10.31.2012

Shame to Serenity ~ My Craft Room

Pinned Image



 I can't believe I am going to do this.  Back in October when I was having an especially creative flow of cards and scrapbooks I found myself working with just a tiny scrap of space.  Have you ever found yourself in this predicament?  Where you create yourself into just a tiny scrap of table that isn't covered in the mess you haven't put away?  Perhaps it's just me.   I hang my head in shame.  LOL.  Part of the predicament is that I went from being predominantly a scrapbooker to catching the card making bug.  My room was set up more for scrapbooking, but my card making supplies were taking over with no place to hide.

That's when I made a couple of decisions.  While I was ahead of the game in cards for my blog I did the following

1. I decided to hit the scrapbooking hard and whittle down my stash.  Less to put away.  ;) 
2. As I was scrapbooking if I came across a paper, embellishment, etc. that I wasn't likely to use I put it in a give away box.
3. I began looking at my space differently and while I was in my scrapbooking corner I started thinking about how I could convert it to my card making space. 

Here are my photos of shame.  (or bliss if you are a paper crafter/collector) ;)


Cricut/BigShot/Cuttlebug Corner

As you can see, my Big Shot isn't even here.  I have it on the Formal Dining Room table so there is enough room to run my dies through them.  The cuttlebug is something I purchased before becoming a demonstrator, and needs a new home.  Any takers?  CLICK HERE
 
My Cricut is used mostly for my scrapbooking and yet it is on the OPPOSITE end from where I scrapbooked.  Crazy, huh?

Here is my after.  I still need to get a couple of things to make this space more functional, like a tool caddy for my Cricut tools, instead of that purple bag that is falling over on top, but it functions much better with a clear space in front of the Cricut and most of non-SU paper stored beneath.




The picture below shows were my card making station was, in the middle of my space.  In my (meager) defense I've always done a little card making, so when we designed the room this was my little spot that had shelves to hold my supplies and a bit of counter space.  I was not very good at making cards so I didn't make very many.  It wasn't until I dived into Stampin' UP full time that making cards well finally clicked for me.  In the process my supplies exploded in this area.  The biggest problem with this area is it is a narrow room and my husband sits behind this area when he is in the room and we are constantly bumping into each other.  There's also no space to put my supplies or set up my camera.



Look up on the wall and you will see the 2 reasons I have changed things around sooner.  My sweet hubby built me those shelves and they were built to fit the SU punches.  In the scrapbook area I don't have as many rows for my punches.  Reason 2 is the lovely Create Wall art I got from SU.  I love looking at it every time I sit down to create.   Silly reason, I know.

Here is the problem though, I don't have room on the "table" for my inks and stamps, so they sit in boxes at my feet.  Not very convenient and a pain for hubby when he is in the room with me.  Plus I have stuff under the table I will never use.  Time to gift or sell them to somebody else.  (or possibly just throw them away. lol)

By switching where I scrapbook with where I make cards I was able to change that space into this:


All my supplies for scrapbooking are together.  I have table space to spread out and the floor is cleaned up.   :)   I want to get another shelf to put on the wall under the ones my DH built for me.  Then I could get even more things off the counter, but still have them within reach.


That brings me to my old scrapbooking corner.  As far away from my Cricut as it can get in this room.  Full of wonderfulness and items I may never use again.  Styles change and new (better) products come out.  As I said in the beginning of this post I just needed to use up what I have and as I go through my stuff, pull out what I won't ever use. 

****Can you tell I wrote the shame part of this post before I started working on my room?  I was going to do a page of "before"s and then a post the next day with "after"s, but I'm putting them all in one long post.


While cleaning the room I have also been researching ways to store my stampin' stuff.  My DH is going to help me build some custom shelves for my ink pads and ribbon, but for now they have a place to go that is off the floor.  The boxes they come in work pretty well for now. 

A box of sheer goodness relegated to the floor. :( Those stamp sets deserve to be up on a shelf where I can see them and use them!)



