Challenge #9 Dies, Spellbinders, Sizzix and Cricut

Marching on to this week. Time to pull out those dies and cartridges...gather them together so they are in one spot and at least out of the package!  My Sizzix and Big Shot dies are organized alphabetically in 2 of my little white drawers just under my Big shot. (They were in a unit that hung on my wall upstairs but I didn't want things on my wall in my new scrapping space. An awesome unit but I just can't bring myself to get rid of it yet even though I am not using it)  My Cricut cartridges are in a binder type thing designed specifically for Cricut cartridges and my Spellbinders I have taken out of the  box and organized them in a CD cartridge case.  I just cut a little magnetic strip and adhered that to the CD box and as Spellbinders are all metal they nest quite nicely on that metal strip so I can open the box without losing any of them.  They too have a little white drawer of their own.  How about you?  We should be just about done organizing in the product department.  Next week, we will be packing for a crop.  That worked out great as I am on the road next weekend to Minnesota to attend Julie J's crop!  Can't wait!



This is the Cricut Storage binder that I mentioned that I use to store my Cricut cartidges.  I found it at Containyacrafts.com.  Love it and it is very portable too!




Spellbinder Storage....in a CD case.

Challenge #8 Stickers, Sticker Letters\Alphabet Stickers

We are 8 weeks in!  How are you holding up?  Oh Boy!!! Do I have stickers! Do I use them.....uhhhh no. Why not? I guess that I have for the most part grown out of them. I don't really know why.  I guess my style has just changed.  Okay...I feel a personal challenge coming on....I challenge you to do one layout, your subject choice, and use one\some stickers that you already have.  Meanwhile, gather your stickers\alphabet stickers\design lines etc and find a home for them.  I still use the Creative Memory Sticker binder. (okay...I have 5 of them...my bad)  I keep my sticker letters in a zipper file by color (a container that I used to have when I was a consultant. ) How are you going to organize your stickers\letters? 

Challenge #7 Inks, Stamps, Markers and Colored Pencils

Well, well, well....How many of you are still with us?  I know Julie J is and I know that Kris is working on moving her scrapping space to a new area in the basement. (I totally feel your pain!)  This week we are working on organizing our Inks, Stamps, Markers and Colored Pencils!  I have my rubber stamps organized in a wheeled cart that I can just pull around to me. I have more stamps than some people and I AM SURE that I have less than others. LOL   My Stampin Up inks used to be in an awesome little unit that hung on the wall that had a space for the matching colored marker to go beside it.Well, since I have moved downstairs...I have to find them a new home since I don't want to put much more on my walls.  My Tim Holtz and Adirondak inks are in one of my little white cubes.  My cat eye inks travel with me in my work tote. I have them in a little plastic container that snaps shut.  I don't have any colored pencils...so there you have it.  My goal this week is to get my markers and ink pads down to the new scrapping area.  Let me hear from you!  How is it going?

Challenge #6 Rub-Ons and Chipboard

This week, pull out all of your rub-ons and chipboard and find a way to organize it.  For my rub-ons I used a Creative Memories deco-file (a glorified expandable file that I already had) and sorted them by catagory. My chip board at the moment is in one of my white drawers sorted by kind.  My chipboard letters however, are in little mini tilt out bins that hang on the wall and sorted alphabetically.  They are still upstairs in the old room. However, I don't want anymore things on the walls in my new room...I may have to re-think this.  I am struggling between wanting everything in my drawers and trying to stay portable.  I really like Julie J's embellishment container and at the same time trying to keep things off the top of my working area and in the drawers when I work here at home.. Sigh....What to do....???? LOL...I know...just build on a new room!  I am sure that my wonderful husband would understand!  Don't you think?  hehehehe.... Have a good week and let me know how it's going!

Challenge #5 Paper and Paper Scraps

This week's Challenge is probably the most daunting for me.  If I spent half the time scrapping as I do organizing I think I would be pretty close to caught up!  Gather your paper scraps, card paper, scrapping paper, paper packs and ALL of your scraps.  Find a way to organize them. It could be stacks in a project box. I use Cropper Hopper paper storage files and store them vertically in my white cubes. For example my solid black and whites are stored in one container, while my printed black and white are in another. (I have a ton of paper.)  My paper packs are stored in an Itso bin from Target.  I do have my CM paper separate from my Bazzil and open stock paper.  Not sure why...I just do. But...all of the my black and white, CM, open stock, Bazzil and printed black and white are next to each other in the Black\White paper family.....hope this makes sense.
I have tried many methods to contain my scraps. I used to just store them all in a drawer labeled scraps. Then I went to an accordion file and sorted by color. Now I have one envelope that I keep in the front of each container to store scraps. (Like a black envelope and a white envelope) in the front of my black and white bin and so on.  What method will you choose? Good luck this week.  Hope everybody is making progress!! Let me know how things are going!

