Part V: The Thread of our Journey

Not all of my spare time -- just most of it -- is spent papercrafting. I also sew. Occasionally.  Very occasionally. Not often enough. But most often, it's sewing on my cards. Which I guess doesn't really count as sewing. Can you tell I am feeling very slightly guilty about not sewing more?  You might ask why I feel guilty ... so here's the answer.

When I decided to convert my upstairs loft into MY area for hobbies, I invested a TON of money in a gem of a sewing machine. It's a Husqvarna Diamond, which means it also does fine embroidery along with the simple straight stitches I put on cards.  It cost more than my car is worth!  My local Husqvarna dealer has a section of my local Joann's store.

So shortly after bringing home this baby, its accessories, its very own embroidered rolling luggage (!!!), dear daughter Emily asked if I'd consider getting her a Cricut for Christmas that year.  On my next trip back to Joann's "for thread", I bought "Emily's" Cricut.

I was so smitten by the Cricut, I switched my hobby world (*SNAP*) that fast!

You may have noticed that I mentioned the word "thread" in there -- which is really the subject of this Organizational Part V post.  The picture to the north of this post shows an adorable lazy-Susan display unit I purchased from a store going out of business.  I like having my threads out where I can see them -- I guess I like having colors all around me.

And here's what I did with the other half of the slatboard (refer back to earlier in the week, when I showed my paper storage on the other half). 

There, to the left, is the elegant Husqvarna Diamond sewing machine. I've spun the lazy Susan so you can see that this fits 1/4-yard pieces of felt in some of my favorite colors. On the far right of the slatboard, you'll see that I used some of the Plexiglas paper holders to use 1.5 yard pieces of the fabrics I'm currently using. The wall also holds my iron and other plug-in electronics (including a spare Cricut E, a heat gun and an embosser). For now, I also use the shelves on the slatboard to show some of my favorite 3-D paper projects I've made.

Here's hoping your world is filled with colors and joyful organization, too!

Part IV: A Gem of An Organizational Tip

Still on an organizing "kick," let me show you how I've assembled all of those teeny packages of adhesive gems so I can find just the right size and color when I need it.

That's right -- at right -- I've put them in an inexpensive photo album.

Like all of my other colors I've organized, my adhesive gems ("pearls, rhinestones and diamonds") are sorted in ROYGBV order and put into the photo sleeve. That way, I can easily flip through the album and even leave that page open when I'm working on a project to see what embellishment might work best. 

This system greatly improves the way I used to manage these little packages. I had them stored in a large envelope in my embellishment drawer; any time I needed to find the right one, I had to dump the envelope and pick through. What a waste of time! 

Incidentally, the album was on sale at Michael's for $5.00 and I bought it when I had a 20% off coupon for the entire purchase including sale items. $4.00 -- well worth the price of time, don't you think?

Organizing, Part III: Swimming in Files?

Okay, I couldn't resist the sneak ... Fish!?  What is CardMonkey up to now?!  Well, here it is: Meet Nemo, or at least a lookalike brother.

This little cutie, made by EMTEC and available at Staples, is an adorable thumb drive (some call them "flash drives") for your computer. Nemo may look small, but he holds a whale-sized amount of files -- 4GB.  Take a look: take off his head to reveal the USB hub. On this drive, I have every digital image and SVG file I've ever bought, swapped, developed or been given -- backed up here (the main files are on my hard drive, which is also backed up onto my network server).  This way, I can carry around my files very easily to crops, when I travel, etc., and know my protected files are safe at home.

I use thumb/flash drives for many different things -- they're inexpensive and a great way to have extra/handy copies of your files.  On some thumb drives, I've scanned and saved magazine pages I've dog-earred to "try soon", or tips I find handy to have while crafting.

Now I am blessed in that my hubby is a computer geek, so I have a desktop computer with large monitor upstairs in the Paper Jungle, as well as another computer downstairs in my office. I have a laptop computer as well that I keep in the Paper Jungle, linked to my Cricut. You can see that one, here, below my paper racks.

When my thumb drives aren't traveling with me and the laptop to a crop or travels, I was given the cutest MugHugger by Nicolette at Beyond Scrapping. Thank you, Nicolette!  She makes these for sale, very reasonably priced, in custom colors.  Look at how cute these little pockets around my mug hold my thumb drives!  If you look closely in the photo above (of the paper racks), you can see that this mug is snug as a bug (still being silly Seussical!) next to my laptop.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more organizational ideas from the CardMonkey's Paper Jungle!

Part II: Organizing Papers

Yesterday I showed you my new way of storing my full sheets of 12x12", in these delicious plexiglas holders hung on my new slatwall.

Today, let's talk about what to do with all of those pesky but very useful tons of scraps we all collect, often down to the smallest bit.   

(Incidentally -- What's the smallest bit you'll save?  I've heard some say a 2"x2" square. But I'll save long thin strips too, as sometimes that can be used as a border or embellishment. If I have small or odd shaped bits, I might punch them into petals, leaves or circles and store them that way to make pretty flowers or other embellies along the way.)

Anywho, this is how I store my paper scraps. While I'm working, I'll drop the pieces of paper into a dresser drawer that's been designated as holder of these bits. About every other week, I go through the drawer and sort them paper by color.  When I'm done, I put them in a 12x12" plastic "memory keeper" I get at Michael's. 

These files are stored in my usual ROYGBV arrangement. ROYGBV?  Yup, colors of the rainbow -- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet.  I add in white in the beginning, and add some shades (e.g., pink), as well as tan and brown, grey and silver, and black.  Stacked in my cubes, they're easy to find this way.

Now I admit that this isn't the best way to store those stacks and stacks of papers we buy -- so I'm looking for suggestions.

This sounds rather Seussical, to have stacks of stacks, and some with packs ... next to my racks ...

...but there is some (albeit not much) rhyme to how I have these stacks organized.  The pink one (second from the top) has all of my baby paper in it -- near the top because I'm working on Charlotte's albums (eventually).  At the top are the papers I'm using at the moment -- Halloween, for banners I'm making for the Labor of Love Halloween Hop (see upper right corner for Hop info, coming in September). 

I have tons of other paper too, but no pictures to show at the moment.  Perhaps I'll make that another post another day ... but for tomorrow, I have some more organizational tips to show. Sneak peek: it has to do with a FISH.

Creative Spaces

Hi there, Scrappy Friends!


It has sure been hot this weekend (100+)... and as a result, my time in my attic Paper Jungle (where the A/C doesn't kick it) has been limited.


When I did get upstairs, I had hubby John join me and bring his mechanical skills. I treated myself to a piece of slatwall to help organize my papers and such -- and he's the man with the heavy duty tools.  I got the slatwall at Home Depot, $27.98 for one 8' x 3' piece, that I had them cut in half (free!) making each piece 4' wide x 3' high.


Here's one of the two pieces, mounted on the wall above my Cricut. See those fabulous 12x12" Plexiglas paper holders for the wall?  I got them free!  That was the good news ...


... the bad news is that I got them from my favorite (and only!) local scrapbook store, which is closing at the end of this month, for good. "Take as many of them as you want," said owner Karen Silver. "The more you take, the fewer trips I'll have to the Dumpster."  So I did ... 24 of them! I also got quite a haul of supplies: specialty paper, embellishments and rubber/clear stamps from vendors (like Magnolia and Unity Stamps) usually found only online -- all at 60% off.


Creative Inklings in Lahaska, PA has been a fun place for inspiration, the greatest selection of specialty scrapbook papers, and where I have attended SCAL classes and a late-night crop. Karen, I'll miss you and your fun band of instructors!


Thanks for the memories ... and for the paper holders! 

Friends, stay tuned this week for more organizational ideas from the Paper Jungle.  Tomorrow: Part II, Paper Storage.

Amusing Video - Getting Our Inspiration

I thought you might enjoy this video of the Roberts CraftLady:

Madison's IFTL Gift for Little Marley: "I Feel The Love"

One of the truly beautiful things that has come about by being part of this Blogger community is having the ability to meet people with both talent and compassion to want to share their work.

One such lovely young lady I've come to meet is Madison Womack, whose blog is http://www.funkycards.blogspot.com/.

Madison is wise and compassionate beyond her years!

 

This weekend, Madison invited me to be a part of her "I Feel The Love Project" (IFTL).  Madison coordinates groups of crafters to produce cards for families and/or their children who are enduring a health crisis, where they could use a little handmade pick-me-up.





For more information, please go to Madison's blogsite (listed above) and click on her IFTL blog button once there.

For the current IFTL project, cards will be sent to the adorable Marley Moore (left), age 3. For the past two years,  Marley has been battling a brain tumor (pilocytic astrocytoma), for which she has had surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. An MRI just last week showed that the tumor had grown 10% compared to the previous study -- yet the family remains hopeful that their little girl will soon turn the corner, and her health will be restored.



As a Mom and Grandmom, I can't imagine the pain of watching your baby suffer through treatments and the effects of the disease ... as well as the strain it puts on the family.

  

The Moore family: big sister Mia, Dad Brent,
Mom Nikki and Marley

 Only unabating faith sees you through; no doubt, Marley is surrounded by the love of her immediate family, and is bathed in the prayers of the thousands whose have been touched by her innocent smile. 

From Marley's Caring Bridge Journal Entry: "Marley is a little angel. She is a beautiful, strong, little girl, and she's well on her way to fighting through this. We believe in a mighty God...one that is with her every step of the way."

Madison asks that those of us who'd like to help should send a card to Marley and/or her family, by July 31st, to:   

Madison Womack - (IFTL) Funky Cards

P.O. Box 1203

Atascadero, CA 93423

Please write #2 on the lower left/front of the card envelope; also, post a picture of the card on Madison's blog, by following the link above and clicking on the blue Mr. Linky.

Here are my cards for the IFTL project: 

For Marley ...





...and for Marley's parents