Scrap paper storage

My craft room re-arrange is still ongoing. Lots have happened, the Ikea storage unit has gone up and most of my crafty stuff has started to find it's new home. I have organised my papers and dies. Next, I'm waiting for some storage bags so that I can re-arrange all my clear stamp sets into a more aesthetically pleasing display. I'm also so tempted to buy some ink pad storage for my Tim Holtz inks, but I can't really justify the expense, so I think I will try to see if I can create something myself instead. After all, the whole point of crafting is that I should be able to create things myself, right?

A while ago I created a desk organiser from the very glorious raw material of TP rolls. As part of my re-arrange, my crafting desk has moved and it's now in front of the window. When I arranged all my things onto the desk again I realised that the little box that holds my leftover scraps of card and paper looked just horrible. So I decided to make a nice scrap paper holder to match my desk organiser. I also went through all my leftover scraps and threw away the slivers that were way too small to ever get used again and now I'm only keeping scraps which are a reasonable size and might see some use one day.

I started with a box that I happened to have lying around. I started by covering the box in a layer of gesso. Then I spread Mod Podge onto the lovely Tim Holtz Wallflower paper and covered the box with bits and pieces of the paper. I also clad the inside, not that it's ever going to be visible but I just felt like I wanted to finish the box appropriately. Once dry, I inked all edges using Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink and added the lace washi tape on the top. I created the dividers from white 300 gsm card and again inked around the edges with Vintage Photo. I store my paper scraps according to colour: yellows and oranges, pinks and reds, purples, blues and turquoises, greens, neutrals, whites/creams and last multi-coloured patterned papers, so I coloured the tabs using Copics to indicate the colours. It most certainly looks better than my old tattered box, and I will try to keep my scraps organised in my new box. I only store small scraps in the box, larger scraps are stored together with each appropriate cardstock or paper. I can't wait to show off some of my other storage solutions as I finish things. 

I would like to link up with the following challenges:

A Vintage Journey - Spring Colours

Craft for the Craic - Wings 

Crafting With an Attitude - Spring Fever

2 Crafty Girls - Vintage 

Not Just Cards - Anything Goes

Hang in there

I finally managed to find a little crafting time. When I was driving home from the gym today I just got this overwhelming urge to craft something, despite the fact that my crafting room is in a horrible mid-re-arrangement-mess. I literally just pushed some stuff off the edge of the desk to make room for a mini crafting session. And now it's time to continue with the re-arranging so that one day, hopefully soon, I will have my desk cleared so that I can actually do some proper crafting again.

I had more or less designed this card in my head on my way home from the gym. All I needed was a bit of colour inspiration to get me going. And I came across just that over at Just Add Ink. I'm also linking up at Addicted to Stamps where the theme is CAS and Clean and Simple on Sunday where the challenge is "Cheer up, buttercup".

Card: 300 gsm white card, Stampin' Up Pool Party
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Violet's ABCs, Stampin' Up Nuts About You, Bloom With Hope
Ink: Stampin' Up Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz
Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangles die

Holly Jolly - Clean and Simple

As it gets sunny and warm outside, you may think Christmas is the last thing on your mind. But I'm here to remind you about that crazy rush in December and how you can avoid it. By starting your Christmas crafting now! And for the next two weeks we have a great challenge over at Holly Jolly - Clean and Simple. So this will mean you can enjoy the sunshine, and once the sun is down, you can get into crafting mode and design a quick and simple Christmas card for your stash. If you need inspiration to get you going, just head over to Holly Jolly to see what the amazing DT has shared. 

You can also find more inspiration over at our sponsor's websites. This time our wonderful sponsors are Bugaboo, Dr Digi's House of Stamps, Digital Runs Stamps and Stamp and Create. Not only are they giving out generous prizes for our winners, they also have a great range of digis for your crafting.

For my card I chose the super cute Bugaboo digi Penguin Joy. I printed three copies of the image and die cut them using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies (probably my most used dies ever). I chose three colours for the cards, traditional Christmas Green and Red but also a purplish pink for a more non-traditional look. As the finishing touch I added some Ice Stickles to the snow for a bit of sparkle. I think this is such a great clean, easy and quick card design. It looks great but it's easy to make a good stash without having to spend too much time. I think I'm going to make a few more of this design in even more colours.

I would like to link up with the following challenges:
The Glory of Christmas - Focus on the Sentiment
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra - Anything Goes
Christmas Card Challenges - No patterned paper
Jingle Belles - Happy Hybrid Holidays (use a digi element)
Addicted to CAS - Bird
Clear it out - Green

Card: Coloured 240 gsm kraft card raspberry, green and red

Stamps: Bugaboo digi Penguin Joy

Colouring: Copics

Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies, Ranger Ice Stickles

Quick thank you cards

I can't believe I hardly spent any time in the craft room this weekend. Actually that's a lie, in fact today I have spent quite a bit of time in the craft room, but not crafting. I finally decided it's time to try and overhaul my crafty storage as it was all a mess. So off we went to Ikea for a storage solution. I also ordered some stuff online that will hopefully help me organise some things a bit more efficiently and also in a way that looks a bit nicer. I'm also hoping to buy a new desk some day, but it didn't quite fit the budget this time so it will have to wait until another day. I'm hoping that once my craft room is a bit more organised I will rediscover my crafting mojo. I have been so frustrated by my huge piles of cardstock and DSP which are tucked away in a cupboard and so hard to get to as they are all just in a huge pile. Now they are stored in a more sensible way so that I can browse them more easily and hopefully be inspired to use them. I can't wait to get it all finished and show you.

