts….
The RUMMAGE SALE: It was Saturday morning and, wouldn’t you know it, not a drop of rain here in months but when does it decide to rain???? Saturday morning, and only Saturday morning. Not a drop of rain except during those rummage sale hours. But it went okay anyway, I guess. It was a community rummage sale, where you pay for your space and that money goes as a fundraiser. I was stationed next to a friend of mine, so we gabbed all day between making sales. I’d say I sold about 1/3 to 1/2 of what I took out there, even some of the scrapbooking stuff. One gal came back three times, LOL! The biggest sale from SB stuff was an SEI 8×8 album in a box, it was from a CKU class, and was all pre-done, just pop in your photos and add the journaling. I sold it for $12, although just the materials were worth more than that. But the color scheme was something I was never going to use so why not? It went to a happy home, a young high school or college age scrapper who said she would scrap more if she had time. I hope the purchase helps her get a quick album done :)
Another success story {follow me on this, I promise, it will make sense}: So, on the other side of my space was a lady selling homemade chicken taquitos and pork and chicken tamales. OMG. That was just cruel to make me smell that yumminess all day! {Mexican food is my ATF, All Time Fave}. About half way through the morning, I ate my little Tillamoo cheese and non-fat Yoplait yogurt. Fighting like a real warrior against giving in to that Mexican food. Then DH says, “I’m taking off, there’s a game on so I’m heading home. Please bring a mess of those taquitos home for me.” At first, I’m like “WTF??”….then I realized hey, there’s my excuse to buy ME some taquitos, too, LOL! So I ask the lady, “Are you going to be here til the end, because I want to buy some taquitos to take home?” and she says, “Yes.” So at the end of the day, I still had about 2/3 of the clothing I had put out for sale and was dreading bagging it all up and taking it to AmVets. The lady from the taquito place comes over and is looking through all the clothes (they were kids clothes) and I can tell she’d like to have many of them but is only setting aside a few. So I said, “You know, you can just have all those clothes if you want them,” and her face totally lights up. Then she says, “I’ll give you food in exchange.” I mean, was that the Deal of the Century or what? Too funny….
So, all in all, it was a good day. The kids ran around and played with their friends, I got to chat with a friend, offload some things I didn’t need, and I got to eat taquitos! And we were blessed by God’s rain which, even if you’re trying to hold a rummage sale, is a beautiful, blessed thing.
Now, to update my SCRAPBOOK STORAGE post: Gosh, this is me at my most indecisive. I measured my room and figured out how many more Store In Style cubes, doors, shelves, etc. I would need to make the perfect set-up. Let’s just say the number of cubes was in the double digits, but still cheaper than buying an Ikea Expedit and having it shipped (since I don’t live anywhere near an Ikea), or any other scrap storage options I could find. I found a great online site to order them from since Mike’s no longer carries them. And there they’ve sat in my Shopping Cart for over a week. I finally got over the price tag, but then started imagining the day 4 jillion boxes were dropped by UPS on my doorstep. I truly think DH would bust a gut, maybe even an aneurysm, over that one. I know this from experience, that he doesn’t care about the what’s and why’s and ‘but honey, I got such a great deal on it!’. All he knows is his wife went mad buying scrap stuff and he would be none too happy. So then I thought, what if I just buy a few at a time? But, no, it’s still UPS dropping packages here, still busting guts, still aneurysms, still not good. So my latest idea hit me when I was at Mike’s last week trying to spend my 40% coupon on something I actually needed. Duh, storage cubes, nimrod! I bought one of the cubes that they now carry, I think the brand name is Jetmax. I got the 3-drawer one like in this picture:
They are regularly $30, only $18 with the coupon. Now I’m going to see if I can make it work with collecting a bunch of these babies to create my Scrap Storage Nirvana. They are slightly smaller than the SIS cubes and since I have an odd number…well, it’s hard to explain without drawing a diagram, but I’d still need to buy a few SIS cubes. Then hopefully I can fill in the rest of my wall with the Mike’s ones. I’ll just buy one a week with my coupon, and spend actually less money than buying the SIS cubes online. I have a little windfall cash set aside just for this project and I need to get going on this before the vacuum cleaner or washing machine breaks (that would be SO my luck). Just remember, my well-made decisions can spin on a dime, but that’s the plan…for now!
Finally, to update my QVC post, I did watch most of the QVC scrapbooking shows and no, I didn’t buy a single thing. Not because I didn’t want anything, merely because….no money, no shop-ee. Times like this, I wish I were Katie Holmes…{wink}.
Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Did you do anything scrappy?
I picked up Photo Freedom by Stacy Julian on Thursday with a 40% off coupon at my local craft store, BEVERLY’s.
I’ve been interested in reading both of Stacy’s photo organization books because, as I’ve talked about HERE, I’m in a constant struggle with how to best organize my photos. I wish I could’ve found her first book ~ The Big Picture: Scrapbook Your Life ~ and read it first.
But…que sera, I found Photo Freedom first and wasn’t going to pass it up. I’ve heard so much discussion about these books and her non-traditional approach to photo organization, that I grabbed the book when I saw it, LOL!
I went into reading it knowing I probably wouldn’t agree with much of what she advocates. Yes, I’m a chronological scrapper. Not in the sense that I use strap-hinge albums and MUST scrap in order since pages aren’t moveable, but in the sense that I use post albums with drop in pages but I keep my albums in chronological order. I’ve converted most of my albums to this cool SNAP LOAD system by Pioneer, so I can add and move pages as quickly as can those braggy 3-ring-album girls! {And my 2-page layouts aren’t split in the middle with 3-rings…to quote Stacy herself…”So there!”).
