Spring Is Here!

Well, almost... right???

Hello, fellow organized crafty ladies, it's Nicole Rixon here! I am so pleased to be posting here on the Simply Renee blog. So many talented ladies so little time!

I live in the San Francisco Bay area and we have been so lucky to be seeing sun.  How about you?

Well...Hello weather, I'm ready for Spring!

So here is my very first Spring project  this year.

Here is another angle... with the bright sun!

Pretty cute project right?... Well, it also left a pretty large mess!Let me tell you it's no coincidence that I am on the Clip it Up design team. I love my clip it up! Here is why...

Messy room from my little easter house project.

I decided to time my clean up to show you how fast you can have a clean craft room using Clip it Up. So, here it goes...

Any guesses how long it took me???

Ready to see how great my room looks for just 7 minutes of easy clean up?

Of course, there is still lots of crafting left to be done in this room today... But, boy does it feel good to start again with a clean slate.  And, that is so possible when it only takes you 7 minutes to pick it all up and start again.

Happy Crafting, Happy Organizing, and Happy Spring!

Hugs,

Nicole Rixon 

www.onesweetromance.com

Flower Power

With all the beautiful patterned papers on the market now, I really love making my own handmade flowers to include on layouts. There are probably 20+ tutorials in the blogosphere about how to make various types of paper flowers, but here's one I discovered on my own when playing around with some papers last week.

 

The paper I'm using (by Lily Bee Designs) has a hexagon pattern (that's six sides, if you're math-challenged like me). So I hand-cut the hexagons out of the pattern. However, if you have a die-cutting machine or punch that can cut a hexagon or pentagon (5 sides), you can get the same effect with any paper you have on hand.

I started by cutting out 18 hexagons (they're about 1 1/4" each) from the patterned paper.

Then I applied glue to only the bottom edge of each hexagon and glued it to a piece of scrap paper.

 

I glued them into a circle using about half of the petals (9 hexagons) to form the bottom layer of the flower. I used 6 for the second layer and three for the top layer.

 

When all of the petals were glued down, I cut the scrap paper from underneath the flower, leaving only a small circle that doesn't show from the top.

 

I used my fingers to pinch the edges of each petal so they would roll up slightly, adding some dimension to the flower. I also inked the edges a bit. Then I punched a small hole in the middle of the flower and topped with a large (28mm) brad. My brad was created with the Imaginisce i-Top tool in a coordinating patterned paper, but you could use any large brad or even a large button.
And finally it was ready to add to my layout.

 
There are so many ways you could play around with this concept using different shapes and colors. If you make one, please post a comment with a link so we can see your interpretation!

Supplies used:
Patterned paper: Lily Bee Designs
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper
Die-cut frames: Lily Bee Designs
Die-cut letters: Quickutz
Letter stickers: Jenni Bowlin
Rub-on: Lily Bee Designs
Bling: Prima Marketing
Brad: i-Top Brad Maker by Imaginisce
Ink: Tim Holtz for Ranger Industries

Robyn Schaub
http://dreaminginscraps.blogspot.com

Quote of the Week

“It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something.”

― Ornette Coleman

Gail’s Craft Room

Hi! I’m Gail, one of the members of the Organization Design Team and I would love to show you around my scrap room! I’m actually going to be moving rooms soon – yippee! More organizing! But for now, this is where I create, starting with what you see when you walk into the room:

Hidden behind the door are my punches stored in an over the door shoe holder.

On the opposite wall to my desk is my Expedit shelf from IKEA. I'm always changing what's stored where on these shelves - It will probably change again when I move rooms. At the moment I've tried to put smaller items and more precious items (such as albums all along the top row, wood mounted stamps, photo boxes) up higher and away from little hands. Along the bottom row are magazines (in files) and large boxes of memorabilia, spare adhesives etc.

I've switched from boxes to baskets for my main storage on my shelves now. It's so easy to just pull out the basket and grab whatever I need out.  In these baskets I have things such as ribbon, chipboard letters and shapes, fabric, stamp sets, card making essentials and items waiting to be altered. Here’s a look at in few of the baskets.

 

On one end of my shelves I have hooks where all my alphabet stickers hang sorted by color onto rings. Hmm. I think I need another Clip It Up for these!

Along the next wall is a large drawer set. The long surface is the perfect place for my Cuttlebug (although I do move it onto my desk when I need to use it) and a letter holder which is perfect for storing my Cuttlebug plates, dies and embossing folders. Oh – and the all important TV!

It’s also where I keep my Clip It Up where I've hung all my rub-ons, word fetti, border stickers, epoxy stickers etc. I love being able to flip through them when I create a layout to see if any might "fit" my project. I'm finding it's the only way to use them up!

Most of the drawers hold small embellishments and die cuts etc which are sorted into colors. Again, I like to look through these whenever I'm creating to see if I can use any of these goodies that I obsessively collect! I've just used cheap plastic containers in the drawers. I also have one drawer dedicated to my glitter, mists, embossing powders and paints. Here’s a peek in one of the color drawers:

Next up is my desk area where I like to keep all my essentials nice and handy. On it is my desktop carousel which holds all my tools and adhesives. I also have an easel to hold my magazines and things that I might be working from.

