Archive for the ‘Organization’ Category

As most of you know I’m having a love affair with Mercury Glass.  My Christmas present to me from my Hubby was Pottery Barn’s set of Mercury Glass Trees.  He likes it when I just get myself what I want.

 

The challenge comes when I went to store the Christmas Decor.  No, I’m not just taking down Christmas now.  I love these pieces and wanted to admire them through out the year.

 

 

What better place than in my redecorated Dining Room.  Perfect place they fill the top of the China Cabinet and they are out of the reach of little hands.

Click on the picture to get a better view.

 

 

 

 

Since the Dining room has other Mercury Glass elements, it looks like it was planned….(wink, wink).

 

I’m loving this room!  There is something about certain color combinations that seem to work so well together and that little bit of sparkle is like jewelry.

 

 

Up next, I’m working on a couple of craft items that I’ll show you when I get done.  So stay tune for something crafty next that you can try.

This is one of my favorite things I got for Christmas.

It is a little cable holder that Container Store carried as a stocking stuffer.

This little item has a circle of adhesive on the back.

 

 

 

 

I took multiples of these and attached them to the back side of my desk along the edge.

 

This view is looking down the wall that the desk is against, looking down from the top .

One holder holds the cord to my Silhouette, the next is the printer cable, then my phone charger, and then the charger for my Apple products.

 

I am not receiving any compensation for the review of this item.  I like them because they are single simple holders that can be arranged the way you want them.  They are also small enough they are not noticeable when you are look at the desk and they keep everything organized and easy to reach to plug in to my laptop.

Yes, that is a cable holder on my laptop holder you are seeing but it did not hold the cables, they kept slipping out.

I love organization, so now off to the next project.  Hmmm, I wonder what that will be?

 

Has this ever happened, you start only going to do one thing and before you know it, it has blown into a huge event.

Packed up my Christmas and decided I really needed to revamp the way I stored it.  So I empty the closet of everything.

 

 

 

 

This looks even worse in person.  Ok, I have to admit it, it has not been painted in 26 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This stuff works great at getting the old 3m hook adhesive off.  I’m not being paid to say this, I just use it and it took the old gunk off in nothing flat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also used this to fill the holes in the wall.  I know it is a closet but that is how I roll.  This stuff is pink when you put it on and turns white when it is dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got the exact color that I painted the “Woman Cave”.  Here is a tip, take a picture of the color chart on top of the can of custom blended paint. Then when you need more you can take the photo to the paint store and get it made.

I also painted the wood shelves ….yeah, yeah but they need it.  Ok, take a close look at the wall on the right.  Yep!  I stenciled hounds tooth on the wall.  Not the entire wall just a little.  I wanted  to see if I could do it and make it look right.  I like it!  But it is a closet so on to finish.

 

 

 

I added two extra shelves on this side of the closet so I could have additional room to store craft items.  I had to add the braces for the shelves and to cut the shelves.

 

Had a little difficulty getting the shelves in because they have to go in a certain way to get past the door facing but, I did it!

 

 

 

Unbelievable, how much more storage space you have with just a couple of extra shelves.  Now, I can get our Christmas decoration stored and get my craft room reorganized so I can play with my Christmas gift.

 

 

My collection of distressed inks continues to grow and I need an easier way for storing them and keeping them accessible.

First thing I did is put them all in alphabetical order.

 

 

 

Built me a list in a notebook on my iPad2.  This way I will have the info with me and not buy a duplicate.

 

 

 

 

Pulled out my trusty label maker and labeled up all the pads, plus I put some of the color on each tag so when I looked at it from the side I could tell what color that particular name looked like.

 

 

 

 

To keep the foam pad that matches the color, I run a line of adhesive on the bottom and stick the pad to it.

This works for the storage that I’m going to use for these; however, if you are stacking these up this tip of the pad on the bottom does not work as well.

 

 

 

I bought this ink stamp pad carousel at the Arlington, TX Scrapbook Convention several years ago.  It works perfect for storing the distressed inks.

 

 

 

 

Here is a close up on the labels with the color on them.  This works for me and look I have room for two more colors on this side!

I love this kitchen gadget (actually, I love all kinds of tools).  It cores and slices at the same time.

Problem is that mine is an older, cheaper model and it does not come with a cover.

 

 

 

 

Turn this baby over ad these blades are sharp.  I have nicked and caught my fingers on these blades trying to get the last bit of core or peeling out.

Then if it is put away in the drawer I was always concerned that we would forget and cut a finger really bad and worst off have to make an emergency trip to the ER.

 

 

 

 

Problem solved.  I use a freezer zip lock bag to store the apple slicer/corer in.  I use the freezer zip lock because the plastic is thicker.

The zip lock bag is clear so I can see it and it can be put away in the drawer without worry of anyone cutting themselves.

 

 

Finally, I finished up the holders for my foil, plastic wrap and wax paper.

I got these from Ikea and they are designed to either  be mounted to a rail or you can screw them into a cabinet door.

I came up with putting magnets on them and hanging them on the side of my refrigerator.

 

 

Problem, it takes super strong magnets to do this and they cost twice as much as the holders.

The holders come with either a tab that slides and cuts the item or you can use the insert that has teeth and cut it that way.

The magnets I found at HL and although they are not strong enough to hold the holder on the fridge and pull the item and cut, they are strong enough to hold them in place and then I can pull them off and then pull off as much foil, plastic wrap or wax paper that I need.   Sweeeet!

