WEEK 2 - Brainstorming your DREAM Space

The 2nd step is to brainstorm what your fantasy room consists of...So, for every problem area you determined in step one, now you need to find the storage solution of your dreams.

The original post for week 2 is HERE.

If only this would REALLY happen because my space would be fabulous!  Everything is in light maple (except the jet max cubes) and any storage boxes are blue and nicely labeled.  Doors on cabinets with glass would be preferred - as long as the doors will still close with overstuffed 12x12 albums in them or boxes in front of them......otherwise they'd be door-less.

There are 2 large table work areas.  There's also a desk for the computer, imagine, and printer.  Above this are some shelves to display layouts, photos, a clock and an ipod docking station.  The walls have book shelves for albums (both those that are completed and those ready to be worked on).  There are boxes of organized photos all labeled by year.  There's also a row or 2 of card stock all nicely organized in cropper hopper folders.

There are a few jetmax cube drawers to put embellishments, adhesive, pop dots, copics and ink pads etc.  There are also jetmax cube hanging files for patterned paper and they magically don't tip over.  OR, office furniture with hanging files big enough for 12x12 (hmmmm....do these exist?).

There's nice 80's music playing and there's fantastic lighting.

AHHHHH - so relaxing!

Other ideas I like are:
 

Now...the crappy reality!  My room is too small!  I have up to 3 friends over to scrapbook and we all pile around our kitchen table.  I would love to have my space such that there was a table big enough for all 4 of  us or at least enough space to setup another table just for when they come over.  Then I wouldn't have to lug down my carts/handbooks, cricut and all my stuff...it would all be there ready to go.  This is a PIPE dream...I've been wanting DH to clean out the basement so I could have a space...for 11 years and each year at Christmas time, it takes the 2 of us over a hour to move crap so I can get to the decorations...and then we have to do it again in January to put it away - its a huge pain.  I have relatively little down there but there is so much stuff, that if I DO want to find something of mine that's down there, I can't because I can't get around over the tall piles of stuff.  SIGH SIGH SIGH.

SO...more reality, I'm stuck in this tiny room.  The main problem area is the tax stuff taking up space.  If the scrapbook fairy came, she'd whisk these boxes out of here and things would be good.  This isn't going to happen because there is no room anywhere for this tax crap. I think that having 2 more book shelves would be good...but really, that will only work IF the tax stuff will fit into one of them.

NESTS - bags of stuff here and there that need to be gone through and everything put into its place.

Here's the reality in photos...eek.

Looking into room from hallway

bookshelves - houses completed albums and card stock and some embellishments

nests

tax crap and nests

white boxes on top of shelf have photos - the others are my punches and embellishments - hard time reaching these over the jet max cubes, tax files and nests

Under this stuff are my jet max cubes filled with patterned paper.  I can't open them because of the nests and tax crap in front of the drawers.

card stock, albums - embellishments organized by color are in the white boxes.

albums, supplies (adhesives, pens, blades etc)

white boxes are photos and punches and embellishments all the rest is tax crap

Imagine and my 12x12 work space (where the mats are)

this COULD be a workspace, if I could stop piling stuff on it.  Because I can't reach the shelves, I put stuff on this table, just to keep it off of the floor.

desk - other than the trees, all the paper is tax crap.

cartridges I need to store

working files - this is all my scraps, the pages I'm currently working on and all the "supplies" I use all the time (scissors, ATG, glue etc)...I keep them in these bags so I can carry them downstairs when my friends come over to scrapbook...then I don't have to unpack-pack every time (about 1x a month).  It works for me because I really only scrapbook when they come over, so its ready to go when they come.

WEEK 1 - Do audit of space

Original poster said to do a scrapbook page and list all the things you notice - all the good, bad and ugly.

This is what I've determined so far:

CONS:

1.  Room 

The size of the room and the many uses in the room. It is very tiny and houses a large office desk (filled with office supplies) and covered with office stuff - keyboard, monitor, phone and some of DH's files. My imagine is on a wee table that only leaves a space big enough for a mat (which I guess is good, because at least I have a space for 12x12 mat - because that IS the only space in here that is big enough for a 12x12 piece of paper)!  The floor is covered in stuff (crafting and DH's boxes of files) and there's just enough room to back the chair up so you can get in and out of the chair. Each and every flat surface has something on it. EEK!

2.  Photos

I need to get the photos under control so they are easier to access. Some are in photo boxes in the crafting space but there are a ton stacked in our bedroom too.

3.  Paper

I have most of my card stock sorted - BUT its in a location that is hard to reach because I'm vertically challenged. Its low enough...but I have to reach OVER a table to reach it and that's when the height problem gets me. I must confess that not ALL of my card stock is organized...there's MORE of it in the bags around in the room.  Patterned paper is another paper problem - some is nicely sorted/stored in pull-out jet-max cubes (or whatever the Michael's white storage boxes called that are with hanging files)....the problem is that I can't OPEN the cabinet because there's crap on the floor in front of it. I also have other patterned paper in various bags around in the room. 