I’ve admitted before to being somewhat….er, um….extremely anal in most aspects of my life. {All those years I worked as a governmental budget and program analyst, I told people ‘I put the ANAL in ANALyst.’}. So, nope, even Miss STACEY JULIAN isn’t going to convince me to scrap out of order or to slap photos from different events onto one page. Maybe once in a while on a tribute page or something, but not as regular practice. But I’ve also always believed that you have to look at all sides of a story, to be willing to research other options, before you give a firm NO. Hence, me seeking out Stacey’s photo organization books.
I’m about halfway through Photo Freedom now and here’s where I stand so far. 1. Nope, I’m staying with chronological scrapping and, therefore, I don’t see myself putting all of her ideas into practice. 2. Her system is intense! But I mean that in a good way. She has really thought it all through, has found the best storage items (and suggested alternates to the reader) for each component of her system, and she obviously walks the walk, i.e. really USES her system. 3. I agree with her that ‘the kids aren’t walking out of here someday with all my albums,’ so she has a School of Life album for each child that they can abscond with someday. It’s a good compromise. 4. I love how, when she set up her system, she ‘pre-flighted’ tabs, boxes and such for upcoming months/years. You think ‘that time’ will never come, but then it’s actually here and you’re not prepared, have nowhere to sort your photos and memorabilia, and so it just stacks up. I’m with Stacy…pre-label your shizzle! 5. I love the way she does her school files for each child and will probably implement that idea (sorry, you have to read the book to see what I’m talking about).
So there’s my review so far. I’ll probably finish the book this weekend and will post more thoughts if I remember to (remember….ooh, look, sparklies….I’m easily distracted).
Do you have either of these books? What did you think? Have you implemented her system or any of her ideas? Are your photos organized and how? I want to know it all! Feel free to link to a blog post of yours if you’ve outlined your system on your blog already…
The girls on AMR have been posting links to some great eye candy lately…awesome scrapbook studios that we can all drool over and be inspired by. I also love to look at them for storage and decorating ideas. Here’s a list of some we’ve looked at recently:
KELLIANNIE/KELLI has been especially good at finding these cool rooms. She showed us THIS one posted by “christmasnotebook” (?) on Flickr with all those white cabinets. This is my kinda dream room, with all that closed storage so it looks neat all the time and you can do cool things like decorate for Christmas!
Kelli also shared Masonpaige’s room HERE; get a peek below of all the pink and green goodness:
They got me going, so I went and found these on 2PEAS (just Search All Forums for Scrapbook Rooms and you’ll find plenty). THIS ONE belongs to scrappindiva55 and lookie here at one pic:
And I love THIS ROOM belonging to peainthepod – just one view below…
As you know, I held a crop and scrapbook garage sale. Both went very well. There were about 12 croppers each day (Friday and Saturday). There were 8 or 9 garage sale-ers and we all did very well, making between $50-$200 each – whoo hoo! It felt good to get rid of things we weren’t going to use, and were just cluttering up our spaces. We laughed about how we’d all just spend our profits on MORE scrapbook supplies, and called it “Redistribution.” And the shoppers got great deals, like a Creative Memories sticker binder for $5, a crop tote for $20, papers 5 for $1, etc. The crop went well too, with tons of socializing and, oh yeah, scrapbooking being done. As usual, I got very little done, only 4 pages but that was partly because I was busy doing other things and partly because I obsessed over the second 2-page layout. I just couldn’t get it to look “right” and when I finally told myself, “What the heck, just stick it down, you don’t have to love every layout,” it finally came together on it’s own. So there ya go… I hope you had a wonderful NSD…what did you do? Feel free to leave your blog link if you posted NSD pages completed…we’d love to see what you accomplished!
Behind the scenes where you can’t see, WordPress just made a bunch of changes. My dashboard looks completely different and I’m still finding my way around. So far, the changes seem to be good ones. Here are a couple of interesting things I found in a new part of my Blog Stats section:
In other words, of all the posts I’ve written, these are the Top 3 most clicked on.
Also:
Top Searches
Fiskars Threading Water Punch, Scrapbook Organization, Threading Water Punch
These are the most common terms you all were searching when you linked here.
So, how long has it been since the Kristina Controversy? And I kid you not, DAILY I see that there are readers still finding me from searching her name, and then reading that post. (Although I wrote several where her name is mentioned, this is the one that gets all the attention. My poor other Kristina posts feel bereft and unwanted…).
I think the Fiskars Threading Water punch wins the award for the Best Frenzy Item EVER. I know it’s still the talk of CKMB, with a lot of scrappers finding one of these sought-after punches …. and many still searching. And I’m not surprised there’ve been so many searches for Scrapbook Organization, as that is a topic near and dear to all scrappers hearts.
Thanks for all the “hits” and all the comments you leave and please keep coming back!
From the Simple Scrapbooks BLOG today (? … I guess…it’s not dated…)
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Oh the Places You’ll Go! Well, we can’t keep Stacy to ourselves anymore! She’s got so many exciting new opportunities coming her way (on top of a schedule only Superwoman herself could manage) that she’s decided she needs to lighten her load here at Simple Scrapbooks magazine. Stacy is a true entrepreneur, a big-picture thinker (pun intended!), a creative machine, and a scrapbook ambassador. And it’s only going to get bigger and better from here. We are so happy for Stacy–she’s following her heart, and we have no doubt that great things will come out of this move. We can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
While Stacy will be less involved in the day-to-day runnings of the magazine, we will insist on publishing her projects whenever possible. And her original vision will continue to guide this magazine, as it has from day one. Stacy will always love Simple, and Simple will always love Stacy. We’re certainly going to be keeping tabs on her, and looking for opportunities to grow and evolve the scrapbook industry together!
