lalalalalalalala....

Yeh my reasoning is it has been a very hectic couple of months!!!
And of course, because I mentioned it, the mojo ran away again... *sigh*

But we've had the Esperance Show, Mum and Dad were here for a visit and work has been flat out! Who would have thought people would want so many coffees????
And I've had a declutter, clean and reorganising of my studio....
Not a lot of reorganising, more just sorting out the paper into collections as it had all been mixed up, and getting rid of things I know I will never use.
But I decided to pick up some new baskets rather than the plastic tubs I did have and groups things together properly.
Another thing I have done, is sort out my 'colour centre' with all my stamps, inks, stains, paints and tools so they're all in 1 spot and easy to access.
I was going to make up a new stamp index, but I saw a suggestion for digitising them into Evernote, loved the idea and a couple of days later all of my stamps are now digitised, as well as my masks and stencils, stains, distress markers, colour washes and my new purchases - dies to go with my new BigShot... oops one happen to fall into my studio from somewhere... :)
I'm also slowly adding in sketches from PageMaps, and with everything labelled with any word I can think of to search for it should be easy to search through for something that will fit in with what I'm looking for!

And pictures... of course I have pictures...

My new Colour Centre...

Paints are still in the diamond in the middle, Stains on the left, Sprays on the right...
On the top of the bookcases I've run a piece of wood for a sehlf to hold my masks and stencils (in a letter holder), the holder for my distress markers, and my Big Shot.
In the bookcase on the left I have my dies on the top shelf, Stamps are all on the shelf in the middle (in numbered folders), and cloths in the basket at the bottom.
In the other set of shelves I have all my tools and inks, all within easy reach.

I still have my large shelves...nope they're not going anywhere! And my chipboard are still sorted into my drawers on the top. I haven't done anything with them as I like they way they are sorted, the same as my ribbon and flowers.
I've replaced the plastic tubs with the baskets as it does look better. All my BTP projects are still stacked at the bottom waiting to be sorted, though I'm finding it hard to consider getting rid of any of them.... Maybe I'll just do them and give them away...
The biggest declutter was all of my pattern paper and I now have a pile to give away. I have to say I was fairly ruthless, but still have plenty to play with.

One thing I did come across is an inspiration jar.... it's a jar with numbered sticks. The idea was to use them to complete unfinished projects but as I don't normally have them, I've instead set it up to use my stash more... stamps from a particular set, a sketch, a collection, or to do an BTP project.
I can update and change it as I use I've set the challenges up in Evernote. It's pretty my my personal challenge jar which I hope will help kickstart the creativity!

Studio Tour - Part 3

Onto the age-old question for a scrapbooker - how do you store your stuff?
WARNING: this will be pic heavy!
This is how I currently store all of my scrapbooking stuff - just remember for me it is constantly evolving. Some parts I love and they will continue to be stored that way... other's I'm still working on.

So onto the tour...
A scrapbooker's staple - my photos are all stored in photo boxes, by theme.
I have holidays, heritage (the 6x4's are in the tin), girls, enlargements, etc. I also have 1 box which holds my negatives and photos I'm not going to scrap.

 The boy's photos (6x4 and 5x7) are kept in this photo box I altered which is kept on display.

Now for embellishments...
My embellishments are stored in different ways - this first are flat containers which hold bulky items (containers of beads, ring binders, etc), items still on the packaging (resins, bling strips, etc), some chipboard I have lots of (label holders, chip words), and larger journal pages.
The containers stack nicely and don't take up a lot of room, though storing a lot of things.

I also have small embellishments stored in divided containers. These contain the tiny things like brads, tickets, charms, etc. Very easy to see what you have and what you want at a glance, but keeping them neat and tidy.

I also use the divided boxes for my ribbon. I'm sure you've all seen this before. I haven't changed this for years and I am really happy with it. Easy to choose exactly what shade/colour ribbon I want for a project!

