8 things about me you probably didn't know

On Facebook, a friend posted 8 things about herself that we probably didn't know and challenged us all to do the same...so I thought Id also post it in here.

1. My 1st love was our 1st cat, Hobo. Santa brought him to our house Christmas eve when I was 6 & it made me believe in Santa longer because I "knew" that my father would never bring home a kitten (or cat) and since my mother couldn't drive, there was no other explanation of how the kitten got there other than from Santa. I miss having a cat around.

2. My #1 favourite movie is The Sound of Music I went to it for the 1st time when I was in grade 4 and it was my 1st field trip. I also really enjoyed going to the Sing-A-Long version and saw it live in Toronto & I'm looking forward to the live tv-version of it on NBC early this December!

3. Traveled, a wee bit ... Australia, Cook Islands, Bali, Japan, Greece, London, Mexico, Several places on 2 separate bus tours of Europe , Several places in US & Canada. I really REALLY miss travelling!

4. I don't eat fish (and yes, that includes anything that lives in and around the water...shrimp, lobster, oysters, clams, octopus....its all disgusting).

5. Took organ lessons starting in Grade 2 and continued until I started some after-school part-time teaching organ beginning when I was in Grade 8. Also play the clarinet and took saxophone lessons.

6. I can NOT ride a bike 

7. Love snorkeling but I'm way too afraid to scuba dive.

8. I used to be able to type at 110 WPM (maybe more, can't remember - its been awhile & I'm not that fast now).

2013 Christmas Card

I'm not a big card maker, but I do make cards for Christmas.  This year I'm feeling lazy so instead of making 50 cards, I'm just going to make as many as I make and the rest of the people on my card list just get a purchased card.  We typically send out around 50 cards and maybe get 20 in return...so instead of going through all that effort for people that can't even bother to send us a note, I'm making less cards.

Here's this year's card.  The skate and mat are both from winter woodland and the banner is from Artiste (I think).  There is a small purple stripe near the patterned paper.  The skate boot has Martha Stewart chunky glitter and the blade is Martha Stewart silver glitter and the skate is popped up with 1 layer of foam tape.  Ink is Stampin up.

Scrapbook Layout - 2010 You make me Smile

I do a layout like this for each year - its shows PJ with various silly, smiling faces...I have a bazillion photos every year and this is a way to get a ton of them into the album without making too many pages.

I think that all of the cuts are from Phrases...but not 100% sure.

Scrapbook Layout - 2010 Field Trip

He wasn't too sure about getting on the bus or where we were going, but when he saw the things to climb on, I thought he'd be excited...but no...he just wanted to play with the bathroom doors.  SIGH...anyway, he had fun in his own way.

Sorry for the nasty photos...but I'm to lazy to re-take them.  Both of the cuts are from Locker Talk.

Scrapbook Layout - 2010 Recess

I got to the school early to pick PJ up for lunch and they were all out playing in the play ground.  It was fun to watch these preschool kids following each other around and taking turns on the slide.

All of the cuts are from Locker Talk

Scrapbook Layout - 2010 wiggly birthday

Patrick was really into the Wiggles in 2010 so we had a Wiggly themed birthday party.  All his friends came over and they all seemed to have a great time. I had a cupcake cake with blue icing...and all the kid's faces were covered in blue dye....lol! 

Looks like I used a couple of different fonts....and the circles were all put through different cuttlebug embossing folders. - basic!

Scrapbook Layout - 2010 Play the Day Away

PJ and his friends attended their last Kindermusik class before going into preschool.  We decided to take them to a playground for some fun.  The kids all had fun...I didn't - PJ wasn't interested in the playground and instead would BOLT to the busy street OR to our car - so I spent the day chasing him around.

They layout was something I found from pinterest.  I used cuttlebug on clouds and copic pens or inck on the pieces.  I can't go back and see which cartridges were used because my gypsy had to be reformated BUT,I do remember that the tree with tire swing was from pop-up neighbourhood (well, I think that's where it was).  The kite is from EDPD

Scrapbook Layout - 2010 Halloween

These are photos from school and home during Halloween.

The title on the 1st page is from Happy Hauntings (I think) and the spiders on the bottom are welded and are from TC Chic and Scary

 

Pretty sure that all the cuts are from the Teresa Collins Chic and Scary cart

Scrapbook Layout - 2010 Grumpy Boy

Kiddo was angry at me because I turned on the tv (huh?)...and then got REALLY mad once I whipped out the camera...LOL!!!

Title is from Mickey Font and Grumpy is from Happily Ever After

Another boring one...I need help with scrapbooking...oh well.

Scrapbook Layout - 2010 Building Fun

In 2010, my brother and father built a play set in our back yard - swing, slide, rock climbing wall - fun.  These are some of the photos taken during the construction.

The font is from Art Deco & the construction stuff is from handyman...and are glittered...I don't know why...I was just into glitter and couldn't resist.  OH, and the film strips are from Movie Night.

Another boring one done...but its done.

Scrapbook Layout - 2010 Iced Tea

I needed a matching side to the Easter one..so, here it is.  Kid decided he loves my Starbucks Iced tea Lemonade and chugged that whole venti!  The drink is from Block Party and the font is from Calligraphy collection.

