Archive for the ‘Organization’ Category

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.

 

 

 

 

 

I had the privilege to go to a Tim Holtz (this is his blog) workshop when he was in the area a while back. Stamp Asylum (this is their blogspot) in Plano had a great turn out.

It officially started my Tim Holtz fever.  Oh, I liked his stuff before (thanks to my bff, Phyllis) but this workshop really kicked it into high gear.

I officially made myself a Tim Holtz drawer in my Jetmax cube mania.  One reason is because I had accumulated so much of his “stuff” I needed a place to keep it organized.

And it is the first drawer at the top of that set of Jetmax cubes.

It is already stuffed with Tim Holtz “stuff” to create with and of course you just have to have the “stuff”.

Actually, I am so impressed with his line.  It is true quality “stuff”.  No, I don’t get paid to say that or get anything free from them.  Just a good honest opinion.

For me I like the fact that he takes the time to plan the “stuff” out so it works with each other and they can be used with each other in several different ways.  It is also planned that the new works with the old.

I’m loving the grundge paper so much more than the grundge board.

I even have a notebook especially for his stamps, which by the way are great Christmas and Birthday gifts (thank you Phyllis).

Yeah, he is such a nice guy and I love the fact that he takes time to take pictures with people he barely knows.

Thanks Tim for all your inspiration and sharing your gift!

Here is where we left off yesterday.

I entered all of my stamp ink pads into excel (by their actual names) then I sorted them alphabetically.  Then I numbered them.  What I don’t have a picture to show is the sheets that I made with 3 large rectangles across and 8 rectangles down the page.

Next with gloves on I slowly but surely, took the coffee filter flowers and inked them and then placed them on the page and numbered them according to their name.

I took re-positionable tape and taped it down to the square and then wrote in the corresponding number to the ink pad name.  This way I could get all of the flowers inked and tape down with the right number so they could dry.  For example the blue flower with a #1 in the square was Ballet Blue.

I let them dry overnight and then I cut each square out.  I then took the colors by groups, i.e. pinks, greens, yellows, etc.

Within each group I lined the up from light to dark.

I then went back to the computer and keyed in each name corresponding with the numbers of each group (going from light to dark in each color group) and glued each flower into the appropriate named box.

I started with the blue violet, then moved into the pinks, then reds, then orange, then yellow, then greens and then blues.  I also did the browns and blacks just so I would have an inventory of all the ink pads.   Click on the pictures to get a close up of the names.

Now when I get ready to make my flowers or when I need to match an ink pad to some pattern paper it can easily be done by just going to these inventory sheets and see what I have on hand.  I know it is a lot of work but it’s one of those you do a lot now to save you some time later.  I keep it attached to my bulletin board next to my Copic Marker chart.  Both of them right at my finger tips when I start combining colors for flowers.

I thought I would show you my stamp ink pad inventory.  When I’m making the coffee filter flowers I was having difficulty with blending some colors together.  One of the areas you have to deal with when using coffee filters is the ink looks darker when you first ink everything and because it is so porous it soaks up a lot of ink.

I decided to make an inventory sheet (or should I say sheets) so I could see what the colors looked like on the coffee filter petals when they were dry.

Using the TH Alterations Tattered Floral die cut is where I started.  I’ve found using the die cut to cut the coffee filters works the best.

I’ve tired using a punch but it didn’t cut as well.  I didn’t try the Cricut but figured the coffee filter would be to fragile to pull off the mat without tearing.

This is a great die cut and it is a must have to make all kinds of flowers.  This is a thick die and it can work in your CB.  I use a B plate (one the I use to cut), the die cut, the paper and then another B plate.  It will cut through 8 layers of coffee filter without any issues.

I fold the coffee filter in half.

Then half again (this makes 4 flowers at this point).

And half again.

Find the flower on the die cut and place it in the area, then place the B plate (the B plate I use for cutting) to hold it in place.  This B plate is not my cutting plate but I wanted you to see how I placed it on the die cut.

Run the sandwich through CB and it cuts right through every layer.  You can see in this picture that my B plate that I use for cutting is very scarred and has lots of cuts.  This is ok, they are designed to get scarred up and eventually they will break.  At that point get yourself another B plate and keep going!

If you are real careful you can get two cuts out of your coffee filter on the small flower.

