Ready to Get Your Scrap Life Organized?

Throughout the month of August, Close To My Heart is introducing two new products in their Organization line: a Marker Roll-Up (shown at left, bottom) and an Accessory Roll-Up. 

The Marker Roll-Up (which I just L-O-V-E) has 25 elastic loops -- perfect for holding your collection of 24 ShinHan Touch Twin markers and Blender Pen, available through CTMH separately.  These are bold alcohol markers that are terrific for coloring stamped images.  The Accessory Roll-Up is perfect for holding Base & Bling components (as shown), sticker gems, Pigment Inks (!!!) and even your make-up. 

With a purchase this month of the Marker Roll-Up (Z3120, $17.95), you'll receive the stamp set "Balloon Wishes" (D1667, $17.95) absolutely FREE!  When you purchase an Accessory Roll-Up (Z3121, $18.95), you'll receive two FREE Base & Bling Style Sheets -- perfect for making your own stylish necklaces or keychains.

Both of the Roll-Ups match Close To My Heart's terrific Rolling Tote, which is now back in stock and available to order. Please contact me at cardmonkey@comcast.net with questions, or shop at cardmonkey.ctmh.com. 

But WAIT, before you go -- I have a super-duper special that's exclusive to those who buy their rolling tote from my CTMH business address.

You see, I'm a packer ... an overloader ... a crazy gotta-have-it-all-with-me sort of cropper.  And that Rolling Tote is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, but if you load it as much as our Corporate office shows you can (in this picture, at left), you're going to need some assistance to lift that pretty bag. I've found the perfect solution, and it's called a Strap-A-Handle. I've bought them by the dozen, and I will send you one TOTALLY FREE if you buy your CTMH Rolling Tote through my website. Yup, I'll see that you've ordered it, and the next thing you know, you'll be getting a free strap in the mail to make your using the tote even easier.  How does that sound?  Great, ehhh?  

Check it out -- this handle (strapped either top to bottom or around the tote's middle) truly does help reduce strain on your back because YOU KNOW you pack as much as I do, and helps to lift this bag into the trunk of your car. And YES, it fits beautifully in the trunk of a sedan. I drive a Honda Accord (and when I go to a crop, I WISH I drove an SUV!), and this bag makes my life SOOOO much easier!  You need one. You know you do!

Here's the link to buy your Rolling Tote -- and you'll be getting the free Strap-A-Handle directly from me, in a separate mailing, a CardMonkey special!  

Organizing Tip: Keep Your Bling in An Album

Assuming you're just like me -- a craft hoarder as much as a crafter -- you're always looking for a sweet technique for organizing your papercrafting supplies.  Today, I am going to show you one way that I organize my bling/gems.

I have adhesive bling in every color, shape and size. Some are rhinestone or clear, some are pearlescent.

I have taken one of Close To My Heart's gorgeous new D-Ring Albums and I have dedicated it to storing my bling. This is the new turquoise chevron pattern, which happens to match CTMH's new Rolling Tote and Shoulder Tote.

I filled the album with CTMH's Memory Protectors (Designs 1-5) which have pocket dividers in various sizes.  I insert sheets of the bling into the pockets, and arrange the sheets by color, starting with clear, through ROYBGIV (red, orange, yellow, blue, green, indigo and violet) to brown and black.  

Now, of course, I have plenty of these gems -- so soon this album will bulge. To keep the binder closed and the embellishments in place, I made a ribbon belt. This gray -- matching the Rolling Tote and Shoulder Bag as well -- is the retired Satin Polka Dot ribbon also from CTMH.  I affixed an adorable blinged buckle from The Buckle Boutique. This buckle splits in the middle with a hook and eye clasp.  Perfect! 

For more information, on purchasing the beautiful new turquoise chevron album from Close To My Heart, please visit my CTMH site at www.cardmonkey.ctmh.com, or see the CTMH Chevron Album 

If you'd like to buy some buckle bling for your own album belt, here are links to The Buckle Boutique:

The Buckle Boutique’s Website . . . click HERE

The Buckle Boutique Blog . . . . click HERE

Facebook Page . . . click HERE

Twitter Page . . . click HERE

Pinterest Page . . . click HERE

DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,
Ellen

{{Organizing the Jungle}}: Loving this 7.19"w bin for its size!

While I am not quite ready for a full-scale reveal of my Paper Jungle (craft room), I wanted to share with my readers today a nifty storage box I found this morning at Lowe's.

If you're anything like me, you're always on the hunt for new ways to effectively store and use your crafting supplies. Buying organizational supplies is almost as fun as buying things with which to make my cards and other paper goodness.