Now they are on display and within easy reach in my new stamping corner.  I also have a place for my Big Shot to spread out.  The basket on the lower right shelf holds all my dies, framelits, embosslits and embossing folders.



So there you have it.  My shame.  (aka chaos)


To my Serenity.  (aka Bliss)

There is still work to be done and I will be tweaking things as I use the space to be sure it fits my needs, but I can now begin crafting in my special room again.   This room is definitely one of the blessings in my life.  Thanks for joining me in my room today.   Hope I didn't scare you too much.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

P.S.  I thought about clearing off the counters even more and putting things away that aren't as pretty, but I opted for showing you my functional (in progress) space.  We crafters can be a messy lot, but only when the creativity is flowing, right?

Time for me to go see about making a couple more cards and finishing that scrapbook.
 

Happy Halloween

Last night Scott and the kids carved and decorated pumpkins.   I was making Scott some Chocolate Chip Cookies for his birthday and completely forgot to take any pictures.  Oops.   Perhaps I will remember to take pictures of the finished pumpkins today.

Have you seen Stampin' UP!'s stamp set called Button Buddies?  If not here it is:
Button Buddies - Clear-Mount Stamp Set - by Stampin' Up!
Button Buddies

Aren't they cute?  I wanted to make this card with the pumpkin, but I don't have this stamp set.  :(  Instead I used what I had and I like what I came up with. 


If you saw yesterday's post then you might recognize the Mojo Monday sketch I used again.  What can I say?  I'm a sucker for good sketches, and this square one just seemed to fit. 



There are a few things I changed though, including the orientation of the card.  Instead of opening at the bottom this card opens at the side. The inside is decorated too.


I made my own background paper by stamping the swirl from Everything Eleanor in Soft Suede ink, stamping off on some scratch paper first.  I did the same for the little boo tag.  The front panel is embossed and sponged.  Actually all the pieces ended up getting sponged. 


This was a quick, fun card to make and I've already begun some modifications to make it perfect for Thanksgiving.  (or a fall thank you card)

Come back later today to see my "scary" Halloween post of my craft room.  The before pictures are pretty spooky to me.  LOL

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Card Recipe:  (all items SU unless otherwise noted)

Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Tiny Tags, Seasonal Sayings
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi
Ink: Soft Suede
Misc.: Dots Embossing Folder (non SU), Glimmer Brads, Scallop Square Duo Die, Bird Punch. Jewelry Tag Punch






 
 




10.30.2012

Too Cute to Spook

Don't you just love the images in Greeting Card Kids?  They are so cute!  I colored this sweet little pumpkin girl before I started cleaning my room figuring I could probably use it in the Mojo Monday sketch challenge.  Only problem is it took a full week to clean my hobby room.  YIKES!  (Scary before pictures coming tomorrow.)



Thankfully every week there is a new Mojo Monday sketch, so today I used the new sketch to make this card.  Plus you have time to play along too, since it was just released yesterday.  It's a fun square (or round) sketch.



On my card I used Black Staz-On ink to stamp the image onto Very Vanilla cardstock then I used my markers and blender pen to color it in.  I love the shading I can get using a blender pen.  I'm not an expert in coloring, but I have been doing it since Santa first put a coloring book in my stocking.  ;)



In the close up you can see the texture I added by running the background piece of Very Vanilla cardstock through the square lattice embossing folder.   I popped up the Brushed Bronze button and the Scallop Square using dimensionals. 


My only wish is that I had made this card sooner so I could send it to someone and have it get there before Halloween.  Anyone want to come over tomorrow and trick or treat for this card?  :)  I'm still debating whether to add a VV cardstock liner for the inside or use my silver Stampin' Dazzle pen to write on the black cardstock.


Creative Blessings,
Heather North


Greeting Card Kids - Clear-Mount Stamp Set - by Stampin' Up!
Greeting Card Kids


Scallop Square Duo Bigz Die - by Stampin' Up!
Scallop Square Duo Die


Blender Pens - by Stampin' Up!
Blender Pen

Brushed Bronze Designer Buttons
Brushed Bronze Buttons


Lucky Limeade Bakers Twine
Lucky Limeade Bakers Twine


10.29.2012

Mondays Are Scary...

