Get Organized!

Project Organization: Lesson 5 - Paper Sorting, Organizing and Storage. Posted Today

2012-02-05T13:17:00.000-08:00

Project Organization is well on it's way. We spent the first 4 lessons "getting ready to get organized." Now, in lesson 5 we are putting what we've discussed in the first 4 lessons to work with Paper Sorting, Organizing and Storing. I've included the video here, but there is also an article posted on the website.

In this video I used the following products:
Paper Storage Boxes
SuperSized Single Storage Pages
Self-Adhesive Tabs
Sideloader Singles can also be used in place of the SuperSized Singles.

Want to read the full article - click here.

To view all of the Project Organization Articles - click here.

To join the Project Organization Email List - click here.

Project Organization - Lesson 3 is posted

2012-01-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

Project Organization was designed to give small manageable organization tasks throughout the year. Each Monday a new lesson will get posted. Some are just articles, some will include a video component.

This week's lesson outlines the 4 Section System. The 4 Section System is your Road Map for getting and staying organized. One of the reasons organization systems fail is because we tend to organize to the "container" size or shape we are filling rather than to an actual system. A system allows your supply collection to remain flexible. Adding in new categories and eliminating categories you'll no longer use.

I know many of you have taken the time to learn about the 4 Section System, but for those of you who haven't, it's the perfect way to "think" about organization. I would strongly encourage you to read this week's Project Organzation article. In the article we discuss how the 4 Section System works in a ScrapRack, but you can apply the ideas to any number of storage tools.

Visit the Project Organization Home Page now - click here.
Want to go directly to the 4 Section System Article - click here.

You'll be amazed at how easy it is to find what you need, when your brain knows where it is located.

Project Organization Starts Today!

2012-01-09T09:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas decorations are put away, kids are back in school - it's time to tackle organizing your craft supplies! This year we're offering the Get Organized Challenge (starts 1-17-2012 click here for more details) and a brand new program called Project Organization. Some of you are familiar with the Get Organized Challenge. It's 8 weeks of somewhat intense organization challenges.
Project Organization on the other hand is a weekly article and/or video posting that gives you one small organization task to do each week. Project Organization lessons will post each Monday and continue throughout the year. You can do them all, or just "cherry pick" the lessons that most apply to you
Our first lesson - Prepare to Purge - will get you set up for success with a simple task of setting up a "Purge" box. Important to this lesson is taking on the mental challenge of parting with some of things you've been hanging onto in your craft supply collection.
If you'd like to get an email each week when the lessons post, please click on the box below and join the Project Organization Email List.

Tiffany's Scrapbook Room - Before and After

2011-12-06T21:21:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry this has taken me so long to post. I know I've promised to put it up several times lately.
Here's the link to the images and details/thoughts on how I put my SB room together.
http://thescraprack.easystorecreator.com/Tiffany-Spaulding-Scrapbook-Room-ScrapRack.asp

Organize your Brain - Remembering what was on your shopping list

2011-11-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

Do you ever find yourself making a list of just a "few things" you need to pick up at the store, but when you get to the store you've forgotten to bring the list?

Here's a simple trick to help you remember.
When your list is complete, review the list and count the number of items that are on the list.

When you get to the store, if you've forgotten your list, you'll find that if you look into your basket, and count the items, it will be easy to remember what you're missing, if anything.
Conversly, for some reason, it's simple for your brain to identify things that weren't on your list. So when you're counting the items, your brain, will say, "that wasn't on the list."
I don't know why it works, but it does. (I'm not claiming any scientific research, just personal experience.)

Try it the next time you go shopping.

Make a list, count the items on the list, put the list in your handbag, or pocket.
Try shopping by the numbers.
Just before you get in the checkout line, count the items in your basket, if you've got the right number pull out your list and verify that you've got the right items.

I use this trick for 10 items or less, but now that I'm blogging about it, I may try to "up the ante."
Give it a try and let me know how you do. Maybe we'll ge a little "memory challenge" going!
Tiffany

Don't leave your embellishments out!

2011-11-22T13:28:00.000-08:00

I'm always amazed when I talk with ScrapRack customers at a show or convention and as they look through our sample ScrapRack they say - "I never thought I could put my embellishments in my ScrapRack."
If you have a SR or you're considering a SR purchase I hope you'll get the most out of your SR by using it for "EVERYTHING!" and that includes embellishments. Even things like Glitter can be included. Simply put these tiny things, eyelets, brads, beads, glitter, charms, etc.... in small ziplock type bags.

Glitter, eyelets, buttons.....

Once you've filled the ziplock bags, you can just slip the bag into a pocket page in the correct section of your ScrapRack, whether it's Rainbow, Theme, Holiday, or Alpha-numeric. The next time you Craft, you'll be far more likely to use more of what you've got because it's at your finger tips.

Learn more about storing your embellishments in our 4 Section System.

Visit the LEARN page on our website for help with your organization questions - Click Here.

Snowball of Success - The Discipline of Getting it All Done.

2011-11-14T10:56:00.000-08:00

I got an email today from a gal that was finding it difficult to acutally put new things away as she brought them home. It seemed easier to her to just put them in a drawer and worry about them later. For those of you who have joined me for seminars or webinars, or just chatted with me at a show or convention, I'm sure you've heard me say - "It's got to be Easy." Easy is important, but so is feeling somehow rewarded for a task you've accomplished that you weren't excited to do. Here's my response to the email:

Hi M -

The discipline of actually putting things away immediately is the hardest part for many people. You need to make it easy on yourself to put the things away. I wouldn't suggest having empty pages in each section because they may never get filled up. I would suggest using a designated space for empty pages, maybe one of your drawers. Each time you bring home something new, you can go directly to that drawer, grab an empty page, put your supplies into it, pull the correct Spinder off the base unit, put the page in where it belongs, and replace the Spinder.
It will also help if you can find some "joy" or reward in following through with the step of actually putting things away. I know this sounds silly, but sometimes doing something as minor as writing down on your "to-do" list that you are going to "put _____ number of items in your ScrapRack", then doing it, then getting to cross it off your list, can be really rewarding and motivating. You could even just commit to an amount of time, write on your to-do list - "Spend 10 minutes putting Scrapbook Supplies in my ScrapRack." There's something very satisfying about crossing things off, getting that feeling of accomplishment. We often "judge" what is on our list, and only include major things or things we perceive as being "important", but putting a few truly "do-able" tasks on the list and then crossing them off generally motivates us to take on the more challenging tasks as well.

I hope this helps. Let me know how it works out.

Tif

My kids sometimes make fun of what is on my list, simple things like, "read the paper", listen to a "particular radio show," - They'll ask, "Was it really necessary to write that down?" Well, at the end of the day if I have a list of 10 things and they are all crossed off I feel GREAT! I feel good about 5 things, but the more I cross off, the better I feel, and...The More I GET DONE!! It's a snowball of success. Don't be afraid to count the little stuff, it all adds up. If you think "picking up your kids from school" shouldn't be on your list, try not doing it one day and you'll find out how truly important that "mundane and simple" task is!!! :-)

Tiffany

Creating an online journal using Word

2011-11-06T11:33:00.000-08:00

One of the challenges with journaling in our scrapbooks is having access to the information. You can create a simple online journal using a standard word processing program like Word. Follow these easy steps and you'll be journaling in no time.

Open a new Word document.
Save it As Journal on your Desktop.
Start each entry with the date - consistency is key and details can be helpful, ie, instead of using just the numeric date, you may want to add a little more info: 12-16-2011, Friday, First day of Christmas Break...This of course isn't necessary for everyday, but if you think you may want to search by a particular piece of information it's good to include it in the dateline/title.
Whether you prefer to write whole sentences, or bullet points doesn't matter.
I always add the newest entries to the top of the first page. That way I don't have to scroll to the end to make an entry.
If you use a SmartPhone, set up the document on your desktop to sync with the same document on your smart phone. That way if you want to note something while you're away from your computer the two documents will stay consistent.
Finally, when you download pictures onto your computer, you can put a note right into the journal or even cut and paste the file path into the journal. When you're ready to scrap, it will be easy to find the images that go with the journal entry.

Wow. That was easy! Now, when you need to access journaling notes you can open your Journal, click on the "Find" icon (small binoculars), put in a date or keyword, and your computer will take your right where you need to go! It's so simple.

Tiny Tasks - Huge Results, 3 things you can organize in the next 30 minutes.

2011-10-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the idea of getting organized is overwhleming in and of itself. The truth is, if you can tackle a few small tasks you'll be inspired by the results. Try these easy to accomplish projects to see if you catch Organization Fever. Each of them should be completed in less than 10 minutes.
All you'll need is a garbage bag and a recycling bin.

1 - Medicine Cabinet

Medicine cabinets tend be a safe haven for all kinds of things we don't want to think about. The truth is, most things in the medicine cabinet including cometics have a manufacturer suggested expiration date or use by date. Other products stack up in the medicine cabinet even though we weren't happy with the results or because they were given to us as a "gift with purchase". Before you open the cabinet, or drawer jot down a quick goal. "I'm going to throw away any product I haven't used in the last _______". The blank may be 6 months, 9 months or a year. Regardless of the goal you'll feel great about finally getting rid of the stuff you've been knocking off the shelf each time you reach for something you really need.

2 - Junk Drawer
Most homes have a JD somewhere in the kitchen. As you go through your JD, you'll probably discover everything in it actually belongs somewhere else. Put those things away. Throw away those outdated coupons, put the recipes in your kitchen binder, move the pencils and pens (if they still work) to the pencil holder by the phone. Set another goal - if you haven't used it in a certain amount of time and it doesn't have a home elsewhere, toss it! If your Junk Drawer is filled with Owner's Manuals, Recipe booklets and other similar items, get a package of Ring Binder Insert Strips and put all of those things into a notebook or two.

Click here to purchase Ring Binder Insert Strips

3.) Mail Call
Grab that giant pile of mail on your counter, walk directly to the recycle bin. THROW away everything that isn't addressed specifically to you or a member of your household. Open each envelope, toss away the advertisements, if you pay your bills on line, toss away the return envelopes. What to do with the advertisements and catalogs that do have your name on them? Is there anything on your current shopping list that might be in those advertisements? If so, put them in a pile separate from the bills. If not, toss them away as well, trust me, you'll have another advertisement offering the "best price of the season" in your mailbox within the next 14 days. Finally file away the papers you need to keep; Bills to Pay, Statements, Coupons, etc.

Ready, Set, Organize! Let me know how it works!
Tiffany

Cricut Cartridge Storage and Organization

2011-09-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

The best way to organize and store your Cricut Cartridges is by using a Catalog and Numbering System. This system allows you to add cartridges to your collection, without having to “rearrange” or “re-organize” your existing cartridges. To use this system, you can either leave your cartridges, booklets and overlays in their original cases, or you can remove them from their cases and store them in a Cricut Cartridge Tote or Cricut Cartridge Storage Case. Regardless of the storage method you choose, the catalog system will remain the same.

The first decision you need to make is whether you plan to keep the cartridges in their original box or if you plan to condense them down using one of the storage tools mentioned earlier. If you plan to use one of the storage tools mentioned earlier, you may want consider keeping the boxes stored elsewhere, just in case you decide to sell the cartridge at a later date.

Start by numbering each of the Cricut boxes, cartridges, booklets, and overlays. If the box is labeled # 1, then the corresponding cartridge, booklet and overlay will all also be labeled #1.

Your next step is to collect the images of the shapes on each of the cartridges you own. You can either photocopy the back of the box or you can get the images directly off the Cricut Website. In either case it will be helpful and beneficial later to have the images stored both digitally and physically printed out. At minimum I would recommend 2 copies of each printout. The first for the appropriate section in your 4 Section System, and the second for a separate catalog. When you print out the image(s), give that printout(s) the same number as the corresponding cartridge, in this case #1. Generally most of the cartridges deal with a single “theme”, but in some cases, they may be appropriate for multiple themes. If the cartridge is appropriate for multiple themes, you will want to print out an equal number of images, so you can include one labeled (numbered) image in each section of your 4 Section System where appropriate. For example, if you had a Travel cartridge, that included lots of travel icons and also an alphabet, you would want to include an image of that cartridge in both the Travel Section and in the Alpha Numeric section.

Once you’ve printed out and numbered the images to match the numbers on the Cartridges, Booklets and Overlays, you can put the images into your 4 Section System, and into your Cricut Catalog (this may be easily combined with your stamps, punches, etc…catalog).

Your final step is to label the Cricut original box (if that is your storage method of choice) or the containers (Cartridge Tote or Storage Case) that you have chosen. Once this is done, you can put the cartridges, booklets and overlays into the appropriate container.

When you’re ready to crop, the image of the Cricut cartridge will “pop up” in the appropriate section(s) of your 4 Section System. In our example Travel; when you are scrapping Travel and you go to that section in your ScrapRack, you’ll see that cartridge image, the number on the image will tell you exactly where to find the cartridge, whether it is in a box or in a storage tote or case.

Simple!

The Magnetic Crafting Easel

2011-09-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hi Crafty Ladies -
We've had so many questions about the Magnetic Easel that I thought I'd create a video to explain it better.

If you want to learn more about this easel, you can get more details on our website. Here's the link: http://thescraprack.easystorecreator.com/items/Special-Purchase/list.htm .

Tiffany

Organizing Photos for Multiple Albums

2011-09-08T13:45:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have been a part of the Get Organized Challenge, you’ve heard me talk about the value of creating “holding albums.” Holding albums work great especially when you’re on track with a particular scrapbooking project. However, I, like most scrappers tend to be just “slightly” behind . My project last week was to get all of my photos that had been sorted by year and by event into groups by album. This was somewhat challenging on a number of levels:
1.) I create 3 sets of albums, one for each of my sons (London and Max) and one for myself.
2.) I have 2 different sizes of albums going (8.5 x 11 from when I first started and now 12x12).
3.) I had created some pages of some events for all 3 albums, but wasn’t consistent.
The hardest part:
The biggest challenge was just sitting down with a notebook and listing what I had created for each album and what still needed to be created. I have to admit while I dreaded this part of the project it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it might be. I started by opening all of the albums together and flipping through them so I could see each event in each book. That made it easy to list what was completed and what was missing. This part of the process actually only took about 15 minutes. I scribbled down notes in 3 columns; Family, London and Max.

Next Step:
My next step was to cut lots of sheets of 8.5x11 paper in half and label each piece of paper with the themes/events/holidays, etc. that were missing from each album. I used a different color of paper to represent each person’s album. This isn’t necessary, but it helped to keep me focused when I was choosing pictures. I also noted which size album and how many pages I wanted for each event. As I created these labeled half sheets I crossed them off the list.

Choosing pictures:
My goal was to choose 6 pictures for each 12x12 layout and just 4 pictures for the 8.5x11 books. It really helps to make this decision in advance. You want to try to avoid creating 6 pages of your adorable 18 month old eating an Ice Cream cone. If you know you only get to choose 4 pictures for a single page layout it will be much easier to decide and move on.
Since the photos were already sorted into chronological order it was easy to go through them and make selections for each album. Any pictures that were left over went into my purge box. It was easier than you might think to put them in the purge box, because I knew I had what I needed for my scrapbooks. I was also able to comfortably toss out “bad” pictures.
As I choose the pictures I wrapped them in the half sheets of labeled paper and put them in my READY to SCRAP photo box – again, in chronological order.
I tried to keep the “purge” box in some type of chronological order. When my family visits, I’ll let my mom, sister, mother-in-law, whoever is interested, look through the photos and take what they want. After the purge box has made the rounds, I’ll be able to confidently throw whatever is left away.

The Big Benefit
I’ll confess that it did take a few hours to get through the literally thousands of pictures that I had, but it was sooooo worth it! I went from over 4 photo storage boxes, down to just 2. There were several Labeled sheets, that I didn’t have printed photos for. I left these “empty” sheets in the photo boxes, in chronological order so when I come across them again, I will know I need to track down the photos on the computer.
Maybe now I’ll get “caught up” – LOL.

Tips and Tricks

Start with the list!
Invest a little time in making lists of what is in your books and what is missing. This will REALLY help in the sorting process. If you have to constantly be going back to the albums to verify what you have / have not done it will get frustrating and overwhelming. My list initially just had “what was missing,” but I found myself constantly going back to verify what was “done”, so it ended up being more efficient to include both “missing” and “done” on the list.

Prior to sorting:
Decide how many pictures you will allow yourself to choose for each page size / layout.
Decide how many layouts you will do for each event prior to sorting through the pictures.

Set yourself up for success.
Be sure you have all the tools you need; photos, photo storage boxes, paper, pens, etc. before you sit down to get started. If you have to leave your project to hunt for things you’ll get distracted.

ScrapRack Scrapbook Room

2011-08-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

I know I've been promising to post something about my Scrapbook Room at the office for a couple of months. Well, I finally got around to doing it. Here's the first picture.

Click here to see the start to finish pictures. Thanks for your patience while I got this done!

Tif

PS - Do you need help getting organized? Join our FB Get Organized Challenge group!

Shopping Organized with Diana Dawson

2011-06-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

It's so much fun to see ideas put into action. I was thrilled to see that Diana had shown up at the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington with her "Shopping Spinder" in tow. I was even more delighted to see that she had added the cover sheets from her BasicGrey Collection into the spinder. A clever way to know what you have and what you need!! Great Job Diana. Here are some of the details on how Diana has created her "Shopping Spinder".

In Diana's words - This spinder contains; 1) the shopping list and specific vendor interests, 2) the Coloring Agents from my manufacturers catalog [no more duplicates], and 3) the packaged paper sets from my “Themes” section to color coordinate purchases.

This is my manufacturers’ catalog, which is a result of Organization Challenges #6 & 7. The 8 ½ x 11 pages list Coloring Agents and is the part I took shopping. The 12 x 12 pages have representations of dies, embossing folders and punches (still working on stamps). I wasn’t planning on purchases from this category so it stayed home.

This is my ‘packaged paper” spinder that came about during Organization Challenge #2. It contains a cover page to each paper set and a sticky note that lists whether there is coordinating ribbon, embellishment or color cardstock needs.

Diana and I at the Convention. I really want to thank Diana for taking the time to share the organizational "fruits of her labor" with me and to encourage you to do the same. I love to see what's been produced, changed, modified, or created! Hope you all are having a wonderful summer!

Tiffany

ScrapRack Divider Update

2011-05-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

I just got word today that the Dividers have been booked on a ship and should arrive here around the 10th of June. If you are on our email list we'll send out an email as soon as they arrive. You can also sign up on the website for notification of when we will open them up for ordering. Generally we will let the ordering begin a week before they actually arrive in the port.
We expect the remaining pages (Sideloader Singles, WrapAround FiberBoards, and the new Sweet Sixteen) to arrive around the end of June or first week of July.
Click here to join the NOTIFY ME List for the Dividers.
Thanks,
Tiffany

Great American Scrapbook Show - Arlington, TX

2011-05-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

The first weekend of June is The Great American Scrapbook Show in Arlington, Texas. If you're planning on attending the show please stop by our booth and say "Howdy"! We love to put faces with names. I have to confess I love going to this show for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is that it is usually WARM!!! The Pacific Northwest is a beautiful place to live, but I never quite thaw out.
T.

Spellbinders Nestabilities - How to store them in your ScrapRack

2011-05-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hi Crafters -
Are you looking for a great way to store and organize your Spellbinders Nestabilities? The ScrapRack is your perfect solution. It's so easy - you just need a few basic supplies:

Magnetic Cloth
Scissors
A Ruler
A piece of chalk or other marking devise
Your Spellbinders or other brand of dies

It's so easy. The magnetic cloth can be cut into the perfect shape to hold each of your dies or die sets. Once the cloth is cut, put the dies onto the magnet and then slip the magnet sheet into your pocket pages.

Get the step by step details on how to do this on our website.
Organizing your Spellbinders Nestabilities Dies with your ScrapRack - Click here to read the article and learn more.

If you've got other great ideas about how to sort, store and organize your supplies into your ScrapRack please email us your ideas. We'd love to share them with our crafting community.

Tiffany
Join our Facebook Groups - Click here

Yes, you can store your cardmaking supplies in your ScrapRack

2011-05-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hi Crafters -
I've been asked on a number of occasions about storing card making supplies in The ScrapRack. I know the pockets aren't a perfect fit for all of the card sizes, but the Fabulous Four Storage Page will fit most of them. Here are a couple of examples.

You can also store your other card making supplies in you ScrapRack. You may want to start a totally separate section for card making supplies and maybe a section for completed cards too!

Visit the Pages Department on our website to view the different page designs we have available. Click Here

Paper Storage and Organization

2011-04-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

Howdy Crafters -
This week's Get Organized Challenge Webinar was Paper Storage and organization. Teaching the webinar inspired me to write a brief article, record a short "how-to" video and to put the Paper Storage Combo Kit on SALE (you'll save 20% - that's $15.00) on the website. If you're struggling with Paper Storage, I hope you'll take a few minutes to read the article or watch the video. Click here to read or watch now.
I also posted some new pictures of "how to decorate" your Paper Storage boxes.
If you've already decorated your boxes I'd love to see pictures of what you've done and share your ideas with other scrappers. You can email them to us at CustomerService@TheScrapRack.com .

See more ideas for decorating your boxes - click here.
Thanks,
Tiffany

The St. Louis Creating Keepsakes Convention and one really great Lipstick

2011-04-09T05:28:00.000-07:00

Hi Ladies -
We are at the ST. Louis Creating Keepsakes Convention today. If you're in the area come by and say "HOWDY". Also, I wanted share with you one thing that is totally unrelated to crafting.
I have discovered the WORLD'S GREATED LIPSTICK!!!
I've been a diehard Lancome girl most of my life. When I saw the advertisement for the new Maybelline 24 hour Super Stay Lipstick I wrote if off as another gimick, but I kept thinking about it, and thinking about it, and finally I went to Target and bought one. Guess what it REALLY WORKS! I put on lipstick, eat, drink, talk.....everything all day, and when I get home the lipstick is STILL on my lips!! It's amazing. What do I have to say about that , "Bye, Bye $22 Lancome, Hello $8 Maybelline."

Applying the Principles

2011-03-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

Hi Ladies -
I know many of you were participants in our recent Get Organized Challenge. Based on the emails and Facebook responses I've been getting/reading, I would have to say the Challenge was very successful. I have also heard from several participants about how the principles of the webinar have flowed over into other parts of their lives.
If you're feeling overwhelmed by some other organization task, be it a drawer, a closet, or an entire room, try applying the principles we learned in the Challenge to the task at hand. Here's a great email from one of the Challenge participants:

Tiffany,
I just applied the principle of small areas at a time--sometimes just one drawer or shelf. Finish that one and move on to the next. I had a box handy for items that were misplaced and needed to go elsewhere, another for box for charity, and of course, the garbage can. Liberal use of the latter I might add. It is quite amazing how "stuff" builds up and accumulates when you're not looking.
One of the major things I did, and am so glad I finally did it, was to rearrange the upstairs laundry area. There are two shelves, one up high and one lower (note: I am only 5' 1"). I had always had the cleaning supplies on the high shelf and extra toiletries down low. Duh! I need to clean more often than I need a new bottle of baby powder. Got out the stepstool, took everything off both shelves, and moved the cleaning supplies down and the toiletries up. So much handier.
Of course, my cats have been very useful in the cleaning process, checking out every open drawer and cupboard. They "snoopervise" well, though don't help in the cleaning.
My husband is dutifully going through his To-Do list for today and hopefully will attack his closet soon. Not holding my breath though, as he's more likely to decide a nap is more necessary.
Take care, Jeanne

If you've used the information from the webinar series to help you with organization in other parts of your home/life. Please share them with me so I can forward them on to others.
Our next Craft Organization Challenge starts on Tuesday, April 12th. Here's a link to the details about the series. - Get Organized Challenge.
Happy (and well organized) Crafting,
Tiffany

Webinar #4 Photo Storage and Organization was posted today.

2011-02-03T08:46:00.000-08:00

Hi -
I'm so sorry for the delay in getting Webinar #4 - A Plethora of Pictures posted to the website. It is finally up today with decent sound quality. I truly appreciate your patience. Click Here to get to the Webinar Challenge Page on our site.
Many of you asked about the storage boxes I use for photos. I use a 16qt Sterlite box. It is a little larger than your average photo storage box which allows me to use the 8.5x11 sheets of paper to separate my photo groups. They really work well. I'm sure I bought them at Target, but the Sterlite brand is very common so you should be able to find them anywhere.
Here's the image from the Photo Organization Webinar presentation.

Hope to see you all next Tuesday!

Tiffany

Update on the Border Hoarder

2011-01-24T20:49:00.000-08:00

Hi Ladies -
I got an update from Jean our friendly neighborhood, self-descibed, Borderline Horder. Here's the latest from her double-scrap rooms. I've included some images below. Click on them to enlarge.

Hi Tif!
I made some tremendous strides this past weekend. Like many others, I to had today (MLK day) off so I concentrated on my two craft rooms PLUS my bedroom which was holding "overflow" of materials. I still don't have everything in its proper place, but I have at least gotten boxes filled with embellishments galore plus other scrapbooking/cardmaking goodies. I have them stacked up in one corner so now I will be able to take out one box at a time and either find a home for the articles in my scraprack, place them in a labeled drawer or purge (oh no...did I say purge??? good grief). I can now actually walk...yes, walk into the rooms! I have also found more numbered stamps I had done on computer paper and have placed them in page protectors and straight into the scraprack. My next accomplishment was sorting through the mounds of 12x12 paper. I have sorted them into colors (plain ones at least) as well as those specialty papers into sections (Christmas, Halloween, Valentine day, etc) for the calendar section. Currently I plan on putting the fewer ones (V-day, b-day) into the scraprack. I will next have to go through the mountain of mixed papers which contain swirls, dots, lines, flowers, etc and match them up to a primary color section.
I feel really, really good about what I got accomplished these past three days!! yippee for me!!! Oh, and I have placed a great deal of ribbon spools on a large door mounted old fashioned canned goods rack I purchased at an antique store. There are 6 shelves on this thing that'll hold more than enough space for ribbon.
I will check in tomorrow for the webinar...hopefully I'll get on to listen. I don't have a microfone attached to my computer, but I can use the clapping hands...thats for sure!
Jean

Jean's Paper Stamp catalog, empty shelves and labeled stamp boxes.

Hi Tif!

The Christmas/New Years holiday slowed me down, but I did manage to put a small, okay, tiny, dent in my organization. I have now captured 1576+ stamps and have the majority of them in their categories. As you can see, Christmas area is doing well followed up by Halloween, Thanksgiving and then my beloved pigs! I had to have a section of pig stamps all by themselves. I love, love, love pigs! I have also been able to get a good start on the paper and instruction manual area as well.

I must say that I have had to take breaks from the stamps from time to time because it feels so overwhelming. Hence why the paper started getting organized by colors. I think however, I may reconsider and start putting them by theme/calendar instead. I tend to over-think the process. I am still feeling my way around what works best for me.
I am looking forward to your challenge coming up and am interested in what the others will share as well. I am always open for suggestions...I have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
The pics are of my Christmas stamp/embellishment area, asst. fibers I found and then of my paper/book wall. I still have my previous stamp wall which is located in my second craft room. That hasn't changed. I can however, lay claim to fame that the closet in the second room has been cleaned out and all craft items have found homes in my drawers or with others! Success comes in small steps.
So, thanks for all the hints and I look forward to further help. I see there are others out there with the same tasks to undertake. Baby steps is all I can say......and lots of breaks!
Take care. Jean aka borderhoarder
Oh, by the way, I am a member of a monthly card/stamp club so those stamps just keep multiplying! eeekk!

Ode to my ScrapRack by Julianne S.

2011-01-20T13:54:00.000-08:00

Hi Ladies -
I got this wonderful email and thought I would share it with you all.
Tif

All my life I dreamed of a room dedicated to crafting and when the dream was realized, I was so disappointed that I couldn't stand to be in there since the room was a huge mess. I tried bins, but then had to haul half a closet out to figure out which bin things were in. I'd get frustrated, go buy something that I "knew" I already had and then haul everything to work on my project into the kitchen since I'd made a huge mess in the craft room and didn't want to have to clean it up prior to starting.
I found out about your product when another user recommended it to me. I was asking in an online chat room for the best way to organize scrapbooking supplies, and was told that this was the best way - hands down. I watched your video on YouTube and fell completely in love with the whole concept. I only received it about a week ago and have literally incorporated almost an entire closet into the space at the top shelf of my waist-high bookcase.
I have almost finished loading my entire scrapbooking collection into the scraprack and it's amazing how much fit. I was absolutely shocked to realize how much duplication there was in there - what a waste of money! I think it will probably pay for itself just by helping locate something so quickly and keeping me from running to the store for something that I have and can't find.
I was double checking my system (to be sure that it matched your system - you genius you) when I saw online about the knitting needles and crochet hooks. WOW! What a great idea! I immediately went online and ordered an additional base and spinders. That will be my next project and section when they arrive. Guess I'll be ordering additional pockets for that, too! LOL
Today as I was reviewing your ideas again, it came to me that I could copy the fronts of my over 100 sewing patterns and put them into the scraprack, too. Since I have a ton of now-empty bins, I think I'll do like you did for the stamps. I'll just mark down which number bin that pattern is in and Viola! I'll find it. This also solves another problem for me. When the pattern has a jacket and a skirt, where do you file it? I plan to make separate sections on spinders for jackets and skirts and "AHA" I can make two copies file it in both and easily figure out what my options are. Another frustration and money saver. Plus I'll only have to hunt through one bin!
Needless to say, I am delighted with my scraprack and excited to see what uses other cross-crafters have found for it. I know that I will be much happier spreading out on my craft room table - now that I can see it! :) Your clever little invention has helped me realize my craft-room dream!
Did I say thank you? Please accept my sincere thanks - you have really improved my life. Turns out that crafting as a relaxing hobby was stressing me out. But no longer - I feel like I should have a party just so I can show this baby off! LOL
Julianne S.

Scrapbook supply Storage and Organization Questions

2011-01-20T09:39:00.000-08:00

I've gotten so many questions since we started the Organization Challenge, that I thought I would share the questions and answers right here on my blog. Please feel free to share this information with your scrapping/crafting pals who might need a little help getting organized.

Question - Verticle Storage vs. Shelf Storage
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 11:06 PM
Subject: storing paper
Hi,
I've been following the webinars but I'm still a little confused -- is the best way to store paper vertical or horizontal? I had been using paper trays but after viewing yesterdays webinar perhaps vertical would be easier. I also want to let you know that you have inspired me to reorganize my scrap room!
Thank you,
Joyce

Answer from Tiffany

Hi Joyce -
Thanks so much for taking the time to write. I find that vertical storage is MUCH easier. It allows easier access to your paper, better visibility, and you can actually take an entire box off your shelf and put it right next to you on your table without taking up 12x12 inches of table space. So, for example if you're working on Christmas, you would just grab the box with Christmas papers in it and set that on your work table, or if you're going to a crop, put the whole box into your crop tote, when you come home you just put the box right back on the shelf where it came from. I hope this all makes sense, I tend to get a bit long winded on the subject of organization.
I'm so delighted to hear you're inspired. It is one of the reasons I love my job. This webinar has been really fun for me.
Let me know if you have any further questions,
Tif

Tiffany Spaulding

aka The ScrapRack Lady

http://www.thescraprack.com/

Organization Challenge Update and Reminder

2011-01-16T22:43:00.000-08:00

Hi All -
Our next Organization Challenge Webinar is Tuesday morning at 10:00 am PST. If you haven't signed up - here's a link: Org Challenge Sign Up.
We'll post the details on the website Tuesday afternoon, so if you can't join us live you can visit the website to watch the recorded version. Get Organized Challenge Update Page - Click Here.
I know lots of you are participating in our Facebook Group. For those of you who are not, here are some of the posting from FB.
Tif

Webinar #1 – Get Ready to Get Organized

1-16-2011

i wasn't able to attend the "live" webinar but I have just finished watching it. And, we would love to have you move to Texas! See you in San Marcos at the CKC! I am working on and almost finished with Challenge #1! Thanks for all of your help for the unorganized people of the scrapping world!

1-15-2011

Shelly VanWormer 2:48pm Jan 15
A question was asked in the webinar about "if the scraprack fits in the Crop in Style XXL?'
Yes, I use my scraprack in my totes on a regular basis.

Jean Stanislawski Middleton 2:22pm Jan 15

I have completed the first challenge. Lots to organize! Grateful for the help!
Hi Tiffany, Well for some reason I wasn't sure how to post this photos to the group site. Not sure if I have not been approved yet so cant or just dumb. Not super savvy with facebook groups. Anyway, I have attached a couple photos if you want to post. I have completed Challenge #1 and very excited to see where it all ends.

Carrie Buck

Jozan Holdren posted in 2011 Get Organized Challenge Group.
Jozan Holdren 6:32am Jan 15

WOW am I excited to get started! Thank you for the Great Challenge and Lessons! I was unable to join the class live due to work, so, last night I got to watch! I am so excited about getting started- I have already got my Purge Box ready, Read Artcle 4 this Morning and gathering "Everything" around the house! Thank you for this great challenge!

Paula McLane Jennings commented on your link.

Paula wrote: "How do you fit your 4 scrapracks on the metal carts? I have 2 regular units with 2 expansions but I can't picture doing that in 22 inches long. Since they are 13 inches wide do the units fit on top or is there a lip around each shelf?"

Bev Kirschner Braun
12:57pm Jan 14

I have completed all of the challenge items except evaluating my space and tools. I have an entire room (12 X 26) with all kinds of craft supplies stacked everywhere. I use another smaller space for actually scrapbooking and card making. My goal is to organize and purge enough stuff to use just the ScrapRack System and one cabinet that is 72" X 40" X 20" for things that won't fit that system. Lofty goal, but I have several outlets for my purge boxes so I believe I can do this.

Pam Petty Martin
11:43am Jan 14

I will be working on the 1st challenge this weekend. It's been too busy for me this week to even do anything yet. I am looking forward to doing this and hopefully keeping it that way. I finally broke down an ordered my scraprack last week, after pondering over it for two years, and it's supposed to be delivered today. I am so excited!

Jean Stanislawski Middleton 11:40am Jan 14

Struggling to understand why I need a calendar section and a theme section. Why can't I just have Christmas/Winter as a theme rather than in the calendar section?

Tif’s Answer: You need to have a calendar year for a couple of reasons. The first is that usually “seasonal” products work within the holidays that fall within the season. So, for example, if you put Easter under “E”, Mother’s Day under “M” and Spring under “S”, you’d have things spread literally from beginning to end in your ScrapRack (or file totes, or whatever tool you’re using). If you put all of those things together in one place within the calendar year – Spring, they will all be together in one place. So when you want to scrap “Easter” you’ll also be easily able to see the Spring papers, stickers, embellishments, etc. that might work well with your Easter pages. This becomes especially important if you are going to a Crop or Class and you want to work on Spring Pages. Because all of your Spring supplies are stored together you can easily gather up what you need to go to the crop/class. I hope this all makes sense, we’ll talk more about it as we begin more of the actual task of physically organizing our stuff.

Mary Ann Belette Mahan
11:24am Jan 14

Finished Challenge 1 and have my themes list done. I hope this challenge will help me organize my stuff.

Sandy Parpart
11:16am Jan 14

This week has been challenging for me because of my migraines. I have printed off the "Challenge 1" sheet, gathered my supplies to my studio and of course joined this group. My husband LOVES the idea of purging and even offered to get me a BIG purge box. I've only been a scrapbooker/cardmaker for a couple years, but I have been a crafter for over 25 years. My studio is a compilation of just about every craft I enjoy. It is hard making "zones" and keeping thing organized without being overwhelmed in the space. I'm really hoping this "challenge" will help.

Angela Monn Taber
11:03am Jan 14

Here is a link to my album of pre-organization photos. Keep in mind that these photos were taken in October 2010 so alot has happened since then, and I am still organizing. So some of the challenges that we will be doing are just a continued work in progress. I have been scraping for 9 years now and have horded a lot of things. I have also given away several boxes of purged material to Girl Scout troops in my area. I still have yet another purge box started for the challenge so maybe I can get back to scraping by the end of the month.

Scrapspace Organization
Janet Zimmerman Hamilton
7:29am Jan 14

This is a "new" beginning for me, as I've had my scraprack for seven years. My goal, though, is to re-organize so that I'm able to take my rack with me to crops--just recently purchased the Office Depot crate. I've just finished purging my stash and gave them to a neighbor. She and her daughter will use the items for church youth projects.

Hi!

I finished the first challenge this afternoon. I hadn't realized how goofy my theme order has been in my scrap rack. It will be nice to reorganize it so it makes a little more sense.

Nancy Evans

Hi Tiffany,

I watched the video today. (Missed because I had it on my calendar as 1 instead of 10 - duh!) It was great. I have my theme index done, have been gathering stuff from all over, and have all of my themes in the spinders. I am doing a little bit every night. I have stamped every stamp on a piece of paper and put it in the associated theme and have done the same with my punches. Now I am struggling with where you put all the buttons/brads/etc. that are multi-colored, and the patterned papers. For example, do stripes go with stripes or with the predominant color of the stripe? So my pretty pink and green paper - is it pink or green or striped? Or, do I put the pink stripes, dots, and florals all together. The buttons are pink, and green, and blue, and red. I don't know what to do with any of them. Also, how about tags and frames and shapes? Right now I have a theme called Shapes and all the stars, hearts, tags, and frames are in there, but may not be such a good solution. So many decisions!!!! I am assuming you will get to all of that in the webinars.

I still can barely get in my scrapbook room, but the Scrap Rack is starting to take shape. Yea!!!!

Thanks so much for initiating the webinar. This is beyond helpful.

Thanks,

Sarah

Hi, Tiffany --

Your webinar really inspired me to get serious about organization. Am working on the checklist; however, I won't be doing the Facebook or uploading any photos. I've got a good friend who is my "cheerleader" -- in fact we're both working on organizing our supplies.

Will tune in next week at which time all of my assignment will be completed.

Thanks for your support.

Sally

Michele Leggett
6:58pm Jan 11

I did it. I have completed Challenge #1!!! In all fairness, I had a head start as I had a big party over the holidays and had to at least get all my scrapbooking stuff together and into my space (for once it was not spread out all over my house). I only had to open a couple boxes I received several months ago and get that stuff down there. Also, I have boxes of mixed supplies where I "cleaned and organized" for this party, but it is all in my space and I am pretty sure it is everything!!! Can not wait to get this done. I am ready to move to a mental place where my space actually draws and inspires me to work. Thanks a bunch!

The Get Organized Challenge has started!!

2011-01-14T10:52:00.000-08:00

Hi Crafters -
Well the 2011 Get Organized Challenge Webinar Series has gotten off to a great start. We've posted the Webinar and all the information/worksheets/challenges, etc to a special page on our website. Here's a link to the page if you want to check it out - Click Here.
We've also started a Facebook Group to facilitate communication and support. You can join the group on our facebook page if you want to stay in the loop. Here's a link - click here.
This week we focused on "getting ready to get organized" and how to insure you can meet your goals. We created "Big Benefit" reminder boards and Rewards Charts. We were also challenged to find all the supplies we have stashed around the house and to create a "Themes" list to help in the organization process.
You can watch the full Webinar on our website and also register to join us for future webinars. One of the most important things about creating a resolution is to set yourself up for success. We started the Webinar with this discussion and talked about how the 2011 Challenge was designed for success. I hope you'll take a few minutes to view the Webinar and make your resolution a reality this year.
Here' a picture of my Big Benefit Reminder Board.
Thanks for checking in on us here at the ScrapRack Get Organized Blog.
Tiffany

2011 Organization Challenge - Registration Link

2011-01-08T16:09:00.000-08:00

Hi Ladies -
If you haven't received the link to the Get Organized Webinar - Here it is. This was sent out last week. Please use this to get yourself registered. After registering you'll get an email with a link to login to the Webinar on Tuesday. Please login a few minutes early so you can figure out how to operate your dashboard. I should be logged in by 9:45 to help anyone who needs it.
Click Here to Register Now.
Looking forward to seeing you (hearing you :-) ) on Tuesday,
Tiffany

Cheering Lanie On - You Go Girl!!!

2010-12-31T09:06:00.000-08:00

Hi Scrappers -
We've got another Scrapper on a mission to get organized who is willing to share her struggles and success. Please take a moment to visit her Blog and cheer her on as she tackles her organization challenge.
You Go Girl - http://www.love2scrap-n-crop.com/blog/
Tiffany

Inspired to Get Organized

2010-12-21T08:55:00.000-08:00

Hi All -
Thanks so much for all of the positive feedback about the 2011 Get Organized Challenge. I'm looking forward to working with all of you in the coming months. This morning I got an email from one of our Customers, Terri M. about what to do with her "PURGE". For those of you who aren't familiar with that term as it relates to Craft Organization, it's all the stuff you have, that you will never use. Terri found a joyful home for her "Purged" items at Ronald McDonald House. Whether you're taking the Challenge or not, this is a great time to think about giving. For most of us, knowing we are doing something that helps others can make a painful task a little, sometimes a lot, easier. Over the next couple of weeks I'm challenging you to find a good home for your "Purge." Make a personal commitment to donate, and then tell someone you're going to do it, write it down for everyone to see. Be BOLD!!!

2011 Organization Challenge

2010-12-17T09:38:00.000-08:00

Hello Crafters -
We've set up our schedule for the Get Organized Challenge. As you may already know it will begin on Tuesday, January 11th at 10:00am (pst).
Before I commit to a topic schedule, Karen suggested I ask you what you found most difficult when it comes to getting organized.
If you're facing specific challenges please email me or comment here on the blog and let me know. While there are some standard things to cover, we want to be sure this challenge is genuinely helpful to all of you.
Looking forward to your input,
Tiffany
TSpaulding@TheScrapRack.com

The Get Organized Challenge is ON!!!

2010-12-12T15:29:00.000-08:00

We've had a GREAT response to the Get Organized Challenge. We'll begin the 15 minute webinars on Tuesday, January 11th at 1:00pm EST (10am PST). If you haven't put in your information for an invitation, please follow this link and complete the small form at the end of the page. This will insure you get an invitation with the login codes you'll need to join the Webinar. We hope to start promptly at 1:00, so please feel free to login a few minutes early and introduce your self.
Here's a link to the Invitation Page - click here.
Remeber, if you can't attend the actual Webinar, you'll be able to get a "recorded" version of the Webinar. This will go out via email to everyone on the list. Please fee free to forward this link on to any of your crafty friends that could use some help getting organized.
Tiffany

Get Organized Webinar

2010-12-05T09:16:00.000-08:00

Hi Crafty Ladies -
We are thinking about hosting a "Get Organized" Webinar beginning in January. We're considering two different formats - a 2 hour, basically "lecture" style event, or a weekly 15 minute event.
The two hour event would be similar to the seminars we teach around the country. The weekly event would be more "project based". We would discuss one particular type of thing and then give out a weekly "assignment" for getting that thing organized. When we met the following week webinar participants could upload photos, discuss challenges, and most importantly Share Success!!!
What are your thoughts? Do you have organizationally challenged crafty friends? We'd love to know what their thoughts are as well so please feel free to share this blog post with them.
Looking forward to hearing what you have to say,
Tiffany

Crop Crate Combo - Available for a limited time

2010-11-20T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hi Crafters -
Are you looking for the perfect way to....
Get to a Crop?
Store your supplies?
Work at the Dining Room Table?

The Crop Crate Combo is EXACTLY what you need!

The Crop Crate is a collapsible rolling tote that will hold all 7 Spinders from your ScrapRack, as well as a base unit and wings. Use it to transport your supplies to a crop, class or friends house. You'll be packed up and ready to go in no time.

Need to store your supplies away when you're not using them? This is the perfect option.

Cropping at your dining room table or other shared space in your home is so easy with the Crop Crate Combo. Learn more now - click here.