Another boring one...but its done.

Scrapbook Layout - 2010 Easter

I think I'm finally working on photos from 2010 - this layout is for Easter.

Donald is from Mickey and Friends and the title is from "Phrases" - both cuts are popped up and I used chalk to put a bit of color onto the bunnies (in the title) - pretty boring, but its done.

Scrapbook Layout - 2009 Delightful

I don't do many single photo pages but I had 1 spare spot in my 2009 album that needed a layout...so here it is....and I'm pretty sure I didn't use any cricut stuff at all - it was all hand cut...except for the stamp shape, is a die from The Stamps of Life.

Scrapbook Layout - 2009 Bath Time

Here's a page about bath time.  PJ always hated baths, but finally, he tolerates them enough to crack a smile during it.  I used different embossing folders on the title, seaweed & coral - FUN!  I also pop-dotted the coral and the fish.

All of the fish and seaweed and coral is from Best of Pixar.  Not sure where bath time came from...I probably welded a font.  Since I had to re-format my Gypsy, I can't look back at the files to figure it out.

Scrapbook layout - 2009 The Stockings were Hung AND Holiday Hugs

Here's 2 layouts from 2009 Christmas:

BOO - I see that I haven't done my journalling on this page....ARRGH. The individual stockings are from the Jolly Holidays cartridge and the title is from Winter Frolic,  The grey cuts are shiny ... but you can't tell from the photos.

This one's title is also from Winter Frolic and the single poinsettia is from Joys of the Season.  Again, the grey paper is shiny, but not showing up.  This was the 1st and only year PJ cooperated in having his photo taken with all family members.

Week 30 - Enjoy your beautiful and organized new room

TEE HEE we should be done now...ha ha ha  The original post is HERE.

OH MAN...I wish I had a space to decorate!  I'd keep it fairly neutral and then have a few accessories that are, well,...blue...big surprise...blue.  I'd like to have enough space that I'd be able to use some of it to display photos or pretty things, a nice clock...rather than just used for storage.

Enjoy your new, beautiful, organized crafting space - I know I will...IF I EVER GET ONE!  ;)

Week 29 - Albums

This is a new step from last year since I didn't notice it as a separate item in the original girl's posting of organizational steps.

I have no idea how they should be stored...flat...standing up...what?  I have mine flat but it does make it difficult to look at the one on the bottom...so I really don't look at them at all.  They are also different color albums...although the colors kind of make sense - green is pre-baby, light blue is a holiday album, yellow is baby's 1st year albums...you get the idea.

I'd love for them to all be the same with labels on the spines and standing up...like books...but that would take too much work and I don't have the space to have them standing up and displayed and able to be looked at.  All that work and effort and no one can flip through them.

Week 28 - Cards and card making supplies

Another small post for me...see the original post here.

I keep all handmade cards that I receive and they all fit nicely in a photo box from Michaels - and still have lots of room to grow.  I don't make alot of cards - really only for Christmas and one-off thank-you notes - so I pretty much only make the quantity I need - so nothing to store.

The original poster has a lot of ideas - please go look if you have a lot of cards to deal with. 

Week 27 - FONTS

This post (original post is here) is about organizing your computer fonts.

She says to NOT install all fonts (which I started to do already) - it slows down your system.  She suggests if you have thousands of fonts to maybe have folders for the different types - san serif, blah blah.  I don't have thousands (well, I'm not really sure)...and she suggests to get "the font thing" for organizing (which doesn't work with Vista) - which I also have...but I don't think I've used.

She says to unzip any fonts and put all fonts in their one location.  I have all my fonts in 1 location, but I think I've kept them all in their zip file....hmmm.  She says to print them out so you have them in 1 location and can look at them easily and see which ones you want to use.

Remember to back-up your font file - wouldn't it suck if you lost your fonts when/if your hard drive crashed?! I lost my personal printing font because our computer crashed...boo hoo.

Currently I only really use 2 or 3 of my available fonts, so I'm just going to leave it alone.

Week 26 - clean?

HA HA....see the original post here....keeping it neat...baa ha ha ha ha ha.

She suggests that when you purchase new things, they can only go into your workspace if you immediately put it where it belongs - ha ha .. when I get something new, the bag lands on the floor!  I clearly need to get my act together.

She also says that after you finish a project, you can't start another until cleaned up everything from the current project..oopps...I fail on that one too.  I keep all the 'scraps' from the project in a pile...which I add new scraps from the next project and so on until there isn't any room...THEN I put them away.  I guess I'll have to try to stop that.  Have a pristine workspace before you start the next project...BAA HA HA HA!  I barely have room to work on a current project...there's no place for pristine...see, I NEED a scrapbook area!

She also talks about organizing your albums.  If you want to keep them together (I like that), they don't have to be in your craft area.  Gee - I wish that I had a place I could put them that wasn't in my craft area, but I don't.  She changed all her albums so they look identical...DROOL DROOL!  I would love that....but alas, its not a priority....she even has the spine labeled...wow...what a concept...I have to open an album to see what is in it...except those that are obvious from the album cover.  I also have mine stacked, rather than like books - not sure why, but I think its because I didn't want to waste the space that the 12x12 album didn't fill...if I stack them, I can get more in the space.

