Monday, May 28, 2012

12:04 PM - No comments

On to the next Project!

I thought I'd get back to paper crafting once things settled down at home but I was wrong!

I started painting again...artsy painting not house painting!



This painting is 11 x 14 and I've got another canvas primed and ready to go - just waiting on some inspiration but it will probably be another seascape.

This all came about when I decided I wanted a large piece of artwork for my bedroom.  When I couldn't find exactly what I wanted I decided I would make something myself.

I bought a larger canvas - 30 x 40 inches - but before I get to that I thought I'd warm up with a few smaller pieces first.

I apologize to those of you who come here to check out my cards and paper projects not my home deocr and thrifting.  I hope to get back to that soon....

In the mean time I'm just going with the flow and seeing where inspiration leads me!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

2:00 PM - No comments

More DIY and Thrifting...

Sorry I haven't posted much lately....I have been very busy doing "stuff".

After I helped my DD move into her student rental house I got caught up with all the little jobs that needed to be done there.

First off she needed to paint her room.  The walls were red and the closet had been used as a canvas by the previous tenant - an art student!


 The walls were covered in thumb tacks and those holes needed to be filled.  It took 3 coats of primer to cover the closet walls and 1 coat of primer sealer to cover the red walls!
 Here's what it looks like now - the colour is by Dulux and it's called Sanctuary.

After we painted we got her some furniture - Ikea - and organized her new room.

It still felt so bare so we started looking for other furniture and other little pieces to make it feel like a home and not a squatter's hovel.

Checking out the local Thrift Stores I found some living room chairs for her as well as frames, and artwork.




I must admit that I have become addicted to thrifting and find myself at a Thrift Store at lease once a week.

I'm not much into old clothes but I have found a lot of cool stuff.

Here's a couple of my latest finds:

I found this cool Van Gogh portrait that is actually a mosaic.

The bedroom doors all had chalkboard squares painted on them 
so we used a $1 frame and some foam tape to make it look a bit nicer.

I picked up this oval frame with glass and we're going to make it into a dry erase board.  
It doesn't even need to be paint - it just needs some neutral fabric or canvas to put behind the glass.

Doing all this stuff for DD and thrifting has really motivated me to do some things around my own home.

Since I was shopping for curtains for DD's new room (at the rental) I picked up some curtains for her room at home (on the to do list for over 1 year now) and for my living room and dining room.  I got some curtains that are a lighter colour and lighter weight - I had corduroy and velvet curtains in these rooms before..

 As well I finally got around to putting up a curtain rod in my bedroom and putting up the curtain panels I've had for 6 years.  This job was on my to do list for almost 8 years now - where does the time go???

And I finished turning my "found" picture frames into cork boards.

Click HERE for the BEFORE and now this is the FINISHED.
 These frames were not in very good shape but spray paint hides a lot!
And they are big!  This one is 14 x 16 and the other one is 20 x 24.
 I used foam core board as my base, glued on the cork sheet (with white glue) and then used these mounting clips to secure the cork to the board.

Well that's enough for this post..

I've got more projects planned - both papercrafts and DIY - so check back if you like!


Saturday, May 5, 2012

11:07 AM - 1 comment

Blog Layout...

Ok, so I think I'll keep this blog layout but I have to edit the HTML to fix the date vs time display.

If you're looking for something please use the Archive pull down on the side bar or use the Post Categories  to search.

Thanks for your patience...

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

2:06 PM - ,,, 2 comments

More Photos for Stamp Organization

Sheri left a comment asking to see my bins.

So I thought I'd post more photos with less writing....

I use these Martha Stewart CD bins (discontinued) to store my unmounted Stampin' Up! stamps:


I've labelled them (yes I will be redoing the labels) and numbered them - the number corresponds to pages in my stamp binder.

Each bin holds 30 CD cases.

