Yes...I love storage "stuff"

LOOK LOOK LOOK at how PERFECT these mini stamp cases are!!!!!



I'm a bag & container FREAK....and when I saw these adorable cases from MiMi (Memories In Motion International) I could hardly contain myself!

"contain" myself...get it?! (yes....I'm funny...this is where you laugh. HA!)

Aren't these soooooooo cool! All my tiny A Muse stamps fit perfectly. GIT-R-DONE!!! It was meant to be!



There are 25 compartments. The plastic tray is removable. Each little space will hold a 1/4" stamp. It also fits sponge daubers too!! EEK!!! MORE IDEAS!!

It's a nice thick microsuede material. The zipper is nicely finished with a pull tab....and the clear lid is great so you can see what's inside. The overall dimensions of the case are 5.25" x 5.5" x 2.125"


I LOVE THEM! And did you notice my wonderful A Muse tag on that big bottle of Copic magic solution? I made it one day when Michaela and I were having a Shrinky Dink party. Don't you think it really dressed up the bottle.



Well...I better get back to my goodies...they are calling me :)

BRAK Box

A Special Place for Some Simply Special Cards

Are ya wondering "what's a BRAK Box?" BRAK stands for Birthday Random Act of Kindness. It's something that some of us do over on the A Muse Addicts Forum - send out birthday cards to other A Muse addicts. Really a fun way to share our A Muse creations with other lovers of A Muse Art Stamps.

I thought it would be cool to have a special place to keep my BRAK cards. Gotta have something cute to keep them in....right?! :) I spotted this lonely little tin box sittin' on a shelf in my craft room...begging me to dress it up. So I grabbed it and blew off the dust (seriously!)





I love the sentiment. Perfect description of what A Muse cards are - Simple pleasures! All the stamped images on this project are Saltbox Studio.

The back needed to look good too - so I stamped some stars and colored them.



Check out how A Muse 4 Bar Note Cards fit PERFECT! Sweet Deal!! This is just a sample package showing how good they fit. I'll be filling it with birthday cards. YIKES!!! I better get stamping!!



Recipe:
Stamps - Saltbox Studio Sheep Set, Fences Set
Paper - A Muse Art Stamps Vintage Green, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, SU Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black
Ink - Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black
Misc. - Copic Markers, Prismacolor Markers, A Muse Art Stamps Black Stitched Ribbon, Misc Other Ribbon, Red Sticky Tape, Dimensionals, Carl Corner Rounder, Provo Craft Mini Lunch Box Tin 28-2696

Ink Storage

Angie Noe Storage Solutions - from Sixxle.com

I love my new ink storage unit! I wanted one with only the ink and marker slots but didn't see one pictured on the website. I decided to e-mail the company and ask. They forwarded my inquiry to Angie. She e-mail me back and was happy to make what I wanted. How cool is that!! Angie makes these herself in her basement. She started out as a Stampin'Up! demonstrator and couldn't figure out a way to stay organized, so she made a unit for herself. Then someone else saw it and wanted one, and it just took off from there.





I also have the ink storage unit with the extension from Stampin'UP! My Classic pads - as well as some Craft pads - are in that sorted by Color Families.



The little shelves on the wall unit slide out so you could make the slots bigger (taller) if you needed. Another thing I love about this is that the ink pads stick out from the end of the shelf so they are very easy to grab.



I do have more ink pads that I keep in a drawer under my workspace. Stuff that is too big or to small - like all my Craft Stampin' Spots. If my wall space was bigger I would have got the BIG wall unit! That would have been a dream come true :)

Look what I got!!!!!!!

I'M SO LOVIN' IT!!

Check out my new wall unit! This is WAY COOL!!!! It's from Making Memories. Looks like it was made just for this spot doesn't it?! And best of all....I got it at Michaels with a 40% OFF coupon! yippeeeee!!!!! I think you can see all the details of this product HERE.

I'm still working on decorating my craft room. You can see pics of the room make-over on these older posts:

Bedroom Make-Over

Moving Right Along

Can't Have too Much Storage

Speaking of Storage

Countertop Installation

Moving In

My Craft Room In Action

Many thanks goes out to Nancy Riley for her inspiration and help. I can't tell you how many times I e-mailed her and asked her questions! She has an amazing room and WOW can she create! Take a look at her Blog iSTAMP. She also Week #48 Featured Stamper on Splitcoast! Go look HERE for Featured Stamper #48 and go look HERE for Nancy's SCS Gallery - aka stampinat6213 on Splitcoaststampers.

Moving in

Don't You Just Love My Mess!

I've been moving things into the new craft room - and more things - and more things - and more things. I should clarify that this room is multi-functional. It's really the Office/Craft Room. I figure since there's more craft stuff that it deserves to be called the Craft Room :) I'm SO LOVIN this room!!