IF I ever get a scrapbook space...I'm going to try to get all my albums identical...but I dread the thought of the work required to do it...as it is now, I wait until I have an entire album's worth of pages ready before I fill an album - that's one part of scrapbooking I hate - filling the albums.

Week 25 - Negatives

WOO HOO - I have all of my negatives D.O.N.E - Well, I think that I do and I started working on this a long LONG time ago - before I got my digital camera and I had so many negatives and they were driving me crazy, so I bought negative sleeves that fit in a regular binder and spent hours and hours organizing them and labeling them...and the 3" binder is FULL - but it sure is easier to deal with 1 binder than bags and bags of negatives....and...and

See the original post here.

Week 24 - Memorabilia

I always come home from trips with a big envelope FULL of pamphlets, tickets and other memorabilia from trips.  I just recently purchased an accordion file box with a handle, to put these kinds of things in.  I'm going to keep items sorted by trip...I can't think of any reason to do it any other way.  I haven't put all memorabilia in it yet...but as I accumulate new things (like stuff from PJ's school), I'm putting them in.

The original post is here.

Week 23 - Templates

Templates - seems easy enough...sort by type or by theme...done.  I have a few Coluzzles and a few deluxe cut layout templates (which are now discontinued), some lettering templates and I think a few other templates (for folding).  The ones that are letter size, are stored in the same place as my nestabilities (binder) and my Deluxe cut ones & alphabet ones are in a bag near my crop bags (I used to use them a lot, so had them in a really convenient place).

See the original post here when she has links of ideas on how to store these.  I guess I have to figure out if I want to keep them....they don't take up a lot of room, but if I'm not using them...why are they here?

Scrapbook layout - 2010 Fun with Papa

PJ took his 1st escalator ride with Papa - he loved it and they had to go up and down the same one several times. 

I had to reformat my Gypsy so all my files are gone...so knowing which carts were used will be a challenge.  I believe the font is Out of Character and the frame is from fancy frames...but I could be totally wrong.

Week 22 - Dies for Die cutting machines

This is yet ANOTHER easy one for me...other than embossing folders, I think I have 3 dies - and they came with the cuttlebug...so I don't really have an issue with this.  I'm SO GLAD that I held off on die cutting systems until the cricut was born...I certainly wouldn't have had room for all of those wooden dies...NOR the cute little metal ones...that, and I like to be able to change the sizes...so dies are so NOT my thing.  Actually, I do have a couple more dies that match with a stamp set...and they are kept together with all my stamps

Having said that...I do, however, have some nestabilities that I have N.E.V.E.R used!  They are stored in pocket pages on magnetic sheets (looks like slide-in photo sleeves) and are in a binder somewhere in the room - and I think there might be a mailing pouch full of unopened ones...somewhere in here...I really need to determine if I'll bother keeping them or not.  I can see they could be useful...but because of my limited space, they are out of sight because they'd be too hard to use (I don't even have room to use my cuttlebug for embossing).

See the original post about this here and she has several links for ideas on storing these bulky items.

Week 21 - Pens and Pencils

Did you notice how these are getting shorter and shorter....I guess I don't have very much to organize because a lot of these topics don't apply to me (or apply, but because I have so few of the items, I currently don't have a storage issue with them).  

So...in my pea-sized brain...these should be stored by type.  She does mention by color - but that just seems odd to me, probably because I have so few.  I do, however, have my copics together....AND by color...ha ha!

I have a couple of watercolor pencil sets and they are still in their packages and stored that way (and are currently buried in those iris storage keepers ... and now that I think of it, I also have some markers from Michaels that I bought a long time ago...hmmm...I wonder if they are all dried up - they weren't that special.

The original post about this is here.  She includes links to various ideas on how to store these items.

This is what I do with my copics - I originally had them in unused baby wipe boxes, but they were cumbersome and I wanted something easier to transport.  THEN I put them in the plastic clam-shell boxes that used to hold my Stamping Up stamps (I have them all removed from the wood, so I didn't need any of that any more).  They were fine...BUT I found these fantastic boxes with a lid in the bead aisle at Michaels and I LOVE them!!! 

Since I took that photo - its changed a bit...I bought 1 more container and use 4 of the narrow sections so I have them sorted better (by color) and moved the larger section with the other larger section to put my Stampin Up Ink spots in it.  LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Week 19 - Chipboard

HA HA HA - this is going to be a S.M.A.L.L post - I don't have ANY chipboard!

The original post about this step is HERE.

She talks about whether you keep them in the form that you buy them in or pop them out of their holder and store based on image or manufacturer.  I just don't "get" organizing anything by manufacturer...probably because I just buy what I like and that goes together, regardless of the "manufacturer".  I know the minute I change and actually care about this, the manufacturer that I like will go out of business and I'll be pi$$ed off.  

I think its obvious that chipboard alphabets need to be on their own/together...and I guess people have full sheets of chipboard too (which, I must confess, I had some, but I used it and they are gone...I couldn't cut them properly on my expression and I just don't have the patience or desire to figure it out)....she suggests to store them like paper...which makes sense to me (not that anyone cares what I think about this, since I don't "have" chipboard).

Her post is really long about this...so please go look there if you want more info about "methods" of storage.

Week 20 - Diecuts

Another quick one for me...now that I have a cricut, I only cut what I need rather than having stashes of die cuts.  I do, however, have a 12x12 paper mailing box (aka, pizza box) full of some that I purchased long before I got a cricut.  There are several duplicates because I bought them from a company that was going bankrupt and thought...heh, if we have a 2nd child, I'd want to have these cute things in both scrapbooks...so, we only have 1 kid, so now I have duplicates - I also have 2 Santa stockings...so they would coordinate if we had the 2nd kid...sigh.  Anyhow, back to the real discussion....the original post about organizing die cuts is here.

Oh, I actually do have a few more die cuts - ones that I made with my cricut.  Last year when we renewed our membership in the circle, they gave you access to ALL of their digital cuts for free for a certain amount of time.  While a nice gesture, it was odd for me because how do I know what color (or size) to cut things out as when I'm not at the point of scrapbooking those particular photos.  I did cut a few more generic things and and I have all of them saved in plastic baggies.

She talks about how you will organize them...which might be the same way as you organize other embellishments...theme, type, color...whatever.    I think I'd put them by theme...unless they weren't theme related, then probably by color.  She, as always, has links to various ideas for storage.

SO...go at them...dig them out, organize them...and if there are some old and nasty ones - get rid of them!!

have a great week!

Scrapbook layout - 2010 Dinosaurs

In 2010 we took a trip the Calgary.  One of our stops was to the zoo - its a lovely zoo!  Part of the zoo has dinosaurs in it.  I had always wanted to try a layout that had a scene in it, but I find them difficult because I have so many pictures that I want to use.  I though this dinosaur one would be a good way to try because even though I had some nice photos of the dinosaurs, they were kind of boring (and not real dinos).

Everything in this layout was done using the dinosaur tracks cartridge - which PC stupidly discontinued - its a great cartridge.  I also used some cuttlebug folders on the dinosaurs, the lava & trees.  I also whipped out my copic markers to do edging around all the die cuts and also used different brown/grey inks on the mountains.  I have everything popped out with pop-dots.  The shortest mountain on the 1st page has 3 layers of pop dots, so sticks out quite far form the page.  Before I glued on the mountains, I crunched the paper a bit to keep it from looking so flat and then when I put ink on, the edges in the scrunches took on the ink very well.  For the large tree, I put a tiny pop-dot under the bottom few parts of the tree trunk and curled out the edge - which doesn't show up in the photo.

I think I may need to get a cloud or something...but I still have to put a journaling spot somewhere. I may go back and try to edge the grey dino with black because he's blending into the mountain.  I also plan to string the title together with string...but I wanted to "finish" it so I could get it into a circleville contest.

Week 18 - Tools and Adhesives

Because everyone has different tools, it could be a hard one to describe on what to do about them.  The original post is HERE.

She talks about methods of organizing them...by size,  frequency of use, or function.  So, do you keep your embossing supplies with the heat gun or keep all tools together.  She suggests that if you go to crops a lot - then have 2 sets of tools you use all the time and keep one in your crop bag.  She has added several links to different storage ideas.

For me, tools that I use a lot are on my workspace OR in my crop bag.  I have 2 paper trimmers - one that stays in my crop bag and one in my work area.  My embossing stuff is with my heat gun.  All my ATG refills are together as are all my zig 2-way glues and my pop dots - so I guess I kind of keep like things together with SOME items duplicated in my crop bag (like I have spare ATG refills and zig 2-way and pop dots in there too).

Week 17 - Punches

I have very FEW punches.  In fact, whilst I was in my clean-up the scrap area mood back when this all started, I put a bunch of HONKING huge punches in my give-away box...and they are still there.  The original post is HERE.

The orignal poster has, as always, a bunch of links for ideas on how to store punches.  She reminds us that they are really heavy, so something sturdy is best.  She also mentions that if you have them cateloged so that they are easy to find within your system, then you don't really need them out and displayed.  I have mine in a photo box (or 2?) from Michaels. There is 1 punch that didn't fit, so its sitting on top of the photo box.

She provides a link to a punch organization cataloging system (downloadable) which looks very handy.

SO - off you go...organize your punches!

Week 16 - Paint, Glitter & Stickles

SO...this should be another easy one for me.  The original post (which you can see  HERE) says...if you don't have a lot of these items, you can put them in a pretty container and you are done.

I have NO paint whatsoever.  I have a couple sets of MS glitter plus a few larger jars of MS glitter & I have it organized in a box with a handle. 

For Stickles - I also don't have a lot - some of them are in a small baby-slipper container that has a handle and zipper.  Others are upside down in a "stickle" container - which is like this photo - except I didn't get the box or the lid...and I'm not sure I like it because it takes up WAY more room than the stickles did in the 1st place. 

