cubbie love

it's no secret that i love letterforms.  and i love creating letterforms.  and i love love collecting all kinds of pens to create letterforms.  but i was starting to have a love/hate thing with how i was storing them.....all thrown in a box......making it really frustrating to find the size i was looking for!  and then during a recent trip to my favorite stamp store, i discovered my answer......

meet the "color cubbie"!  it was designed to hold all of your copic markers (hard to believe that's the one collection i don't have!), but all of my microns, white gel pens, sharpies, g-tecs, and pitt pens are as happy as a value-pack-bag-of-fun-size-candy-bars-at-halloween......and i'm loving how easy it is to find what i'm looking for!!  you can read more about it here!!

hope your weekend is filled with lots of creative goodness!!!

xox

friday follow-up

here's an "after" shot of the mess i had going last friday......all of those dust bunnies are now officially homeless (or have probably moved to another area of the studio) and i have my work area back again!!!  

and that pile of original artwork that was laying on my table is now organized in plastic sleeves and playing happily together in this polka-dot three-ring binder!

 as long as i was on an organization kick (this happens so rarely that i have to take advantage), i ordered this clip-it-up system from overstock.com (unfortunately, i can't find the item link, so maybe they're sold out.....)

there's a bit of assembly required.....

but in a very short amount of time, i had this beauty put together!

and just like joyful little kids on a merry-go-round,  

all of my rubber stamps are spinning freely where i can see them!  

and now that everything is in its place.....
time to get it all back out and do some work!

i hope your weekend is filled with lots of creative fun!

weekend projects

allow me to introduce you to my weekend project.

scary, isn't it?  

even the dust bunnies won't venture into the depths of those piles without laying down some hansel-and-gretel bread crumbs to ensure safe escape.

but what's even worse is that not only is this original artwork

(just laying out in the open for said dust bunnies to drop crumbs on), 

but it's actually my filing system for it.....yikes!!

what started out as horrifying is now terrifying....

my only redemption is that i've at least made an attempt to 

keep my scrap papers tidy.....by throwing them into this shoebox.

i'm thinking about using this same innovative idea to "organize" all of these security envelopes that i've been saving for months now.....with the hopes that i'll have an aha moment as to how to use them in a clever way.  

there's no more procrastinating......it's time to roll up my sleeves, play some zippy music really loud, and get started with a new filing system.  in my mind, this will probably take at least three months to organize (which has been my favorite excuse in not organizing it thus far!), but the reality of it is that it will most likely only take the better part of an afternoon.  which leaves me plenty of time to start re-organizing my new chocolate stash in the kitchen pantry.....

happy projects to you this weekend!!

p.s.  thank you SO much for your blog love regarding my interview with carmen yesterday.  you make my heart so happy with your sweetness.....many bear hugs to you!!  xox

wire and fabric and paper, oh my!

i was cruising the aisles at hobby lobby yesterday and i came to a screeching halt when i spied this.....a sturdy wire holder that holds three nifty wire baskets. it stands about 32" tall, and when the curved wire hooks on the sides of the baskets are inserted into the round loops on the stand.....

it looks like this! and when those baskets are filled with all of the rainbow-fabric-bliss from my stash.....

it looks like this!! it's my absolute new favorite storage solution!! and the best news is i didn't have to use that 40%-off coupon that was burning a hole in my pocket.....it was already marked at 50% off!!!

so, how did i end up using my 40%-off coupon?

well, even though my paper stash overfloweth,

sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.....

ask a simple question.....

it started out quite innocently.....with just a simple question of "i wonder what would happen if i moved that cubby storage unit out of my studio closet". and before i knew it, my dutch sweetie and i were moving furniture, not only across the room, but out of the room.....and moving furniture from other rooms into my studio. ask a simple question, and you get an unplanned studio-reorganization. although i must admit it was worth the work (and the bruises on my legs).......this little dresser was nice in the spare bedroom, but it's SO much nicer in my studio!

and just so i won't forget what i've put in all of those drawers, i labeled them. (i'll probably still forget where things are, but the tags look really cute.....)

