Schoolwork Display

Update (4 September 2012):  It's on the wall!  I chose to put it in the playroom above her toy cubby-shelf thing.  It was even motivation to get the playroom picked up so that I could take a picture.

My oldest starts Junior Preschool on Tuesday!  I can't believe that I'm sending Melodi, my two-and-a-half-year-old, off to school two days a week.  With preschool comes cute little art projects to enjoy, and with the start of school Pinterest has been teaming with beginning of school projects to do.

Here is the finished project, inspired by several pins that were rolling around in my head.  The artwork is my own, the "Melodi" was my first cut using Design Studio after getting my Cricut almost two years ago, and the alphabet pages are the contributions I made to an alphabet book swap on the Cricut Community Message Board.

How I Re-Purposed the Frame (inspiration 1, inspiration 2, there may have been more that I saw but didn't pin)

Raise frame on pushpins (inspiration), sand and paint.  Sand and paint some more.  Cut cork.  Adhere cork to glass from the frame using spray adhesive.  Trim cork.  Adhere second cork layer (wanted it thicker than a single layer).

Set cork/glass into frame.  Tap finishing nails into frame and bend over.  Add enough to secure firmly.

 

How I Made My Clothes Pin Push Pins

Take apart push pins and paint (inspiration) at the same time as the frame.  Put pins back together.  Hot glue the push pins to the clothes pins (inspiration).  Hot glue buttons to clothes pins.

I love how this project turned out, so now to figure out where to hang it and wait for Melodi to bring home her first piece of artwork from Junior Preschool. 

Glove Box Clean Out

Sometimes the most simple projects take a little bit of time.  But, what can I expect, with an active two and a half year old and a nursing three month old.  I think this is probably the quickest project I've completed after finding it on Pinterest, but since we got the registration renewed on the car yesterday the state of paperwork in the glove box was at the top of my mind.

This car documents folder by Elementary Organization had been pinned by one of the people I follow.  First I started by creating my list of documents, but I didn't feel like digging out the documents in the middle of the night.  I knew I had some of the folders laying around, and I came across them as my husband I and worked to clean out the office, making this a FREE project.  Yesterday after I got the girls down for a nap I emptied out my glove box, took my draft document list, and sat down to sort through the paperwork.  I made a number of changes based on what I had and the order I wanted stuff in.  When my husband got home he brought me everything in his glove box.  Then the girls were up and I was off to try to corral them, at least a little bit. 

This morning I was finally able to finish up the project.  I printed revised lists, changed found some matting paper, and attached the "table of contents" to the folder using packing tape.  Finally, I added the stickers to the tabs and using my matching Sharpies to write the numbers (I would suggest writing on the stickers before putting them onto the tabs).

The final step to this project is going through the extra stuff that was in my husbands glove box.  It's amazing how much more stuff he had in his than I had in mine, but considering that we've had that car for two more years which included two moves and a extended road trip, it really isn't surprising.

Next I hope to make another folder like this to corral the paperwork that comes from a military move.

New Machine, Organization and a Page

I needed more space to store stuff because even with the shelf I have my work space was always cluttered.  We had a small cabinet that my parents gave us on the other side of the room I work in.  I ended up going through the stuff in it to get it a little more organized, and decided that it would fit photo boxes rather well.  It can hold a total of 12 boxes now that we have taken the shelf out of the lower section.  I have 9 photo boxes, which hold the following:

• Cuttlebug plates and embossing folders
• Adhesive
• Scissors
• Punches
• Stamps
• Photos (2 boxes)
• Embellishments
• Mat Paper

I also have a couple old boxes that still have photos in them that need sorted through (these boxes will eventually be replaced with black photo storage boxes).  There is a drawer that only has my chalks in it, so it's pretty empty.  The top portion of it folds down to give a little more work surface and it holds pens, random stuff, note pads, staplers, hole punches, and my address books.  Sitting on top of the cabinet are my paper files.  I needed some way to organize my 12x12 paper because the folders I was using were only 9 inches high so I got some clear envelopes from Hobby Lobby and have paper (and scraps) sorted into them.  I also have a box that contains 8.5x11 cardstock packs and my 8x8 paper stacks.  It is great that I am slowly figuring out the best way to set up my workspace so that I have the room to accomplish layouts.

