Never enough storage!!!

I have found over the years that it is so easy to get overwhelmed with all of the "goodies" purchased or items that "might get used".  All of a sudden you go to look for something - you know you have it - but where on earth is it??  As you look around your craft room or area you wish you could push a magic button & the tiny item or special sticker or special buttons would just start beeping to lead you to them.

But alas - no magic button, no beeping sound - just time spent hunting & searching.  Recently started to really organize my craft room.  This is like trying to organize a closet you have ignored for years!  Little by little I am making headway.  I have managed to get all of my scrapbooking & card making paper semi-organized - using big bins & separating the paper by occasion, gender, & color.  I'm sure as I continue my quest for better organization I will change it, but for now it's a start.

I have bought rolling craft drawers which have very quickly been filled with rubber wood block stamps.  My clear stamps I have put in big 3-inch binders using baseball card pages to store the smaller ones.  Of course they are divided by categories.  I still have a huge bag to put in the storage pages - need more binders.  They are easily stored on a bookshelf. You can put on the edge of the binder the type(s) stored in each binder.

And stickers & the 3-D puffy stickers (like Jolee - my favorites)!!! Oh my goodness I was not sure how to keep them straight.  Finally I found at WalMart some folder size plastic holders that had dividers built in.  They are great & came with the inserts to write each category on them.  The stickers are now grouped together and for really smaller ones you could use a coupon holder.  The ones that I found at WalMart were very colorful with multi-stripes on them & not expensive.  I was able to free up several drawers.  These also fit nicely on a bookshelf.

I have many colored pencils & markers.  I wanted to keep them separated by brand - some are watercolor pencils & markers, some permanent, & some that are more expensive like Copic markers.  I didn't want to put them all in a big bucker containor and then spend time hunting for which one I wanted to use.  I was throwing out a soup can the other day and I thought why not take the paper off & recover the can with decorative paper?  So I am now collecting soup cans to reuse.  I remember seeing one time that you could build a pyramid out of cans to use for a toss game for little kids.  I'm going to use the same idea & glue 3 cans on the bottom, then 2 in the middle, & 1 on the top to build my pencil/marker holder.  I will use hot glue to hold them together after I have recovered them.  I can sit them on a shelf or on my table when using - because they stack upwards they won't take up too much space.  I can keep them all separated much better now.

So what are some of your tips on storage?? What has worked for you in the past?? Please share with me so others can start to tidy up - afterall Spring is on the way!!!

Until the next "stitch" in time & we "scrap" our ideas together - Mary

Find Me a Sale............

I don't know about you - but boy oh boy I LOVE finding a bargain or a 75% off sale!!  Craft supplies can be a bit pricey sometimes - especially stamps & embellishments.  Lately I have found myself really holding back until it goes on sale.  Fortunately I have lucked onto to some great last minute buys on eBay.  I will post my latest find at the end of the blog today.  If you are patient & diligent you can pick up some great stamps off of eBay - just remember to figure in the shipping.  If I find a stamp I absolutely love & have to have - I will always look at the seller's other items to see if there are other stamps I like - that way I can combine shipping/handling which in the long run does save some money.

Another great place to shop is Tuesday Mornings.  If you have one close to you - check it out!!!  I almost always come out with some embellishements that they have grouped together for a fairly low price.  Sometimes I have found some good paper in there as well.

I am looking forward to some warmer weather and then I will hit the yard sales and church bazaars.  These are some fantastic treasure finding places.  Remember the old saying - one person's junk is another man's treasure!!!!

What are some of your favorite places to find bargains??  Here was my latest eBay find that I picked up in the last 45 secs of a sale & I was able to get all three for $4.50!!!  The D. Morgan stamp alone is worth much more & I got a House Mouse stamp too!!!

Until our next "stitch" in time & we "scrap" our ideas together ~ Mary

My "first-born" card.........

My nerves were frazzled when I heard those words coming out of my mouth at the office - "I'll make the card for the baby shower for us."  What was I thinking!!!  Okay now I can do a scrapbook page so I should be able to make a card right??  I had all week-end to put together a card that hopefully no one would not want to sign and use. 


I went up to my craft room and surrounded myself with paper, embellishments, ribbon, markers, glue, stamps, baby stick-ons............my head was whirling.  Okay now - deep breath girl.......pick out the card color of paper, then find 1 or 2 patterned or plain colors that match or compliment the card color.  Chooose a few embellisments to add some flair to it and all of a sudden tada.......my first card is "born" - finished, complete, & ready for signatures.


I took the card to work that Monday and showed it to my friend Suzanne who is an excellent beyond words card-maker.  I passed!! She said I did good!!  I was honored that she posted it on her blog.


So if you're thinking I can't do this - trust me - YOU CAN!!!  Just think simple - it doesn't have to be fancy.  Take the plunge and trust your creative instincts!  I did and see -

Until our next "stitch" in time and we "scrap" our ideas together ~ Mary

LOVE a BARGAIN...............

I love to scrapbook and have recently added "stamping" and card-making to my list.  I have been busy looking at stamps (there are an infinite number & design of stamps to use - clear, mounted vs unmounted, wood block, foam) and creating yet another section to my all ready full crafting area.   A good friend of mine introduced me to card-making and you should check out her blog at http://www.craftingwithsue.blogspot.com/ - she designs fantastic cards and is a great source for helpful tips!!

If you want a great deal right now on clear stamps then you should check out Hanna Stamps at http://www.kreationsbykrissy.com/ .  They are having a super sale in preparation to announce some BIG news!!  I put in my order and they have already processed it and it is on it's way.  I can hardly wait!!  When they come in I will post some of the sets!

Off to find another bargain!!

Until the next "stitch" in time and we "scrap" our ideas together ~ Mary

The start...............

Who doesn't dream of retirement?? When you spend 5 out 7 days running on the work-wheel that seems to spin continuously week after after week with no slow-down in sight. You find yourself counting the days until the next day national holiday off for a long week-end that is over in the blink of an eye!

I am afraid the days of being able to retire like my parents did at a decent age are a thing of the past - just a pipe-dream for those of us who are now 50 or older. I want to be able to wake up and then decide over a cup of coffee what I would like to do for the day instead of the day telling me what I have to do!

Retirement according to Mark Twain: twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than the things you did do. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Allow yourself to do just that - explore what your likes are; dream of the days to come; discover what you enjoy doing. For me - I love to craft - whether it's cross-stitch, scrapbooking, card-making. I also love a great bargain, learning to take a scrap & use it in a project I'm working on.

No one person has all the answers......share you thoughts & your ideas!! Be creative!!

Until the next "stitch" in time and we "scrap" our ideas together - Mary