She loves me, she really loves me!

Any of you who have, or have had, teenagers knows that even for the sweetest, kindest ones, the world pretty much revolves around them and only them 99.8% of the time. Really, they wouldn't be normal teenagers otherwise. They need money, they need rides, they need you to be available for philosophical discussions when they feel like it and they need you to leave them the heck alone when they don't. That being said, I thank God on a daily basis for my daughter, because despite showing a lot of this typical teenage behaviour, she is so well grounded. She's smart and funny and best of all, she has a solid set of values, knows who she is, she's not into mob mentality and doesn't compromise herself for anybody.

For example, she knows she's no hockey fan. Despite her brother playing the game for the last six years, and despite her mother being a bit (ha!) of a Senators fan, she pretty much turns her nose up in disgust at the very mention of hockey. She'd rather wash floors than go to a Sens game. She didn't get swept up with Sens Fever with the rest of the city last June. But the other day, when Dany Heatley (Senators #15) came to speak at her school, she listened with interest so she could tell me all about it in detail. And when the mob lined up to get his autograph, she lined up right along with them. When I came home that night, she was bubbling with excitement and couldn't wait to show me what she had brought home for ME. Check it out:



My very own autographed Dany Heatley picture. My first Sens autograph. And tangible proof that not only does my daughter love me, she "gets" me. She really gets me.

PS - no word from dh re my previous post ... guess it's confirmed then, he's not a blog reader!!!!

Does your husband read your blog?

Ok, I'm curious. For those of you who blog, and who have husbands or boyfriends or whatever, do they read your blog?

When I started blogging I told dh about it and since his eyes didn't completely glaze over, I sent him a link. I know he read my first entry or two as he referred to them in conversation (once). So the other day I referred to something I had said in my blog, and he got this blank look, and I asked, and he admitted that he hasn't been checking it out because it's a "scrap blog" so why would he be interested. I was slightly hurt but I don't think he noticed. He is, after all, a man. Hmn. Wife splats herself all over the bloggy internet and he's not curious to read what she's writing. Hmph!

So, what about you? Does your husband (or whatever) read your blog? If so, does he comment on it (at least in conversation)? Should I care? Or should I be happy he's not looking over my shoulder all the time? Don't get me wrong - he's a great husband. Sure, his eyes may glaze over at the very sound of the word "scrapbook", but he's never ever complained about my obsession over it; he even facilitates it. He always wants to hear about my day. But apparently he doesn't want to read about it!

You know, with my luck this will be the day dh decides to check out my blog to see exactly how much of myself I am splatting on the bloggy internet! If you're reading this honey ... Hi! Just kidding! I love you! And I don't really want you reading all my blog posts after all, you're off the hook!

In Over My Head

I'm thinking maybe I've gotten in over my head with my 50-card goal for the Charitable Campaign (United Way) fundraiser. My card muse, she is on vacation. Far far away, and she ain't calling home.

My friend Barb did send me a link to a cool blog called i am a coconut for inspiration though! Of course Barb's own cards inspire me too. And I've also been surfing the net for card sketches and found Pencil Lines, a site with scrapbooking and card sketches; as well as Card Positioning Systems, a blog focussed solely on card sketches.

Despite all of this online inspiration, the cards I created over the last couple of days just look like all the other cards I've created so far, and to boot they look like each other. Yikes!




Well on the bright side of things, I am at over 50% of my fundraising goal for the CIBC Run for the Cure event on Sunday. Thanks to friends, family and colleagues, I have a total of $210 in pledges (online and in-person combined). I've surpassed the amount I raised last time, so I'm pretty pleased. It's not too late to donate though, you can still donate online by clicking here. I'm proud of my daughter, who has even gotten some of her teachers and her brother to sponsor her. Oh and good news, my sister M is back from Europe and will be participating with my daughter and I! I am looking forward to the walk. It will be a nice change from sitting at my scrap desk trying to come up with cool ideas for cards!!