Stamp Organization

2010-11-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

Hi Crafters -
We've gotten lots of questions about organizing stamps since we started Blogging Along with Jean the Boarderline Hoarder. Here's a couple of article links. The first is for stamps, the second takes into account a varitey of products that are difficult to organize and remember.
Acrylic Stamp Organization System

Stamps, Punches and Personal Die Cut Systems

Thanks,
Tiffany

Boarder Hoarder Part 2

2010-10-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Crafters -
Well, I've gotten an update and some pictures from Jean. She's so much fun and she's making my job really easy! Here's what she has to say (scroll down to see some pictures):

From Jean
Well, I thought I was close to getting you some more pics, but .....in those closets I found ...yep, more stamps!! OMG! I have tagged 1400 now and still have probably 50 more to go...maybe...give or take. And, those that I thought I could "purge"...well, nope, can't do it because I found out (in the nick of time I might add!! lol) that we are expecting our first "two legged" grandchild next year! We already consider ourselves grandparents since our daughter has a pug named Henry and our son has a blue heeler named Hank. So, those baby, lullaby, cutesy kid stamps will come in handy soon!

Jean's Old Stamp Wall

Jean's New Number Stamp Storage System.

This is definitely a huge, huge project I have undertook and I'm so glad I did my research on the scraprack and attended your class. This system is going to be a tremendous help for me now that I have even more purpose to organize everything properly. The unit(s) are suppose to be arriving tomorrow.
It is amazing now that I have 1400 stamps in photo boxes on my shelves (approx 37 boxes and growing) that I actually "shrunk" them down on paper to 20+ pages for the rack! I numbered them all individually, stamped them on paper, then like paper doll cut-outs, I cut them out and sorted them by calendar, theme, alpha and rainbow, then pasted them onto those particular sheets. This system will definitely knock out the amount of time needed in search of a certain stamp I want to use.
I am attending my last convention this weekend and I'm hoping that they don't have any stamps! I am going to try very, very hard to be "good" and not add to the stock I have. In fact, of the scrapbook paper, stamps (doubles and triples plus those I know I won't be using), trimmers, etc. that I don't require any longer, I am "purging" into a wicker basket and giving it up for the charity auction that we are having at the convention.
Well, that's it from this end. Once all of this is under control, I'll feel so much better...even if it is only half under control!
Take care.
Jean

Learn more about getting your stamps organized. Click here for details.

Meet Jean - The Border Hoarder

2010-10-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

I'd like to switch things up a bit and introduce you to Jean and her adorable dog Inky.

I met Jean (but not Inky) at a recent CK Convention. She had done lots of research on the ScrapRack and signed up to take our seminar so she could get the full story. She sat, as most "A" students do, at the front of the class. As we got into the discussion of storing your supplies, she confessed openly and without reservation "I'm a Borderline Hoarder," "Yes," she said "I'm a BorderHoarder". Her revelation resonated with the class and like any other addiction, we felt compelled to applaud her honesty. Okay, maybe I'm overdoing it a bit. But the truth is, Jean was ready to embark on her own 12 step program to getting organized. She told us that she was following our methods for sorting and organizing her stamps, and that she had gotten through cataloging 1300 - YES 1300 stamps just before coming to the Convention. I'm going to blog about Jean and her progress as she organizes not 1 but 2 craft rooms. Please check back periodically to see how she's doing, offer encouragement and perhaps you'll find yourself motivated to follow in her footsteps.

Inspired to Scrap!!!

2010-09-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Okay - this whole process has really inspired me to Scrap. As I've been working on this room, we've had a set of pictures pulled out to use in the photos of the room going together. Today, I finally sat down at the desk and did a bit of scrapping.

For those of you who know me well, you know my father passed away almost 3 years ago. I've been moving this pile of pictures around for the last year, trying to find time to turn it into a layout that conveyed the silly, fun, loving man my father was. He was a wonderful grandfather to my boys and an incredible husband to my mother. I decided to keep the layout simple - like sunshine. I didn't actually get time to "glue" it together, but here's the almost finished, first work of art from my new Scrapbook Room.

The light is a little bit "wonky", but you get the idea.

Thanks so much for taking a break from the "getting the room" together series with me. I'll be back on track with photo storage and printer set up soon.

Happy Crafting,

Tif

Keeping things Visible and Accessible

2010-08-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

This whole experience has been so much fun. Especially sharing it with all of you. I'm finally putting the details together and creating a space that really functions.

This is the view from behind my desk. As I've mentioned in previous posts, my goal is to keep my desktop clear so I'll have lots of room to work without burying anything. To that end I've put lots of thought into making the space below the desk function efficiently.

Rolling Cart to the right

The rolling cart which slides in to my right when I'm working is where I have all of my "every time" necessities. Things like; adhesives, scissors, basic chalks, etc. I haven't filled all the little baskets. Once I start scrapping I want to be able to have space available for things that I may have forgotten or possibly new things I'll discover at the next SB Show. (YIPEE!!!)

I love having thing on wheels! They offer the maximum in accessibility. I can roll the cart up close or push it easily under the desk if I don't need it. I used the baskets instead of just putting things into the cart itself. The baskets make it easy to move things around. Once I start using the desk to actually Scrap, I may want to rearrange the items.

Hanging Baskets to my left.

This is another area where access to things I use all the time was the motivator. My blue CM personal photo trimmer is probably the most used tool in my collection. It's easy to get to and easy to put away. Even though I use it all the time, it doesn't have to sit on the desk top and take up space or get buried.
The second tier of this hanging basket (IKEA) was the perfect place to put the photos I'll be using on my current project. Again, they are right at my fingertips, but they won't get buried under my "creative" mess.

Putting the photos into the small purple basket makes it easy to grab them all at once.
I was even able to hang my favorite pair of scissors through the grid on the basket - those won't get buried either! Ahhh...I'm rapidly approaching scrapper's heaven!
Thanks for following along. I'm looking forward to reading your comments.
Happy Crafting!
Tif

Chipboard Organization in our new Crop Room

2010-08-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

The Chipboard Challenge - How to keep bulky chipboard organized, visible and accessible?

Hmmm....love my chipboard, but sometimes I forget that I have it. It was stashed away in a drawer where it was "out of site, out of mind." Other than a note in the Alpha Numeric section of my ScrapRack I didn't have any reference to it. Enter the old "Sticker Stadium." Many of you have seen this tool before. At one time I used it on my desktop for tools. Since my goal with this crop room was to keep the desktop clear I emptied this out as a tool bin and VOILA! it was the perfect place for chipboard. I don't think this particular item is still available, but I think you can get something similar at the Container Store or Storables for use with cosmetics.

The first thing I did was sort my chipboard by sizes.

I've got lots of small alphabets, quite a few 10" letters and several 12x12 sheets of themed chipboard.

Once sorted, I put the smaller pieces in the front of the container, and then filled in the center by size and finished up with the 12x12 sheets.

The finished container makes an easy to see, easy to access file system. I can simply flip through the chipboard letters to find exactly what I need. In keeping with my philosophy about having things easy to move around, I placed this container on the open shelf next to my desk so I can bring it out when I need it, but it's still visible so I'll remember I've got it and I'll actually use it. Imagine that!

Thanks so much for visiting out Blog. I've got another entry coming up very soon. We don't have a show until next week so I've got a little extra time to finish up and I'm really excited.

Getting moved into our cheery new crop room! - 3rd Entry

2010-07-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

The first thing in was my ScrapRack of course. I brought in a small shelving unit from my old office and placed it at an angle at the end of my work desk. My goal with this space is to leave the actual work space on my desk as clean as possible so I'll have lots of room to create! I've only added a couple of Spinders back onto the ScrapRack. I'm going through them again, page by page to be sure I've "purged" everyting I don't need.

I used the shelves under my ScrapRack to hold my Paper Storage Boxes

As part of my plan to keep everything off the desk top, I used a "purse hanger" (you know, one of those things you're supposed to use to hang your purse off a table when you're out to dinner) to hang my favorite paper trimmer off the edge of my desk. It's accessible, its visible, it's easy to get to, and there's no way it can get buried. HOOORAY for that!

Pens, Pencils, Scissors, Rulers.....these items present a huge problem for visbility, accessiblity, and still avoiding stuff on the desk top. I filled this adorable plant stand with plastic "terra-cotta" looking planters. Then I filled each planter with the items listed above. It's easy to see all of them, and when I want to use them, I just pull the "planter" from rack and set it on my desk top. When I'm finished, it's easy to put away

I still haven't filled the shelves or cabinets yet. I'll be working on those this next week, We're gong to the Santa Clara Scrapbook Expo next weekend, so that could slow me down. It you're planning on attending, please stop by the booth and say HOWDY!

Thanks for joining me on my quest to be organized!

Tiffany

Giant Flowers and Bright Curtains

2010-07-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Oh, we're getting so close. The flowers are painted and the curtains are hung! It is really starting to look good. It's amazing what you can accomplish in a clean space with a few jars of paint!

One of our goals with this project was to try and keep it as inexpensive as possible. We spent about $25 on paint. The bright colored shear curtains were purchased at Big Lots for just $5 each panel.

Now that the painting is done, it's time to start moving in. Please check back in a day or two and see what progress we've made.

Tif

Crop Room at the Office Next Step

2010-07-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

Okay -
We finally decided on a bright and cheery room with Fun Flowers!!! I know for many of you this doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but I am the only female inhabitant in my house, so "girly" things are few and far between. Today we took the doors off the cupboards. When you're creatiing a work space, you want to have everything easily accessible. If you remove the doors from your cabinets, not only are the items stored there more accessible, your less likely to resort to the "cram and close" method of storage.

This is me in my TomBoy Tool Belt - it has a pocket that is perfect for holding my camera - taking doors off cabinets.

This is the adorable PJ - my mom's darling dog, she was a huge help.

Here's mom, artist at large, designing the big flowers for our crop room walls.

These are all the colors we're using, The Tootsie Rolls were our lunch of choice.

Okay, we're off to a good start. Please check back in with us in a day or two to see how this Crop Room is coming along. We do have the Puyallup Scrapbook Expo at the end of the week, so that may put me behind on the blogging but I'll do my best.

Thanks for checking in!

Tif

Finally a Crop Room at the office!!!

2010-07-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

HOORAY - We've finally got space at the office to create a Crop Room. I'm not sure if that's good or bad - I might have trouble getting my work done if I can slip into the room next door and Scrap.
Anyway, we thought this would be a great way to show you how we put some of what we preach into practice. So I'll be Blogging along as we get this room ready to use. Here are the first couple of pictures of the room.

Pic #1 EVERYTHING OUT
I started by gathering all the Scrapbook Supplies together and putting them into a separate room. If you're creating a new room or space I would certainly recommend this. It's ugly, but it makes things so much easier when it's time to start putting things away.

Pic #2 - MY PURGE BOX

If you've taken our seminar or watched our video, you know that I'm a huge advocate of "purging" your supply stash on a regular basis. This was a great opportunity to "purge." I had a whole box of supplies that the art teacher at my boy's school was delighted to receive.

Pic #3 - OUR NEW ROOM WITH A DESK

The new room is actually too big to be an efficient scrapbook room. Again, if you've taken my seminar or watched the video, you know I strongly believe that having everything within "arms reach" or should I say "rolling chair reach" is one of the biggest keys to getting scrapping done with as little frustration as possible. In order to make this "big" room "small" we used an "L" shaped desk. The cabinets were already here. They are kind of a funky set up, so we'll have to see what we can do to make them more user friendly.

What happens next?

Next we go to Atlanta for the Scrapbook Expo. When we get back we'll decide how to decorate and then we'll start the painting and decorating process. That's the fun stuff. I hope you'll find time to check back in the week after the Atlanta show and see how things are coming along.

Thanks for visiting our Blog,

Tif

Embellishment Organization

2010-06-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

If you haven't added your Embellishments to your ScrapRack now is the time to do it. The ScrapRack is designed to hold all types of crafting supplies, not just the "flat stuff." If you haven't moved your Brads, Eyelets, Glitter, Beads,....into your ScrapRack System, you aren't getting maximum use of your investment. The Embellishment Storage page is a perfect place for your "heavy" embellishments, the Dream Dozen Page will store literally dozens of brads, eyelets, beads... and the WrapAround Ribbon and Fiber Cards will keep all of your ribbons and fibers, tangle-free and accessible.
Read up on Embellishment Organization on our website - Here's a link to a brief article on embellishments.

Jewelry and Beading Organization

2010-06-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for a great way to organize your Jewelry and Beading Supplies?

The ScrapRack is the perfect answer.

You can group your beading/Jewelry making supplies by Color and Style. Group your findings by Gold/Silver, etc.
Use small ziplock bags for your beads and finding then slip them into our pocket pages. We used the Dream Dozen Page in the example below, but the Embellishment Storage Pages would work equally well. We also slipped our tray into a SuperSized Single Pocket. It worked great.
When you're ready to create all of your products will be visible and accessible.
Try designating a single page for each project you're working on. This will keep eveyrthing in one place so when you're ready to create you're organized and ready to go! If you like to craft away from home, you can easily take your jewelry and beading tools with you in a TravelPack.

Rulers, Journaling, Self-Healing Mat - Put them in your ScrapRack

2010-06-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

Okay Crafters -
Are you looking for a place to store your rulers, templates, maybe a small self-healing mat? Why not slip them into a ScrapRack Storage page? I slipped my rulers into a Four-in-a-Row page, my self-healing mat into a SuperSized Single and my journaling grids into a Mix-n-Match. I put the pages onto a Spinder and put them all onto my ScrapRack.
When I pack up for a crop or class, I've got them in my Crop Crate with all my other supplies. It's just so easy.

If you're looking for the best way to get to a Crop or Class with your supplies, the a Crop Crate from office depot with our Crop Crate Apron could be the perfect solution. It's a simple way to pack everything quickly and easily, with the bounce of the lid on the Crop Crate working as an additional table top. It's perfect.

Want to learn more about the ScrapRack? Click here to visit our Watch and Learn Page.

Stamp Organization - Step by Step

2010-05-31T09:11:00.000-07:00

Organizing your unmounted acrylic stamps

with The ScrapRack Multi-Craft

4 Step Process

Go from Piles to Pages – Easy, Accessible and Compact!

This article is available with more images on our website - click here to view it now.

Unmounted acrylic stamps have made stamping more popular than ever. Acrylic stamps are more affordable, clear acrylic blocks make stamping easier and new manufacturers are consistently presenting us with great new designs. Before your stamping hobby gets overwhelming and becomes an organization frustration, establish a good system for organizing your stamps. Once the system is in place it will be easy to stick with it and stay organized. Follow these steps to incorporate your acrylic stamps into your ScrapRack System. (If you’ve got wood mounted stamps we’ll help you with those too – there are some tips for incorporating mounted stamps at the end of this article.)

Just have a few stamps? Scroll to the bottom of the article to learn what to do with them.

Step #1 – Create an Index of Stamp Themes A-Z

Before you start sorting and organizing it’s important to have a basic outline of the categories of stamps you own. Think of them in 3 major groups:
Letters, Numbers, and Punctuations Marks – Basically Alphabet Sets
Seasons and Holidays – Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Themes A-Z – Different for every stamper
The first and second categories are easy, the first consists mostly of Alphabet Stamp Sets and the Second is exactly as it is labeled, Holidays and Seasons. In most cases you’ll have the holidays mixed right in with the seasonal stamps. The third category though requires a bit of thought and creating an Index will make it easier to categorize them. You’ll find that many of your stamps will fit in multiple categories. Your Themes A-Z Index might look something like this:

Baby
Beach
Birthday
Boys
Camping
Cooking
Family
Girls
Patterns
Shapes
Sports
Travel
Words
Here’s a common question, why not just incorporate your Seasonal and Holiday stamps into your Themes A-Z Stamps? Well, much like using a ScrapRack for Scrapbooking and Cardmaking, you want to keep things together you would use together. So if you put Winter Stamps together under “W” they would no longer be next to Christmas Stamps which would then be under “C”, there’s a good chance that something you have for Christmas might also work on a Winter project – by putting your holidays in with the seasons, you’ll see all the stamps you have that might work for a particular project.
Step 2 – Label sheets of 12x12 cardstock with the name of each category.
You’ll most likely need more than one labeled sheet for some categories, but you can start with just one and then add more as you need them. You can also use 8 ½ x 11 paper, I prefer 12x12 because you can get more images on each page.
Step 3 – Get your ScrapRack Pocket pages numbered.
The easiest way to number your pocket pages is to use File Folder labels from the office supply store. I cut the labels in half. I found that most stamps fit into one of 3 ScrapRack Pages, the Dream Dozen (12) for smaller stamps, the Perfect Six (6) for medium sized stamp sets, the Fabulous Four (4) – Ideal for CTMH stamp sets.
I assigned numbers to each pocket using the number of pockets on a page as the first digit(s) of the number. This is important because you want to fill all the pockets in numerical order. The subject matter of the stamp is NOT important, just the size. This will allow you the best and most economical use of your storage pages. You can also “double-up” that is, label both sides of the pocket front and back so you can put 2 stamps in each pocket. This does create a heavier page, but it is more economical.
Put all your numbered pocket pages onto a Spinder.

Insert your stamps into the numbered pocket pages based on size.
Step 4 – Begin cataloging and numbering your stamps.
Begin cataloging with the first stamp in the first pocket. Stamp an impression of the stamp on each of the labeled catalog sheets where the stamp might fit the category – i.e. if you have a stamp that is a “wrapped gift box” - this stamp would work in Birthday, Baby, Graduation, Wedding, Christmas,… You’ll want to stamp it out on each of the catalog pages. Next to each impression write the number of the pocket where the stamp will be stored. Clean the stamp and return it to its pocket. Rather than stamp the images I photocopied them and then pasted them onto the sheets. If you’re going to do this, I recommend copying them at full size. However, stamping them is faster and more efficient.

Once you’ve stamped all the images everywhere they might possibly be appropriate, slip the 12x12 Catalog sheet into Super Sized Single Pages and put them on a Spinder. Now you’ve got a complete catalog of all your stamps. When you need to find a particular stamp, flip to that Theme or Holiday and the numbered image will tell you exactly where to find the stamp.

Adding new stamps to your system.
Each time you purchase a new stamp, add an impression of it to your Catalog Sheets. Remember to stamp in every category where it might be appropriate.
This new stamp is going to fill the next available pocket in the appropriate size pocket page. Add the pocket number to the stamped image, put the stamp in the pocket and you’re done. Easy.

What are the benefits to this organization system?
First you’ll be able to find them more quickly and easily.
Using the ScrapRack pocket pages makes your stamps more visible and accessible, which in turn makes them easier to use, and easier to put away. This will translate into using them more, having more fun, and getting more done, when you do have time to stamp.

When you go to a crop or class, rather than taking your entire stamp collection, you can easily take just the stamps you know you are going to want to use. If you don’t know which stamps you want to use, just take your catalog pages and some sticky notes. Create your page or project, and leave a space where you want to add a stamp from your catalog. Using one of the sticky notes, write the number of the stamp and put the sticky note on the space on your project. When you get home you can finish the project. You won’t have had to haul all of your stamps, tools, inks, etc. with you, but will have had all of your choices available.
If you’re attending a stamping event, like a CTMH event, or you’re headed to the stamp/craft store, you can take just your catalog with you. That way you’ll be able to compare what you want to purchase with what you’ve already got – you’ll spend more wisely, buying stamps that compliment rather than duplicate what you already own.
Adding in your MOUNTED Stamps
With mounted stamps, you would follow the same procedure of grouping your stamps by size, writing a number on the edge of the wood block and then storing them numerically in drawers or totes. Add the images of the mounted stamps to the catalog sheets in the appropriate categories. You may want to use the letter M in front of the numbers so you can easily identify that stamp image as one you will find in the “M”ounted stamp container.

What if you just have a few stamps?
There are many crafters who just have a few stamps and don’t intend to become a more serious “stamper.” If you’re just an occasional stamper, you can store your stamps right in with all of your other Scrapbooking/Papercrafting supplies in your ScrapRack. Just slip the stamp into a pocket page in the appropriate section of your ScrapRack. If the stamp has multiple uses, like the gift box stamp mentioned previously, just stamp out a few impressions on plain paper. Note on the paper where you’ve got the stamp stored, i.e. “see birthday section” and slip the stamped impressions into pockets in the appropriate sections. Now when you look in your Christmas Section, Wedding Section, or Graduation Section, you’ll see an impression of the stamp, you’ll be reminded that you’ve got it, and chances are you’ll get more use out of it. Who knows, you may even be inspired to become a full fledged “Stamper.”

Tips and Tricks

Read this article on our website to see more images - click here.
If your stamp came in a package that had a background card with the image of the stamp printed on the card. Use the card as the background in the storage pockets.

To make it easier to put stamps away when you’re done with them, write the pocket number on the thin sheet of plastic that holds yours stamp set together. We’ve done it at the top of this stamp. It’s number – 6102

If you’ve got a stamp on loan to a friend, put a reminder note in the pocket where the stamp belongs. Indicate on the note to whom and when you lent it out.

If you’re using CTMH stamps, use the lightweight foam pad they come packaged with in the pocket with the stamp. Not only does it provide and extra layer of protection, it also keeps your stamp from sliding around in the pocket.

While you’re working with your storage pages keep them on a Spinder, but off your ScrapRack. This will make the easy to load but keep them from “slipping” around.

Get your Glue Dots, Pop Dots, and other Adhesives Organized

2010-05-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Hi Scrapper's -

We've spent the last couple of weeks moving into our new offices. One really nice thing about our new space is that we've got a separate "scrapping" room. Imagine having a place to crop while you're at work (this could be dangerous). Anyway, as I began moving into this new scrapping space, (which gave me a chance to PURGE), I had a great idea - I think it was a great idea, you might feel differently. I had always kept all of my adhesives together. As I was rearranging and reorganizing, I thought, why not put all those flat adhesives into a couple of storage pages, that way, I would be able to see them without digging through the pile. So I did, and it worked great. I took my Pop Dots, Glue Dots, Foam Squares, and a bunch of other flat adhesives and put them into a couple of pages. then I added plain self adhesive photo corners and my small clear "memorabilia" envelopes, you know the type that you put baby teeth, or hair into. I have to say, not only can I see what I've got, I can see how much of it I've got. I think it's giong to work out well. Here are a couple of pictures. I used the new Mix-N-Match page and the Fabulous Four. Let me know your thoughts. This also makes it really easy to take them to a crop!

Need your opinion - New TravelPack Colors

2010-05-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

It's time to choose new colors for the fall TravelPack collection. What do you think? Here's what we're considering:
Black on Black with the embroidery color Gold, Silver or Pearl White
Lavender/Purple - we've done this before
Dark Pink / Light Pink with Dark Pink embroidery

Which color combo do you like?
Do you have an idea for a different color combo?

Post your comments and let me know.

THANKS!! - Tiffany

Use your ScrapRack for Knitting and Crochet

2010-05-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

Most crafters are what is affectionately referred to in the crafting industry as "Cross-Crafters." No, industry professionals don't think you're an angry bunch, the term refers to crafty people who do multiple-crafts and use products from one category in another. Recently I received the following information from a ScrapRack user who has turned her ScrapRack into a Multi-Craft Storage device by incorporating some of the components for her knitting and crochet. Here's what she has to say:

Hi Tliffany,
Pictures don’t do it justice…

The BEST thing about The ScrapRack is its versatility! I can’t over emphasize that feature… So being an avid crocheter and knitter, it didn’t take me long to determine that I could transform it from a Scrapbooker’s dream to a yarn enthusiast’s one. The different available pages provided and the ability to use other commercially available page protectors have helped me create my own crochet/knitting workstation. A work in progress, I’ve already created one spinder for storing knitting needles, one spinder for crochet hooks (and darning needles, markers, cable makers, etc) and several spinders for sorting categories of patterns. As projects are completed, one spinder is to be used for keeping pictures, snippets of yarn used, yarn laundering instructions, etc.
I have spend several days now collecting needles which were stored all over the house, consolidating patterns and working through the best ways (for me) to organize it all. The only “wish” I would have is that to utilize The ScrapRack for this type of organization the pages would be of the heavier type (like the side opening storage of 12” paper). The other “problem” I ran into was keeping the knitting needles from falling out when I turned the pages.
Now for an ah ha moment! Probably everyone else already knew…but it took me this endeavor to figure out that as I was organizing a spinder, if I took it and laid it on my table and opened it to add pages…other pages didn’t fall out! Never again will I suffer the opening of a spinder to add a page or two only to have have the pages slip off/out of the rings. I always thought I needed an extra hand. (it was the only complaint I ever had with this storage system!)
So…I’ve now taken my original ScrapRack Station and converted it away from Scrapbooking to holding my Card Making …with sections for card layout inspirations, technique directions, completed cards, and random stamped images. And..oh yes,, holding all my “bling”.
Perhaps I can figure out places to put a Scrap Rack to organize Recipes, jewelry, beading supplies (a new craft to start?), oh, the use of the ScrapRack is so vast!
Thanks so much for this flexible tool!
Lynn

As we working to develop our website you'll see lots of new additions to help you as a "Cross-Crafter" if you've got ideas about different ways to use our products we'd love to hear them. Please email them to me at TSpaulding@TheScrapRack.com.

Thanks for checking in!
Happy "Cross-Crafting",
Tiffany

Update on Page Arrival

2010-05-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

To all of you who have been waiting so patiently for our pages to arrive from China. Well, after a couple of crazy delays, our freight company has given us a port arrival date of May 24th. If all goes well with US Customs, we should be able to start shipping the 25th or 26th. Keep your fingers crossed!! This new order does include Embellishment Storage Pages, Super Sized Singles (10 pack and 50 pack), Fabulous Four, mix-n-Match pages and a few others.
Thanks again for hanging in their with us, we know it's bee frustrating.
Tiffany

Join our Absolute Organization Seminar at a Scrapbook Show in your area

2010-05-06T05:54:00.000-07:00

Hi Scrappers and Paper Crafters -
Did you know I get to travel around the country and teach Organization Seminars at the major Scrapbook Shows. If you need help getting your crafting supplies organized I'd love to see you at a seminar. Here's a list of the shows where I'll be teaching. The links will take you to the show home pages. You'll find my seminar listed as Absolute Organization in the workshop listings for each show. We have sold out at a couple of shows already, but some shows haven't started selling tickets yet so they will still be available. If you have Scrap and Craft pals that need help getting organized please forward a link to them.
Looking forward to seeing you in person!
Tif

June 3-5 Great American Scrapbook Show - Arlington, Texas

Creating Keepsakes - Riverside, CA
Absolute Organization Seminar ONLY - June 18, 6:00-7:30 PM

July 8-11 - Atlanta Scrapbook Expo
Booth and Seminar

July 15-17 - Puyallup Scrapbook Expo
Booth and Seminar

August 5-8 - Santa Clara, CA, Scrapbook Expo
Booth and Seminar

August 13-14, Creating Keepsakes - Charlotte, NC
Booth and Seminar

August 25-29 - Creating Keepsakes, Nashville
Booth and Seminar

September 15-19, Creating Keepsakes, San Marcos, TX
Booth and Seminar

October 21-24, Ontario, CA- Scrapbook Expo
Booth and Seminar

November 11-13, Creating Keepsakes, Seattle, WA

GREAT way to organize/control your computer cords

2010-05-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

Hello to all -
I'm so sorry I've been MIA from Blog World for such a long time. As many of you may already know I had a major heatlh issue which is now mostly resolved. So hopefully, I'll be back on track with Blog Posts. This one is short, sweet, simple, and NOT my own idea. It was sent to me by one of my regular "Organizer" Pals but I thought it was worth a quick entry. Please feel free to pass along a link, this is something everyone could use! Just large Binder Clips from the office supply store. Short, Sweet, Simple - and for most of us something we already own! Love It!!

Get your Computer Cables Neat and Organized.

Purge, Purge, Purge

2010-03-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

As many of you embark on your "Spring Cleaning" projects, organizing and tiding up your scrapbooking supplies will probably end up somewhere on the list. I have just one word for you - PURGE! If you've been Scrapbooking for more than a year I'm certain there are things in Scrapbook Supply Collection that you will never use. It's time to get them out of your way so you can find the things you will use!

How to PURGE
Set a Purge goal. You can do it by weight, by depth (how full to fill the box) or by age of products. It doesn't matter, just set a goal.

As you go through your supplies, eyeball your various products. If you don't think you'll use them, if you no longer think they're "Adorable", if the people you Scrap About are no longer involved in that activity, and your pictures have been scrapped - toss the items into your PURGE box.

Be Resolute! If something goes into the PURGE box it stays in the PURGE box.

When you're all done, give the PURGE box away! To a school, Sunday School, Hospital, or even to your own "crafty kids."

Ahhhhh.....there now doesn't that feel better!

The next time you sit down to scrap you'll find that you are more relaxed and because you have less stuff to dig through you're actually getting more done.

Christmas Card Organization

2009-12-21T09:48:00.000-08:00

What do you do with all those Christmas Cards and Photo Cards that you've been receiving this holiday season? Keeping them, Sorting them, Storing them,....can present a little challenge.
Here are a few suggestions for keeping your Christmas Cards under control.

Single Sided Photo Cards are getting more and more popular. Many of us display these in our homes during the holiday season and then are at a loss with what do with them after the season. My first suggestion is that you cut the return address from the envelope they came in and tape it to the back of the photo card. That way you will have all the addresses should you ever lose your Christmas Card list and/or if somebody has moved during the year you will have thier current address. Depending on how many of these cards you get each year, you may want to start a separate and easy to maintain "Friends from Far Away" Album. This simple album can get stored way each year and come out just at Christmas Time. You'll be able to look at the images friends send year after year and see how the families have changed.

Storing Christmas Cards

If guilt gets the better of you and you prefer not to throw your Christmas Cards away each year, just bundle them up at the end of the holiday season, tie the bundle with a festive ribbon, add a tag with the year on it store them with your Christmas decorations. Each year when you decorate for the holidays, bring out the bundles and place them around your home as part of your holiday decorations. Not only will they be a pretty addtion to your holiday decorations, you can untie the bundles and look through the cards. If you save the envelopes you'll be able to add store the cards in the envelopes and that creates and even prettier bundle.

Why do you need Dividers in your ScrapRack?

2009-12-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

The answer may seem obvious, you need Dividers so it will be fast and easy to flip to the section of your ScrapRack where the supplies you need are stored. But there are also a couple of other reasons you need Dividers.
The Dividers are longer and wider than your storage pages. This means that they offer a layer of protection to your supplies. With Dividers inserted throughout your ScrapRack, the edges of your storage pages will be protected from damage.
The Dividers also add stability to your ScrapRack and prevent your pages from sagging.
When you load your Spinders into your CropCrate to go to a crop or class, the Dividers help the Spinders to stand straight up in your Crate. Note only does this help keep everything neat and tidy, it also allows you to put the maximum amount of stuff into your crate without crushing anything.

Dividers are sold in packs of 5 and 15. Shop for your Dividers now - click here.

YIKES - It's almost Turkey Time

2009-11-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

Getting organized for a Thanksgiving Meal can be OVERWHELMING!!!! My suggestion? - Take everybody out to dinner, just kidding, (I hope my sister doesn't read this, I'll be in big trouble, holiday traditions are her favorite thing!)

How do you have a Thanksgiving Dinner and avoid feeling overwhelmed - truthfully I don't think it's possible. Even if you're only cooking for a small group there are so many things you want to do to make the meal perfect that it all becomes overwhelming. Here are my top 5 suggestions for making your Thanksgiving Holiday less Overwhleming and More Enjoyable.

1 - Accept the fact that you are going to feel Overwhelmed and possibly under appreciated.
I remember a couple of years ago my older son saying to me, "I don't know why Mrs. Smith is so stressed out, you have twice as many people over and you do everything in one day." He was oblivious to the fact that I had spent at least one hour, and on some days several hours, - everyday for the two weeks prior to the event just getting ready. This is one of the keys to enjoying the Overwhelming event that a thing like Thanksgiving is - Accept that it will overwhelming, Accept that nobody will really know how hard you worked, and then when it gets hairy you can just take a deep breath, look around at all of your wonderful friends and family and say - "I'm so glad you're all here."

2 - Make a list for the week or two before Thanksgiving
Write your list several days before you actually need to begin executing it. Create a master list of ALL the things to do and then divide that master into daily tasks. Each day knock off a few of the items. Besides the obvious things like shopping and baking pies ahead of time, consider actually setting your Thanksgiving table a day or two early complete with serving dishes. I drop a little note in each dish with what I'll actually use the dish for and then I add the appropriate serving utensil to the empty dish. This will avoid that last minute scramble to find a spoon for the mashed potatoes.

3 - Assign tasks to willing takers - then accept the work they do.
There's no better way to run off a good volunteer than to be visibly dissatisfied with the fruit of their labors. When you assign a task or menu item to a member of your Thanksgiving group be Thankful that they've take something off your plate. Don't make adjustments to what they've done or prepared, bite you tongue when you taste the bland soup or notice that the forks are on the wrong side of the plates. Chances are you're the only one who will notice. If you can't keep your comments to yourself on this one day of Thankfulness, don't share your work. Assigning tasks will only help you be less overwhelmed if you can deal with the fact that it isn't going to be done "Your Way." Know yourself, be THANKFUL if you can, if you can't, don't let others help.

4 - Create and Follow a Cooking Schedule
Large meals require lots of planning, and often times the stove or oven get over booked. Make and follow a cooking schedule. This will help insure that you have space in the oven at the right time and right temperature. You may want to invest in one of those little portable ovens for cooking your turkey. They're less than $50 and they can free up all of your oven space for doing other things. (If you don't have room for it in your kitchen, you can plug it in elsewhere - the basement, or even the garage.) Your cooking schedule should start a day or two days before the big event and include all of your chopping, slicing, dicing, mixing...anything that is food prep related. Again, it's a good idea to figure out which pots and pans you'll need and when you'll need them.

5 - Clean up the dinner dishes (with help) before you serve dessert.
You've spent days getting ready for this meal. Lots of time, money and energy - now let some of your helpful guests ease you into the final phase. Accept their help with the mid-event kitchen clean up. Put on the coffee, get the kitchen cleaned up, and the first load of dishes into the dishwasher before you serve dessert. That way you can enjoy dessert and when everyone loads up to go home all you'll have left to do is a stack of pie plates, a few forks and some coffee cups. - Let those things wait until tomorrow. (You're family can take care of them after you've left the house for the 5am shopping bargains.)

Happy Turkey Day to All of you!!
Tif

Holiday Organization - How to get yourself set up for storing and organizing holiday photos, memorabilia and more.

2009-11-02T13:17:00.000-08:00

The Holiday season is always stressful. Often times during the holiday season things that should be fun become overwhelming and the joy disappears. Minimize your holiday stress where scrapbooking is concerned by getting ready for the holiday season today.

Step 1
Designate a Place for Holiday Stuff.
Having a designated place to accumulate holiday materials is key. If you don’t own a TravelPack Plus, now is a good time to purchase one. You’ll also need some storage pages in a variety of designs (SuperSized Singles, Double X-Long, Fabulous Four, Perfect Six and some 8 ½ x 11 page protectors from the office supply store).
If you’re already using a TravelPack Plus, and you’ve got an empty Spinder that will work too. You can also use an empty Spinder on your ScrapRack. If you need a couple of extra Spinders you can buy a 2 Pack of Spinders and have one for your TravelPack and one for your ScrapRack base unit.
Put all of the pages on your Spinder and put it into your TravelPack Plus. Find a convenient place for the TravelPack. Remember, being able to get to it easily is one of the keys to actually use a good organization system. If you’re using a Spinder on your base unit add the empty pages to the Spinder.

Step 2
Create a Calendar for the weeks to come.
Use the templates in Microsoft Word on your computer to choose a weekly calendar blank that you can keep with your TravelPack Plus or with your ScrapRack. I prefer/recommend the type that have lots of space to write, rather than the type that have small cubes.
Print out one weekly calendar for each week, from the first of November through the second week of January.
Add any notes you already have for holiday activities or events. Be sure to write small, you’re going to be adding notes to most things as the events happen.
3 hole punch the Calendar, add some hole reinforcements to it if you’ve got them and put the calendar in front of all the pages in your TravelPack Plus or on your ScrapRack.

Step 3
Holiday Gift/Shopping List
Create a list on your computer of all the people you will give gifts to this season. Group them by type of gift or reason, i.e., your Postman, Milkman, Paperboy, Kids Teachers, etc. may all be getting a small gift or a card with a check or gratuity, they are one group. Your ScrapPals may have a gift exchange or you may want to give them each just a little something (Basic Grey’s Rub On Roller Tool or Precision Sanding Set could be perfect for these friends). There are neighbors who may be getting cookie plates, extended family and of course your immediate family. Print this list out and put it in your TravelPack Plus or on your ScrapRack. Use this section as a place to jot down notes and ideas for these people. You can remove the list when you head out for Christmas shopping. It’s generally easier to actually write down a note than it is to login to the computer find the document and add to it. If you like to keep things tidy, you could jot down the notes and then once a week or so you could add them to initial computer list.

Step 4
Accumulating Holiday “stuff”
As holiday “stuff” starts to arrive; Invitations, Community Events, School Events, Church Events, etc., Add the dates and times of the events to your calendar. Then file the flyers, invitations, etc. into the storage pages. Again, remember to write small, as you’ll probably be adding information later. Use this system to store anything that’s relevant, even notes to yourself. This is a great place to store recipes you see in magazines or online. If you see a special recipe for the cookie exchange or for a holiday meal, add it to a pocket page in your TravelPack plus. When you are ready to write shopping lists or plan for holiday baking, all of the things you need will be in one place.

Step 5
Attending Holiday Events
Once holiday events get underway, you’ll be accumulating pictures, memorabilia and hopefully some good stories to journal about. With a TravelPack set up, you can easily add memorabilia and journaling notes right into the pocket pages. This is where the space on your calendar becomes important. On the calendar make a note that you have memorabilia, journaling and photos next to the event. If you use a traditional camera and are having pictures printed, you can add a note about the pictures and where and when you dropped them for developing. If you are using digital, put a note about how you coded or labeled the pictures on your computer and what file you stored them in. Finally, use the remaining space to make notes about the event; who was there?, how much you enjoyed it? etc. . You can even put a reminder to yourself to send a “Thank-You” with a picture or two to the event host. Use the Perfect Six Storage Pages to sort, store and organize pictures that you’ve had printed.

Step 6
Will you be visiting a Scrapbook Store during the Holiday Season?
If you have a chance to get to the Scrapbook Store during the Holiday Season take your TravelPack Plus with you. You’ll have all of your memorabilia, journaling notes, and photos together in one place. This will allow you to choose Scrapbooking products that easily coordinate with things you have to “scrap about.” Put these special purchases right in with the Photos, Memorabilia, and Journaling notes. A SuperSized Single Pocket page works great for this as it will accommodate even 12x12 items.

Step 7
When you have time to Scrap
When the hectic pace of the holidays slows down and you have time to scrap about them you’ll be ready with everything in one place. You won’t have to worry about missing memorabilia, or exact dates, or knowing who was where, etc. You’ll have everything grouped together in one tidy little bundle. Whether your slow down comes in January or you have to wait for a year from January, it won’t matter because everything you need will be right there waiting for you!

One Final Tip - Capitalizing on Christmas Cards
Christmas Cards begin arriving slowly and then start to pour in. Even with the best intentions it’s sometimes hard to remember to add people to your Christmas Card List and/or return cards to them. To help with this, save each of the envelopes from Christmas Cards in one pocket page. Make a note on the envelope indicating that you’ve already sent a card or that you need to send a card. You can send the card out quickly, and then add the name to your permanent Christmas Card List after the holidays using the return address on the envelope. Also, saving all of the envelopes can help you create a really fun Scrapbook Page. Simply tear or cut all the return addresses from the envelopes and use them to create either a full page, or embellishments on a page about reconnecting with friends and family over the holiday season. Not only will you have a great page, you’ll have saved all the mailing address for your good friends.

Holiday Organization

2009-11-01T13:31:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is so busy. Simplify your holiday life by having a plan for collecting holiday photos, memorabilia, etc. You'll be ready to Scrap as soon as you have time. Check in with me on Wednesday for a more detailed plan about how to "get it all together."
See you Wednesday,
Tiffany

Are you a Dining Room Table Scrapper?

2009-10-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

One of the things I found most frustrating about scrapping at the Dining Room Table was hauling everything out and then putting it all away. I felt like I spent more time "hauling" than I did actually scrapping.
If you're a DRT and frustrated with how time consuming it is to "get ready" to scrap you need a ScrapRack Single Base System and an Office Depot CropCrate.
You'll be able to go from This: To This:

To This:

Quickly and Easily, best of all, you'll stay organized the whole time!

(Read the full article on our website, click here)

Working from the dining room table or some other “community” area can present many challenges; Shared space, organization, time for set up and clean up, supply storage, just to name a few. Scrapping itself is a time intensive hobby, if just getting ready to scrap takes too long it’s just not fun – it becomes a chore. For many dining room table (or other community space) scrappers leaving your supplies out for an extended period of time is not an option. You may have concerns about kids getting into your stuff, other family members also needing to use the area, keeping your home neat and tidy, or you just might enjoy serving dinner to your family at the table. All of these problems, obstacles, concerns can be remedied with a ScrapRack System, in fact, the ScrapRack was designed for just this purpose.

Shared Space
Working in a shared space like a dining room table or a family room area is always a quite challenging. Not only might you need to set up and clean up the area regularly, you may also need to be able to keep your supplies away from “little fingers”, and maintain organization at the same time. The best remedy for Shared Space Scrapping is a single base unit ScrapRack system. This will allow you to keep literally thousands of supplies contained in one small area. The protective storage sheets will help to keep your products clean, and free of wrinkles, bent edges, or tears, while still allowing for maximum visibility and accessibility. A ScrapRack dust cover will keep your supplies concealed while at the same time protecting them from dust and light damage. Best of all this system can quickly be “folded” down and put away.

Organization
The most successful scrappers have well organized supplies in an easy to access system. When you use the 4 Section System to organize your supplies you’ll be able to get to the things you want to use quickly and easily. Read more about the 4 Section System and the steps for getting organized by clicking here.
If you have more supplies than will fit on a single base unit (7 Spinders), you may still only need a single base. Coordinate all of your supplies on as many Spinders as you need and then store them in a closet or on a shelf for easy access. When you’re ready to work with a particular theme or category, simply take that or those Spinders off the shelf and place them on your base unit. Simple, Fast, Easy.

Setting Up and Breaking Down – Quick and Easy
The biggest and often most frustrating challenges for Scrapping in a shared space are actually getting set up and then putting things away. Not only are these things time consuming, they can be frustrating due to the fact that It’s always difficult to find what you need. Using the collapsible ScrapRack Base makes it easy to set up and breakdown.
As a single base unit user, we strongly recommend that you store your ScrapRack Spinders fully loaded, standing straight up and down in a rolling crate, like the type available at Office Depot. (The Office Depot crate sku is 987304.) One of these crates will accommodate 7 Spinders. This particular type of crate comes with a lid which will double as a moveable table for your ScrapRack.

(Read the full article on our website - click here)

Remove each Spinder from your base unit. We recommend slipping a blunt edged instrument down between the Velcro fabric on the base and the Velcro fabric on the Spinder. Something like a bone folder or the BasicGrey Rub On Roller tool works great. Gently slide the tool down the length of the Spinder and it will easily pop off into your hand. Stand the fully loaded Spinder and its pages up in the crate. Continue this process until all of the Spinders are standing upright in the crate.
Remove the wings from your ScrapRack Base Unit. These will slip easily into the back pocket of the CropCrate Apron. The CropCrate apron is available on our website and was designed to fit this particular collapsible rolling crate. If you aren’t using the CropCrate Apron, you can slip the wings into the crate with your pages.
Collapse your ScrapRack base unit. Simply remove the long silver hook from the hinge section of your base unit and fold the base flat. Again, this will fit nicely into the back pocket of your CropCrate Apron, or into the crate itself.
Put the lid on your rolling crate and store it easily in a closet or some other out of the way place in your home.
Setting up your Scrapbooking Supplies
Set up is just as easy as breaking down. Remove all of the loaded Spinders from your Crate. When the Crate is empty, replace the lid.
Set up your ScrapRack base unit by reinserting the silver hook to connect the hinge supports. Place the base unit on the lid of the crate so all 4 of the rubber feet are sitting on top of the lid and the long piano style hinge on the base unit is at the top of the unit. Insert the wings into the slots on the sides of the base.
Now, place each of the Spinders on the base unit in 4 Section System Order.
Take a seat and start scrapping. Simple, Fast, Easy.

