Tag: organization

Laundry Room Makeover

Laundry Room Makeover

I’m in love with this makeover!  I think it’s because of the stenciled dotted wall.  I love polka dots, they just make me happy.  I actually finished this project, well, 98% finished it – all I needed to do was put the labels on the […]

The Great Garage Clean-Out

The Great Garage Clean-Out

FINALLY!  It’s done, really done, this time!!  We’ve cleaned the garage half a dozen times over the past couple of years.  Invariably, it always turns into a disaster zone again.  I think part of the reason why that happened is because we usually just re-arranged […]

Stamp Storage

Stamp Storage

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I love my rubber stamp storage system.  I struggled with my stamps for years.  They are so bulky and take up so much room.  I had them stashed in several boxes but they were hard to find one to use.  So, guess what?  I hardly ever used them!  I started doing a bit of research on the best ways to store them.  There are lots of creative ways to store stamps!!  I decided the best way for me was several narrow shelves with a bit of trim on the front of each to form a lip to hold the stamps in.

The picture quality is terrible because the lighting is pretty bad in that corner.  The only wall I had available was a tiny little bit, about 4 feet wide.  And it’s wedged in beside the computer armoire, so it doesn’t get a lot of light.

 

 

 

stamp_storage2As I was researching stamp storage I found out that a lot of people were un-mounting their wooden stamps because they take up a LOT less room that way.  Well, turns out I had a bunch of unmounted wooden stamps as well so I had to figure out how to store them.  Also, I stopped buying wooden stamps after that (unless they were ridiculously cheap!)  I finally decided on a method.  I went with plexi-glass sheets from Lowe’s and Aleen’es Tack it Over and Over glue.  Basically you just paint the backs of the stamps with the glue and they stick to the plexi-glass sheets, just sticky enough for you to be able to pull them off and put them back on.  Here is a link to a YouTube video tutorial on how to do it.  But, it’s not hard, I promise!  The plexi-glass sheets are in hanging file folders which I hung on some magazine holders bought at Target.  These fit perfectly inside one of the fabric covered boxes, also from Target.

 

 

These are my stamps on the plexi-glass sheets.  As you can see I need to get busy with the Tack it Over and Over glue on several of them!

stamp_storage14Last type of stamps are my foam stamps.  These were all the rage several years ago.  Making Memories made a bunch of them in different fonts and then a few other sets like flowers and shapes.  I found the perfect storage system for them pretty much as soon as I bought them.  Scrapbookers were talking about these perfect sized boxes found in the Dollar Spot at Target called Document Boxes so I went to a couple different Targets to find enough.  The boxes are only about 1″ thick which works well for 2 layers of the foam stamps.  I store the document boxes in a basket.

 

 

 

Here is one of the sets of stamps in the open Document box.

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Scrapbook Paper Organization

Scrapbook Paper Organization

I need to create a poll somewhere on a scrapbooking forum to find out how much paper other scrapbookers have.  My family seems to think I have a lot.  I know I am a bit of a paper hoarder, I LOVE paper.  That’s why I […]

Labeled Scrapbook Albums

Labeled Scrapbook Albums

Finally!  I’ve been meaning to complete this project forever, like thinking about it for years, and planning it for months.  I’ve actually had the supplies for at least 3 months now with all the labels printed and everything!  When I sat down to finally do […]

Ribbon Organized!

Ribbon Organized!

ribbon_organizedFinally! This is a project that I started months and months and even more months ago. I got about halfway through it and decided it wasn’t fun anymore. I figured hey, it’s not too bad to dig through a bazillion ziploc bags to find the right color ribbon for a project, right? That’s not frustrating in the least little bit! {insert sarcasm here!} Honestly, it drove me crazy to KNOW that I had the perfect ribbon hiding somewhere in my stash and if I could just find it, my scrapbook layout or craft project or whatever I was working on would be magnificent! So, in the spirit of crossing stuff off my September Sort-it List, I finished organizing my ribbon. Hooray!