You can look forward to your regular dose of Stacy in the next FOUR upcoming issues: May/June, July/August, September/October, and our Mini Albums in an Evening special issue, on sale in July. In the meantime, please join us in celebrating Stacy as we kick off the first-ever Stacy Julian Appreciation Week! Want to join in the festivities? Here’s what you do:
1. Call. We’ve set up a special toll-free number that you can call for the next 30 days and leave Stacy a voicemail! How cool is that? Call 1-888-HUG-STACY to share your thoughts. (note: that cool vanity number won’t be live until Monday AFTERNOON. In them meantime, you can leave your message at 877-809-8041.)
2. Comment. Leave a comment on THIS blog to let Stacy know how much her work has meant to you. We’ll pick one random commenter EVERY DAY this week to win a copy of Stacy’s new book, Photo Freedom. {NOTE: Leave a comment on the SIMPLE SCRAPBOOKS blog, NOT Scrapbook Obsession. I’m sure Stacey does not read my blog, nor will I be handing out books for free, LOL!}
3. Browse. Check out what Stacy has to say on her blog, and please leave her some happy mail there as well. Then visit Wendy’s blog and Cathy’s blog for more Stacy tributes (one done in video form!).
4. Check Back. We’ve got guest bloggers showing up all week long, so check back every day for news and updates. (Our Editor in Chief Jennafer Martin is on deck for tomorrow.)
A Note from Angie to Stacy:
Stacy, this is my favorite picture of you. It reminds me what a cheerleader you’ve always been to me personally and to the readers we all care so much about. I really mean this: I scrapbook today because your philosophy rescued me. I was overwhelmed by my pictures. I felt behind. I had given up. But your Simple Scrapbooks vision got me back in the game. And for that I will always be grateful. Thank you for the inspiration, the motivation, and the SmartCookies you brought to our meeting last week. Also, thank you for publicly admitting that you are a nose picker, which inspired me to come out of the closet with my nose picking ways. Booger Busters unite! (Not sure if you wanted it to be THIS public, but there it is.) [Um, yes Angie, that was way TMI!]
p.s. We’re also sending Stacy a different present every day this week. Once I know she has received today’s present, I’ll let you know what it was!
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The post above says to keep checking blogs from Stacey, Wendy and Cathy so here are the links if you’re interested.
Nothing on Stacy Julian’s BLOG yet but I’ll keep checking.
CONGRATS to Stacy Julian! It sounds like we’ll still be seeing her in the scrapbook world, just extending beyond SIMPLE SCRAPBOOKS magazine. I’m assuming the BIG PICTURE SCRAPBOOKING andBOOK WRITING PROJECTS are going so well, that’s where we’ll find her. But with Stacey, you never know. I hear she has boundless amounts of energy so perhaps we’ll see her in other places as well. I look forward to seeing what Stacy has in store for us.
I hope you enjoy participating in the contest on the SS blog, and that you leave a note of appreciation for Stacey somewhere. I think she deserves to know how much she means to all us scrappers.
I saw this over on my AMR friend KELLI’s BLOG. It’s yet another way to organize your ribbon. There are so many things on the market now, I think we must be a world of ribbon-holics.
CLIP IT UP! RIBBON ORGANIZER BY SIMPLY RENEE
Here are some things I like about this system:
~ Ribbon shelf is hung on the wall so it’s off your workspace yet easily accessible.
~ No dowel needed, you just pop your ribbon rolls in and out & there’s even a sliding spool holder so they don’t fall over.
~ It looks very durable and I love the two scissor slots, one on each end. That’s a pretty cool use of what would be wasted space.
The rumor according to THIS POST on 2Peas is that this ribbon holder won’t be shipping until May. But like one poster said, that gives us time to decide if we really need it!
However, like Kelli, I thought ‘too bad it costs so much.’ I found THIS SITE taking pre-orders for $55 (regular price $66) and that seems to be the average that it sells for. So those of you who are inventive like Kelli, come up with your own like she did!
Isn’t that cool?!? Check out THIS POST for more info. She used pantry door racks from the hardware store, then incorporated the “clip it up” idea for her unspooled ribbon. The clips are badge holders from Michaels. WTG Kelli!
And while I’m poaching from Kelli’s blog, thought I would share this awesome project with you. It’s way to ambitious for me, but you talented card makers and papercrafters will dig it.
KELLI’s CARD PURSE
She gives a wonderful tutorial HERE, and another example of a card purse HERE. Here’s an AMR MB thread about Kelli’s card purses. Such a talented lady! Go say hi and give her some blog love for sharing so many awesome projects, will ya?
I’ve had my MM Embellishment Shelf for about…well, let’s just say I got it with a 50% off coupon from Michaels so it must’ve been since a recent holiday. I finally got it hung ~ all by myself and I even used a level ~ DH would be so proud! Here it is in progress. I’m still working on it, while I organize my entire scrap space. I love to see all my little pretties lined up, so cheerful and colorful. Stickles make me smile :)
Since I took this picture the other day, I decided to add one of the ribbon spool dowels. Yikes, I had put both of them in my bin for Scrapbook Garage Sale and was going to get rid of them. But I had all that cute Target ribbon in the bright Spring/Summer colors so it has been installed. I’ll post a pic when I’m all done too.
I actually turned off the computer FOR AN ENTIRE DAY yesterday. Yeah, I know, I didn’t think I could do it either. But it was amazing how much stuff I got done when I wasn’t saying to myself, “Oh, just one more post on AMR MB….Wait, I want to check my blog stats…Darnit, I need to e-mail so-and-so about whatevah-whatevah…Shoot, one more look at CKMB won’t kill me… And before I know it, the entire morning is gone and I still have tons to do, nevermind not getting to those “extra” things that would be nice to get done.
