Happy Tuesday to you all! I hope you're having a great day and enjoying the start to your week! Can you believe it's the last day of June?? I sure can't! I only have a month left of this pregnancy and I can hardly believe it! It's gone way too fast!
I also can't believe that the 4th of July is this weekend! My house is still slightly under construction and in disarray for the next couple weeks, but I had to get out some festive decorations for my kitchen. Just to add a little pizazz amongst the chaos!
Today I want to share with you a quick and easy way to make festive 4th of July decorations this week as a last minute touch for your table arrangements, BBQ decorations, or even just because! I made these table decorations 2 years ago when I had family in town for the 4th! Since then, I have stored them away with my table linens, and get them out every year around this time to jazz up my table once again!
Here's what you need to make this quick and easy project:
1.) Wooden Skewers
2.) Festive 4th of July paper or stamped paper
3.) Silver or White brads
4.) Washi tape or Liquid Glass
5.) Foam tape
6.) Artiste Cricut Cartridge
First, you cut the Accent 1 image from pg 50 of the Artiste handbook at 2 3/4" tall (height). You can cut multiple of these at one time if you are doing one for each place setting. Then cut the same image on pg 50 at 2" tall (height) from your second piece of paper or stamped background. The papers I used were old ones from my stash that I dug out!
Next, place a brad through the center of the smaller pinwheel (the 2" one). Then add foam tape to the back of it. Adhere this pinwheel to the front of the larger pinwheel.
Lastly, attach your pinwheels to a wooden skewer. I used thin washi tape to tape my pinwheels to the skewer. However, you could use a dab of Liquid Glass to help hold the skewer in place as well!
I hope you enjoyed this quick Tuesday Tidbit today! If you have any questions, though, please do not hesitate to shoot me a message or comment! I would love to help you get your holidays decor ready for the weekend!
Also, don't forget it's the last day of June which means it's the last day to take advantage of all the steals and deals June has to offer! Including the amazing My Crush promotion that gets you a FREE stamp set!
You can see all the monthly promos under my steals and deals tab at the top of this page, and you can shop my online shop for these specials until midnight tonight! Have a great rest of your week, and until next time:
Welcome to another Tuesday Tidbit this month! Today I wanted to point out an awesome resource for stamping and crafting techniques. Are you ready for it?? It's super easy to access, and I promise you're going to love all the inspiration! It's CTMH's corporate Instagram account! Have you been following along this month?
The last couple weeks CTMH corporate has been sharing different techniques on their Instagram account for stamping, distressing, inking, and so much more! There have been some old and new techniques (new to me at least), and I always love seeing comparisons of techniques on the same page.
Different types of coloring techniques: 1.) ShinHan Alcohol markers 2.) Paper piecing by stamping the image on several pattern papers and fussy cutting them out 3.) Watercolor pencils and water brush 4.) Blending Pens and ink pads
Sanding Kit techniques: 1.) Dry Embossing using the scoreboard and sand to expose the white core 2.) Circular sanding with sanding block 3.) Embossing Folder used and sanded to expose the white core 4.) Sanded Edges using the file
Inking techniques: 1.) Swipe stamping at a diagonal 2.) Spritz stamping by inking your stamp and spritzing it with water 3.) Watercolor blending done by putting ink colors on the All-Purpose mat, spritzing with water, applying the ink to your stamp, and stamping 4.) Ghost stamping done by stamping image in White Daisy ink on dark cardstock then re-stamping with a color slightly off-set from the original
These are just a couple images that were shared last week. Make sure and get on Instagram and start following CTMH at @ctmhofficial to see all the fun techniques they have been sharing. Enjoy the rest of your week, and happy crafting! Until next time:
Welcome to the first Tuesday Tidbit for June! Today I thought I would share a video from CTMH about the different tools and techniques you can use to distress your paper projects! I know that this might be a "review" tip for a lot of you, but I like to revisit classic techniques now and then because it's good to be reminded of the simple things we can do to spruce up our everyday projects!
I love the look of distressed paper, but there are a lot of ways to achieve this look. You can use ink, sandpaper, or a sharp edge! It all depends on the style or look that you are going for! Check out the awesome video demonstrating some of my favorite ways to distress paper projects:
Heads up, though, CTMH is retiring the Distress Inks this year! So if you are interested in scoring this set of inks (in Black and Chocolate, 1"x1" pads for only $3.95/set), make sure and shop my Online Site today because these amazing inks will sell out fast!
