A Small Change with BIG Impact

This is my small area in our shared "studio." It has evolved over the last two years and I truly love my space, but there is so much more I'd like to do in this room to make it more functional. One thing I thought would be simple was mounting a towel bar to the wall to hang my punches on. I have seen many other crafters post pictures using this idea and I have been in love with the idea ever since.

BUT...yeah, here's the thing...I used a stud finder to check for studs to mount the bar, and it wasn't going to work. POO! So I've had these bars stashed in the corner with the intention of figuring out an alternative, and I have! After the patio cover we built last Summer I was looking at these leftover pieces of plywood and my light bulb went off...I could mount that to the wall and then it won't matter where the wall studs are!

I bought myself some pretty fabric to cover the board and had my handy husband screw it right to the wall. We mounted two bars, and loading them up with these punches I was able to empty out two of my "skinny" drawers. I'm so happy!!! :)

Isn't it awesome? Here's a closer look:

It's CLEARLY Possible

Hopefully you have a copy of the new Occaisions Mini by now! If not, you can download a .pdf version here on my blog. Just click on the image in the sidebar! You also won't want to miss the S-A-B mini. For every $50 you spend until March 31st you can choose something free, see the catalog for the full details!

I'm posting today because I want to introduce you to the wonderful world of Clear Mount Stamps. Many "stamp enthusiasts" have unmounted their stamp sets from wood blocks so they can be used with clings and acrylic blocks. This is certainly a space saver when it comes to storage, but another REAL advantage is simply the ability to see through the block. This helps you place what you're stamping in pretty much just the right spot!

"Starting with stamps in the 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog and the 2010 Sale-A-Bration Brochure, Stampin' Up! now offers our exclusive stamp art in both traditional wood-mount, and the new clear-mount option. Our new clear-mount rubber stamps are the result of extensive research with the intent to maintain the very best image quality in the stamping industry, while at the same time offering the ease-of-use and storability inherent in repositionable clear-mount rubber stamps."

Clear-Mount Rubber Stamp Features

• Nine different sizes of clear blocks available individually or as a discounted bundle.
• Blocks have ergonomic grooves on all four sides for easy grip and traditional wood-mount feel.
• Stamps and blocks are durable and easy to clean with your Stampin' Scrub and Stampin' Mist.
• Optional image labels on stamp backs let you decide if you want to see the image through the block or not.
• Tight die-cutting for easy image positioning.
• Large clear blocks can be used to create collages or spell words with alphabet sets.
• Stamps store easily in standard, DVD-type cases with artwork on front and spine, making organization easy. 

I'll be uploading a little beauty created with my first set of "unmounted" SU! stamps...stay tuned!

Also starting with the new 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog and continuing with all new punch designs going forward, Stampin' Up! has adopted a new body style for our punches! I am really excited about this one, this is going to make traveling to a crop so much easier!!! lol

A few features of the new punch style:

• Low-profile, rectangular punch body allows for easier stacking and storing
• Punches lock shut for easier storage and transport
• Dual labels on top and end allow for easy identification and selection when stored
• Available in three sizes: small, medium, and extra-large
• New punches allow for larger punched images and more intricate designs while providing greater ease of use.
• Extra -large punch images also allow for two-step designs like the Two-Step Bird punch in the Occasions Mini Catalog
• Corner punches allow you to punch a corner design along the inside edges of a page, not just corners
• larger, whole-hand handle design provides better leverage for easier use

Are you excited?  I am!!!

Making Holiday Plans

The holiday season can be overwhelming, and without my multitude of lists I would be LOST! Every year I tote around my shopping list, a list of who to send cards to, and a list of those who shall receive chocolaty goodness from my kitchen! I also tend to keep my Christmas stamps and any receipts with my lists. This helps me stay on top of things...or so I delude myself to believe! lol

Originally I carried an envelope around with all my lists and such, but since that's not very crafty I made myself a little "pocket folio" one year that's held up pretty well. It was super simple, made from an 8-1/2x11" sheet of cardstock decorated with pretty papers, and it has been well loved!