I need a bunch of these (I’m ink pad poor), so I tried to get as many cuts out of one coffee filter as I possibly could.

Next, I used Excel and listed all the names of my ink pads.  Once I had them listed I sorted them alphabetically and then numbered them.

I probably could have just taken a flower at this point and inked it up and slapped it on a page but I wanted to be able to color coordinate the pages (light color to dark color) and in the same order as I keep my Copic Markers.

I know what you are thinking, and yes it was a lot of work but I’m really glad I did it because it makes pulling colors together for flowers a lot easier.  Tune in tomorrow when I finish up this project.  I needed to break this post up so it would not be so long.

As most of you know I have a “Woman Cave” full of Jet Max Cube.  I was so excited when I walked down an aisle at M’s and found the dividers for the Jet Max Cube drawers.

They come looking like this but it is pretty obvious how to put them together; however, they also have a page that gives you the instructions.

They make the drawers look so nice and neat and they really do help keep all those little things in their place.

What better way to use such an awesome drawer than for all the “Distressed” stuff from Tim Holtz.  Now everything I need is right in one drawer.  Yeah, I don’t have any of the new colors but when I get them I’m just going to stack them up in the like color cubes.

I almost have the little monkey card done (it is so cute).  I was going to upload some pictures and make it a two part posting because it is a little long, but Picasa is not working tonight (ugh!).  I don’t know if it is because of my laptop or Windows 7 or something else but I can’t get the pictures uploaded.  I’ll try again tomorrow.

I am all about organization and I needed some way to keep the thread wrapped around the bobbins for my sewing machine.

Yep, you guessed it I’m using these very small pony tail holders to do just that.

When you fill a bobbin with thread and then take it out there is no place on that bobbin to wrap the thread around or feed it through to keep it from coming unwound.

Henry, my grand-kitty, of course thinks all those pretty colored threads hanging down and swaying in the breeze are his personal toys.

I tried to match the color of the pony tail holders to the color of thread it is wrapping around.  This will help me when I need to pick a color.

They work perfectly and I think they are so cute.

WooHoo! Another item neat and orderly.

Although I have a Cricut Expression that would cut the same things as Spellbinders I still like to purchase them.  The advantages of the Spellbinders are they emboss and provide you a stencil should you want to chalk or add color.  This gives you 3 items in one element.

I use the 40% off coupon that HL puts out every other week to buy these because they can be pretty expensive.  If you keep your eyes open and check sometimes you can find the smaller ones at a bargain of a deal.

 

 

However, I needed to revamp how I stored these little gems because I forget what I have if they are not easily accessible.

I had to re-organize my growing collection of acrylic stamps and in doing so I had these jewel cases left over.  So and idea struck and since Spellbinders are metal I decided to use magnetic tape and the jewel case to house my Spellbinders.  This magnetic tape is about $4 or $5  for 10′ at M’s.

You can get various strengths of magnetic tape and sheets.  This one could have stood to be a little stronger but I found if I added and extra strip it held the Spellbinders in place. 

I recycled the old jewel case covers by flipping them over and running them back through the computer with the names of the various Spellbinders.  Lucky me, I saved the cut file and the original word file, if I needed a new one it was simple to cut.

 

 

 

I roughly eyeballed the length I needed for each Spellbinder.

 

 

 

 

I applied the tape to the cover.  This way when I pull the jewel case out I can flip it over and see what I’m looking for very clearly.

I also used some glue dots on the cover to hold the cardstock in place after I attached the Spellbinders.  The weight of the Spellbinders made the cover fall but with the help of the glue dot they worked perfectly.

 

 

These stack up very nicely in the CD case and now they are at arms length.  Looks like I might need to add another glue dot on the Fleur DE Lise one.

What did I do with my Acrylic Stamps?  I wanted to be able to flip through all of them at once so I bought Paper Studio Binders and fillers.  This way when I need a stamp I can quickly flip through the binder and see what I have.  I also changed over to binders for my CB embossing folders.  I’m a very visual person and need to be able to see what all I have available at one time. 

 

 

Needless to say the “Woman Cave” is constantly in a state of flux.  The major positioning of Jet Max Cubes and workspace has not changed.  It works perfectly, but how I organize the things inside that I use is always changing.  Eventually, I’ll get it just right!