Coloring Samples Binder

Happy Sunday everyone!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day!  The weather here in North Carolina is finally getting nice out!  I had been really spoiled living in Southern California the past 10 years with their gorgeous weather and I sure do miss it!  Of course, we moved here to NC 6 months ago and have had the worse winter in ages!  Not an ideal way to start out here, but it's finally spring now!

Today I thought I would share with you a binder I put together to keep track of pencil coloring samples I use.  I really love to color with my pencils and having just the “right” colors for a project is important to me.  I started this binder a few months ago so I would have these combinations of colors at my finger tips instead of having to search for them in previous projects or reinvent them again.

I use the small binders, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", with the sheet protectors the same as my samples binder you may have seen me use here.  I cut card stock 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and stamped flowers on each page (I did 3 on each).   The flower I have used here is from Heartfelt Creation's Posy Patch Flowers Set, but basically I just picked a flower that had good size petals that I could work with.

Here's a view of some of the purple color combinations I have put together in my binder.  (You can click on the photo to see it better.)

What I do is number the flower petals that correspond with a specific color that I list out.  Starting with 1, I add the color and blend on each petal, then 2 added to petal 2 and up and blended, then 3 added to 3 and up and blended, etc.  So I end up with a sample of different color shades on each petal that I can match up to and use.

Here's a close up of one of the combinations I did so you can see it better and in case I'm not making sense.

So on the sample above, petal 1 has only Rosy Beige, petal 2 has Rosy Beige, then Clay Rose, petal 3 has Rosy Beige, then Clay Rose, then Black Cherry, petal 4 has all four colors.

You can see a little note I added on this combination that I used the steps 1-3 color combination for the Raindrops on Roses samples I made.  Here's a card I made with this color combination.  (I do believe I also added a little black on a couple of spots on this one too and burnished with Black Cherry.)

Some of the combinations in my color samples have dates written on them which is the date of the project I did with that color combination.  Most of the samples are done by using minerals spirits to blend the colors.  Sometimes I will burnish the colors, especially when I'm adding black, and I'll usually note that on the sample.  I often use a tiny amount of black at the last step of coloring to intensify the shading a bit in some places.  Usually, I will burnish the black with the color I used before it so that it retains the color and doesn't just turn to black.

I'm by no means an expert on coloring, but I thought I would share some of what I do when I color and what has helped me to be more organized with color combinations I have used.  I've found it really helpful when I'm trying to match colors to designer papers I'm working with.  Hope someone else will find this useful too!

Thank for stopping by to visit!

Blessings!

Kathy

Organization - Craft Websites Shortcut

Hi there!

I have a tiny little organizational tip that I have been using for years and thought I would share it...maybe someone can use it!

I did a simple (it would have to be because I don't know much about Excel)Excel spreadsheet document with columns for Company Name, Website address, user id, password, and description of what it is or what I use it for. At one point I had a folder of sticky notes and papers with website addresses. I finally decided to put it all in one place with all the information I needed. Whenever I need to check a website for something, I go to this document. I find the website name or what I'm looking for, note the user id and password, click on the web address and I'm there.

Sorry, the picture isn't the greatest, but you get the idea of how it works. You can't see the description column in the picture, but it is part of the document. Really simple, but it has really helped me to stay organized and clutter-free! Hope you find it useful!

Blessings!

Kathy

Organization of Card Bases, Mats, Diecuts, Images

Hi there!

I guess it's been a while since I posted! I've been busy and have lots more I want to do!

I have another organizational tip that I've been using the past couple of months that has REALLY helped me out. Hope you find it helpful too!

I had a hard time keeping track of and organizing leftovers, rejects, etc. from projects, and decided to keep them all in one place and organized. I originally bought smaller recipe card holder for these at Michaels, but recently found these larger holders that fit even better for $3.00 each. The good news is, I saw these today at Michaels at 60% off...great deal!

These are the two boxes I have.

I have one box that contains all card bases ready to be used. Some of these I made and didn't use, and some I just made extras of to have on hand.

The other box I have I put Die Cuts, Images Stamped (blank), Finished Images Stamped, and Mats that I made, but didn't use.

I find I'm constantly going through these now to see what I already have when I do a project. I keep these on my desk at my fingertips

If you're like me, have leftovers and like to be organized, this might be something you may want to try!

At some point, these would be fun to decorate too!

I LOVE to be organized! It helps me to have more time to do what I love to do...create joyfully made designs!

Blessings!

Kathy

Acrylic Stamp Storage

Hi there!

I thought I would post some more pictures and information about how I try to keep myself organized in my craft room!

