Sketch Book Cover - Paste Paper

I bought this Scrapbook Binder a while ago for under $5.  I was trying out ideas for what would work for me as a sketch book.  After using it for a few months I have decided to move forward and finalizing it.  

It was just cardboard so it needed a cover.  I dug into my stash of paste paper and there was a piece big enough.  I used a large glue stick and put glue on the cardboard and the paper and adhered pieces to the front and back separately and pressed them with books. Once that was dry I glued down the inside flaps and dried those under books.  I then added the dark spine which is also paste paper.  That was a bit tricky to press but I did my best.  Then I cut down a letter sheet of 24lb bond paper to line the inside back and front.  Pressed again.  

Finally, I could put my sketch paper back inside.  I am using 65lb card stock from Micheals which I find too light for card making so it needs to be repurposed. I just it cut down to 10 inches and punch 3 holes in the left end. Works great.  

I still have the original 8x8 scrapbook sleeves which allow me to store paper that does not fit in the 3 hole system.

I have decided not to put any words or images on the front cover.

I am getting ready for Inktober 2024.  I hope to produce more drawings this year.

Paste Paper is kind of matte and a bit rough so I decided it needed sealing.

I dug out the bottle of Modge Podge matte finish I applied a thin coat to the outside.

Major Clean Up, De-clutter, Storage and Organize - Craft space & Photo Studio

I did decided I needed to do some major clean up and de-cluttering with the goal of having ALL card making supplies in the craft space.  This necessitated getting rid of a lot of supplies.  I have been mulling this over for several months.  

 

Finally, I decided to keep my Stamping Up supplies and cull the unrelated stuff for this reason. I have card stock, designer paper, ink, watercolor, chalks, ribbon, brads, and some stamps that all coordinate.  I have enough to last me the rest of my card making career.  I am keeping 110lb for photo cards too.

I started by removing all the non SU designer paper from my 8 color coded drawers.

Then, I took the 4 drawers of SU designer paper which were crammed to overflowing and sorted them into the 8 color coded drawers. It was a bit tough because SU paper comes in sets which are organized by color collections - Brights, Subtles, Regals, and Neutrals rather than colors.

Now, I had 4 empty drawers.

I then looked at the Iris cases in the bedroom that held 12x12 designer paper.  I kept the special papers like metallic, no shed glitter, and vellum pieces which translate well to Stampin Up.  That is what is in that bottom drawers.   Look 3 empty drawers!

I have a large box overflowing of designer paper to get rid of.  I will hold onto it for a couple of weeks in case I remember a few pieces I want to pull back.

 

 

The card stock cupboard needed to be addressed as well.  A while ago I had moved 8.5x11 Stampin Up card stock to this cupboard but now the 12x12 card stock had to be moved as well.

It was being stored in the dining room secretary along with table linens so it was time it moved.

The left is 8.5x11 card stock and the right is neutrals and 12x12 card stock on the bottom.

The middle shelf holds the boxes for my 2 projects - Compassion House and Cards for Seniors.

Here's the bottom shelves of the secretary in the dining room.  

I have added a few plastic containers to organize. The top shelf holds small vases, small bottles, charger plates, place mats, and a grey box of table runners and doilies.

The bottom shelf is a container of napkins and table cloths on the right hand side.

There is room for a few pieces if I decide something new in the future.

I now have 7 Iris cases that are EMPTY!

This is the photo studio area and you can see in the right hand photo that I have filled some of them with Macro Monday props. Clear cases which are well labels so I can quickly find what I need.  

I don't know what I will use the empty ones for just yet.  I can live with them empty for a while and get used to the space.  Having spend the time to empty them I will be sure to fill them with plenty of thought!   SO HAPPY!

Photos - Organizing, Storage and Decluttering

I've been working really hard at de-cluttering and creating a place for everything.  Two years ago I added drawers to my craft space which helped a lot.

Top: The boxes in top photo are on top of the black shelving unit in my craft space.  Check here for a photo.  I have always stored them wide which meant they were stacked 3 deep which makes getting to the bottom one was not fun. They were too wide for the shelf as well so the last row on the right were precarious at times. Just by turning them on their side I can get them all in less space and only 2 deep which means less hassle to get to the box I want. Really happy about this.