I’m going to chase a little rabbit here…. this vine always delights me.  I cut it back to the ground and it is almost to the top of the pole.

 

 

 

 

This is the biggest bloom it has ever produced.  This is a Columbine vine.

I see it every time I drive into my garage.

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, on to organization.  I have a front load washer/dryer and I guess I overloaded it today.  It stopped and came up with an error message.

I keep all of the books to the various items we own in a plastic tub with pendaflex folders.

 

 

 

This is a little dark but I went straight to the tub and pulled out the manual and within 5 minutes I found out what I needed to do to get the machine up and running again.

Difference between a woman and a man, we will read directions!   LOL!

 

 

 

Because I love power tools I keep them in a binder in the box.

I have tried a lot of things to keep the manuals and information on the various things organized but this is by far my favorite.  Everything in one place.

 

 

Now, I notice there are some manuals in there that we don’t own the items anymore so that means I have another task I need to do….clean out the tub!

Ok, so I had a Michael’s coupon that was burning a hole in my pocket.  I’ve always wanted one of these to go with the rest of my jet max cube stuff.

At 40% off why not (I told myself).  Yep, it was a perfect piece to organize the desk in my craft studio.  It’s a room in my house but “craft studio” sounds better…LOL!

 

 

 

At M’s dollar spot they had these cute miniature tissue boxes.  Too cute!

 

 

 

 

 

This little mouse is actually a 4 dock usb port.  His eyes turn on when you have something plugged into one of his legs (or ports).  This was a stocking stuffer a couple of years ago from the Container Store….cute, cute, cute!

 

This little caddy gives me a convenient place to keep those things that always seems to be laying around on my desk organized.

I was looking for material for some pillows at JoAnn’s when I found these cute containers.  I needed something to put my felt and scraps of material and felt to keep them contained and yet be able to see what I had.

Thought about using baskets, could have used plastic containers but if I don’t see something I often forget I have it.

 

 

Found 2 for 60% off, plus……….wait for it I also had a 25% coupon form my entire purchase.

 

How cute are these they came with the tag, the black and white ribbon and even chalk to write on the tag.

 

 

Now, I just have to find a place to put them.

I have a lot of Embossing folders from various manufacturers.  My problem is I’m one of those people that if I don’t see it or run across it ever so often, I forget I have it.

So I have done a couple of runs at setting up something that would work for me but the two ways I organized these items did not meet my needs.

The first way I organized it was an idea from Okieladybug’s Scrap N’ More.  I tried to go back on her site and link it up but it must be too old.  However, I outgrew the system and I couldn’t see the embossing folders very well.

 

The second way was to keep them in a notebook.  That didn’t work well because it took a lot of notebooks.

 

This is my next attempt to organize them.  I start with some card stock cut to 6″ x 6″.  I’m using a variety of colors but you can use whatever suits your area.

 

 

I pulled out the various folders and start the process.  Here is what you will need:

Card stock – 6″ x 6″                                  Distressed Inks

Embossing Folders                                 Foam Applicator

Embossing Machine                               Sewing Machine

Page Protectors                                       Ink Pens – White & Black

 

I placed the embossing folder over the top and left a approximately a 1/4″ on the right side. The 1/4″ margin on the right side (or left if you want to change it up) is important and makes it easier to sew.

 

 

 

 

Once embossed, I used some distressed ink to enhance the embossing.  The picture makes the inking look very uneven, but in reality it looks better.

 

I did the top portion about 2-1/2″ down the card.  This is enough to see the embossing and make it easy to see what the envelope holds.

 

 

I’ve had these page protectors for years.  I bought them and then realized that I had to punch holes in the paper that I would put in them.  I went back and bought those where the paper could just load from the top down and required no hole punching.

 

 

 

 

This is a top loading page protector, so I cut off both sides and the bottom.  This will give you two sheets.  I then cut the sheets at 4″ and left them as long as they ended up after the sides and bottom was cut off.

 

 

 

 

Here is what I discovered.  If I tried to cut the plastic to 4″ x 6″, it would wiggle around while I tried to sew it on the 6″ x 6″ card.

If you will leave it wider and longer than what you need then you can trim it off after you sew it.

 

 

 

Using my Scor Pal I was able to keep the lines straight and 2″ down from the top and at each corner on the bottom I place a little tape to keep the plastic from moving around too much.

 

 

 

 

 

I allowed the plastic to go past the edge of the 6″x6″ card on each side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About a 1/4″ at the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

I took a very small seam allowance when I sewed down each side and across the bottom.

I’m putting my Embossing Folder Cards in a Jet Max Cube drawer.  The inside measurement of that drawer is a little less that 6″, it’s like 5-7/8″.  This pocket that the plastic makes on this card is a very snug fit for the embossing folder.

 

 

 

This is the back of the envelope.  After I finish sewing it, I just turn it over and cut off any of the excess plastic and thread.

 

 

 

 

Here it is the finish product.  I took my white ink and put the name of the folder on the left hand side.

 

I think this is going to work really well.

 

 

 

When they are placed in the drawer there is enough envelope above the folder to let me see the pattern and because it is card stock it is easy to thumb through them.

 

 

 

 

Hmm, I may end up making a video of this (since I haven’t made one in a while).  It would be easier to see then my pictures I think.  At last count I have 54 embossing folders to do this for and that does not count those that won’t fit in the drawer.  We’ll see how long this last me, but right now I’m liking the results.