I hope this has inspired you to get crafty this week! Until next time:
Hey everyone! Welcome back to another Tuesday Tidbit! Today I want to revisit a fun stamping technique that will add texture and movement to any of your crafty projects! A fellow consultant on my team recently used this technique on her layout with an alphabet stamp set. I loved the look she got when she combined it with the Jackson paper collection, and decided it would be a great tip to share with you all this week!
This technique is called "swiping", and I love using this technique to show direction or to just add extra dimension to some stamps! Here's a video by CTMH showing exactly how this technique works, and what it looks like on some awesome projects:
I hope you all enjoyed seeing this technique up close! What will you use this technique on? Do you have some fun ideas in mind for your next project? I know I'll be revisiting this technique on my next projects! I just love the overall look!
Don't forget you still have a little over a week to take advantage of my mystery hostess drawing this month! Just place an order with me or on my Online Shopping site, and you can be entered into the drawing for FREE hostess rewards of your choice!
You can get all the information and specifics of this awesome monthly deal on my Steals & Deals page, but if you have any questions, please let me know! I would love to help you get your CTMH goodies this month!
I hope you all are having a great start to your week, and are feeling more inspired after today's Tidbit! Until next time:
Hey, everyone!! I hope all of the moms out there had a wonderful weekend being celebrated and cherished! You deserve it each and every day, but I hope your weekend was exceptionally special!
I was able to spend my weekend with my mom doing some scrapbooking at my house here in MN. It was an awesome weekend, and we had a great time getting some paper therapy in every day! The time always goes too fast, though, when she's here!
It's time for another Tuesday Tidbit already, and I have a quick tip to help any of you that have experienced Crafter's Block. You know what I mean, right?? You finally have time to get some crafting done, you start to get out some supplies, and.....blank.....you can't figure out where to start or you're just not feeling too creative all the sudden! Trust me...this happens to us all!
So what do you do? Well one of my favorite things to do to get those creative juices flowing is to
"scraplift" a favorite project. This could be something you saw on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or even in an old magazine. Wherever you find inspiration....that's where you start!
Pinterest is a great source to scraplift your favorite artists, and get creative ideas flowing! This is my CTMH Scrapbook Layouts board from my Pinterest page! I love all the amazing ideas I can find here!
Sketches work great for this, too! Pick a sketch you like (even if it's one you have already used before), and just start "scraplifting" the idea(s). Pretty soon you'll find that you're modifying, making it your own, and starting to feel that creative mojo again!
Some of my favorite books to grab for sketches are the CTMH How-to guides! These books are jam packed with sketches and ideas to get your projects going!
There are four How-to books for creating scrapbook layouts.
It's a great way to jump start your creative time, and a fun way to start getting projects done! I hope you enjoyed this week's Tidbit, and until next time:
Happy Cinco de Mayo to you all! I hope you are enjoying the start of this beautiful Spring month! The weather has been gorgeous up here in Minnesota, but we could use some rain really soon!
Anyone get a start on their projects this past weekend to celebrate National Scrapbooking Month? I was traveling back from New Orleans this weekend so I didn't get a chance to play yet, but hopefully later today!
I have a fun Tuesday Tidbit for you today! Today I want to share with you an easy and effective way to use stickers as embellishments on your layouts. I love all the super cute stickers that are on the market! Especially the sticker complements that CTMH has with each of their paper packs. Unfortunately, though, once you stick one down they are difficult to move, change, or layer afterward!
I want to share with you something that I do when I want to use up some of my complementing stickers! I turn all my stickers into ephemera to make it easier to position them on my project and make it easier to decide how to use them as embellishments! Here's how I make sticker ephemera:
2.) Pour a small amount of baby powder on your splat mat, and use your finger to apply the baby powder to the back of your stickers.
It can be messy, but it's so fast and easy to do!
3.) Make sure the back of the sticker is completely covered in baby powder so that the sticker loses its "stick" completely.
4.) Do this to all the stickers in the complements set. Then store them in a baggie or their original packaging until you're ready to use them!
All of these Blossom stickers have baby powder on the back. They still have a little tack to them, but just enough to keep them stored on these sheets until I'm ready to use them!
