Organization 101

I shared with you what went on at our weSTAMP meeting on Monday. (See previous post HERE.) We learned SO MANY great ideas from Danielle on how to get organized. I knew this would take some time for me! I decided to start small and incorporate Danielle's notebook idea. I could tackle this project!

The first step was to find a notebook small enough to fit in my purse so that I could bring it everywhere with me. I found this one at Target for $3.99. Of course, I had to cuten it up Stampin' Up style. The reason I like this style notebook is because the cover already had a cute design, and the material is hard plastic. Now I don't have to worry about DSP fraying or tearing on the edges. The other thing I liked about this notebook was the little corner square. You can change the design in that little box! There is an envelope on the front cover that you just slip your picture in there of whatever you want! You can make this book seasonal!

The "bookmark" was my weSTAMP swap from this month (see previous post). I don't actually use it as a bookmark. You will see it's function in a picture below. To make the fabric "Yo Yo" I took a 17" x 3" piece of fabric and folded it in half (wrong sides together.) Make a wide gathering stitch on raw edges, then pull to gather it. I overlapped the ends and stitched it shut. Then I glued everything else together!

I'm not kidding, this little notebook has CHANGED MY LIFE ALREADY! If you could see how many scrap pieces of paper I have ALL OVER THE HOUSE with things to remember! You can find them in my purse, in my bathroom, by my computer, and by the phone! They are ALL IN ONE PLACE NOW!

I made some dividers with the Round Tab Punch. You can customize these to fit your needs!Here is a photo of the inside cover. Now you can see how the ribbon holds the calendar in place so I don't have to tape it in there. I found a COOL website where you can download any calendar, any size! It is found HERE: http://www.printablecalendar.ca/

I used the A5 size for this project. I printed it on white cardstock, then cut them apart. Look at all those blank white squares! I WISH! (I did this 2 days ago with only 2 days left in this month). I can easily take this out when I am done with it, or stick it behind the current calendar months. You can also see in the bottom left corner the envelope that holds the picture you see on the front side (pig). This is where you change out your picture.
This is the back cover. I made a pocket by taping cardstock on 3 sides. YOU NEED a pocket! This holds information you may need to complete your tasks inside. You can see my "Big Box" rain check, and other info that is needed. Once again, I can't say enough how much I LOVE having everything in ONE PLACE!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed this! I challenge you to give this a try!

weSTAMP Get Together!

This month for our weSTAMP get together we brought in a guest speaker, Danielle Wurth! Danielle is a professional organizer and has even written a book! You can find her website HERE.

I noticed many of our weSTAMPERS voiced the same problem I have, and that was TRYING TO KEEP our stamping areas in order, and NOT look like a tornado had just ripped through it. Granted, the space DOES get messy when we are creating, but if it tends to stay like that, then we need help! Danielle shared with us many tips to keeping our crafting areas more organized and efficient, WITHOUT having to purchase more containers or furniture! What a BLESSING she was to our group! She even shared tips for other areas in our house that could use some work, too!

We had such a wonderful evening with Danielle, and I'm so thankful to her for coming to speak to our weSTAMPERS!

This is Danielle!
Our group of weSTAMPERS

We also had our swap! The theme was a Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving card or 3-D item.

Maggie's swap: (There is candy and a battery operated flickering light inside the luminary. She stamped on a window sheet in the hole.)

Kathy's swap:

Linda B's swap:

Eileen's swap: (Tea holder, and below you can see it opened up.)

Melissa's swap:

Terri's swap: (This is the house from the Wizard of Oz. House turns on a brad. Each time you turn the house a bit, it reveals a different hidden sign on the floor. CLEVER!)

Karen K's swap: (Mummy, and she had them all contained in a really cute handmade coffin!)

Linda R's swap:

Stephanie's swap:

Inside:

Michelle's swap: (Shaving cream technique used for the background, COOL!)

Inside:

Glenda's swap: (Background made using a dryer sheet! Tutorial can be found HERE.

Priscilla's swap:

Dawn's swap:

Patti's swap:

Lorri's swap: (Bookmarks! Idea came from Becky Roberts, who shared these at a recent Regional Conference AND it was also in Stampin' Success magazine for Stampin' Up demonstrators this month!) You can also find these in her 12 Days of Christmas 2010 tutorial found HERE.)

Last but not least, this adorable door prize was made by Maggie (She also made the luminary swap) and won by lucky Stephanie (pictured below). The pumpkin has a battery operated flickering tea light inside!

I hope you enjoyed the post today!

I Dig Stampin' Up!