Here is my list of accomplishments from yesterday:
1. Moved all of my scrapbooks to the empty shelf in the living room that has been available for about a month. I wanted them out of my scrap area so people will actually look at them once in a while, LOL.
2. Moved layouts around and got things in chronological order. Put some “homeless” layouts into scrapbooks…you know, the ones you complete then keep in a stack somewhere? I had nowhere near the job of ALI EDWARDS, but it still took some good ol’, sit down on the floor and spread it all out kinda’ time…
3. Lots of housework ~ yuck! But a good feeling of accomplishment…
4. Continued my scrap space organizing. It’s a never ending project, I swear. But I can see my two beautiful Basic Grey Magnetic Mats! So I can actually get some scrapping done now.
5. Found some childhood pics of my hubby, noticed how much one of our children resembles him, and left him a little love note with the pictures for him to see before he left for work this morning.
Believe it or not, I got even more done but you’re probably dozing off by now, so I’ll stop. I’m sad I missed a whole day of message board and blog haps, and I didn’t blog, but feel really good that I got so much done around here. Maybe I’ll have more Turn Off the Computer Mondays!
Have you ever been forced to stay away from the computer for a day, just to get something done?
You know how right before the new fall season of TV shows comes on, and you’re hearing about all the great new shows, and you can’t wait to watch them, and every show you’ve always loved and been watching seems so dull and boring merely because you have had a taste of the new stuff and you want more??? (Phew, that was surely a run on sentence!).
Well, that’s how I’m feeling about scrap products right now. I went scrap shopping today, with my 40% and 50% coupons in hand, and knowing that my local craft store had 25% off the entire store. I was in the mood for some serious swag, I tell ya’. First, to the LSS and my only really good finds were the new issue of CK, and some cute/cheap papers from their Half Off table. Their shelves weren’t empty, per se, but there was nothing “new” like there is every other time I go, about once every month or two. Then to Michaels to use my 2-day only 50% off coupon. Again, I came up pretty empty and had to struggle to find something to use the coupon on. I got a cute MAMBI page kit (all page kits were already 40% off) then walked around that store for 10 minutes trying to find something I wanted that was Coupon Worthy. I finally decided on the Making Memories medium-sized storage jars, which will fit on my MM Embellishment Shelf.
I have no idea what I’ll put in them, but $5 instead of $10 was a transaction I was obligated to make. Heck, I’ll use them in my pantry to store sugar if I have to. Finally, I went to the craft store. The acrylic stamps I went there for were out of stock:
For a gift, I picked up the K&Co. Wild Saffron paper slab, tag set, and photo mat set. This is one of my favorite lines ever and I already have most of it. My friend keeps admiring it, so guess what she’s getting for her birthday?
Everything was 25% off, which was already a good deal, but then the cashier gave me 40% off the paper pad “because there was a coupon this week” (which I had in my purse, but thought I couldn’t use because of the storewide sale). So, that was a good buy…$16 worth of Wild Saffron for $9.50.
Other than the CK, the only find of the day that made me all perky was noticing that the craft store now sells……BAZZILL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, is that enough exclamation points to communicate to you how stinkin’ happy I am??? I LUVLUVLUV Bazzill cardstock but my LSS was the only place to get it (other than online, which I don’t usually do b/c I like to buy it by the sheet and match it to papers I have). They sell Bazzill Canvas and Bling for 75 cents/sheet, In Stitch’z for $1/sheet. I buy sheets when I’m there to match whatever patterned paper I buy. However, in my world, one can never have enough Bazzill. So I was crazy-excited to see 5 racks of it at the craft store. They sell Canvas and grasscloth for 59 cents/sheet, Bling for 69 cents/sheet, and With an Edge (scalloped, etc) for $1/sheet. So I got about $10 worth of Bazzill which cost me $7.50 with the sale. The only “newer” stuff they had was all the Valentines stuff, most of which I didn’t like this year, like the Daisy D’s and Wild Asparagus stuff.
I spoke with the cashiers at two of the stores, and yes, they are anxiously awaiting new items from CHA. The LSS said she ordered things from 15 different companies, some of whom they’ve never carried in the store before. So, like the store owners, I will patiently wait for all the new goodies to arrive. Amend that: I will WAIT, but not patiently, because I wanna see the new stuff NOW! Just hope the big reveal of all the new scrapbook products from CHA won’t be as disappointing as the new fall TV shows have been in the past few years, LOL!
PS: Have you noticed that I’m getting dangerously close to hitting the 100,000 blog hits mark? Wow, that just kills me!
Just a quick post, because I feel guilty when days go by and I haven’t yakked about anything :) I’m hosting 2 all-day crops tomorrow and Saturday (8am to midnight, both days). Seems no matter how much I get done ahead of time, no matter how many items I check off the To Do list, I’m up all night before my crops getting ready! Oh well, I have so much fun at the crops and have such wonderful friends to spend scrap time with, that I stay awake and happy on just a couple of hours sleep.
Can I say thank you SO MUCH for all the great comments about my business name?? That is so awesome and they are great to read. Scrappers are, yes, a very creative bunch and you make me smile :)
On a down note, it was finally confirmed at work today that they plan to close the facility I work at (part-time in a clerical job). It’s been a rumor for months, so I had already started to look around at other jobs. The closure will be completed by June 30, 2008…so now I’m hardcore job hunting again. It’s all very complicated but the heart of the matter is that this job has allowed me to be home with my kids more; finding another one like it in pay and hours will be virtually impossible. I’m about to have a breakdown from worrying that I’ll have to go back to work full-time. I have noticed such a difference in our family, our kids, my “self”, our happiness since I’ve been home more and it breaks my heart to think about us being back on that full-time treadmill. I know this blog ain’t about me, but if you feel like saying a little prayer for me I would truly appreciate it.