I do have some bulk items for scrapbooking, especially after my stint on the DT for Kaisercraft. They are all stored in these boxes. One is empty so don't think everything is full... lol

Rub-on's and Diecuts...
For me, these have been an on-going change. I am never happy with what I've got, but now I think I might actually be onto something. I have them all sorted into themes, sorted by rub-ons and diecuts (also tags) and stored in A4 plastic document folders. It puts no pressure on the rub-ons and being sorted by theme, it's easy to find what I'm looking for.

I keep all of my paper stored in Cropper Hopper vertical files. I'm not sure if you can get these any more (well definately not the black ones....) and paper is sorted by cardstock (by colour) and pattern paper. Pattern paper is sorted into manufacturer and then further into ranges. As I will usually use a full range when I scrapbook it makes it easier.

All of my scraps are stored in a tub, and also my 6x6 paper pads. The paper pads I'm happy with, the scraps not so much! I also have kits, 12x12 pads, chipboard sheets and paper the kids can use stacked next to it.

Alphabets are all stored in tubs... thickers in one, smaller alphas in another and the rest in 2 other tubs....

My loose chipboard alphabets are all stored in Kaisercraft drawers sitting on the top of my shelves.. Love these! And it's a great way to mix and match alphabets.

Chipboard is stored in a couple of ways. Sheets of grungeboard and also chipboard pieces are kept in tubs...this is still very much a work in progress until I find something better.

Though all of my loose chipboard pieces are again stored in the Kaisercraft drawers, sorted by shape.

Though anything larger than this has been stored into another set of drawers. Originally it was meant to be 3 drawers across, but I joined them up to make long drawers to store the longer pieces of chipboard

Stamps....
All of my clear stamps are stored in the A4 document folders again, stuck onto laminated sheets. All of my wooden stamps are stored in a box, including the Kaisercraft ones I haven't sorted out yet. I also have a book I need to stamp so I can easily see what stamps I have when I'm looking for one.

Paints, mists, colourwashes, stains and stickles, etc (all that messy stuff!)
This is only new for me... before I've had them stored into a trolley I could pull out, but I wanted them within easy reach. So I sorted them by type and colour, and stacked them on the top of the Kaisercraft drawers. To lift the back bottles slight so they could be easily seen, I 'borrowed' a couple of pieces of square 40x40 (I think) timber from the husband and used it as a step. Works beautifully and raising the bottles enough. And you have to admit... it does look pretty!

I have another set of drawers, this one is the smaller drawers. This one holds all of my Tim Holtz (and some other) bits and pieces all nicely sorted...actually a lot of stuff I would use for off-the-page!

Flowers...
By now most of you know how I store my flowers... all in old coffee jars, sorted by size and colour. They do look so pretty on the shelf on my wall.
Joining them are jars of buttons (colour themed), jars of lace and string. There's also a jar of mixed pieces of ribbon (the 5-10cm bit always left!).
I've also hung a piece of dowel to hold my decorative tapes.

Ink pads are a sore subject for me... I still haven't found a storage solution I like. But I have stored all of my Versacube inks in this metal basket I picked up...

Well there you have it... not perfect by any means and there's still things I'd like to do.
My storage is always evolving. I hope you found some ideas there, but what works for me might not work for you!

Studio Tour - Part 2

Yesterday I gave you an overview of my studio... today I'll give you a closer look at some areas.
Most of my room has been done on a budget and I've looked around for the cheapest way of getting the looks I wanted.
All of the bookcases and the cubes I have purchased from Red Dot (our local cheap shop) to keep the costs down.
The lino floor was purchased as an offcut from our local store so I got it for half price.

My computer desk. Now this is made from a set of white drawers (had on hand and just changed the handles), 2 pieces of white melamine (1 for the desktop, and the other for the back) and 2 legs. The front of the melamine top has been finished with a piece of pine trim. It's the perfect size and the drawers hold my A4 paper, inks and pens.
I've put a couple of screws on the side to hold the powerboard in easy reach.

I thought I would share this little tip... I've put on hook in the side as well and the cords I use to charge my phone, e-reader and the cord for the external hard drive clipped with bulldog clips and hung off the hook. They're kept neat and tidy and within easy reach.

This is a closer look at the set of cubes that hold several things on display like boxes and mini albums.

