Sunday, March 3, 2024

2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge #10 ~ Preparing for a Crop

Preparing for a Crop



Crops can be a wonderful chance for you to get caught up on pages, catch up with friends, and enjoy your hobby with other Scrapbookers who understand your obsession. But planning ahead is very important to your success – it is a proven fact that the less you bring to a crop, the more you’ll actually get done. Here are a few tips to help you prepare:

Mission Statement: A crop is a rare chunk of time to spend on yourself. How long will the crop last? What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to socialize? Do you want to set a goal for completed pages? Would you like to complete a mini-album? Do you want to try to master a new technique? Do you want to organize your photos? Knowing what you want to get out of it and how much time you’ll have to do it is crucial to your planning, and helps to avoid frustration at the end of the day if you don’t achieve what you set out to do.

Note: I would personally pick my photos first before choosing a sketch.

Gather your Blueprint: If you’re planning to get a certain number of pages done, having a blueprint for each page, whether a sketch, a rough drawing, or inspiration from a print ad or a layout you’d like to borrow, is an important step in the planning process. If these points of inspiration are in a book or magazine, consider copying them or cutting them out of the book so you can place it directly with your photos and papers.

Match Photos to the Blueprint: Once you have your sketches in mind, find photos that will coordinate with them. Then for each set of sketch and photos, do the following steps:

Journal: You know from your sketches where the journaling will go and how big it should be, so now is the perfect time to write it. Once you have your papers together, you can print it out – that way, your pages will be completely finished at the crop!

Coordinate Papers with your Photos and Journaling: Match the papers to the colors in your photos and the mood of your journaling.

Choose your embellishments: Whether your title will be printed on paper, created with stickers, or some other type of embellishment, gather the supplies for that, and then think about your finishing touches and include those. You may want to bring more than one option so you can decide exactly how you like it when you have everything else in place.

Place your supplies in a Pages in Progress Folder: Store each set of blueprints, photos, papers, journaling and embellishments separately. Bring a few of these and your basic supplies & you can get pages done at the crop!!

Bring a Small Sticky-note Pad to the Crop: If you forget to bring something for your page, or decide it needs just one more thing, you can write it on the sticky note and attach it to your page. Now you have a perfect reminder when you get home!

Packing for crops does not need to be a huge chore the day before you go – consider pairing the above items together in Pages in Progress folders from time to time and filing them away – that way, if you get a last minute invitation to a crop, you’ll be able to grab and go! You’ll have fun, get more done, and be proud of your accomplishments!

Please note:  I did not write this article.  I don't know who did but I would like to give credit where it is due so if you know, please let me know.

Friday, March 1, 2024

Canadian Novels ~ In Sickness and In Health & Yom Kippur in a Gym by Nora Gold

 


Happy Publication Day to In Sickness and In Health & Yom Kippur in a Gym, the new set of novellas by award-winning author, Nora Gold! 

This phenomenal book was published by Guernica Editions and is now available anywhere books are sold. 

Dr. Nora Gold is the author of four acclaimed books and the winner of two Canadian Jewish Book/Literary awards, as well as praise from Alice Munro. A former professor and an activist, Gold is the editor-in-chief of the prestigious literary journal Jewish Fiction .net, which has readers in 140 countries.

About In Sickness and In Health. Lily had epilepsy as a child, so her most cherished goal has always been to be “normal”. By age 45 she has a “normal” life, including a family, friends, and an artistic career, and no one, not even her husband, knows the truth about her past. But now some cartoons she drew threaten to reveal her childhood secret, and destroy her marriage and everything she has worked so hard for. A moving novella about shame, secrets, disabilities, and the limits and power of love.

About Yom Kippur in a Gym. Five strangers at a Yom Kippur service in a gym are struggling with personal crises. Lucy can’t accept her husband’s Parkinson’s diagnosis. Ira, rejected by his lover, plans to commit suicide. Ezra is tormented by a mistake that ruined his career. Rachel worries about losing her job. Tom contemplates severing contact with his sisters. Then a medical emergency unexpectedly throws these five strangers together, and in one hour all their lives are changed in ways they would never have believed possible.

