Sunday, March 30, 2014

Summer fun

I tried something new with this layout.  I started with a kit from my 2013 stash.  (This is either Cocoa Daisy or Citrus Twist - I didn't save any paperwork on it.....)  I always feel the kits are so thin in the way of product and you have to purchase all of the add ons to get something decent to work with.  But then, I have drawers *full* of product I've purchased and hardly ever pull out and use.

I see everyone moving to this 'sort by color' way of organizing there rooms so I tried it.  I bought these cool 5x7 plastic bins at Michaels (pictures in another post) and sorted my drawers.  I can't tell you how many unopened product baggies are sitting in there.  Packs of journaling cards, overlays, dicuts and more.  I sat one night while watching Reign and sorted.

Then I came back to this already started layout and pulled my orange and blue plastic bins out.  I've never scrapped this way before.  I stuck with ONE paper line  or ONE kit.  There was no reasoning behind the fact that I pidgeon-holed myself into ONLY using the items in the kit.  This may not be a new concept to most people but it was to me.  Not anymore.  I had so much fun pulling stuff from here and there and not caring if it was a different manufacturer, if it matched, I pulled it out.

I *LOVE* creating in this fashion.  It freed my mind a little and I threw some really cool, layered layouts together.

Here's one.  A 2 pager no less.



Some up close shots.

 The tag is from the kit and its by Amy Tan.  I pulled 3 colors of DMC floss and stitched.  I loved the way the tag looked but it was also a very large 'space'.  I added flair, paper clips and more to dress it up.
 The sticker letters on this side are from Simple Stories.  They take on a whole new look when you add a very thin layer of Glossy Accents to them.
 Dog paper clip from Studio Calico, orange envelope from Fancy Pants, Happy Things tag from Chic Tags (paper is also Chic Tags), 'love' is from Jillibean Soup.
Sequins came in the kit and are from Lawn Fawn.

I used multiple flair pieces, all from different sets.

Linen Chevron
Linen Dots
Days of the week

Monday, March 24, 2014

On a roll


So, last weekend, I finally took the time to grab some photos of the rest of the layouts I'd finished since January.   Expect lots of sharing.
 This is using a Cocoa Daisy kit from 2013.  Have I mentioned I have a scary stash of kits?  Cocoa Daisy, Citrus Twist, Studio Calico and now Scraptastic.  I no longer sub to Studio Calico or Citrus Twist.  CD and Scraptastic seem to cover all my bases and offer me product I actually use.  I struggle to use SC's kits.
 The exclusive papers in this kit were perfect.  Cloud stamp paired with Glossy Accents = perfect accent.  Flair is from the A {Flair} for buttons shop.
Another layout using that Authentique (or Carta Bella paper).  Explore Oceanside.
 This is based off a sketch on my Pinterest boards.  The explore word is from Freckled Fawn maybe?  (I really shouldn't take things out of packaging....)  I used some Tim Holtz Distress Ink to stain the veneer and then added Glossy Accents over that to create a varnished wood look.

The chevron is stitched.  I used the Chevron Mist Template from Studio Calico to punch my holes and then stitched.  I just went with one big stitch instead of little ones.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

The theme for Rocky....


is playing in my head right now.  I'm on  a crafting roll. 
 This was created using remnants of a Cocoa Daisy kit.  Title was cut on my Cameo.  Bits and pieces are from the kit.  the 'documented' flair is from the A {Flair} for Buttons Etsy shop.


And this layout was created from another Cocoa Daisy kits from 2013.  This one featured some Elle's Studio papers.

 Enamel dots and Jillibean Soup letters.
Flair and May Arts ribbon.  You can pick up your own 'I *heart* my dog' flair in the shop.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Kit killer


I made a promise to myself when I purged my scrap room before the move.  Whatever I kept, I would attempt to use up.

I went to a weekend retreat in January and got 9 pages done.  Since then, I've completed a few more AND about 40 cards.  I killed 2 Studio Calico card kits from 2013.  Man does it feel good.  I'm not one of those people who puts themselves on a spending freeze.  I could never do that.  I like to buy the new supplies too much.

CHA stuff is slowly rolling out which means its the perfect time to use up as much of the old as possible.

 This is an awesome line from Authentique.  Or maybe Carta Bella.  (I can't seem to find the line anywhere to verify.)
 I added the hand stitching for the title and an Evalicious tag from a Cocoa Daisy kit.
 I stuck a little flair in there too.  
 Anchor and bird are both stitched.  I was trying to tie the nautical theme together.