I found THIS pretty linen-finish storage bin by allen+roth at Lowe's this morning -- and it is the perfect size to hold my Close To My Heart stamp sets on my crafting table when I am working.  It is 7.13 inches wide (an unusual size, for sure) which gives exact clearance for the stamp sets. At 10.69" deep, I figure I can easily hold 25 stamp sets. And, at 5.5" high, it allows just the right space above the box to flip through the stamp sets to see the stamp number and title in the upper right hand corner.

The box will also make a just-right grab-and-go for my classes that I teach, when I want to bring along only the stamp sets we'll be using, not my full container(s).

For long-term storage and protection of my treasured CTMH stamp sets, I've invested in many (so far, 4) of the Large Organizers available from Close To My Heart. These "puppies" are gorgeous and convenient. 
They hold 40 stamp sets (easily, and sometimes more) and have a hinged, latching lid.  

Better yet, the Large Organizer fits just right in my new Ikea sideboard cabinet. But you'll see that cabinet at another time, when I show off my Paper Jungle once it's nearly ready for prime-time.

Are you quite as obsessive about finding the right storage for your crafting addiction?  Would you like to join me in a "Show Me Your Craft Space" Blog Hop??  That might force me to get ready ... if you're interested, leave me a comment, will you?

DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Wood Shop meets Craft Room

Are you handy in a wood shop, or do you have a hubby or friend who is?  Here are two wood shop items that can make your craft room play a bit more organized.

On the left is an ATG gun holder. It keeps the sticky surface of the tape off of the craft table and bits of paper or glitter that can gunk-up the tape. The cut out for the handle keeps the gun at ready-to-grab position. On the right, is a holder for my hot glue gun and glue sticks. This keeps the inevitable drips contained to a wipe-off tile, and keeps your glue gun safe from your elbow (OUCH ... trust me, that's from experience).

Now true confessions: I purchased both of these off eBay -- it's just easier for me that way because hubby hung up his tools a long time ago, and I ... well, I don't trust myself around fast-moving saw blades. I really like having 10 fingers! 

... especially since I currently only have one leg to stand on. 

Those who've been following know I've been in a cast for the past 6 weeks on my left leg. It was in a hard cast for half of that time, and now is in a "soft cast" that I can remove to shower (YAY!!) and go to therapy (okay!). And to ITCH. I posted a bit ago about my desire to bling the cast. Since the boot seems that it's going to be with me a while longer -- maybe months -- I decided to bling it up. Here it is:

Simple, classy ... and repairable when pearls drop off.  Maybe I'll color the pearls!

DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Organizing your supplies to take to a crop: Copics

Hello, Bloggie Friends!

I have been making some fun cards this week, but most of my attention has been paid toward getting ready for the first Scrapbooking/CardMaking Crop I've ever hosted! 

I'm expecting 12 croppers to an all-day event near my home in Warminster, PA. I've rented space at the 263 Marketplace (www.263marketplace.com), rented tables and chairs, and I'm bringing my machines, cartridges, dies, etc.  Woot-woot!! {Pictures to follow this weekend -- if I remember my camera!!}

I am SO looking forward to seeing some of my Central NJ gals again, and also meeting some crafters I only know through this blog or Facebook!!  Gosh, I'm SO excited to meet local paper crafters!!!!!

Of course, this means I have to pack up a good bit of my stuff for the Crop, which means a different level (e.g., portable and safe!) for my organization.  It may mean I keep some of the organization like this when I bring the crafting materials back to the PaperJungle. So I figured I'd show you some of the ways I've found to store/transport my stuff to the Crop.

I'm going to make this a dynamic post ... that is, I'll be adding to it throughout the course of today's packing day. 

Here's my first entry:  Copics!

The last time I went to a crop, all of my Copics fit into a clear paint bucket ... not much on "organization", but it was certainly portable.

And here is how I usually have my Copics stored ready for use in the PaperJungle (not at all portable):

(BEFORE)

For this weekend's crop, I've found that my Copics fit nicely into an Iris "Card Keeper" that comes with six dividers:

(AFTER)

I subdivided most of the sections by cutting pieces of corrugated cardboard to fit, 5.5" high by 10" wide. I organized the markers by color group and by Copic Color Number.  If I didn't have enough in that group to fill one whole row, I put removable/changeable cardboard "fill" so that the markers would stand up when in use.

Now as most Copic users know, you really should store these babies laying flat, so both nibs (top and bottom, broad and fine) stay juicy and ready to use. The nice part about this storage system is that it can stand on its end, and the cover is removable for easy use, like this:

Note that the Copic chart is now folded and is on the top of the case.

Incidentally, I created a Copic color chart that includes all of the new-for-2012 colors. If you'd like me to send a .pdf of the file to you electronically for your own use, leave me a comment here with your e-mail address and a note that you'd like me to send it along.

...back to packing!