Organizational Challenge: Ribbon

Here is the Organizational Challenge blog link: My Love Affair with the Label Maker: Organize Your Stuff Challenge - Week 12

Ribbon:

I thought I had a lot of ribbon, but not compared to some Peaple :) The majority of my stash is the American Crafts smaller spools, so it isn't that hard to organize. When I switched to the Ziploc system of storage in February, I moved all my ribbon in with the other embellishments. Same with loose strips and the kind that comes packaged on cards. Once I mixed it in with the colors, I began to use it more.

So it stayed with the embellishments when I switched to the Rubbermaid drawers (you can see some of the rolls in the clear drawers):



Unfortunately, it didn't all fit.



Apparently, I own quite a bit more PINK ribbon, and several rolls of multi-colored ribbon that just wouldn't fit in the drawers. For now, I'm leaving them out in the zipper bags on my table. Hopefully I'll use it up!

Organizational Challenge: Alphas

Here is the organizational challenge blog post: My Love Affair with the Label Maker: Organize Your Stuff Challenge - Week 10

Alphabets

I don't really have a lot of alphabets, compared to some of the other product in my stash. Probably because I really like to use my QuicKutz dies and my Cricut with Sure Cuts Alot software. But when I went through my WHOLE stash (which has been in 3 places up until now) I found more than I thought. Turns out I had a whole stash in my tote that I had forgotten about.

I have 6 of the old Making Memories alphabet rubons (and they still work!), 5 Doodlebug alphas stickers and one chipboard, 4 American Crafts rubon alphas, Some Making Memories stickers, 1 Octber Afternoon sticker and a 2 sets of felt Thickers. And since I pulled everytjing out for the challenge, I've added to my stash with the Big Lots $2 Thickers Summer Extravaganza. I did manage to restrain myself compared to others - I only bought puffy, felt and white chipboard, which limited me. I think I have about 15 Thickers now.



Since I couldn't use my hanging hook system for embellishments, I repurposed the 3M Command hooks for longish items that hang in the store. This is in easy reach of my work table. Hopefully I'll start to use them!

Organizational Challenge: Embellishments

Here is a link to the organizational challenge blog: My Love Affair with the Label Maker: Organize Your Stuff Challenge - Week 9

Embellishments

I switched to color-sorting my embellishments in 2007, while I was taking the Library of Memories Class. I originally used plastic containers from the dollar store that were similar to the Gladware.


You can see the original pic, from my Antique Dresser scrapping storage pic in my 2Peas gallery.

I loved it, but I don't have drawers in my (former) armoire/shelving unit, and my stash has grown since then.

For a little while, I used gallon size Hefty zipper bags. But when I moved the armoire downstairs to the play area and the doors broke, there wasn't anywhere to hang them.

When I saw that Office Max had the Rubbermaid 2 drawer cubes on clearance, I bought 9 and created a workstation on my table. Another Pea had already posted how they used these, so I was thrilled I could get them on clearance.



This went together really easily. Each drawers has its own color. Tiny items are in snack-size ziploc bags within the drawers to make for easy cleanup. Only 15 drawers are embellishments, the other 3 hold markers & pens, journaling stamps and other stamps.

I liked the cubes so much, I bought regular cubes without drawers for organizing other things for easy grabbing at my work table. More on that when we get to that week.

Organizational Challenge: Ideas

Here is the link to the blog challenge:My Love Affair with the Label Maker: Organize Your Stuff Challenge - Week 7

Ideas and Inspiration

I keep my bound idea books (especially Simple Scrapbooks ones), but I've been a magazine ripper for many years. I've used lots of different methods to organize my magazine ideas and inspiration over the years. None of them really worked and they all took a lot of time to organize.

1. Post-it flags on magazine pages (never looked at them and the magazines were taking my space)
2. Avery junior binder with ideas cut and glued to cardstock (outgrew it, I use it now for recipes)
3. Regular binders with whole pages in page protectors (couldn't keep up and the page protectors were getting expensive!)

About 2 years ago, when I switched to 8x8 scrapbooking, I went through and tossed out almost all old ideas (from CK and PaperKuts), ripped up all the Simple Scrapbooks that I had been hoarding (when they closed, I kinda wished I hadn't done that), and started a new system. All loose pages got sorted into 6 categories that I kept in regular 8.5x11 file folders. When I used an idea or decided I wasn't interested anymore, I tossed the paper because there always new ones being added.

This folder system worked pretty well for magazine ideas, but I didn't want to be wasting ink printing out a page everytime I saw something online that I liked (and let's face it, there is WAY more inspiration online these days).

So for this challenge, I'm putting ALL my ideas in the same place - on my computer. I'm using the high speed scanner at work to batch scan pages from magazines. Since I'm scanning at work, I'm saving the jpegs to a USB jump drive I can carry home. And I right-click and save ideas from blogs and online galleries all the time. So here is my system, in a nutshell.