The original blog, as usual, has a bunch of links to storage ideas.  I did, however, find at the scraprack that they had a product that seems to be something that would be better suited to my situation....but since I have so few stickles...and I already wasted $ on that 1st idea, I think I'll hold off on getting this one.  I don't use stickles...I love how they look on people's projects, but when I use it, it always looks lame - is there a trick that everyone knows except me?

Week 15 - Ink, Ink Pads and Embossing

Hmmm - didn't we do this one already - or rather...I already did this one...ha ha.  The original post is HERE.

HA HA HA - at the beginning of her post she says we are 1/2 way done cleaning our room - and we should take a step back and look at all the progress we made.  SO...I step back, trip over the piles and see that I haven't accomplished too much....boo hiss!  I guess I can access my paper, copics, ink and photos way easier - so visually, nothing is accomplished, but accessibility, there IS actually accomplishment - I'll hold onto that! ;)

She includes a lot of links for lots of ideas on how to store inks and ink pads.  I don't have a lot and the few that I have are cheap ones from Michael's and they are stored in a clear iris box 12x12 box.  I do, however, have some Stampin Up ink spots that I have put in a carrying box along with my Tim Holtz Distress ink pads and my cat eye spots (I think that's what they are called).  I like to have these kind of supplies in something that can be carried (its basically the larger sections of the bead-boxes that I'm using for my copics) because its easier if I need it for a crop (and easier to put away in this tiny space of mine).  This is one of the ink containers - the other one just has my Stampin Up spots in it and I didn't take a photo of it.

My embossing powders are also in clear iris 12x12 box - I don't have very many and they are, again, cheap from Michael's.  I don't use them hardly at all (like, never)...so its one area where I may have to purge...since its taking up space (as little space as its taking up, its still space).

Week 14 - Crop Supplies

The original blogger talks about how to organize your scrap stuff when you attend a lot of crops - but she doesn't go into a lot of detail, although she does provide a few links.  The entire post is HERE.

She mentions that it would be a good idea that if you had a 'caddy' for your tools - that you could have it on your desk when at home an then just carry it out to your crop ... and all your tools are available in the same device.  This is great because you don't have to pack/unpack your tools...and end up at the crop without an important one (like I did once...I forgot my paper trimmer...which is odd, because I have THREE!).  If I ever get a proper scrapping room, I think I'll invest in one of those...but as it exists now, I don't have table top space for something like that.

Another key is to NOT bring your entire stash with you.  Plan what you are going to work on and only bring that.  I've been doing this awhile - I pre-plan/design pages to work on...then make all the cricut cuts I need, run small cuts through the xyron and place them all, with the relevant photos and papers I'd like to use and put them in a protective sleeve/tote.  I try to make more then I think I can get through, just in case some of the layouts aren't flowing well, then I'll still have something to work on.  

I think a LOT of people need this advice - it never fails that I see people (and I mean PEOPLE - not just 1 person) at crops with several HUGE storage bins of supplies and it truly looks like enough quantity that she would be able to have EVERYTHING that I have in my stash in those bins.  They maybe pull out  a couple of things out of each bin...and then have to haul it back to their vehicles.  I mean, really, do you need ALL your stamps, ALL your ink, ALL your paper, ALL your embellishments, ALL, ALL, ALL...?  If I'm cropping at a scrapbook store, sometimes I only bring my tools and photos...and purchase paper while I'm there!

Anyhow, I don't "GO" to a lot of crops myself ... anymore.  I used to go to crops every month or so (and they were DOOZIES - we'd start at 5pm and end at 5 am - after already being at work that day from 8am - 4:30pm), but now I'm lucky if I get to go 2 times a year.  It is a HUGE TREAT to get to attend a crop - time away from the crushing routine that is my life.   I mainly have my scrappy friends over to our house.  Having said that, I still "pack" for a crop.  The only time I work on my scrapbook is when I'm with my scrappy friends - so I really leave all my supplies in the bags that I haul down the stairs to our table (or to the car).  I guess, other than having pre-planned pages ready to work on, I'm ready to crop at a moment's notice (ha ha).

Week 13 - Stamps

Here's a big one for some people - I, again, don't have a lot of these since I'm not much of a stamper.  The original post on this...HERE.

I did/do have a few Stampin Up packages, but I've since unmounted all of them (well, maybe most of them, its been awhile) and have them stored in a 3" binder.  BUT, in January, I changed my storage to 2 pretty useful box which is easier to reach.  The binder was up too high for me to reach, so I never bothered to, so now that they are accessible, I hope that I'll actually use them with my scrapbook pages.

She suggests to pull out ALL your stamps and see what you have - maybe some duplicates, maybe some that you now hate and can donate etc.  She lists a bunch of questions that you can answer that might lead you toward the storage method that will work best for your stamping personality.   All the questions seemed like they would help, but since my stamping personality is non-existent, I didn't bother with it.

She does talk about converting all your stamps to cling method - which is what I decided a couple of years ago.  I won't even buy a wood stamp any more.  She includes a TON of links to show storage ideas for each "type" of stamp (foam, wood, acrylic).  