and while i was at it, i decided to try and make some sense out of my work table. i don't expect everything to be neat all the time, but i do expect to be able to find a ruler when i need one! i found this little holder at a going-out-of-business sale.....i love it because it's nice and wide, and i can see everything.....now that i know where my glasses are!

this little planter box is a simple solution for my magazines......and i'm tickled pink over the fact that they're all in one place now!

and here's my new favorite thing......i found this nifty ribbon holder on sale at michael's, and i love it! those spools of rainbow happiness look so fabulous all lined up next to each other! and the really good news is......it looks like there's some extra room on the bottom rod to put more! woo hoo!!

good stuff

i spend a lot of time looking for things......and one glance at my closet is a good clue as to why. not only do i need to use clever acrobatic maneuvers to get to the good stuff in the back, i'm not even sure what's on the bottom (but i'm sure it's more good stuff that i really need.....)

so i got brave and pulled all of that good stuff out (yikes!)......

and hung one of these......

now all of that good stuff has a proper home.

and no more flying trapeze act trying to get to it!

woo hoo!!

inspiration monday

new year......

new ideas......

new goals......

new expectations....

new lessons learned.....

new(ly) cleaned work table

to complete the.....

new projects.....

inspired by the....

new year....

new ideas.....

new goals.....

new expectations....

new lessons learned....

and so on.....

green mosaic

today's blog post is brought to you by the color green....(and a little orange!)

layers of green flowers, a card hug from a kindred spirit,

watercolor & stitchery, happy polka dots,

pencils waiting to be used, the cover of a favorite journal

three things

this little magnet hangs on my desk light where i can see it.....and be reminded of three important things. the first two seem to come fairly easy, but it's the third one that always keeps me really busy!

magnet created by robbin rawlings at natural life

then and now

that was then.....

....and this is now!

come on over and play!

the first person to find my glasses for me wins a prize! :)

around the house

the other day in this post i mentioned that i tend to be very "grid oriented and in-the-box". i don't think i realized how grid oriented i really am until i started looking around my house. i've got grids in my studio bookcases.....

at the end of my work table....

and on the wall!

then i noticed that it has spilled down the stairs into the family room....

and even into the kitchen (yikes!)!!

and just when i was about to give up and declare myself a total square, i found a circle in the living room (please overlook the fact that the chairs are arranged around the circle... in a square)! power to the circle!!

:))

elvie studio: before

i wish i could tell you how excited i am about my new studio!  this is the outside....it sits above the garage, so it's a really, really big space!  it looks like a little playhouse, don't you think?!

and here is the inside.....it's a little overwhelming,  but it's actually not as bad as it looks.   we moved everything in on monday and i still haven't had a chance to start organizing it all!  

but wait, there's more stuff on the other side of the room!  i've been "collecting" for almost twenty years....and believe it or not, i've actually gotten rid of things along the way!  hopefully, in a few days i'll show you the "after" shots!

armoire make-over

the excitement, anticipation,  and overwhelm with our upcoming move is starting to set in.  it's time to get serious about nesting in our new house!  one project that's been on my list is giving our computer armoire a make-over...no way am i going to want to take the time to do this after we move in!  at this point, you'll have to pretend that the above photo is of a big brown beast of an armoire (instead of just the drawer) because of course i forgot to take a "before" shot.  thankfully, i did have the presence of mind to get this shot, so you can see the brown is "before" and the creamy white on the front is the "after".

i got it all taken apart...and hopefully will remember where all those screws and such go.  then sanded, primed and gave it two coats of paint....

and voila!  this makes me so jump-up-and-down kind of happy!!  it looks just like something out of one of those pottery barn dreams i keep having!

and the best thing is that when we move, this is ready and waiting to be put in my new studio! yippeee!

note:  i had wonky lighting issues in my garage...for whatever reason, the armoire looks a little darker at the top, but the true color is more towards the middle!

meet molly

allow me to introduce you to my studio mascot, molly.  this photo was taken of her when she was a puppy, but she still looks the same, except her ears are a little longer now.  as far as studio mascots go, she's the best.  she's great at keeping secrets, and even turns a deaf ear when my work isn't going well and i say bad words.  she cheers me on at just the right time and her demands are few, so it's very easy to spoil her...and believe me, i do!