This is how I've started to store my acrylic stamp sets and I really like the way it is working out. Just like my Samples Book Binder, I'm using the small binders (5 1/2" x 8 1/2") to store most of the sets in. I just find these easier to use than the large binders. So far, I have 3 small binders with most of my sets, and 1 large binder that has 2 sets that I couldn't fit in a small binder and couldn't cut them down to fit.

I cut white card stock in half to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" sheets. I used double stick tape to adhere each acrylic stamp sheet to the paper (each set has it's own sheet of paper), labeled them and put each set into the 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 sheet protector. I was able to fit 2 sets in each sheet protector (back to back) and about 10 sets per binder. Here's a couple of pictures of the inside.

This is a picture of a set taken out. Really easy to just remove it to use and file back later when I'm done.

These are the sheet protectors I used in case anyone needs it.

This is the large/normal size binder with the 2 big sets I couldn't fit...yet. I did have a couple of sets that I cut down to fit on 2 separate pages.

This is how I store my Studio G acrylic stamps...those little sets you can get at Michaels for $1.00. They're in a normal size binder. I use baseball card storage sheet protectors for these. I leave each set on it's acrylic sheet and fit the packaging sheet behind it so I know where it's from.

Here's a closeup picture of them.

That's it for my acrylic stamp storage! I love being organized! Hope this helps someone out that was looking for some ideas! It may not be ideal for others, but it works great for me!

Blessings!

Kathy

Samples Binder

Hi there!

I still have a bunch of organizational ideas and pictures to post. This one is on my "Samples" binder. I got this idea from Patter Cross at Triple the Scraps which you can find here. Patter is an organizational expert and I LOVE to be organized! Thank you Patter!

This binder sits right in front of me on my craft desk...always at my fingertips. I keep samples of my punches, embossing folders, cricut cartridges, inks, and I just added some of my cardstock. The best thing about this (for me), is that it's a small binder (5 1/2 x 8 1/2). The size is easier for me to work with. It doesn't take up as much space on my desk when it's open and I can prop it open in front of me. I keep the pages in sheet protectors so I can also easily take a page or two out and bring it with me to the store if I need it.

Here are pictures of the punch samples pages:

These are the embossing samples pages:

For the Cricut Cartridges, I photocopied the box so I had a sample of what was in it. You can also see the 3rd page of the embossing section on the left.

Here are samples of most of my inks. I made up these "charts" on Excel (more like fumbled my way) and printed them on cheap cardstock. I put 2 charts on a page in the document so I could print them on one sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 and then cut them in half to give me 2 pages.

In the first picture I just cut box shapes, sponged the sides and glued each to plain cardstock. These pads I only use for sponging. I will probably go back and do the same thing with the VersaMagic pads for when I use them for sponging. When stamping the samples, I also tried to stamp a regular version and then a light version (not reinked).

The last photo shows the paper section which I just started. For these I just punched out samples with a flower punch and used a glue dot to put on the chart. I began with Bazzill papers because I kept buying more of the same colors and didn't know what I had (very annoying). Now I can just bring the chart with me to the store. When I have time I'll add more paper samples to this, but this is a good start.

Well, that my "Samples" book so far. I plan to add a section for my Spellbinders dies next. Hope this helps someone else out like me that loves/needs to be organized!

Blessings!

Kathy

Organization of Ribbons

Hello there!

I am still totally on cloud nine about being a Design Team Member of Elphine House Australia for Elisabeth Bell. I am so excited!!! I will be receiving new stamps shortly and will be creating some wonderful things to show you...

For organization, I thought I would show you how I have my ribbons stored. The first picture show how a majority of them are stored.

I have 2 black storage cases I bought at Michaels that has 3 drawers and storage at the bottom. One side has plastic that unzips down the top and sides. The other side of the case has plastic with slits cut that you can pull the ribbon through. I gave up using the slit side and just use the unzip side. I have these separated by spool size and color families. Here's a picture of the inside showing the drawers that slide out.

I have a Stampin Up ribbon holder that has some more that don't fit in the other containers which you can see in the first and forth photo. I also have extra spools and holiday ribbons in a drawer that I don't need often which you can see here.

I also have a bucket I got at Michael's that holds all my little scraps and bows I made that didn't get used, which you can see here.

The last picture is a swatch chart of all the ribbons I have which I keep in a binder. I got this idea from Becca Feeken at Amazing Paper Grace.

That's it for my ribbon storage! Hope this helps someone else get organized!

Blessings!

Kathy

Organization Scraps

Hi there!!

Well, here are some more organizational ideas that I use in my craft room...

This is how I keep my scraps of paper. I've been using these paper sorters that I got from Staples for quite a while now. About a month ago I went to relabel them and decided to use cardstock for labels that matched the color. (How simple can you get!) I cut little strips to fit the tabs and ran them through a Xyron machine to turn them into stickers. Wow! What a difference it has made having the tabs color coded for each color section. Now finding the right section is a breeze!

The other thing I have been doing lately is putting the most recent scraps in the back of the section in case I need it again. This makes it kind of like date order I guess? Anyway, it's been working great and has saved me a lot of time! Hope this helps someone else get organized!

Kathy

Organization

I've been making a lot of changes in my craft room that I thought I would post here in case it can help someone else out. It may take a few posts to show everything...there's lots to show.

I'm the kind of person that if it's out of sight, it's out of mind. I really need to see what I have or at least have a list of what I have. Otherwise, I'll either not use it or go buy something I already have...am I the only one who does this? :-)

The first big change I made was categorizing my individual stamp images on a rolodex. This is an idea I found on an awesome blog here: www.triplethescraps.blogspot.com. Her name is Patter Cross and she does lots of great organizational tips on Fridays. The link for the rolodex tip can be found here.

Using Patter's tips, this is what I came up with for mine:

The blue cards are the dividers that came with the rolodex with the alphabet on them. I used these and put categories on them written on a little punch out and glued to it with a glue dot. (I tried to different color/pattern paper for each category that kind of went with it for a quick visual...not sure if it helps, but figured I'd try it out.) In the bottom picture you can see some of the categories. I used similar ones that Patter used with some changes. The categories you need all depend of your collection of stamps. I still have more stamps to do and I can easily change the categories if I want to.

Each stamp is stamped onto one of the cards by itself. For large stamps I fit what I could on top and put the remainder on the back (you can see the back on one of them in the bottom picture). You don't really need to see the entire image, just a reference of what you have. Then note the type of mount on the top left, the stamp company on the bottom left, and stamp set it is from on the bottom right. In this one for "Thank You", it's UM-unmounted, SU-Stampin' Up, and from the set "Warmest Regards". I use the top right to note anything else noteworthy, for example, if there was a punch that goes with it or the Bible verse it contained or anything else you want to note.

As Patter suggested I put 2 or 3 stamp images on the same card if they were the same cateory and from the same set. You can see this in the bottom picture if you look closely.

So now when I need an image I just check under the category for images and see what I have. It's saving me a lot of time now not having to search through all my stamp sets. The great thing is it's all at my fingertips!

Things at my fingertips are VERY important to me. I try my best not to get out of my chair if I don't have to. I'm not lazy, I just don't have much room to get out of my chair and I'm always banging my knees. You see the distance between my desk and the counter behind me is 22" and my chair is about 19" and not on wheels. You can kind of see it in the next picture.

I'm lucky to have a spot to do my crafts and a nice desk, but it sure would be nice to have a few more inches to move about. :-)


I've also unmounted a lot of my stamps and put them in CD cases. I finally did some nice labels for them and have them in drawers in alphabetical order. Here are some pictures of what I've done.

This is a 4 drawer cube I got at Michaels which fits the cd cases nicly. I have lots more room to expand and can always buy another cube. I'll probably put the stamps in the new Stampin' Up cases in regular cd cases also. They take up a lot of space and are usually nowhere near full. I also don't like the way the cases don't stay flat when opened. I will definitely saved the orignal cases though.

Here are some more pictures close up.

The labels I used were just a list of the stamps and companies done on an Excel spreadsheet (after totally fumbling my way in Excel). Then I printed the list out on white adhesive sheets I got from Papertrey Ink and cut them down to fit on the cd case using a paper trimmer. I also printed out the list on regular paper so I have a list of what I have and keep this in a binder I'm starting listing things I have for supplies.

Here's a picture of the list.
Some day I'll figure out how to get rid of the extra lines on top...when I have time!

I also did a list of the categories on my rolodex you can see here.

Well that's all I have for today. I hope this helps you if you were looking for ideas on organization. I love to be organized and I have lots of other tips I'll post soon. Also, definitely check out Patter's blog. She has some awesome ideas.

Blessings!

Kathy

Color Charts

One of my big projects lately has been getting my craft things organized.  The first thing I worked on was my Prismacolor pencils.  I created an Excel chart for them grouping them by color and created the charts to fit in a 6x6 display book which turned out to be 3 pages.  I got this idea from Becca Feeken on her website Amazing Paper Grace located here.  The other thing Becca did was to have a sample of the color with the mineral spirits on it which is a great idea.  So when I did my color charts, each color block had a sample on top with dark to light without the mineral spirits and below it a sample of the color with the mineral spirits blended in it.  It was a lot of work, but will definitely save me lots of time when I'm choosing colors for a project!  Here are pictures of the finished product.  I also plan to post the charts on SCS under lists and charts if anyone is interested.

***Updated 1/12/2017: Here is the link to the color charts on Split Coast Stamper.