What I do like is that she catelogues all her stamps so she knows what she has...I would LOVE to do this, but I worry that I would tire of the process and not complete it (kinda like I did with the unmounting stamp process).  One day, when I have my perfect (or at least larger) scrapbook area) I will do that!  I promise!

WEEK 12 - Ribbon, Thread & Fiber OH MY

Yet another topic I don't have a lot of...Ribbon, Thread, Fiber - the original post is HERE.

She suggests to remove the products from the original packages and put them on something so they are all the same size and thus, easier to store.  She mentions that you can organize by size or type or color.  I have most of my embellishments sorted by colors...and it includes these items.  They are all still in their original packages...but mainly because I don't have a lot - I would totally want them all wound on their own matching paper bobbin - but its not worth it for the tiny quantity that I have.

She has a T.O.N. of links for storage ideas....please take a look!

WEEK 11 - Non-Alpha stickers & rub-ons

SO, this week is similar to the last one...hmmm.  Anyway...the original post is HERE.

She talks about purging some of your stickers/rub ons...so, if you find stickers from back when stickers first came out for scrapbooking (you know the ones...the Sandy Lion ones that seemed so amazing at the time...until Joelee's etal showed up) you probably won't ever use them (we all want the NEW thing...right)...so give them away or let your kids play with them...but get them OUT!

Organize them by type or manufacturer.  I only have a few stickers and they are all for kids and I have them all in 2 boxes...and they are both unused pizza boxes...so basically, I have nothing to do with this item either.  PHEW!

WEEK 10 - Alphas

This challenge is about organizing anything that's letters/alphas - and the original post is here.

She talks about the different types (rub-ons, stickers etc).  You can organize by type or by color..she has a bunch of links for ideas on how to store them.

I don't have any of these things because I use my cricut for all lettering.

WEEK 9 - Embelishments

Hmm...I need a way to have my embellishments out so that I remember to use them...but I don't have room...hmmm.

The original post about this topic is HERE

She starts with - how do you want to organize them - color or type?  I think I'm both - I want each type organized by color...but maybe I AM more of a color person...hmmm....I'll have to think about that because I currently have them by type then color....maybe that's why I'm not using them that much?  Wait...I actually have them by color (except buttons - which are so plentiful, that they are together because there isn't room in each "color" box to include the amount of buttons of that color.  GEE...I better go and look how I have them - when I bought all the white photo boxes, I filled them up with embellishments...so I better check it out - and label the boxes - I can see that there are 4-5 white boxes that have no label - bad girl!

She has a ton of links of embellishment storage ideas.  Every and any kind of embellishments you can imagine, she has organized and the photos indicate that she might as well open a LSS in her house!

So, what I have is white photo boxes and the embellishments are by color.  I do, however, have all my buttons in one photo box (each color group in their own baggie).

Here is where they are sitting (three boxes of embelishments).

This is the reach from - I have to get OVER the imagine to reach way over to those boxes...long for me.

 So...I decided to move those white boxes over to beside where that brown paper is above (which is where I have 3 completed albums).  Heres that space now with albums

Here is where the white boxes were moved too

Seems a little closer of a reach.  The boxes b.a.r.e.l.y. fit...but they do.

Here's what is inside those 3 white boxes.

In each of these boxes, I have these tubes (from the bead department - they screw into each other) with tiny embellishments - by color...I just pulled out this silver one, but there's a tube for blue, white, blah, blah, blah.

Here's the box of buttons...which I have never EVER used..hmmm.

I do have a few other embellishments which wouldn't fit into the white boxes...so I have them in this ribbon storage box.  They are all in those bead jewelery tubes.

WEEK 8 - Projects, incomplete pages and kits

Hmmm...I only have a couple of incomplete pages and no kits, so this should be an easy week for me.

The information from the original post is HERE

So, the just of it is...is this is a method to help you complete these incomplete projects/pages and use these kits.  She is following the method set by Stacy Julian.  You put all of these in individual holders (page protectors or baggies or whatever) - label them all however you want (easiest is numerically).  Then get popsicle sticks and assign the same label to each of the sticks.  THEN when you have time to work on a project, grab a popsicle stick out of the pile and go find that unfinished project/page or kit and use it.

Its basically a Honey Do jar!

SO...I don't have kits (thank goodness) but I do have a few unfinished pages (usually to do the journaling or add an embelishment).  I keep them in a craft keeper and whenever I'm going to attend a crop or have friends over to scrapbook, I pull that out, see what's left to be done...gather whatever I need to finish the page.  If I do have what I need, then when I get to the crop, its the 1st thing I do before I can start anything new.

HA HA...I've got this task under control for my scrapbooking.  Cleaning out the scrapbook ROOM or other household tasks, however, are a disaster.

WEEK 7 - Ideas

This week's challenge is about Ideas and the original post about it is HERE

This is about organizing ideas you've accumulated from the Internet and magazines etc.  The original poster  suggests to organize by theme - which makes sense to me....and NO "miscellaneous"!  If you're doing paper ideas, then you'll need to have a place to store them...like a binder.  For magazines, you either keep them and tag ideas you like, keep them with no tags (makes no sense), tear out the ideas you like and throw out the rest of the magazine.

