Spring cleaning a bit early - organizing my crafty desk

So, this week has been a great week of thinking about my blog and how I organize my crafty supplies. It's not quite spring in Lift Bridge land yet (in fact, it's snowing a lot today - great for skiing!), but for some reason, I feel like spring cleaning!

After living with my letter trays for a while, I decided that they really work for me. It feels natural to have everything in front of me, waiting to be used. You can see where I started in January.  So, I took the plunge and bought two more trays.

I made a whole bunch of my paper trays to fit into the landscape office trays, and decided to label them with some hardware from Stampin' Up!

As I used my crop-a-dile to punch the holes for the labels, my brain went "ding-ding-ding!" I realized that my crop-a-dile would fit on a letter tray if I made a slightly smaller paper tray to go on its side.  So, here I go - crop-a-dile in pink container on top with a slightly smaller paper tray on the right.  My paper piercing pad (also pink) fits just underneath, too.

A few of the trays are filled, but I'm still deciding what will go in them - so the labels will wait.  I know at least one part will have some of my labeling stamps, and one will have card blanks and finished cards waiting to be priced, sealed, and filed.

I also know I want a few trays to hold miscellaneous embellishments. I can then pull these out and start to play with what is here.  Keeping them closer to my work space will help me remember to use them, but having them in a tray will let me get them out of the way while I'm working on a project.

It feels really good to have an organized desk.  I can create better when everything has a place and I'm not overwhelmed by clutter. It also feels really good to use "special" supplies for me rather than waiting for the perfect project to use them.  The Lost and Found paper is so wonderfully vintage, and those metal pieces from Stampin' Up! are just perfect. I could have waited forever for the perfect project, but now I get to look at them every time I craft.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to share some digital ideas for cataloging your physical supplies. I'm "going green" and will tell you why and how!

I also took some time this week to take a blogging class - and it helped me to crystallize what I want to write about.  I want to:

• inspire you to make beautiful books and cards from paper
• show you my creative process along with the tools I use
• give you great ways to use my books and cards as gifts for your friends

That covers a lot of ground - what are you specifically interested in hearing from me?  What posts are your favorite on my blog? I'd love to hear what you think in the comments!

Making cool cards with scraps

I'm taking a class at Big Picture Classes with May Flaum that is inspiring me to use some of my supplies and play.  Week 1 was all about mists, week 2 is about stamps and inks.  As I've been playing with various supplies, I began to accumulate scraps that were begging to be made into cards.

First, I've been playing with pan pastels and stamps.  I've made a few different panels in different color schemes just to see how these new pastels work.  The same panel can make a totally different card.

Change the colors up to make things even more different - this one is coupled with some Club Scrap stencils on top and some stamps on the bottom.  Isn't it cool how the colors blend to purple in the middle, and the layers on top are so opaque with the pastels?  I was amazed at how the light grey covered the purple.  Stencils are hot right now - be sure to check theirs out.

Last week, I was playing with mists, and made some pink panels that were just spritzed once.  I used one to make a Valentine's Day card for my hubby, but I only need so many of those with one husband. So, here is the new card - with no hint of Valentine's Day.

I stamped over the pink panel with a script stamp, and put a peel off from Paperwishes on top.  This one reminds me of the silhouette images that are really popular right now - it's part of the February Personal Shopper kit.  The kite at the top was backed with a different patterned paper before adhering the panel.  Here's a close-up - isn't it sweet?

Finally, I got super into the mists and stains.  I've been seeing a lot of flowers made from text paper, so I decided to play with some older Stampin' Up! paper.  I didn't like how bold this text pattern was, so I used my picket fence distress stain to tone it down a bit.  I then inked and sprayed until I got some interesting colors.  Here is the card, on another one of my Pan Pastels trials.

And, a closeup of the flower.  I sprayed some Goosebumps on top - what a lovely gloss and texture it gave my flower!!

I just love being able to take experiments and make cards with them.  What's your favorite way to use up scraps?  Leave a comment!  If you want to save any of the cards for future inspiration, use the "Pin It" button below the post to save them to Pinterest.

Happy Valentine's Day! Cards with love.

My sweetie and I have exchanged valentine's cards for another year.   His featured quilled hearts.

Mine featured stamping, misting, and masking.  I loved using the newest stamps from Club Scrap!  In case you missed it, I have some videos on showing how I made the mask, and inked the panels.

My whole card used pink paper from Club Scrap, and some in color cardstock from Stampin' Up!  I love the Island Indigo cardstock and the matching baker's twine.  My friend MaryFran can place an order if you need a stamping consultant.

Together, I think they make a great pair, just like us  (awwww.....).

Happy Valentine's Day to you and those you love.  If you want to see some other cards my sweetie and I have exchanged, check out these posts:

• My Christmas card for Paul in 2010 - a tag tutorial
• Anniversary cards in 2010
• Anniversary cards in 2009

Make your own Valentine's stencils from punches

I love to use stencils and masks, and was inspired to make my own since the class I'm taking (The Curious Scrapbooker's Field Guide taught by May Flaum) is all about misting this week.

To start, I made my own stencils using my heart punches and a transparency. Punches are great when you'd like to make a row of something - just push the punch in until the paper hits the back, and use a vertical line to line everything up.  It's a little easier to show you than to take photos, so here is a little video showing how I made two stencils.

After I made the stencils, I had some fun playing with them for just a bit.  Again, it's easier to show, so I made another quick video.

Check back later in the week to see how I used my stencils to make a Valentine's card for my sweetie.  I can't show you his card before he sees it!

Hope you spend some time this week with someone you love.  I love to craft, so I hope I'm also able to have some time with my paper!

Here are a few options for transparencies - at 50-100 sheets per box, one box will make a lot of stencils.  You could share these with a friend, or just have plenty for you.  If you plan to print on them, make sure you choose one that works with your printer - they make versions for laser and ink jet printers.

• Apollo Write-On Transparency Film, 8.5 x 11 Inches, Clear - 100 sheets/eligible for prime shipping
• Sparco Laser Transparency Film - 50 sheets/eligible for prime shipping
• 701 Highland Laser Transparency Film - 50 sheets/not eligible for prime shipping - I used this brand

Quick card with lots of interest

I've been wanting to play with masking again since my class last week and after gathering some inspiration on pinterest (check out my card ideas board to see some of the cards I've been pinning!). I made this card base by:

• Taping low tack masking tape across the bottom of the panel
• Applying distress inks in peeled paint and weathered wood
• Dropping water onto the panel
• Blotting water with a paper towel

The paper itself is an old patterned paper cardstock with a cloud pattern on it.

I removed the tape (darn it, some paper ripped on the left edge!) and stamped a large leaf image from Club Scrap on top in black ink.

I trimmed this panel to get rid of the ripped part, mounted it on two layers of cardstock and added a sentiment. And, I'm done!

I'm thinking there are some more of these in my future - very simple, but I think a card with some interesting texture and background effects is great for any occasion.