Category Archives: stash

My Favorite Organizational Tools

My Favorite Organizational Tools

Let’s talk stuff for a minute now–organizational stuff to be exact.

When it comes to organization, try to use things you already have before going out and buying more storage bins and baskets. Keep in mind also how you use things. Do you need things to be out in the open in order for you to use them, or will you remember you have something and prefer to have everything tucked away? These are very important things for you to think about before you go out and purchase anything, and before you start re-organizing your supplies.

That being said, these are some of the items that I use all the time, and you might like them as well.

In the closet:craft closet updated

The 12×12 paper is stored in cropper hopper vertical files with the fully open side facing out rather than upward. This makes it very easy to thumb thru and find a single sheet, rather than having to pull out various sections to find the paper you want to use. The 8.5×11 paper is in magazine holders that are laid on their side as well. Photo boxes are used as category drawers, and for a few still unsorted photos.

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Next to the computer, the printer sits on a shelf made of plywood covered with handmade paper which is supported by seven wine holders. Seven of them fit perfectly across the width of two regular file cabinets. And being able to sort markers by color? Perfect!

craft room || noexcusescrapbooking.com

Most of the rest of my supplies are stored in an Iris 6 drawer cart, an Iris scrapbooking cart, or an Iris cart with deep drawers, depending on the size of the object and how much of a particular type of item I have. Large bottles of paint and kid craft supplies go in the reclaimed and repainted locker, and most often used tools and supplies go in boxes and bins and baskets scrounged from the rest of the house.

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And my go-to tools that I use on most every page? Stacked revolving bins on the corner of the desk keep them all corralled and handy.

Do you have any favorite organizational tools? Share them in the comments! If you’d like to see more organizational ideas on the blog you can find them here.

LOAD’s Not Over Yet!

LOAD’s Not Over Yet!

Yesterday was pretty productive. I did a little writing for a class I’m working on for you, and I made these three pages during Lain Ehmann’s monthly Scrapbook Improv. ( I followed the prompts and everything!)

first impression || noexcusescrapbooking.com

My scrap bin got a serious workout, but it still looks as full as when I started the month. Maybe I should do a grab bag of scraps as a giveaway. Anyone interested?

crafty vacay || noexcusescrapbooking.com

Some of the coolest things in the scrap bin are the partially finished collage pieces. Painted book leaf? I’ve got that. Misted stencil– that’s in there too. Well not anymore. Now they’re on a page. Woo hoo!

hams || noexcusescrapbooking.com

 

And I knew that Lego paper was going to come in handy. After all I do have a couple Lego fiends in the house. It’s only a couple years old…

So did you set any scrappy goals for yourself this month? How did you do? If I get two more pages done, I’ll have done a 3/4 LOAD. That works for me!

Happy Birthday Hoot Loot!

Happy Birthday Hoot Loot!

***ETA: the giveaway is now closed. The winner will be announced shortly! Thanks for playing along!***

How would you like to wear a little bling that declares your love of scrapbooking for all to see?

I’ve got one Origami Owl scrapbook themed locket for one lucky reader. It includes one medium sized silver locket, a silver 24-26″ 2mm rolo chain, and camera, palette, scissors, and april heart birthstone charms.

Origami Owl scrapbook themed locket

Just leave a comment below by January first. I’ll pick a winner on the second.

For all those wonderful people out there who may like a necklace of their own, but don’t win this one, I have a discount for you. Just browse my Origami Owl website, and email a list of the items you want to heather@noexcusescrapbooking.com  and I’ll give you 10% off the retail price. Just make sure you email me first. If you don’t email me, I won’t be able to give you a discount.

Thank you so much for visiting me on my birthday!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of this week’s giveaways:

Scrappy Sticker Inspiration

How to use pearl powders video tutorial

Mini digi-kit

Doing a Digi Dance

Doing a Digi Dance

Today’s giveaway is for all you folks who like to play with digi pages.

This past fall, I took a design class from the fabulous Traci Reed at Scrapaneers. In it, we learned the whole process of how to create a digi kit, from inspiration to finished product.

This is my first digi kit, ever! I hope you enjoy it.

preview first digi kit

If you click this link, you’ll be able to download the entire kit from dropbox.  Let me know what you think of it. I’d love the input!

See you tomorrow with my last giveaway!

A Trio of Trees

A Trio of Trees

As a scrapbooker, it’s practically a must to create at least some of your own holiday decor. Creating your own decorations is a great way to use up some of that must have stash you’ve been hoarding, and it’s inexpensive enough that you can adapt it or switch it out for other items each year, without breaking the bank.

Let’s start with my personal favorite: the Christmas tree.

Christmas Tree trio

These started out as plain styrofoam cones, with small styrofoam balls as toppers. You can find them in the floral section of any craft store. You’ll also need some short ball head pins, an adhesive sealer like mod podge, and some paint and inexpensive brushes. A glue gun or dimensional adhesive like diamond glaze or glossy accents is also helpful. Oh, and don’t forget paper and buttons!

collage tree

This tree was made using scraps of paper, torn into pieces, and then misted with a walnut ink to darken them up a bit. They were VERY pink to begin with. (I don’t know if you know this, but I’m not a huge fan of pink. Small doses of pink are nice. Not so much on my holiday decor. I prefer a more traditional color scheme.)

I then used an inexpensive brush and coated the back of each scrap with antique gold mod podge, adhered it to the cone, and added another layer of mod podge on top of the scrap. I repeated that with the rest of the scraps, trying to keep a good variety of colors next to each other, and not repeating colors on adjoining scraps.

button tree

For the button tree, my youngest and I just filled in the space as tightly as we could with buttons that we adhered with small ball head pins. You don’t want them to be too long, because then they’ll poke out the other side. (Owie!) As you can see, there are spots where the foam shows between buttons. That doesn’t bother me, but if it bothers you, try covering your cone with paint first.

paper strips tree

For this tree, cut a whole bunch of paper strips about half an inch wide by four inches. Fold it in half without creasing, and pin it onto the cone. Start on the bottom, and work you way up, making sure the end of each piece hides the pins for the lower strips. When you get to the top, if you have any extra length, just trim it off.

All of these trees were then finished off with a styrofoam ball painted with silver acrylic paint, and hot glued onto the top of the cone.

Do you have any simple trees you’d like to share? Link them up in the comments below!