Die - Decluttering and New Work Station

 All my die cutting stuff has been in storage for a year and half.  I knew that I wanted to get rid of a lot of them so I decided to unpack the 10 boxes and make the hard decisions.

My sister helped me as she was going to chose from what was left and was willing to liquidate the rest.

I brought 4 boxes home out of 10 which was really good.  I had worked out how I was going to set up the station when I got home.  I set up the shelving unit on July 1st. 

We had scoped out some clear containers at Dollarama while I was at her house. Once I looked at what I had brought home and purchased a few more.  These were all original thick dies so they are really heavy for plastic containers.

The containers had feet and the shelving has gaps between the boards so I needed something to on the shelf to allow the containers to slide.  

I dug into my plastic placemat stash which were just the right depth so I needed 2 to make it wide enough for the shelf.  I used clear packing tape to join them and that solved that situation.  The placemats sometimes have textured surfaces so I had to turn them upside down so the smooth side was facing up.

I had to do the same thing for the diecutting shelf where I was putting my Big Kick machine.  I used some wonderful yellow striped ones and again taped them together. The machine has feet which may be a problem with the gaps and I don't what to lose small pieces of paper in the gaps.

There is lots of room on the shelf for my work light, a small garbage can, and a wooden box that holds my spacers and cutting plates.  These need to be close at hand everything I cut something.

I love the yellow stripes on the work surface.

Generally, the thick dies in either original or Bigz size fit in old style CD storage containers.  I had these wooden storage boxes from IKEA and the dies fit in perfectly. Luckily most of them were empty so that was a win.

I have not labeled all the drawers yet but I will. One drawer contains the amount of embossing folders I kept.

The wood boxes are much sturdier than plastic but I still have to be careful  I used to store dies in plastic pop crates which were very sturdy.

The red drawers will hold thin dies which are stored in CD cases.  Those have not been unpacked yet.

The black case was designed for the Sizzix original dies so that is where they are stored.  I have a really hard time using stuff I can't see so I may have to put die cuts on card board and hang them in the space to at least remind me what I have.

The second shelf has the small yellow and green dies and sizzlets, and movers and shaper dies in clear containers.

I am using this translucent corrugated plastic sheet from IKEA on my die cutting work shelf to provide a neutral background for taking photos of my cards for my blog.

The plastic is stored on the top shelf above the red wicker baskets when not in use.

Here you can see my grey IKEA lamp in it's super heavy white base which sits on the left.  The shelf is by a window but there will be times that I need a light to work.

The wood shelf is from IKEA as well is was called STEN when I bought it 20 years ago.  The shelves are 11 inches deep and about 33 inches wide.  With the cross brace on the back it make for a very stable work surface.  Strong enough to hold the weight involved with storing these dies.

Here's my die cutting work station.  There is still some space on the bottom shelf which I am not planning on filling.

It works really well and I am so happy to have it back.  It may have to be dismantled if I move this year but at least is way more manageable.  Now it lives in the craft space which is wonderful.

The dies I did not keep were gone through by my sister, then my niece and the rest will go to my sister who runs a daycare.  There are about 30 dies going to her.

They will have good homes and I have just so much less to manage.  Many dies I had purchased when I was running card  making classes and card club.  Many suited that situation but I no longer need them as I don't do classes anymore.  I am retired.

Sylvia Simple Shots

These days with my living room window facing east I get a very short time that the sun hits northern end of the patio door.  

This is a shot trying to take advantage of the last rays of sunlight on the table before it disappeared.

It was shot for a challenge of light and dark on Flickr.

I love how the glass shot some light into the dark just above the flame.  A reminder that a single candle flame can banish the dark.  

Continue to have hope against dark circumstances.  The light will return in full measure of time and things will be brighter and happier.

The Welcome Committe of Butternut Creek by Jane Myers Perrine was a light read.  A new pastor Adam Jordan arrives in town with his few possessions in his small car.  Miss Birdie and her friend Mercedes are the welcome committee who are there to show him the ropes about the parish and how things are run.  Of course, they have been at this church for years and it's more like this is how we have always done it so that should continue. He is a bachelor so they decide he needs a wife.

Sam Peterson has recently moved into his late aunt's house in town. He is veteran who lost his leg in Afghanistan and is struggling to find his place now he is not in active service. Sam wants to be left alone. Willow is a physical therapist who works at the hospital and leaves nearby. She is divorced and her two boys came to play in Sam's yard unaware that someone new had moved in. 

Birdie, Sam and Willow have to make adjustments in their lives to make the changes which will make them happy instead of staying stuck in their comfort zones.  It all works out in the end.

I have been using essential oils for a long time.  My favorite is Bergamot and Grapefruit which I bought as a body butter and a bottle of oil years ago at a craft sale. It was great.

During COVID I started using Lavender oil to help me naturally relax and get to sleep.

Of course, I chose to make some passive essential oil diffusers recently.

My sister gifted me a wool felt tree ornament for adding scent to my artificial tree so I needed Spruce essential oil.  I took a trip to the health food store and purchased a small bottle. It will last a long time. I bought some empty bottles as well so that I can mix up some bergamot and grapefruit diluted which I use during my morning exercise routine.

I found the book above at the Thrift store. I gather it came in a kit with essential oils. 

I found the book very helpful and very thorough ranging from how is essential oil produced, categories of oil, grades of oils, and which oils can be used to help with health issues.

I felt it was a very worthwhile and the price was not crazy high.

I had this low tire pressure warning message show up on my car a while back and it threw me for a loop.  I had the puncture of a tire in May so I think I was hypersensitive about the issue.  I really had no idea what was going on. My last car did not have sensors and I did not have this issue with the original tires from this car. 

I made an appointment with the car company who installed the tires in June and I told they could not look at the car for 4 days. I checked the tires every day and I did not have a flat tire. So what gives?  I learned from a you tube video that this can happen when the weather changes. After talking to a couple of my siblings they have manual resets once they have checked the air pressure in their tires.  You tube recommended checking all 4 tires and the spare if it has a sensor, filling to the recommended tire pressure documented on the inside of your drivers door and it should just clear the message. I check with my dealership when it opened Monday morning and this was confirmed. So, armed with knowledge I was able to resolve the warning. I called the tire place back on Monday and cancelled my appoint. I am disappointed that they did not make this suggestion on Friday instead of just saying we can see you on Tuesday. What a waste of my time but I guess they had suggested that I leave the car for the whole day. They could do just what I did in five minutes and charge me a couple hundred dollars.  That would have been 5 days of my time without feeling safe in my vehicle. Yeah, Youtube!

While I was waiting and worrying about my car I made myself useful and cleared another round of card stock, designer paper and embellishments from my craft space. 

I had an IKEA Trofast Kids Wardrobe which I used store mostly 12x12 paper.  It was really too deep of smaller stuff.  With the goal of getting all the craft stuff to live in the craft room I pulled most of the 12x12 designer paper from my drawer storage and then decided to could keep that much 12x12 card stock from the shelving unit.  The rest had to go. 

I decided the shelving unit had to go as well because it was not conducive to paper storage and too big for my to handle and I needed to clear stuff from the craft room. This was it.

My sister picked up the shelf and the boxes of paper and craft supplies which will be used in her daycare. A win win I say.

F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton is a book I finished recently.

Another bit of time spent with Kinsey Millhone.  She is hired by Bailey Fowler's father to find out who really killed Jean Timberlake 17 years ago.  The murder his son was convicted of and the soon have he escaped from prison and has been on the lamb since then.

The murder took place in Floral Beach, a town a distance from Kinsey regular area of operation.  She travels and takes a room offer by the father who owns the hotel.  It is a small community, people are wary of a stranger asking questions, some people have moved away. There are a lot of dysfunctional family dynamics going on in this family. There's a mother who seems to be troubled with many health problems, the father has a few too, the sister had ended up being care giver for her parents as well as the hotel.

