Organizing My Rubber Stamps

whenever i get stamps out for a project, it always seems like i'm reacquainting myself with my stamps.  i always forget which sets i own.  i store my stamps on their sides in large rubbermaid drawers, so it's difficult to take one look and see its contents.

i've been wanting to take inventory of my stamps for quite awhile now, but knew that it would take a couple of days to complete.  so here it is! the big reveal!  LOL  seriously though, i'm really loving it.  i created this binder as a quick reference to what stamps i have and which drawer they're located in.

i used my rub on letters to write on the cover... have a mentioned lately how much i LOVE rub on letter?? ;o)

when i open it up, it's broken down into the categories and drawers the stamps are located in:

• tags & greetings
• nature & elements
• holidays & occasions
• backgrounds, borders, & shapes

here's the 1st page of my tags & greeting stamps. i stamped all the images on a blank piece of paper,  and circled and labeled each set so i can quickly find the stamp set.

here's the 1st page of the nature & elements stamps.

here's the first page of the holiday & occasions stamps.

here's the first page of the backgrounds, borders, & shapes stamps.

behind all of these pages are my clear stamps. i love how they store flat and all in one place!  clear stamps are so fun to work with... you know EXACTLY where they're going (which is nice for a perfectionist like me).  :o)

most of the clear stamp sets have an additional piece of plastic that shows the image.  for those that don't, i saved the sheet that came with them or i stamped the images and stored them in the page in front of the set.

these next 2 sets are from PAPERTREYink.  i love their stamps and they have some TALENTED designers and bloggers who inspire me.  i love how these sets fit perfectly into this divided sleeve. my sis gave me a couple different sets of divided sleeves and they were perfect for this project and for storing recipes in a cookbook binder... i'm not sure where she picked them up.

and in the back are all of my clear alphabet sets. 

hope i didn't bore you with all of the pictures. i really love my stamps organized this way.  now when i need a butterfly stamp i can flip through all of the pages of nature & elements and look at my options.  it's so much easier, quicker, and neater than going to the drawer, flipping through all of the boxes of stamps, pulling them out, and comparing all my options.  also, now when i'm tempted to buy new sets, i browse through this to see if i really need a new set.  by the time i've flipped through the binder, i know i don't really need another set. :o)

Organizing My Craft Room

whoooweeeee... i've been working on my craft room in stages and i'm not quite ready for the whole reveal.  i apologize, but i'm going to reveal it in stages.  i have a difficult time deciding on things- so colors, location of furniture, etc. are always changing.

you'll get a snapshot of what a disaster my craft room was in this picture.  i started out with this multi-color drawer system that was functional, but the multi-colors wasn't working for me. 

i decided to spray paint it white, but oh my goodness was that a process.  i wanted to save a little money so i settled on krylon spray paint.  after 2 coats, the colors were still showing through and there were a bunch of little cracks in the paint.  you can read how i feel about this brand of paint. 

i got all of these little cracks in the paint and it was driving me crazy.  i realize that it's partly my fault too... i didn't get the application just quite right, but honestly, i haven't had this much problems with spray paint before. 

i gave up on this project for a little while out of pure frustration.  after i got over it, i went out and bought rust-oleum spray paint for plastic and what a difference!  i sanded down the crackly parts, and it still showed through a little bit, but the application was much smoother and the paint went down so much thicker. *quick side note- definitely invest on the more expensive attachment.  it saves your fingers and the cramping in your hand and it's much higher quality.  i started out with the cheapest attachment and it lost its grip on the can.  i should have started out with this one... i would have saved more money in the long haul.

here are the drawers after:

i LOVE this look SO much better! 

just in case you're curious, here's a run down on the contents:

1st drawer: i left empty because i like to gather all of my supplies in it and then take it to my work surface.  at the end of the day, if i'm still working on the project, i'll put the project and supplies back in this drawer and slip it back in place... it helps keep things tidy.

2nd drawer: INK- all of my loose stamp pads stored with the ink pad facing down so that they don't dry out.

3rd drawer: GLUE- all of my adhesives

4th drawer: LETTERS- rub on, magnet (that i found in the $1 section at Target and haven't found a use for yet), and sticker letters.  i love, love, LOVE rub on letters.  that's what i used on the front of the drawers.  i've had them for MANY years and they have come in handy many times.  i just think they give projects a finished look.