 This was created with a Studio Calico kit.  I don't even keep track of them anymore.  I used the SC speech bubble misting template to set up the speech bubble area.  I hand stitched around each one and then filled some of them with folded bits of paper.  Words to describe my son at 6 years old are on the outside with hidden journaling inside.
 More flair on this one.  Random bits from past assignments.  I tend to pick up sets because I like 1-2 of the pieces from the set.  I hold on to the rest and sort them by type (see previous post) hoping that one day I find a place for them on a project.  These are from 3 different sets from the shop.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Tour of my new room

Its almost done.  I still need to do a few small things and figure out the storage for some new things but for the most part, its done.

 This is a loft area so it is open but its tucked away in the front of the place so its really cut off from the rest of the house.  We put the desk in there for now - it may move later but for now, it works.
 As you walk in, I have my 2x4 Expedit, my old kitchen hutch and then a 2x2 Expedit.

 The top 4 cubes of the Expedit are ALL kits.  A mix of Studio Calico, Cocoa Daisy and Citrus Twist.  This is half of my kit stash.  Right before the move, I purged and got rid of kit pieces I knew I would never use.  Big floral papers and butterfly embellishments.  There was no reason I needed to move them when there was a 75% chance I would never use them.  I used to keep them 'just in case' I decided to make a feminine card but lets face it, my brain rejects anything girlie so they had to go.  Some lucky buyer was the recipient of 20 pounds of excess scrapbook stuff.
 Below the kits, I have a bin that holds all of my twine.
 And my rolls of May Arts ribbon and jute.
 One for my card supplies.  8.5x11 paper, envelopes, cards in progress etc.
 And my Thickers/Sticker Letter bucket.  Another victim of the big purge.  I still have WAY too many but these are all of my favorites.  Tucked on the side are some Heidi Swapp acrylic letter packs and those awesome MME sheets of tiny alphas.  I may have bought extra through one of the kit clubs one month because these are just awesome and they come in multiple colors per pack.
 On the top of the hutch are two Antonius baskets from Ikea.  This is one area I need to work on.  I want to organize and consolidate my Project Life supplies.  I've seen people organize by color and I think thats how I need to do it.  So this is a project for one of those days where I want to play with my craft supplies but may not feel very creative.  For now, the lose items and cards from kits go up there until I can sort.  I will merge my actual PL kits into this when its done.
 Another view of the hutch.......
 Second shelf of the hutch holds magazines and idea books.  The black spiral things are classes.  When I spend the money on a class ( like at Studio Calico or 2 Peas) I print out the pdf's at work and coil bind them.  Plastic covers and all.  I want the contents to stay nice.  Its also a perk of working for a print company.
 The main shelf of the hutch holds a new bin from Target.  It holds my larger sets of stamps in the Avery Elle pockets.  At some point, I may organize and add dividers but I don't have too many now to worry about.  I'm slowly transitioning the larger sets from my Martha Stewart binders (see below) to these pockets.  Smaller stamps will stay in the Martha Binders.
 I'm almost embarrassed to post these two pictures.  The drawers of the hutch hold my extra adhesive.  I must be expecting a strike at the Therm-o-web factory because I purchased a bunch.  You know, when stuff is on sale, you can't resist buying it because, well, its on SALE!  And since I didn't craft for almost 4 months, but saw adhesive deals during that long period, I bought some.  I'm sad because they switched the packaging from the larger green case to the smaller one.  Same adhesive, just less and a smaller package.  And then there is my Glossy Accents addiction.  There is a little joke in my house about me applying Glossy Accents to the walls of the house one day.  My husband is scared whenever he sees a bottle of this lying around because he knows I'm up to no good!
 The side drawers of the hutch hold some fun small stuff.  Its out but not 'out out'.  Not getting dusty in other words.  Top shelf holds Mod Podge, water colors, chalkboard paint etc.
 The middle shelf holds a lot of my wood veneer and lose chipboard.  I have more chipboard in another spot, but this is out of the box/package.  The bowls are from Crate and Barrell.  I wish I had picked up 6 more but the glass containers from Bed, Bath and Beyond work just as well.
 Bottom shelf holds more wood veneer, cork etc.  The other bin is lose ribbon and twine.  I started off buying the twine by the yard and realized I was using it enough to warrant buying the spools.  Problem is, I use the spools and forget this basket.  So its here to remind me  to use it more.
 The 2x2 Expedit next to the hutch holds mostly paper and mini albums.
 On the top from l to r: Cardstock, Pottery Barn tray, Martha Stewart binders.  The Pottery Barn tray was purchased with a gift card.  Someone got me $25 and nothing in Pottery Barn is $25.  They had this one clearance though, tucked away.  It was $30.  It holds my Martha Stewart binders.  I purchased a bunch of different inserts and they hold my stamps.  Those singleton stamps you get in kits or the little 3x3 sets.  For now, there are some 4x6 and 5x7 sets in there but they are slowly migrating over to the Avery Elle pockets in the other bin.  The big blue binder holds more stamps.  Again, a project.  I'm trying to get rid of that and combine everything into the Martha binders and the Avery Elle pockets.
 Below that is my paper.  Another victim of the big purge.  I had two Cropper Hopper rolling file holders full of paper.  In addition, was the paper I kept buying that didn't fit in either one because they were so full.  I liked the file folders because I could file by company.  They are filed in the new Cropper Hopper Vertical storage by company - I just need to find my labeler and label them.  I will be spreading them out a little more as I add in things that were purchased during my 'hiatus'.
The bottom bins hold mini albums and other bits.  Things that don't fit anywhere else.  I also have an addiction to mini albums and tend to buy them.  I hardly ever use them!  I have started though.
 My desk.  At the old house, I have the Linmonn (or whatever) desk with one set of Alex drawers.  During the move, I purchased a second set.  Since I was downsizing on the furniture side but couldn't downsize the same with actual content, I still needed a place to store 'stuff'.  Adding the second set was the best idea.  I have the longest tabletop at 72 inches (I think).
 This will eventually be hung on the wall.  My Michaels white organizer purchased with one of their awesome 50% off coupons.  My washi stash was purged.  I found duplicates of some patterns.  Scary.

