I have been asked a few times where I scrap ... & what have I got in there. So this is just a li'l peek at my scrap room. It isn't actually a room at all but the far end of my bedroom; a fals wall made from strategically placed wardrobes. Before Fish had a room of his own, this was his space ... and then it sat empty for a while, gradually filling up with junk.
When I closed my B&M store, I claimed it as my own & I go nuts if anyone tries to dump non-crafty stuff in it! LOL. It's a li'l space -
around 7'x12' with a 4'x3' cupboard built in over the stairs at one end.
My table is good & sturdy, with a completely washable surface - it will withstand being scrubbed, bleached and has survived numerous paint, ink & glue spills. Along the back, I have lots of baskets for stamps, pens, brushes etc & I also keep my revolving tote on the table top - other than that, I do my best to keep it clear (between projects at least) as I take up
a lot of space when I doing
stuff. There's a couple of corner shelves that hold some of my favourite makes - & at the other end (just out of shot) my altered clock & a canvas ... I like to have some of my makes around me (although most get given away!)
Over the table I have a bunch of those plastic shoe storage pockets: clear ones in front of me with a bunch of stuff I might want to use - If I can see it, I'm reminded to use it! LOL. To my right I have a whole one just for adhesives, each li'l pocket is labelled with the type of adhesive. There are two ribbon racks (reclaimed from my store) that house some of my spooled ribbons (all the newest ones & the ones I use most often).
The shelf above holds large storage boxes of pre-folded card blanks, ephemera, raffia & stuff. These are the things that I use less often - or are lightweight, so it's not too much hassle having to stand on my chair to get them down. I have more of these boxes stored under the table at the back (they stack 3 high there). They hold the stuff I use most & that is heavy - my acrylic paints, ink pads, chipboard shapes & alphas, metal embellishments ... & my blossoms ... not heavy but in almost constant use - why is a fabric flower the perfect embellishment for every project??? I also have a large vanity case full of all my heat embossing stuff.
There's a huge window along one wall, which is great for light but not good for utilising the space. I have 3 large drawer units there: Home for all my felt, toy filling & lots of random stuff that doesn't have a proper home! The shelf just rests on the top & is another one of those bits I reclaimed from the
B&M store. Just recently I bought an obscene amount of Sizzix/Ellison dies (they had a huge clearance sale on!), so that shelf is now full to bursting! I have 3 large tool boxes next to that, & that's where I store the punches etc that I don't use much. My BIA (never used) sits on the top - I guess I'm hoping if I see it there often enough I'll find time to play!!
The cupboard at the end has 3 shelves. One holds all my 12x12 cardstock in labelled boxes; another holds kits etc in pizza boxes, blank canvases & bigger alterables (I have a couple of wooden art boxes, cigar boxes etc) - as well as the 12x12 themed packs of chipboard & die cut felt that won't fit anywhere else. The top shelf has more of the big, lidded storage boxes - jammed full of stuff to alter! I have spools, books, boxes, CDs, tins ... just loads of stuff!! Under the bottom shelf I've another drawer unit for my 12x12 stuff. Patterned papers by colour in one drawer; another full of paper collections & 12x12 books of papers; & in the bottom drawer a variety of 12x12 kits. I also have a couple of bin bags full of fleece fabrics & foam cubes in there - and all my knitting stuff (there's a couple of feet of space that can't be seen to the right of the door! There's some more storage pockets on the wall there too (inside & out). I took the door right off to maximise the space I have!
On the other wall are the 2 bookcases from the store (we used them to display rubber stamps mostly). These are choc-full of stash!
All my ribbons & buttons are stored by colour in jars, there are li'l drawer units full of brads n stuff, all my HOTP card kits (gradually working my way through them all!) A4 clear boxes full of rub ons, metal embossing, photos, jewellery findings & tools, beads & tons more stuff!
So that's about it really - I have tons more photos of my space, so I guess I'll post a link when I finally put them in my gallery! I hope you enjoyed taking a peek into my li'l piece of scrap heaven, I'll be back with something new to share tomorrow.
On one of my recent blog-hops I read somewhere about scraplifting one of your own layouts (so if it was your idea ... thanx! LOL). I have never done that before, each layout is totally from scratch (or sketch if it's a sketch challenge - obviously!) so I thought I'd give it a try.
Here's my take on this week's card sketch by Di Hickman. Hmmm, I seem to be going through a sewing phase right now. I cannot sew well & my stitches are almost always wobbly - but with the right sort of funky/quirky papers I think you can get away with it! LOL
Ha! The clue is in the title! LOL. So I've nothing to share ... but I didn't want anyone to think I'd forgotton to post today!
I have been asked a few times where I scrap ... & what have I got in there. So this is just a li'l peek at my scrap room. It isn't actually a room at all but the far end of my bedroom; a fals wall made from strategically placed wardrobes. Before Fish had a room of his own, this was his space ... and then it sat empty for a while, gradually filling up with junk.
around 7'x12' with a 4'x3' cupboard built in over the stairs at one end.
stuff. There's a couple of corner shelves that hold some of my favourite makes - & at the other end (just out of shot) my altered clock & a canvas ... I like to have some of my makes around me (although most get given away!)
B&M store. Just recently I bought an obscene amount of Sizzix/Ellison dies (they had a huge clearance sale on!), so that shelf is now full to bursting! I have 3 large tool boxes next to that, & that's where I store the punches etc that I don't use much. My BIA (never used) sits on the top - I guess I'm hoping if I see it there often enough I'll find time to play!!
This layout was really quick to put together using fabby 'Hello Sunshine' by Cosmo Cricket ... and it is just the perfect colours to go with some more of my real ale ephemera.
