Tuesday Tip -- Page Planning organization

When I go scrapbook somewhere else, I love to have my pages pre-planned with coordinating paper and embellishments ready to go. Then I can bring only 1 bag and my tool caddy into the crop. I've been amazed at how NICE this has felt lately!! See, I used to be the kind of cropper that would bring EVERYTHING I could fit in the rolling tote, plus 2-3 bags/boxes, etc. It often took me more than one trip from the car to get everything into the cropping space. And then it took me so much time to unpack (and then pack up at the end) that I lost valuable cropping time.

So, a few years ago, I decided I needed to be better organized for my cropping time. I looked around and found these great tools from Cropper Hopper. Now I can unpack and clean up in less than 5 minutes and carry everything in one trip easily. It makes my cropping time so much more productive and gives me a chance to actually finish a lot at the crop for all those "oohs and ahhhs" from the people sitting near me. Plus, if I don't finish a page, I put everything back in the organizer and it's ready to go next time I scrapbook, and with the card

Tuesday Tip -- Page Planning Organization

I absolutely LOVE my Cropper Hopper Page Planner Organizers!!

There are 3 pockets:

One small pocket in the front for photos and page planning cards.

One medium sized pocket in the back for

embellishments, stickers, accent papers, photos, etc.

One large pocket in the middle for your 12x12 paper and large items.

Then you have the page planning cards, too! I love these -- they are roughly 4x12 inch cards that are folded in half to fit in the front pocket. There are spaces to jot notes about your page plan, including title ideas, supplies needed, page size, sketches, journaling notes, color schemes, etc.

Now for the price saving tips...


I love the cropper hopper ones and have many of them. They are so sturdy and have the perfect sized pockets. But, I couldn't afford them many of them when I first started using them. I started with just a few to see how they did it. Then I took some 12x12 page protectors and put a 6x6 page protector inside. I was able to separate the big pieces from the small ones and photos. Then I printed a bunch of my own version of the planning cards onto 8.5x11 cardstock.


I really prefer the cropper hopper style because they're sturdier than a page protector and the pockets don't get lost inside like smaller page protectors do, but the page protectors will do in a pinch (or a down economy).


Happy Scrapping!
Heather Q

Tuesday Tip -- Wire Cubes

It's that time of year when everyone tries to be "more organized." How many of you put that on your list of resolutions? How many of you didn't because it was too daunting?

I had a friend one time tell me that she didn't want to spend any money on organizing tools for her scrapbooking space because it would mean less money to spend on supplies. I can understand that!! Especially in this economy, people all over are looking for inexpensive solutions to the ongoing dilemma of how to organize your things.

Someday, when we finally buy a house and I have a full time job again and we can afford to splurge, I'll pick out the perfect scrapbooking furniture and organizational tools. Being that we have lived in 5 different homes since I started scrapbooking, I needed to have versatile organizing tools that would work in very different kinds of spaces.

Tuesday Tip -- Wire Cubes

I love these things for their versatility. I've been able to do so many different things with them!

Here's how I have them set up right now. I've got two sets that I bought years ago at a Big Lots store. I think they were 10 or 15 dollars per set.

See the extra shelves and vertical dividers? If you buy those zip ties from a home improvement store, (you know, they use them to hold cords together and stuff) you can tie some of the wire squares in the middle of a cube. It works great to really use the space thoroughly.

When I first bought them, I put 4 cubes together and then used the left over squares to make horizontal shelves for a paper rack. Much more economical than buying paper racks that may or may not fit in the next space.

Notice the canvas totes? Joann's sold me those. They fit perfectly and can hold 12x12 items. I used to have piles of stuff in them, but as I get better and better organized, I've been able to reserve them for special projects. This way, I can keep all the special stuff together in one space, then when I'm ready to work on it, I can move the tote . I'm storing items to make a felt pocket advent calendar, and a board book collection project in the other. They're going to be gifts, but I can't say for whom ~ they may read this blog!

One feature I really like is the ability to hang things with book rings off the sides of the cubes as well. I used to put all my ribbon and fibers on little embroidery floss cards and hang them on the sides. You can even put your decorative-edged scissors through the holes in the top for a handy organizer. Need a way to hold ribbon spools? Rest a dowel between the sides. You could get several dowels in one cube.

Having moved many times, these cubes have been a great addition to my space. I was able to make a really tall skinny tower once. I was able to make a low row of cubes under a window. I can have thin shelves or large cubes. It fits 12x12 paper easily. It all comes apart and fits into a tote bag or box when we move.

So if you're looking for an inexpensive, versatile, easy way to store your things, think about trying wire cubes.

Happy Scrapping!

Tuesday Tip... Ribbon Organizing

I've been trying to decide how to organize my ribbon for a while now. I started with some of the cropper hopper ribbon drawers, but quickly outgrew them. I saw the Lisa Bearnson rail system, but too expensive. I saw several containers with holes in the sides, but would've needed many of them to fit my current collection. I saw a lazy susan thing with 3 posts sticking up. I had at one point taken most of my ribbon off their spools and put them on plastic cards like for embroidery thread, but bigger. Unfortunately, that left my ribbon with lots of kinks and wrinkles.



Then I saw Fiskateer Lisa Pizza's example of how she decorated her scrap space and started thinking... You can see a video of her idea that inspired me on her blog La Femme Papier



As money is tight all over the country, I hope you'll all appreciate my cheap and easily expandable ribbon organizer. The whole thing cost me about $20 and I could expand it for less than a dollar! I have a friend who's neighbor uses a lot of ribbon in her baking business. They're collecting empty ribbon spools and sending them to me for the rest of my ribbon collection (only 1/2 of it is on the wall at the moment). You may be able to find a store or other business that would do the same for you if you need it.




Tuesday's Tip: Inexpensive Ribbon Holder

(only 1/2 my collection so far)

Supplies needed:



1 curtain rod kit with wall brackets (got mine for $10)
1 package (minimum) curtain clips (found 10 for $5)
wooden dowels (make sure they fit through your ribbon spools, but aren't too thin and week (less that $1 each)
16 inches of ribbon for each dowel (used my stash)
paint and brush (already owned)
Optional: tape to hold down ribbon ends on the rolls (I used blue painter's tape)




Paint the dowels - try one half at a time and let dry before doing the other half




Cut ribbon into 8 inch sections, fold in half, and clip the ends so it makes a loop




Install the curtain rod on the wall, hanging 2 curtain clips on it. Hang dowel from the ribbon loops. Add more levels as needed for your collection. Slide ribbon rolls on the dowels. They're easy to take down and put back up.






Now I've got all this extra space where my ribbon used to be. WooHoo!

Happy Scrapping!

Finally ready to show you

I've finally finished reorganizing my scrapping space and am ready to show you the pictures! Well, ok, I have one stack of stuff that still needs to get put into my ScrapRack, but the rest is done. And really... I will take care of that stack, now that I have a clear desk to use and have found my extra ScrapRack organizing pages.

See, my bookshelf is so organized,

there's actually EXTRA SPACE on it!!!

That's my 1st ScrapRack on the top -- what a lifesaver.

Want your own? Go to http://www.thescraprack.com/

Here's my supply corner.

Notice the 2nd ScrapRack.

That's the one that's got room to spare,

and I need to add that small stack of stuff I told you about.

Just LOOK at my desk!! You can SEE it!!!

Next, I need to spend the next 3 days packing for my retreat! Now that things are where they're supposed to be, I'll be able to find them to pack them.

Organization is so important. It helps me see what I have so I don't get duplicates and as well as remind me what I have so I can use it!!

For now, though, it's time to clean the rest of the house before my coffee wears off!