I almost fell off my chair when I got asked by Stampin' Up to be published in their monthly magazine, Stampin' Success!!! This is a magazine that is published for all Stampin' Up demonstrators. I always look forward to getting this magazine each month. It is full of wonderful ideas, tips and techniques! Because of copyright rules and regs, I am not able to link the actual magazine article, but they said I could take a picture to give you an idea of what it looked like. THANKS STAMPIN' UP!!!

Here are the projects I came up with, using the stamp set "I Dig You". I had so much fun with this!


This little dump truck is only about 4" long. There is a MINI CUPCAKE in the back of the truck. However, in the magazine article, they chose to use Oreo cookies instead. It was also cute how they crushed the oreos to make it look like the truck was going through dirt.

I would LOVE to share the pattern to this little dump truck with you! I uploaded it to GoogleDocs, and you can find it HERE.



It's so hard to see the detail in the card below. All the backhoe images are embossed in clear embossing powder, so it is raised and shiny. The arm of the backhoe was stamped twice and cut apart into 3 pieces. The hinges allow you to REALLY MOVE the arm up and down. The top layer of dirt is on dimensionals so the dump truck looks like it is really in the dirt.


This dump truck was stamped on plain white napkins. I used mini Oreos for the wheels and just set them ontop of the napkin.

The name plate simulates a construction sign. The letters were cut out using the sizzlet decorative strip die "Naturally Serif".

I'm so sorry, I didn't even save the dimensions of this box that I made (and didn't make an extra one for me to keep here!) Boxes are pretty easy to make though, and you can make it any size you want! Again, I ripped the Chocolate Chip cardstock to simulate the layers of dirt. I brayered the top to make it look like a skyline.

I hope you enjoy these projects! They sure were fun to make!

How would YOU like to receive Stampin' Success in YOUR mailbox every month!! I'd love to have you join my Stampin' Up team! You can join now by going to my Stampin' Up business website HERE.

Harry Potter Birthday Party

I know you have heard me talk about Terri Guymon before....she is a friend of mine, and one of my downline. She is incredibly creative, and you have probably already seen some of her swaps on my blog from our weSTAMP gatherings!

Terri's son, Grant, turned 8 last week. He had a Harry Potter themed birthday party. Brady was invited. Of course, I showed up early, just so I could see everything she made before all the BOYS came! LOL I also knew I'd want some photos! (I ended up using Terri's photos, they were much better!)

PS. I had never even SEEN the movie Harry Potter before this birthday party! I KNOW I'm probably the only one on this planet who has never seen it! However, after seeing all of Terri's creations, and not "getting it", I just had to see the movie! Terri let me borrow the movie and I watched in the very next evening. After seeing it, I appreciated what she all did EVEN MORE!!

The incredibly talented TERRI GUYMON!! (aka: Martha Stewart)


This is what started the whole thing! Terri found these cute stamps and the creative juices started flowing!

This is the sign that you saw when you came in the front door. Terri and her son, Grant, made this!

When the boys arrived, they each got a tie pinned to their shirts. CUTE CUTE! Here is the rest of the things that were in their goodie bags at the end of the evening.

These "Golden Snitch" cake pops were SO GOOD! They were lemon flavored. Mmmm! The cake pop stand was even made by Terri and her hubby! I posted one earlier that Terri gave me for my birthday. You can view that one HERE. I absolutely love mine, what a fun and unique gift! You just change out the ribbon to make it go with whatever theme you have! These have become a HIT! Terri is taking orders, in case you are interested. You can visit her blog HERE.

Yep, Terri made the cupcakes AND the cake too!

They hired a magician to come and put on a magic show for the kids. Here is Grant floating on thin air!

Even their DOG got in on the FUN!!!

There you have it!! Wasn't that incredible!!! Terri Guymon, YOU ROCK! Thanks for letting me share on my blog....

Halloween Shadow Box

This was a hostess gift I gave away last week for a workshop I did.

Halloween CASE

One of my MOST favorite things about going to Stampin' Up gatherings is receiving AWESOME SWAPS! I swapped with Sandy Wingate at Regionals in Henderson, NV. Her blog can be found HERE. This is a TOTAL CASE! Loved everything about it. This was one of our Stamp Club projects this month. The little Halloween images are embossed in black and POPPPED up with dimensionals.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Spooky Bingo Bits
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze, Basic Gray, Frightful Sight DSP
Ink: Versa Mark, Cajun Craze
Accessories: 1” Punch, Decorative Label Punch, 1/4” Basic Black Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Clear embossing powder, Heat Tool