We Have the Technology

Have you ever stopped to think exactly how much technology you use in your daily life? I don't have a scrapbook page to share with you on this topic, but I've been thinking that a layout about technology in the year 2007 would be a really interesting thing to look back on 20 or 30 years from now. Stay tuned, I think I may have just inspired myself (lol).

We've recently ramped up our personal technology stash in a major kind of way. While cell phones and personal computers have been the norm around our house for some time now, I've mentally inventoried our recently upgraded stash and here is what I come up with. We are a family of four, including one teen and one pre-teen. And we have ... two personal computers, one laptop, two i-pods, one mp3 player, 3 digital cameras, one Sony Playstation 2, one Game Boy DS lite, one printer-scanner-copier, one printer, one fax-copier, one photo printer, one Blackberry (cell, email and internet access), two cell phones, and two flash memory sticks. Not only that, but we recently upgraded the family computer's monitor to a 19" flat screen, we upgraded the RAM in the family computer and in dh's computer, we installed a DVD burner in dh's computer, we purchased a new keyboard for the family computer, and, a week after buying dd a laptop, we bought her a keyboard she can use when doing those looong school assignments.

We have so many USB cables for digi cams, i-pods etc., I am going to have to come up with an organizational system to keep track of them all.

And on top of that, we have 5 televisions (yes, for 4 people), one of which is a BIG screen HD, and another one of which is a big but not as big screen HD. We have 3 DVD players. We have one VHS but that doesn't count, really!

Thankfully, despite the hardware overload, we are not totally mired in the technology bog. On any given day, you're just as likely to find the kids reading actual (as opposed to virtual) books. Ds is just as likely to be out roaming the park with his buddies or playing road hockey, than to be sitting in front of the PlayStation. We've even taken computer- and playstation-free vacations, and in some cases, we didn't even get cell phone service "out there"! That being said, I simply cannot imagine a life without our beloved technology.

So here's hoping there are no house burglars currently reading my blog. On the bright side, if there are, at least now they know to include a really, really big truck in their heist plans. And if they're planning on using our stuff themselves, they'll need power bars. And a really good organizational system for their USB cables.

Run for the Cure

In 2004, my sister M & I did the CIBC Run for the Cure to help raise funds to fight breast cancer. Having lost our oldest sister to breast cancer a few months earlier, we felt the need to do something, anything, to help prevent anyone else from going through this hell. I also felt that somehow, by doing this, we would stay connected with her.

However, we haven't managed to participate in this event since. In fall 2005, we were too busy caring for our mother, who had recently been diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. And in fall 2006, we were too busy caring for our father, who had lost Mom, and was dealing with cancer of his own.

Fast forward to fall 2007. Our sister, mother and father are gone. Cancer has touched many more around us. And breast cancer specifically has touched friends and co-workers. My sister C continues to be my inspiration and motivation, but there are so many others out there who could actually concretely benefit from breast cancer research, education, awareness.

My daughter has been asking whether she and I can participate in the walk this year. I think it's a tremendous idea, and as soon as my sister M is back from Europe next weekend, I'm going to see if she wants to come on board.

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure is the largest, single-day volunteer-led fundraising event in Canada dedicated to creating a future without breast cancer. Over 50 communities across the country participate. The funds raised are for research, education and awareness programs. Those funds have a direct effect on the lives of women affected by breast cancer.

If you'd like to help, please click here in order to sponsor me. I'll be walking 5k - I don't do running. Last time I raised $185 and I would just love to double that at least so I've set a $400 target; but any amount I raise will make a difference. Whether you sponsor me, or someone else you know, or run/walk yourself doesn't matter - bottom line - every penny helps.

Thank you!

Merlot and Blogging Don't Mix

Or so The Learning Channel's (TLC's) Life Lesson goes. Or maybe it was Merlot and Email. And actually, it was a Shiraz. Nevertheless, I had the best of intentions last night; scan a few creations and update the blog. However, dh and I decided to have a couple of glasses of red wine while cooking dinner and loading up dd's new laptop (a sweet sixteen birthday present for our studious daughter). Next thing I know, it's 9:30 p.m., I feel like I've been run over by a truck, and I tuck into bed early on a weeknight having had one glass of red wine too many. Yikes. And hence, no blog entry. The shame!

I haven't created anything overly exciting over the last few days, with the exception of a mini-album for my boss' upcoming retirement but I can't really scan that as I don't think my colleagues would appreciate having their pictures splayed all over the bloggy internet. Let me just say it's really cute and maybe sometime before I give it away, I'll scan the cover and the page with my picture on it (since I don't seem to mind having my picture splayed all over the bloggy internet).

In the meantime, I am just going to share with you one of my card creations. I really have to get moving on this project. Yesterday, they announced that the craft sale in support of the Workplace Charitable Campaign (why doesn't anybody call it United Way anymore?) is October 29th. Six weeks away - not too bad, I'll have to average 4 or 5 cards a week to make my goal of 50. The exciting this is that it's right before Halloween, so I get to make some Halloween cards and actually hope they'll get purchased. It's also close enough to Christmas to warrant a few Christmas cards in the pile as well.

People at work are looking at me really funny when I tell them I am making cards and maybe a few altered items for this sale. Sometimes I forget that I don't have "scrapbooker" and "papercrafter" written all over my face, and that people who see me in my "executive" work persona every day don't really think that I could be cutting and pasting little pieces of paper at night to relax. Perhaps they think that I live a glamorous life in the evenings, sitting around drinking a good glass of Shiraz and partaking in some scintillating conversation ... oh wait ... I do this too! (Minus the glamour, people, minus the glamour....).

It's All About Me

Given that this blog is basically a high-tech equivalent of a diary, it comes as no surprise that it is, basically, all about me - and I certainly don't feel the need to apologize for that. Nobody is reading this thing thinking "who does she think she is, talking about herself all the time??". At least I hope not!

But when it comes to my scrapbooks, you'd barely even know I exist. First of all I am usually behind the camera, and not in front of it. Secondly, for some reason it just hasn't felt right up til now to focus my pages on ME. I think this is because I've justified the time and money spent on this obsession (er, hobby) by saying that I am preserving my children's precious memories forever. But lately I've come to think that I'm missing the boat. My children's precious memories aren't just about the girl's 10th birthday party or the boy's 2nd season in hockey. Having lost my own mother 18 months ago, I have now come to the conclusion that my kids' most precious memories are probably going to be those that I have NOT been capturing in our albums. I would give anything to be able to look back not only at pictures of my mother from when I was young, but also to read about her thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams. I am thirsty for anything that reminds me of her. I cherish even her recipes (even though I'm not much of a cook), because they are in her familiar handwriting. I miss her so much.

So I've been doing some thinking. And even though I have in the past done pages about me, these are focussed on my childhood years. I think it's time for me to capture who I am today, right now. It is in this frame of mind that I created the following layout.


The picture was taken about 2 weeks ago, on my 41st birthday, by my son. The journaling was done last week. It's a start - a quick peek into what's inside my head these days. Forty-one things about me that my kids might like to discover, or reminisce about, many years from now. It's not the most flattering picture (I totally needed a haircut - which I subsequently got - I assure you my hair is totally cute right now). And the thoughts are certainly not earth-shattering. But it's ME.

I've been talking to my scrappy friends for a long time now about starting a Book of Me (BOM) album. Most of them have. Barb, for example, has done an incredible job of capturing herself on her pages. Well the time for talk is over my friends. Now is the time for action. My pages won't be All About Me all of the time, but from now on, they will be All About Me some of the time!!!

Random Thoughts

Sorry folks, haven't scanned that new layout yet. While I'm spending time at the computer tonight it's been all work-related but I thought I would get a few random thoughts down before calling it a night. First off, I want to send big hugs to my sister tonight. I just found out today that her beautiful cat Julie passed away. Julie was a stunningly beautiful cat with a stunningly arrogant yet attractive personality. She commanded respect, from her cat-sisters and from all who came in contact with her. I love how she pretended to ignore me when I visited this summer, and yet was always right outside my bedroom door keeping watch. I know how difficult this must be for my dear sister and I wish there was some way to take away her pain. Man, there has been far too much loss in our family in the last few years. D, I hope you don't mind that I posted Julie's picture and spoke of her on my blog. But you, and Julie, are on my mind tonight.

Secondly, I just want to share the fact that my first born child turned 16 today. Sixteen. Ten plus six. SIX. TEEN. Oh.My.God. It's gonna be pretty hard to keep pretending I'm only 25 if she keeps insisting on growing up like this. Hmph. Well to make up for it she has grown into a beautiful, poised, smart, confident young lady and we are so, so proud of her. As she would surely point out, it would be highly irresponsible of me to start posting pictures of my teenage daughter all over the internet (yes, SHE lectures ME on the dangers of the EVIL internet). I should be grateful she actually agreed to set up this blog for me in the first place. So ha, here's pictures (a layout which I made a few years ago) of her as a wee tiny babe.


Yup, I swear I took those pictures yesterday. (By the way I dutifully airbrushed her name off the layout - practicing safe internet!!).

And thirdly - well, there is no thirdly. I'm really tired. We celebrated by eating out tonight (Thai) after which we did cake and presents at home after which I had to work. And actually I'm not entirely done my work so I have to get back to it and then get myself to bed. Despite the yummy latte dh made me right after I settled down to work, I know I will be asleep before my head hits the pillow. G'night!!

Coming up for air

Bet you were all worried that I had already given up on the world of blogging, eh? Never fear, I'm still here! It's just that my re-entry into earth's atmosphere (aka return to work) has been absolutely exhausting. What a contrast with my leisurely 3 weeks at home. I've left work late every night so far ... had to do some work in the evenings ... and when I'm not working, I'm sleeping it off! Oh well, this too shall pass. I must say though, the powers that be were very kind to await my return before going into full crisis mode!

Obviously I haven't had the chance to create anything this week (other than order out of chaos, but hey that's why they pay me the big bucks!) So, nothing to share. Stay tuned though, because as soon as I have the time and energy for spending more than 5 minutes on the computer in the evening, I am going to share a layout I created last week.

So to all of you who came to see if I was still alive, thanks - I am!

And to all of you who came to see what I've created lately - well, pardon my French, but - you're poop out of luck!!!

Last Day of Vay-Cay

Eons ago when dh and I were dating, we used to get what we liked to call the "Sunday Night Blues" - that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, when you know that something good (the weekend together) is coming to an end and something bad (the demands of work and school) is right around the corner.

Well tonight I have a severe case of the Sunday Night Blues. You see, I have been on vacation ("vay-cay") since 6:00 pm on August 17th. I've hung out with the kids, chilled with dh, taken dd for a girls' overnighter trip (complete with both Thai and Indian food, spa, and marathon shopping), drank more white wine and ate more bbq'd sausages than I really should have, reorganized my closets, scrapped, began to blog, spa'd some more, played tourist in my hometown, reorganized some cupboards, set up my scraproom, got the kids ready for back-to-school, and learned how to make the traditional memorial wheat dish for my father-in-law's one year memorial mass. I've barely even looked at my blackberry, I swear! This week with the kids back in school, I've enjoyed being at home when they get here, ready to tell me all about their day over a snack and a cold drink.

All in all I kept pretty busy, but I still have a list a mile long of things I'd like to do.

However, tomorrow morning the alarm will ring at 5:30 a.m. and reality will hit. Back to the grind. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, and I'm looking forward to the challenges some upcoming changes will bring. But I will miss my morning coffees with my husband. I will miss the endless possibilities of a day without commitments. I will miss wearing sweats and t-shirts (omg, I hope my work clothes fit, after all that wine and sausages!).

After the hustle and bustle of today's memorial mass, I decided to spend the rest of the day creating in my scraproom. I am pleased to report success. I completed one layout (which I'll share with you on another day) and I finally finished my altered clock project. Ta-da!



I've had this project on my mind for over a year, ever since the kids got me the picture-frame clock for my birthday. I've been waiting for the perfect pictures, but today I got a different inspiration. Once I got down to it, it didn't take me long at all to do this.

(For those of you who are scrappy, here are the supplies: cardstock is Bazzill, rub-ons are Trademarks by American Craft, flowers are Prima, patterned paper is Basic Grey.)

Tomorrow morning I'm going to take the clock with me to work, to hang in my new office. Perhaps it'll just look pretty. Or perhaps, it'll be quite useful and help me count away the hours until my next vacation .... sigh!!

Let the Games Begin

In our house, one of the major signs that summer is over is the start of the hockey season. And no, I'm not referring to my Sens as per prior post; I'm talking about our son's minor hockey house league experience - now entering Season 6. Sixth year in hockey! Where has the time gone?? I can still recall the first year he participated in organized hockey. He could barely skate, and I could barely tell the difference between a jock strap and an elbow pad. Putting ds in hockey was dh's idea, and the idea was accompanied by assurances that I would not need to be too involved, dh would take it on. Ha. He had the best intentions, but my dear husband is not a morning person, and at the first signs of a 6:00 a.m. practice (and there were plenty of those!) I became a Hockey Mom. (For the uninitiated, please note that Hockey Moms are just like Soccer Moms, except we wear a lot of warm layered clothing and we don't need to bring any lawn chairs to practice).

While I still can't quite explain what the heck an offside is, I think I've come a long way over the last five years, and so has ds. For one, he can skate now (lol). And pretty darned well. As for me, I now speak the hockey lingo with confidence (with the nagging exception of the aforementioned offside). I help other hockey moms when they have equipment problems. I don't coach from the stands but I've been known to scream "skate, skaaaaaaate, shoot, shoooooooooot" pretty darned loudly when caught up in the heat of the moment. And I was Team Manager during Season 3 and Season 5.

Here is an oldie but goodie layout (it's at least a couple of years old) about my hockey mom experience. It's in my Top 5 list of most favorite layouts, mostly because I just love the picture of ds and I. As I reminisce about hockey seasons past, I thought I would share this favorite layout with you.


Along with thinking about past seasons, I'm also giving lots of thought to this season. Sort-outs (house league equivalent of tryouts) are next weekend. I hope ds gives it his all, and makes the level he is hoping for. I hope whatever team he ends up on has at least a few of his buddies on it. I hope that the coach is as good with the boys as 4 out of 5 of our previous coaches were. And I hope that the coach is nowhere near like one of our previous coaches was, and I sure hope that I speak out early in the season (and as often as required) this time if the coach is a problem.

I also hope that everyone will understand that I am NOT going to manage the team this year. At best, managing a team is rewarding, but time-consuming and a lot of work. At worst, it is frustrating, unappreciated, and a risk to my mental health. So this year, I plan on enjoying the hockey season just like any other parent. I will focus on my son in the dressing room instead of running around trying to find someone to work the clock and scoreboard. I will watch him during practice instead of collecting money or forms from parents. I will just show up to tournaments instead of staying up past midnight organizing them.

And finally, I hope that our son has a terrific season this year. I hope that he continues to enjoy hockey for the sake of playing, and not just for the sake of winning. I hope that he improves his skills and learns new things so that he can feel good about himself. And, I hope that the 6:00 a.m. practices are very few and far between. Let the games begin!!

Getting Carded

Lately I've been getting carded. No, I'm not referring to those times at the LCBO when the cashier says "can I see your i.d. please miss". Nope, those times are over for me, regardless of whether 40 is the new 30 or not. It ain't the new 18 - that's for sure.

What I am referring to is the pile of card creations which is slowly growing in a corner of my scraproom. I'd only made a handful of cards over the years up til now, but a couple of months ago I committed to participating in a craft sale at work this fall to raise funds for United Way. I decided to use my scraps and not-so-loved supplies to make some cards, and I've been pleasantly surprised at the result.

My target is 50 cards, and so far I have 9 (yikes). Here are a few samples.










I am thinking of selling these for $2 each - your opinions on that pricing are welcome. This means that at my minimum target 50, I would help raise at least $100 for charity. There is however a little voice inside my head that keeps insisting that people would not actually pay money to buy one of my homemade cards. Not sure whether to slap a muzzle on that voice, or hear her loud and clear; however, I figure my worst case scenario is I don't sell many, or any, and I end up with 50 all-occasion cards in my stash which should keep my investment in Hallmark down to zero for the next two to three years. So, win-win situation, right?

In any event, I will be holding back at least one thank you card and keeping it in my purse - in case next time I'm at the LCBO, the barely-twenty cashier with braces and lingering acne calls me "miss" and asks to see my i.d. Hey, I figure that's worth at least a $2 homemade card (along with a recommendation to get an eye exam)!!

My New Toy

I won a merit award at work a few weeks ago but that's not what this post is about. It is, however, how the subject of this post came about. The way the awards process works is, you get to go on a website and depending on the level of the award you received, you can "shop" for an item which you then order and receive within a few weeks.

As I was shopping around the site, I couldn't find anything I liked at my award level but there were a couple of items that interested me at lower levels. I found out that I could combine levels to equal my level (hope you understand what I mean, I don't know how else to say it!). So I ordered an MP3 player and the subject of this post, a Sony 4x6 picture printer!

Sony Picture Station DPP-FP55 Inket Printer

Now I've always said I would never print up my own pictures at home. (I am, by the way, quickly learning that I say never often but often don't seem to mean it!). I was pretty sure, and still am, that the cost of printing at home is probably higher than in stores, and I was pretty sure, and now I'm not that sure, that the quality of pictures just wouldn't be as good. Also I figured I would run out of blue ink before anything else because I take a lot of outdoor pictures and, well, the sky is big and it's blue.

But I figured I had nothing really to lose, and I told myself (and I still believe it) that I would only use this printer for those late-night scrapping sessions where I just **had to have** a particular picture that very minute. So far, so good. I am thrilled with my new toy. It prints only in 4x6 size, but it does have some options - for example, you can print two 2x3 pictures onto 4x6 paper. The colour of the pictures is very accurate.

As a matter of fact, this printer has actually revived my scrapbooking muses and inspired me to scrap again. And just when I thought it couldn't get better, dh bought a new printer for the family computer: a picture-quality colour printer! I can print 5x7s and 8x10s too! So now there's really nothing to stop me from creating scrapbook pages all day long. Except of course for my job. Without which, I would never have gotten the Sony 4x6 Printer in the first place. How ironic!

My Sens

Would you look at that - I've been blogging for only 4 days and I'm already giving in to the urge to tell the world wide web all about myself. Yikes. But if you're going to be dropping in here once in a while this is something you probably need to know about me. Because it might come up in conversation and I wouldn't want you to be surprised or anything. Here goes.

I am an Ottawa Senators fan.

Now this news doesn't go over well in certain social circles. My dh, for example, is a Boston Bruins fan but in all honesty he would be happy as anything if the NHL went poof one day and disappeared off the face of the earth. Actually he would be happier if only the Senators poofed. I **think** he says that just to get my goat, but I'm not 100% sure. In any event, he gave me a Senators Eastern Conference Champions 2007 coffee cup and a Senators certified jersey for my birthday last week. So maybe he does like them just a little bit, or, more likely, he loves me even more than I thought he did.

But I digress. This is after all a blog about scrapbooking and paper crafts. Luckily, my digression is the perfect segway for sharing my most recent layout - which is all about, you guessed it, my Sens. I caught Stanley Cup fever this year. I caught it bad. I didn't catch it SO bad that I was willing to spend hundreds on tickets though, so ds and I had to content ourselves with watching the finals on TV. (Ds will cheer for the Sens but only so long as they're not playing against Tampa Bay. I just don't understand the men in my life ... lol).

This layout features pictures taken during the final run of the Stanley Cup playoff in June. I think it was the second-last game ... I'm pretty sure they lost.



Now it's a pretty simple layout; my pages are usually a bit more elaborate. But, I had lots of pictures to fit in on the double 8.5x11. The title is done with Trademarks rub-on letters (both the red and the white). Of all the rub-on letters I've used, I find the Trademarks ones are the best. They go on like butter, and the matchbook-style cover is perfect for storing. For the red part of the title, I first dry-brushed some white acrilyc paint on the background. The only other embellishment is Sens stickers, which I bought at the dollar store. But I think this layout gets the point across. And now all I have to decide is whether it goes in the 2007 family album, or in ds' hockey album, or ... in my All About Me album. Decisions, decisions!

While I'm at it, let me show off some pictures I took a couple of weeks ago when the Sens unveiled their new game jerseys. Ds and I went and were one of the first 5,000 fans in the building so we got a free Sens Army t-shirt. We also got great seats. Here are Jason Spezza, Chris Phillips, Chris Neil and Brian McGrattan showing off the new jerseys.

I did go to a couple of games during the regular season last year (in the nosebleed section with the real fans) and I hope to go to a few this year as well. I also fully intend to catch Stanley Cup fever again in 2008, and this time, my Sens will see this thing right to the end. Otherwise, I'll have to cry myself to sleep again!

Oh the anticipation ...

I'm sure nobody was able to sleep the last two nights, what with the suspense of my second Blog Post and all. Lol. :o~

So as promised I am going to show you my new "scraproom". Oh yeah, the quotes ... well you see when dh and I decided to move my scrap area from our master bedroom to the spare room, the caveat (his) was that it could not actually look like a scraproom. You know, with peg boards on the walls and plastic drawer units out in the open etc. He wanted it to still be very functional as a guest room. So with that in mind, I had particular challenges determining how to structure my scrap supply storage. The room has a closet with sliding doors; one side has dh's dress clothes (suits etc.) and the other side had some of my "hasn't fit since I was 25" clothes which I finally gave up to goodwill (along with any hope of ever being a size 8 again, but who was I kidding, that hope was lost at least a decade ago!). So I set out to organize my half closet as best I could.

Here are pictures of the result.


The plastic shelves I ... um ... "borrowed" from our son's closet. He really didn't need them anymore. No, really.












The 2-drawer boxes were purchased at Ikea. The top two hold my ribbon (and my ribbon is stored by colour in ziploc bags). The rest store chipboard, miscellaneous alphas, wire and wire tools, miscellaneous embellishments, blank cards and envelopes and tags (tags are stored either by manufacturer/line if applicable, or by colour if not, in ziplock bags).















The gray baskets were purchased at the Superstore. Two of them hold my small embellishments (brads, eyelets, buttons etc.) sorted by colour in little glass jars purchased at Ikea. A third one holds small embellies sorted by theme in the same kinds of jars. One holds my embroidery floss (left over from a previous crafting life, now put to good use on my scrap pages). Another one holds miscellaneous stuff.


The three-drawer black box was purchased at Chapters and holds all of my 8.5x11 cardstock. (And by the way if anyone knows a brick and mortar store in the Ottawa area that sells Bazzill in the 8.5x11 format, either as packs or singles, please let me know!).

My 12x12 cardstock and patterned paper is stored in Cropper Hopper storage thingies purchased at Michaels. These are expensive - definitely use a 40% off coupon if you're going to buy these. I think I need one more and the good news is, I have a 50% off coupon for this week!! The cardstock is sorted by colour and the patterned paper is sorted by manufacturer (BG, SEI, Chatterbox, Junkitz, etc.). I also have a "Miscellaneous Designer" category and a "Miscellaneous Non-Designer" category (for slab paper etc.).

I have four binders which house my sticker, die cut, flat embellishment, alpha sticker and rub-on word collection. I am hoping to reduce this to 2-3 binders soon, as I am using up a lot of my old stash to make cards for a United Way fundraiser (fodder for another post).


A feature I really like is how I am using binder rings attached to the clothes rod to keep some embellisments (either new purchases, stuff I want to use soon, or miscellaneous embellies from the same line which would normally get stored in about 7 different places) out in plain view.

See the multi-drawer thingy? My husband actually put this out at our last garage sale. Men. I rescued it, cleaned all the sawdust off it, and am using it to store my metal embellishments by type of metal (silver, pewter, brass, copper, gold). See how I've glue-dotted a sample embellishment on the front of the drawers? Clever, eh? I have also brought my fibre out of deep storage and am keeping it out in the open by hanging it on binder rings off the clothing rod (stored in craft ziplock bags).


