Society of Stampaholics

My Five Favorite Organizational Pins 11-17-2012

This week's Fab Five of Pinterests are all about organizational ideas! (Because there is nothing my little anally-retentive heart loves more than organization!)

Here's an idea I really liked because it can be adapted so easily to a craft room. You could store all sorts of small/short items on this kind of a system because you can insert your shelf at any height you like - so no more stacking three cans of flowers (for example) atop one another!  (This blogger's post has a ton of ideas for shelving, so check her out!) I also thought this was a really great idea if you wanted a bedside table but didn;t have any room for one on the floor.

Many crafters have babies, and here's a clever way to keep your baby's bed without feeling guilty! For more great ideas: 30 different ways you can upcycle a baby bed - including the springs!!!

 

 

 

 

 

I have enough baker's twine to make me crazy - and most of my ire results from having no easy way to keep it tidy and still access it. And then I found this clever solution:

Now this idea is lovely if you need to dry a number of cards/projects at one time and have limited horizontal real estate. My favorite thing is that you can retract the cords when you're finished, and it's all neat and tidy! You can get a two-, three- or four-line system. (I was thinking a four line system would allow you to actually lay the project over the top of the four lines rather than hanging it vertically from a single line - which would be good if you needed to wait for drippy stuff to dry - like Stickles, etc.

I know a lot of crafters have to share their space with a guest room, so I think this is a brilliant option for storing stash and tools you don't use all of the time. It's out of sight and easily accessed. 

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any harm or injury that may come to anyone's person or property as a result of trying any of the ideas relayed here. I'm just sharing some cool things I liked on Pinterest - try at your own risk and use your best judgment.   

Thanks for stopping and have a blessed day!

Deborah

A-ha! Easy (and Affordable) Copic Storage!

Just a note to let my fellow Copic-storage-searchers know that I found something today that does the trick. And do I feel dumb for not thinking of it!

This is a cheap CD holder with a CD case in every other slot! You can take out the paper label and color its spine to match your markers, put it back in the CD, and put your markers on the CD shelf.

How stinkin' brilliant is that?

Thanks for stopping and have a blessed day!

Deborah

Freebie Download: Hero Arts Ink Pad Labels

A few people at the Hero Arts Flickr Group wished there were some easily printed labels for the Hero Arts ink pads, and I have to admit, I could use something like that, too! So I made a PDF document with labels for the Hero Hues Shadow Mid-Tone, Chalk, Dye, and Shadow inks, and I thought I'd share it with y'all!

Download HA Ink Labels 

I N S T R U C T I O N S

1. Download the labels document above.
2. Print the document on an Avery 8160 label sheet (or comparable brand).
3. Trim (there are two names per label) and adhere to side of ink pad.
4. It's not a bad idea to spread a little ModPodge over the label as a protective skin. This will (a) prevent the printer ink from running (if the label gets wet); (b) make the label easier to clean; and (c) keep the label corners from peeling up.   

TIP: After you've cut your labels apart, turn them over and gently make a vertical cut down the center of the wax paper backing with a craft knife. (You just want to cut through the wax paper backing to assist its removal.) After you make your cut, bend the label a wee bit and the backing will lift up along the cut!

NOTE: If you don't have a label sheet, print the document on regular paper, trim, spread some ModPodge on the ink pad's exterior, put down the label and apply more ModPodge on top.

I used my cell phone to take a picture of one of my ink pads with its new label (sorry it's not higher quality):

If you want to make your own labels for other ink pads, and you like things in your studio to look uniform, I used Caviar Dreams font (12 pt). 

Thanks for stopping and have a blessed day!

MyStampBOX Projects

Here we are on Day Two of my stint as a Guest Designer for MyStampBox stamps!

I originally was going to make some lovely Halloween candies and stamp onto them, but as I alluded to in an earlier post, the $#@% things kept burning up rather than melting properly, so I said To Hell With Them - and meant it.

(I hope they're black as tar and stinking up the River Styx as only burnt sugar can!)

I could have kept trying, I admit, but I was nauseated by the smell and just plain sick of looking at charred orange goo, so I made an executive decision to try to make something else on the spur of the moment.

(I probably shouldn't mention this, but my deadline was Friday, October 15th... that would be the day of the Candy Disaster itself, so I really wasn't kidding in my earlier post when I said I was freaking out. Yessireee, Bob! Nothing like looking down at charred sugar in your sink and knowing that was your one shot at glory.