Uploads from Julie J 

Creative Options totes - they are the best!!!  My yellow one contains cards that are made and organized according to b-days, sympathy, thinking of you, get well, etc.  The purple ones is matching cards/envelopes to be made, the pink is scraps of partially made cards to donate for Operation Write Home and pre-cut cardstock for cards.  I also keep my stamps in 2 of these.  Here's a few examples of the scrap strip cards and 1 scrapbook idea......NEVER throw any piece of paper away that is bigger than a quarter - tee hee!!!!!
Julie

Add caption

See Julie's narrative in the comment section below for these pictures.  Thanks for sharing Julie!!

Challenge #4

As usual my Thursday\Friday post didn't happen until Saturday. LOL...Thank God for the itinerary!  This week pull together your glitter, embossing powders, paint, Smooch, Stickles and crackles. Although I haven't posted my pictures since week #2 I promise I will and I am working on them.  In the process of finding a new home for all my stuff.  It's been a crazy week as I am sure it has been at your house too!  I think I need Extreme Makeover Home Edition at my house.  Maybe they would build on another room....ya think?

Challenge #3 Ribbons, Adhesives and Pop Dots Oh My!!

Sorry for the late post. Hopefully by now you have gotten through the brad and embellishments. As I am writing this I have spent my whole day with my wonderful oldest daughter Melissa and Michael's girlfriend Callie....moving my scrapbook book room to the main floor so that Mason can have his bedroom back. To do this I had to move our living room to the family room and turn the office around.  Ugh... Now I just have piles of stuff to organize, but I am going to start with my Ribbons, Adhesives and Pop Dots.  I am sure it will be marvelous when I finally find room for everything.

How are your challenges coming? Are you keeping up? Just keep plugging away at it even if it is only 15 minutes a day!  Until then, let me hear from you and tell me how your coming.  Let me in on some of your ideas and accomplishments.  Until then....chao!

Julie J's Challenge #3..See Below for her narrative on her Challenge 2 & 3.  Thanks for sharing Julie!  You go girl!!

Challenge #2

It's that time of the week again.  Time to put up the new challenge for the week.  For Challenge #2 your mission is, (if you choose to accept it LOL....)  organize brads, buttons, flowers, and hardware.  Something to think about as you are doing this.....do you like to take your embellishments with you to crops? If you do, make sure that they are in something that will travel well.  A container that would snap shut for example.  If you are not traveling with them...it may not be as important.  Don't forget to label the container! I have most of my brads containerized, sorted by color and size.  My flowers are in a drawer in my scrap room....not very easily traveled.  I may have to do something there.  Buttons are in a container....now I will have to tackle the hardware.....another whole story there.  (Kinda like my bling!)   I will post my accomplishments later this week! Let me know what your plans to store them are or how you now have them organized. Have a great week!

News Flash...just in...Julie J is smokin us all!! She just sent me uploads for Challenge 2 and 3!....Here is her Challenge 2...

Challenge #1 Complete!

My beautiful BLING box pain-stakingly made from an
old pencil box.  Completely done...yet much too small!!

The inside of my beautiful BLING box that was much too small!!

Plan B. Organized by color.  Note to self....you are not out of anything...Do not buy any more BLING...I repeat...do not buy anymore BLING!!!!!!  LOL

Julie J's organized Bling!! See her description in the comment section.

Julie J's containerized Bling!!