5.) When you're ready to add the ephemera to your project, layer them and place them where you want them. Then add adhesive (I use the CTMH glue pen) or foam tape to the back of the ephemera piece and adhere!
I do this to all my complement stickers when I receive them with my paper packs! It makes it much easier to project plan and embellish without the commitment of leaving them super sticky! Plus it doesn't take long, and cleans up super easy, too!
Here's my stack of Wanderful ephemera made after unsticking all the stickers from the sheets! It's all ready for layering and embellishing without the hassle of a permanent stick!
With really sticky stickers, sometimes they will still have a little "stick" to them even after the baby powder is applied. I put these back on the sticker sheets to keep them in place and prevent them from sticking to each other later. You could also use wax paper to help the ephemera from sticking to each other, too!
That's it! I hope you enjoyed today's Tuesday Tidbit and found it helpful for embellishing your next project! If you have any questions, please let me know! Otherwise, have a great day, and until next time:
Welcome to another Tuesday Tidbit!! The last couple weeks I have been crazy busy working on other Spring projects around our house! So I apologize that I didn't get to post any Tidbits for you these last two weeks!
I'm back, though, and ready to share another part of the Spring Cleaning series that I started last month! Today I want to talk about organizing stamp sets! There are two things that I own a lot of: paper and stamps. However, I haven't tried to organize my stamp images and sets into something more user friendly. I have read and heard of a few different ways that other designers and crafters organize their stamps, but I haven't had a chance to tackle my stash yet!
This was one of my main goals this Spring, actually! I wanted to go through my stamp sets, organize the images by category and theme, and keep those images in a binder or Rolodex that makes for easy reference! I just haven't found enough time this last month to get started! Hopefully soon, though! Instead I have been working on the baby nursery, re-decorating our guest room upstairs, and getting the house ready for our big basement finishing project (which started yesterday)!
So today I want to share how I have my stamps organized now, and then share a few of my favorite tips and tricks that I have seen from some of my favorite designers and fellow crafters!
First I want to tell you how I have my stamps organized currently! I use the CTMH large organizers for my CTMH stamp sets. I have 4 of these, and right now they are semi-categorized.
One large organizer holds retired stamp sets (including retired SOTM sets and retired campaign specials). The other three organizers contain current stamp sets. I use washi tape to label the top of each organizer with which stamp sets it contains. I have them labeled as SOTM, WOTG, Christmas, Fall/Halloween, Background, Travel, Cricut collection sets, Hostess Rewards, and "Available Online". This last category are any stamps sets that coordinate with the Cricut cartridges (these sets never retire), and any stamp sets from the old Idea Book that are still available to order. Stamp sets are available for an entire year after they are released, but these are not always shown in the current Idea Books. So that's why I keep a separate organizer for just these sets!
This system works for me when looking for current stamp sets to use on my projects, but it doesn't work for finding images that coordinate or specific phrases that I would like to use on my projects. That's why I want to reorganize. I would love to have a Rolodex type system where I can look at all the images I own that say "Happy Birthday" for instance. This way I can find the size, font, and style that works best for the project I am currently working on.
Then I want to organize my stamp sets by letter and number for easier reference, too (A sized will all be together and in numerical order, B sized....etc)!! I am going to use CTMH's tabbed dividers to help me keep my stamps in order. These are super cute, match the organizers, and are easy to label! Plus they fit in the large organizer without any problems!
I have a lot of stamps, and not all of them are CTMH. So I don't know if a Rolodex system will work the best, but I am playing around with a couple ideas yet before I dive in and start filing my images into a system! As soon as I find one that works for me, I will let you know!
Here are a couple more ideas on ways to get organized with your stamp sets:
Jennifer McGuire does it again with another amazing storage system for stamps! I love all of her ideas, and I encourage you to check out her YouTube page if you haven't already! Here's her video on storing the different sized stamps that are on the market currently:
A fellow consultant, Angela Doescher, had another awesome idea to organize her hundreds of stamps as well! She uses the Evernote application and some storage binders to sort and file her stamps and images. Check out her video tutorial using this technique:
Well that's it, friends! The last Spring Cleaning post for this series! I hope that I was able to inspire you to get organized this year with all these ideas! If you have any questions or would like to know about other ways I organize my supplies, please let me know! I would love to help you out as best I can! Enjoy the rest of your week, and until next time:
Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope you all had a great Easter weekend, and was able to enjoy some relaxation and family time!