Okay, now I have 4 hours of computer work, then several more of getting ready for the crop (make goody bags, pack car, make brownies,…), so I’d better get on it! Hope you’re able to get some scrapping done this weekend!
PS: As for the Organizational Challenge, it officially ends this Sunday 1/6/08. However, I certainly won’t be holding anyone to the deadline as I won’t be meeting it myself. Unfortunately, job searching and financial planning has had to take over. I’ll continue to post my scrap space organizing progress and hope you will do the same. I will complete the RAK for the business name suggestions after I finish up the crop, probably Sunday or Monday. Thank you, sweeties, for understanding…
If you’re participating in our SCRAP SPACE ORGANIZATION CHALLENGE (deadline is this Sunday, 1/6/08) , you’ve probably had to confront your ribbon. I found this great ARTICLE I thought I would share, posted on MADCROPPER.COM.
To give you a little tease, how do you like this ribbon storage system by CANDICE PALMER??
HAPPY 2008 TO YOU ALL!! May it be a year of blessed organization and lots of completed pages…
Ok, after goofing off for Christmas…and, um, perhaps for a few days after…I’m back in organization mode. My “12 Hours in 12 Days” plan got about 4 hours behind, so I tried to catch up today. I worked reorganizing my scrap space for about 2.5 hours, so I’m still behind (gulp). But here is what I accomplished:
~ Took new ribbon off rolls and put into ribbon jars.
~ Decided to use five of the large gingerbread jars to store embellishments by color. These are embellishments with no ‘topic’ per se, so they don’t go in the ScrapRack with all my themed stuff. For example, I have metal flower clips, generic small journaling tags, etc. that don’t really go anywhere else. I sorted them into the same color categories as my ribbon, so hopefully coordinating and grabbing things for future use will be a breeze :)
~ Used a small gingerbread jar for all of my flowers. Took ’em all out of their packages and mixed em up in there ~ it looks so pretty! The only exception is I kept the tiny little Prima flowers in their jars, just stuck the whole jar in there (I only have 2 jars. So far….bwahahahaha).
~ Used a large gingerbread jar for all of my chipboard letters (one pack of felt letters in there too). I didn’t realize I had so many until I saw them all in one place. One thing I learned from this little organizational experience…snack-size Ziplocs are my friend! I took each alpha out of it’s packaging and put it in a snack bag. Viola! Compact, see through, and easy to cram bunches into a big jar. Lovin’ that…
~ Put all my pens into a small GB jar but not sure I’m gonna’ keep it that way. I took them out of 2 Creative Memories pen cases and they don’t fill up the jar enough so that the pens are standing anywhere near upright. Now a Scrapbook Obsessed person would just say…”Must buy more pens!”. And I occasionally do, but mostly I use the ones I’ve had since I started scrapping. Okay, there were the glitter gel pens in Christmas colors from the Target $1 Spot recently, but that’s it, I swear!
You’ll also see a jar I already had done, full of felt flowers. Those are the ones from the Target $1 Spot; that’s only $3 worth ~ what a steal!
And I actually got some scrapping done tonight because I could finally see my desk. That was fun and felt really good. But I have LOTS more work to do. Hope you’re making progress too & if so, please tell us about it!
Here is some inspiration galore I found over at 2peas. It’s their OFFICIAL SCRAP ROOM GALLERY thread. There is a list of scrap rooms, of the famous scrappers and their “regular” counterparts (LOL). Just thought it might give you some ideas, or at least some eye candy while you take a break from organizing your own space…
I was busy working, etc all day Thursday and Friday. But as of 1900 hrs last night, I’m officially free from my office job (and taking kids back and forth to school) for over 2 weeks!! Yippee Kie Yay and Yee Haw! I slept bunches and am now starting to feel The Urge to Purge and the Need to Organize. Christmas is only 3 days away, so obviously I’ll be busy with those things. But come 12/26, I’m ready to rock!
Today I’m sitting at the computer trying to ‘organize’ my thoughts and, taking Yvette’s suggestion, I’m writing things down. I’ve started “Mom’s To Do List for Christmas Vacation 2007”. I’m including a box to put little check marks as I accomplish things, so I can see my progress and hopefully that will motivate me to keep going. My list is probably going to end up being unrealistic for the time frame I have, but oh well. At least I’ll get SOME things done. I have 2 at-home work assignments due that will take lots of hours, and general house cleaning. I’m hoping to get those out of the way first, and then concentrate on the organizing and some other projects. The challenge will be staying off the darn internet! I have so much fun with this blog, the CKMB, reading other blogs, e-mailing friends, etc. that I could end up here for hours each day…will have to force myself NOT to do that, or maybe just limit it to my ‘night owl’ hours as a reward for accomplishing great things during the day, LOL.
The other things on my plate are my mom visiting from 12/25 to whenever, and I’m holding a scrapbook crop on Friday 1/4 and Saturday 1/5. That was just decided yesterday, so unfortunately it does affect my ability to accomplish things for this Challenge, since at the end I won’t even be here for 2 days :( So I’d better really bust tail between 12/26 and 1/3, and stack up some extra hours to meet my own 12-hour challenge (see below). The good thing about my mom being here is she will help me & is a very talented organizer herself. Is that wrong to put her to work while she’s here? (j/k, she actually loves it and ASKS for things to do; LOVE her!).