It was a great read with an interesting conclusion.

The couch was taken away on Sunday. I need to clear the living room and dining room with the goal of replacing the carpet with a hard surface flooring.   With the couch gone there is more room in the living room and less big stuff to manage when it comes time replace the flooring.

Of course the clearing in the craft room was also important for this upcoming project.

All the little steps will lead to the final outcome. As usual it takes longer than one anticipates. Just keep moving forward and I will get there.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The temperatures have improved a lot.  It means the snow is melting and freezing at night into ice.  

It means the highways improved enough for me to travel to see Mom and Dad since I did not see them for Christmas.

Mom is settling in to her room at the lodge since her move in late December.

Living with a bunch of people takes some adjustment and getting the food she needs requires that she just keep asking.  Talking to the nutritionist last week has helped a lot.

Most residents has something they like hanging on their door at the lodge.  Mom indicated she would like something as well.  She had found a couple of photos she liked but had nothing to support them.

I found a metal plaque with a wire hanging in my stash.   I spray painted it gold because Mom does not like brown which was it's original color. 

I brought some card stock, the paper cutter and some adhesive so we could put something together for her.

She chose this Goldfinch photo which I trimmed to the width of the plaque.  I trimmed the green card stock to be the size of the plaque.  We adhered the picture to the green then pinned that to the plaque so it can easily be changed when she would like something different.  She is happy with her choice.

Dad cannot participate in his pre-fall activities which included making rosaries and doing puzzles.  He right arm is healed but very weak.  They are working with exercises to make that better.

To keep boredom at bay I decided to make him a Picture Book.  Mom suggested nature photos and family pics in a fairly large size.  The family photos I kept the people to about three per photo and got them printed to 8.5 x 11.  Easy to recognize the faces.

I include 14 nature photographs from my collection.  I put the color copies in page protectors in a .5 binder.  This is light enough for him to handle himself and allows any of us to switch up the photos to keep it interesting.

I hope that it motivates him to use him right arm and lets him know he is not forgotten.

Here are photos of a Lesser Yellow Legs water fowl bird and a dragonfly.

I finished this book as week - Rutland Place by Anne Perry.

The time in which the story takes place is Victorian era in England.  Charlotte Pitt is a bit of a problem solver along with her police officer husband Thomas.  Her mother lives in the housing complex of Rutland Place which holds residences of the well to do.  

Her mother has lost a locket or has she just misplaced it?  Servants are the first to be suspected then eliminated. Neighbors as well have had items go missing.  A mystery for sure so Charlotte is asked to investigate discreetly because calling the police would not look good in the neighbourhood. 

When a friend and neighbor is found dead then the police are officially involved.  Thomas interviews, asks uncomfortable questions, and tracks down leads. Charlotte has her opinions about things as well. 

The ending was not what I was expecting at all but the secrets where unearthed.  It was interesting to read a story from the point of view of the privileged members of society during that time.  I think I prefer to have stories from the downstairs group of people.

I am working on de-cluttering and cleaning areas in my place so everything has a home.

I have a running list of things that I have gone missing - it is a mystery that I can lose track of stuff in such a small place.

I tackled the die cutting area last week because I generally leave scraps and bits sitting on the left hand side of the big shot until it is stacked and I cannot see bottom.  I had "lost" one of  my square thinlits and I am glad to say that it has returned to it's mates in their appropriate package.

This is the cushions on my sofa/couch/chesterfield.  I bought it secondhand from my sister in 2008 I think.  The cushion covers are wearing so I need to do something to extend it's life.

I decided to buy microfiber fabric in a deep dark teal color which works well with the pattern on the couch.  In this picture it is just tucked in but I will be making one large cushion cover with 3 pockets with a fold over closure.

I was very happy to find such a great match to background color of the couch.

I bought myself a new phone system with a built in answering machine to replace the one I bought in 2002 when I got layed off work and would be needing a reliable machine during my job search.

I was glad to find this system includes a cordless unit as well.  It will be helpful when I need to get something while I am on the phone.  I will be able to move around without saying "Please hold on!".

