Messy or Clean?

A few days ago I asked the question in the Scraptastic Club forum...messy or clean? And several of the forum readers/Scraptastic Club members responded with peaks at their spaces...their REAL spaces, not the tidied up version. I really loved seeing everyone's everyday work areas, so as promised I shared mine, and decided to do so on my blog as well. Here it is, but be forewarned! This is my everyday. :)

Almost everything I use is right here...on my desk...within arms reach. But it sure can get a mess! Right now I'm in the middle of picking through my papers and scraps for two different projects. Here's a look at my organized chaos.




And here's a head-on view of my work area:




Stacking trays on the left hold some of my patterned papers, but that isn't the half of it. Having a deep space below my work surface really comes in handy for a paper addict like me. Larger collections and Scraptastic kits are kept in a milk crate underneath my desk, along with Iris boxes in themes such as Summer, Travel, School, Halloween, and Christmas. Stamping supplies reside down below as well.

Also on top of my desk are my letter stickers. Stickers from Basic Grey, Jillibean Soup and October Afternoon are kept upright alongside the paper trays. Here also reside my spray inks, most-used ink pads, and newest stamps from Scraptastic. 

The 3-drawer storage in the center holds lots and lots and lots of chipboard, as well as my lesser used tools and punches. My new washi tape holder (modeled after the one made by Susan Stringfellow and described here) will need to be moved so that I can access the drawers. It needs a permanent home.  

The revolving unit on top of the 3-drawer storage holds things that I reach for everyday: pens, pencils, exacto knife, rulers, my ATG, and more. Alongside it are favorite border punches and stick pins. Hanging up are my wood veneer.

Finally, the storage cube on the right holds so much miscellany that it is spilling out into other containers. Here is where I keep journaling spots, bingo cards, library cards, labels, tabs, and all manner of bits and pieces. A little container holds flowers. Another holds fabric tapes, and tags. Finally, there is one plastic shoebox in which I have tightly squeezed all of my Thickers. They are in serious need of a thinning out! On top of it all are my photos. 

While a dedicated scraproom is a dream, I have to say that this set-up works out well for me. I am in a corner of our family room, not too far from the kitchen, and in the midst of all our family's happenings. It's a good place to be. 

Haunted Gingerbread

Every once in a while I challenge myself to use more of my older supplies. With this page I'm reaching way back into the stash and using up some Halloween-themed papers from Fancy Pants, circa 2009. 

I love how the negative cut title looks over the blue background. The vellum ghosts? Eh. They aren't my favorite. I modeled them off a Making Memories foam stamp. They might have looked better if I had actually stamped them. Oh well. I was scared, and didn't want to mess up the layout. I'm chicken like that.

Anyway, I love this haunted variation on the Christmas gingerbread. We had a so much fun putting together (and eating) our spooky house! I hope we can find another kit like this next Halloween.

2 Of A Kind

Yes, we have another swimmer in the family. Kevin has taken after his big sister in pursuing this wonderful sport. With practice up to 2 hours a day, five to six days a week, swimming has become a big part of his life. Here they are together, my youngest and oldest, two of a kind.

It wasn't easy finding papers for these photos. I didn't know which way to go with it, so I began pulling out anything I could find in the colors of his towel, her shirt, their chairs, etc. Somehow I ended up with this mix of graph paper, houndstooth, and dots.

I'm pretty sure this chipboard is supposed to be protective goggles, as in a chemistry lab. Regardless, painted to match the page, it makes a nice stand-in for swim goggles.

I'm curious. What color palette would you have chosen for this page?

Make A Wish

I should do this more often. After completing a couple of pages with Scraptastic Club's Everything I Am kit, I had a few extra bits and pieces laying around. A doily here, a bit of die cut leaves there, banner bits, and scraps of paper. I put them all together, added a bit of stitching, and voila...a card!

Why am I so averse to making cards? I don't know!

Happiness In A Can

Coca-cola, potato chips, and over-priced burgers fueled our parade-watching along St. Charles Avenue on an overcast and chilly Mardi Gras Day 2013. Since soft drinks are not everyday at our house, Kevin really enjoyed being able to indulge! Gulping down all that sugar and carbonation was an integral part of his celebration.

 

Scraptastic's Everything I Am kit, one of their March selections, was used with the photo below. Although I rarely print other than full-color photos, this one required a radical adjustment. Kevin was decked out in purple, green and gold stripes, the Coke can was red, and a bright yellow jacket lay on back of the chair on which he was sitting. The sepia-tinted photo was a better choice, and compliments the background paper rather nicely.

The Heidi Swapp epoxy "happiness" sticker, from a previous Scraptastic kit, was a perfect start to my title, with navy alphas finishing it off. Additional supplies include: Lily Bee and Glitz patterned paper, Teresa Collins die cuts, Prima flowers, and a Scraptstic exclusive Ormolu flair.

A Bit of Pinspiration

Last week was Pinterest inspiration week on the Scraptastic Blog, with Design Team members rummaging through their Pin boards, choosing inspiring pieces, and creating projects based on those pins. I chose TWO pinned projects to inspire a layout with the Scraptastic Everything I Am kit.

My first bit of "pinspiration" came from the gorgeous page below. Inspired by the white on white look of the layered papers along with the soft pastel color palette, I aimed to combine the same on my page.

Additional Pinspiration was drawn from the large welded title of the beautiful layout below. It made me want to drag out my die cutting machine and play with lettering!

Here are the results of applying a little inspiration from each of the above pieces to my own page:

The color scheme of my layout was inspired by the first pin. Popping up some of the white and pastel elements helps to distinguish them from the background.

The second Pinterest pin inspired me to form my own title, by arranging, overlapping and welding letters before cutting with my diecutting machine. The word "beautiful" was cut from both white and pink papers then layered on the page, with the top (white) layer pop-dotted over the pink. It's a great effect!

Check out the Scraptastic Blog for more Pinterest inspiration pieces. Do you have a pin board? What is inspiring YOU lately?

Pontchatoula Berries

One day pretty soon, my husband will call and ask if I want him to bring home a flat of berries. He'll be driving through the Pontchatoula area (home of the Louisiana Strawberry Festival) and spot them for sale on the side of the road. When the prices are just right, and the berries the freshest and juiciest, he'll take some home. It's almost that season...and I can't wait. We'll make smoothies every afternoon, freeze some of the berries for later., and of course we'll have plenty for simply munching. Add a little evaporated milk and sweetener, and you have a delicious dessert! Usually the berries disappear so fast, that I miss taking a picture. Last year I snapped this:

A little Pinterest inspiration was used for the woven basket pieces (although today's berry baskets are green plastic) on which I placed a painted chipboard strawberry (Maya Road),

and a couple of flowers.

 

Patterned papers are from October Afternoon, Simple Stories (tickets and bingo card), and Jillibean Soup (Berry Jam label):

Other supplies include Liquid Pearls, Prima flowers, Jenni Bowlin milk cap, ribbon, thread, heart pin, ink, border punch (Martha Stewart), and letter stickers (Doodlebug, KI Memories).

Is your mouth watering yet?