Resist techniques can be so much fun, especially when they are as easy as this one. Clear embossing powder for the sentiment, over-stamped with Memento inks, and a few rhinestones for interest. Piece of cake.
Resistance is, however, futile when it comes to my periodic obsession with reorganizing my craft space. In fact, I feel a massive re-org coming on.
Sometimes obsessions are your friends. Sometimes they aren't.
It remains to be seen which outcome we'll have have this time. Either way, maybe there will be pictures. And perhaps grab boxes to sell.
Spring Cleaning on Steroids. Oh. My.
What are your favorite tips for purging, cleaning, organizing, storing, and otherwise managing your craft stash? Please share!
Supplies
stamps: Papertrey
ink: Memento, clear embossing ink
paper: Papertrey
accessories: clear embossing powder, heat gun, rhinestones
Fun card! I just went through a deep clean of my craft room. I focused on finding a place for everything; getting rid of small paper scraps (trashed), and finding a place for half done pieces and die cuts. it worked. and reminded me once again of the importance of not having too much stuff and keeping as much of it out of sight! good luck
ReplyDeleteMy craft space is a small section of wall area in our apartment living room. That makes it necessary to always keep my area very neat and tidy. Everything stays in its designated place and there is no overflow.
ReplyDeleteEnvious of the above comments. My craft room is partially reorganized. What I do periodically is sort and give the Iris boxes full of things to a couple of different school teachers and a Sunday School teacher. They are always needing things. I am a SU demonstrator but not one who does workshops since I am a caregiver for my hubby. I have belonged to a card making club for pushing twenty years so I am able to give things to those gals as well. Some stamps that have ended up with my not using them have gone to our Hospice Thrift store where I volunteer. I cashiered yesterday and actually sold one I had donated to one of the other volunteers for her sister that she says is just starting to make cards. Always exciting to know there are new stampers out there in our craft world. That being said, I am using more of my little pieces of specialty papers etc since I started making Pocket Letters. Are there others in your world making those? Pinterest got me started on those last June. We can fill the pockets with goodies which is good to be able to use some stash. Then there are the annual Operation Christmas Child boxes. As I clean my craft room, I have put pkgs of stickers that I bought thinking I would use them, etc in those little gift boxes that excite me so to make. All of which helps in the process. I am on the road to a craft room that is not overflowing. Envy the ones who have condensed down to a small space. I do have a Big Shot with the dies and embossing folders. Embossing folders have become an obsession and on occasion I have purchased the same ones twice. I just emailed a niece to see if she had one that I have a duplicate of to see if I can get the repeat a home. Our stamp club does a different technique every month. This next one is heat embossing. I have lots of embossing powder also so this will get me into the resist etc. Nice card Susan!
ReplyDeleteOther than revamping my stamps and dies to the Jennifer McGuire's space saving packet system, I haven't done a major re-org in years. I'm hoping to get new furniture in my craft room within the next year but even then, not much will move except getting printers and die cutters off my work surface and adding more shelving to spread things out more vertically. I still like the arrangement too much to mess up my system! Love the card, btw!!!
ReplyDeleteOh dear, where do I even start when it comes to organization :D
ReplyDeleteI store all of my stamps in clear storage pockets, either Avery Elle or SSS. This way, I can flip through them quickly, and store matching dies with them as well. The only ones which remain in the original packaging are the huge Altenew sets or the tall MFT sets. Since stamps are such an integral part of my crafty life, I'm very particular about that since I don't want to fiddle with them when I need them. I have them organized by brand – I used to have them by type (sentiment, floral, critter,...) but that wasn't always an either/or decision and when I think of a stamp I want to use, I always know which brand, but I might not immediately think of a clear category.
To me, everything needs to be in its place: the stamps are in the pockets which are packed into IKEA boxes (the medium white paper ones); I build a rack out of foam-board for my inks so I have each immediately at hand; all my tools are sorted into little buckets (I have one for writing tools like pens and markers; one for watercoloring holding brushes etc., and one for general tools like tweezers, craft knives, etc.). Paper has its own drawers, as does embellishment or adhesive.