When I decided it turned out it was on sale as well so I was very happy with it.

I recently finished this book - The Map of Salt and Stars
by Zeyn Joukhadar.   I really enjoyed this book and it was really easy to read.

It follows 2 young ladies who lived years apart. Nour lives in New York with her parents and sisters when her father passes away. Her mother, a map maker, decides to move them back to Syria. Things don't go well and they embark on very long journey.

Rawiya 800 years earlier leaves her mother and aims to be apprenticed as a map maker but must disguise herself to get the position. 

Their stories are connected. Nour and her family come to be where Rawiya was living so much earlier.  Amazing to live in a country and area with so much history.   I would highly recommend this book.

The theme for Flickr Macro Mondays was Currency.  This is one of the shots I took for the challenge.   This is a coin from Thailand.  I have no idea when I got it.

You can check out my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) to check out the one I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday#165 and Mersad who host Through My Lens # 323

Have a great week!

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!

Clean Up - Craft Table

I have been working on cleaning up my craft table so I can move my work space from the dining room back to where it belongs. 

I have been at it for a couple of days and I have the table done.  I still have projects on the dining room table that can be migrated to the craft table and completed or otherwise handled. 

On left of this photo is a pile of stuff that came out of the front hall when I had flooding there in 2019. I will have to work on that project soon as well so I can access many of my tools that are stored in the shelving unit on the left against the wall. 

I have decided to so a reset and I am willing to chuck or donate cardmaking stuff down to what is in the storage units.  Then I can start again working on putting things back where they live when I am done at the end of the day.

It is a process and I will start again and move forward with a renewed commitment to the process.  I feel good about my progress.

Recent Photos

It snowed again yesterday, but not as bad as in the eastern provinces.  No huge problems here in my area.  I should have taken a photo yesterday when it looked like Christmas but I was in the middle of a calendar photo shoot and missed the opportunity.  More about the new calendars to come.

A Drifters and Dreamers Romance is a good way to start on this book.  The story's main character is a woman doctor in 1917 Named Addison Carter. Just graduated and headed to her first job in Oklahoma but she is rejected because she is a woman.

She is rescued by a woman with a brother Tucker who has just fallen off the barn roof.  He broke a leg and cut a hand pretty bad. They don't have a local doctor and could she come and help.  Needless to say she stitches him up and then is hired to care for him for 6 weeks.

The house is a bachelor mess which gets cleaned up, meals are prepared, chores on the ranch are done and Addison is happy to serve.

I won't give it all away but it was a great way to spend a cold afternoon.

I was in to help a friend clean up computer stuff and found a box of old 3.5 inch diskettes.  These were of excellent quality.  The diskettes I destroyed but the cases were headed to the second hand store until I decide to see if I can use them to package a collection of Photo Art I am working on.  Think it is going to work.  More about those when they are ready for craft sales.

Sharing with Maggie at Normandy Life who hosted Mosaic Monday #81.

Blog Giveaway - 2018 Goals

I have not made New Year`s Resolutions for many years.  Last year, I set some Self Development Plans.  I am happy with my progress.
Learn - I bought a new camera which allows me to take different photos than I am used to.  Continue to my Flickr challenges and learning new techniques.
Read - I read 20 books in 2017. This included novels, true stories, picture books, and books to learn a skill or find a project.
Teach - I taught my monthly card club and a couple of bible studies.
Relax - Most of my relaxing time was reading time.  Not too many coloring pages were completed.  I did watch TV but with over air antenna reception is sometimes a challenge.  I totally enjoyed `This is Us` show.
Move - I did do exercises at home and walked at least an hour each morning for spring, summer and fall.  I am only up 2 pounds over the holidays but that is due to this deep freeze weather we have been experiencing.  I have been hibernating.

Check the end of the post for the giveaway details.

I managed an update to the kitchen which was not had not been firmed up in my mind last January.

Here are my goals for 2018!

CREATE - I will continue to create cards for card club and decorative paper for my cards at the gallery.