Unless it's realizing that this isn't one of those anxiety dreams where you show up for the school picnic but it's really the day of the Science Fair and you're the only kid without an experiment. (I'm sure it was the smell of the burnt sugar that made me hope it was all a bad science fair dream, as we had to do that every year for science class. Although, if memory serves, my teacher's sugar always rose up in a straight black column, whereas my candy just layed there in a disgusting puddle.)

But that is neither here nor there!

Long story short: I found something up in Ye Ole Atelier that saved the day. I already had the other project made, so I made my deadline!

Here's the first thing I made - a Halloween necklace for Gigi. This necklace is easy to make and also pretty easy to make with a kid - just keep her away from the ice pick. This project is very quick so there's no waning attention span (which means no whining child - always a good thing)! If you don't add a layer of epoxy, your kid can wear it immediately (which was very much the desired action when we put this together for Gigi).

(These make great treats for birthday party prizes, stocking stuffers, etc, btw! You can also glue your little creation to a barrette, make earrings, key rings, wine glass charms - this stamp set is particularly well-suited to that!)

Sadly, this picture doesn't do it justice - it's much more vibrant in person!

Materials: Stamps: MyStamp BOX stamps (Boo! set); Cardstock; Ink: VersaFine, Ranger Distress; Gems: Reflections; Hardware: bottle cap, star charm, jump rings, ball chain; Other: googlie eyes, Stickles; Tools: circle punch, hammer and ice pick (to make holes in bottle cap for jump rings)

Directions:

1. On a block of wood, lay down your bottle top (interior side down, flat side facing you) and carefully place ice pick between crimps. When secure, hammer ice pick (one good blow should do it). Repeat directly across from your first hole.

2. Thread a jump ring through a charm, and then thread it through the hole in the bottle cap. Thread the second jump ring through the other hole (this is the top of your pendant).

3. Stamp web image with Ranger Distress ink (Honey), then stamp spider image on top of stamped web with VersaFIne black ink.

4. Circle punch your stamped image and use a drop of glue to adhere it to the bottle cap interior.

5. Adhere googly eyes and gems with Diamond Glaze. (You can also "fill" the cap with about 1/8" of Diamond Glaze as a protective coating.

6. Apply Stickles around the inside “walls” of the bottle cap.

7. When completely dry, thread a ball chain through the top jump ring and enjoy wearing!

And now we come to the Dudley DoRight Project... aka: The Clock That Saved My Bacon.

I like to buy things because you just never know when you might want them. (Unfortunately, I do this all too often and probably ought to invite people over to shop in my attic to make room for fresh inventory.) I do have some standards, though, and one is that the item has to be marked down to dirt or I'm not allowed to bring it home. (It wasn't always this way, but my dwindling attic real estate demanded some strict measures.)

The clock you see here was a good buy - originally about $12, marked down to $2.48 (I made a typo on the price in the picture) - and languishing in the Hobby Lobby clearance section until I rescued its ugly self and tucked it away in a box upstairs.

 

 
It seemed like a no-brainer to turn it into a Halloween clock - and if I were to have a Halloween party, I'd us this as a doorprize. Because it turned out pretty good, I think. (Much better than that stinkin', lousy candy, that's for sure.) Again, the photography isn't the best, but I was working with artificial light.

 

Materials: Stamps: MyStamp BOX stamps (Boo! set); Patterned Paper: Basic Grey, Graphic 45, Mary Engelbreit; Cardstock; Ink: VersaFine; Other: Cosmo Cricket chipboard stickers, Stickles, googlie eyes; Hardware: 12″ x 12″ square, battery-operated clock; Tools: circle punches

Directions:

1. Stamp your images on various patterned papers. Punch out images and 12 larger circles of purple and orange; layer and adhere to one another.

2. Attach googly eyes and apply Stickles to the border circles. Also apply Stickles to chipboard stickers – set all aside to dry.

3. Cut background patterned paper to 11.5″ x 11.5″ and adhere to 12″ x 12″ orange cardstock “matte.”

4. Using a template made from a small punch, draw a small circle in the center of the orange matte (do this on the back) and then cut out the circle.

5. Remove the clock’s hands and line up the hole in your background paper with the hands’ movement post – enlarge the hole if necessary, then adhere the paper to the clock face. Temporarily attach a 5/8″ scrap of paper to the end of the hour hand. (This will guide your circle placement so each is the same distance from the clock’s center.)