How's everyone doing on their big organization project for 2015??? This last week has been another crazy one in our house. So that means I didn't get to tackle more of my craft cleaning project, but I was able to finish up some projects and kit up some future workshops! I'll take that as partial organization!
Moving along with our theme this month, though, I wanted to talk about organizing photos! Without photos we really don't have a story to tell or pages to scrapbook. The hardest part, though, is these days we have photos of EVERYTHING! So how do you organize everyday photos, event photos, printed photos, digital photos....phew....it gets to be exhausting!
It doesn't have to be, though. Once you have a system in place, organizing photos becomes easier and easier, and you'll be able to find that perfect photo that you want to scrap or display in your home!
I don't have the perfect photo organization system, but what I do use works well for me! The biggest thing with organizing all our photos is making sure you have a reliable back-up system!
Not all back up systems are going to stick around in the next 5-10 years either! So making sure that you keep on top of your photo storage is important. I'm "old school" and use an external hard drive to store all my photos, documents, etc. It's always attached to my laptop, too, so I can access anything I need whenever I need it! I use Seagate's Backup Plus Portable Drive, and still have a ton of room left on there for more storage (and believe me...it's got a lot on there already).
My digital photos are organized in a pictures folder on my hard drive. When I open my pictures folder I have multiple other folders that are all labeled and dated (if need be). Especially if I have multiple folders that are similar; like Christmas. My folders are labeled "McMullin Christmas 2014....2015....etc" for example. I also sub-organize my folders. Again sounds like a lot, but it really doesn't take that long! I don't have every photo named or labeled, just placed in the right folder. For example, I have a folder named "Ian and Karina" in that folder I have multiple other folders of trips, events, everyday photos, etc. that are just my husband and I together!
Here you can see some of my folders when I open "My Pictures". Each Folder is labeled, and some folders have sub-folders.
This system works for me, and I am able to find what I need quickly and efficiently, too! If you have questions or want more examples of my digital organization, please let me know! I would love to help you with this!
I also print photos pretty regularly. Printed photos are important to me because the idea is to get my favorites in scrapbooks and albums! I want to show them off not store them on my computer or in a box on my shelf (although that's where a lot of them are right now because I have so many printed). I usually print photos on a monthly basis, so I need a good storage system to keep all these prints organized until I am ready to scrap them or put them in pocket protectors!
I have a couple things that I use to organize printed photos! My absolute favorite storage container that I use is from any local crafting store (JoAnn Fabrics, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc.). They are called Iris Photo Boxes, and they come with 16 individual photo carriers that fit 4x6 photos perfectly! I have 3 of these boxes full of printed photos! I love that they are see through, portable, and easy to organize. Each individual photo carrier is labeled with a notecard to tell me what photos are in it, the dates, and main points to remember about those particular photos (funny details, quotes, etc). I also keep my photos organized in chronological order so I can find events and trip photos more easily.
I also love this system because if I'm going away to a crop weekend or scrapping with the friend, I can pull just the individual photo carriers of pictures that I want to work with for that particular project! It's very handy, and I have a lot of people ask me about them when I take them with me to crops.
Iris Box with 16 photo carriers full of photos (roughly 100 photos can fit in 1 carrier)
Iris photo carrier with notecard labeling photos inside, details to remember, etc.
These boxes can be a little pricey, though, and I would wait until I could use a coupon or get them on sale to purchase them. However, CTMH has a very similar system that you could modify to make your own organized photo box! The medium organizer will fit 4x6 photos easily, and you can fit the individual photo carriers from Isis in the organizer as well! The individual photo carriers can be purchased separately, and are very reasonable! I have a few extras that I put into my medium organizer when I am traveling to events and weekend crops!
Medium Organizer by CTMH with PML journaling boxes on the left, extra 3x4 PML cards on the front right, and 3 Isis photo carriers on the back right! These photo carriers also will store 4x6 PML cards perfectly, too!
The medium organizer is a fraction of the cost, and you can get as many or as little photo carriers are you want! Plus the organizer will fit other products as well (like PML cards, embellishments, ink pads, adhesives, etc.). It's perfect for being organized on the go!! I love system as well, and have used it a lot more when traveling than taking all my Isis boxes!
