How I organize my supplies, part one

Most of my supplies are stored in five white cabinets which I bought from Target on sale for $40 each. I tried to group my supplies by use and type. Here is what's inside each cabinet.

Cabinet One

• acrylic stamps
• rubber stamps
  
• ink pads
• chalks and applicators

I mix the acrylic and rubber stamps together, group them by category, and store them in regular size CD cases inside of blue, dollar store baskets. I labeled each basket using my Stampin' Up scallop punch. I have four shelves of unmounted stamps. The yellow binder on the first shelf is one of two that hold index sheets of my supplies and stamp images. The black binder next to it holds some of my acrylic sets that I wanted to keep in tact and are too large to fit into one CD case.
Below is shelf three and four. The round tin, in back of the green mimi container, holds my foam Christmas stamps. Shelf four holds mini wooden stamps, self-inking stamps, and a Whispers ink pad set on the right.
Here's what's inside one of the blue baskets. I've tried to use broad categories but I got bogged down when it came to the words and phrases. I ended up changing mid-stream and will probably change again as my collection grows larger.
I used my label maker to create labels for the spine of each case. I make an index sheet in front of each case so I can easily see what's inside.
I keep duplicate index sheets in a 3-ring binder and store that on the first shelf (see the yellow binder above). I look through the binder to find the stamp I want to use. Some of my ink pads are inside a Sizzix die storage tower on the bottom shelf. I also have my chalks and applicators in the large white basket.

Cabinet Two

• embellishments
• adhesives
• tools (such as punches, tag maker, bind-it-all, heat gun)

My small embellishments (such as buttons, flowers, brads, etc.) are in bead cases (similar to this) on the top shelf and this, this, and a basket on the second shelf. All are labeled on the side.

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The third shelf holds my punches and the fourth shelf has my Creative Memories Custom Cutting System, Making Memories Tag Maker, eyelet setter, paper drill, and embossing supplies.


The bottom shelf holds my bind-it-all stuff.


Cabinet Three

• card making blanks (cardstock, envelopes, & templates)
• alterables
• mini albums
  

This is the messiest cabinet and it's stuffed. Shelf one holds my card blanks and some alterables.
The remaining shelves hold alterables, blank books, and albums.

Cabinet Four

• Paints
• Brushes
• Foam Stamps

The first two shelves hold my paints. I grouped the Making Memories paint by color groups (oranges and yellows; reds and pinks; greens, blues, and purples; blacks, whites, and browns) in the four identical white baskets. The other containers hold different brands of paint.
I've started to "index" my bottle tops with a sample of the paint like this

so it's easier for me to see the color when I pull out the basket. I also have the paints indexed in one of my 3-ring binders (see Cabinet One, yellow binder on shelf one).

The bottom two shelves hold my adhesives.

Cabinet Five

• Idea books and magazines
• Catalogs
• Office supplies
  

I also use the inside of the cabinet doors to hold things.
That's it for my five white cabinets. There's more to come in a future post.

I'm almost there!

It all started here

and here.
I had accumulated weeks of mess by not putting away projects and supplies in an increasingly disorganized and dysfunctional space. I was paralyzed by the chaos. I could not create. I reached my limit. Something had to give. And, so it began...the cleaning, the sorting, and the purging. Armed with my new tools (the organization books I talked about March 2) and my hope for a better place, I started the arduous task of re-thinking and re-creating my space.

Days turned into weeks and my anxiety grew because I could not create. But then it came, so slowly and slyly I did not recognize it at first. I could see some glimmer of hope. I could imagine a new space. I could actually see the floor! Yes, I can get back my sanity. Yes, I can recover my sanctuary. Yes, I can create a functional space.

So, after much toiling, store coupons, and many trips to local craft stores, my work is coming to an end. I have sorted, organized, and went through most of my stuff and decided that these things have to go. Here you see boxes of supplies that I'm selling, almost all of it for $5 and less.
There are still boxes of stuff that need to be sorted.
And a couple of odds and ends here and there.
But, for the most part I've created a space that will support my creating.



Here, I unveil the new additions to my studio....
Thank God for 50% off coupons and at-the-right time sales. I was able to get most of these cubes at 43% - 50% off retail price. I ended up buying 14 cubes (some are to the left out of the picture frame) and have six more on a raincheck (I'm not sure I'll be getting them). I went to Ikea to get the reed baskets that fit perfectly on the shelves. I'm sure I'll be moving things around until I get a system that works perfectly for me. But, I'm loving my new shelves.

To treat my stress (throughout this process) without spending a lot of money (those cubes were expensive enough) I frequented the dollar and clearance spots at M's, AC's, and J's and found some gems.
I also took some time to create which I find so relaxing. I made a few cards using my scraps.

and this design with some variations.

And, although I didn't make the next item during my purging period, I wanted to share it too. This project came as a kit from Club Scrap. Everything, except adhesive, was included (chipboard pieces, paper, ribbon, instructions). I didn't like the Club Scrap paper so I substituted paper from my stash. I love the results.


I'm having a crop this weekend where I hope to find new homes for my excess stuff. If you're in the Accokeek, Maryland area please stop by and shop. Until next week....

The party's over and I got a new place

Saturday’s party was a great success. Everyone had a great time. The party theme was princesses (and princes). However, only one boy attended the party and he wasn’t interested in being a prince. He wanted to play playstation with my son. So, we had a bunch of little princesses making little tiaras with faux jewels, foam letters, and glitter glue. Really cute tiaras! Unfortunately, I didn’t get pictures of the pieces of art that they made. We decorated the house in streamers and balloons everywhere to emulate entering a festive castle. It took me hours to research ideas and sample cakes. I finally decided to do a version of this cake.

I made this amazing castle cake. It was so much fun and all of the children helped, including the birthday girl.

We had a couple of other activities that allowed the children to expend some energy including musical chairs and what we call the “balloon game”. The balloon game’s purpose is to keep the balloons in the air while the music is playing. When the music stops you either must have or not have a balloon in your hand. It’s the music director’s choice. This is lots of fun especially when you have a few people on the side lines throwing balloons into the mix.

I was totally exhausted all Sunday. I did nothing and stayed at home all day. I didn’t even go to church. Man, doing parties are so much fun but they drain the life out of me. I needed that day of rest.

The birthday girl got sick the day after the party. She came down with a virus and ran a temperature all this week up to 105 degrees. It’s really hard to see your child so sick and you can’t make it go away. She slept most of the time except when the meds took affect and lowered her temperature some. After three days of a fever I took her to the doctor for the virus diagnosis. Apparently, a virus is going around amongst the child population.

My studio is done enough for me to move in! YES! I wasn’t sure about the color I chose for the walls. But now I love it. I started moving in last night. Mike still needs to add crown molding, doors, and finish some of the base board. But, I’m so excited to have a place of my own. YES!

One of the challenges for me is whittling down my stash. I have way too much stuff than can fit into my 11’ x 15’ room. I’ll save some of the supplies for my girls to use later on, when the Scrapbooking bug gets them. I’ll sell some of the new and nearly new stuff on eBay and I’ll RAK some whenever it’s needed. Does anyone out there have a need?

Well, Christmas is just days away and I only have two gifts to buy. I know exactly what I want to get and where to get them. I just need to take time to go out and do it--maybe tomorrow or Friday night after work.

Sorry for being a blogger slacker. After my day of rest on Sunday, I had to deal with a sick little princess all week long. Today is the first day I was able to get some air.

Well, I hope you had a wonderful weekend.