Organization

I wanted to show you some of what I am currently doing in terms of organizing my scrapbooking and stamping things. I have been scrapbooking outside the home a lot more than before so I need to have a good way to keep some of my things portable and organized.

For scrapbooking, I need to transport the following:

• papers and photos (which I usually keep in the plastic bags that the CTMH paper packs come in) 
• paper trimmer with replacement blades 
• adhesive 
• pens 
• pencils 
• scissors 
• various punches 
• embellishments such as chipboard or ribbon or brads 
• album with page protectors to store my layouts

I recently bought this from L.L. Bean (on sale!). It is their Large Adventure Tote.  

 I originally thought I would use it as a beach/pool bag or to transport things when we go to the park or to a soccer game but I needed a bag in a hurry when I was going to scrapbook one day and everything just fit. It is large enough to fit a 12" x 12" album plus papers. I also love the outside pockets. Even though the paper trimmer, adhesive, and embellishments can all fit inside, it's really nice to have those outside pockets to keep them separate and organized (It's wonderful to not have to fish around in a large bag for one little item). It's also nice to have those outside pockets to store something like a snack or drink, just in case of a loose lid or top. The fact that this has a zipper is a definite plus. 

I am also now waiting for this (not in this print which I think is not available anymore).  

 

This is a Utility Tote from 31 Gifts. It can hold 12" x 12" papers/files and I'm wondering if it would hold an album. But it also has those lovely outside pockets all around the bag. This could be a good thing to transport scrapbooking materials but I'm hoping that it will function as a works in progress holder for some of my layouts and projects at home since it stands on its own. So when I go somewhere to scrapbook, I can search through this and pick what I want to work on. Then when I come back, I can refile the projects that aren't finished back in here. I do have my Works in Progress binder but I'm trying to keep that for one year at a time and I always seem to have more than one project going on. Anyway, I will work out how to best use it when it gets here.

I often stamp in my scrapbooks (especially to stamp lines for journaling) or sometimes I make cards at crops. For stamping, some of the items I'm listing overlap with my scrapbooking items so they could go in either bag. But here's what I like to take for stamping: 

• stamps 
• ink pads (stored in my Close To My Heart Accessories Case) 
• acrylic blocks (stored in a plastic pencil box) 
• stamp scrubber  
• spray cleaner for stamps 
• scissors 
• sponge 
• pens 
• pencils 
• various punches 
• foam tape 
• other types of adhesive

This is the All-In-One organizer from 31 Gifts and how I currently have it organized for stamping items I need on the go. Here's the top view of the inside of the tote.

And here's the side view of the tote. There are two pockets so some of the items that I stuffed in this one pocket could go over to the one in the back, but you can see that it holds a lot and keeps them organized.

I am excited to finally have some time to devote to getting organized! If you like any of the 31 Gifts items you see here, let me know and I will put you into contact with Heather who is signing up to be a consultant with them!

Pin It

Baby Blues from 6/18/2011

Baby Blues is my other current favorite comic strip! I think Jerry Scott must have a scrapbooker in his life (he works on Zits too). My son liked this one. He and some of his friends from school had a group scrapbook project for History. Naturally, my son volunteered our place for the group to meet, my supplies for the group to use (I have a ton!), and me as a helper. Luckily, the Pre-K teacher at work had given me a humongous container of Animal Crackers. She had kept it as an extra snack but it had hardly been used this year (and no little hands grabbed from the container). So, by the end of the first teen/tween scrapbooking session, the Animal Crackers container had gone down to just a little over halfway and two pizzas had been consumed. They didn't eat nearly that much the second day but they were feeling the pressure of trying to get as much done as possible so they were working feverishly. They did a wonderful job and ended up getting a 100%! See, sometimes knowing how to scrapbook comes in handy. I did overhear one of my son's friends saying, "Wow, your mom's really good at this!" It made my day!Pin It

Scrapping Goals and Studio J Layout Share

I went over to scrapbook with my friend Heather on Wednesday and I finished up the last of my paper layouts for my 2009 family scrapbook. I'm so excited -- I am expecting my next Studio J layouts to arrive on the 22nd. Once they come, my 2009 family album will be complete! I will also get some of my daughter's school layouts (bringing me mostly up to date, except for the pictures I took today yesterday at the end of the year Mexican Fiesta and the ones I hope to take on the last day of school). So I think I can say that I've completed my goal to finish our 2009 album by the end of June. Yay! Moral of the story: it's good to set appointments to scrapbook and to scrapbook with a friend. Thanks Heather!