Well I hope this has you thinking about organizing and tackling those photos! If you have any questions or need to get your hands on one of the medium organizers to help you get started, please let me know!
Also, if you need to print photos, there are a couple great deals going on right now!! Shutterfly has 101 FREE 4x6 photos that you can take advantage of when you use the code CARROT at checkout! Act quickly for this deal, though, because you only have until midnight to get your FREE print order in!
Snapfish is also still running their FREE prints for a year campaign when you download and order prints using their mobile app! I did it this last year, and it was awesome! 1200 free prints is nothing to frown upon at all!
So get those photos ordered, and start organizing them today! I hope you're having a great start to your week, and make sure to spend time on your organizing project! Until next time:
Here's to life, love, and creativity!
P.S. Sneak over to the CTMH blog for an exclusive giveaway today! Make sure and comment to enter so you can try and win awesome prizes!!
Welcome back to the third part of my Spring Cleaning series!! How did your last week go? Were you able to get started on your "big task" from your to-do list? I hope you're enjoying this new series on getting organized! I really am having fun sharing with all of you!
I'll be honest....I didn't get to work on my big task this week! I was wrapping up our taxes, finalizing plans for our basement finishing project, and working on upcoming workshops and planning! So I really didn't get a chance to focus on my plan yet. Hopefully later this week, though!
There's no new challenge for this week, but I do want you to keep working on implementing your organization plan and tackling your big task! I know these things take time, and a week usually doesn't cut it! So keep working on it, and get motivated with the nicer weather that we've been having!
Organizing Supplies Tips & Tricks:
This week I want to share with you how I organize just a few of my embellishments. Especially the ones that I have a lot of like washi tape, ribbon, and stickers/accent sheets!
I am the type of crafter where if I don't have it handy or highly accessible, then I'm not going to use it. This was a problem for me because I have a lot of embellishments, and I hardly was using any of them before my office remodel! Either I had to dig them out of storage or I had to thumb through boxes and unorganized bins to find what could work on my project. Neither of these things worked for me when I wanted to finish something quickly.
First thing I did was look at ideas on Pinterest and on popular crafting blogs! I saw a ton of ideas for storing embellishments, but really it came down to "what am I going to really use?" and "will it work in the long haul?".
For washi tape and ribbon, I loved the idea of using pants hangers to store my tape! I could hang these in the closet when not in use, and I could hang them from my cabinets when I wanted to find the right color or pattern for my project.
I have a TON of washi tape, though, and knew I would need a lot of hangers. So I also decided to buy the We R Memory Keepers Washi Tape stackable dispenser system! I bought the base which came with 20 rolls of tape, and then I bought an extender and top tier. This I can leave on my desk or work space, and I fill it with the washi tape I reach for the most!
We R Memory Keepers Washi Tape Dispenser base with 20 rolls of tape
Stackable tier and post to add to the base system
I purchased these online on a website called Blitsy! They have really great sales, and sometimes you can catch this set up to 50% off! The sales change week to week, though, so you really have to watch for it!
For my stickers and accent sheets, I needed a completely new system! I originally had my stickers and sheets filed in 12x12 accordion folders. These worked for a long time for me! I originally bought them at Big Lots when I first started getting into scrapbooking again (back in 2006-2007). However, I quickly out grew these and would have to dig through them to find what I needed. The small sheets were always on the bottom, and I just stopped getting them out. I had too much for these folders, and I wasn't using what I had to help use up my stash!
A couple of my small Accordion File Folders that I used for paper and embellishment sheets
Inside of one of the folder to show how many sections there are to this nice organizer!
If anyone is interested in these accordion folders, I have my extras, which are in great shape, for sale! Only $5 for the large ones, and $3 for the smaller ones! Contact me and let me know if you want them! Otherwise, they will be available at my big craft sale coming up in about a month!
I scored another online deal a while back and got an extra large Clip It Up organizer! This base unit is 18" wide to fit 12x12 sheets (if I needed...which I did)! It came with some clips and some plastic tag labels to section off items!
I had it stored away in the box until we started our office project. At that time, Archivers was going out of business up here, so I went to the store specifically looking for an upper Clip It Up tier and more clips! I found exactly what I needed, and was able to get it 30% off with the store closing sale.