I’m not only working on my scrap space, but the rest of the house as well. Spring Cleaning kinds of things, like washing all the pillows and bedding, purging my kids’ school work, and getting our personal files caught up (they’re already in pretty good shape). It’s kind of become a tradition to rearrange our living room after the Christmas tree comes down, which is good because every little nook and cranny gets wiped down or vacuumed. If I have time, I’d also like to purge and better organize our Christmas stuff when I put it away. I did it a few years ago, but there are the same things that don’t get used each year, so why hold onto them? Honestly, I’m not really into holiday decorating and just do it for the kids, so the stuff we have is already minimal ~ ornaments, stockings, and a few decorations. Although I do now have the new Advent Calendar I put together this year, along with the one I bought from Starbucks (thanks to CKMB Enabling):
So far today, I’ve got couch throw pillows in the washing machine, school work into one pile after gathering it from around the house, and a bunch of housecleaning done. Is it just me, or do you get a lot more done around the house when DH isn’t home? I don’t know why, because he’s not the needy sort. Hmmm… So! The other thing, in addition to my checklist, is that I’m going to commit (from 12/26 through 1/6, the end of The Challenge) to spend at least 1 hour per day on organizing my scrap area. That will be….um….I’m no math major…let’s see…12 HOURS of scrappy organizational time! More time than I’ve probably spent on organization over there this entire year. I think I can get a lot done in 12 hours, don’t you? Are you setting any goals for yourself? What progress have you made so far? I’d love to hear about it :)
In a comment on my LAST POSTabout the progress I’ve made toward Total Scraproom Organization, YVETTE made a very good suggestion about putting my vertical space to better use. Now, I don’t have a bunch, because my space is in the corner of the room with two big windows. But there is one wall spot with a cute house-shaped shelf with little cubbies ~ originally bought to store/display my rubber stamps. It came as naked wood and I painted it dark green to coordinate with the ‘decor’ of the room (and I use that term loosely…very…very…loosely). However, it has turned out that the spaces are not the right size for the most part so, as much as I hate to, I need to junk it (but it’s sooooo cute!) (and I hand painted it!). Good golly gosh, I’m so good at making excuses NOT to get rid of stuff & that needs to change. Like, yesterday.
I think it would take a little sting out of the pain if I replace the cute green house-shaped shelf with this Making Memories Embellishment Center:
I saw one at Michaels the other day and was very intrigued by it’s sassiness and usefulness. However…#1 it was $80, #2 I had nowhere to hang it because my only wall already had a VERY cute little…oh, you know! But now I’m wondering if it will ever be 30% off, or if I can use a 40% or 50% off coupon. That would put it in my price range, ya know? If I remember right, I think there are two versions of this shelf and the other one is bigger with an additional cubby/section per row. Anyone have this item? How ya’ liking it?
I know that Scrapperdays, for one, is rockin’ this Organization Challenge. Go check it out on HER BLOG. Yay for you! Anyone else making progress you want to tell us about? Keep going…you can do it!
Update to this ORIGINAL POST. Sorry, it’s not very well written below…just kind of stream of consciousness of what I’m doing, what questions come up, and what I’m learning along the way.
Here is the progress I have made so far:
~ Gathered all recently ordered customer products. Sticker on each one with customer’s name. Checked items received off order forms and noted if money due. Boxes into car for delivery to customers (wish I could readily find all of their addresses and phone numbers to call and tell them I’m coming by after work).
Result/Learned: Had about 4 large boxes with customer stuff that is now outta’ here! Wow, that already made a big difference. Unfortunately, something came up after work and I wasn’t able to deliver tonight but, hey, the boxes are outta my scrap area!
~ Gathered all Christmas card related items, finished Christmas letter (yeah, I know it’s late!), decided to forego handmade cards for everyone on my list and send them to scrapper’s only, started entering address/phone/e-mail information into Address Book on my Mac laptop while I watched the finale of the Biggest Loser. Filed from stack of 12×12 papers. Put random Mike’s stamps into stamp drawer. Need to inventory stamps so I don’t double-buy. Need to separate stamps that I’m giving for crop prizes from my own stash, and put them into my prize box. Prize box could go in a closet since I only access it on crop days or to drop new prizes into?
Result/Learned: Not having all of my customer and personal addresses computerized really costs me lots of time, aka time that I could spend on keeping my space organized. Mac Address Book will be wonderful once it’s up and running. I can separate contacts into groups like scrapbookers, crop invitees, customers, friends, family, business, sort them by birthday month for prizes and greeting card lists, etc. For easy Christmas card addressing, Address Book even makes Avery labels! Ain’t technology great? It seems like I “never have time” to get things up and running, but when I do make the time, it’s SO worth it. And doing a boring organizing task is easier if it’s one you can take in front of the TV, LOL. I also learned that it’s okay to let go of self-imposed obligations (like 50 handmade Christmas cards) if it helps me keep my sanity. Do you beat yourself up sometimes like I do over these self-created issues? I mean, the people on my card list didn’t ASK for or expect a handmade card, did they?
~ Got picture frames out of boxes and put into hall closet with other frames. Plan to complete all re-framing AFTER the holidays.
Result/Learned: Things like photo frames shouldn’t come into my scrap area in the first place, and I gained a good chunk of floor space by moving them. I need to change my mindset that, “If I don’t see it, it won’t get done.” Even if I DID forget that re-framing is a project I need to do, I’ll still see the frames whenever I open the linen closet (duh!).
I’m so glad y’all are joining me, giving me tips, and/or just following our progress and cheering us on. There are more from CKMB (some of you posted both places ~ thanks!). Here is THAT THREAD if you want to take a peek. Scrapper-organizers are already making progress ~ wahoo! I’m jealous of Scrapperdays and her new Lisa and Becky Rail System. This isn’t Julie’s actual system, but a picture of one that she posted on HER BLOG.