...but this Halloween card isn't too bad.  :)  Coupled with Stampin' UP!'s Spooktacular sale, it's shaping up to be a pretty nice Monday.  ;)

TODAY, October 29th, 2012 ONLY almost ALL Stamp Sets are 15% OFF!!!!!  Please go to my SU Store by clicking HERE and making sure that my name, Heather North is in the upper right hand corner and shop to your heart's content.  (or 'til your wallets empty, lol)

Now on to the card.  I wanted to make a card that would go with the treats I made earlier, and this is what I came up with.  Pretty simple, but with only a couple of days left until Halloween I figured simple was better.



Here it is with the treats.



I even filmed a video showing you how I made this, plus a little bit about the treats.  Now is a great time to get this Mixed Medley hostess stamp set because you can get more bang for your buck with the 15% off stamp sell.  Even a party of 1 counts, as long as your order reaches $150 or more you can choose your stampin' rewards.  You can get one of the exclusive stamp sets with your rewards or any other item in the catalog.  Love it!



Have a Spooktacular Day!





Creative Blessings,
Heather North
Rochester, WA


Mixed Medley Clear-Mount Stamp Set
Mixed Medley


Howlstooth & Scaringbone Designer Series Paper
Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP


1-1/4" Scallop Circle Punch
1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch
+ Various other punches

1" x 8" Cellophane Bag - by Stampin' Up!
1"x8" Cellohpane Bags


10.28.2012

Scrapbook Sunday ~ Pens

Scrapbooking really does make me happy.  I love looking at pictures and finding a way to make our memories shine.


As I said last Sunday I kicked my scrapbooking into high gear, completing almost 20 pages in one week.  How did I do that?  By simplifying some of the steps, and letting the pictures shine.  Last week I showed you some pages that used punches to get the perfect quick shape.   This week I'll show you how I used a pen to make journaling and titles easy.  :)



Isn't this Softball page fun?  I tilted the pictures instead of lining them up.  I also used a simple white mat on each picture to pop them off the darker background.  To mat your pictures just cut a piece of cardstock 1/8"- 1/4" bigger than your photo. On the RHS I cut one of the pictures long and narrow.  Having one picture on a page in a different size from the rest adds interest to your page, and can help you fit more pictures into your layout.


I pulled out my sticker letters for this page.  These make a page go together quickly, but once I had them on my page I realized they blended too much into the background paper and were hard to see.  Uni-Ball White Signo Pen to the rescue!   Dots and dashes added to each letter gave these letters a custom look.


Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen - by Stampin' Up!
White Signo Pen




If you click on the picture you will be able to see how I used the same white gel pen to add a title to my page on the LHS. (left hand side) Don't be afraid to mix and match embellishments with your journaling.  In fact, I made my own embellishment for the journaling box on the RHS.

To make this unique box I punched the Starbucks clock tower out of the center of my picture.  Then I cut a journaling box out of white cardstock 1/2" smaller than my picture, making sure to cover the punch out.  I adhered the scallop circle to my white cardstock and used a gumball green Stampin' Write marker to journal. 


2012-2014 In Color Stampin' Write Markers
2012-2014 InColor Stampin' Write Markers

2-3/8 Inch Scallop Circle Punch - by Stampin' Up!
2 3/8" Circle Punch



Real Red Stampin' Write Marker - by Stampin' Up!
Real Red Marker

Of course you can always just use any color Stampin' Write maker on white space to add titles, captions and journaling. My rule of thumb is to use white, gold or silver on dark paper OR add a light colored tag/journaling box to write in. If I have a light or white background, then I choose a pen in one of the colors I want to pull from my pictures/papers.

Again, I used the white Signo pen to add a caption to this page.  You could use the pen to make a border around you entire page, or each picture.  White and black pens are great for adding faux stitching to any embellishment.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

10.27.2012

Special Saturday

Saturdays are the best!  Especially when you get to spend them being creative with friends.  Today I'm off to go "play" with some of my scrapbooking friends I haven't seen in awhile and I'm so excited.  It should be loads of fun and help me reach my goal of completing my 2009 album.