4.  Laziness  

I have all my cricut carts/handbooks organized...but there are about 10+ that need to be put with the rest instead of taking up space on the desk and floor. I also shouldn't be bringing in any more paper UNLESS it can be put into my existing storage area - these stacks of paper in bags isn't helping.

5.  Embellishments

I don't have a ton, but the stuff that I do have is out of reach (so out of sight/out of mind) and I never EVER think to use them. I actually can't remember the last time I used a button, brad, etc! Should they stay or should they go...hmmm. IF I magically had a larger space, I could have them easier to access, but until GJA cleans out all the crap in the basement...there isn't a spare space in the house for me to expand into.

6.  GJA and his hoarding!  

If he wasn't a hoarder, we wouldn't have our basement FULL of crap (and I mean FULL...there's a pathway that only HE can go through because it involved stepping OVER piles that are taller than my leg-span) - and I can't do much about that since I've been trying to get him to cooperate for 11 years.  SIGH!

PROS:

1.  Copics

I love how my copics are stored. I don't uses them much, but they are all contained and easily transported and don't take up a lot of space.

2.  Cricut cartridge and handbook storage

I only use my gypsy so don't need any of them out and in the way...so the handbooks are in boxes in the hallway (out of the way) and the cartridges are in those snap-ribbon plastic boxes with plastic mesh separators. I keep these under the desk at the far end where your feet go, but can't reach them. I only bring these items out when my friends come over to play or need to put in a few more. All the original boxes are in the basement and the plastic ones have been put in recycle.

3.  Stamp Storage

I don't have a lot and I have most of them in 2 binders (they are non-wooden). I can't reach them very well, but that's OK because I only use them for Christmas cards. HOWEVER, I kind of would like to use some in my scrapbooking, so if (when) I get a proper scrapbooking place, they should be easier to reach and thus use.

4.  Photo Storage

Last year during this organizing thing I purchased a ton of white photo boxes from Michael's and organized my photos in them. I still like that method...I just have to update for 2012 photos.

5.  Ink pad storage

I also don't have a lot of these but the ones I do have fit in a similar transportable box like I use for my copics. Its small enough that it doesn't take a lot of space and is easy to move if I want to cart it somewhere.

It must be January...I'm trying to organize my scrapbook stuff again

Similar to last year, I'm going to try to organize my scrapbooking stash.  I did pretty good for awhile last year, but it totally fell of the rails.

Here's the proof:

SO...last year I used info from a blog...which is this one blog 

And...here's the listing from the blog of the steps.

Week 1 - Space Audit

Immerse yourself in your space - what do you love? What annoys the daylights out of you?

Week 2 - Brainstorming

If the Scrap Fairy DID exist, what is your idea of the perfect space?

Week 3 - Clean Slate

Get out the boxes ladies, it's moving day!

Week 4 - Paper

We're all guilty on this one. I know my stash could wallpaper the White House.

Week 5 - Scraps

What to keep, what to toss, and where to store them.

Week 6 - Photos (print and digital)

Solutions for your most prized possessions.

Week 7 - Ideas

What to do with that 3' stack of layout ideas under your bed.

Week 8 - Projects, Incomplete Pages and Kits

I found a system to help you get these off your table and into your albums!

Week 9 - Embellishments

Containers galore!

Week 10 - Alphas

Stickers, chipboard and rub on storage.

Week 11 - Non-Alpha Stickers and Rub-ons

When a giant box just doesn't work anymore.

Week 12 - Ribbon, Thread and Fibers

My pretty little things!

Week 13 - Stamps

Know what you have and where they're located!

Week 14 - Crop Supplies

How to keep the sanity in your space when you're always on the go!

Week 15 - Ink, Ink Pads and Embossing

How to deal with these little things that take up so much room!

Week 16 - Paints and Glitter and Stickles

Oh my!

Week 17 - Punches

Not the boxing kind.

Week 18 - Tools and Adhesive

Keeping them handy

Week 19 - Chipboard (raw)

Sheets or die cuts, let's get them in place!

Week 20 - Die Cuts

By theme and by color

Week 21 - Pens and Pencils

The basics we can't live with and can't live without!

Week 22 - Dies for Die Cutting Machines

Quickutz, Sizzix, Cuttlebug, and more!

Week 23 - Templates

Plastic and metal

Week 24 - Memorabilia

How to store your glorious collection of ketchup packets for that layout you're going to do...someday....really!

Week 25 - Negatives

Yeah, we probably will never use these again, but they need to be stored safely!

Week 26 - New Items and Keeping it Neat

How to avoid re-taking this Challenge

Week 27 - Fonts

First step....stop downloading!