All my cardstock, patterned paper and planned pages live on my desk in vertical paper holders.

To the right of me as I sit at my desk (and very accessible to me as I create) is a single drawer file cabinet. On top I keep my paper trimmers and in the drawer are all my scraps, sorted by color of course.

Lastly, on the wall above the file cabinet I’ve used CD holders to store all my ink pads. I've labeled the side of each ink pad so I can see the colors at a glance.

So there you have it! Thanks so much for looking and I hope I have given you some ideas to implement in your own scrap room. If you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment as I’m only too happy to help! You can check out more details, as well as progress on my new scrap room as it happens on my blog (www.gaillindner.typepad.com).

And one more thing – my room is definitely NOT this tidy all the time! Hehe!

Gail Lindner

Leena’s Visual Fix

Hello Everyone! I’m Leena Loh and I’m so happy to be here today for my first post. I’m here to share with you how my life has changed by a simple organization system that I’m so grateful for. *laugh* Yes, it may sounds a bit dramatic but let me explain this further so you’ll know what I mean.

When I started scrapbooking about 3 years ago, I went on a shopping spree (a very BIG one!!) for everything and anything that I can grab hold of in my local store. Well, that’s how it’s supposed to be for every newbie in scrapbooking, right? You need everything before you can start creating, right? Lol! That is such a lame excuse that I always use when I go on a shopping spree but I do feel really good, that’s all that matters. Well, to cut the story short, my stash has accumulated over the years and as a neat freak person, I love to organize my stuff properly, in mini boxes and containers, so my scrap area would look clean and organized all the time!

But I have this huge problem…….I lost track of what I have and bought because I organized everything in boxes and I can’t really see what I have unless I take them all out. I began to wish I could display everything that I have in front of the boxes and use them! And being a neat freak, I just can’t have ALL my stuff strewn everywhere!

So, here’s what happened now………..

Please do not underestimate what the Clip it Up Swinging Wall Arm and Under the Shelf Rod can do for you. Such simple organization system made a BIG difference in my life now. I couldn’t have asked for a better solution than these systems because I am now able to see what I have and I can grab them within arm’s length! You see what I mean now? And I don’t feel bad that I don’t use what I bought and at least now, I can justify the money that I splurge on my stash is well-spent! :D

I used to have problems with all my alphas and stickers, they’re all squashed together in a mini box, damaging some of my favorite collections!! So, I have to thank Simply Renee for the Clip it Up Wall Mount because I can now proudly display all my alphas and stickers right in front of my table and admire them in my free time. Lol! I think what’s more important is it really helps display my stuff in plain view the way I want it to, organized and neat, and……..it also prevent them from being squashed up in my mini box (they’re in the trash now). ;)

Simple solutions with amazing systems like this makes me a happy gal and I can now concentrate in creating in a more organized space. I’m sure you would agree with me. Thank you so much Simply Renee for such wonderful creation!

Leena Loh

Quote of the Week

“Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.”

― Jim Rohn

Tattered Angels and Clip it Up

We were looking at the Clip it Up and decided we wanted to change it up a bit.  We’ve painted it, modpodged paper on it, and added rub-ons, so this time Renee decided to “tatter” it up a little.  Using Tatter Angels bronze sparkle spray Renee gave the Main base a fun design. 



We love trying new ways of decorating the Clip it Ups, leave your ideas and maybe we’ll try yours!
Simply Renee

Vintage Valentine Cards

"Hi!  I'm Keely Yowler and I want to share some of my tips for creating fabulous vintage cards.  I love creating cards.  Valentine's Day is one of my absolutely favorite holidays.  Who doesn't love the red, the pink, the flowers, and all of that love?  Creating unique, vintage Valentine's cards is as simple as 1-2-3.

Tip #1:  Shop Your Own Stash.  You don't need every product out there.  Really!  I like to purchase a few goodies here and there, but you can use the products you have on hand for many different seasons and holiday projects.  For these Valentine's cards, I used Valentine themed diecuts, but the patterned papers, ribbon, flowers, chipboard, punches, and buttons are products I had in my stash. 

Tip #2: Keep It Simple.  Keep your card design simple with a few embellishments, focal image, and sentiment.    Utilize your computer/internet's clip-art and fonts for endless creativity. You don't need to go overboard to get your message across.Remember why you are creating the card.

Tip #3: Organize your Creativity.  There is nothing more frustrating than digging through piles of scrapbook products before even starting to create.  URG!  That is why I love the Jumbo Clip-It-Up Organizer.  It holds 12x12 scrapbook paper, embellishments, alphabets, mini-albums...you name it.  The system is easy to set-up and a breeze to use.  Simply, use the enclosed clips to hang your craft products on the circular frame.  Not only are your products easy to access, the great colors and patterns provide fantastic inspiration.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you enjoyed my cards and tips.  Now...go out, create a card, and spread the Valentine's love."