@noraannruth @river_street_writes

@guernicaeditions

#canlit #novellas #bookishcanadians #bookstagramcanada #epilepsy #yomkippur #feministliterature #canadianliterature #canadianbooks #health #wellness #disability #smallpress #litfict #litfic #canadianreader #ilovebooks

Sunday, February 25, 2024

2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge ~ #9 Books and Magazines

You may recall that Challenge #8 was organizing your paper cosmetics. I have a rather large collection although I am pretty sure there are lots of you with even more. But mine ARE organized.





So I am more than ready for Challenge #9 . . .

Books and Magazines

Inspiration for scrapbook pages is everywhere. But what is the best way to organize it so that it's actually USEFUL?


First consider cutting up your magazines and idea books, and only saving the ideas that you really plan to use. Magazines and idea books that just sit on your shelves aren't really useful. It can take hours to go through your books to find the one layout you remember. Having your ideas in a condensed form, arranged in a way that makes sense to you is much more effective. If you are able to cut up your magazines, here are some ideas for arranging them:



theme (holidays, birthday, babies, pets, travel etc)
number of photos used in the layout
journaling ideas
colours
quotes
techniques

Now that you've decided how to arrange them, where do you store them? A few ideas:

* a composition book or some other kind of sketchbook: you can sketch in here and adhere page ideas into it. It's also portable, so you can take it with you to crops!
* an index card box: adhere your ideas to index cards
* idea file folders. Place your ideas inside file folders and label the index tab. Store in a portable file box. Add categories as needed.
* binder with page protectors: tuck clippings into the page protectors

If you have decided you are NOT cutting up your magazines . . .

SORT: Make sure that the magazines and books are still relevant to you. If you are holding onto magazines more than a year or two old, REALLY make sure they still interest you. Sort them into piles: KEEP, DONATE, SELL, TOSS

PURGE: Trash the TOSS pile. Arrange immediate drop-off or pick-up of the DONATE pile. Bag up and assign a price and your initials to the SELL pile.

ASSIGN: sort your magazines/books by title/date of issue, and consider storing your books and magazines down low due to their weight.

CONTAINERIZE: store in boxes or magazine holders.

EQUALIZE: Consider getting varied colours of post-it flags, and setting up categories for ideas. Each time you get a new book or magazine, flag the pages you like according to your system, so that you an easily see from the outside of your books which one might have an idea applicable to the project you are working on.


Only one week left of our challenge . . . 

how's your space looking now?

Friday, February 23, 2024

Canadian Book ~ Deviant by Patrick Grace


Happy Publication Day to Deviant (University of Alberta Press) by poet Patrick Grace! 

Deviant traces a trajectory of queer self-discovery from childhood to adulthood, examining love, fear, grief, and the violence that men are capable of in intimate same-sex relationships. Richly engaged with the tangible and experiential, Patrick Grace’s confessional poetry captures profound, sharp emotions, tracking a journey impacted equally by beauty and by brutality. Coming-of-age identity struggles are recalled with wry wit, and dreamlike poems embrace adolescent queer love and connections as a way to cope with the fear and cruelty that can occur in gay relationships. Later poems in the collection recall vivid moments of psychological trauma and stalking and explore the bias of the justice system toward gay men. 

Collecting memories, dreams, and fears about sexual identity, Deviant makes important contributions to queer coming-of-age and intimate partner violence narratives. 

@thepoetpatrick 

@river_street_writes 

#canlit #poetry #queerlit #queerliterature #bookishcanadians #bookstagramcanada #canadianpoet #canadianpoetry #poets #poetsofig #poetsofinstagram #poetrycollection #canadianliterature #literature #whattoreadnext #poetrylovers #queerpoetry #queerpoet #canadianreaders #readersofig #canadianbooks


Sunday, February 18, 2024

2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge ~ Challenge #8 Paper Cosmetics

How does it feel to know we are nearly done?  Your crafting space should be looking a lot better by now.  I bet you aren't opening 15 different storage containers while trying to find that one item you need anymore.

Challenge #8


   

It is time to organize our "paper cosmetics": paints, inks, embossing powders, mists, and other products that add a little something special to our pages.  If you do mixed media or art journaling I bet your stock of paper cosmetics is pretty substantial.  Let's get started . . .

SORT: 


First go through each of these items and make sure your colours haven't expired.  Are ink pads still juicy?  Are lids still intact? Do paints still mix together when shaken? Are your chalks still intact enough to use?  Sort all of your paper cosmetics into TOSS, KEEP, SELL, DONATE

PURGE: 


Throw out the TOSS items.  Bag up and assign a price and your initials to the SELL pile, and put them immediately in your garage sale box.  Arrange for pick-up or drop-off of the DONATE pile.

ASSIGN: 


Sort your KEEP pile into categories that make sense to you.

CONTAINERIZE


Inks last longest when stored horizontally, upside down on a shelf, in a drawer, or maybe a cassette tape holder?  Paints could be stacked on a narrow shelf, on a tiered rack, in spice racks, etc.  Embossing powders, chalks and other cosmetics could be stored in well-labeled drawers or bins.

EQUALIZE


Take a few minutes at the end of each scrapping session, when you return from a crop, or return from a shopping trip to put your paper cosmetics away where they belong.

Please share your progress on our Facebook group.

Sunday, February 11, 2024

2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge ~ #7 Embellishments

So how did you make out with Challenge #6?  I'm not a huge fibre user on my pages so I was pretty sure this was an easy challenge for me. It was fun re-discovering just how much pretty ribbon, floss and washi tape I actually do have.

Are you ready for Challenge #7?





Embellishments are some of the easiest things to buy. Everything looks so good, and you really believe you NEED everything! Embellishments are also one of the supplies most affected by trends so careful consideration is really needed here.

It's also important to find a system that will help you store all of your embellishments in a way that won't overwhelm you, yet also is visible enough that you don't forget to USE them. 

Let's S.P.A.C.E. them.

SORT

As always, bring all of your embellishments together. Touch every piece that you have and ruthlessly sort through them, deciding what to KEEP, TOSS, SELL, DONATE.

PURGE

Immediately throw out the TOSS pile. Bag up and assign a price and your initials to the SELL pile, and put them in the garage sale box. Set up a drop-off or pick-up of the DONATE pile.

ASSIGN

Sort through the KEEP pile in a way that makes sense to you. Some ideas for sorting your embellishments:

1) by category (buttons, brads, alphabets, charms, etc.)
2) by colour
3) by manufacturer
4) by type (metal, acrylic), or
5) by theme

CONTAINERIZE

Now that you've decided how to sort your embellishments, the next step is decided how to store them, and how to label them! Researching online will give you great ideas. Talk to other crafters about what ideas worked for them.

EQUALIZE

Take a few minutes at the end of each scrapping session, when you return from a crop, or return from a shopping trip to put your embellishments away where they belong.

Please share a photo of your organized embellishments with us here.

Sunday, February 4, 2024

2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge #6 ~ Ribbons and Fibres and Washi Tape

Are you ready for Challenge #6? 

Let's talk about Ribbons and fibres and washi tape. 



There is no "right" way to store your ribbons and fibre. The most important factor is that the system works for YOU. First, let's make some S.P.A.C.E.

SORT


Gather together all of your ribbons and fiber, and sort them into piles: KEEP, TOSS, SELL, DONATE.

PURGE


Throw out the TOSS pile. Immediately make arrangements for pick-up or drop-off of the DONATE pile. Bag up, and assign a price and your initials to the SELL pile, and immediately put these in your garage sale box.

ASSIGN


Sort your KEEP pile into types/colours of fibre and ribbon. If your ribbons are in a big wrinkled mess, take time now to give everything a pressing (careful with the heat, some synthetics may melt!).

CONTAINERIZE


Consider the space that you have, and the way that you work. Here are some ideas that work for both ribbons and fibres:

1) on those little cardboard bobbins meant for embroidery floss

2) organized by colour in big clear glass jars on a shelf

3) wound and paper clipped and stored with their coordinating embellishments


4) Cropper Hopper mini embellishment boxes and sorted by colour

5) in small ziploc bags stored in a photo box, or on a big ring


6) in sports cards organizer pages, sorted by colour and in a binder

7) wound on index cards and stored in a photo box

EQUALIZE

Take a few minutes at the end of each scrapping session, when you return from a crop, or return from a shopping trip to put your ribbons and fibres away where they belong.

Share your progress by posting photos at in our Facebook group.


Sunday, January 28, 2024

2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge #5

 Challenge #5 - Stickers, die cuts, rub ons, and swaps 


Stickers, die cuts, and rub-ons are some of the hardest things to organize because the different sizes and shapes pose many challenges. Rub-ons present their own challenges because if they aren't stored properly, they stick to each other and then they are useless. 

It's time to make S.P.A.C.E. 

SORT

Time to be ruthless. Consider if you are really going to use these items. If you bought a whole sheet of die cuts just to use one or two tags, why are you hanging on to the whole sheet? Those stickers you bought in 1999 were adorable then, but definitely not your style now, are they? So, sort into piles: TRASH, SELL, DONATE, TO KEEP 

PURGE

Throw out the TRASH pile. Bag up, and assign a price and your initials to the SELL pile and put them directly into the garage sale box. Make immediate arrangements to rid yourself of the DONATE items. 

ASSIGN

The KEEP items need to be divided into categories that make sense to you: by colour, by manufacturer, theme, size, or type. 

CONTAINERIZE

Here is an article about storing stickers, die cuts and rub-ons: 

EQUALIZE

Take a few minutes at the end of each scrap session and whenever you return from a crop or a shopping trip to put your stickers, rub-ons and die cuts where they belong. 

SWAPS

While you are busy sorting your stickers you should also sort any swaps you’ve been holding on to.  Many of us have fallen victim to the lure of scrapbook swaps among local and online groups. All the hours, material, creativity, and postage costs make these items difficult to purge. But let's face it . . . not everything is YOUR style, you are NEVER going to use some of it. 

It's time to make more S.P.A.C.E. 

SORT

Keep only what you love. If the colour or style does not make you smile, it must go. Keep only what is significant to you - don't keep the soccer page swap items if your kids are into hockey and dance. Sort into: KEEP, TRASH, SELL, DONATE 

PURGE

Pack up the DONATE pile and give it to a beginner scrapbooker who might appreciate these items. Throw out the TRASH pile. Bag up and assign a price and your initials to the SELL items and put them directly into the garage sale box. 

ASSIGN

Sort your KEEP items into categories, theme, holiday, colour, whatever makes sense to you. 

CONTAINERIZE

Store your keepers in page protectors by theme in binders, or get them into giant ziplocs to create page kits for your next cropping session. 

EQUALIZE

Next time a swap arrives in the mail, take a few minutes to toss or give away what you know you'll never use, create a page kit for your next cropping session, or put in a page protector in your swap binder for storage. 

At one point in my scrapbooking life I participated in a ridiculous number of swaps. Not any more . . . 

When you are done, please share a photo to our Facebook group 
showing your storage system. 

Sunday, January 21, 2024

2024 Craft Room Organization Challenge ~ Challenge #4 - Tools and Adhesive

If you are ready, here is Challenge #4 . . . 

Tools and Adhesives 


Gather together all of your tools and adhesives into a box and let's start S.P.A.C.E.ing them! 

Sort

One by one, put each item into piles: FAVOURITES, TRASH, TO SELL, STORE, DONATE.

Purge

For the SELL pile: bag up and assign a price and your initials to tools/adhesives that you don't love/use anymore and put them in your garage sale box. Throw out the TRASH pile. Arrange pick-up or drop-off of the DONATE pile.

Assign

Store your most used items in a basket or box or other system right on your desk, within easy reach. Divide the STORE items into categories that make sense to you: cutting tools, pens, punches, templates, etc. 

Containerize

This is the time to tidy up your tools. Tools need regular maintenance to keep them efficiently working. As you put your tools away in whatever container (drawers, shelves, boxes, baskets - always ensuring the container is clearly labelled) give them a little maintenance.

*  scissors - sharpen your scissors using a small scissor sharpener, or have them professionally done. Carefully clean the blades (I like alcohol swabs to remove sticky adhesive).

*  pens - test pens and throw out the ones that are dry or don't work well.

* craft knives - change the blades.

*  trimmers - clean the deck of your trimmers with a damp cloth, and a little cleanser if necessary. Replace dull blades, or cut through fine sandpaper or aluminum foil.

*  Work surface - clean ink, adhesive and paint from your self-healing mats.

*  Punches - to prevent punches from sticking, punch through wax paper. Problem punches may need a little lubricating oil such as sewing machine oil, then punch through scrap paper several times to remove oily residue. Dull punches can be sharpened by punching through aluminum foil or fine grade sandpaper (both right side up and upside down).

*  Stamps - stamps should be cleaned after each use, but if there is a build up of ink on your stamps, you should clean them with an alcohol free baby wipe, or paper towels moistened with a mild cleanser (ammonia free/bleach free) Use a soft toothbrush to remove ink stuck in the crevices of a design. Store stamps flat, rubber side down.

* Dies and Thin Cuts

* Clean and recalibrate electronic cutting systems

Equalize

Once you have a system in place for your tools, putting them back in the same place every time will become a reflex, and you will never have to hunt for you scissors again! Take a couple of minutes at the end of each scrap session to put your tools away.

We have started a Facebook group as a place for us to share photos, accomplishments, encouragement, tips and tricks as we work through the Craft Room  Organization Challenge. 

Sunday, January 14, 2024

2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge #3

It's Time for Challenge #3 ~ Photos



So, your paper is beautifully organized, your scraps carefully stashed or purged, and your desk is gleaming! You are starting to get organized. Doesn't it make you feel creative? Don't you want to get cropping? Well, you CAN'T scrapbook without PHOTOS!

Our third challenge is to organize our photos. Photos can be easily damaged and sometimes irreplaceable. Here is an excellent article to get you thinking about how to organize those precious photos before we start to S.P.A.C.E. them:

https://www.scrapbook.com/articles/organizing-and-storing-your-photos-and-negatives


Protecting your photos means making sure your hands are clean and dry. Always hold photos and negatives by the edge. 

When deciding where to store your photos you need to think about humidity, temperature and light. Your storage space should be no less than 15% relative humidity and no more than 65%. Dry paper from low humidity can become very brittle. High humidity will cause photos to stick together and can also cause insect infestations. 

A lower temperature is best for photos, slowing the degradation of paper and ink and discouraging insects. The temperature should be no more than 23C so your attic probably won't be a good storage place. You should avoid temperature fluctuations as well, your garage or basement might not be a good storage place either. 

Light is also a concern in the safe storage of photos and negatives. Dark storage places are best to preserve your photos and stop inks and pigments from fading. 

Just a few more don'ts . . . Don't store photos or negatives in albums or photo boxes that aren't lignin and PVC free, or envelopes that are not archival quality. Don't hold photos together with rubber bands or paper clips.

Please take a moment and read this excerpt from Design Strategies for Scrapbookers:


Photo preservation begins with safe storage.  Remove photos stored in the old magnetic albums immediately.  A magnetic album has cardboard pages with adhesive on them and a plastic sheet to cover the photos.  The adhesives and plastics in these albums are highly acidic and can ruin your photos very quickly.

To safely remove photos from magnetic albums you can use:

1.      Dental floss – Slip a piece of dental floss under one corner of the photo and use a gentle back-and-forth sawing motion to lift the photo.
2.      Blow Dryer – Set your blow dryer on low heat to soften the page’s glue and then carefully lift the photo.
3.      Spatula/pan scraper – Use a thin spatula to slowly pry photos loose. 
4.      Undu Adhesive Remover – Undu neutralizes adhesive’s stickiness, making photos easy to remove.  It dries clear and will not damage photos or smudge most inks.
5.      I have heard about freezing the pages first  but I’ve never tried it so use at your own risk.