Julie J's Completed Challenge #1

Organization Schedule FYI

As I have talked with some of you over the last couple of days, it appears that I have taken this thing too slow?  I don't want to overwhelm anyone but at the same time, if someone has a chance to work ahead...this is the plan for the next few weeks (unless someone wants to change my mind LOL)  Come on girls...I need a little feed back to know how this is working. (says someone that doesn't have her BLING done yet....busy doing taxes for corporate) 

Challenge #1=Bling
Challenge #2=Brads, Hardware, Buttons,Flowers and all other embellishments (that I don't have listed below LOL)
Challenge #3=Ribbon Adhesives, Pop Dots
Challenge #4=Glitter, Embossing Powders, Paint, Smooch,Stickles and Crackles
Challenge #5=Paper\Paper Scraps
Challenge #6=Rub-Ons and Chip Board
Challenge #7=Inks, Stamps, Markers\Colored Pencils
Challenge #8=Stickers, Sticker Letters\Alphabets
Challenge #9=Dies, Spellbinders, Sizzix, Cricut
Challenge #10=Pack Tool Tote\Paper Cutters\Tools
Challenge #11=Page Layouts
Challenge #12=Packing for Crops
Challenge #13=Projects to Go
Bonus Challenge=Book of Stories
Bonus Challenge#2=Photos Storage
Bonus Challenge#3=Idea Storage

Did I forget anything or have any other suggestions or anything else that you want to cover?  Please leave me feed back so I know your thoughts on some of this.  I don't want anyone to lose interest in this but at the same time I hope to not overwhelm.  I just want to have FIM!  Okay I mean FUN but I just wanted to see if you were really reading this or am I just talking to myself again.......hahahaha

Challenge #1

I'm So Excited!! I posted our very first challenge on Facebook last night.  I will probably try and keep the length of the post on Facebook somewhat short and we can refer to here for any of our lengthy conversations.  That way we won't tie up our friends status'.  I thought I would keep the first challenge small because I know that we all have very busy lives and not much room to crowd in any more activities or we wouldn't all still be feeling behind.!

I am looking forward to having some company on this journey and hoping that Julie J and Rita will join us.  (My new friends from MN. and YES I too wish we lived closer!)

So, the first challenge is to get our "bling" in order. I don't really know why I chose to start where I did but anyone that knows me knows how I love bling! Boy do I have lots of it.  Problem is at times its all over the place. Hanging on the door still in a sack, still in unpacked project totes from the last crop. My idea, okay we all know that at times I can be an over-achiever, I could just put it in a plastic snap top container; but then again a pretty container would be so much fun and fun to use too! So my dilemma is do I want to take the time to decorate "bling up" a cigar\pencil box (did I just use those two words together?) with awesome Graphic 45 paper and add a little 7 Gypsies knob to open it? I am going to a crop tonight....hmmm I could work on it there.  My only other consideration is that it has to remain portable because when I pack for a crop, I pack my project envelopes and just take the whole bling box and my other embellishments to finish up my pages. 

Some things I have considered:

1. Mine needs to be portable as I love going to crops and don't always have the time to chose the right embellishment or I just might change my mind once I get there.
2. What kind of container do you want to use and where will it be stored when your not using it.  Will it fit? Mine goes into a certain drawer in my scrap room.
3. I plan on organizing my bling by color once I get it all together.  If I am looking for something in particular....it is usually a certain color and then I take into consideration the size and shape.
4. As you go through your stash....are there any colors that you are running short on or don't have but think that you will use.  Make note of them. ANOTHER EXCUSE TO GO SHOPPING!  LOL  I usually keep a small notebook in my purse with notes on it for what I am shopping for. You'll never know when the shopping opportunity my arise and you  will know just what you need. 
5. Lastly, when you are putting it all away....purge the things that you know you won't use! Not as in throwing it away, but I have a bin I am constantly keeping for holding my items that I don't LOVE anymore.  (you know the ones that were an awesome idea when you bought them...and all of the sudden you are asking yourself....what was I thinking....hahahaha.....I have quite a few of those.) Price them before you toss them into the bin and then when the next "garbage" sale or should I say garage sale comes around you will be ready

Just a closing thought....Do you scrapbook pictures or do you scrapbook stories?  A bonus challenge...I am working on my binder that I have labeled "My Book of Stories".  Obviously, I now scrap by story rather than pictures.  (Before you freak out, yes you can still scrap chronologically and scrap by story if you are one that scraps chronologically  LOL)  Gather a binder, I started with a used one.....and some dividers that I had laying around the house. Doesn't have to be a big one....  I think mine is an inch or inch and a half. Have dividers enough for each member of your family plus maybe a couple of extra. Get it into one spot and we can to from here next week! Most of all have fun....and do not stress!!! If you don't get time to get something done it is no biggy....Remember this is supposed to be FUN!!