Where to get the Tool Tower

2009-10-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

Hi -

I've had so many requests for where to get the Tool Tower that is described in the post from August 20th, that I finally went through my files and tried to track it down. As best as I can tell, this company - "Think Inside the Box" has gone out of business. However, I believe there are similar things at stores that specialize is in organizing you home. I did find a cosmetic organizer on line at Storables that looks like it might work. It doesn't have the graduated bottom which is really nice, but it might get the job done. - Here's a link to it. Cosmetic Organizer
If anyone else finds or uses something better please let me know so I can share it with everyone. Thanks!!

Crop Organization

2009-09-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

It's finally here! The perfect way to get your scrapbooking supplies to a crop or class without spending lots of time packing up and unpacking. With the combination of our new CropCrate Apron and a Folding/Rolling Crate from Office Depot, you'll be set for a crop for less than $50.

The CropCrate Apron will hold all of your basic tools and also has a large pocket on the left side for 12x12 paper. The CropCrate Apron is on introductory special for another few days - To see the CropCrate Apron - Click Here.

The apron fits shuggly around The Office Depot folding. The crate will hold up to 7 fully loaded Spinders. Your ScrapRack Base Unit and wings fit neatly into a pocket on the back side.

Before giong to a crop, class or friend's house to scrap:

Remove the spinders from your base unit.
Place all the loaded Spinders standing straight up in the crate. Place the base unit and wings in the back pocket.
Fill the front and right side pockets with all of your basic tools and pens.
Fill the left side pocket with 12x12 Paper.
Put the lid on the crate and head out the door.

When you get to your final destination, remove all the Spinders from the crate and replace the lid on the crate. Re-assemble your ScrapRack and set it on the lid of the crate. Replace the Spinders. Now you've got all of your Supplies sitting next to you at chair height and your table space is clear and ready for you to work. Using the Crate as a table for your ScrapRack at home works great too. If you're a dining room table scrapper it makes having all of your supplies available quick and easy. To learn more about The CropCrate Apron and how it can work for you follow this link CropCrate Apron - Quick and Easy Organization

Scrapbook Paper Storage and Organization

2009-09-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

Are you a Scrapbook "Paper Junkie"?

If you are, then you could probably use a set up "Paper Junkie" Straight Up Paper Storage Boxes. (See more pictures below.)

The best way to sort, store and organize your paper is by following a basic system. If you're familiar with the 4 Section System for Supply Organization, then the 3 Section System for Paper Organization will sound familiar.

The three section system consists of sorting your papers by categories. There are 3 Major Categories for Paper:

Themes A-Z
The Calendar Year
The Rainbow

Section 1 - Themes A-Z

These are the subjects you scrapbook about organized alphabetically.

Animals, Baby, Beach, Sports, Vacation, etc...

Section 2 - The Calendar Year

Group all of you holiday and seasonal materials together. Use dividers to indicate the change in month or season.

Section 3 - The Rainbow

This is where you store all of your solid colored papers grouped together by color. You can pull out your color wheel or just go with the old stand by ROY G BIV - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

Once you've got your papers sorted, put them into the Paper Junkie Storage Boxes. Label the boxes to match the 3 Section System. Now when you're ready to scrap a particular theme or holiday, i.e. Christmas, you don't have dig through layers of papers. You just pull to Christmas?December box off your shelf and set on your desk. You'll be able to thumb through your papers quickly and easily. You can also take the full box with you if you head off to a crop or a class to work on Christmas - Simple.

The Paper Junkie boxes in this Rainbow section have been laid over onto their backs. This makes it really easy to pull your papers straight out of the box.. The Theme Section is labeled below.

To learn more about The Paper Junkie Paper Storage Boxes, Click Here.

Get your Scrapbooking Tools Organized

2009-08-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

Do you have trouble finding the tool you need when you need it? Do you struggle with decisions about what to take with you when you go to a crop or class?
If you've been reading my past entries you already know I'm a huge believer in the whole "less is more" theory. How does that apply to your tools? Tools can become just as overwhelming as all the other parts of this hobby. One way to control this and to keep things organized is to evaluate the tools you have and sort them into 3 categories:

What I use everytime I scrap
What I use half the time
What I thought was a good idea when I bought it, but I barely use it now

You'll probably find that the things that you use everytime you scrap are not as numerous as you might have thought. These items need to be stored in a highly visible, easy to access space. My favorite tool storage container for the desktop is what I call the Tool Tower. This handy sorting tray has graduated or "stair-stepped" divided sections. These "stairs" push the tools in the back of the Tool Tower up above the tools in the front. Here's a picture.

Filled Tool Tower

Empty Tool Tower

In the empty picture you can see the different levels in each section of this container. It is truly ideal for storing your tools. Okay, so that takes care of the basic things, the things you use everytime you scrap. What do you do with all of those things you only use occasionally. This depends primarily on what types of tools you have. I would assume that the majority of other tools you have are cutting systems. This could mean anything from a Cricut to a Spellbinder system. More important than where you have these actual tools stored is where you might have the dies, templates, etc cataloged. Creating a catalog for these items and then keeping that catalog with your everyday tools will really maximize your tool use. I'll talk more about cataloging in my next entry. If you can store these cutters on an easy to access shelf where they will be easy to actually pull out and use, you'll get far more use out of them. Remember if you can keep you tools (all of your supplies for that matter) easily accessible and easily storable, not only will you be more likely to use them, you'll also be more likely to put them back properly when you're done using them.

What about taking tools to a crop? I'll say it again, "Less is More". When you go to a crop you want to take the things that you consider to be the very BASIC tools. Most crops offer a wide variety of cutting systems with a huge assortment of dies and templates. Don't get consumed by taking everything you've got. Instead, go with the basics - Pens, Personal Paper cutter, Adhesives, Ruler(s), Eyelet setter and scissors. If you love to use stamps and punches and/or you have lots of them, create a catalog to carry with you rather than actually taking all of those things everytime you go somewhere.

The ScrapRack TravelPack Plus offers an easy way to keep your tools under control when you head out for a crop or class. The interior pockets will accommodate everything that's a "must have."

Camping Organization - Simple Shower Kits

2009-08-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest challenges when you're camping is getting everybody off to the shower with everything they need and having them return with it.

Putting together a basic shower kit is easy. Start with a Silverware Tote/caddy or other waterproof type carrier. The plastic baskets that are sold for carrying around cleaning products work well if you can find a small one. It's best if it has a handle on it. Look for one that has holes already in the bottom of it and some type of feet. If you can't find one with holes in it, get some handy person in your life to drill some small holes through the bottom of each section of the carrier.

Fill each compartment with the things you need in the shower/bathroom. Be sure all of the items you've chosen are waterproof.

Liquid Shower Gel
Toothpaste / Toothbrush
Shampoo
Conditioner
Lotion
Hairbrush
Deodorant
Shaving Cream
Mouthwash
etc.

Add a couple of Jumbo sized binder clips so you can easily clip a scrubby(ies) to the tote.

If you find a tote that's large enough you can even carry a pair of cheap shower shoes for each member of your family right in the tote. They can wear their regular shoes to the shower, but use the shower shoes while they are actually in the shower. This will help to protect against foot fungus in a shared shower.

One other thing that is great to have are a couple of small "over the door" hooks. These will allow you to put them over the stall door so you can easily hang clean clothes, towels, etc. in the stall with you. Some facilities already have hooks in the stalls and some don't (or they don't have enough.)

Once your tote is stocked with all the things you need, you can take the tote right into the shower with you. Be sure everything in the tote is waterproof.

When you return back to your campsite, put the tote on an uneven surface so any water that was trapped in the tote can easily drain out through the holes in the bottom.

This whole system works best if you always keep it loaded and packed with your camping supplies. When you get home from a camping trip, check the contents and reload or refill whatever you are low on. Then pack the tote with the rest of your gear. It will be one thing you won't have to worry about next time you pack up.

Organizing your Scrapbooking Layout Ideas

2009-08-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

Scrapbooking Magazines, Papercrafting Magazines, Emails, Websites
These are all filled with wonderful layout ideas for not only scrapbooking, but cardmaking, gifts, home decor projects and more. There's nothing more frustrating than knowing you have the perfect idea stashed away in a magazine but then not being able to find it. Idea organization can be very simple if you just provide yourself with a good system.
Let's talk about Magazine Ideas first.
Scrapbooking magazines are expensive. For some of us the idea of tearing up something we've just paid $6-$8 for is a little more than we can stomach. However, that's exactly what I'm going to tell you to do. No matter how organized you believe you are with your 25 sticky notes sticking out the side of your magazines, you just can't simplify your system with out removing the pages/ideas from your publications and reorganizing them into a better system.
One of the things that works absolutely the best with magazine layout ideas is filing them right in with the scrapbooking materials they will be used with. For those of you lucky enough to be using a ScrapRack, this process is really simple. Just remove the idea from the magazine, flip to the correct section of your ScrapRack and file the idea with your scrapbook products. I've included an example below. You can see in the lower right hand corner of this ScrapRack storage page, there's a folded layout for a Baseball themed page.

Now, when I go to work on a Baseball page, I'll see the layout idea, and I'll also see the products I have available to complete the page. The other nice thing about filing your ideas right with your products, is that when you go to the Scrapbook store to buy additional products, you can just take the Baseball Section off your ScrapRack, Velcro it into your TravelPack and when you get to the store you'll have all of your products and your design idea so you'll be able to buy the things you need without having to guess what you have at home.
Another easy way to manage your magazine layout ideas is to start a notebook, much like the notebook you may have in your kitchen for recipes and other household information. Fill the notebook with dividers and 8.5 x 11 page protectors. Label the dividers to correspond with the categories in your 4 Section System of Supply organization. Now, as you pull ideas out of your magazines, you can slip them right into page protectors in your notebook. You can take the notebook with you to crops or just keep it at home for easy reference.

What about ideas you see on the internet?
This is what "Scrap-Lifting" is all about. Start a file on your computer for ideas. Inside that file, put other files labeled for each of the categories in your 4 Section Organization System (read about the 4 Section System - click here, Watch a brief video about it - click here)
When you come across a design idea on the internet, click to enlarge the image if possible, then copy and paste it into the appropriate folder in your computer. when you need ideas for that particular theme, you can open the file folder and browse by design subject. When you find the one you want to use, you either keep it open on your computer (if you're working at home) or you can print it out and take it with you to the crop.
What if you know exactly which pictures you want to use with that particular
layout idea?
If the idea is in a magazine you can always just pull it out and put it with the pictures. If the image is online, and you're not ready to print the pictures yet, just copy and paste the image of the layout idea right into the file folder where you have your pictures stored. If you want to be able to get back to that image on it's original website, you can either Hyperlink it to the picture, or just copy and paste the URL into the "tag" box on the picture. (If you have questions about either of these procedures email me or comment on this blog and I'll get back to you with details and "how-to"s.) In either case, you'll have the layout idea right with the pictures, exactly where you need it.

Drowning in Paper - Mail, Recipes, Coupons, Etc?

2009-08-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest challenges with organization is discipline. Why is that? Discipline usually means work, and work takes time, and time is something most of us don't have. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Once you take the time to establish a system for getting your papers organized you'll save tons of time and feel better about the clutter that has surrounded your life.

Here are a few tips for taking control of the paper that flows through your door.

Mail - this is the biggie.

Don't take the mail out of your mailbox until you have 5 minutes to open, sort, and store it appropriately.

Have a designated space for the types of things that come in through the mail. You can use a "bill" sorter - one of those compartmentalized sorters that has a slot for everyday of the month, a simple note book, or just a set of file folders. Whatever you are using, be sure it is set up in an easy to access place. If you can get to your "storage" system easily, you are more likely to actually stick with your system.

Sort, Store, and Toss in one sitting. As with all things organization, handling it as few times as possible is key to success. When you're ready to sort your mail, do it near a garbage can. I get most of my mail at a PO Box. I've found it really helpful to take advantage of the locked recycle containers and sorting tables that are available there. Everything comes out of envelopes, promotional mailings go into that recycle container along with envelopes, junk mail etc. Those items never make it to my desk. It keeps things very simple. Because I spend so much time on the road, I keep all of my mail in an easy to transport notebook. I've included an image here. It's easy to slip things into each divided section. At the beginning and ending of each day I flip through the notebook to see what needs to be taken care of that day or the next day. When I do my flip through I am also able to remove things that have been taken care of. This is a great method if you need your mail/bills/calendar to be mobile.

Calendar Information

Use one section of your sorting system for your calendar and any flyers, clippings, etc. that you might need for reference later. Make a note on the appropriate date that you have a flyer or the other information filed. This is where I keep a printed copy of the school calendar for my kids.

Notes to Self

If you are regularly jotting things down on scraps of paper, this notebook system works great. Just simply add the note to the correct section of your notebook so it will pop up each day when you do your "flip-through" review. As thngs on the notes get accomplished, you can simply throw them away.

Lastly - Eliminate as much of it as you can. Ask to be removed from mailing lists for catalogs, brochures and other types of promotional materials. If you want to stay aware of what these companies are offering, create a second email account for sales/promotional email subscriptions. That way when you want to see what's available, you can go to that email account and get caught up on all the latest and greatest from your favorite companies. You can even get the coupon mailers from companies like Target, Walmart and Office Depot right online. You may even find that you save some money by switching over, because you won't be as tempted to puchase items you really don't need, just because they're "On-Sale." If this makes you nervous try to think - next week there will be other wonderful items "On-Sale" and I'll have another opportunity to buy something else. :-)

Recipes and other important tidbits of household information.

Okay, I have to go back to my "Less is More" philosophy. The more you have to look at the less likely it will be to get used. The less you have to look at or through the more likely it will be to get used. If you love to try to recipes, but find yourself covered in them, there are really two options. Limit yourself to the recipes you are going to use immediately. If you clip a recipe choose the day that you will be preparing that meal, clip the recipe to your shopping list and use it right away.

If you're a recipe collector

Get yourself a 3 ring notebook, a couple of sets of tabbed dividers, some standard 3 hole punched notebook paper, and a roll of scotch tape or some other type of easy to use adhesive. Label each of the Dividers by recipe type, Appetizers, Cakes, Dinners, Breakfast, etc. Now when you clip a recipe, you can simply tape it to a sheet of notebook paper in the appropriate place in your notebook. The lined paper allows you to make notes about the recipe after you've prepared it. If the recipe wasn't good, take it out of the notebook and through it into your recycle bin - remember less is more, if it's something you won't use again because it just wasn't good, there's no reason to keep it.

Household tips

Tips for cleaning and other tidbits of household information can find a fast easy home in your recipe notebook. Just create a tab for each of those items as well. Some of the tabs might be:

Cleaning, Party Ideas, Decorating ideas, Gardening, etc. Whatever your interests are you'll find that you make better use of these ideas when you remove them from newspapers, magazines or your computer and put them into an easy to access notebook.