I’ve tried to organize the ribbon a couple of times before with different methods.  Before I had a lot of ribbon, I left them on the spools and just had them all stuck into photo boxes.  As my ribbon stash grew, I realized that method was NOT going to work.  This was about the time that people were using glass canning jars to store the ribbon loosely sorted by color.  The jars looked so pretty up on the shelves, I decided that was the way to go.  Well, that worked pretty well for a while, but the jars took up quite a bit of prime shelf space.  I also got tired of having to get a stool every time I needed a ribbon – and again as my ribbon stash grew, I realized that if that method was going to work, I was going to need more jars which was going to take up even more space.

Making Memories to the rescue!  I bought a few color coordinated ribbon cards made my Making Memories and had a lightbulb moment.  A-HA!!  Homemade ribbon cards! I can make those myself, and I can do it cheaply!  I already had tons of chipboard that I had been saving from numerous scrapbooking paper packs over the years.  I couldn’t bear to throw them away, I just knew they would be good for something someday.  I was right!  I tell ya, it pays to be a packrat.  Ok, so I studied the Making Memories card and studied the ribbon I had and went to work drawing out my template for a ribbon card.  I was able to get 4 ribbon cards out of each 12×12 sheet of chipboard.  For each card I just cut notches to fit each width of ribbon I wanted on the card.  Pretty soon I figured out that I had a lot of different colors of ribbon but they were mostly the same 3 or 4 widths, so I got good at cutting those notches.  Now I have 3 boxes full of wonderfully, coordinated, organized ribbon!

September Sort-It

September Sort-It

With all the free time I had this weekend as I was parked on the couch while my foot magically healed itself, I found a blog, A Collection of Thoughts, where the lady said that the clutter and little projects in her house was driving […]

Pantry Makeover

Pantry Makeover

I am so excited about this project!!  I wish I had taken before pictures, but I was just too pumped up to get started that I forgot!  I’m not sure what the exact requirements for a real pantry are, I mean mine isn’t one of […]

Jewelry Organization

Jewelry Organization

I have a beautiful jewelry box my MIL gave me for Christmas several years ago, but it’s just not quite big enough to hold all my {non-expensive} lovely jewelry.  Please know that if you are a potential robber none of my stuff is worth your time – it’s all costume jewelry!!  Anyway, I saw a great idea a while ago to use those cheap-o plastic hooks on your closet walls to hold necklaces, so I did that – but I don’t have enough available wall space in my closet to hold all my necklaces.  So, I started scouring the web for ideas for jewelry organization.  I found lots of ideas on Pinterest, you can see all the ideas I collected by checking out my Accessorize Pinterest Board.

I ended up using an old set of shutters that my Mom and Dad took out of a house they had a long time ago.  I grabbed them when they said they didn’t want them, and have had them sitting around ever since.  Finally, inspiration struck!!  I bought some nifty picture holders at Wal-Mart and nailed them at regular intervals on the shutters.  A perfect necklace holder!

You can also see more necklaces on a black rack thingy I got at the thrift store.  I’m not sure if it is supposed to be a jewelry holder or a cup holder or what.  But, it does work work to hold necklaces.  I just wish it had more hook arm places.  I’ve had to double up on all of them even triple hang on some and sometimes it’s a pain to get to the necklace I want.  You can also see some other jewelry holders I am using in this picture.

 

 

I also love the red metal dress form thing I found at TJ Maxx for my earrings.  It holds a LOT of earrings, and I love that they are there waiting, like eye candy for me to choose from rather than jumbled in a jewelry box drawer.

Last bit of jewelry I needed to organize was my bracelets.  I honestly didn’t realize that I had so many until I got them all together in one place!  I saw a great project on Pinterest where someone had used glass soda bottles to corral the bracelets and had them sitting in an old milk crate or something hanging on the wall.  Totally cute!  But, seeing as how I don’t have an old milk crate, nor do I have available wall space, that wasn’t going to work.  I needed to make them cute in another way……..Enter Spray Paint!  I gathered four bottles, took them outside and went to town painting them different colors to coordinate with my bedding.  If you look closely at them, you can see the labels showing through the paint, kinda cool!