Quote of the Week

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Theodore Roosevelt

Organize Distress Ink Colors

Hi everyone!  My name is Natasha and I am so excited to be sharing my first post with you!  A big THANK YOU to the wonderful girls at Simply Renee for inviting me to be a part of their design team.  I am truly honored and I am excited to be able to share my work with you!

Aside from being passionate about scrapbooking, I am also an organization fanatic!  I am constantly rearranging and organizing my scraproom and trying to find new ways to store all of my goodies.  You can imagine the joy I felt when I received my Clip It Up Mini and Upper Tier Add-On!  I immediately tore open the box and assembled it in less than five minutes.  I now have several Clip It Up products and am amazed at how organized my supplies are now.  The Clip It Up products will even impress an organization junkie like myself!

Today I would like to share a project I made that also plays an important role in my organization.  I tend to use a lot of Distress Inks on my layouts, and I have a complete collection of all the colors.  To help me match the correct ink color to my layout, I created a little card catalog for my Distress Inks.

I used blank 4x6 index cards and I inked and stamped each card.  I then labeled each card with the name of the color.  This makes it easier for me to choose the right color for my project.

Originally I had these index cards stored on a mini carousel, but I found that the constant removal and replacement of the cards caused them to tear.  So I decided to make a little card catalog using a wooden box.

I purchased this unfinished wooden box at my local craft store.  It is very reasonable in price and perfect for altering.

The first step is to remove the hinges and all of the hardware from the box.  If the box you are using is not unfinished, be sure to sand the surface before staining it.

Using a brush, apply the stain in the direction of the wood grain.  After coating the entire box, allow the stain to penetrate the wood for a few minutes.  Using a clean cloth, remove any excess stain.  Allow the box to dry for a few hours.  If desired, repeat this process to achieve a darker color.

After the box is completely dry, replace the hinges inside.  If you are planning on decorating the outside of the box with paper, it is best to replace the external hardware after the box is complete.

Now comes the fun part… the decorating!  The possibilities are endless when altering a box.  You can use paper, flowers, bling, lace… basically anything that can be glued down!  On my box, I decided to do a little lacing using eyelets.  On most of my work you will see that I LOVE to lace and that eyelets are one of my favorite embellies!  But how do you lace on a box?  Below are a few quick tips on how to do it.

I used a border punch to create a guide for the placement of the holes.  Using a removable tape (painter’s tape works best because it will not damage your project), carefully tape the guide to the box.

Because I am using 1/8 inch eyelets, I drilled holes into my box using a 1/8” drill bit.

Place an eyelet in each hole and gently hammer each eyelet in.  I would suggest placing a scrap piece of paper on top of the eyelet first to prevent chipping the color off of the eyelet.

You can use ribbon, floss or twine for your lacing.  On the lid of my box, I also added mulberry and ceramic roses.  All of the chipboard elements, including the vine you see here, are made by The Dusty Attic.  I altered the vine chippie using ink and glimmer mist.

The chipboard trim on the sides of the box were inked, painted with acrylic paint and misted with glimmer mist.  The metal feet by Tim Holtz were inked with copper alcohol ink to coordinate with the colors of my box.

As you can see, there are so many possibilities when it comes to altering a box.  Just let your imagination run wild!

The 4x6 index cards fit perfectly in my box.  I have also made a card catalog for my glimmer mists as well.  You can use this idea to organize your stamps, quotes, photos, recipes and anything else you can think of!

Before I go, I just wanted to share how I use my Clip It Up Wall Mount.  I installed it over my desk so that I can clip up the items that I am using on my current project.  This clears up A LOT of space on my desk allowing me more room to create.  As organized as I may be, I tend to find my desk overloaded with supplies when I am working on a project.  With the wall mount, I can see all of the items I intend to use.I hope you enjoyed my card catalog.  I had so much fun making it!  Have a fabulous day! 

Natasha

_____________________

Welcome Natasha

Natasha is one of our newest design team members. We’re so excited to have her join our team.  Check out her blog and her first post tomorrow!

Hi!  My name is Natasha and I'm the mother of two wonderful children and the wife of an amazing and supportive man. I am a floral designer and during my free time I LOVE to scrap!  I first discovered my love for scrapbooking in 2004, but I was only able to really begin scrapping in June 2010.  I love to incorporate different techniques in my layouts, and I hope to be able to inspire others with my work.

Natasha

http://mymomentsoftranquility.blogspot.com/

Quote of the Week

"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished.  That will be the beginning.: - Louis L'Amour

“Curly Q” Bows tutorial

Good Morning everyone!  My name is Misty Willis, and I am SUPER EXCITED to be part of the Simply Renee Clip-It-Up team and sharing my very first official post with you!  It is such an honor!