Now the crummy part about this system is that the "Simply Renee" brand has gone out of business as well. You can sometimes find the stands on sale on ebay or other sites, but they're usually more expensive. I had a couple friends score some deals from other crafters on Craigslist. So you could always start there if you want something similar.
I also know that Michael's has a similar, smaller system that they sell with their organizer systems. I think they work okay, but definitely are more flimsy than the Clip It Up brand and cannot fit 12x12 sheets on the base unit.
I have not added labels to my plastic tags yet, but all my embellishments are sectioned off by theme. I have Christmas, Fall/Halloween, Baby/Kids, and then by popular brands (Heidi Swapp, Fancy Pants Designs, etc). This makes it so much easier for me to coordinate my products and find exactly what will work on my project!
I needed more clips, though, because I had so much that I wanted to hang. I ended up using the S-hooks from an IKEA curtain clip pack. I think there were 50 hooks and 50 clips in the pack, and the hooks worked perfectly because they are flat and I can fit more on the Clip It Up that way!
Lastly, my CTMH embellishments! These I keep separate like my other CTMH stuff so that I can coordinate easier, and pull what I need for workshops a lot faster! For my CTMH embellishments, I use the medium organizer from CTMH! This awesome tote can hold a TON of stuff, and I love mine! It's easy to take to crops, move from work space to work space, and I have no problems finding what I need in here!
Medium Organizer with dividers
How the inside of my embellishment organizer looks for CTMH stuff! I have shimmer trim, ribbon, washi, My Crush Assortments, and bling all in its own compartments!
Another great system by CTMH is the small organizer with the craft box foam insert and craft boxes! These handy boxes store a lot of embellishments as well, and you can see what you have a little easier! I haven't tried this system yet because what I'm using still works for me, but I know a lot of other people that like the small organizer better!
Photo courtesy of Fancy Melissa
Hopefully this gives you some great ideas to start organizing your embellishments! If you have any questions or need help getting your hands on some CTMH organizers, please let me know! I would love to help you get organized this Spring!
Keep working hard on your organization goal this week, and until next time:
Welcome back to another Tuesday Tidbit, and the second part of my new "Spring Cleaning" series!! Did you all make a plan last week about what you want to accomplish in your crafty space this season? How do you feel about your plan? Are you excited to get started or are you still unsure what your end goal is? If you still are not sure, sit back down and re-work the plan! You need to make sure you have a definite end goal to accomplish!
Bear with me this week! This post might be a little longer, but I want to you to get a good grasp on where to start with things and give examples of organization that worked for me and other highly organized people! So let's dig in....
Today I want to focus on the "big task". The one that most of us put off and ignore because we know it's going to take the longest, be the biggest hurdle, and frankly might not be the most fun to do (at least for some people).
This is how I feel about office paperwork some days!
When I was in college, I had a prep course/crash course for time management and organization. The idea that stuck with me the longest from that course was this: when you have a to-do list or multiple tasks you need to accomplish, start with the one that is the biggest struggle or will take the most time. This way when it's done, everything else will seem like a breeze to complete.
Some people don't like this idea (me included). I hate starting with the most daunting task. I would rather get a lot of little tasks done and crossed off my list so I feel like I did more, but that still leaves the "big task" to be dealt with.
However, you might feel about this theory, this is my challenge to you for Part II of this series:
Find the biggest task having to do with your plan, and start doing it!
You might not get it done this week and that's okay, but you will have started it and now have a feel for the direction you are going!
Organizing Supplies Tips & Tricks:
When I started my office overhaul last Spring, I was overwhelmed by the amount of supplies I had to go through, organize, sort, and try and fit back in my space! I didn't think I would have room, and I started to panic that maybe this wasn't a good idea! However, when the time came to start going through all my supplies, I broke it down into a series of tasks.
The largest task for me was to go through all of my paper and organize it in a way that made sense to me!! I have a huge paper stash (like most paper crafters), but it wasn't organized in a way that I liked. I still could re-work my system today, but it works for me and I can find what I'm looking for a lot easier now! Here are some embarrassing, candid photos of the "before":
This was my desk set up when we first moved in. Everything was in piles and was shoved where ever there was room. I needed a lot more storage! You can sort of see some of my paper organized in the cubes under my desk. These didn't fit all my paper, so I had paper stashed in random places, too! It's hard to use what you have when you don't have everything you could use in front of you!
