As many of you know about me...the New Year causes me to try new systems around the house, especially crafting systems.
And that always entails new ideas and new organization for keeping up with my scrapbooking.
Jeff put the computer on my wooden, sit-down stamp table so that leaves me only with the standing table at the window for work space. And I'm fine with that. :) I can always move to the kitchen or the classroom space if I want to sit.
This year I tried to organize my scrapbooking in a way that would be even easier to "grab-and-go" for monthly crops. I missed the majority of them last year. :( While my "tray system" worked great at home, I wasn't real good at moving things into mobile containers for crop night.
So as I show you these organizing items, just note how they are "to-go" friendly. :)
I have my favorite punches for scrapbooking in a small square tote by Thirty-one. The mesh outside pocket is great for the smaller punches. And it's a super sturdy tote with a handle, that can manage all the weight of those punches. I have a second tote I can fill with more punches, but it is really my goal to only take what fits into one tote when I leave the house.
I am organizing my "accessories" in this wooden divider thingy. I still can't believe I got this for $1 at a flee market. Super lucky find. This isn't the most portable but if I put it at the bottom of my tote, things rest on it just fine. So that works. Most of this is Stampin' Up! stuff, like washi tape, clips, button embellishments, paper flowers, crocheted flours, and even some pre-stamped and punched tickets that I made in kraft and white.
I guess this next item is my "tag holder". I got the container in an office section and just really liked that it had a lid. So it lies flat in my "to-go" tote, too. I have some tags from SU, some from the office store, some cut from SU paper (Sent with Love on clearance!), and some I punched out myself with the new SU Tag Topper punches. Those are exciting!
On Sunday after church, I drug the family shopping even though they were starving for lunch (all in the name of my birthday weekend) and picked up these fabric boxes. I liked their rectangle shape and thought I only needed the smaller one. But since there was a cute matchy medium one, I grabbed it too and it turns out I had the perfect use for it! Hey, I passed on the large one so that gets a pat on the back. :)
In the large fabric box, I have a tin of labels, a container of twine, my Xyron adhesive, and some alphabet stickers. I am new to using alpha stickers as I have several Big Shot alpha dies (I'm an alphabet junkie). But I thought it would be nice to have pre-cut letters especially for when I'm away from home at a crop. I don't think I want to drag my Big Shot out too much this year. ??? Maybe I'm just getting lazy...or maybe my bulged discs are telling me to take it easy on the packing! ;)
This is the smaller fabric tote and it has all my SU papers that I cut down to 4x6". Still no regrets on doing that! I also have the new SU Retro Fresh stickers and journal tags tucked into here. See them peaking out the top in the back? :) Can't wait to use those!
Ah, this little beauty...an oldie but a goody. This was probably my very first Thirty-One tote, and I still use it for how it was intended years ago...as my crafty caddie. And out of all the Thirty-One bags that I own, it's the only one that I had embroidered. That's how permanent that little sucker is to me!
The contents have changed over the years but overall it's serving the same function. I have my SU markers in a jar...with brush tips down because that's my favorite tip! My cleaning pad and cleaner spray is also in the center along with a pouch of extra adhesive. In the side pockets are journal pens, scissors, adhesive, etc.
Oh, in one side pocket are my two rotary stamps by SU. One for dates and the new adorable Retro Fresh Make Note one! I just ink the rotary stamps with my markers when I'm out. No need to haul ink pads.
Now for my NEWEST toy...my Selphy printer! Oh yes, I vow that I can keep up with my scrapbooking when I can print my pictures at home. We shall see! I just didn't want a black machine sitting out on my table so I hid it in another Thirty-One tote. But it actually works nicely because the feeder fits into the side pocket and pictures can slip into the front pocket. :) When I take this out to crops, I have a lunch cooler from Target that's insulated and padded and the perfect size to safely tuck it into. Super excited about that re-purpose since I bought it for $2.50 when the LAST thing I needed was a 5th lunch tote in the house. Sometimes it pays to pick up a bargain and find a use for it later. ;)
And here's just one more picture of my little printer. The fam wrapped it in this pretty, pink tissue for my birthday. It may have been Victoria Secret tissue they found and re-purposed...I've taught them well. Do not waste money on wrapping paper when there is ink and photo paper to be bought, ha, ha.
That's pretty much the extent of what I have out on the craft room table for 2014. I'm hoping to keep up with drop in, Project Life scrapbooking better this year. I will have 2013 done hopefully this week, and then I get to start printing and scrapping a new year! I'm hoping to have a whole new style going on...so I will share that as I get started. It entails iPhone apps, collages, white borders...I'm gonna try to get a little techy. Wish me luck! ;)
If you are looking to organize or re-organize your crafty space, take some time to look around the house for things you can re-purpose first. That's what I did. Then I filled in the holes with a few new pieces from discount stores. Flee markets, antique stores, and garage sales are other favorites of mine...or even the dollar store and the Target dollar section. I've kind of trained my brain to think "organizing" anytime I'm out shopping and looking. And look in unique places, not just the organizing section of a store. Check out the kitchen section, the office section, even the bathroom section. You just never know when the perfect organizing piece will pop up! ;)
If you have any questions, just post them in the comments, and I will try my best to help! Thanks for stopping in for the latest organizing tour! And be sure to click the "Organize" tab at the top of the blog for other posts about how I've organized crafting supplies in the past. :)
Have a great week!
