Bulletin Board Makeover

I had a plain wooden frame cork board in my craft area.  I decided to cover it with batting/fabric/ribbon to match my new Cricut/Cuttlebug Cozies.  I got all of the supplies at JoAnn Fabrics.  I need to reinforce where the buttons are, but for now it's ok.  I was pleased with the finished board.  I added some of the same things to this board that were on there before...favorite pictures, quotes and keepsakes.

 In this picture it looks like the ribbon on the board really does NOT match the Cozies.  It is a bit different, but not as different as it appears here.  Now, remember....my craft area is in the basement (aka 70s vomit decor), so I have to make things pretty/prettier despite what's already down there.  As you see, my white cubes are elevated on other shelves, etc.  Our basement got flooded last May and I am NOT taking any chances.  I can handle the water soaking into the cheap white shelves more than ruining my precious scrapbook inventory.  I pray we don't endure that mess again this year.  :(  Anyway...I am pleased that an ugly cork board is now a snazzy matchy-matchy board.  I can now mark that one off my list!  Yippee!  By the way, I did this Saturday night when I should have been packing for my trip to the Craft Farm.  I did get packed by 7pm Sunday.  Whew...can't wait to go Thursday-Sunday of this week!  :)

I did laundry tonight.  For kicks, I arranged all my scrub pants in ROYGBIV order.  I will smile in the mornings when I choose my pant color.  ahhhhhhh...I love ROY!  hee hee

How Old??

I did this layout about my Uncle Richard's birthday.  I cut the title out using my Cricut, plus added some fuzzy white sticker letters.  I added some sprinkles of bling and did the journaling vertically on the side.  You can click the pictures for a closer look.

When we did the cake, apparently the only number candle that could be found was an 8. LOL

When I was at Archivers in late January, I noticed some of the samples in the store used bling in little clusters.  I sort of like a different look instead of the bling in a dotted line.  It's bling confetti...

Vera Bradley Recycled

Just a quick post to show you how I took a printed Vera Bradley thank you card from my niece, punched out some elements and created a new card.  RECYCLE.  I will tell you that I have had this in my "I better keep it because I might do something with it someday" pile.  Oh geez.  At least I finally made something with it....a year and a half later.  *giggle*  You can easily follow my step by step process for how I did it.  I won't bore you with the details.  I think you can figure it out.  Thanks for stopping by!  OH wait...I will tell you that I literally pulled out all of the cardstock from my newly-organized paper scraps bins.  Even the embossed piece was in there!  Those bins are like a treasure chest now!

Organizing Paper Scraps

Piles.  Baskets.  More piles.  12x12 sleeves. Envelopes.  Well, I pretty much had paper scraps in all of those places. And some of those piles and 12x12 sleeves contained scraps from when I went to the Craft Farm a year ago.  *gulp*  Years ago, I purchase a hanging file folder crate for all of my Stampin' Up! paper scraps.  Since then, they have added colors, retired colors and well...my scraps piles have GROWN.  It was time for an intervention.  It is my goal to finally (I mean it!) get my craft space in super organized order.  Baby steps.  I got TWO new hanging file holders at Wal-Mart and went to town sorting & pitching (just gross pieces and small ones that I can't do anything with....all you paper hoarders need to exhale now...).  I won't kid you.  People, THIS TAKES A LOT OF TIME.  But, it's SO worth it!!

 Look at all of the pretty little piles that will get sorted into the hanging files.

 BAM...the completed project.  I know you want to DROOL.  Go ahead.  I'll wait.  I decided to keep all of the tabs to the far right as I am right-handed and it makes for easy flipping.  I just flip through, find the color I need and grab it.  As SU! adds colors to their color line (new In Colors come out June 1st!) I can easily add extra folders, create the coordinating tab and expand my system.  Having two of these bins allows for growth.  My original crate was so crammed full that the folders didn't even move.  Ugh.

I typed the names of ALL of the SU! colors and created tab inserts.  I then punched a small scalloped circle of every single color (minus the ones Connie did for me since I was lacking a few...Thanks, Connie!).  I then arranged my folders in ROYGBIV order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet....then all the neutrals).  I know you have goosebumps now.  Love it!

I adjusted two shelves in my giant white cabinet so I could easily fit the plastic hanging file bins inside. I just store the lid behind the bin.  See those dots?  Well, that represents what color families are in this bin...(ROYG)...and the other bin will have (BIV) and neutrals.  The solid pieces of 8 1/2 x 11 are to the right and all scraps in those colors are found in that bin.  Get it...solid pieces to the right, coordinating scraps in the bin next to it.  OH my.  Got hives now?  I am so stinkin' excited about this step in my organization.  I am a visual person so it is easier to glance at the dots and know what colors are in this bin, instead of reading a label that says RED,etc.  Ya know?

Within that same giant cabinet, I have all of my 12x12 paper, too.  I use the Cropper Hopper holders.  Snag those when JoAnn's has a scrapbook organization sale.  From left to right, I have: 1)textured 2) textured scraps 3) SU! solid 4) non-SU! solid 5) giant paper pad from Hobby Lobby 6)patterned paper (this needs revamped as I have to flip through it all) 7) glittered papers...and the rest of the containers have specialty papers, shaped and die-cut 12x12, etc.  The very last container is all of my alphabet stickers.  I will show more on that in a future post.  I have actually moved it from there, but this pic was taken before that.  Ok, so now you can see how I have most of my paper and scraps organized.  I do have some of my seasonal or special papers in a JetMax cube with hanging folders.  More on that later, too.

On my to-do list...making sense of my "miscellaneous embellishments" drawer.  Ugh.  I just dig and dig and it makes.me.insane.  Thanks for stopping by...hope you're inspired to go organize something!  :)  I'll keep sharing my progress with you.