You can see the Rail System HERE on the Cropper Hopper website (www.lisabecky.com). Here is another picture:
So, if you haven’t joined our Organization Challenge, please do! Just post below to make it official. Take Before photos so you can see how far you’ve come. If you’re shy, you don’t need to post here ~ but do ORGANIZE! It feels so good and will let you start the new year in a fresh, clean, and productive space…
This is so embarrassing. After all my bragging about organizing my scrap space earlier this year (it was THIS POST), it’s a mess again. Holy cow! I think it’s even worse. Yeah, I just looked at the Before photos from last time and it is much, much worse now. My excuse is that I started as a scrapbook consultant this year and now, in addition to all my own stuff, I have to ‘keep stock on hand’ of Memory Works products. At any given time, I also have boxes of orders here until I distribute them. But, that being said, the real reason it’s a mess is because I haven’t kept up on it. I didn’t create a solution before I had the problem. And I’ve kept buying new scrapbook supplies while hardly using any. Okay, here is the disgusting evidence:
This is as you walk into my scrapping area, which is the back half of a larger room with the kids’ play area in the front. As you can see, the walkway is closing in on itself and I can barely walk through there without losing body parts. The box of red albums is a Daisy D’s Year in Review and Christmas album. I’m doing a class/party on that the week after Christmas. There’s my little Lexmark standalone photo printer that I got at Target for $25 on Clearance. I tried to use it once, got frustrated when it wouldn’t print anything but green photos, and it has sat collecting dust ever since. Although I did recently buy that Lexmark-specific photo paper (it’s sitting on top of the printer) to try again before I toss the thing out the window. The blue bins I bought last month to try and better display my products at crops, etc. (will be a separate post about those later). Until now, I’ve been using a big clear Rubbermaid container and small, white plastic baskets to display things. The Rubbermaid is just plain ugly and the white baskets are cute enough, but the sides are too low and everything just kind of flops over and won’t stand up for customers to look through it. You can also se my XXL tote and another smaller one (don’t remember what that one is called). I load them up with MW products when I go to crops and it’s nice because they protect everything from dust and getting bent in transit, and the XXL is on rollers so I can really carry lots of stuff. The problem is then I have no room to take my own crop stuff (tool kit, page kits, etc.). Needing a solution to that problem. The cream tote is all my Memory Works catalogs and paperwork. Well, I shouldn’t say “all”…there is another huge white binder of stuff in my home office. The black box is a Creative Memories Power Sort box full of photos and memorabilia from my Europe cruise. That was in 2006 and I’m only about half way through the album (if you don’t count journaling, of which I’ve hardly done any). Everything in the Power Sort is getting dusty because I can’t put the lid on or it will crush my brochures, menus, etc. To the far right is my shelf which has stayed pretty organized, mainly because it’s packed and there is nowhere to put anything else. But it needs work, for sure. The two ziploc bags on the floor are my templates, CM cutting system, Coluzzles, etc. They used to go on that shelf but they got kicked out when I bought some new blank albums.
After you walk in my scrap area and take a left, you’re looking at the window and my desk. That stack of paper with the black and white Jenni Bowlin on the top (love it!) is my December kit from Memory Works Express. I had it out of the box to look through it and never put it away. Under that are some other recent purchases: K&Co. Wild Saffron slab; DCWV cardstock pad with the jagged edges (what’s that called?), and two SIS tool packs that are empty. I had all my acrylic stamping stuff in one of them and it got full, so I bought an identical one when they were on a great sale at Tuesday Morning. Then I found the black tote at Michaels (you’ll see it later in the tour) for 40% off and moved all my stamps into the tote. Not sure if I’m liking it, so while I decide, the empty blue tool packs sit empty. The ribbon jars on the right look fine ~ I’ve managed to keep up with my ribbon this way, just tossing in any new ribbon I get right away. The large white box and another stack under the brown box (that you can’t see here) are picture frames from Costco that I bought about two months ago. Okay, let’s be honest, it’s been more like six months. I HATE the picture frames I have around my house right now and keep saying I will redo them, but there they sit. It just seems so intimidating to figure out which pictures I want to put in which frames, get them enlarged and/or converted to black and white, choose which pictures go where in the house, and hang them. I’m procrastinating big time on that one. The basket on the top right is full {bursting at the seams} with letter stickers. Even though I have a Cricut, I can’t seem to stop buying alpha rub-ons, Thickers, chipboard alphas and sometimes even sticker letters. Although I’m proud to say I don’t buy those much anymore because I know I won’t use them; I have years’ worth to use already. Although most of my letters are at least in one place (that basket), they definitely need to be purged and organized.
This is the top of my legal size filing cabinet. Inside is actually very organized, with all my greeting cards sorted by event; receipts, instruction books, etc in files; and office supplies like printer paper, extra cartridges, etc. Again, ribbon jars look good although they’re dusty on top. I purged magazines and idea books last time I did The Big Cleanup and now the stack is back! New magazines, idea books and other books that need to be purged or put away.
Here is the heart of the space, where i actually scrap, my L-shaped desk. With the missing front trim that never got put on because we didn’t follow the instructions properly when we put it together from the box. Once the desk was together, waaayyyy too much trouble to pull it apart again just to add some silly little trim. Anyway, you can see my black tool pack which holds many of my essentials – various adhesives, stylus, stapler, etc. The papers on top are envelopes from Christmas cards we’ve received so I can update my address list. I mean, really, that doesn’t even belong in here and that’s what happens a lot. If I want to straighten another area of the house, I just put things in here. Voila! We have a mess! On the right side are sticky notes and mailing supplies; my new ToteAlly Cool totes (larger for punches, Stickles, etc and smaller one for Cropadile, pens and scissors); the ever present Diet Coke. In the back are recently developed photos that have nowhere to go so I keep stuffing them back there. To the left is my ScrapRack which is very organized but too full so, see, the little K&Co. tags are falling out of the Christmas section. And my glorious new Basic Grey Magnetic Mats and faithful Cutterpede paper trimmer.