I did try to get some crafting done on Saturday but I couldn't produce anything worth showing so instead I'm showing you a bunch of thank you cards I made a while ago when I sold some stuff on Ebay and I wanted to include a personal thank you note when I sent off the things. All the images are from my "junk" box, things I have coloured but didn't get around to using. So it was a really quick thing to just adhere the cute critters to my cards and stamp a simple sentiment.

I would like to link up with the following challenges:
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - ATG
Pile It On - Cute Animals
Crafty Calendar - Things with Wings (the dragon cards)
Crafty Catz - CAS
Sister Act Card Challenge - ATG
Red Rubber Inspirations - Give Thanks

Narwhal at sunset

After doing the art journal thing I kind of stayed in a watercolour frame of mind. And what could be better than the fact that the challenge over at Lawnscaping is Watercolour. I took my Tim Holtz distress inks out and together with the sketch over at STAMPlorations it turned out to be a sunset over the ocean. And as I only have one Lawnfawn stamp with an ocean dwelling creature, it was time for the narwhal to come out. I think he is really enjoying the sunset. I added some Perfect Pearls to the sky, which gives it a lovely shimmer, although it doesn't show very well on the photos. Last I stamped the sentiment from Critters Ever After along with a few stars, and heat embossed everything in silver, in line with the Let's Get Sentimental challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. 

Card: Coloured 240 gsm grey kraft card, Daler&Rowney 300 gsm Aquafine watercolour paper, Scraps of Tim Holtz Core'dinations cardstock Chipped Sapphire and Faded Jeans
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Tim Holtz Distress inks Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmaleade, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry, Dusty Concord, Rich Razzleberry, Black Soot
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters in the Arctic and matching dies, Critters Ever After
Colouring: Copics C1, C3, C5, E34, E39
Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle Dies, Stitched Hillside dies, Perfect Pearls, Dovecraft silver embossing powder

Mixed media coral

I have been making so many cards lately. I'm good at making them, but not very good at sending them. So now I'm stuck with a gigantic box full of cards. That also reminds me that I *really* need to send a few cards which are long overdue. Anyhow, after being inspired by Meihsia's amazing Art Journal Page over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, I thought I would dust off my long abandoned Art Journal and try making a mixed media page. The theme for the challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is Don't abandon coral, and although I don't have the new Abandoned Coral distress ink (yet, but it's in the mail...) I thought I would use the Stampin' Up Calypso Coral instead. My art journal page is also inspired by the beautiful greens and bright flowers out there in the garden right now. I'm still not much of a mixed media artist, but I did love playing with the paints, watercolours and my Tim Holtz Spritzer tool. It is nice to mix it up from time to time. 

I used green, coral and pink inks to watercolour the background. I then added various stencils and stamps for the background, and inked the edges in Vintage Photo. I also got out my Tim Holtz spritzer tool and spritzed the page with green, coral, pink and brown markers. I stamped flowers from the Stampin' Up Bloom with Hope set, coloured them with markers and smudged the colour with a watercolour brush. For the tag, I inked it with coral, pink and vintage photo ink, and coloured some gesso with Peeled Paint distress ink and applied it thorough a hexagon stencil. Then I stamped the Stampin' Up En Francais script stamp on the tag in black archival ink. Last, I stamped a Tim Holtz floral stamp in Mowed Lawn and Picked Raspberry distress paint. Finally I attached the flowers, the tag onto the page, and sprayed everything with a water mist with . Last, I added some coloured lace and added some Gorgeous Grunge spots and blotches in white ink. 

In would also like to link up with the following challenges:
All Crafts Challenge - Anything but a card
Addicted to Stamps - Flowers 
Dragonfly Dreams - How does your garden grow
Stamping Sensations - Flower Power
The Artistic Stamper - Journaling your heART out
Our Creative Corner - April Showers Bring May Flowers

Birthday Petals

I am the ultimate party girl. To celebrate Saturday night yesterday, I opened a bottle of cider. Half a bottle later, at approximately 8pm I was sound asleep on the sofa. I woke up after 10 pm thinking I will not be able to go to sleep at all, but snuggled up in bed nonetheless. About 30 seconds later I was sound asleep, not waking up until 8 am the next morning. I do know how to do a wild Saturday night...

I was going to clean the house today. Instead I have been gardening and hanging around in the craft room. I have re-potted my little herb seedlings and planted some parsley. Despite my efficiency in the greenhouse, I don't have much to show for my time in the craft room. I did mange to finish one card though. The card is inspired by the challenge over at Time Out. I love the colours in the picture, and obviously the card is inspired by the flower headboard, the colours in the bedspread and the black frame of the window. I was also inspired by the colours over at Colour Me...! and the sketch over at Retro Sketches.

Card: Coloured 240 gsm kraft card black and raspberry pink, 160 gsm white card, Dovecraft 110 gsm premium vellum

Stamps: Stampin' Up Petal Parade, From the Herd

Ink: Tim Holtz disterss ink Aged Mahogany, Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Tsukineko Versamark

Other: Stampin' Up Hello You die, Papermania Seafoam white embossing powder (coloured with Coastal Cabana Blendabilities), sequins from my stash