Keely Yowler

http://www.keelyy.blogspot.com

Quote of the Week

Woman is born to create. In creating she becomes herself, accomplishes her destiny. Her whole life is only an initiation into creative power. To create is not merely to produce a work, it is to give out ones own individuality.
-Jeanne de Vietinghoff.

Erika’s Craft Room

Technorati Tags: Craft Room,Organizer,Clip it Up,Organize Ribbon,Clip up,Organize,Scrapbook,Ribbon Organizer

Oh the joys a craft space can bring! Hi Everyone I’m Erika Taylor and I’m so excited to take you all on a tour of my crafting space. It is a tiny space measuring in at 5’9” x 9’3” but it is all about how you use the space that matters. So let’s go for a tour shall we. Come on in.From the bi-fold doors, this is the view you’ll see. The room was originally the back entrance to the house, but the owners before us made it into a sewing room, so my vision of a craft space wasn’t far off.When you have a small space, using both horizontal and vertical space is so important. Make the most of the space you have right? Now let’s get into the corners and crevasses that make this room work for me. First, the built in shelves that carry all my alterable, markers, extra inks, tools and almost anything in a bottle (glues, gesso, crackle mediums etc). The top shelf is fabric and my light box.

My stamps are organized in binders by manufacturer mainly, although I do have a miscellaneous album too. Most of my stamps are acrylic or cling mount but I do have a little treasure trove of wood mounts too, which you’ll see in a few photos.Two tables make up my workspace and are filled with tons of things that I consider necessities. This great 3 tiered unit holds all of my alcohol inks, stickles, Distress Crackle paints, and most used embossing powders. And each tier spins. Gotta love that!Then there is my love affair with Shimmerz paints. I’m a very visual crafter, so I need to have things out in the open in this space. Right beside the Shimmerz is my ever growing Glimmer Mist collection.I’m looking for a better way to organize my ink because my ink has been like a few rabbits. Once you have a few, you’ve got hundreds. Oh how I love ink. Chalk ink, Staz-on ink, Distress Ink…the list could go on and on and on. Right now the ink stays on a little shelf right above my workspace, but if it stays there it will start looking much like a skyline. Huge towers of ink!The second table holds my Big Shot, metal pieces, jars of small embellishments like brads and eyelets, and a pair of bird watching binoculars. With the small window in the space, I can hear the birds in the yard, so I’ve got to be ready for them. You’ll also find my newest creations on this table waiting for photo studio time lol. You’ll notice in the bottom left corner a basket full of stuff. This is my open stash storage and it is the one thing that drives me batty. I think a Clip it Up with baggies should fix the problem. Now onto the supplies wall. I love slat wall. It displays everything so nicely and everything always has a home. Is that a Clip it Up Ribbon Organizer I see??? All of my packaged embellishments are hanging in groups. Chipboard, Grungeboard, bling, borders, flowers, etc. Every time I walk into my craft space, this is the first thing I see and makes me feel like I’m in my own personal craft shop. Uber cool.Alright so off to see what is to the right of where I sit and create. A full sized Billy Bookshelf stuffed with inspiration, books, magazines and my wood block stamps and fibers. Little jars holding strands of texture, color coded goodness, like the rainbow.Behind my workspace there is a small Expedite bookshelf lying on its side that stores a plethora of jazz. From bubble wrap to magazines, paper packs to punches and everything in between. On the top is my cutting station and cardstock paper storage. Above that you can see more coloring and painting mediums. Have you come to the conclusion that I like to color? Since I was 3 and that hasn’t gone away. I still grab a coloring book with my children and color away. I can even stay in the lines now. Practice, Practice, Practice!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve got a great solution for scrap paper pieces. This unit holds all of my scraps and every drawer is for a specific color. Reds, Pinks, Oranges, Yellows, Greens, Blues, Purples, Whites, Blacks, and Metallics. Now if I can only remember to open these up a little more instead of putting a full piece under the knife.

One of the smartest uses of space for me, in this tiny area, was attaching magnetic knife racks to small areas like the corner and directly above my workspace. These little gems are super inexpensive and hold my Spellbinders Dies. LOVE IT!!!!

Are you all still with me? Only a few photos left to go. It is amazing how much you can fit into such a small space isn’t it? Since I make so many cards every year, there has to be a spot to keep them all. Two aluminum photo boxes that have been altered then tabbed with occasions and dates for an easy way to find an appropriate card.

My newest addition to my craft space, I just had to save for last. Let me tell you I had ribbon all over the place and for me, if it isn’t organized I just don’t use it. So here is the newest member of the Taylor craft room family, The Ribbon Organizer. All the ribbon I get from Really Reasonable Ribbon fits so nicely on this dream of an organizer. The next step is to alter it. How fun is that!?!

Thank you so much for sharing this time in my craft space with me. I hope that you have enjoyed it and you’ve gained a few ideas on how to make your space work for you. Share with me a picture of your favorite part of your craft space or the space that makes you go batty. I’d love to see those pictures.

Until next time… Toodles

Erika Taylor
http://taylordconcepts.blogspot.com