Here is my little corner with my stereo (new Pebbles Inc. Ribbon Iron on top cooling off because I just used it); high dollar printer and scanner that I never use; random Mike’s and Target stamps for long-overdue RAK’s; baby wipes to clean acrylic stamps; and my labeler which surprisingly gets a lot of use in my space. I’m very organized about being disorganized! The desk drawers have computer equipment, font and software CD’s, etc and are very organized but I don’t seem to go in there very much, so maybe that stuff could go elsewhere and open up some space for scrap-related things? The cupboard side contains my Cricut, mats, and cartridges on top, a bin with electrical cords, phone cords, power strip, etc on bottom. Again, why is that stuff in here? I do have an old laptop on my desk that I just use for journaling but I hardly ever use the accessories anymore so they could go in a closet or something. See, progress already!
Here is the rest of my desk. There is the black Michael’s tote I told you about. All my acrylic stamps, ink pads, alcohol inks, stamp cleaners, etc are in there. Behind the tote are: a bucket of Prima flowers I’m borrowing from a friend, my ink pens in Creative Memories Pen Holders, and random new products that need to be put away. The Colorbok paper pads under the black tote will be for sale, but I need to log them in my computer first. The pile on the left is mostly the stuff from my Secret Santa (thanks again!) and the right side pile is memorabilia to file and a new notebook for scrap ideas, to do lists, etc. (First entry should be: TO DO ~ Clean up your damn space!).
Wow, okay… Seeing your mess in a big full color photo is even MORE eye-opening, even MORE embarrassing and shocking. Deep breath. Count to 10. Breathe out through the nose. Yoga breaths, yoga breaths. Okay. I’m back. This is the table to the left of my desk (the far side of it is near the walkway we already saw). I brought this table in the last time I organized, thinking it would be extra space to work on big projects, sort my photos, or have a friend over to crop. Yeah, right. It’s become a primo dumping ground for the stuff I guess I just used to leave on the floor. On the table you can see more gingerbread jars which I’ve been dumping various embellies in that either need to be put away, or are prizes for crops. The 12×12 stack back there is mainly paper to file or put a price tag on. The white baskets I was using to display my products ~ one is empty, the other has in it two Memory Works Express Kits from May 2007. One is mine, one is for sale. There are papers and embellishments in a super large Ziploc, including a box of glitter chipboard letters from K&Co. which I need to keep bagged together to sale and/or act as a sample of the kit. The problem is that each of these kits comes with an alterable project and this one was a small paint can. I mean, jeez, how to you even store that?? I guess my lame answer is, “In a white plastic basket.” Down below the table are my very organized page kits in a white plastic crate, another jar, and a Target bag with a flattened postal box and some acrylic stamps to sell once I get them in the computer and price tags put on. At the bottom middle of the photo are two cardboard file boxes on the floor. Hiding under the bag of Figgy Pudding Card Kit stuff (with cards in progress) is one project box (album, papers, embellishments, photos and souveniers from a big trip we took in, yes, 2005). The other is a project box for my 2006 cruise album. Neither has even been touched in months, except to add or take papers from. What you can’t see is that the entire space under my desk is filled with bins of my old photo storage system (remember THIS POST about how I was going to re-do that?), altered projects to make (photo cubes, shadow boxes, etc.), and Christmas presents. I’ve been shoving gifts under there all year because it’s the perfect hiding place. Everyone is scared to come over here! Seriously, my DH sends the kids in to grab the wastepaper basket once in a while or he just yells over to me, “Hey, how’s your trash? Bring it here if it needs emptied, please.” Smart man. Very, very smart man.
This is just a close up of the jars on the table, and you can see the blue basket in the background where I’ve put some of the paper packs I have for sale. They are elsewhere in the house, but I have a total of two large blue bins (like the one on the table), two medium sized green ones, and two small blue ones. They are all filled with MW products for sale. The baskets themselves are organized, but I have nowhere in my scrap space to put them.
So, I have survived the ultimate in humiliation by showing you my ‘crap’ area. I mean, SERIOUSLY?? SERIOUSLY?? And why am I subjecting myself to this, you ask? Because that’s what it takes for me to get to work and get this place cleaned up again. Last time, I entered an Organization Challenge on the CK Message Board. This time, I’m sharing it here on my blog. Now I’m accountable (I mean, if you guys out there really care??) and I WILL get organized again. I’ve come to this conclusion: Now that I’m a scrapbook consultant and have to keep a lot of extra products and paperwork around, this space just isn’t big enough anymore.
Part One of My Plan: My wheels have been turning about how I can re-work this space, maybe somehow utilizing our guest bedroom/office also. I already got DH’s approval to get rid of the old king sized bed in there that takes up half of the room, yet only gets used about four times per year when my mom visits. (No worries, Mom, we’ll findya another place to sleep!).
Part Two of My Plan: I have two weeks off from work for the holidays. Granted, I could get busy with my ‘from home’ jobs, I have at least one scrapbooking event, and we may go out of town for a few days. But I think this is a great opportunity to spend some time getting my scrap area organized…once and for all…um, yeah, right! Do I have your support? You got any suggestions for the dilemmas I’ve shared? I challenge YOU to organize your scrapbooking area over the Christmas break, so post in Comments if you will join me. I would love it if you sent me some photos I could post of your before/after or link us to your blog showing same. DEADLINE IS SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2008 (‘cuz ya gotta have a deadline or else you won’t do it!)…
