Paper Trufflez

Happy Halloween! Today's the Mr.'s birthday! Lots to do!

I'm reblogging this card because it reminded me of a funny BIRTHDAY quote I read somewhere that would be totally fitting for a Halloween birthday:

"Today's your birthday? It's so awesome you're not dead yet!"

BAH HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Have a way spooky Boo Day, everybody!

Hope You Can Cling To: Make Time . . . HYCCT28

 

Splitcoaststampers has been hosting a month long series of challenges for Breast Cancer Awareness and card drive combined, and today's my day to host a challenge!

You can visit and view the gallery for this challenge here HERE
You can view the whole Hope You Can Cling To Gallery HERE
And, you can check out the Hope You Can Cling To Master Challenge Thread HERE

If you wanna play my challenge, look for my challenge thread: HYCCT28 - Make Time, located in the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge Forum, HERE!

All the information regarding the Splitcoast festivities are there!

I've scheduled my annual exam, have you scheduled yours?  We women take care of so many others, but sometimes need to be reminded to take good care of ourselves, too.

 

******

Credits:  Stamps by Inkadinkado; Pink 4 bar note card by A Muse Artstamps; Patterned Paper  (Cappella) by Basic Grey; Washi Tape from cutetape.com; Copic markers; Chocolate Fresh Ink by Impress; Ivory Twine by May Arts; Corner Chomper (Rounder) by WR Memory Keepers

The place where it all happens . . . LOL!

I've been asked a number of times to share pictures of my "studio". There wasn't any point, tho; you wouldn't see anything but piles and stacks and boxes and bags in piles and stacks.  You couldn't see the floor.  You couldn't see the counter top. Literally.  Yes, it was that bad.  Why?  Well, because I'd rather spend my time creating, than organizing things, or cleaning up after myself--blech!  Where's the fun in that?  And, I preferred to invest in product and toys, than the stuff to organize and store said product and toys.

My "studio" is roughly the size of a walk-in closet.  Keep in mind, it's nothing fancy; some day, when I win the Lotto (*snort*), I'll have that beautiful Pottery Barn Studio (Like this. With this.) I dream of.  But, today is not that today.  And, I'm sure 5 or even 10 years from now will not be that day, either.  LOL!  Guess I need to buy me some tickets. *chuckle*

What can I say? *sheepish grin*  Over time, chaos creeped in.  It didn't happen overnight; it was months, which turned into years, of bad habits and a propensity towards hoarding.  Eventually, I had to climb over the piles and stacks, a lot of it spilling out of the space that was once the happy creative place I had originally moved into (8 years ago), just to get to the little 9 x 12" space (Yes, that black cutting mat!) on the counter where there was some flat surface, in between the stacks & piles, to actually stamp anything.

My other problem? I would hang onto what I thought were "usable" scraps, but had no designated place to store them.  So, they'd pile up all around me. I have since emptied the top drawer of an Iris Cart of all the hard copies of patterns/templates I'd collected over the years (if I have an electronic version, why on earth am I hanging onto half a dozen hard copies of each of 'em????).  I also need to jury rig a cattle prod that automatically shocks me if I try to save anything smaller than, say, 1/8 of a sheet of card stock.*

My husband casually said, "All I want for my birthday, is for you to clean up your studio, and get all this crafty crap that's spilling out of it, back into it or entirely out of here." I think I stunned him, when I committed to having a crafty yard sale by placing an ad; I couldn't back out of it then.  And feverishly, for a week straight from dawn to midnight (no lie), began mucking out the studio.  I knew it would take at least a week to get it to functional, at the very least.  It is by no means "pristine"; I'd probably need another full week straight to achieve that.  But, functional ain't too shabby, and I'll take that. *wink*

 

This is the view when I step just inside the door way and look to the right. The countertop had to be pretty narrow in order for me to actually be able to walk in and move around freely in this space. It's made from 16" deep shelving, set atop 5 3-drawer units, spaced apart the whole length. When I started mucking, you could not see any countertop whatsoever. You also could not see, and could not walk, on the floor.

*The top drawer of the Iris cart has been cleaned out so that I can organize my paper scraps inside, by color, in folders; no more piling on the counter. The bottom drawer houses an assortment of mondo-size lever punches.

Above that, hanging from the pegboard mounted to the wall, are some hardware drawer units that house jars of glitter, microbeads, and other tiny miscellaneous items.