The top provides a good place to display a frame, and hold the wire basket I picked up that holds all of my Versacube inks. I used to have them all sorted by colour, but decided to just throw them all in together.
I have a simple matchstick bamboo blind at the window with white organza curtains framing it flowing down to either side of the set of cubes. It keeps a nice soft look to the room against the brick walls.

I love these bookcases. I picked up several from Red Dot (as well as the cubes) and keeping them all white they add a freshness to the room. I've also teamed them up with some cane baskets from Target.
This set of bookcases hold my books on scrapbooking, my cross stitch kits and sewing stuff all on the baskets.

And this one holds my Stamp-it, Tim Holtz and Staz-on inks, as well as Kaisercraft paints, watercolour pencils and glues. I'm not 100% happy with this so consider it a work in progress. I want something for the inks that will make them easier to access...
BTW the basket holds clothes that I use for various clean-up jobs...

I also have another of these 2 shelf book cases that has 2 baskets in it. One is empty but the other holds all of my spare tapes, inks and sanding blocks.

I will be back in the next day or 2 with my scrapbooking storage. Warning it will be a long post as I'm going to go into it in detail...

Stay tuned!

The Studio - part 1

I've decided to do this post in 2 parts... part 1 an overview of my room, and part 2 will be details of my storage!

This is truely MY room... it's girly and totally me and I love spending time here!

So hang on to your hats as we go on a tour...

This is looking across the room, from the doors.... please note the floor... isn't it gorgeous!!!!

And this is the other end of the room... my reading corner. Well it's where I can sit and relax and read or cross stitch, or whatever. It has the comfy chair (stolen from the lounge room!), coffee table, music and generally just a comfy place to relax!

My shelves which hold the majority of my scrapbooking gear! I will go into the storage in a later post.
Behind this set of shelves is the roller door from it's previous designation as a garage, but the shelves sit forward enough that I have a small area for storage of tubs of stuff that we need rarely.

And on top of the shelves sits all of my Kaisercraft drawers holding lots of bits and pieces and all of my paints, colourwashes and glimmer mists... colour coded of course!

Another view....

I have only a single window, and under them I have these cubes which are a good place to display some finished projects!

And of course the wall shelves holding my jars of flowers, buttons and lace.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse... drop back in a couple of days and I'll have the details of my scrapbooking storage.

My New Studio

I got a please so here are the version 1 photos... lol.
I still have tweaking to do, and there's a couple of things still to be done, but generally this will be it for a little while...

So here goes...

Looking across the room from the new french doors....


and from the other corner...



Now, behind the shelves I have put the freezers, so this is where I want the false wall to go. DH is suggesting we want to take out the rollerdoor altogether, and put in a massive window...
I do like the little storage area though, where I can hide empty boxes and other stuff and it's a good spot for the chest freezers with easy access. What do you think?

This is shot from the shelves towards the back wall.


The sewing machine is on the desk, but I will probably store it under the desk under the window.
I need to get a larger piece of vinyl to cover the 2 trestle tables, and piece of carpet for the floor. I love the foam mats, but the chairs will cut into them, so I will get a piece of carpet to protect it.
I think the table will be big enough to have a few friends over the scrap don't you think?

Here is the set of shelves holding most of my stuff... there is almost a whole shelf empty now... I might just have to rectify that.



Looking up the wall from the french doors. I got dh to put the shelf unit from the old window on the wall for me.



Along the back wall I have my old cutting desk back (this can hold layouts for display or while I wait for something to dry), and the sets of drawers have all of my sewing stuff, the stuff for the knk, spare stationery, etc, etc, etc...



And finally, my painting desk...
this is new (well the desk has been out in the shed!) but I now have somewhere I can paint, emboss, spray or whatever messy all in the one spot! and leave it to dry.



I still have a few things I want to do...
I have hooks in the wall... just got to do the work to hang there, and I want to get a cane chair to sit in the corner, so I have somewhere peaceful to sit and read.

And the best thing... I can shut the door and have some peace and quiet when I need to!

So... what do you think?