Left: A new shelving unit to store all the stuff that did not have a home.  I now know exactly how much stuff I have and must stop buying!! The large containers hold yarn and silk flowers - perfect for the top shelf. I will have to organize the contents of pizza boxes and iris cases but I least I can see them all at once now.

Right: I bought an Ikea narrow Billy bookcase which sat perfectly in the space next to the black shelf in the craft space. This stores card stock and 3 classes/project cases.  It will keep the light and dust out and maintain the quality of the paper.

Left: I had a bit of space under my work table which could be used if I had a storage solution.  I knew it had to be drawers again.  I managed to these narrow drawer units a Walmart and they fit perfectly.

Center: I found that I saved boxes in case I needed one but there was no specific place for them to be so again I did not have any idea what I had so I needed a place. With that comes tissue paper, bubble wrap, gift bags, etc.  Home Depot had these containers on sale for $4 each so for less than $20 I got all I needed. What did not fit here went to the recycle center.
Right: I re-wrapped my work surface with new black contact adhesive vinyl.  This station is right across from the large metal shelving unit so it gives me a place to open a box I've pulled off of there and look inside. There's a better chance it will return to it's place if I don't move it too far away.

Card Club - November - Christmas Foliage

This card is designed around some die cuts I purchased last year.  There were pine cones, poinsettias, camelias, and others.  I had bought several sets so with combining I had enough elements for the kits for this double class.  This year I saw the card stock that matched the elements so I purchased a pack. There was this ginger pattern and a red damask type patterned paper in the pack.  There was some grey pearl card stock as well.  I matched up the papers and cut both to 4.00 x 5.25 inches then cut them at 3" at the same time then just swapped the pieces.  Once paired they were taped together and then adhered to the card front as one piece.  I added the ribbon over the join and taped the ends to the inside of the card.  The element was then adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

How To: Serendipity Paper with Paper Strips

This is a great way to use scraps of designer paper and make paper you can you in card making, scrap booking, mixed media projects.

Collect a bunch of scraps of designer paper. I chose similar colored pieces but just think about the result. Red, green and gold for Christmas. Easter paper with yellow, purple and green.  You get the idea. I cut my paper down to .75" strips.  Start by laying out the strips and making sure the same colored pieces are not too close together and your joins between strips are not too close. Once you are happy with your lay out start gluing the strips down.  I started in the top left hand corner and glued strips on the diagonal.  Let your strips fall off the edges of the card stock.  Once all well glued, press until good and dry.  Turn the paper over and you will see the jagged edges.  Trim the paper strips to edge of the card stock. Use as you will.  I made these cards with mine.

This is a great scrap buster technique.

Card Club - Jan - Washi Tape

I used black and white Washi Tape on this card.  I placed the wider one on the bottom of the card.  A piece of card stock that coordinates with the image is placed above the tape.  The narrow black tape is added above the card stock. I selected several digital stamps from Beccy's Place to create the accent. The accent is printed in black and has been colored with pencil crayons.  With this kit I included wedding accents with ivory Washi Tape and metallic card stock.

Cool Tool - Scrap Storage

How do you store your cardstock scraps?  This is my third attempt at solving this problem and it seems to be working for me. I bought these magazine holders at IKEA.  I place my cardstock scraps in large ziplock bags where the taller pieces just stick out the top.  Easy to identify the color and search inside for the piece I need.  The cost is right as well.  Each holder stores 2-3 colors depending on how fat the ziplock bag is.  I have a zip lock for green, red, yellow, red, beige, black, brown, blue dark, blue light and orange. I recently added glitter and metallics.
I would love to hear about your system. Leave a me a comment!

Paper Storage

Paper storage is always a challenge. I have been storing my cardstock and bond paper in a inexpensive file cabinet. The weight of the paper has been hard on the drawers and it was difficult to see the very back of the drawer. I spent several months researching options. I finally decided on an Ikea piece (my favorite store). It is Trofast. It's found in the children section. It is deep enough to lay the cardstock on the eleven inches and still store boxes of envelopes behind. I have 3 shelves in each half. Of course it needed doors. The doors that come with the unit are chunky blue plastic ones which I didn't want. The temporary doors are cut from foam core with handles attached. I will make permanent ones with thin wood with magnets to keep them in place. I now have full access to all my paper. I have not sorted it all in colors yet but it gives me a really good idea which colors I have a decide supply. Much of this comes from my sister's trip south of the border. I use a lot of cardstock and envelopes in my monthly card club.