I want to create a website to showcase my photography.

I am working on the development of a workshop for my show at the gallery in October.

I am preparing a Fruit of the Spirit bible study which will start in February.

I very soon will be making decisions about the subject matter of my 2019 photo calendars and setting up photography time to get those done by the middle of the year. 

READ - I have decided to keep a Book Journal this year.  I will record the title and author at a minimum.  Characters where appropriate and a general rating on whether I would recommend the book.

I will capture insights I have gained, things I have learned, and concepts I can share from my reading of each book

This book has a sturdy translucent cover with a coil binding which needed to be tightened. Fortunately, I had the machine to do the job.  Once, that was sorted out I cut some black letters with the Stampin Up Little Letters thinlit set and glued them onto the first page.

I have already recorded my first book for 2018!

MOVE - I will continue to move each day.

I can run the stairs, use the treadmill downstairs, walk outdoors, and use my exercise video.

I have been using the stairs more because as the elevators are being overhauled so we will be down to one for the next 6 months.  I don`t NEED to take the elevator unless I am hauling groceries so there is more stair climbing in 2018.

CONNECT - I have been totally enjoying our monthly `Welcome to my Kitchen` fellowship group.
My blog lets me connect with fellow bloggers and my Flickr challenges with other photographers.
Card Club and card challenges let me connect with fellow card makers.
I am wanting to add another monthly social activity to my calendar and am looking to join a `Scrabble`game time once a month.  There are a couple of options available in my area.
I would like to host a few more friends over for tea this year as well.

DE-CLUTTER & ORGANIZE -  If you have followed my blog you may remember I worked on my craft space in 2013.  Craft supply storage in 2015.  The storage room in 2016.

In 2018 I am going to work on my wardrobe.  It`s been 3 years since I have had to go to a regular day job so I need to clear out some clothes I have not worn in that long.  Mom pointed out when I was home for Christmas that my favorite denim shirt was ready for the rag pile. The photo above shows the worn out one and it`s replacement.  I need a new pair of indoor runners.  There is some `Big`clothes that I have been saving in case that now just need to go. 

My renewed interest in sewing has attracted some supplies to my home which need a home.  So, I will have get rid of some stuff to make room for this.  Some hard decision will have to be made and paper may be sacrificed for fabric.

HIT THE ROAD - I want to make a few longer road trips this year.  Some will end with visiting family.  Some will be photography destinations.  Some will be just to get out of the city and see some country.

It`s been a year since I retired and I want to get out more.


I have four 2018 photo calendar as give aways for those who leave me a comment on this post.  Please share your 2018 goals, plans, objectives and upcoming events.  I will pick 4 winners on February 7th.  Have a super day!

Share Your Cup #279 hosted by Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson

Anything Goes Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound

Mosaic Monday - This Week

I was motivated last week to cleanup the storage room.  It has been on the To Do list for most of the summer.

I had some of supplies still stored from when I made lots of handmade paper from recycled paper. Three boxed of brochures, manuals, etc. hit the dust.  Now the remaining supplies like my instruction book, moulds and deckles and a few naturals inclusions remain. 

I can actually see the floor. The boxes on the right contain craft supplies which I can now remove easily and put away right away. I can easily access the chairs for classes. 

I am very happy.

It has been raining for the last couple of days.  The temperatures are much cooler than last week.  I know it's going to happen but a bit more summer would be nice.  I'm sure will have a bit more.

I bought myself a shirt last week.  I paid much more attention to the details this time.  Yellow is a favorite color.  The seams on the front for the buttons and button holes are completely finished and lay flat. No more ironing them flat.  I will wear this shirt open over a t shirt so insides will be visible.  The sleeves roll up and have a tie so it will be a good summer shirt as well as a long sleeved shirt in the winter.  It has a pocket.  I generally need a place to put sunglasses when I take then off so it will come in handy.

I made a couple of apple crisps in take away containers with apples from Mom's tree.

I had a friend over for tea and we shared the missing half of this container.  The other container headed out to a birthday party.