One of my FAVORITE Clip-It-Up organizers is the 36” Ribbon Organizer.  It holds a TON of ribbon…TRUST ME!  And me, having a severe ribbon addiction, had no trouble filling up this baby!  (YES!  I do have more than you see! )  When It arrived, I immediately hung it on my wall and started filling it up!  I have a lot of ribbon on the rolls, but I also buy the ribbon by the yard, meaning NO ROLL!  I loved having the clips to hang all of my beautiful ribbon on! This made all of my ribbon easily accessible and I could SEE what I had! It was  longer a jumbled mess in a tote for me to have to sift through!  I could see all of my colors, sizes, and patterns hanging right in front of me!  I also realized that I am out of WHITE ribbon!   I use a LOT of plain white ribbon in all sizes…and I am totally out! I would not have known that prior to my Clip it Up ribbon Organizer!  LOVE IT!

Now…with all of my ribbon neatly hung and organized on my new Handy Dandy Ribbon Organizer, I felt an overwhelming urge to get creative!  I decided to make a couple of hair bows for my 5 year old to wear on Valentine’s Day.   Her favorite style of bow is the Korker…which she lovingly refers to as her “Curly-Q Bow”.  So, I picked my ribbon (which was sooooo easy with it all right in front of me!) And I set to work.

You will need:

• ¼  inch dowel rods ( I buy a pack of 12 in the craft section)
• 3/8 inch ribbon (I prefer grosgrain)
• 24 wooden clothespins
• Baking sheet
• 6 inch piece of  coordinating ½ inch (or larger) ribbon
• clothespins

The best size dowel for making Korker ribbon is a ¼” dowel.  You can experiment with other sizes, but I prefer this one.   You will also need clothespins for securing the ribbon to the dowels. For this example I am using 3/8” Grosgrain Ribbon. Preheat your oven to 275 Degrees  and then begin wrapping your ribbon around your dowels.   Simply secure one end of your ribbon to one end of a dowel using a clothespin.  Wrap to the opposite end, cut, and secure the end.  You now have both ends secured  around the dowel. Wrap all of your dowels with your ribbons in the same manner, then place all of them on a baking sheet. (Mine is a little discolored, as I use it A LOT!!)

Place your dowels in the oven and bake at 275 Degrees for approximately 25 minutes.  When you pull them out of the oven, let the clothespins and dowels cool for about 10 minutes, and then you can remove the ribbons.  It should resemble this:

 
My dowels are 12 inches long, which gives me 12 inch long curls of ribbon.  It is now time to begin cutting.
You can cut in 3 inch, 4 inch or 6 inch lengths…it all depends on how full you want your bow to look. 
For this bow set, I chose to cut 4 inch lengths of ribbon, so EACH curl of ribbon got cut at the 4 inch mark.

Once I have all of my ribbon cut, I then  separated the strands evenly to create 2 complete matching bows.  OR…..You can add ALL strands together and create a very full and poofy bow!

I use size 10 cotton crochet thread and quite literally tie a secure knot in the center.  I wrap the cotton thread several times around the center, tying knots as I go.    The more times your wrap the thread and tie a knot, the more secure your ribbons will be.

 

You will then use your 6 inch piece of ½ ribbon to wrap around the center and secure in place for the center knot.  You simply tie a knot in the length of ribbon, and wrap it around the same spot as the cotton thread…securing it in place with hot glue. 

Here, I have already wrapped my ribbon and secured my preferred clip in place using a glue gun.  Be sure not to get glue on the moving parts of your clip!    You will want to seal the ends of your ribbons at the cut marks to prevent fraying.  I prefer a heat seal, so I use a lighter…but you can use fray check if you prefer that method.

Now that you have your ribbons sealed, secured, and the center knot in, it is time to add any embellishments your heart desires!  Bling, buttons, beads…pretty much ANYTHING can be added to the bow at this point…by simply sewing or gluing it on.  I chose to keep it simple, though, and only add a simple heart.

My Daughter absolutely ADORED her Valentine hair bows!  As did all of her class mates and teachers.  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and can make your own special little munchkin a “Curly Q” Bow now!  I would LOVE to see your creations if you do decide to try it! 

 

Misty

Need a way to organize hair bows?  We have a great idea for you.  Check out this post:

http://simplyreneeinc.blogspot.com/2009/08/organize-hair-bows.html

Welcome Misty

We’re excited to introduce you to another of our new design team members. Misty’s first post will be tomorrow so make sure you check back and be sure to comment :) I have a feeling a drawing is coming very soon! (hint, hint)

I am a Stay At Home Mommy of 5 kids.  They are my purpose for everything that I do, from scrapbooking, to staying up until 3 am to make the perfect bow to match the 1st day of school outfit that has been changed a dozen times!

I have been doing crafts all my life...crochet, cross stitch, and much more...But with the birth of my first son in 1997, my craftiness changed direction.  I was no longer just doing something to stay busy, I had purpose.  I had a REASON to scrapbook...and I loved it.  With 3 boys and 2 girls, the Kodak moments in my home are abundant...and the layout possibilities are ENDLESS!  I scrapbook not only the "Big" moments in life, but the seemingly unimportant ones, also.   I think every moment is precious, and every memory is a priceless treasure.   I have been scrapping for 13 years, but seriously for only the last year and a half.  I have learned different crafts over the years, but, with my 2 daughters, the love of boutique bows had me paying insane amounts of money for their hair jewelry.  I learned how to make them myself, and They quickly became my favorite thing next to scrapping.  

