Your paper storage units should suit YOUR needs and YOUR paper storage style. Imagine this: Two people who sit down side by side at a crop party. Soon they will start talking about tool and paper storage. Pretty soon, one will want what the other one has. It all sounds so good --and it is working for her companion. But when she goes out to buy it, and she takes it home, it might be all wrong. Why?? Because those two people will NOT need exactly the same storage solutions! So how do you know what to invest in? And yes, paper storage is an investment. You don’t want to waste money or TIME. Spend your time and money on solutions that are great for YOU! How much paper do you have? Are you happy with your storage units? How do you plan on going about using it? Can you find a specific paper you need in less than 5 minutes? Choose containers and units that appeal to your sense of décor style AND your real storage needs. Don’t be fooled by cute shapes or new prints. No matter how cute, an acco...

Need an aggressive method of purging your home of unwanted clutter? Tired of the build up from decades of household crap? There is an exercise I recommend. I do it sometimes when organizing my stuff and other people's items. I call it the "STOP and Drop 8" method. I just did this with my friend Judy P's on friday with her. She is on oxygen and needed my help. Here is what we did. A STOP sign has 8 sides. So we use the number 8 here as a benchmark number. Take everything out of the drawer or closet or whereever. In this example we have the spice rack in Judy's kitchen. Judy had about 35 different spice bottles in one cabinet. they were falling out and spilling when the door was opened. A couple klobbered me on the head when I went to make us lunch. :) Laughing, she gave me the go -ahead to consolidate for her because she can't reach up and do it. She had duplicates and emptys and all kinds of herbs and spices. Some looked pretty old and some were brand new. I ...

100 pages a month? 1000 or MORE pages a year? Yes it is true. :) 1000 12x12 scrapbook pages a year....that means I usually average 100 pages a month or more. And not bad ones either! LOL 2000- 707 pages 2001- 487 pages 2002 - 1202 pages 2003- 1321 pages 2004- 1304 pages 2005-1172 pages 2006-1326 pages 2007-1358 pages For the last 5 years I have averaged over 100 a month. that makes well over 1000 a year! How do I get over 100 pages a month? I think it is a combination of learned tricks over the last 15 years as a scrapbooker and paper arts/scrapbooking teacher. These rates are do-able for many people. Not everyone...but many more people can do this than currently THINK they can! Getting pages/books done is a combination of things I do that add up to the total package when scrapping. here are my top 15 tips. 1) GET REAL . I begin with a fundamental NEED to get my photos (and my heritage photos) documented and out of magnetic albums and old acidic environments as soon as possible. Mo...

I moderate a great list. I love it! :) As moderator there, I often get private emails asking for additional tips or help or thank yous. Every now and then I hear sadder stories about very creative people feeling overwhelmed. Feeling stuck. Scrapbookers who haven't scrapped in years. Stampers who can't seem to get motivated even to pick out ink for a card. Crafters and sewers look at their lovely stashes and say "Why was I doing this again?" That's when I get out my thinking cap-- and my empathy pen --and write them heartfelt notes in typical Rockester style. Here is what I usually say. Overwhelmed? You wanted to start 2008 off with a productive and loving focus. You had good hobby intentions... But why are you just heading for the sofa instead? Any of these three common scenarios may be the problem. 1. SUPPLY CHAOS STRESS : You come home from a full day of work. You are soooo tired. But you would love ot be able to get some crafting done tonight. You might even ma...

Is there an Ugly Beast in your workspace? Are there unruly stacks and disorganized piles? Tame that paper pile! My personal paper organization system started when I had TONS of paper both in printed and cardstock. A few years ago, I had the equivalent of 3 FULL sized file drawers of 8.5x11 pattern, 1 file drawer of cardstock and about 9 inches of 12x12 paper in an accordion file. Since then I have simplified and used a lot of paper but that is where I started organizing originally. I suggest you bring all your paper into the same room. Put it where you will USE it most. If you have a scrapping workspace, keep all your paper there until it is sorted. HOW SHOULD I SORT? Most of us can sort by color for paper organization. You can also decide to sort by manufacturer if you are a consultant or enter a lot of contests or design/work for a paper manufacturer. See more info here http://myall2.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-paper-purge-2008-storage.html Once your paper stash is in the same place,...

My son's fiance' on right and her mom helping me with the invitations to the BIG day. :) I love these gals! We worked assembly-line style on these lovely handmade wedding invitations (She choose the basic styles and I designed them for her with her input). Here is what they look like all finished up! WhooHoo! I love the colors she choose. The bugger of the whole project was getting the 1/2 inch ribbon through the heart charm's tiny 1/8 inch holes! But we did it x 120! GO US!! Ok, Ok, I am trying to be in more photos.... :) So here I am hard at work. My DIL-to-be took this one of me working on the invitations. My own daughter is beside me at my right working on her own scrapbooking pages. We all had such a good time that day and we got the invites all DONE! (I had already stamped all the envelopes.) I have already finished the Save the Date cards, envies, maps, and the thank you cards and envies. Now onward to the RSVPs and gift brunch open house invitation cards!!! All in...

Paper Sorting: It's Not so hard to do! How to give that stash the SUUDDS treatment. Wash those duds right out of that stash!! :) Some people don't want to whittle down their stash. That's cool. If you don't want to--dont. No harm. It's your home and your workspace. But if you do want to purge a bit, but were at a loss for how to go about it, try this. Here is how I grab a stack of paper and decide if I want to keep it all or not. This may seem like a lengthy thought process reading it, but it is meant to teach some out there the thought process of sorting HOW TOs. If you do it a couple times through, you will be able to do it faster and faster. 1. Decide on a Donation Day. Commit to doing this. You know that charities like the Girl Scouts, Ronald McDonald House, high school art departments, Young Mother's Programs, or second hand stores can use the donation to a good cause. Make a date with yourself to go through at least one stack in the stash and to donate or ...

Basics: Sorting Paper: Storage Style Evaluation You have pulled all your paper into one place. You have probably sorted it in some basic way to put it away. That storage you have may --or may not-- be working for you. Let's take a closer look. Your ideal storage system should tie into not only how MUCH stash you have-- but how you work. Let's deal with storage STYLE first. If you don't have a paper sorting system that works well for you, ask yourself these questions below. STORAGE STYLE EVALUTATION: How do you Work? What's your storage STYLE? a. by Theme. Most of you who work on small children's events and the resulting photos will have papers in themes by event. Halloween, Holidays, Birthday, School, etc. Is this how you work the majority of the time? b. by Color. Do you first pick a color out of a photo and go to find papers and accents in a monochromatic or duo color sceme? Do you like to match exact shades of papers when creating a layout? Do your friends say y...