Tasty Pencil

You may ask why I called this post Tasty Pencil.  Well...this little beauty has a yummy surprise in the middle (hello!...chocolate!).  I received this from my awesome friend (and 2nd cousin) Connie.

I'm sorry that I don't have any measurements for you, but I still had to share this great idea.  You can see that a pack of Rolo candy has a Hershey's kiss glued to the end.  Once it is slipped into the paper base, the kiss looks like a pencil lead.  LOVE.IT!

Dude, I was all over this like white on rice after I took the pictures.  I am a SUCKER for caramel and Rolo chocolates are my favorite.  Caramel is from Heaven!  Ahhhhhhhh!  Thanks for stopping by!

Be Inspired - Day 3

 I was immediately drawn to the soothing aquatic color scheme of this inspiration piece.  I figured the original artist heat embossed the white image so I thought I'd do the same.

 My ink pad didn't have quite as deep a green color as the original, so I didn't want to use a really dark ribbon on my version.  To keep in line with the light airy feel of the white cardstock base, I chose a sheer white ribbon and some matching twine.  Since my stamped image wasn't as solid as the one in the inspiration piece, I thought it would get lost behind darker ribbon.  What do YOU think?

So, tell me...did you enjoy my Be Inspired series? I know it was only 3 days, but I hope you have been inspired to rip out those ideas, dig through your supplies and recreate a wonderful "look-a-like" card.  Be Inspired...and thanks for stopping by!  More fun to come this week, so be sure to check back.

Be Inspired - Day 2

Today's inspiration picture has a very earthy feel with a pop of white accents.  When I first made my card below, I kept thinking....hmm...this is blah...sort of like the weather this time of year.  Then, I looked at it again.  I saw the warm tones of the Crumb Cake cardstock, Early Espresso ink and the warm sponged edges.  It made me think of digging my hands in fresh dirt and appreciating the warmth of an earthy look.  It is really different from yesterday's card, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. 

 I ended up adding an accent color with the mellow moss cardstock and button in the center.

The white gel pen really helps the design pop off the "blah" cardstock.  (Hey, Crumb Cake is pretty much my "go to" color, so I shouldn't call it blah.  LOL)  I think this card will go to my friend Karin.  She would totally appreciate the simplistic earthy feel.  Yep, she'll get it later this month.  Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check back tomorrow.  I dusted off my Kaleidoscope ink pad and got my heat embossing gun fired up for the last card in my Be Inspired series. 

Be Inspired-Day 1

For the next three days I will share an inspiration picture, then my version of the design.  I really liked the layout, intricate border at the bottom and the banner focal piece.  Most often, I tear out an idea and it gets tucked away in a stack of designs and never comes to fruition.  My mojo showed up this weekend and BAM...I created! 

Everything is from SU! except: bling (Wal-Mart), border punch (Fiskars), word patterned paper (a scrap in my stash), spikey circle punch (Martha Stewart).

This saying is from a military set I own.  I thought this particular one would be good to send to one of my many out-of-state friends.  I think I already know who will receive it.  I wanted to tell you that if you really like the patterned paper...well, you can get it for FREE during Stampin' Up!'s Sale-a-Bration...spend $50 and choose an item for free.  This paper pack is one of the options.  Go to www.stampinup.com to find a demonstrator in your area.  Be sure to check back the next two days for my other cards in the Be Inspired series.  Thanks for stopping by!

For my Julie Ann

This is for my dear niece Julie who turns 27 tomorrow.  I used all Stampin' Up! cardstock, punches and ribbon.  The border punch is from EK Success.  I don't remember who made the stamps. I know I got them on clearance at Micheal's.  The set had months, days, letters, numbers, etc.  Lots of possibilites with a set like that.

What I love about this set is how customized I can make my cards.  Julie's birthday is March 7th, so I used my markers (marker to rubber technique again!) to color March green and then I circled the 7.  So far this year, I have been HORRIBLE about getting cards mailed out on time, but you'll be happy to know that yesterday's card and this card will arrive in their mailboxes on time.  Whew...it was close.  I hope that puts me on an "on time" streak.  *crosses fingers*  Thanks for stopping by!

Island Indigo

 I LOVE the Stampin' Up! color....Island Indigo.  Yum!  I made this card for my friend Julie.  It uses the same marker to rubber technique as yesterday's post.  Click either pic for a closer look.

I have things to show each day this week as I got my craftin' mojo going on Sunday night.  Check back soon!  Thanks for stopping by!

Be Happy

 I made this card for my friend Terri.  Her birthday was Friday.  She celebrated all day, then we donated blood and made cards at a crop with my mom until the wee hours of the morning.

 The Whisper White piece was cut out using the Cricut.  I used all Stampin' Up! supplies except for the bling.  This color combo is just so happy.

 I used the marker to rubber technique.  I colored each area with two different colors...two greens and two pinks.  It gives the image more dimension.

 On Thursday night, this is what my Elfa desk looked like.  I always manage to pile things up and give myself so little room in which to be creative.  I had about 8 inches of space to finish her card.  I was in the process of packing for Friday's crop when it dawned on me that I needed a card for Terri.  I had to switch gears without cleaning off my desk.  I will get things organized.  When I do, I'll post pictures.  I think I've promised that before.  *sigh*

Today is kind of a lazy day.  Kevin has gone to work and the dogs and I are lounging around the house.  While I surf the internet, Riley is wedged against me in the blanket with his new little t-shirt on.  Jack is sprawled out napping on the spare bed until someone walks by and he then goes into "guard dog" mode.  Thanks for stopping by!