I also got a page done.  This is one that I had precropped from the batch of photos that we took between the beginning of January and Valentines Day.  I have my layout figured out but was waiting to get my Cuttlebug folders to us them on the color squares.  Over the course of exploring scrapbooking resources on the web I have come across a lot of "square" layouts where all the photos are squares and they have some color squares, and everything is laid out on a grid.  I haven't had a set of photos that really works for a page like that, so this is my take on that type of layout.  I used the Robotz font for the title and the Tiny Mosaic Text embossing folder.

Crafting Area Makeover

I was in desperate need of an organizational makeover in my crafting area.  My storage solution when I first set up my tables was non-existent.  I was using my entire table top for storage so it was a juggling act to get any space on the table to actually create.  I had a spot for my paper cutter, which after I got my Cricut became a shared space so anytime I wanted to use the Cricut, the paper cutter had to be moved.  All of my stickers, pens, adhesives, and photos were in boxes in the corner of the table, and taking up a lot of space.  My Cricut cartridges sat up against the wall on the opposite end of the table from my machine, and I had 12x12 paper containers sitting off the edge.  I had said that I needed more light and when I had William come look at a layout I was working on he that I really did need more lighting.  Here are the before pictures, you'll have to excuse Melodi, but I didn't actually take before pictures.

Seeing as I was doing as much juggling of stuff while trying to create as I was spending creating it was time to figure out better storage solutions.  Originally I was thinking some sort of bookshelf or self-standing closet, that I could be covered up with fabric, closed with doors, or zip up.  When I mentioned to William that I needed some storage we stopped by the hardware store to look at options.  We ended up deciding on a shelf above my tables.  After returning home to consult the tape measure and William working a couple days, we bought a 11.75in x 97in shelf and 6 brackets.  We also looked at lights, but decided to wait to see what the shelf looked like after it was up.  William cut the shelf into two pieces so that it could wrap around the corner, found the studs, and put up the shelf.  Now that the shelf was up we went back to look at lights and decided on a set of three puck lights, that another light could be added to if needed.

The shelf turned out great! The only thing left to do is tidy up the lighting wires.  Everything has its place which makes it much easier for me to create since I have the table completely opened up.  The only things that live on the table are my Cricut and paper cutter.  My Cricut cartridges, tools, and manuals live on the short side of the shelf above the paper cutter.  This the closest spot to the computer that I have Design Studio loaded on.  in the corner (unaccessable without some work) are my scrapbooks that are a work in progress, but not actively being worked on (wedding, Air Force, high school).  Then we have tools (scissors, markers, adhesive/pen tubs).  The paper (12x12 and 8x8 pads) sat underneath some of the tools but now I have them standing upright within a Costco baby wipes box.  Next is my photo storage box which really only contains rejects from Melodi's book, wedding photos, and some other random photos from other projects (Air Force, Scott's trips).  Then we have a couple 12x12 bins that have paper that is not paper I normally reach for.  One has the paper I've had since I (with my mom) started scrapping, we're talking from the trip my family took to Hawaii in elementary school, maybe junior high.  The other has paper for my wedding and Air Force albums.  I've got some file folders that contain loose leaf paper, scrap paper, and stencils.  On top of these bins I have my sticker files.  Then I have my really current projects (the ones that I am actively working on).  The pink binder is Melodi's baby book (you know, the one that you write in all the firsts, keep track of growth and immunizations, and tell stories), the purple book is Melodi's state book (keeping track of the states that she has been to), and the pink scrapbook is Melodi's first year book (I'm almost at 80 pages, 40 sleeves, complete and just bought more sleeves to insert so that I can finish up the book after Melodi's birthday next month).  Finally, we have my cards bin, that I have all of my note cards in, along with return labels and stamps.

 

It's been great getting to create in my new space because I actually have the space to spread everything out.  I can even have six pages out at a time.  Yeah, my general December pictures are going to take six pages.