New Storage and a Sugar Nellie!

I promised new photos of my stamp space, so here you go! My cute husband said he wouldn't get me the clip-it-up and then he got it for me! Isn't he sweet? He seems impressed with what it does, too! I have been mentioning quite a bit lately that I need to get things out where I can see them. I do, however, like them to look organized. If it is messy looking, then it gets hidden! LOL! I have included the photo that SU! took of my room in October of 2007 so you can see the addition of the new shelf. It is the same system, just smaller. They are both from Ikea! I like how it blends nicely.

My room was much cleaner when SU! came, I am noticing from the photographs! Oh Well!
Not only was I able to get my current SU! stamps onto the shelves and out where I can see them, I got four more cubbies for other things. I am also excited because the shelves are not full with stamps, there is more room behind for new ones! The basket under my SU! markers and accessories is full of my TJ Designs stamps and the basket above the markers is full of my hodgepodge hardware and small mat stacks. I tried to move the things over that I reach for more often. The striped basket/tote on the left side has all of my CTMH, The Cat's Pajamas, Sugar Nellie, MFT, etc. stamps. Since it is easy to get to now, I have been using them more than ever before, as you can see from today's card! A little change goes a long way with me. I like how good it feels to be newly re-organized.

My card for today is for my daughter's friend that I babysit after school. Her birthday is coming up and I thought I would get it done so I wouldn't leave it to the last minute! Can I just add that it feels so good to make cards that are actually leaving my house and not getting stored. I also made this for Jen's SFYTT today and for today's Inspiration Challenge over at SCS. I colored the little Sugar Nellie with copic and prismacolor markers. I bought her so long ago and I am not sure she has ever seen ink. I have a couple others that I have used once. I have a feeling she is going to be getting used quite a bit. I know I have a lot going on in this post, so I will end for now! Thanks for fluttering by!

Supplies: Sugar Nellie Stamp, Wow Flowers STamp Set
Ink: Palette Noir, Antique Linen and Vintage Photo distress ink, prismacolor and copic markers
Paper: Sandylion Pattern Paper, PTI White
Ribbon by Offray, lace edge punch by Martha Stewart, sponge, foam squares, buttons by the Paper Studio, linen thread

*A Closer Look* #3

Hello! First of all I would like to apologize for taking so long to get this installment to you. I will admit that my system for organizing ribbon is not revolutionary or very exciting, but I am sharing with you anyway. Hopefully you will find something that you could benefit from. The first thing I would like to share with you is a fun project that I did in order to house some ribbon in an organized way, but also allows me to see what is inside. I have had this old cookie tin for a couple of years now and what it holds has changed a lot. I finally decided to put spools of ribbon inside and then I realized that I could make holes using my crop-a-dile to punch through the tin. I used a pencil to mark the width of each spool so that they would line up properly and then I punched! I can't wait to get the new crop-a-dile that you can reach even farther!

This is an easy project for anyone to try. I am glad that something finally has a permanent home in this tin. I also use the baskets that hang from my SU! punch holder. I knew these were a must have as soon as I spied them at IKEA and was even more thrilled to see how well they held ribbon. I have two of these which can be seen in the post entitled "window on my world". I showed one here, that houses an assortment of fun ribbon which really can be a springboard for creativity. The other one holds my SU! In Color double stitched ribbon and re-inkers.

Now...as much as I love having ribbons out to inspire my creativity, it is important for me to have things looking tidy and organized. My creative space is at one end of our family room so I want things to look orderly. For this reason, I have alot of things placed in containers or baskets. If they have a label holder, they have been labeled, but it is not hard for me to remember since these items get used weekly, if not daily. LOL!

I tried to use this photo and label the different areas that I have ribbon, but I think it may be too small to read. If you can't read it, at least you can see the areas that I have ribbon. I also have the small and medium ribbon holders from SU! on my desk top that houses my taffeta ribbon, gingham ribbon, striped grosgrain, 5.8 inch grosgrain (all SU!). I would love to hear your comments on what you think or if you have a great idea to share with me. I would love to hear from you! Thanks for fluttering by!

Next week's installment will focus on my desk, what it holds and why.

*A Closer Look* #2

I have decided to break the ribbon installment into two groups. Today I will show you how easy it is to organize and store the dreaded, but delicious, ribbon by the yard. I love purchasing ribbon by the yard at my LSS, but bringing it home can be a nightmare. I finally realized that I could make my own *collections* like I can buy from SU!, SEI, Making Memories, Etc.

