Organization – Page 2 – Taniesa Vlasak

Creating a Sequin Station for your craft space.

Published on August 30, 2013August 29, 2013 by Taniesa12 Comments

Happy Friday everyone!

Today I am revisiting a previously posted idea a few months ago that I used for small embellishment storage. Ever since I purchased the sequins in the whimsical Twist shop I have been HOOKED on sequins and use them on a lot of my projects. Getting in and out of the little baggies was getting to be a little bit of a pain so I thought back to that organization blog post I had done, You can see that original post HERE. I thought that it would be nice to have one set up just for sequins so that’s just what I did.

Here is what I used. First a K-Cup storage spinner (I got mine at walmart for about $24 but I have also found the same size on Amazon HERE) and a package of Diamond brand mini condiment cups and lids (I got mine at a grocery store in my area, safeway, for about $3)

I emptied all of my sequins in each cup keeping the colors separated, depending on your collection you might want to combine certain colors or shades of the same color.

Super simple and inexpensive. It takes up very little space and makes using them and clean up a breeze because you’re not dumping the sequins out on your table. The added bonus it looks really pretty out and makes me happy when I look at all the fun color!

Suggestion for those that are going out shopping for your kcup holder, I took one of the mini cups with me to make sure it fit well. There are holders out there that are just a bit too small to hold the cup so to be sure, test it out before you buy it.

Don’t forget to stock up on all the great color sequins that is currently in the Whimsical Twist shop and check back for more fun sequins that will be in the shop soon! While your there don’t forget we have an awesome sale on all your Basic Gray favorites too!!

I hope you enjoyed this organization inspiration!

Have a Whimsical Weekend!

Happy New Release Day!

Published on August 1, 2013 by TaniesaLeave a comment

Those of you that haven’t seen the new Close To My Heart products have got to stop whatever you’re doing and go look! So many beautiful new products I can’t even stand it! Here is a sneak peek of some of my favorite new releases from this new idea book/catalog:

This has to be my new favorite alpha stamp set! I love that it is sized to store with my other CTMH sets now too!

Check out some of the adorable new sets!

Check out one of the new mini stamps CTMH is offering for under $3!

For all you Cricut lovers out there, here is one of the amazing new cartridge packages!

And a look at CTMH’s take on smash type of journaling/scrapbooking collection “My Crush”

Wearable art? Yes, Please!

And you all know how I love my CTMH Organization. Here are the two new small organizer foam inserts! One for daubers and one for the mini ink squares.

What would a new release day be without some sort of fun special to get you going! from now until Aug. 15th I am offering 10% off all orders! To receive the discount you must email your order to TaniesaVlasak@gmail.com along with your mailing address and email address you want a PayPal billing to be sent. You can view all the new products HERE or go to http://www.thecraftypickle.ctmh.com.

I hope you enjoy all of the new products as I have!

Happy Crafting!

Organizing your Project Life cards? I have a file share for you!

Published on July 10, 2013October 7, 2013 by Taniesa19 Comments

Hi Project Lifers!

I am working on organizing my cards this week and was in need of new dividers. My old method was taking a grid card and attaching a file tab from a We R Memory keepers punch I had onto the card. Rather than spend the time punching and stapling I decided to create a file in my silhouette to make my own file cards. They worked out perfect for me and I thought I would share with you today!

There are three different tabs for the 4×6 and two different tabs for the 3×4. Here they are cut out:

To download these two files for your silhouette, free, click HERE.

* edited update: If you would like to see a video of how I am currently organizing my Project life cards and monthly Subscriptions please click HERE to be directed to my most current card organizing post.*

I hope these help you get your cards organized like it did mine.

Happy Organizing!

Project Life Tuesday: My Planning Process

Published on July 2, 2013July 2, 2013 by Taniesa6 Comments

Hi Project Lifers!

I thought I would do something different for my Project Life Tuesday post and show you my planning process for my pages. Right now I am 6 weeks behind the current week. I am not freaking out but I do want to make sure I am staying organized so that I don’t loose thoughts or photos that I want to include in past weeks. The key to staying on top of your album and not getting so frustrated that you want to quit is to stay organized.

At the beginning of the year I started off so excited to do my first year of Project life. I made a spiral bound planner that I had printed at staples and I was ready to go! I completed each weekly spread the monday after the week ended and I did this for the first month, No sweat right? Ah then life happened, got busy and I was two weeks behind… still chugging along but then it got to be three weeks….and I had yet to use the planner I had made.