Back in April, Cosmo Cricket were the monthly sponsor over at the Journaling Junkie blog & I had the chance to work with the 'Be Good' line - all for free. The down side of this is that I was instantly hooked and needed more! I kept my cravings under control for a li'l while (OK it was a couple of weeks, max! LOL) and then the Cogsmo line became available. Before long I'd acquired several other yummy ranges and decided to stalk the Cosmo Blog ... so that if a design team call came up, I'd be ready & if not, I could always contact them when I'd a few more samples to show!
Many of you will know that I am privileged to be a member of Di Hickman's Card Sketch Team - & I love being a part of it! This is the current sketch and I loved it soooo much that I have made another three cards - all from that one sketch. Essentially all these cards are exactly the same design, with very little variation but I love how just changing the colour scheme makes them all so totally different.
'Be Creative' Cosmo: Hey Sugar patterned papers; Honey Pie ribbon
I love flowers but they die too quickly - especially in the warmer weather ... & they play havoc with DS2's hayfever (he's really suffering this year, poor love!) Here is my solution. DS1, being the kind and thoughtful lad that he is, bought & drank this bottle of ale cuz he thought I'd like the bottle. Isn't that just the most thoughtful thing ever? LOL.
I might have mentioned once or twice just how much I love Cosmo Cricket right now - so you won't be surprised to see another li'l Cogsmo project today! LOL.
That's the challenge over on the Journaling Junkie Blog this week - & for me it took a surprising turn. While I was looking for a particular photo (which has thus far eluded me!) I came across this piccie of my cat sleeping in a pizza box! Seemed worth scrapping to me! LOL
Every week, when the Di Hickman sketch goes live, I completely forget to update my blog to include the info. But not anymore! LOL. Thanks to Di's fabby tutorial on scheduling blog posts, I am now able to blog about it as soon as I've e-mailed mine to Di. Now because of the time zone thingy, I've decided to play safe and publish mine on Thursday mornings ... so there's no chance that I'll publish before Di does.
I go over to my mum's on days when I know it's gonna be difficult to work at home & this Monday was one of those days. I finished the project I had taken with me much earlier than expected & had a bit of time on my hands ... & the yummy Cosmo Cricket 'Honey Pie' paper pad with me. Mum had the perfect sheet of pink/gold cardstock & the result was this card. I've been carrying this butterfly stamp around with me for ages & still hadn't used it. So I stamped it in brown twice on to pink from the pad, & highlighted it a bit with the Spica glitter pen Auntie Jane brought me back from the US (It's a subtle glitter - which I really love!) - then just layered them & curled the wings. The brown tulip strip is actually cut from the front cover rather than one of the actual papers & the ribbon is Nursery Trim Trimmeree (one of my faves!!) The rub ons have also been hanging around for years but were just right for this card I thought.
y have love-themed journaling cards & Strip Tease titles, they are sooooo pretty you could use them for anything girly ... So I Did - & just in time for Arty Girls 'Hint Of Pink' challenge this week!!
Trimmerie, Victoria Ready, Set chipboard & Doodle Rub Ons. & I LOVE IT!!
I have been making more of the scrummy flowers from Friday's post (look out on Thursday to see why!) & I finally had enough of struggling along with a blunt tapestry needle ... no good at all! I have no idea what has happened to the plethora of sewing stuff I know I have had at one time or another, so I sent DH down the the local supermarket on Sunday afternoon to buy one of those emergency sewing kits they hang on the ends of the aisles. He returned with a nasty plastic box thingy - seriously hideous and yet, exactly what I had asked for ... Oh dear, that simply wouldn't do!
The needle case is a really simple 'matchbook' & the felt is held in place with a fastenater staple, which doubles to keep the matchbook closure secure. I've also made a li'l ribbon band to stop the measuring tape from unraveling. It's just held together with a couple of stitches & a tiny button.
And just in case anyone was wondering, I've used Cosmo Cricket 'Hello Sunshine' Journa
l Cards, Button Covers, Hula Hoop & Clover cardstocks; Buck Naked Buttons & More; Vintage Trim Trimmeree; Elementary Rub Ons.
My sweet baby neice, Lily Rebecca is a couple of months old now - so it's high time I made something new for her. This li'l wall hanging is a page from a Maya Road chipboard book - I kept a couple of pages back from my mini book project to use for exactly this sort of thing.
For the next one, I matted one of the 'just your 'holiday' type' stickers, threaded with trim & layered it over a scrap of patterned paper. The letters are from the 'storytime' cigar box (watch out for the altered box later this week!)
More 'storytime' chipboard on this one - and yep! I did get the sewing machine out! LOL. My mum told me this evening that you can use it to sew fabric too - like to make clothes & stuff!! Gotta wonder what she'll come up with next ... I guess she'll be telling me you can use an iron for smoothing stuff other than paper & ribbons or something - what's that about???
Card #4 is a li'l winter forest. Just triangular scraps on a pyramid card (I cut mine from a standard card blank).
This last card also doubles for the ongoing recycling challenge at Arty Girlz - those li'l tags inside the stocking ... they are the paper names from the barcode strips. I hand cut the stocking & raised it on foam tape. I used a black sharpie to add the dots around the edge of the sticker - a regular pen will work but sharpies dry quicker!
This weekend was DS1's birthday bash, which means a big BBQ & has done for the last 9 years or so! As the guys are older now, it does tend to mean copious amounts of alcoholic beverages! LOL. We somehow managed to stretch the festivities over two days this year (hence a lack of crafting ... & blogging too!)
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