5th drawer: COLORS- my watercolor pencils and crayons, regular crayons and colored pencils, and chalks.

6th drawer: PUNCHES- all of my small punches.  my large punches are stored elsewhere.

7th drawer: EMBOSS- all of my embossing powders, tray, plates, tools, and now that i'm looking at this picture, i think there's room to put my heat gun in there too.  :o)

8th drawer: HARDWARE- all my hardware and hardware-type embellishments.

9th & 10th drawer: i haven't decided on the contents yet... still evolving!  :o)

did you notice my awesome new rugs in the pictures?? i picked them up today! i saw the rug at homegoods a couple weeks ago and i kept thinking about it and thinking about it... i went back today just to browse around and it was still there... ON CLEARANCE!  lucky me!! and there were two! i only saw one last time... i was and still am, overjoyed!  they look perfect in my craft room/office. i LOVE all the different colors! since i change up colors all the time, it's absolutely perfect for me. :o)

just so that i don't totally overwhelm you with all the pictures, i'll hold off until tomorrow on how i organized my stamps.

have a wonderful evening!

nori

Organizing Scrapbook Paper and Scraps

i'm SO bummed! i lost my before picture of the hot mess i started out with.  :o(  well... close your eyes and imagine this... 6 stackable paper trays.  3 stacked with a crazy mess of paper and scraps all jumbled together. and in front of that, 3 more stacked trays with a crazy mess of paper and scraps all mixed up together and the pile on top is about to tip over... 

my paper was disaster! i hated going near it.  it had gotten so out of control that i just about gave up stamping and making cards all together. 

when i did make cards i was always frustrated with the left over scraps. i used to sit there debating with myself whether or not to throw them out.  if you're a scrapbooker or card maker then you know that every little scrap could come in handy later... but UGH!  all those little pieces lying around... DRIVES ME CRAZY!  i'd rather throw them out then deal with little tiny pieces floating all around.  but then my thrifty side always kicks in and i keep them.

and i was left with this mess... it makes my stomach turn over just looking at this picture.

my mom gave me these envelopes awhile back and they have been sitting in my craft closet waiting for a purpose. 

i sorted the full sheets of paper by color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, black, brown, and fancy papers).  so i laid out the folders and sorted the scraps in the same color scheme. 

ahhhhhhh!! it's starting to come together!  now, when they're tucked nicely into the folders, those scraps aren't so intimidating. 

then i took the folders and put them in their respective slots. 

waaaaaay better.  my stomach isn't turning over anymore.  i tamed that hot mess of paper and scraps... now i feel like i can conquer the world! :o) 

i picked up the mail sorter at a Habitat For Humanity's ReStore, and i LOVE it.  there are extra slots and i think i'm going to use them to organize my fabric scraps.

ahhhh... i'm getting my life under control one area at a time.

next organizing mission... rubber stamps!

Mission POSSIBLE- Reorganization of Garage Complete

6 days later... after building shelves, reorganizing, going through old boxes that i've moved over 10 times and never knew what was inside them, making multiple donation runs to the local thrift... I'M DONE!!! wooohooo!

i've gotta tell you... it feels good!!!

here's a little reminder of what it looked like before:

and here's what i'm calling the "ahhhh... AFTER" :o)

there's ROOM! i can actually move around in there! even dance around!  actually i did dance around a little bit... *a little side note:  if it weren't for Pandora, i'd still be sweating away in the garage.  Pandora plays a mix of your favorite artists and even introduces you to a few new ones. all you have to do is create a new station, say... 80's and then enter in a couple of your favorite artists. say... duran duran, madonna, and thompson twins.  and you're all set to go!  i LOVE it.  i have a gazillion stations to suit my different moods, and believe me, i changed it up A LOT over the past 6 days to help me stay motivated.  :o)

ok, back to the mission possible. i was a little bit of an innie in this project.  i wanted things stored away in the plastic containers, but i needed to know what was where.  i kept a list of everything that went into each box, typed it up, assigned each box a number, and put the list on a clipboard that i keep in the garage. now i don't have to open every box to find that extra tube of mascara.

