Monday, April 30, 2012

unusual happenings: new furniture and organization

The Scavenger Hunt is taking a break this week because Ashley's grandma passed away last week.  You can read more about that here.  It's up and running again now, and I'll have new photos next week.

Some of you know that Jake and I decided to spend some of our tax refund money on new living room furniture earlier this month.
Jake has always wanted leather furniture, and I haven't because I think that most of it is ridiculously over sized, pretty ugly, and not very comfortable.  I still stand by those opinions, but I am also happy with this set.  There's an exception to every rule, right?  I probably shouldn't say this because I'm sure that most people can't tell the difference, especially in a photo, but it's bonded leather.  If you do like the look of leather but want something more affordable, it's a great option.

The new furniture inspired me to do some not insignificant organization around the house.
I got these little tables at IKEA years ago.  You can see that they aren't the same color (see the blue one above?).  It hasn't been a problem and still isn't really, but they're both in need of a new finish, so I may sand them down and spray paint them this summer.  For now, I got them dusted and reorganized.

As I mentioned last week, the new furniture inspired me to hang some pictures.  Yep, we've lived here almost a year and still haven't finished that.  In addition to the ducks in the bathroom, we got Jake's med school diploma framed and hung up, I hung up some little prints in my computer desk area, and I added these frames to the dining room.


The two pictures on the left are from an Alaskan cruise.  The collage on the right is from my one of my cousin's bachelorette party and wedding.  Some of you may remember my apprehension about hanging this.  I still don't feel great about it, but I hung it much better than we hung the graduation frame, so hopefully it isn't going anywhere.

I know that I'm not alone with the issue of keeping my craft storage spaces and work areas neat, mostly because aside from my computer desk, they are the areas of the house that I use the most.  I have done a pretty good job keeping up with the systems that I establish, but the problem is that things keep changing.  I've slowly added a lot of non-bead craft supplies to my stash and work areas this year without much thought to the organization.  It was time for an overhaul.
This is more or less the same, just better organized now.  I consolidated some emptier cubbies to make room for the card supplies in the bottom and misc. supplies on the top.  I also put all of my bulk Oriental Trading button collections in the plastic container that's on top of the bookshelf.  I pull those out when I'm doing craft show projects like button magnets and need a whole bunch at once and am not worried about grabbing specific colors from my sorted bins.

One reason that we love our house is the closet space.  I moved all of my big boxes with ULine supplies into the closet.

My light box and sewing machine areas haven't changed much, but again, I got them all cleaned up and organized.  I had lots of buttons pulled for different projects and misc. new supplies sitting out that I got sorted and put away.  I haven't shown any pictures of these in a while so I thought that people would enjoy seeing them.


I am slowly developing an effective system for storing new cards until I'm ready to sort and price (and/or photograph) them.  This is still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.  I'm also still figuring out how to sort paper scraps and misc. project bits that I don't want to discard but won't use any time soon (i.e. a few Valentine's Day components that I didn't use this year).  I've just been piling all of my larger pieces on top of this storage area and letting the small pieces clutter up my work table.  Michael's had large scrapbook bins on sale, and I picked up a couple of them.
That has already made a huge difference.  For now, I'm using up a lot of my smaller project bits and will save the out of season cards for next year or for mixed sets.  I'm sorting the other pieces into small clear envelopes that will easily fit in any of my plastic storage bins.

It is a lot of work to reorganize.  It's definitely a lot less fun than creating, but it's so worth it.  I love being able to find what I need when I need it.  I also love having an efficient system so when I'm ready to take pictures and price and sort items for shows, the process goes relatively smoothly.

Have you done any organizing lately?  If not, start thinking about your next project!

Newest Articles:
Looking for older articles?  Click here!

Where else I linked up today:

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Treasury Round Up - 4/29/12

This has been an amazing week of treasuries!  Please help me thank the curators who featured my work this past week by visiting their shops and checking out their treasuries.

Kathy (tapestry316) included my Valentine's Day Greeting Card - Live, Laugh, Love in her Here kitty, kitty, kitty! treasury.  I love that Kathy created this treasury for the critter friends of the BBA.  Our pets really are such an important part of the networking aspect of our team.  Check out Kathy's 7 Card Draw - Here kitty kitty kitty - Oranges Bajoranges - a great big farm cat - ACEO print.