This year I've decided to make a new one. I saw a version done with a standard manila file folder sometime in December last year, so I knew that's what I'd be doing in 2009.The photo above is the front when it's all tied closed. Below is how it looks when it's opened up.
The design is really simple and easy to duplicate. Mine is a letter sized manila folder with a center tab. I opened it up, scored and folded the bottom up 4". Then scored each side at 4-1/4" to create the additional panels with pockets. I decorated most of it with Designer Series Paper sandwiching in some ribbon so the whole thing can be tied shut. Of course I've also included some fun stamped images! For more details on the colors and products used to make this organizer, visit my website.

ANAL-ytical Organization

Yes, it's true! I have a dark side, I'm inflicted with the analytical-perfectionist disease! I'm sooooooo obsessive-compulsive about organizing things. Which is pretty funny, if you could see the HUGE mess in my master bedroom, you'd be really confused by this. I think the issue is that only I can see the final result (in my head). You know, the big picture. So until I am READY to make it happen, it ain't gonna happen!

After a statement like that you might be surprised to hear I can scrap out of order. Well that's progress for me! I was stuck in a rut once, needing to stay in date order and NOT getting anything done except the baby books (since you HAVE to do them as the baby grows), and I guess I snapped out of it! Trying to stay chronological is silly!!! Why not scrap what inspires you now, and use up some older pics along the way for good measure?

Yesterday I was planning to to do just that. I have some cute NEW pictures I'm dying to scrap, and PLENTY of older ones lying about as well, but I was so disgusted with the tiny amount of usable workspace left on my counter, that I couldn't function. I ended up pulling things out of the cabinets beneath thinking I'd reorganize and get the stuff on top put away - HA! After it was emptied out I decided (for some unknown reason) that this would be the day I get ALL our pictures in order, and that's where I'd keep them! Never mind the poor neglected layout in progress.



Our pictures are already in photo boxes, and in date order...for the most part. But somehow the boxes have spread themselves to different areas of my master bedroom. Which makes late night scrappin' a challenge in itself. Imagine me looking for "that photo from 2003" and Gabe (Mr. wake up if the cat sneezes) sawing logs in the bed, not pretty! Makes it impossible to even go in there if he's sleeping. So I rescued the 2 boxes in the closet, 2 from the bottom shelf inside the TV armoire, and one in the corner next to the changing table/dresser. Let me tell ya, if we had a fire I'd probably go down with the ship, because I'd be all over the place trying to round them up along with our completed albums...which are in ANOTHER room! *yikes*

Just like most of us these days, I use a digital camera pretty exclusively. So you'd think I'd just have old pics and photo CDs. Well, not so much. I would say "oh, those pics are just too cute," and I'd copy them to a flash drive and get prints made with good intentions of scrapping them right away. Also, to save money, I try to order prints in batches of 50. So I've been collecting them in a drawer at my workstation (yes ANOTHER location) and they're crowding my embellishments! Fortunately I've labeled the envelopes for most of these with true picture dates, and I had to shift things around to include them in the photo boxes. But that's where I keep the CDs, so it's all good!



Now that the hard part is done and all my pictures are sorted. I'm on to phase 2. I plan to go through my albums and make notes of what is obviously missing. For example, my oldest has a March birthday, so if I open up the 2002 album and see Spring portraits and Summer vacation pics I know I need to pull photos to scrap her birthday for that year. I will also go through the archive CD to see if there is something out of the ordinary that I should include. Then I'm going to make a list of all the "missing" layouts for our existing albums and I'm challenging myself to finish at least ONE album this year. That way I can still scrap what I want and I won't be forced to stay chronological.

Well here's some more analytical craziness. I made a spreadsheet, which I'm sharing with you. >>CLICK HERE for a copy. I want to spread the organizational LOVE! hee hee Use it as a reference sheet to keep with your pictures. Just label it whichever year and type in the contents of your photographs. If you have prints like me, keep it in your photo storage with the appropriate year. If your pics are exclusively on CD, this would be a GREAT tool to keep with the disk. It will help you find that certain picture without viewing several disks or even going through a whole year wondering "when was that!?" You will have to view your disks to fill out the spreadsheet, but after you do, you'll be all organized!