Use an acid-free photo box with dividers or an archival quality photo album for storage.  Organize photos chronologically or by theme, event or subject depending on how you scrapbook.  Write notes on the dividers or on the back of the photo for later reference.  Don’t use ballpoint pen to write on backs of photos.  Buy a special photo-marking pen or pencil. 

Always save original photos if they are one of a kind and can’t be replaced.  This is especially important with heritage photos.  Instead, scan and print new copies, storing the original for safe-keeping.  If you are determined to use the original, use photo corners to adhere these precious photos to your layouts so they can be safely removed.

I just had a reminder of this rule recently.  I’ve been working on a family tree album and needed some baby pictures.  I scrapbooked all my baby pictures when I first started scrapbooking many years ago.  And that was the problem.  I had cut them all in shapes and used decorative scissors on them.  Not one was complete enough for me to scan and reprint.  My mom and aunt are going through their old photos in hopes they have some originals.  So I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to save original photos.  Scan the originals and have them reprinted. 

Don’t forget to properly store and organize negatives.  Plastic negative sleeves will hold 4-7 negatives, depending on brand and the size of film.  If you have older negatives in smaller sizes (such as 110) you can easily create subdivisions in the sleeves with a sewing machine and clear nylon thread.  You can store negative sleeves in a 3-ring binder or folder.  Label each sleeve with the date and/or subject.

Digital photos have their own set of rules.  Always back up your computer files, including your digital photo files because computers crash and hard drives fail.  Store a back up copy of your photos and important documents to an external hard drive.  You can also download your digital photos to CD’s or USB drives although there is some debate as to how long they last.  There are many online sites that you can save your photos to as well.

When you are looking for a safe place to store your memorabilia, photographs, negatives, supplies and albums, keep in mind that they will do best in a dry, cool place, out of direct sunlight.

Available in colour, black & white or large print

SORT: Gather together all of your photos, and sort them into categories that make sense: 

TRASH (it's okay to throw out photos with bad colour, expression, composition. Why keep them? You're not going to scrapbook them) 
TO SCRAPBOOK (the shots you know you are going to use) 
TO STORE (photos that need to be kept, but aren't necessarily going to be going into your scrapbooks) 
TO GIVE AWAY (doubles that you want to send to friends and family)

PURGE: Throw out the TRASH pile. Put the TO GIVE AWAY photos in envelopes and mail them to friends/family, or put them in your car so you can drop them off the next time you visit. Do not leave them in your studio, or they will creep back into your organized space.

ASSIGN: Sort the final two groups of photos into a system that makes sense to you:

Chronologically
Holiday/Event/Vacation
Person

CONTAINERIZE: Now it's time to decide how you want to store your photos. Perhaps you want to put your TO STORE photos in acid free envelopes or albums. Perhaps you want to put your TO SCRAPBOOK photos into photo storage boxes, or accordion folders.

EQUALIZE: Next time you get new photos from the photo processor, spend a couple of minutes and put the photos where they belong: throw out the bad shots, give away the extras, put the keepers away in their album, and sort your photos for scrapbooking into their container.


We have started a Facebook group as a place for us to share photos, accomplishments, encouragement, tips and tricks as we work through the 2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge.  You are welcome to post before and after photos of your photo challenge here.

Sunday, January 7, 2024

2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge #2

How did you make out on the first challenge? It's not too late to share your photos. Doesn't it feel great to start the new season with a clean work surface?

Let's move on to the next challenge . . .

Challenge #2 



Did you know that a 1” high stack of patterned paper equals as many as 250 sheets of patterned paper? That’s a lot of paper. I don't know about you, but I have a lot more than 1" of paper.

So here is this week's challenge:

Your challenge this week is to S.P.A.C.E. your paper - - and I mean ALL of your paper: cardstock, patterned paper, specialty papers, and all those SCRAPS!

If you are a quilter you need to S.P.A.C.E. your fabric. A knitter -- your wool. I think you get the picture. This challenge is for everybody!