These are two huge boxes stuffed full of just pattern paper!! You can start to see that I was organizing paper as I was packing it in these boxes before we started the office remodel.
How did I even start to organize my paper? Well I share with you what worked for me. When we decided to remodel the office, we had to pack everything up into boxes and bins and carry it to a separate room (mostly the master bedroom). As I would pack things away, I would organize them and go through them. I had a keep pile, a toss pile, and a donate/sell pile. I went through every sheet of paper I owned. Literally...EVERY SHEET! It was worth it, though. I found what I was still "in to", sorted by category, and got rid of what I'll never use!
The 12x12 paper organization system I use works like this:
1.) Organize designer paper by brand (My Mind's Eye, Heidi Swapp, Close to My Heart, etc)
2.) Other pattern paper organized by theme/category (Christmas, Fall/Halloween, stripes, dots, etc.)
**I should note that I keep paper packs/stacks together. I don't separate them out.**
3.) Non-CTMH colored cardstock all together
4.) CTMH colored cardstock sorted separately (for quick and easy use of a specific color to match)
5.) Non-CTMH paper scraps filed in folders by color
6.) Specialty paper and/or chipboard organized in the same spot (Vellum, Laser cut, acetate, etc.)
When it came to other sizes of paper, I organized those so like sizes stay together. I have an upper cabinet that has all my mat stacks, 8x8, and 8 1/2 x 11 papers organized on separate shelves. I put all my 6x6 pads in a cube system with four drawers. The other drawers in that system house journaling pads, tags, and notecards.
Everything has a specific home, and all my papers are together in one spot. It is much easier now to find what I need because I have all my paper within a triangle reach around my center island! Here's some pictures of my new organization system to give you an idea of what I did:
Here are the same Michael's stackable cubes from my office before, but I added many more of them into my system! On the lower, left side of my desk I have all my pattern paper (as shown here).
Here's a close up of my organization system. I used chipboard and post-it notes to label each designer's section, and then sectioned the rest by theme or category (stripes, dots, Christmas, etc.)
These cubes are on the lower, right side of my island when I am standing at it. The organizers on the left in this picture house Non-CTMH scraps sorted by color. The papers on the right in this picture are what I have left of my Non-CTMH cardstock sheets.
These cubes are on the lower, left side of my island when I'm standing at it. These slots are for CTMH paper collections only! This way I can keep my business papers and projects separated and easy to find when I'm creating!
Some of you have seen this before!! My husband made two of these paper
towers for me to help me organize and sort my CTMH cardstock by color.
They sit on either side of my desk and house only CTMH cardstock, Fundamentals paper packs, and glitter papers! We used melamine board, bracket supports, and the metal sides from an
old organization system from college to make this awesome tower! These
make me happy just looking at them!!
This is one of my upper cabinets above my desk that house other sizes of paper! In this cabinet alone I have 8x8, 8 1/2 x 11, and mat stacks!
I have lots of drawers in my island, and a couple of these drawers house 6x6 pads of paper. Similar drawers in the same cube have tags, journaling cards, and notecards as well! If I need to thumb through, I pull the whole drawer out and get what I need!
I know my "system" isn't the most organized overall, but it works for me! Plus it's much better than what it was before! I only have to take a step or two to get to all the paper I own!
This definitely took me the longest to complete, and it was the first thing I put back into the new office when it was finished! It was so much easier to bring it back into the space once I had already gone through it and organized it!
Another person that I will reference often in this series is Jennifer McGuire. She is the organizer queen of craft supplies! I love seeing her ideas and checking out her space, and I highly encourage you to do the same!
She has been doing this a long time, and has recently remodeled her space as well! I am not nearly as "put together" as she is, but you're going to love what she does. Here is her video on how she organizes her paper:
I love her ideas on organization!! I also love how everything is labeled! Eventually I want to have official labels, but my post-it notes work for now!
I would love to hear what your big task is for this next week!! What will you be starting on? What's your most daunting to-do item? Make sure and share in the comments or over on my Facebook page! The more we share with each other, the more inspired the rest of us will be to start working on the same thing! Until next time:
