Beautiful Storage!

May 12, 2009

My Dh built this shelf unit for me to store all my flowers, fibers and small embellishments. I decided a while ago to use glass jars to not only hold my things, but to add a burst of color to my scrap space. Using glass jars makes it so easy to see what you have available to use. It also makes it easy to see when you are running low on supplies.
The best part though is the beautiful rainbow of colors!

My DH used the jars themselves to measure to the shelves so everything would fit perfectly. It's a great addition to any scrap space!

Thanks for stopping by!
Carol

Window Valance

May 12, 2009

One of my very favorite things in my craft room is my valance. The layouts are of my Mother in Law, who passed away 1 year ago. She always loved looking over my shoulder as I worked on my layouts, so I thought it would be fitting to still keep her close by!

Using layouts in this way is a great way to not only display some of your favorite layouts, but provide a curtain for a window as well.

I bought a dowel style curtain rod with the brackets. On each of the layouts, I added eyelets to the top edges. Then I simply used ribbons to string through the eyelets and tie them around the dowel. Three layouts covered the opening of my window perfect!

You could also use this method to display layouts on a wall as well. Small wooden dowels work great for laying things right on the wall!

Displaying your work helps to give you inspiration and keep that creativity going. I love being surrounded by the layouts I've made. After all, these are the pictures of my loved ones...and who wouldn't want to be surrounded by loved ones at all times!

Happy scrapping and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

A Storage Solution!

May 12, 2009

I know storing your craft supplies can really take some creativity! Stickers and letters get bent or lost or just plain ruined. I think for me, the toughest thing about storage is that when it's out of sight, its out of mind. So often, I finish a layout only to realize I had the perfect letters or a great embellishment that would have looked great on it. If I tuck things away neatly in drawers, I easily forget that I even had them.
I attempted at first to build a make shift Clip It up (the originals are a little pricey for my "Bootscrap budget!). With it being a circle, I found it to be very cluttered and difficult to organize. I then came up with this idea. I bought a metal dowel at my local hardware. I chose metal so that it would be able to accommodate the weight of several sheets of letters and stickers. I then purchased two shelf brackets with hangers on the ends. This would be my dowel holder. I bought book rings to hang all my letters and stickers with. Book rings work great with the metal dowel and slide with ease. You can hang several coordinating things together on one book ring or keep everything seperate. It's an inexpensive solution to organizing your work area!

Thanks so much for the visit!

Carol

CAROL'S CORNER

Good Morning All!

Do any of you go to Garage Sales or Yard Sales? If you do, I'm sure you've stumbled upon some very good deals on craft items. There is always someone out there thinning out their inventory of papers or stickers.

But if you go to a garage sale only looking for the craft items, you may have missed out on a great find!

Did you know that little kids clothing has some of the cutest little buttons on them? Have you ever taken a peek at some of the more vintage style clothes and found gold buttons, perfect for your pages? What about a small colored zipper?
If you find these items...well what a steal!! These items can cost a fortune at craft stores, but may only cost you 10 cents at a yard sale! Clothing items have some of the cutest embellishments on them.

Have you ever passed the toys section of the yard sale , thinking to yourself that there couldn't possibly be anything useful there?

How about a Scrabble game? The letter tiles are very popular on pages right now.
Or maybe a Spirograph? Do you remember those? They make the coolest designs that can be used for framing a picture or just adding some flair to a page!
And then, there is always Barbie. Her little accessories would be perfect for use on pages about fashion or beauty.

And then there are housewares. Just the other day, I went to a garage sale and noticed a small wine rack on a table. It was made of wood and had three dowels that ran across the top of it to support the bottles. Well, being a non drinker, the first thing that popped into my head was a ribbon holder! Of course I bought it, and after a few modifications, it became my new ribbon rack! The best part is, I paid 50 cents for it!
Storage containers are also important to any serious scrapper. Housewares are the perfect place to find jars and plastic containers to hold all of your embellishments! Ball canning jars are perfect for storing flowers, not only because they hold a great deal, but they are also a very pretty and colorful addition to any scrap space.

Always keep your eyes open for odd items too like tie racks (perfect for ribbons),
dowel type paper towel holders (perfect for ribbon)
over the door organizers (perfect for flower storage and punches)
tins (perfect for storage and for decoration)
old style cassette holders (perfect for ink storage)

And last but not least...tools! Every guy has to put something in a garage sale, so it may as well be those extra little pieces parts that are left over every time they put something together! But that's great for us!
A garage sale is a good place to look for hinges, sandpaper,washers,dowels, hooks and other scrappy embellishments.

So, the next time you decide to take a weekend and hit a few garage sales, remember to keep your eyes open for the unexpected great find!

If you hit the jackpot and find something really cool, drop me line and I'll add it to my next post so my other readers can be on the lookout too!

Thanks for visiting my blog and stop back real soon!

Carol