i used these little rub on numbers that i bought at a scrapbook store eons ago.

small changes make a huge difference.  i hated my laundry area not only because it was a mess but also because the garbage wasn't easily accessible so i had a collection of lint balls on top of my washer... gross.  here's the before:

and here's the after!  the lint pail, the white containers for detergent and borax, and the lazy susan are all thrift store finds... gotta love it!

i also added a laundry line above the washer and dryer and i'm LOVING it!!! no more hanging clothes to dry from the doorways in my house. :o)

one of the highlights of reorganizing and clearing the floor was using my shop vac! i know, i know... i'm a total dork. :o)  i scored this on craigslist for $20 and it had only been used once.  it works perfect and i LOVE it!!!

one last thing i want to share... a total score on a recent estate/yard sale trip. new metal containers for my nails and screws! (the fan was a recent find from my trip to the melrose trading post)

AND... they were filled with an assortment of screws and nails!  i was totally going to make a trip to home depot to pick up more nails over the weekend too!  don't cha love it when things like that happen??

i think i earned myself a little nap... well, after i finish baking a cake for my co-workers. :o)  

have a wonderful week if i don't "talk" to you soon!

Mission Impossible: Organizing the Garage

i'm off for the rest of the week and guess what i'm doing? hmmm... guess the title gave it away. ;o)   my garage is completely out of control and i finally gathered up the nerve to tackle it.

please pray for me.  i've been going at it for 2 1/2 hours and several times i've prayed, "please God, don't let me be killed by a bug".  hey... are you laughing at me?  ;o)  seriously though we have black widows in so cal and i've seen a couple spiders (not sure what they are) crawling away, so that's my prayer as i pick up box after box.

here's the beauteemous before pictures: (i'm forewarning you... it's ugly and i'm blushing with embarassment)

yes, this is the current purpose of my elliptical machine... drying rack.

if you were to look around, you'd see i have some great pieces waiting to be refinished... hopefully the garage won't take me too long and i'll have enough time to tackle them.

the little end table is going into my office with me after it's refinished.

the piano bench... i'm not too sure where i'm going to put it yet.  i originally thought it would be cute at the foot of my bed.

the shaving mirror was a bargain... they gave it to me for $2. i was actually fine with the original price, but who am i to argue with a wonderful saleslady?  i haven't decided on the color yet, but it's going to become my first chalkboard piece! can't wait!

i have to say... i love so cal and its palm trees... i'm loving the reflection in the mirror! :o)

and this is what i'm going to tackle right now... assembling the shelves.  wish me luck.

and don't forget... "please God, don't let nori get killed by a bug".  thank you for your kind prayers!!! :o)

Letting It All Hang Out Part 2

i'm going to take a little break from posting about flowers. i really have been doing other things. :o)

remember when i told you i have some shocking pictures of my home to show you?  well... this post is going to contain some nasty pictures, so please prepare yourself. 

my closet had literally become a dumping ground for my shoes and all my clothes both worn on a weekly basis and some unworn for years.  i've had such a difficult time removing my unworn clothes from the closet for a number of reasons. 1) they don't fit and i hope to fit in them again 2) they're not my style anymore, but i hope to refashion them into something else 3) i'm limited on space so i just didn't know where to store everything

keeping in mind that i'm an outie (in regards to my organizing style), i decided to put good use the space saver bags my sis gave me. these bags are fabulous! not only do they allow me to see what's in them (for quick access), but you suck the life outta them and a whole pile of clothes shrinks down to nothin. LOVE that!

so here's some quick before and afters of my closet:

i know... it's horrible and i can't believe i'm showing it to you.  please don't shun me.  i read an article before about how much time is wasted because disorganization.  that's totally me.  time waster.  i literally would toss my shoes into the closet, so in the morning i'd have to search for the pairs.  i don't know why i didn't do something about it sooner because now i feel great.  getting ready takes less time and i just feel like i did a major cleanse. 

 what i really liked about my closet transformation is that i added these pretty plant brackets. 

so that i could do this:

it's not flush up against the wall but that's ok.  it's serving its purpose and i'm so short that i can't see that it's not touching the wall.  now that i can actually get into the closet, it's in the plans to add another shelf above this area.

now on to the next area... the bedroom!