~Misty

http://mommyof5kidz.blogspot.com/

Quote of the Week

"Love of beauty is taste. The creating beauty is art" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Clip It Up Storage Topper

Hello, my name is Sarah Mullanix and today is my first post for Simply Renee and the Clip It Up.

First, I’d like to tell you how incredibly easy the Clip It Up was to assemble. I was shocked at the small box that my Clip It Up Main Base and Upper Tier arrived in, and there were only a few pieces inside that simply needed screwed together by hand. The entire process literally took me only three minutes, and my 2 year old even helped to screw on the Upper Tier. Now how easy is that?!!

Secondly, I’d like to show you how I altered my Clip It Up to contain a storage box on the top of my Upper Tier. I used a leftover box that I had lying around the house, and I simply used some pattern paper, lace, and ribbon to decorate the box topper to coordinate with the décor in my scrap room. I started by covering the bottom half of the box with one pattern.

Then, I used a second pattern to cover the top half of the box. I cut each piece of paper just slightly taller than what I needed for the box so that I could fold the excess paper over the top edge of the box covering the raw edge of cardboard. (NOTE: the top flaps of the box have been cut off to allow open storage)

Next, I added lace and a decorative ribbon the center of the box to cover the edges of where the two pattern papers meet.

I finished the inside of the box by covering the inside with sheets of vintage book and dictionary pages.

I cut a hole using my craft knife in the center of the bottom of the box in order to accommodate the screw post at the top of the Upper Tier, placed the box over the screw post, and simply screwed on the topper.

Lastly, I used a circle cutter to create a piece to cover the base of my Clip It Up that coordinated with my Storage Topper. I cut the circle about 11” wide from a sheet of pattern paper, and then I also cut a hole out of the center of the paper about 1 ½” wide in order to accommodate the bottom screw post. I added a couple pieces of scrapbook tape to adhere the cut out circle and screwed the Clip It Up Main Base back together.

It’s as simple as that, and here is my finished decorated Clip It Up!!

Now on to the fun part….ORGANIZING!!!

I hope that you have enjoyed this Clip It Up Storage Topper tutorial, and that you will try this yourself!

-Sarah

Welcome Sarah

Hi, my name is Sarah Mullanix and I'm a stay at home mom to my three kids, Becca 14, Emmy 10, and Carter is 2. I have been scrapbooking and crafting for over 14 years now, and I've also been teaching and designing for the past 5 years. I live in Indiana in a tri-level, and I'm lucky enough to have most of the downstairs as my scraproom! I'm constantly receiving goodies from my design teams and manufacturers and even with all of my existing organizational systems, I'm still running out of space to keep all of those fantastic supplies that I want to use on my projects.

My Blog:

http://sarahmmullanix.blogspot.com

Welcome Sarah- We’re so excited to have you on our team.  Her first post will be tomorrow so check back!

Tips on Organization

Check out Scrapbook Steals blog today for some great organizational tips-don’t forget to comment :)

Scrapbook Steals blog

CHA Winter – LA 2011

Ok, I know we have to be the slowest people ever getting our pictures posted!  By the time I get back from the show, unpack, take care of orders, catch up with my “personal” life  and emails – well now you may know why!

We were in the back of the convention center on one  end (which was a bit  of a worry for us), but we were by some amazing companies and all of us were busy throughout the show! 

Set-up is always  sooooo much fun!   The before…

The BIG REVEAL…two days of putting the  booth together,  clipping  product on all the displays - you know how much each one holds, so it takes a long time to load everything.  We were happy that everything turned out well.

We were excited about our new booth and our new All-In-One!

The All-In-One is amazing (if I can say so myself).  The trays hold a lot of  product and are really quite heavy when fully loaded.  The AIO is sturdy and even I was surprised with how much product we used to fill it up!  I love surprises like that! 

 

We thought it turned out great and we had lots of people wanting to take the booth and the All-In-One home with them.  The “junk” randomly placed along the garland at the top of the curtains brought a smile to fellow junkers!

Carolyn, Kathy and I worked the show and had a great time together.  I really appreciate all their hard work and thanks to Bobbi back home keeping everything running while we were away. This picture was from the last day of the show.  We had such a fun time and we were a little silly because it was close to being over!

My  favorite part (besides seeing and talking to all our friends) was the reaction people had to the new All-In-One.  We heard the word “WOW” in so many different accents, and the look of  AWE  was great!   I only wish we would have had a video camera of everyone’s faces when they saw it.

 

The new trays were a big hit!  You can use them on the Floor Model or the new All-In-One.  They hold soooo much!

 

Take down is always faster, but it’s still hard work!

We should have taken a picture of the crate all closed up – but seriously we were exhausted and hungry and DONE!

Thanks for being so patient waiting for this post!  Next time we’ll try to be better about taking more pictures and posting sooner.  Oh well, it gives you time to visit all the other blogs to see their posts.

Renee