Now there are a lot of people out there that really prefer the paper organizers over electronic gadgets. I have learned that I am not one of them. I just don’t carry around much other than my iPhone and my iPad and with 5 kids, I am on the go a lot. Having done away with the whole weekly paper planner idea, I was just printing photos and figuring out how to arrange them all as I worked on each individual layout. This ended up being a pretty long process for me. First I had to edit my photos then I had to figure out where they were going then I would have to print them in the right size. Only after that was all done could I really begin to scrapbook. Sometimes after spending an hour or so doing that, I had other things around the house I needed to tend do and Kids that needed my attention, so the actual scrapbooking part had to wait. This made me sad because the actual putting it all together scrapbooking part is what I really enjoy. I needed to figure out a better way to get this done and not give up.

I think I did!

On my ipad I have an app called Paper by 53. I LOVE this app because I love to sketch, doodle, and I even use it to take notes with during church on sundays. It is a free app but if you want more “tools” you can buy them individually. I have them all but I only use the basic free version tools for what I am now doing for project life. I also use an app on my iphone called Project 365 pro to log one photo a day. This is a great reference for me when I am behind (more on that later)

Turns out this app is PERFECT for sketching (in my case scribbling) out your project life pages! After church this sunday I sat down with my iphone and my ipad while I watched the girls play in the pool, and I started planning all my pages that I was behind with. In roughly an hour I had 6 weeks worth of pages sketched out (inserts too!). I can’t believe how quick and easy it was. Now all that I need to do is print the photos from my phone in the sizes I already planned out and pop them in their planned spaces. I effectively have taken, what I consider the work part, out of the planning process, and now I can get to the FUN part much quicker! Below is a few screenshots of my scribbly plans, I am sure yours will be much more legible and neat, LOL.

See, I am even ready for this week! Bring on July!

I mentioned before an app that I use on my phone called Project 356 pro (there also is a free version) I love this app because you can plug in a-photo-a-day which helps me referance what happend on what day when I am going back and planning out a page. It has an added bonus of being able to save a 4×6 calendar like photo with all of your photos from that month that you plugged in.

The one other thing that I do is create a marker within my photo album and instagram to show me when another week is starting. I am also listing upcoming highlights that I know will occur in the coming week. I made the weekly marker below using the app “a beautiful mess” which is one of my favorite apps. I have also used the app “Typic pro” quite a bit with other weekly markers. Here is my marker I created today for this coming week.

I hope this inspires those of you that feel unorganized and behind. You can get caught up, you can stay current, and you can make the project life process even more simple!

Looking for more project life inspiration? As always, I am linking up with The Mom Creative who shares her album every week and links up with several other talented project lifers.

Have a FANTASTIC photo-filled week!

Organization and Storage Solutions: The little “bits”

Published on June 12, 2013 by Taniesa31 Comments

Hi Papercrafting friends!

Today I thought I would share my thoughts on organizing the little things that we use in our scrapbook and project life albums. The things that we get in kits for just one page or the little things that don’t seem to have a home in our scrapbook space.

I am a papercrafter that, if I don’t see it, I won’t use it. So I have been on the lookout for an idea or solution to fix this problem with the little things. Now this idea is really customizable to whatever your needs are. You could be looking for a way to store all your flair, or your sequins, even things like embossing powder or glitter! For me I wanted something where I could see all these little things. Little die cuts, wood veneer, Flair, sequins, even a roll of washi tape I know I want to use soon.

Want to know the best thing about this little storage idea? It’s really inexpensive! What started the idea, was when I was grocery shopping I saw these little disposable condiment cups by the foil and plastic bags.

They were $2.99 for 50 cups. I wasn’t sure if it would work but I thought at worst I could use it for the kids lunch box when school starts back up. Then I wondered how I would store these in my scrapbook area. My first thought was a flat serving tray I got from Ikea a while back but really that would just take up too much space and not make it very visible.

So I went to wal-mart (target and other stores have these too or check online at places like amazon) and I found a K-cup holder that actually was JUST the right size to hold these little cups.

I was surprised at how little space it took up and sits right on top of a half cube penholder/drawer unit I got at Michael’s a while back. It holds 25 of these little cups.

I like the fact that I can take out the little cup and set it with a project I am working on. Once it’s empty i can fill it up with the next thing that comes in a scrapbook kit or that doesn’t have a designated place.

I think its great that it’s completely clear so I can see completely through it without having to open the container and poke around. If I ever need to replace any of the containers then I can easily grab more because they are so inexpensive.

So in total this project cost me under $30 and it is already helping me use the little things I might have overlooked if these little bits were tucked away somewhere else.

Happy (organized) crafting!

Another Super Project Life Organization Idea (especially if you scrapbook on-the-go) bonus giveaway

Published on May 30, 2013 by Taniesa38 Comments

Are you headed to a weekend crop or scrapbook retreat soon? Are you a Project life scrapbooker on the go? Are you looking for a simple way to organize your cards + photos + embellishments by week? I have a great solution for you!

