that shelf…OH, that shelf.

February 8th, 2010

WARNING: the contents of this blog posting are somewhat scary. Yikes.

This weekend I knew I had to start tackling my re-organization project. See, there’s a guest bedroom off my craft room - it’s a great room. The problem is that it’s been sort of a catch all for my crafting CRAP. In other words: this past season on Craft Fair Madness was NOT kind to this room. LOTS of things were dumped here. Various unfinished craft projects, craft mistakes & disasters….unused boxes…shipping boxes that I *might* use someday…random unused craft materials, etc.

This shelf was the worst. It was where most EVERYTHING got thrown. To add to the madness, I still had Christmas wrapping paper & accessories sitting in this room - just hadn’t gotten around to lugging them back up to the attic. ARGH.

So this weekend I tackled the beast:

020810_01

*shudders*

So, what did I do? Well, here are a few tips that I can pass along from my weekend:

  • THROW THINGS OUT. Seriously. Are you going to use that? Have you touched it in the last 6 months? Take a long hard look at that crafting project that you THOUGHT you could salvage. Chances are you should cut your losses & move on - it will allow for a new spiffy project to make it’s way into your crafting life… ;)
  • Boxes - do you really need them? I was saving some empty boxes for potential shipping purposes. But really - all they do is take up LOTS of space - and looks really ugly. The Post Office has boxes - so why am I saving these?
  • Wasted space: certain items were taking up silly amounts of space - simply because I didn’t have them sorted properly. I took all of my “Craft Fair” type alterables & materials & placed them all together. I grouped them into baskets & boxes so they are all in one place. Now I know what I have - and they are easy to find. (ex: wooden purses, little clay pots, chipboard books, etc.)
  • Sell old items you no longer use. I have a whole box full of stamps & other crafty tools that I no longer use. They were great - but I’m ready to make room for more new stuff. I hope to post them on here soon so if any of you are interested in a good deal on stamps - check back soon! :)

The above strategy produced A LOT of trash. This is just a small sampling…

020810_03

And after all that…I give you…the newly organized shelf that I so bravely tackled:

020810_02

TA DA!!! - I’m so proud!

I really hope to keep it this way. You do not want to even know how many bags of crap I really had. There was a lot more: so much more that we couldn’t fit it all in this weeks outgoing trash. LOL. (in my defense - what started out as my one shelf turned into my shelf, plus the closet…plus the computer desk, plus another closet….Pete got into it too!)

So there you have it. I cannot believe I’m actually showing these photos on my blog - but at the same time I want you to know that I’m a real person & my craft space does NOT always look clean (in fact, clean is pretty rare). I don’t think it needs to always be 100% clean - but it does help to have some organization.

While we’re on the topic - I thought I’d share this again. I twittered about it last week but wanted to post here too in case you missed it. The lovely ladies over at the Crafty Storage Blog have a great thing going. They feature all kinds of creative rooms & ideas. I’ve seen some really neat things on there. They were kind enough to feature my space last week. Be sure to check them out & leave ‘em some love! (my FAVE was this idea that I saw HERE.)

thanks for stopping by!!

Craft Room, Organization

in case you’re wondering…

February 5th, 2010

what I will be doing this weekend…

re-ogranzing is high on the list of priorities. Because as of tonight - THIS was the state of my crafting desk.

020510_01

I will try & take photos of any progress or tips I stumble upon along the way.

::dons biohazard suit & gas mask::

Craft Room

Prize WINNER!

February 5th, 2010

Thanks to everyone for participating in my Blog giveaway. I think it’s super fun to do & hope to do more very soon :) You guys are such awesome readers…it’s the least I can do!

OK, so here it is - the winner. I used Random.org to pick a random number. The winner was #34 - Deanna King. Congrats Deanna!! You will have an email very soon from me :)

prize_winner0205101

Uncategorized

Valentines Goodies + A video tutorial!

February 4th, 2010

Hi everyone - thanks SO much for all the comments you’ve left this week. I read each & EVERY comment - especially the ones that contain things you’d like to see more of on the blog. (sidenote: you have ONE DAY left to leave a comment HERE if you haven’t already…for a chance to win a prize!)