Deb (storybeader) included my Beaded Bracelet - The Leaf Series- Spring II in her Enjoy Earth Day! treasury.  I love all of the rich natural tones that she included here.  Check out Deb's Art Journal - blue and brown junque journal.


Sarah (MagnoliaSurprise) included my Button Charm Bracelet - Purple in her What Rhymes with Purple? treasury.  This is a perfect name for this vibrant collection.  Check out Sarah's Flower Coasters - Spring Colors of Pink, Blue, Purple, and Yellow - Cotton Crochet.


Sher (SherHastingsDesigns) included my Beaded Necklace with Ceramic Focal - When Purple Meets Champagne in her Pretty in Pink treasury.  This treasury is gorgeous enough to convince those of us who aren't crazy about pink that there are some beautiful pink items out there.  Check out Sher's Chef Pig - Applique Template - PDF Pattern, DIY.


Teresa (LileesGramKnits) included my Beaded Wrap Bracelet/Necklace - Purple - Detachable Heart Charm in her All things wild and wonderful treasury.  I love the random nature of this collection.  Check out Teresa's Cotton Yarn, Crochet yarn, knitting yarn, lace weight yarn - Burgundy.


Judy (JNOriginals) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Skinny Wrapped - Sunshine Yellow Gold Accented in her Around the Color Wheel in Brights treasury.  I'm sure it's a big surprise that I'm a sucker for multicolored collections like this.  Check out Judy's Snappy Crochet Thread Flower Brooch.


Judy also included my Beaded Bracelet - The Leaf Series - Modern in the This Fertile Earth treasury.


Nancy (NFallonDesignStudio) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Lion on the Yellow Brick Road in her Pale Green & Gold. treasury.  Nancy did an awesome job with this color palette.  This collection is so elegant.  Check out Nancy's Knit Heart Pin Brooch - Mother's Day / Love Pin.


Linda (PruittCreations) included my Beaded Bracelet - Blue Dotted Ocean Fantasy in her Color Visions in my Head treasury.  Linda puts together some of the best color combinations.  The purple, green, and blue together here is fabulous.  Check out Linda's Fabric Coasters Set of four - Reversible - Blue Sky Geometric.




Thanks to those who linked up with me last week!  Here are a few of the items that they featured last week.  Click on the photos to check out the product listings.




I am really touched by all the people who I have inspired to start their own treasury round ups with awesome shop features and write ups!  Please link up with me and grab a button for your own post.  I know that not everyone posts these rounds ups on Sundays, which is fine.  I will leave this link up open all week.

If you link up, take the time to visit and comment on at least one other post.  No one benefits from linking up if we don't all support each other.  Thanks!


 



treasury round up

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Saturday Link List: the Mother's Day edition

Welcome another special holiday edition of my Saturday Link List!

I have a couple articles up for Mother's Day.

I did not put together a Mother's Day Pinterest board, but I've simply pulled some resources from the site for you.  Enjoy!

Source: rebeccacooper.blogspot.ca via Tammy on Pinterest

You can customize this for moms or grandmas.
















Create your own link list and grab a button for your post or simply spread the word on your blog.

Saturday Link List

Did I feature your work here?  Grab a button for your blog or web site!
Saturday Link List


Did you use one of the resources, tutorials, or recipes from my link list?  Leave me a link in the comments or send me an e-mail (randomcreative28@gmail.com) with your photos and stories.  I would love to post them here.

Stay tuned next week for a brand new set of May recipes!

Friday, April 27, 2012

Friday Feature: continuing the nautical theme

Thanks so much to everyone who linked up with me this past week for my Friday Feature link up!  Here are just a few of the great finds that were featured.  Click on the photos to check out the item listings, blog posts, etc.




I was going to do a spring clothing and accessories feature today, but I got so many excellent comments about nautical items this week that I decided to keep it going with some Etsy nautical picks that coordinate with my new piece.
 Enjoy!
  
Adorable Vintage Sailor Dress XS Extra Small. Vintage Sixties 60s Sailor Dress by littleextrasthatcount









I don't like to make a lot of rules for my link ups, but if you link up, please visit and comment on at least one other post.  No one benefits from linking up if we don't all support each other.  Thanks!






Grab a blog button!
Friday Feature


Were you featured in this post?  Grab one of these buttons, too!


Friday Feature


Where else I linked up today: