Stamps all in a row

Where have I got to? It is safe to assume that I have been sorting again.  My birthday pressie was stamps from Papertrey Ink and I have been pondering what to do with my growing collection.  With cleaning out and organising our CD, DVD and video {yes we still had one} , I decided to steal away the rimu tower that we had CD's in gathering dust and use it for a much better purpose.  The Papertrey Ink stamps are already in CD cases and I have transferred a number of other clear stamps as well.  With just a few more spaces to fill it is probably a good thing that they have changed their storage to DVD cases.  So much happier now I can access all my stamps.  I keep  all my other stamps in a set of plastic drawers.  You can see them in this post under the desk

What about you?  Is your stamp collection growing?  Do you have stamps that you haven't used {or maybe even opened}?  Maybe its time to do some sorting so you can use them better.  Leave a comment or email me at revolutionizeu@gmail.com if you need any suggestions.

My Crafting Space

It is amazing how a bit of organising helps me get in the mood to scrap.  Before Christmas I  had a bit of a rearrange in my space from how I had it.  Turning my desk around and making changes to where I put things has meant I can get to things much easier.  It also meant that I was able to pack some supplies to take with me and I have made great progress on my youngest son's album.  It meant I was in a very sorting kind of mood so Mum was very pleased when I organised her space and supplies while I was visiting.  It may be a sign of getting back into my organising business.

Still organising

One of the challenges at Crop Creative {you can see some of my other challenges here} was to update something in your creative space. Since getting back to creating layouts I had been finding that I am frustrated when it comes to finding the bits and pieces I need for journalling and titles. Up until now I have been keeping things that are the same together eg stamps, punches, papers. But just as our stash changes so does our need to reorganise. Since putting together my stamp pads, pens and embellishments together by colour I have loved getting creative as I can immediately find what I want. So I did the same with my journalling bits and pieces. Now I have together my alphas, date stamps, words and label maker ready to do layouts. And I have more space in my stamp drawer.

Feeling better organised

With all my fab finds of late I have been feeling the need to do some more organising of my supplies. Being able to access what I have easily is such a benefit as I can focus on being creative rather than where I put that embellishment that I am wanting. I love checking out scrapping spaces on line and would love to have that room but there are ways around it when you have a small space.



So I started with my A4 cardstock. I am building up my stamp pads and therefore colours so I went for a sturdy file box. And I am loving it. I have sorted them into colours and each file has a bag for my scraps. The best thing is when I go out to scrap I can take the whole thing with me!


Now for my ribbons. Up till now I have been keeping my ribbons in click clack containers. As my stash has grown they started to overflow and were getting rather squished. I came across this idea in a magazine that I read to have them hanging on the wall. We were given the wall hanging and it worked really well. Now I have all my ribbons where I can see them.


And my best sort yet getting out my sewing machine on my desk. My awesome husband found this book - Sewing on Paper by Catherine Matthews-Scanlon at the library for me on stitching on your projects. If you look here you will see how much I love stitching but have been reduced to faux stitching due to the effort required to get the machine out and I just cant get the same effect with my little one. Looking forward to using it.

My new find

My focus of late has been on card making. Seems to be a common thing that I hear. Cards are smaller projects they just seem easier than getting out all the bits to complete pages. So wanting to get back into it I took they chance while away visiting with family to get some done thanks to my fab husband who took the kids out for the day so I could scrap with Mum and my sister. It was a chance to have a go at using the page dividers by We R Memory Keepers that I have discovered that are being used in all sorts of ways. I got mine from Scrappin Patch. When I started scrapbooking it was all about getting my photos out of their box and telling the stories that went with them. Despite all my organising my photos are still in a box on my shelf and and now with digital multiplying rapidly on my computer. So I am in the process of developing a way to remedy this in conjunction with what I have already put together. Stay tuned for more.

Scraptacular Event

While a little absent from my blog I have been busy being creative in another way. We are gearing up for a big crop day. We are raising money for a great cause. Our church is sending a team with Project Samoa Hope through Habitat for Humanity to help with rebuilding fale in Samoa.