I print off 1 page of stamp images for my stamp binder and
another I fold lengthwise and put in the stamp bin.
If the stamp set in the CD case is missing an image sheet then I print off an enlarged copy of the image and include that in the CD case.  Most of my stamps are older and were missing image sheets!
For my non-Stampin' Up! stamps that are still wood mounted I use a different system.
I keep them in Stampin' Up! snap cases (recycled from my unmounted stamps!)

I labelled them by theme and added a code letter.
I pack the case tightly with stamps!

Keeping the lid on I place the stamp case on my scanner/printer/copier and copy it 2 times.
1 copy is trimmed and included in the case so I know what stamps are in there but  more importantly what stamps need to go back in this case!
The second copy is hole punched, labelled with the case code letter and inserted into my stamp inventory binder.

It's so easy!!

As for my clear polymer and rubber cling mount stamps I use a combo binder & bin system. 
I'll share more of that another day when I finish the inventory!


1:03 AM - ,,, 2 comments

OMG! I finally have a Stamp Inventory Catalogue!

I've been accumulating Stampin' Up! stamps for over 8 years.  I quickly ran out of space for all those cases of wood mounted stamps so I started unmounting my stamps and wheels!

Click HERE to see that post.

I now have 11 bins (that hold 32 CD cases each) of Stampin' Up! rubber stamps (mostly retired).

Plus a TON more loose non-Stampin' Up! stamps.

Sadly I wasn't using my stamps because I had no way of knowing what I had in the bins and I didn't keep the image sticker if it was already stuck on the wood block.

So after reading Kate's amazing craft room cleanse journey I decided to tackle these stamps and get myself more organized.

First I sorted ALL my stamps by theme.  Then I created an inventory sheet (in MS Word) for each bin and printed off a duplicate to keep in my new stamp binder.

To create the inventory sheet I scanned the label sheet for the stamp set (for ones I never mounted them on wood blocks) .  If I don't have labels I look for the images on the internet and insert that image (if I'm lucky an image of label sheets) into my document.

If my CD case is missing the image sheet (because it was a mounted stamp set and I threw out the labels stuck on the wood blocks) I print off a larger image or as true to size as possible and put that in the CD case with the stamps.

Here's what my Stampin' Up! stamp inventory page looks like:


Nothing fancy but it gives me an idea of what I've got and where it is!

For my non Stampin' Up! wood mounted stamps I created similiar inventory pages (in the same binder).  I sorted the stamps and put them in snap cases by themes.  I used my labeller to label the theme and then a code on the side of each case. 

I used my printer/copier to copy the top of the case (without taking the stamps out) and I printed out 2 copies.  One for my binder and the other I trimmed and inserted in the stamp case.  This gives me a quick "snapshot" of what's in the case and what should go back in that case.

I can flip through this binder and get a good idea of what I've got and hopefully find what I'm looking for.

Next I'm going to tackle my clear and rubber cling mount stamps!  I just need to inventory them - I've already sorted them and put them in bins (SU!) and binders (non-SU!).

Until Next Time!
Marie

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

12:22 AM - 1 comment

New Blog Template

I'm trying out this new blog template. 

Not sure if it will stay...

Until Next Time!
Marie

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

7:47 PM - ,,,, No comments

Getting there...

Last night I loaded up my thrift store spinning thingy with my technique swap samples. 

Now all I need to do is give it a spin to be inspired to try a new technique!
Over the weekend I made a quick dash out to IKEA and picked up a couple of kitchen racks to accomodate more punches.  See the new longer rack on the very bottom?

I added a smaller one here for more punches and I found a space for my flat SU! punches too!
I was a bit bummed that they didn't have the same kind of rack as what I started with but this style is ok and with all the punches you can't really see the rack!

I also finished my mother-in-law's birthday gift - I made her a bronze and gunmetal chainmaille bracelet. 



Until Next Time!
Marie

Monday, April 16, 2012

8:08 PM - No comments

Wooden Desk Chair

Today I had to take my car in for service and there happened to be a thrift store on my way home.  Luckily I had my Pathfinder with me because I scored this great wooden desk chair for $10!!

I'm thinking about spray painting it - black?


Until Next Time!
Marie

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