We got the computer all moved in an hooked up. It's a perfect fit I might add! I still have to get all the computer cables organized so they are more hidden. Those cords REALLY bug me! I've been going through papers (not papercrafting paper....paper work stuff from the "office" side) and trying to get organized as much as I can. I'm amazed at how much can be stored and organized to be useful in this room! I can't wait to actually sit down and create something! That's Michaela doing her homework :)

Here are a couple pics of the mess. Once I get situated I'll start working on organizing the countertop area. I need to figure out where I want the holes drilled for power cords. I need to decide on some wall storage items such as ink pad shelf and maybe some of the railing system from Ikea. I also need to get another chair.

I did find a shoe holder at Lowes that is PERFECT for my big punches! Anyone else use these? I would love to know ideas!

Another thing I'm really happy about is that when I'm in my new craft room playing....my hubby will be right in there with me when he is on the computer :) I'm also going to set up a storage spot for Michaela. Then she can put her craft stuff in her own special place. This room is a dream come true!

Here are a few pics after spending the day working on cleaning up things.

I'm sure I will probably re-organize things a dozen or more times once I start using the space and figuring out what works best. It's all good!

Speaking of storage...

2 for less than the price of 1!

Day 8 - a day of rest.

Day 9 - I got my file cabinets.
Have you ever heard of Craigslist? It's a place on the internet that people post items for sale. I've never shopped on there before -- until I started looking for a couple file cabinets for my new room. First I started shopping Sams Club, Costco, Office Max, Walmart, etc. I found what I needed, but they were NOT cheap! I decided to check out craigslist. Within a few minutes I spotted an ad "Hon File Cabinet - $60." I clicked on it and the listing said bone color - mint condition - 1 for $60 or 2 for $100. SCORE!!!!! I e-mailed the lister. I got a reply back that they were NOT SOLD yet! I got the address to go look at them. It happened to be only a couple miles from my house. Alisha went with me because....you know....I didn't want to go to a strange house alone.



They are the PERFECT color and are just like new! And to top it all off....the lady selling them is super nice! She is an interior decorator and showed us around her house. I was drooling at everything! Her house is decorated in the style I LOVE. By the time we left, we had her business card and Alisha made and appointment for her to come help decorate her house :) Isn't it funny how things work out. Now I think the only big thing left to get is the countertop.

Day 10 - today I stamped!
No....not in my new room - but I will soon! I made cards for a Holiday Card Swap I signed up for. I don't know if we are supposed to post pic's of what we made until after the swap -- so no pic to share with you. But I can say they are ADORABLE!!

Can't have too much storage space

Looking Better Everyday!

Day 6 - Shopping at Ikea
Today we took a shopping trip to Ikea for some bookcases. That store has everything and then some! I also picked up a black curtain rod. After I get this room all furnished I will probably go back to Ikea for some extra misc storage and organization goodies.

Day 7 - Bookcases, curtain & storage cart.

I'm not sure how I will organize things yet. But I'm sure I'll fill things up! The roll around cart I got at Costco. It fits PERFECT in the closet. It would also work great under the counter top space once it's installed. I can't wait to get that done too! I picked up the curtain on clearance at Walmart for $1.75 :) Now that's what I call a deal! I'm going to put some decorative ends on the rod....just not sure what I want yet.

Storage Ideas & Tips

IDEA Great find at IKEA!

When I spotted these, there was no hesitation......I grabbed a set and knew exactly what I was going to do with them -- buttons & flowers! A set of 4 glass jars with screw on plastic lids for $2.99! What a DEAL! They are 3 1/4" tall. Set on a shelf, in a wire basket, in a drawer or whatever. How about filling one with goodies and decorate to give as a gift to a paper crafting friend - or use for a door prize. Now I'm thinking I should have picked up 2 sets!

TIP Recycle your Gold Canyon Candle Jars!

The same idea here with the buttons and flowers. These jars are just too nice to throw out. Standard (aka Heritage) Gold Canyon jars are classic and they all match! Some specialty candle jars add variety. The large Baking Crock jar is no longer sold, but I saved all my empties because I just knew I would find a use for them!

TIP How do you clean out those candle jars?

What I do is when they are done burning, I set the jar on a candle warmer. You can pick them up about anywhere...Walmart, Target, Michael's etc. When the remaining wax is melted, it's easy to pour out. Then I wipe the inside with a paper towel to get as much melted wax left as possible. Be careful because the glass could be hot from sitting on the warmer. After that I get my water hot in the sink and take a soapy sponge and wash it out. Soak the jar in a bowl of hot water to help remove the labels. Peel the labels off and remove any residue with your favorite sticky stuff remover. Last I run them through the dishwasher. The plastic ring around the lids can be removed to wash inside the mini lids. That's all there is to it!

If you have any ideas I would love to hear about it and see some pictures :)