Idea books are harder...harder to throw out because they are books.  You could scan pages you like or you could keep the book and flag ideas.  The books could be stored anywhere...but I suspect if they aren't in your work area, you'll forget they exist.  She shows a bunch of photos of ideas.

I don't have a lot of these - I have maybe 15 ideas magazines and they've been sitting on my shelf for awhile...taking space.  They are in the farthest part of my bookshelf...so I can't really "use" that space anyway...because I can't reach it, so I should really go through them and probably toss them...BUT, it could be difficult because I truly can't reach them.

I used to have a couple of huge binders with ideas I'd printed off of the Internet and I've gotten rid of them since I know I never EVER looked at them.  I also have a couple of "books" that are under the desk.    I have been downloading ideas and have them on my hard-drive and I use pinterest...I'm happy with all of that because it takes up no square footage ;)

The days I hate just passed

Friday was the anniversary of 1 of my miscarriages.  This baby would have been turning 8 this coming September.  Even though I had been thinking about it all month like I always do, this was the 1st year where I wasn't depressed.   I'm not sure why, maybe too busy to dwell on it?  

I still wish, all the time, that this baby had been ok.
__

Saturday was the 2nd anniversary of finding out that PJ has Autism.  He has changed so much in these 2 years, but he still struggles and I hope that he keeps improving.  

The 2 days I dread the most in February are gone and I managed to not be too sad in February, for the 1st time in 8 years, finally.

WEEK 6 - Photos

Here we go - a potential biggie if you are a scrapbooker - Physical photos and digital photos.  The original post about this is HERE

The original post says there are 2 ways to store photos - chronologically or by subject.  I mainly do chronologically...BUT for main trips/vacations, they are by subject and mainly chronologically and not stored with my chronologically filed photos.  You should store digital photos the same way as you do your physical photos.  I do this...digital photos are all by date and big trips have their own folder, but are by date within their folder. 

She has 3 methods of storing - photo albums (DH uses this); card files (not sure what that is) and photo boxes (what I use).  She also lists methods for filing digital photos using tagging software.  I just have folders by year and sub-folders by month.  Each photo's name has the date on it, so I just need to remember the month a photo was taken and I can find it pretty quickly.  I actually print EVERY photo (unless its blurry or eyes are shut)...and THIS gets me into trouble.

All my photos are currently in white photo boxes from Micheal's

WEEK 5 - Scraps

OK, so I'm behind - but my excuse is that I'm waiting for my paper holders from Joann's to arrive.  BUT I have time this week because scraps are NOT an issue for me. 

The post on the original blog is HERE

She starts by saying that if you keep the scraps but never EVER look at them or use them...then they need to be donated or tossed.  I was like that...I had hoards and hoards of scrap about 6 years ago...I went through it all and tossed the small bits and paper I would never use again and gave it all the old heave ho...don't let the door bite you on the way out!

Now, I DO use the scraps...and they have come in handy on many a cricut design when you just need a wee bit and instead of cutting into a 12x12 paper (that's what I buy), I dig into my scraps and I always find one that's perfect, or at least good enough, to use!

She mentions to only keep a certain size...and the smallest she keeps is 2x2.  I'm probably more like 3x3...although I DO keep long, narrow strips that I can easily use for matting (unless its some wacky color I would only use on the project it was used on)...so I'm not as strict with my 3x3 limit.

I have mine in those 12x12 Craft Keepers (plastic envelopes with a string/button closure (which isn't  closed...too many scraps).  I have them organized by color...but not organized within the color - so if the scrap is blue, its in the blue section (not the navy vs the light blue sections).  For reference - I only have TWO of these keepers with scraps...so really, not a ton.

I also don't keep ANY scraps of patterned paper.

WEEK 4 - Paper

Most of my stash IS paper, so I've kind of dealt with some of this last year...now I need to actually KEEP new purchases to a minimum AND put new purchases in their place AND if there is NO place for more paper NO MORE PURCHASING PAPER (ha ha ha...like that's going to happen).  

The original post about it is HERE

First choice is whether to go horizontal or vertical.  I'd love to go horizontal...which is supposed to take up less room BUT I don't have room for new piece of furniture that would allow me to have it horizontal.  I have some paper that way (like a stack of individual colors I use a lot, so bought a full pack of those colors).  These aren't my favorite because they are piled one on top of each other...so, as you can imagine, I always want the color on the bottom...so to pull out a piece or two pulls out all the paper at the top too ... which totally drives me nut-so!  IF I could have separations between each paper color and still have it horizontal...WOO HOO...sign me up...but I don't have the space.

To make it easier to get at the paper, vertical works better in my space.  I purchased some cropper hopper vertical storage boxes.  I had always had a problem with these in that it was hard to get the paper out...reaching and pulling out the container to pull out the paper just doesn't work because I can't reach over my table etal to do that.  Last year when attempting this step, I found that if you turn the containers with the open end OUT, that I can more easily pull out the paper I need...and I often don't have to PULL out the entire container which encourages me to actually use the paper in there!