For my crafting experience to be great, I don't want to start searching for stuff or re-purchase things because I forget I have them. After I'm done crafting and my crafting area looks a terrible mess, I write down each product used (for my blog posts and videos) and only afterwards am I allowed to put it away, but everything must be put away before I go to bed. It sometimes annoys me, but only this way can I make sure that I will have listed all of my supplies, and that my cat will not have carried off something in the night if I leave it out :)
As for purging: I do that a few times a year and sell whatever needs to go. I usually decide based on different criteria: have I ever used it (yes, I know, shame on me)? If the answer is no and the thing has been sitting in my to-use box for longer than half a year, it will go. When have I last used it? If the answer exceeds 6 months (christmas stamps are exempt) it needs to go. And sometimes I see new stamp sets which are similar to ones I already have, but for some reason I like the newer ones better – then the oldie has to find a new home before I allow myself to purchase the new set.
Cheers!
I know I'm some 6 weeks late to this post but I just wanted to say thank goodness for someone else who picks up every night and understands the "so my cats won't destroy it" reasoning!
DeleteSorry to be late in replying. I use a modification on the Jennifer McGuire system. I only transfer my stamps to plastic envelopes if the original envelope is torn. Otherwise, the stamps are sorted by manufacturer (as another commenter said, I used to sort by type, but found that to be too cumbersome. I can usually remember what manufacturer I bought a particular stamp from, so now they're sorted that way.) My stamps are then filed in plastic stacking drawers I bought at the Container Store. I have two, three-drawer stacks on wheels that fit under my worktable.
ReplyDeleteI do have my dies in pockets in a "fridge bin" (you'll find links to these on Jennifer's blog), but rather than using the label maker as she suggests (because I am cheap), I just print the name of the die on a piece of inexpensive card stock cut the same size as the pocket. I buy the pockets for my dies from Ellen Hutson as the plastic is much heavier and stands up to the weight of the dies very well.
Everything on top of my worktable has a "home" whether that be a bucket or a bin. I do try to put everything away at the end of a session but sometimes do better than others.
I too am part of a stamping group and we have designated times (usually about four times a year) where we bring in our supplies and stamps that we want to "re-home." Everyone swaps stuff and the remaining stuff is all boxed up and taken to Goodwill. Sometimes, instead of taking the stamp (and adding back in to my stash), I'll just stamp several images of it and will call it done.
Hope this helps!
Donna
Sorry to be late in replying. I use a modification on the Jennifer McGuire system. I only transfer my stamps to plastic envelopes if the original envelope is torn. Otherwise, the stamps are sorted by manufacturer (as another commenter said, I used to sort by type, but found that to be too cumbersome. I can usually remember what manufacturer I bought a particular stamp from, so now they're sorted that way.) My stamps are then filed in plastic stacking drawers I bought at the Container Store. I have two, three-drawer stacks on wheels that fit under my worktable.
ReplyDeleteI do have my dies in pockets in a "fridge bin" (you'll find links to these on Jennifer's blog), but rather than using the label maker as she suggests (because I am cheap), I just print the name of the die on a piece of inexpensive card stock cut the same size as the pocket. I buy the pockets for my dies from Ellen Hutson as the plastic is much heavier and stands up to the weight of the dies very well.
Everything on top of my worktable has a "home" whether that be a bucket or a bin. I do try to put everything away at the end of a session but sometimes do better than others.
I too am part of a stamping group and we have designated times (usually about four times a year) where we bring in our supplies and stamps that we want to "re-home." Everyone swaps stuff and the remaining stuff is all boxed up and taken to Goodwill. Sometimes, instead of taking the stamp (and adding back in to my stash), I'll just stamp several images of it and will call it done.
Hope this helps!
Donna