For me, it all starts with the Pattern Paper. I chose this beautiful collection from Polar Bear Press which can be seen in the background of my photos and then on the finished card. I then select ribbon that coordinates with the paper. I usually get around 5 yards of each, but for this collection, I only purchased 3.

Once I have my selections, I take a piece of the chipboard backing from my SU! designer series paper, to make a base for my ribon. I then take my 3/4 inch square punch to make indents for each ribbon. I make the indentations at the top, wrap the ribbon, and then punch again. This way I will have perfectly spaced notches. I usually pin it once I have come to the end, but some ribbons are so delicate, that a piece of scotch tape is best. Once I have a finished collection, I add it to my container that houses my ribbon by the yard. I put each card in like a file would go into a filing cabinet so that it uses a small amount of space, but all the ribbon can be seen.

Once I had played with all of that scrumptious ribbon, I thought it was only fitting to create with it. I used my Paris Stamp Set from Cavallini and Co. and added some fun buttons. I love this little flapper girl button. Doesn't she look cute?

Also, I had a comment left last week on where I got my desk. It actually belonged to my Father and wasn't in the *best* condition, so I took a can of black spray paint and painted it, took off the original hardware and replaced it with some nickel drawer pulls. I {love} how it turned out and I {love} creating on a desk every day that belonged to my Dad, who I miss very much. I think about him every day as I sit there and hope that the things I create would make him happy.

So...remember, everything old can be new again with a little TLC. All it takes is a little *vision*!

*****Next week I will be showing you some of the ways that I store my ribbon spools. I will also a fun project that you can do to house some of those spools! Thanks for fluttering by!! *****

Also a HUGE thanks to Elaine for helping me get my pictures and text figured out! You are a gem!

*A Closer Look* #1

Hello! This week's installment of *a closer look* will show you how I store my smaller items such as brads, buttons, eyelets, photo turns, ribbon charms, etc. The first thing that I do when storing my embellishments is to take them out of the packaging. The packaging for smaller items is much larger than it needs to be and ends up taking up a lot of room. Also, the way that I have organized these items makes them easy to view which is essential for me when I am creating. Sometimes I have the *right* thing in mind for my project, but more often than not, the creative process takes over and I like searching for the *perfect* accent or embellishments. This often yields itself to fun color combos, interesting layouts and maybe those items that haven't felt much love lately.

I purchased the cases that store my eyelets, photo turns, snaps, ribbon charms, etc. many years ago at the LSS and I am not sure what brand they are, but I believe Provo Crafts has similar storage. I really like how many varieties of eyelets I can store, but see them easily through the clear top containers. My drawer holds three of these cases nicely and each case holds 20 vials. If I don't have a lot of one variety, I will mix two together if the variety can be seen easily through the top. This drawer also hold my SU! hodgepodge hardware and essential ink pads that don't fit into my color caddy. I can only imagine what kind of mess and how much room that many *packages* would take up. I am sure I would need two or three drawers to cram the product plus packaging and then I would never remember what I had in there. LOL!

The cases that store my brads and buttons are from Darice, the stitchery company, and are designed to hold cards of embroidery floss, but I find that they are a perfect design for items like brads, buttons, eyelets, etc. Again, I can see what I need at a glance. I have grouped like items together for continuity and ease. These two cases, sit nicely on a shelf and maybe take up 4 inches of height. One case holds buttons and one holds brads. I also have some glass jars on top of my storage shelf which can be seen in the magazine photo that holds many buttons. I use these buttons alot for various projects. The jars are glass, so again, I can see exactly what it inside. Not only is is functional, but they look nice, too!

Now....imagine if everything that I have just shown you was still in it's original packaging. What a nightmare!!! Not only would it rarely if ever get used, but once the package was open, everything would spill out and be a huge mess. So...get those pacakges open, store like items together and have fun creating.

I hope you have enjoyed this installment of * A Closer Look* and I hope that some of the tips will help you organize your space.

Next week: Ribbon...I will be showing you storage for all kinds and types of ribbon!

FYI-Today's storage tips are for my non SU! embellishments. My SU! brads, buttons, eyelets, etc are housed in the FANTASTIC stack and store caddy. I love this because I can see what I have got, it rotates and holds A LOT of product. The packaging that the SU! buttons, brads, eyelets, etc. come in, fits perfectly into the slots.