SORT


Bring all of your paper to one area. Sort it all into piles: KEEP, SELL, DONATE, TRASH

PURGE

Bag up, and assign a price to paper bundles that you want to SELL at a garage sale or online, and put the bags in the garage sale box. Throw out the TRASH pile. Bag up the DONATE pile and immediately make arrangements for drop-off/pick-up or put in your vehicle.

ASSIGN

Separate your paper into categories that make sense to you. For example, you may want to divide it simply into cardstock and patterned paper. If you have a huge stash of paper, you may want to divide it by colour, theme, or manufacturer. If you bought paper for a specific project (in my case a recent trip to the east coast) keep it kitted together.

I have separated out Christmas and sports papers in their own containers. The rest of my kits are stored in bankers boxes.

Another way to sort your paper is in page kits. Package matching patterned papers in a zip lock or similar bag, add matching cardstocks and embellishments to create kits. Most of my patterned papers and embellishments are sorted in this way. When the opportunity for some scrappin’ time presents, I just have to grab my tool pouch and a kit and I’m ready to go.

Do you buy a lot of paper “stacks” or kits? I don’t recommend taking them apart. They are perfect for building page kits.

Do you save your leftover scraps? Decide on a minimum size that you are willing to keep. I usually throw out anything smaller than 4 x 6”. 





CONTAINERIZE

Store your paper in a way that makes sense to you:

- vertical paper holders
- hanging vertical file folders
- wire cubes
- paper trays
- paper organizers
- bookcases with adjustable shelves

I use vertical paper holders for my cardstocks (which I personally feel I do not have enough of) and banker boxes for my page kits.

EQUALIZE

Each time you finish a scrap session, return from a crop, or bring home new papers, spend a few minutes putting your paper away where it belongs.

We have started a Facebook group as a place for us to share photos, accomplishments, encouragement, tips and tricks as we work through this Challenge. When you have completed this challenge please share your photos in our challenge #2 album.

Monday, January 1, 2024

2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge #1

Why do we come up with cute, self-deprecating names for our crafts and our craft space?  Why do we not take ourselves seriously?

Several years ago I realized the only thing holding me back from taking my art seriously was me. How could anyone else take me seriously when I didn't see my self as a serious craftsperson? 

I’m "only" a scrapbooker. A scrapbooker who has been developing her talent for over 25 years, who has taught others, who has written books . . . so why wasn’t I taking my skill seriously?

And then I did. I started by ordering business cards with my name and title, Paper Artist and Blogger. And my crop room became my studio. I may never become rich or famous but that doesn’t change the fact that I am an artist and what I create is very serious and very important to me. 




Organizing your creative space should be taken seriously too. Constant clutter will block your creative energy and keep you from doing your best work.

So it is time to do a little day dreaming. What would your perfect studio look like? How would you improve what you currently work in? Start jotting down ideas and making sketches. Go through some magazines looking for ideas you think would be perfect for you. What do you need in your creative space to make you enthusiastic and and yet content?

I live in a building where we are not supposed to paint the walls. Yep, six rooms of beige. So I hang up art . . . only pieces that make me happy or give me happy memories. I have two Clark McDougall prints hung in my studio that bring me joy every time I look at them. My solution to the boring walls is art.



Image result for Ann's Snack Bar Clark McDougall

Look for your problem areas. Think of ways you can solve the problems. Take notes. Make sketches. Do a bit of research.  Don’t think about costs yet. Don’t buy anything yet. That comes later. Just dream . . .

Welcome to our annual Craft Space Organization Challenge . . . 

The one room that always seems to become a cluttered mess is my studio.  As the clutter piles up it becomes harder and harder to find what I need.  Is this the same for you?

Today is the day to begin taking back your space so you can accomplish more and get more enjoyment out of your precious crafting time.

These challenges were originally set up for scrapbookers but they work quite well for just about any type of crafter . . . which is a good thing for me.  My studio is set up for my paper crafting, quilting, stamp collection, letterboxing, knitting and crochet, writing, my hubby's leatherworking, genealogy, cross stitch, and tapestry.  I need a system that works for ALL of my crafts. 