 
This is from the opposite end.  My laptop has now been restored to it's original location.  You can see the upper perimeter shelf that is used for additional storage, and I have fishing line strung in the braces so I can clothespin designs that either inspire me (from friends), or need some dry time.  Pegboard is mounted to the wall directly above where I work and is for hanging frequently used tools.  There's a narrow ledge that my most frequently used punches sit upon, directly beneath that.

The little drawer units hold things like smaller, less frequently used punches, specialty ribbon spools, embellishments, tools too big or awkward to hang on the pegboard but I don't want taking up counter space, embossing powder tubs, envelopes, etc.  My A Muse ribbon spools are threaded onto dowel rods, sitting on curtain rod brackets mounted to the wall.  I can easily slide spools on and off, see it/access it easily, and it keeps the counter top free.

A black wash cloth, strung to a drawer handle is right next to me when I stamp so I can clean my hands off quickly as I am working.

To the left, is my cutting station so I can keep my Carl DC-220 readily available for mass cutting, and my Big Shot is at the other end.  Card stock is now stored inside the cabinets (to prevent fading that might occur from sunlight), as well as my collection of dies and Big Shot accessories, so I can easily pull those out and die cut like a maniac. You also could not see anything atop that station when I started mucking; the cutter and the Big Shot were buried under piles that reached up to the underneath that lowest shelf above there. ACK! There were also piles and stacks in front of it; I couldn't get the doors opened to save my life.

The drawer units above the cutting station house all my A Muse stamps.  Each unit has 5 shallow drawers that hold only 1 layer deep of stamps (no stacking!) so that I can easily find what I'm looking for.  My stamps are organized according to themes, i.e. home, floral/nature, animals, masculine, feminine, party, backgrounds, graphic elements, etc.  Linda had recommended these to me a number of years ago, and took me to Storables where I promptly bought 6 of 'em.  LOL!

At the very far left, and not really shown, is a free-standing cupboard with shelves inside.  It houses miscellaneous craft supplies & materials that I don't use on a daily basis. Like the cutting station, there were piles and stacks so high in front of it, I couldn't open the doors, nor could I reach anything hanging on the pegboard on the wall immediately next to it.

I'm hopeful, this time around, now that I've *finally* purged a great many items I hadn't used in a loooooong time (I could purge and organize even more, but I'd need another full week, like I said), that I will be better at putting things away when I'm finished, because I really do like being able to walk in and around in there without climbing.  I like being able to open drawers and cupboard doors.  I like having counter-space, and elbow room again.

Far from perfect. Or pretty.  But, functional.  And, stamp-happy once again.

Wanna see sumpin' spooky? ;)

Moxie Fab World: Five (x2) for Friday: Bopping for Fright-spiration!

Click on the link and head over for a spell!

An unlikely holiday combination . . . :)

Washi tape, a modern flower stamp, and a Dymo Label Maker = Christmas design.

 

Who knew?! *wink*

***

Credits:  Flower stamp by Impress Rubber Stamps; Strawberry, Black Tea Fresh Ink by Impress; Washi Tapes from www.cutetape.com; Dymo Label Maker; Red button (source unknown); Black Scrapper's Floss by Karen Foster

Silhouette SD

via www.silhouetteamerica.com

OK, peeps. I told myself (for the last year+ . . . criminy, mebbe it's been 2???. . . Oy!) that I could get one of these only under the condition that I thoroughly cleaned out my studio (a.k.a. craft closet) and could set aside dedicated counter space for it.  (Convenience is key for a girl like me)

Well . . . I DID IT!!!     

GO MEEEEEEEE!!!

I hate buying a new tool, only to find out, after the fact, that there are some super handy accessory add-ons that were necessary (or *uber* cool, of course), so I could have gotten everything at the same time, and have a hay-day right out the gate with it. I'm on a Mac.

Is there anything in particular I should know before I go shopping?

 

 

5MQ: Warm Winter Wishes

 

The crafty closet I call my "studio" is still under-going a major purge & clean out.  The house looks like it imploded.  I'm having my crafty yard sale this weekend . . .

And, my parents just called to say they are coming for a visit.

****

Credits: "Warm Winter Wishes" by A Muse Artstamps; Swiss Red Card Stock by A Muse; White 4 Bar Note card by A Muse; Red & White Striped Twine by Divine Twine; Large Slim Snowflake Punch by EK Success; Himalayan Snowflake Punch by Martha Stewart; Button (source unknown); Brilliance Rocket Red Ink by Tsukineko

Holy Moly! This purge is looooong overdue!