Week 28 - Cards and Card-Making Supplies

What DO you do with 300+ birthday cards?

Week 29 - Room and Space Decor

Time to make all your hard work look pretty!

Anyway, that's the theory, I hope I can do it. 

Quick gift card holder

GJA has 3 ladies who share helping with typing financial statements (and other things ) during the year, so decided to get them gift cards.  Two of them like coffee and one is crafty - so he had me get her a gift card from Michaels.

Well, both coffee places had little holders for the cards, but Michael's did not...so he whined about it...with 30 minutes before I was to go out for supper with friends...and he needed it in the morning...SO...I ran to find my gypsy to see if I had the gift card holder that I made a couple of years ago available.  Of course not, I had to re-set my G...so all the files were lost.

I really wanted to go and do my hair and get dressed, so I quickly made one.  I had 2 left over snowflakes from Christmas cards and a bit of embossed paper (that I had inked) and decided to use those.  I cut a rectangle out of white paper, folded it around the GC, glued all but 1 side down...then covered it in stamped snowflakes, slapped on the bit of embossed paper, threw the snowflakes in the xyron, covered them in glitter and slapped the holder together.

GJA thought it was fancy that I had a snowflake glued onto the GC so she could use that to pull out the GC from the holder...its pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

TFL.

Scrapbook Layout - 2009 Dad is Funny

These are just various photos of PJ & GJA during the year.  The font is Pooh font and the aliens/robots are from Robotz

Scrapbook Layout - 2009 Playhouse

PJ was crazy about little playhouses - whenever we'd go near a TRU we'd spend far too much time watching him open/close all the doors and windows of all the houses on display.  My brother sent him $ for his birthday and we topped it up got got him his own little house.

The background papers were all from cricut imagine more. House is from Handyman, heart is Lacy Labels, and the Font is from Nursery Rhyme 

Did YOU notice the title is wrong! LOL!  I forgot to re-take the photo after noticing (and fixing) this error).  OOPS!

Scrapbook Layout - 2009 Look at Me

PJ rarely stood in his crib and never tried to take his PJs off - During his nap I could hear him singing away, so I went in to get him out and there he was standing there like this.  I couldn't resist making a little guy to look like him.  

So get ready for it - I used my imagine WITH CCR!  

The background papers are all from my Imagine More Cartridge.  The little guy is from paper doll and I believe the crib is too.  I think the lettering is from Billionaire - but its hard to know because when I opened up the CCR file, the stupid CCR program loaded up a blank page (rather than everything that was saved on there) and because its stupidly setup to auto-save, I've LOST this file...GRRR! 

Yet another reason why I ABHOR CCR!

So, I may have used CCR for this, but I still hate it!  It is so frustrating to work with and now that its poofed 1 of my files, I'm really annoyed.

Anyhow, thanks for looking.

Cdn Circle gal's on-line challenge

The Canadian circle members decided to have an on-line challenge.  There were 7 separate challenges (2 a day...not sure why they had to be slammed into such a short time frame) and you had until after Cdn Thanksgiving to complete them (which isn't here yet, but whatever).  I typically don't participate in challenges because if it doesn't fit into what I'm working on, then I'm just not interested in going on a different path just to do challenges.  This one was particularly hard to do because it was during September - too many changes and stresses revolving around school to be able to think about crafting (or actually having time TO  craft).

Having said that, I actually DID the 1st challenge - this was because PJ's therapists thought it would be a good idea to have a calendar for him so he can see what's going on during the week...and I thought...heh, I have designer's calendar that I've never used and the teeny-tiny calendar they left me (smaller than 8.5x11) just wasn't going to work!  

SO...here's the challenge:

The challenge is a Halloween Decor Item. It can be a sign, banner, luminary, treat bag, etc. The sky is the limit.

Your project must include the following:
1) At least one Cricut Cut
2) The colour purple

Your project must include one of the following:
1) Glitter
2) Ribbon
3) Use of a cuttlebug folder.

This is "October" and includes a Halloween pumpkin.  I have a few cricut cuts (the main one is the calendar grid)  I have designed ALL of the headers for the months, I just haven't cut them yet.  The background paper and the glitter (on "October") are purple, as are some of the other words on the calendar.

My photos suck, but you get the idea.

The calendar grid is laminated so I can change the numbers each month.  I have the back covered with magnetic paper.  The days of the week are on its own separate laminated sheet - this was so I could make the grid as large as could be made and still fit in my 8.5x11 laminator.  I was going to laminate the headers and did try, but it hides the nice glitter word - so I made another one - it only needs to be out for 30 day a year, so should be ok without being laminated.

One thing about that magnetic paper is that its really not strong enough.  I had wanted to use it on little pictures to use for event days on the calendar, but it won't stick.  I did find stronger magnets, but I'm not sure I'll continue to use them....we shall see!

Thanks for looking!