I also started on some 2008 layouts last Wednesday which makes me want to set a goal for completing my 2008 family scrapbook. I think many of my 2008 layouts might need to be "traditional" cut and adhere, paper layouts since I don't have all of the pictures stored digitally on our computer, so I wonder if it'll take me longer...and even though I'll be home more with no preschool teaching and less of a workload from my work at home job, I'll have the kids 24/7. I would love to finish this album by the end of summer. Maybe I can give myself until the end of September to finish our 2008 album...do you think I can do it?

Here's my scrapping "To Do" list:

• Clean and organize my scrapping area (the basement) -- I have oozed over into the living room due to a lack of open and clear horizontal space on my art table downstairs and I need to put an end to that!
• Work on as many paper 2008 layouts as possible -- my mini goal is to finish the January, February, and March 2008 layouts by mid or late July
• Keep working on one large (over 10 double layouts) monthly order of Studio J layouts to take advantage of the free shipping
• Work on 2011 layouts in Studio J
• Work on any 2008 layouts for which I have the digital photos on the computer (mostly the latter part of the year)
• Finish my daughter's school layouts for this year in Studio J (approximately 2-3 more layouts)
• Start on my son's school layouts for this year in Studio J

Whew! That's ambitious for me! Anyway, on to the layout share. Here's one of the school layouts for my daughter's album. My daughter will be attending a different school in the fall and one of the things I thought she would miss the most was her art class. Her art teacher was just wonderful. As it turns out, she is leaving at the end of this year too in order to work on a Masters degree in Art Therapy! So I like her even more now since that was my field of study and I don't feel so bad about my daughter going to a different school!

Pin It

Zits Comic from 6/9/2011

Yikes, this will be me before I know it! Love Zits!Pin It

Clean and Simple Sketch 143

Here's a quick card I made using the sketch on the Clean and Simple Stamping Blog. I used my You and Me kit (papers and stamps) again.

Supplies used: (CC1012B) You and Me Kit, (1245) Olive cardstock, (Z2167) Creme Brulee stamp pad, (Z2120) Garden Green stamp pad, (Z2111) Chocolate stamp pad, Retired textured paper (for card base), (Z1151) 3-D Foam Tape

I really like this sketch and think it's a pretty versatile one. I can see making many variations on it. Here's the original Clean and Simple #143 sketch.

Pin It

Sketchbook Saturday Challenge #12

The subtitle of this post could be, "Confessions of a Paper Hoarder." I really like the paper in the You and Me kit and I couldn't bring my self to cut into it until yesterday! You know why? Because I got my second You and Me kit in the mail yesterday. Sigh! So now that I have a backup, I felt much more comfortable about making mistakes and actually using my paper. It's a very silly thing and leads to a whole lot of paper hoarding.

I used Chupa's beautiful sketch from her wonderful blog. I am not "in time" to post for the sketch challenge but better late than never and I really wanted to use this sketch. Here is my card with my oh so precious You and Me paper!

Supplies used: (CC1012B) You and Me Kit, (1245) Olive cardstock, (X5643) Chocolate cardstock, (X5751) Sorbet cardstock, (Z2167) Creme Brulee stamp pad, (Z2111) Chocolate stamp pad

Pin It

Constant Campaigns - June 2011

"You and Me: Stronger Together” Storm Survivor Benefit Campaign

CTMH has had requests to extend the availability of the You and Me scrapbooking kit offered during the month of May as well as requests to support those affected by recent severe weather in the US so during the month of June, order a You and Me kit for only $15 (a retail value of $34.95), and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross 2011 Floods and Tornadoes relief operations. Simply use item number CC1012B to place your order for this sensational kit and help those in need at the same time.

The You and Me: Stronger Together campaign will continue until June 30 at 11:59 pm or while supplies last. Please note that supplies are very limited and CTMH expects a quick sellout, so they will make every effort to keep the inventory availability gauge up-to-date.

Studio J® Free-for-All!
June 2011 Constant Campaign

During our Studio J® Free-for-All in June, we're giving everyone a FREE Studio J® JPG file—no purchase required! Simply log on to Studio J, create a layout, then order one JPG file of your layout during the checkout process. It's as easy as that! We're offering one free JPG file per customer account during June, so if you already have a Studio J account, you are all set to log on and start creating. If you don't have an account, just log on and create an account and then order your free JPG file.

Check out the Studio J videos for some tips and tricks to make your layouts: http://www.studioj.com/studioj_videos.html

Ideas for JPG files (other than printing them at 12" x 12" and storing them in your albums):

• Use the JPG files as a back up for your scrapbook layouts and store them in a different location than your scrapbooks.
• Make a mini album by printing your JPG's at 8" x 8"
• Print out your JPG at 5" x 5" or 4" x 4" and use it to make cards

Pin It