The information in these challenges can help both new and veteran scrapbookers and other crafters to get organized.  

It doesn't matter if you are starting a new craft room or space or you need to dig out from one you don’t recognize anymore, you are not alone.  

It doesn’t matter if your space is a room, the kitchen table, a designated part of a room, or a closet.  

What I want you to do right NOW is take a photo of your craft space.  No . . . leave the dirty coffee cup where it is. Yes, I know you let your cat sleep on your keyboard.  Do not touch ANYTHING.  Just take a brutally honest photo of your craft space and upload it to our Facebook group.  A random winner will be drawn on January 7, 2024 to receive a prize.

Come on!! You can do it!! No shame here . . . just hope and encouragement. If I can get MY MESS fixed, ANYONE can. Just follow the challenges I'll be posting over the next 10 weeks.  You can do this!!! 

Challenge #1 Clean Your Work Space.



The first challenge of our ORGANIZATION CHALLENGE is to clear off your crafting work space. Maybe you have a desk committed as your craft space, maybe you have an entire room of tables, or maybe you have taken over the dining room table. Wherever you craft, completely clear off the entire surface of your work space, dumping everything into a big box. Give your surface a good scrub and polish, removing every speck of paint, adhesive, and uh.... is that chocolate????

Take a photo of your newly scrubbed craft space and upload it to our Facebook group.

Okay, now let's get to work on that big box of stuff.

Now is the time to learn that you need S.P.A.C.E. to craft:

* Sort * Purge * Assign * Containerize * Equalize * 

We're going to use this method for each and every challenge.

SORT

Going object by object, divide everything in the big box into categories that make sense to you. You may want to have some baskets laid out and labelled: SELL, DONATE, TRASH, STORAGE (for stuff you want to keep but doesn't belong on or in your desk/work surface) , NOT IN HERE (for items that sneak their way into your craft space but belong elsewhere in the house) and ACTION (for items that you want to keep in or on your desk). Set up these boxes or baskets or whatever near the door of your craft room or, even better, outside of your craft room

Look very seriously at all your stuff and decide if you really need each item. If your answer is yes, you need to ask yourself if it belongs in your craft room. If you answer no to either question you need to PURGE it.

PURGE:

1) Throw out everything in the TRASH pile - all the ripped, broken, dried up, crumpled STUFF.

2) Bag up and assign a price and your initials to everything in the SELL pile, and put in your sale box.

3) Call the person who could use the DONATE pile, and immediately set up a time to drop off, bag it up, and hang on the door knob so it doesn't sneak back into your studio area. 4) Put the NOT IN HERE stuff where it belongs.

ASSIGN

You have a couple of options here for your STORAGE pile: put the stuff aside to be organized when we work on other areas, or (and I strongly suggest this alternative) put the items away where they belong using your current organization system.

CONTAINERIZE

Sort all of your ACTION items into the appropriate drawer, container, and boxes. Containerizing gives you a chance to make everything pretty and inspirational to you. You may need to make a shopping trip to purchases containers that you love to look at, are sturdy enough to withstand repeated openings and closings, and are the right size. Make a list and take measurements. Label everything.

EQUALIZE

Each time you finish a crafting session, return from a crop, or bring home new supplies, spend a few minutes putting everything away where it belongs. By the time you are done this challenge you will have “a space for everything” so put “everything in its place.” 

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Canadian Book Review ~ The Meaning of Leaving by Kate Rogers


Happy publication to Canadian poet Kate Rogers, whose collection, The Meaning of Leaving has been released by AOS Publishing!


The poems in The Meaning of Leaving explore the broad theme of departure—from an abusive marriage, a homeland, and an adopted home. The themes of the nature of home, homelessness, and belonging run through the poems as the speaker reflects on returning from Hong Kong to her Canadian birthplace.


With unflinching tenderness and insight, Rogers reflects on our hardest edges and most vulnerable soft spots, bringing the painful and unspoken parts of ourselves to brilliant, shattering light. The effect is transfixing, unsettlingly, and explosive. 

@aos.publishing

@river_street_writes

@kate_rogers_writer


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