The original poster talks about sorting the actual paper by brand, color or theme...well...its color for me.  I don't purchase by brand or theme...I purchase what I like and that's about it.  I try to purchase matching card stock at the same time I purchase patterned paper (unless it includes colors that I already hoard/use a lot).  I have been putting my patterned paper, with matching card stock together in hanging files in the jet-max cubes and it worked wonderfully well...until I wasn't able to open the boxes any more...and my purchases of patterned paper went crazy this past summer.  NOW I don't think I have room IN the jet-max cubes for all the new patterned paper - this is what I'm going to look at more closely during this week.  I guess I DO have some themed paper (Halloween/Christmas) but its an exception.

The original poster also talks about paper stacks - I don't purchase a lot of these because typically I only like a handful of the patterns in the stack.  The 1st few that I did purchase, most of the paper is still here, unused...because they are in the stack and too far over to reach to be used.  Just recently, I have purchased a couple of stacks and I immediately (like in as soon as I got home) I split the paper out of the stack, organized by color and plopped it in its appropriate section in my jet-max cubes.  I have actually used some of them.  If there are any that I don't particularly like - it goes immediately into recycle/donate.

I'm wondering if I need a few more cropper hopper storage containers...my problem is space...there is a wee space that could hold a couple of these...but the problem is that the containers are about 1 inch too tall to fit (the shelves are fixed in the bookshelf).  I wasn't sure what to think about that so I re-looked at it (stopped typing here and took an actual LOOK) AND, surprise, surprise, now that I have the holders tipped so the opening is facing out (rather than up), they actually JUST fit (barely, but they fit).  I now know I can purchase 2 more of these holders because they'll fit in my wee space!  WOO HOO! 

When cropper hopper came out with these storage things, the package included smaller holders that I am still using...but I'm finding them annoying because they don't hold enough (so they are ok for colors I don't use a lot because they are each about 1/4 of the size of the large one) and I was trying to put a sheet in one yesterday and it kept on getting stuck in the plastic bit that holds it together as a box even though there was plenty of space in the holder ... GRR ... so I may have to replace those...but I'll wait and see what it looks like (stash-wise) after I purchase the 2 new containers and fill them.

WEEK 3 - Clean Slate

The third week is to totally empty out your space and make it a clean slate....ha ha ha...the original post is HERE

WELL -  If I had space to do that, I'd have SPACE to have a new scrapbook room!  So, I guess I'm not doing that.  I'm going to go with the alternative - pick your most annoying, challenging problem area and all those items must be picked up and plopped into a box and take it out of the room.  HA HA HA -  I'm not really going to do that either because I have no where to put all these boxes of tax crappola - which is my MAIN PROBLEM AREA.  Anyway, once you've gone through your problem area, tossed what needs to be tossed and decided (and purchased) the storing solution...then, and only then can that item be brought back into the room (and be used...I think the point was that you can't touch the items in the box until you deal with it...hoping that it'll get you to deal with it).

Hmmm....so I can't really do that..

I have started finding un-filed photos and put them into their white photo boxes.  I'm going through them and keeping only the good photos (I take WAY too many and I print WAY too many).  

I've also been re-thinking my storage for clear stamps.  I had them in a huge binder and as much as I thought it was working for me, I really don't think that it was...so I'm going to try a 9L really useful box (or 2) to put them in.  THIS is the reason why I've decided my binder method isn't working...I have a ton of peachy keen stamps (and others) that now make my collection too big for a binder and I really didn't like the method enough to start another binder.

I have found some M-bossabilities in the nests that need to be dealt with.  I think the reason they were left laying around was because they don't FIT with my embossing folders.  HMMMMM. I really liked the little box I have (a requirement is a lid with a handle so its easy to transport)...but truthfully, it always was a little on the small side.  Ideally I wish the storage sollution would be able to also hold the plates...because one of the reasons I'm not using them as much as I would like (beside I have the machine stored under the desk because that's my only option) IS because the plates aren't near the folders.  

 Finding these folders also reminded to me UPDATE my excel spreadsheet of what I OWN!  I'm so sure I'm going to duplicate stuff, so I record it all down...and before I purchase something like a folder or stamp set or cart...I look at this list!  Now I have to go back and update the list for the stamps (I know I haven't done that for a long LONG time)

Last year during this organization quest, I got more vertical 12x12 paper storage (cropper hopper) and found a great space for the cardstock   I can see there's a little room to put some more paper in (from my nests) so some organization of cardstock is in my future (on the paper week)...but what to do with the cardstock that doesn't FIT into my storage solution (well...I do need some of it to be on top of my jetmax hanging folder boxes because they TIP OVER...annoying!) ?

I have a box full of the discarded stamps and I have added some punches to it...they are heavy and I never use these particular ones.  I have some ink pads that can go with it too.  I found out that there's a place downtown that accepts donated stuff like this...so once I get a good pile...off it goes!

Might be a quick week for me because I may wait to do each "problem"  area as those topics show up in our listing.  My goal is to go through all the nests so I know what I'm facing (and where it all IS) in the coming weeks.