I spent all of Sunday mucking out my studio and sorting thru lots of paper crafty stuff I just don't have time to use nor space to keep any longer.

There are TUBS of stamps, supplies & tools, embellishments. We're talking 18 gallon size tubs, not 2 lb. butter tubs, people.  And . . . I'm not finished by half yet.

Gonna be a hum-dinger of a crafty yard sale this weekend!

Shoot me an email if you'd like to stop by.  Ya' just never know what crafty bargains can be had. *grin*

Laters!

 

Gettin' Washi'd Away . . .

Got my hands on MORE Washi tape from Pretty Tape on Etsy. This was my 2nd order--it arrived packaged so nicely, and with a personal, hand-written thank-you note, same as the first . . . acknowledging that she recognized it was my 2nd order, which made me stop short. That's kind of TOTALLY amazing, considering it's a one-woman show.  Until the 2nd order came, I didn't realize that my first order, placed at Cute Tape was from the very same charming company!  She has a beautiful selection/variety of Washi tape (many other fun things, too, from Japan and Korea).

Oh, LAWDY, is this stuff ever fun!  I can't get enough of it!!!

Why do I like it so much?  It's easy to work with, comes in such a plethora of colors and patterns, it's self-adhesive; removable/repositionable yet still has a strong hold, it's sheer, it has a slight texture to it, and it's so . . . tidy!  Yeah, that's what hit me about why I like it so much!--it's not "messy"!  I suppose that's a rather "odd" thing for a "crafter" to appreciate, but, well, things that aren't messy always seem to rank pretty high for me.  Go figure! 

I like having the words popped up.  Gives 'em that Xtra sumpin'-sumpin'. UKWIM?  Yeah, I figured ya' prolly did. *grin*

Now, of course, all I wanna play with is Washi tape. I'm not even trying to do anything particularly genius with it, LOL!  I just like how it looks, just like this.  I'm easy to please, hard to impress, and . . .  just this impresses me.   *chortle*

lolly. 

*****

Credits: Snail, "happy [belated] birthday" stamp images by A Muse Artstamps; Palm Green 4 bar note card by A Muse; Lime Twinkle Stickers by A Muse; Copic Markers; 1.5", 1.75" circle punches by EK Success; Green ink (can't recall); Doodlebug Glitter (Orange or tangerine or whatever they called it) Washi tape from www.cutetape.com / http://www.etsy.com/shop/PrettyTape

Moxie Fab World: Tuesday Trigger: A Funky Fall

via www.moxiefabworld.com

It's not often I get to play the Moxie Fab challenges, but it worked out on this one.  And, look at that painting!!!  Isn't it gorgeous?!

This is my take:

Pulled several themes from the painting--the rolling hills, the color scheme, the house(s) and trees.

The A Muse House & Trees was retired, but it's always been one of my all-time favorites.  I don't normally cut out and pop up more than a single detail, but on this design, I did the trees and the clouds cuz it just looked so cool!  LOL!  I thought it was kind of an artful touch to punch 3 graduating circles from buttercup, orange crush, and popsicle pink paper, and pop those up, too.  With a Stickles "swirly". *grin*

 

 

These little sticker letters worked spiffy where I wanted around the ribbon treatment.

Who knows when I'll get a chance to try a Trigger Challenge again, but this one sure was a lot of fun, and I was literally *bouncin'* when I finished it. 

Go me!!!  

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Credits - Clouds, (Retired House & Trees) by A Muse Artstamps; Sky Blue 4 Bar Note Card by A Muse Artstamps; Orange Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon by A Muse; Copic Markers; Alpha Stickers by Cosmo Cricket; Chocolate Twine (craft store supply); 1/2", 1, 1 1/4", 1 3/8" Circle Punches by EK Success; EK Success Wavy Dotted Edger; Chocolate Fresh Ink by Impress; Yellow Stickles

Inspired by...: Julie, Days 4 & 5

via stampinginspiredby.blogspot.com

This was also a big favorite of mine, from our "Everything's Rosy" collection last Spring--see what the talented Miss Jill did with it HERE, and another one from the same release!

It's been such a fun week, seeing all of Jill's GORGEOUS takes on these designs.

Thank you, Jill!!! *mondo squishy hugs*

Hey, Seattle area peeps! Come play with me @ the A Muse Shop! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*bouncin'*

YAY!  I will be teaching at the A Muse shop next month!   Wanna have some fun? Deets HERE.

It's always good times!  Hope you can join me!