Folders on my hard drive (formerly my paper folders):
        Topics
        Templates
        Photos (to take)
        Cards
        Product (layouts with products I own)
        Techniques



I'm using a particular naming structure so I can sort/find them:
Products: Manufacturer - layout title - layout creator.jpg
Example: American Crafts - Handbags - Beth Proudfoot.jpg



I'm using similar naming structures for the other folders. Consistency is the key here.





It's going to take me awhile to scan the backlog from the old folders, but I've got Topics and Templates done, and I've been ripping out pages and scanning each new magazine as its come in so I don't end up with a new backlog. Of course, the online ideas get added to the folders every day, as I check my favorite blogs in Google Reader. (LOVE Google Reader. If you haven't signed up, go do it now!)

I think this will work well for me, and I'll already have the inspirational layout scanned so when I post new layouts to my blog, I can credit the inspiration.

Organizational Challenge: Paper

Here is the challenge post: My Love Affair with the Label Maker: Organize Your Stuff Challenge - Week 4

So now that we're on a week that I don't have to worry about, I'm catching up on some of the old weeks. Paper was a biggie, but went surprisingly quickly, as it was mostly sorted, just not in one place.

I did reorganize my patterned paper into two groups - single sheets and lines. Lines got pulled out of my color-sorted folders and moved back together. I really only buy about 10 manufacturers by line, so it made sense to sort them together. It's also a good reminder to STOP buying a manufacturer when it's clear I'm not actually using much of their paper - sorry SEI, but after this, you've been added to my No Buy list.

For the first time in about 2 years, all my paper is finally in one place.



The post it notes are temporary - I need to get more tape for my labelmaker :) I'll take a more detailed, closeup pics after I label.

As you can see, paper takes up 3 shelves on the right side of my (former) armoire. It's my guilty pleasure.

Top Shelf:
Scraps in a 8x8 Cropper Hopper vertical file.
8x8 DCWV cardstock - for cardmaking
8x8 Bazzill cardstock - for layouts - still wish they made this!
8x8 paper pads - these are October Afternoon, Fancy Pants and Making Memories 8x8 pads with matching embellishments. LOVE them for making mini/theme albums.

Second shelf:
     Project files and Albums in Progress
     Specialty papers by type in Cropper Hopper Paper Pouches:
          Lace/Doily
          Pearlescent/Bling/Metallic
          Die cut
          Velvet/Flocked
          Ledger/Lined/Grid (for journaling)
          Transparent (vellum, Hambly, KI place mats)
     Doodlebug/KI/Chatterbox papers and cardstock. I'm nearly out of the early KI and Chatterbox rooms. Sniff.

Third Shelf:
     Bazzill cardstock - current Canvas/Grass Cloth colors. Lots of 8.5x11 Mono packs with 12x12.
     Patterned Paper single sheets - by color in Cropper Hopper Paper Files
     Discontinued Bazzill - kept separate from the other stash so I know not to hunt for a matching sheet if I'm doing a 2 pager.
     Patterned Paper by manufacturer/line:
          BasicGrey
          American Crafts
          SEI
          Crate Paper
          Collage Press
          Scenic Route
          My Mind's Eye
          Lily Bee
          Making Memories
     Pebbles & Imaginisce pre-packaged kits.

And that's it for paper. Hopefully I can keep it this organized!

Organizational Challenge: Stamps

Here is the link to the organization blog challenge: My Love Affair with the Label Maker: Organize Your Stuff Challenge - Week 13

I used to organize my fairly small acrylic stamp collection in 2 zip binders I got in school supplies at Big Lots. But I never used them, just organized and bought.

After I spent $170 at a CTMH party and didn't use any of them for 6 months, I decided I'm really not a stamper. Scrapbooking is already a time-consuming process -- adding the extra step of choosing a stamp, which kind of stamp pad, embossing or not, is just too much work for something I want to be fun. So I sold almost all of my collection last month at the LSS garage sale (yeah, more money for paper, my true love!).

I kept journaling stamps, and stamps for birthdays and party invites, since I use those for cardmaking. I sold the majority of my alphas (a few came back unsold, so I worked them back in). I organized all my cardmaking stamps in CD cases, except a few CTMH sentiment sets I kept.

Journaling and alphas, which will be used for scrapping, are in my new 6x6 Rubbermaid drawers (25% off as they are now clearance at OfficeMax).

Alphas, Daters and a few clock stamps:



Journaling stamps (can never have too many of these!):


Sentiments - sets are broken up into themes in CD cases. Love this for when I need to make a quick card.


CD cases all nicely labeled with clear labels - WookieMouse isn't the only label fanatic! (the KI alphas - they are too long for the drawers, but I'll just cut up the plastic when I can find my junky scissors)


I'm glad I thought about my scrapping process, and decided I could do without many stamps. More space and money for the things I do love.