Honestly I don't usually get a ton of pages done when I scrapbook with other people.  Perhaps because I spend more time talking than scrapping, but I usually come home re-energized with new ideas to try.

Before I go I want to give you a head's up.  Stampin' Up is having a Super Sale on Monday, October 29th!   Almost all of their stamp sets will be 15% OFF!!!!!!!!  Woo-hoo!!!!  Build you wish list today and log on to my SU store on Monday for some serious shopping.

Here is what Stampin' UP has to say:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For one day only, you and your customers will get 15 percent off almost every stamp we sell!October 29 is the one-day Sell-A-Stamp Spooktacular!

Here are the details:

  • Starting at 12:00 AM (MT) and ending at 11:50 PM (MT), almost every stamp we sell will be 15 percent off.
This means all stamps in the current catalogs including
    • Background stamps
    • Personalized name stamps
    • Incentive stamp sets from the supply list
    • Cookie press stamps
    • Single-image stamps
This DOES NOT include
    • Hostess sets
    • Bundled stamp sets
    • Digital stamp brush sets
  • There is no minimum purchase, and no limit to the number of stamps you can order.


  • ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Isn't that great?!!!  One last thing for those of us who have been wanting single image stamps.  SU is now offering a few more images, including some BRAND NEW never before seen images!  Yes!  I love this company.  :)

    
    ^^^^^^^^
    
    Creative Blessings,
    Heather North

    10.26.2012

    Friday Bliss



    I'm happy to report that the hobby room clean-up is almost complete.  Boy am I going to have fun messing it up next week!   Part of the cleanup was going through all my old papers and stamps and decided which items needed to be removed from my room and sent on to bless others.  The two retired stamp sets used on this card did not make it.  :)  They're staying put.



    My all time favorite stamp set is Bliss.  I think it was a SAB stamp set a couple of years ago when I first started using Stampin' UP again.  The other stamp set is Vintage Vogue.  Both are so soft and feminine.  In my scrapbooking I have mostly masculine pages since both my kids are boys.  That is one of the reasons I so enjoy stamping.  I can be girly.  :)

    The paper I used was a metallic silver paper.  It was in my "stash" and not SU.  If you wanted to make this card you could try it with the SU silver paper.  I used Black Staz-On ink to stamp it then dry embossed it with my dots embossing folder. 

    The scallop circle piece was from the Everything Eleanor stamp set.  I used versamark ink and silver embossing powder.  It's so pretty.

    This card was not easy to photograph, so you'll have to trust me on how pretty it is in person.  Or, if you don't trust me, try this card out yourself using your favorite stamp set(s). 

    Creative Blessings,
    Heather North

    P.S.  My before pictures of my room are soooooooooo scary that I think I'll save them for a Halloween post.  LOL  Here is a picture of how the room looks this morning.  I need to go through a few more piles and then go shopping for some organizers to better fit my space, but it looks oh so much better! 


    For now I am going to use the bottom corner shelf to display my favorite cards.  4 out of 5 of the cards on there now use Bliss and/or Vintage Vogue.



     Card Recipe:
    Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Bliss, Vintage Vogue
    Ink: Black Staz-On, Versamark
    Paper: Basic Black, Perfect Plum, Silver Metallic (non-SU)
    Misc.: Perfect Plum Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Various Punches, Dots Embossing Folder, Basic Rhinestones

    
    Everything Eleanor Clear-Mount Stamp Set
    Everything Eleanor
    
    Basic Black 1/8 Inch Taffeta Ribbon - by Stampin' Up!
    1/8" Basic Black Taffeta Ribbon
    
    
    Perfect Plum 3/8 Inch Taffeta Ribbon - by Stampin' Up!
    3/8" Pefect Plum Taffeta Ribbon
    
    
    2-3/8 Inch Scallop Circle Punch - by Stampin' Up!
    Various Punches