I’ve already started acting on some of your feedback - so with that, I give you some fun Treats for Valentine’s Day - plus a video showing you how I made them!

020410_01

These are great because you can stick anything inside them - and adapt them to ANY holiday or occasion. I had a few people say they would like to see things that are more practical - things that can be used…instead of just candy. This sort of combines the 2. I had some fun pencils lying around so I thought I’d find a way to creatively wrap them up as a fun little gift.

020410_02

020410_03

And to respond to even MORE awesome feedback from my readers, I thought I’d whip up a “boy version”. These are some robots from both Cosmo Cricket (paper) and Hero Arts (stamp). What boy doesn’t love Robots!?!!

020410_04

I added a wooden heart from Martha Stewart to give it a small Valentine’s touch…but nothing too girly. (the Robot was colored using Copics). The pencil has motorcycles on it. Very “boy”.

020410_05

OK, here’s the “how to” video! If you can make it through listening to my corniness…then I give you credit. LOL. I HATE listening to myself on these videos, ugh!

Altered Stuff, Tutorials, Videos

Craft Room Update: How I film & photograph my work

February 2nd, 2010

Thought I’d just do a quick update on my craft room (which happens to be a bit of a disaster lately, yikes!)

This is how I film my videos. It’s super sophisticated ehhh?? ;) Basically I just attach my Flip Camcorder to my Tripod & angle it downward onto my work surface. I film the video & then I use iMovie 09 to edit. I have to flip all of my videos around so that you aren’t watching me work upside down…!

020210_01

Sometimes I have enough natural light when shooting a video so I don’t need any lamps. But mostly I use 2 desk lamps & just angle them down so they are giving me enough light for the video.

(notice all the CRAP surrounding my work surface?? Yeaaa….that’s mostly how I roll. I’ve convinced myself that I’m just so darn artistic that I can’t be bothered to put stuff away as I craft…yep, that MUST be it!! :) )

And here’s where I shoot 99% of the stuff that I make. Normally I have my Cricut on this table & do all of my die cutting here. When it’s time to shoot photos, I just take my Cricut off the table.

020210_02

It’s the best spot in the house - mostly because there’s lot of windows in this room & lots of natural light. I almost NEVER shoot with artificial lighting - photos always turn out best with natural light. See that shade that’s half down? I usually pull that ALL the way up - as high as it can go - letting in as much light as possible. (sometimes I forget to close it though, and it’s a little creepy b/c I’m sure my neighbor can look in & see my disaster craft room…so yea, I try to remember to always close it! Privacy is key people!)

That black cloth is just a black sheet that I threw over a board. (the board came out of the back of a large poster frame - so it’s almost like a hefty piece of chipboard that’s roughly the size of a poster). This makes for a decent backdrop - one that I can lean most anything against, such as matching designer paper, etc. If I don’t find anything that I like for matching paper I simply stick with the black.

Oh and that project currently sitting there being photographed…? That’s a Valentine’s Day project that I created - I haven’t shared it with you yet…so ssshhhh ;) I will be sharing soon. They are fun & cute for kids.

Thanks for looking!

Craft Room, Photography, Videos

Video Tutorial: Coloring Techniques

January 31st, 2010

as promised, here is a quick video on a few coloring techniques. I focused on Prisma Colored Pencils & Copic Markers. Please note that I am NOT by any means an expert on either of these…I just watch a lot of YouTube and see what works for others…in this video I show you the quick & easy way that works for me. If you have any questions just leave me a comment. Thanks!!

EDIT: Yaneri had some great questions. Thanks Yaneri! I wanted to answer them for everyone:

I am using Memento Black Ink because I find it to be the best ink for coloring with Copics. Staz On ink will BLEED with Copic Markers.

Also, I am using PaperTrey Ink’s Stampers Select white cardstock - I find that with this paper & the above ink, nothing bleeds. It definitely helps to use quality cardstock.

Copics, Tutorials, Videos

colored butterflies, & a GIVEAWAY!!

January 29th, 2010

EDIT: the contest is now closed. Thanks to everyone for commenting & congrats to the winner!!

Hi everyone - I was going to wait to do this post until after I finished a video I’m working on… but I can’t contain my excitement - so I’m just doin’ it. ;) (by the way, the video focuses on some coloring techniques…like Prisma Colored Pencils & Copics - so stayed tuned)

I love my Copics - and I love things that are quick & easy. So when I saw this technique by the lovely Jennifer McGuire, I knew I had to do it. I stamped a bunch of butterflies using some Hero Arts Cling Stamps and went to town. It’s so much fun to use the Copics & blend colors until you get the result you like.

012910_01

012910_02

012910_03

012910_04

Now for the real fun…I’m doing my FIRST ever Blog giveaway - the winner will receive these 3 cards below, plus the envelopes. All you need to do is leave me a comment on this post & tell me what you’d like to see MORE of in 2010 on my blog. Lay it on me! Tell me what you’d like to see - do you want a video on something? More info/pictures on a certain technique or product? I’m leaving it WIDE open…so comment away. The winner will be chosen randomly one week from today: Friday 2/5/10. Be sure to leave me your email address or some way I can contact ya!

012910_05

Also - those envelopes are custom made. I got some questions on what to use for envelopes for 3″x3″ cards. Well, I’ve purchased some through Stampin Up - they are nice. But I also make my own sometimes using my Cricut. I cutout a pocket using the Tags, Bags Boxes & More cartridge - and then just trimmed the upper part of the pocket off, then punched a semi-circle with a 1.25″ circle punch.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. It’s CHILLY up here in MA - so I will be locked in my craft room w/ the heat on full blast being creative. Sounds like heaven to me!

Cards, Giveaways

wow, where have I been?

January 27th, 2010

sorry guys. Things have been slow here lately on the blog. I promise I am working on LOTS of fun things, including several videos - it’s just been tough to get things done during the week - I hate winter & how cold & tired I am when I get home from work. Yuck!

Starting next week I will have more free time to attend to my blog, as my job schedule is changing around. I’m very excited about it - hoping to be able to devote more time to being creative.

I just wanted to add a big THANK YOU to all of you for the kudos on my publications. It’s very fun & exciting. If any of you out there are thinking of submitting stuff, I STRONGLY encourage you to do it. It will challenge you & motivate you to try new things - and it feels super cool when they select a card of yours! What do you have to lose? NOTHING! Do it!! :)

I created this card this past weekend. I was inspired by the card & color Combo that I saw in the recent Sale-A-Bration catalog from Stampin Up. These colors are super fun together - I will definitely be using them more often. I believe they are: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Crushed Curry & Rose Red. (I stamped the heart using non-SU chalk ink). I also stamped those dots using some background stamps from PaperTrey Ink, along with their white ink - which I love by the way!

012710_01

Cards

CARDS Magazine: Jan 2010 Card Publication

January 21st, 2010

Hi everyone - just wanted to share with you a card that I had published in this months issue of CARDS Magazine. If you have purchased the magazine, my card is featured on page 99 :)

012110_01

I believe this card was posted before on my blog but I took it down due to publication. So I’m sharing it with you again!

072109_01

The cardstock on this card is all from PTI - and the embellishment is from K & CO.

Also, be sure to check out the February & March issues of CARDS, because I also have cards being published in those ones too :)

Cards, Publication

mmmmm donuts.

January 19th, 2010

I cannot help but think of Homer Simpson when I look at these stamps. One of my fave characters, too funny!

Here’s a quick card using this stamp set - love how yummy the donut looks. Makes me want one….*drool*

011910_01

The base cardstock is a Stampin Up current In-Color. The glitter paper is super fun & is from Martha’s Stewarts Valentine stack of paper. I colored the donut using my Copic Markers & added some glitter to give it a bit of bling & match that background paper. The ribbon is from PaperTrey Ink - I love how their ribbon feels - it’s so easy to tie too. I used the Apron Lace Fiskars Border punch to add that white border along the bottom.

Hope everyone has a great week, it’s a short one so that’s good!

Cards