6. Mark 12, 3, 6, and 9 on the clock (find the center on each side) and attach your first four circles. (This helps you place your circles equal distances from one another.)

7. Attach the chipboard stickers. Apply Stickles to clock arms.

8. Once dry, replace the arms on the movement post.

I hope you've enjoyed these projects! I highly recommend the Boo! stamp set I used. Please go here to order one for yourself!

Please be sure to check out the MyStampBOX blog for lots of terrific inspiration!!!

Thanks for looking!

 

I Want These Stairs!

Just leave it to the British. They're such a clever lot.

I stumbled upon this staircase cum bookcase while wandering around in cyberspace (I was looking for the gardening section and got lost).

Standing at top, looking down....

Standing at bottom, looking up....

Just a shot of the bottom from the side....

Just how cool is this?!

I wish Spouse could build us one of these. 

This would also be a very good solution for crafters with lots of supplies. Think of it - you wouldn't even need to have a staircase that went anywhere. You'd just build this into the side of the room and stick your table in front of it, and every bloomin' thing you owned would be within arm's reach.

In case y'all hadn't noticed it before, I love anything that involves taking a smallish space and using up every bit of it so nothing is wasted.

I'm a little freakish in that regard.

Have a nice Tuesday....

Fine, I'll Plan My Own Stinkin' Intervention!

As a result of nobody stepping forward and kidnapping me, I have decided to take matters into my own hands. And since it is impossible for a person to brainwash (de-brainwash?) herself into correct behavior, I'll just have to use a different form of therapy (because Retail Therapy is not working out so good for me).

I have decided to Do Something with my attic.

For four years I have procrastinated, but now I am finally ready to go forth and Clean Up the Place. I'm even going to paint - using a cool technique I learned on Decorating Cents. I will curb my impulsive spending by focusing all of my energy on rehabilitating this half-finished, sweltering hole of an attic!

Of course, this is going to require some shopping and cost some money, you know.

But I refuse to enjoy it!

An Update on My Progress

It's been awhile since I took my vow of not purchasing any scrap or stamp goodies during 2008. Let's see how I'm doing, shall we?

On the plus side, I have been very good about going to Archiver's, loading my basket up, and then putting most of the stuff back where it came from.

Good for me!

On the negative side, what am I doing at Archiver's in the first place? Do alcoholics go to bars? They most certainly do NOT. Well, they don't if they know what's good for them.

Right. Let's get serious here.

On my birthday and Mother's Day I visited the two stamp stores in Brown County and Went a Little Crazy. But that's only because this is my gift from Spouse. (Although I don't think he's aware of just how magnanimous his gifts are on these occasions.) Also, my MIL always sends me a check for $50, so I feel that I should be allowed to spend it however I want. I will say, though, that I did not buy any paper. Just stamps and a little bit of ink.

What I cannot justify is my reckless behavior in Stamp Your Art Out when I was in Cincinnati on business these last two months (not once, but twice I went Absolutely Crazy). It was shameless. Depraved, really. A shocking lack of self-control, if you want the truth of the matter.

Still, I didn't buy any paper. Just stamps. And stamps are different, aren't they? I mean, stamps are not consumed - they last. Therefore, stamps are really tools by nature.

Which leads me to my favorite rationalization: Tools don't count. Only supplies count.

Isn't that clever of me?

So the Cuttlebug and embossing folders and the new paper trimmer (with an additional scallop wheel) and the corner rounders, etc are like eating celery when you're dieting! They. Don't. Count.

It's amazing how easily you can justify purchasing something when you view it as a permanent fixture. I mean, anyone can plainly see that tools are Investments! And not those flashy, risky kind, either. Oh, no, these are very solid, conservative Choices with a Future. Necessary, even. For where, I ask you, would Michelangelo be without his tools?! Imagine the world without David or the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel! Why, mankind would be bereft of priceless treasures.

So tools are necessary for the betterment of Mankind.

Therefore, I am making the world a better place every time I buy a tool!

(pause)

I should really run for President....

So if we don't count tools, I'm not doing too badly.

Unless you want to get all fussy about a few little packs of gems here and there. Or a bottle or two of paper flowers. Or some chipboard embellishments. Or ink. Or magazines.

Hey, I'm using those 40% off coupons from Michael's and JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby!

I really can't help it - they keep sending them to me!

WHERE IS MY SPONSOR?! HEEEEEELLLLLOOOOOO!!!! I NEED AN INTERVENTION!!!