One last tip - if you need to put little "booklet" type things into your notebooks (recipe booklets, etc.) this can be done easily with a "Hold-It" adhesive spine. These little clear plastic strips are half adhesive and half 3 hole punched. Click here to learn more about them. They also work great if you're creating a notebook for Owners Manuals, Warranty Information, etc. This is a good piece of information to pass on to your hubby. He can add one of these strips to all of the owners manuals for his power tools, TVs, household appliance, etc. and put them all into one notebook quickly and easily. It's helpful to keep a package of them in a pocket inside your notebook. Click Here for a link to the Hold-it Spines if you need them for your notebooks.

Drowning in Paper? Recipes, Mail, Notes, and more

2009-07-29T19:15:00.000-07:00

Do you feel like your surrounded by paper? Recipes, Notes, Mail.....one of our readers has asked for tips on organizing those little pieces of paper that seem to smother us like Hot Fudge on Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - hey, wait a minute, that's a good kind of smother. Anyway, you get the idea.
I'm off to the CK Show in Philadelphia tomorrow, but I'll put some thoughts together on this different type of "scrap organization" over the weekend and try to get them posted on Monday.
Thanks for the questions and suggestions!
Tif

There is no "Miscellaneous" category in organization.

2009-07-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

As you sort, store and organize your supplies, avoid using a "Miscellaneous" category. This category goes completely against the basic purpose of organization. Here are a few reasons people try to use a miscellaneous category and some solutions you can use to avoid it.

Reason #1
You only have 1 item that would go into that theme/category and you don't think it's a good idea to start a category for just 1 thing.

Solution:
You're probably right about the fact that you don't want to start a category for just one thing. - I said, probably - here's an exception:
The item was purchased for a future need and you're likely to buy more items for that future need (i.e. you're planning a Disney Trip with your kids in the summer so you purchased this item for use after that trip). Start the section NOW so you'll be able to easily store things as you acquire them. None of us Scrappers has a shopping problem, so you may not buy anymore Disney stuff, but just incase….

Storing the item without creating a new section:
If the one thing you're trying to store is something you got in a crop goody bag, won as a door prize, or bought at such a great price you couldn't pass it up and it's an item you'll probably never use, let's say - a Bungee Jumping Embellishment - but hey, it was cheap or free, so you might as well keep it where do you store it?

Solution:
Just in case you decide later in life that you're going to take up Bungee Jumping, store that item, in this case, the Bungee Jumping Embellishment, in the section that best represents it, so if you don't have a section for "things that might make me throw up" try filing it somewhere like Sports.

Something you bought for a future use, but you probably won't buy any more
Okay, if you picked up one item - pink silk flowers, for you niece's ballet pictures - but you don't have any other ballet stuff, and you don't want to forget about the flowers when you scrap those pictures, you can do one of two things - store the flowers with the pictures, or you can store the flowers in the Pinks/Red section of your rainbow and include a note with the pictures, reminding you that you bought the flowers and where you stored them. You can write a physical note if you have already printed the pictures, or just include a "tag" with the pictures on your computer so when you actually print the pictures you'll remember the flowers.

Reason #2 - There is no category it fits into.
This is most common when we're talking about words and quotes. If you have words or quotes that are generic, that weren't purchased for any specific intention, they can be challenging to sort and store.

Solution:
Create a Category in your Theme's Section, under "W" labeled W.O.W. - Words of Wisdom. When ever you get words or quotes that are non-specific, you can store them in this section. Use caution though, It's easy to slide something into the WOW section just because it's a word(s) but it would really belong somewhere more specific like - "Happy Birthday" - which should go into your Birthday Section, or "Go Team," which of course should go into your Sports section.

Reason #3 -You'll be using them very soon.
If you've got item that you are planning on using at the next crop, class, or even just the next time you scrap, you may want to file them using the Ready, Set, Crop Method. Here's a link to a short vide about that easy and efficient system

In a nutshell - if you keep the following two basic ideas in mind - you'll be able to easily abolish your "Miscellaneous" category.
· Keep things together you would use together.

· If you bought something specifically for a set of pictures or an event, store it with the other items you will use when scrap those pictures.

Digital Photo Organization - 5 Tips to Getting Organized

2009-07-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

OVERWHELMING!
That's the best word to describe how many pictures I've taken since I went digital. If there's one reason to stick to a traditional camera and film, getting your digital pictures organized is it! Okay, now that I've had time to rant I'll get down to business.
I love all the options digital photography allows. I love being able to take dozens or even hundreds of pictures and then choosing the very best.
Here are 5 Tips to help you get your digital photos organized. As always, if you have comments or questions, please feel free to add them in the comments box below this entry or email me directly.

Tip 1
Download when you have time to sort.
Try to download your pictures when you will also have time to sort and label them. This is especially important if you aren't prone to deleting bad images off your camera as you're taking them. If you allow too many sets of pictures to get stacked up on your computer without being sorted, you'll get Overwhelmed, and for must of us that makes it hard to get things done.

Tip 2
How many layouts will you do of this one Theme, Event, Person?
Before you start sorting your pictures, decide how many layouts and in what size you will do of this particular Theme, Person, Event, etc. Then choose the best images and the right quantity of images you'll need to complete those layouts.

Tip 3
Delete, Delete, Delete
Once you've chosen the images you'll use in the layouts, DELETE the rest of the images from that event. Storing those images will take up space on your computer, but more importantly you'll end up spending an equal amount of time looking through them later to re-choose the images for the layout. If you can't Delete them (some of us Mamas are too attached to delete), Move all of them into a "Miscellaneous Photos" folder on your desktop. That way if you ever wanted to go back and find them you could but they won't be a distraction later.

Tip 4
Label consistently
One of the best things about digital photo storage is that you can tag the photos so that they will come up under a variety of searches. In order to really make this work you need to tag your images consistently and keep a list of the tags you use.
I use a birthday type calendar to do this. Next to each person's name on the calendar I have their personal code, i.e. my son's name is London Thomas, highlighted next to his name is the code LT. All pictures that include him have an LT tag.
At the back of the calendar I have a list of other common tags, ie, Bday = Birthday, SCH = School, etc. that way if I want to find all of London's School pictures, I can just search for LT + SCH and I will get all of his school photos at one time.
For Holidays, I note the code on the month/holiday, i.e., XC = Christmas. Again when you search for images you can just use the codes. It's a little bit of work up front, but has big payoffs later.
Click here to see a cool "scrappy" Birthday Calendar Base that you can decorate yourself. These make GREAT gifts for friends and family, a perfect Christmas gift for Grandma and Grandpa.

Tip 5
Attach Additional Information
Include a word document in the file with the images for journaling notes, location of corresponding memorabilia (if there is any), or any other miscellaneous information (special supplies you've purchased, etc) you might need when you go to print and then scrap these pictures.
If you've found a good layout design somewhere on the Internet copy and paste that image and any other information you might have about it into this file as well. Again, it will pop up when you need it and where you need it.

Want to learn a few tips and tricks for preparing your printed images, etc. for cropping? Click here to see The Ready, Set, Crop kit and watch a short video.

Photo Sorting, Storing, and Organizing

2009-07-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

Is there one among us who doesn't have enough photos? If you're out there you are an anomaly to be admired. With the advent of and affordability of digital photography the number of photographs we take is off the charts. Did you know PhotoBucket hosts over 7 Billion photos - that's almost as many photos as McDonald's has sold burgers and McDonald's has been around since the 50's. Okay, enough blather - how to sort and organize those pictures is what we're really concerned about.

Maximum Efficiency -
If you want to get the most out of your photo sorting and storing time, follow these steps:

Decide how many layouts you will do for the particular event you are sorting.
Choose 4 to 6 pictures from the event for each 12x12 layout you will (adjust quantity if you are working with a different sized layout).
Group the pictures by layout and store them in a Perfect Six Storage Page.
Pull any memorabilia that goes with the pictures and store that in either a Double X-Long Page or in a SuperSized Single Page.
Attach the pages to a Spinder and put them in your Ready, Set, Crop TravelPack.
Giveaway or throw away the pictures you aren't going to use in your layout. (If you can't do this, use the filing method described below - but I strongly recommend you pass these along, you've chosen the best for your scrapbook already.)
Watch a YouTube Video on this process:

Sorting and Storing - Printed Photos
Can I just say Well Labeled and Chronological. If you have tons of pictures and don't want to actually prepare them for scrapbooking as discussed above, use this quick easy method to at least get them organized into some storage boxes.

Group the photos by event in each box by folding a sheet of paper in half and putting the group of photos within the paper.

Here's an example of what you might write on your folded piece of paper.

On the folded paper you can easily note: Event, Date, and some journaling notes. If you've got small pieces of memorabilia you can include these right in with the photos. If you've got larger pieces of memorabilia that you are storing elsewhere, include a note on the folded piece of paper about what the memorabilia is and and where it can be found. This will make it quick and easy to find the memorabilia before you start scrapping the pictures.

File the "packet" inside your storage box in chronological order.

Store them in well labeled boxes, this is best accomplished by labeling the box you are storing them in on all 4 sides. That way, not matter how or where you put the box away, you'll be able to read the label.

I like to use these clear plastic storage boxes for several reasons.

They are wide enough to hold a variety of picture sizes.
The easily accommodate 81/2 x 11 paper which is what I use to create my packets.
They are clear so you can get a glimpse of what's inside.
They are stackable.
They are inexpensive and reusable.

I hope this information has proven helpful in your quest to make life easier and more organized. Join me later this week when we tackle Photo Storage and Organization on your computer. We'll talk about easy ways to sort, catalog and find images within your computer.

Organizing Scrapbook Ideas and Patterns

2009-07-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

Stay Consistent - That's my Mantra :-)

One of the things that makes you successful with organization is developing a strong system and then sticking with it. When it comes to organizing Scrapbooking Ideas and/or Paper Piecing Patterns you want to stay with the same system as with all of your other supplies. My best recommendation is of course the 4 Section System of Supply Organization - click the link to learn more.

I'm also a huge advocate of the guide - "Keep things together you would use together." What does this mean in terms of Scrapbooking ideas and patterns? It means rather than storing all of your ideas or patterns together, store them where they will pop up when you need them, i.e. if you've got a great layout idea for a Baseball page, store that idea with your Baseball supplies in your Sports Section. You can see an illustration of this in the image above, a page from one of the Scrapbooking Magazines has been removed from the magazine and stored in the Baseball Pocket Page. Now, when you are ready to work on Baseball pages, you'll find all of your products and ideas for using them in the same place.

What do you do with General Layout Ideas or Patterns?

If you've pulled an idea out of a magazine just because you like the "design" concept, or if you have a paper piecing pattern that fits that same criteria, you can just store them all together in a notebook of general design ideas.

Keeping ideas on you computer

With many of the Scrapbooking Magazines going out of business, the Internet has become a huge source for layout ideas. If you're "Scrap-lifting" off the computer, start a SCRAPLIFT file on you desktop for idea storage. Create individual files within the SCRAPLIFT File for each of your themes or categories i.e. Beach, Sports, Christmas, General Design, etc.. Each time you find an idea you, like copy and paste it into the appropriate file. You can name the image with relevant search information like: Christmas, snow, Scrapbooking.com, etc. That way when you do a search for ideas with Snow these layout or patterns will show up in your search. If you're a visual person, once you get several ideas in each folder, print them all together in a "Proof" sheet or "Wallet" sized image sheet and file the printed sheet in your 4 Section System - again, they'll pop up when you need them.

If you'd like to learn more about Scrapbook Supply Organization and the best tool for getting organized visit us at The ScrapRack - Click Here.

Scrapbooking Idea Organization - Tomorrow's Topic

2009-07-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

Join me tomorrow for a brief discussion about how to organize your Scrapbooking Patterns and Page/Layout ideas. If you have suggestions or comments please feel free to send them in today!

Organized Camping

2009-07-08T14:21:00.001-07:00

Food -
Try to prepare as much ahead of time as possible.

Slicing veggies for cooking before you go and storing them in ziplock bags makes it really easy to put meals together.
Put meats into ziplock bags with marinade prior to leaving the house also, that way you just put them right onto the grill.
Precook Pasta - This is a great trick. Boiling water at higher altituds can take forever. If you've got kids that love to eat Spaghetti, precook it, again, put it in a ziplock bag, reheat it in a shallow pan that has just enough water in it to heat the pasta.
Pancake? Again, portion out all the ingredients into a ziplock bag. When you're ready to cook the pancakes, add the water (milk, eggs, yogurt - whatever) directly into the bag. Mush it all up, then cut the corner off the bag and easily pour the pancake batter out onto your griddle.

Make a Checklist
It's always easier to remember everything you are going to need if you make a checklist and then check things off as they are packed. Group your checklist by major category, i.e., Dry Foods, Refrigerator, Freezer, Cooking Supplies, Outdoor Living (tents, chairs, sleeping bags).

Make the kids a checklist
Preparing for a camping trip can be overwhelming. It's good for your family to know how much work you're doing, not to mention teaching them to do this for themselves. Depending on the age of your children their checklists will vary, but make them one that is age appropriate and get them involved. I know as a mom, sometimes it's just easier to do it all yourself, but don't miss out on this opportunity to lighten your load and help the kids develop their organization skills at the same time. If you're nervous about what might end up in their backpacks, have them lay all their items out on their beds along with the list, then you can go in for the actual "pack" and be sure everything is as it should be.

Label Everything
We're pretty regular campers, so I find it easier to have all of the totes labeled - this also provides a method for double checking the contents of each tote before I stack it in the garage for loading (loading isn't my job - thankfully).

Stage Things
We have two shelves in the garage that are used for staging. Before we go on a trip of any sort I stage everything that needs to go on those shelves. This allows me to pack up over the course of a couple of days, to check things off the list, and to insure that the things won't get moved by someone else and then left behind. The last thing I do before we leave the house is check to be sure those staging shelves are empty. Everyone in the house adds to the staging area as they pack up.

Tomorrow's Topic - Organized Camping with Kids

2009-07-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

Check in tomorrow - I'm just packing up for a camping trip and trying to find more great ideas for making this fun experience even easier.

Embellishment Organization

2009-07-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest challenges with embellishment organization is that there are so many little things to keep track of. Don't get frustrated, get organized. Combine and Conquer your embellishments by using the 4 Section System. Click here to read more about the 4 Section System.
To get your embellishments organized group them together based on the 4 Section System. Once they are sorted you can store them in the same categories. I of course recommend using The ScrapRack Storage Pages.
To take better control of those little things use small zip-lock type storage bags.
Once you've got everything sorted and stored, you can use either a TravelPack Plus to keep them all together or just put them onto a ScrapRack Base Unit.

New to this Blog Thing

2009-07-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Okay -
After much coercion from friends, family, students, and customers I'm going to give this Blog thing a shot. As most of you know I'm always looking for the fastest most efficient way to organize things, anything - Scrapbooking Supplies, Our Offices, Park's Garage, the kids backpacks.....the list is endless as are the ideas. I'm hope you'll check in often to see what we're writing about. I'm looking forward to hearing your comments and helping you to solve your Organization dilemmas.