Scraptacular Event
13th March 2010
10 am - 4 pm
Northpoint Church
Bell Block
New Plymouth
Cost:$10

Its going to be lots of fun. The first of its kind in New Plymouth (that I know of anyway). A chance for you to see some of the great opportunities there are in scrapbooking and papercraft in our community. There will be goody bags, spot prizes, challenges, a cuttlebug to raffle, demonstrations and more. Something for beginner to advanced. Come and bring your projects to work on or see whats on offer and something to share for a finger food lunch. Great chance to try it out if you have been looking at getting into this great craft. First 50 registered guaranteed a goody bag. If you absolutely can't make it but want to join in the fun you can. You need to be in the New Plymouth region. Email me at revolutionizeu@gmail.com for details.

Come along and support this great cause. You can come for a play or stay all day. And stay tuned for what we get up to.

Blessings
Colleen

Our baby is one!

It is so hard to believe that a year has gone by already and my baby boy has turned one. He is so grown up. But who wouldn't be when you have 3 older brothers to catch up to.

I have been mulling over the idea for his card for some time. I got the inspiration from one of his t-shirts. Everyone says you are forever changed when you look at the world through stamping coloured lenses. With the aid of my card swatches I matched the colours that I was looking for. Along with my patchpal puppy stamp from Clear Dollar Stamps I thought it was a good match. I am looking forward to doing some more with similar ideas.

Colours: riding hood red, baja breeze, chocolate chip, certainly celery

Stamps: patchpal puppy and paw prints(CDS)

Finishing touches: happy birthday embossing folder, striped riding hood red grosgrain ribbon and chocolate chip and certainly celery grosgrain ribbon (SU), brads - vintage (SU), copper embossing powder, heidi grace chipboard wild daisy

A page and a card

This is a card I made with pieces I had left from the page that I completed. A friend had been on a retreat where one of the ladies had done just that. On completing a page you have all the coordinating bits so why not make a card. So I thought I would have a go. I guess I will have to do a few more before I pass judgement on how effective it is. It didn't take much time to put together. I usually put all my scraps into one bag until I have a few to put away. This is where I got my pieces for these cards. Always after new tips for getting things done.


This is the page that the pieces were from.
Who says you can't have lots of photos on a page? I had only allowed one page for this layout and thought I wouldn't be able to use all the photos I had. But after some creative cropping I was pleased with how it came together. I loved how the colours worked together. Retro again. I seem to recall a similar photo of me with my parents outside this same tent when I was young. Ahh the memories.

Back into scrapbooking

After spending a night sorting my pages using my Revolutionize Page Layout kit I am back into creating layouts. It has certainly been far too long. I am looking forward to getting these pages done. Will keep you posted on the progress

Sorted space

Here are some pics of my space. I just love using the clear plastic drawers for sorting. They fit under the desk and when I come to create I can pull them out. I have stamps in the blue one and accessories and punches in the white one. I keep my high use tools at hand on my desk. The purple cubes hold my idea folders, mags and my projects. I keep my papers in the tote bag sorted into colours along with stickers and stencils. Some of my embellishments are sorted on top in the blue craft box and everything else is on the bookcase in containers. Having things sorted saves me time as I know what I have and where it is. Most important when I am done with a project it is easy to put away as everything has a home. Time to get creative.

Relaunch

It is with great excitement that I relaunch my blog since its early beginning a couple of years ago when I started my organisation business. No matter how organised I am the birth of a baby and a new house and land has taken most of my energy. With his first birthday fast approaching I continue to have more opportunities to get back into my space and get creative. My space is located in the corner of our bedroom. I started out with an overhaul of all my supplies especially all the great new stamps that I have recently purchased. I found I still had items all over the place. Now everything has a home and is easy to find. I have mainly been focusing on cards that I have needed to make and have been inspired to get back into my first passion, scrapbooking. I am looking forward to using this blog to share my creations and inspiration.