I kept the patterns and colors I would work with or have worked with the most.  So much easier.
 My sequin stash.  Still looking for the best organizers for these.  I broke down and purchased the Studio Calico Color Theory sequin packs.  Yikes!  They are awesome and come with 3 different shapes/sizes. Just trying to figure out how best to store them but they will end up in those two holes.
 My other sequin packs and my small mist collection.  I used to have EVERY Studio Calico Mister Huey but found I never used them.  So I sold those off and kept the ones I do use a lot.
 My small wood mounted stamp collection.  These used to hide in a drawer but I left them out so I would use them more.
 My flair box and clips.  Paper clips are in the yellow and green bowls.  Thanks to places like 2 Peas, Freckled Fawn and Websters Pages for creating such cute paperclips.
 Okay, so my flair.  I'm on the DT for the Etsy shop A {Flair} for Buttons.  Man do I love some flair.  I've been a hoarder of flair for a while.  I use them a lot.  My collection is quite large and it grows frequently.  I have another container for misc flair that I get in kits, from purchases etc.  But, ALL of my AFFB stuff goes in here.  I tried to break it down by a category.  Makes it easier to find the kind of flair I'm looking for.   Shelley just added a bunch of new flair to the shop this week.  Some of those sets are on their way to me.

 At the other end of my desk is the Cameo.  I sold my SD and purchased the Cameo.  I'm glad I did.  My SD was nice.  I used it a few times but I felt like the 8.5x11 size kind of stifled me a little.  It collected dust sitting under my old desk.  Not good.  I've since used the Cameo multiple times.  I don't know what it is about the 12x12 size but my brain doesn't shut down.  This is the other reason the computer desk was put in here.
My little DVD player is there too.  I pop in a movie some nights and others I let my iTunes roll on the Mac behind me.
 On to the Alex drawers.  What all did I put there?

Extra cutting tools.  Hole punches, blades for my trimmer, Crop-a-dile etc.  I keep my most used items in a cup on my desk.
 Drawer 1 of 2.  Inks & embossing powders
 Drawer 2 of 2.  Inks and embossing powders
 Extra trimmers and my heat embosser.
 PL kits waiting to be broken up, what few punches I have left (all sold in the great purge) and my Epiphany Crafts tools.
 Other set of drawers holds embellishments.  Some chipboard and lumpy stickers, frames and other doodads.
 More stickers and dimensional things (like flair) and 3D stickers
 Diecuts, tags and journaling cards.  Mostly smaller cards.
 More wood veneer and larger packs of journaling cards.
 Larger chipboard sheets and large journaling cards/papers.
And finally the desk.  Its a work in progress still.  Its the Micke desk from Ikea.
My new room.  I tried to link up anything you may want to purchase.