The big green thing is my Navigator (for you non-scrappers out there, I don't mean I have an SUV in my closet. A Navigator is a suitcase for lugging all your
(s)crap stuff to a crop.) I don't go to crops much anymore so right now it's holding all my wool (also left over from a previous crafting life). On top of the big green thing I have a couple of rubbermaid bins; one holds items to alter and a few extra mini albums, the other holds miscellaneous tools I don't use often such as the dreaded shaped scissors, and my dry embossing stuff.

Now for my desk. The two top drawers hold all of my often-used tools and adhesives. Then I have a drawer for rub-ons, a drawer for blossoms (stored by colour in ziplock bags, on which I put a coloured tag in order to find the right one more easily), a drawer for ink, paint, rubber and foam stamps, and a drawer for large-size photos (such as school and hockey pictures) and other pictures waiting to be scrapped. Check out the big square clock on my desk ... altered item work in progress ... stay tuned!







To keep my desk uncluttered since it's a fairly small surface, dh gave up a table from his basement (yup, it's his basement) on which I keep my pencil/tool jar, my little drawer unit for pens and other oft-used tools, and my new 4x6 photo printer (fodder for another post). The gray accordion folder under the table holds all my scraps organized by colour (cardstock) and manufacturer (paper) and is can be put in the closet when I'm not using it. The box holding my magazines is from Winners.


Still missing from the room is my new bulletin board, which dh is staining to match the other wood in the room, and a collapsible coffee table which dh is building me for in front of the pull-out couch, so I can spread out my stuff EVEN MORE when I scrap. Whoops - actually, dh is installing the stuff right now! What a sweetheart! He wants to make sure I can show off the finished scrap room in this post but I'm way too lazy to go take more pictures and upload them (I've already been at this all morning - blogging: the ultimate time waster???) so this will be fodder for another post.


So there you have it - my new scraproom which isn't a scraproom. I think that for a scraproom that's not supposed to be one, it's pretty functional! That being said, I continue to be on the lookout for cool scrap supply organization ideas. Next to buying, and oh yeah scrapping, I think supply organizing is one of the funnest parts of this hobby!

So, if you're still with me at the end of this long post, thanks for visiting and for having the stamina to stay all the way to the end. I am **never** posting this many pictures in one post again ... omg, the work! (I know, I know, never say never!). Ciao!

Post One and a Half

This doesn't count as my second post, ok? Just a quick one to let you all know that I fixed the comments problem, now you don't have to have a Blogger account in order to leave a comment. Thanks Barb and Nat for pointing out the problem!!

Taking the Plunge

Well there you go. Just goes to prove the old adage, "never say never". I never thought I would get into the blogging craze. I mean, when I was a teenager and wrote in a diary, I didn't exactly Xerox it and distribute it for all to read, did I? I never felt the need to put my deepest thoughts out there for all to see and judge! However, when I drew a picture, or knit a sweater, or finished a needlepoint, I couldn't wait to show it off to everyone. When something good happened in my life, I always wanted to share it with all my friends. When something bad happened, ditto. So lately, I just realized that that's all a blog is, really. It's technology facilitating the showing off of accomplishments, the sharing of news, good and bad. So that is the purpose of this, my New Blog (I know it doesn't need to be capitalized. I'm capitalizing because it's That Important. It's a New Thing. It's got a Life of its Own.). On this, my New Blog, I am going to share my paper creations with y'all, so get ready for some scrapbook layouts, some cards, and the odd altered item. And if some random deep thought makes its way in there, so be it.

So there you have it. My Inaugural Blog Post (I know I am driving my daughter crazy with this wild capitalizing - what can I say, I'm a rebel). In my next post, I am going to show off my newly organized "scraproom". There is a reason for those quotation marks. However, I hope your heart can take the anticipation and suspense, because I am not going to tell you the reason until next post. :o)

Thanks for visiting!