A couple of weeks ago I purchased this large iris photo storage case from amazon here. I have also seen it at other popular craft stores where you can use a discount coupon. My purpose in buying this case was to organize my scraps by color cut down to 3×4 and 4×6 to make them more useable for my project life album. I also purchased individual 4×6 plastic cases in a teal color for odd’s and ends scraps that were not sized for PL but that I still wanted to keep.

Here is a photo of the Iris photo case that holds 16 of the smaller photo cases inside.

Now this worked perfectly for scraps (Special thank you to Lisa McIntyre from the Scrapbook/craft organization ideas facebook page) See Lisa’s Photo below.

Now I got this scrap organization going and I was a very happy scrappy girl indeed. I had some leftover teal smaller photo cases that I figured I would use somehow for something later on.

Then I got to thinking, If I were to pack up for a scrapbook crop somewhere how would I do that, especially beings I primarily scrapbook PL style right now? A little lightbulb went off in my head and I quickly went to test my idea out. Want to know the best part, IT WORKS! It works so well I am thinking of adapting this into a system for me to keep me on track with my project life beings I run about 3-4 weeks behind. It will also help me spread out my supplies, and hopefully not over buy certain supplies. You can even take your monthly project life kit and split that up by week! Keep a little box in your purse with journal cards and your favorite journal pens, close the case and you have a hard surface to write on while you’re at your childs soccer practice or ballet lessons… Possibilities are endless my friends!

But, what about the larger pieces of memorabilia? you could always tape a large plastic paper organizer to the front of your case and slip in those larger bits and pieces. Whatever works for you. Normally I don’t have anything bigger than what would fit in the small photo case.

Just pop in printed photos, the cards in the color combo you think you might want to use, your embellishments, your journaling pen or special color marker even…. these little boxes can surprisingly hold quite a bit!

What you see in the box above is what I am planning on using for week 18 and then some…. I am undecided on a few choices so I stuck whatever i think i might use for that week. Once I am done with that week I will just shift what I don’t use back into its proper spot in my scrapbook room

*Bonus idea* Want to give a gift to your project life scrappy friend? Pack up some Journal and filler cards, embellishments, a fun pen in one of these little photo cases (costs less than a decorative gift bag). Pop a little card/tag on top and tie with some twine or ribbon and you will have a friend who adores you even more!

Totally amazing idea right? I am planning on doing some scrapbooking on the go this summer…. 5 or 6 of these little guys packed up in a scrapbook tote with some basic tools/supplies and my album and I am totally set!

How about seeing how this works first hand? I have a little project life goodie kit giveaway just for you packed full in one of these little photo cases (cards, embellishments, stamps, pens, etc..). What do you need to do to enter to win? Simple, Just follow my blog via email (there is a spot to enter your email address in the upper right hand corner to make it easy) and leave a comment with your name, location, favorite color(s) and something about project life…. could be a tip, something you love about PL, something you want to see featured on my blog, or something telling me about the things you scrapbook about (will help me customise your prize a little bit better)…. anything at all… I love reading comments from you all! Good Luck!

Happy Crafting!

A Simple idea to help with Project Life.

Published on April 18, 2013 by Taniesa11 Comments

I know there are a lot of free digital templates out there for Becky Higgins Project Life page protectors, I love those for scribbling notes in. However, I found that when I sat down with my photos for the week, I start by sorting my photos in my album on top of the page protector because I need to move them around and visually see how they will fit. Moving the album on and off my desk got real annoying so I tried just having the page protector out in the open to pop down on my desk to stay until I finished arranging and embellishing. This worked out far better! I only had a problem of the page protectors sliding around everywhere because I wanted one of each of the plastics out to decide which to use.

So here is what I did to solve my problem, its such a simple idea I had to share! I took those page protectors (one of every design, A-J) and slipped in a solid color piece of cardstock (you could even slip in grid or plain cards if you wanted), I put the corresponding letter in the upper left hand corner with some old sticker numbers I had and hooked them all on a large binder ring. I keep this on a hook that is on my Raskog cart from Ikea that way I can easily grab it and decide what design I want to use.

Super simple right? It made a big difference for me though and now I am branching out to add more PP styles and inserts in my album. Maybe this little tip will help you too!

Happy Crafting!

And the organization continues…

Published on April 14, 2013January 22, 2015 by Taniesa14 Comments

Here I am again, sharing my organization for the little things now. I have been sorting, purging, organizing my scrap space. It seems like a never ending job. My order from Close To My Heart finally came in though and I was armed with new organizational supplies to get things together! My goal this last couple of months is to really streamline my supplies to have them take up as little space as possible beings I am working with a limited space in my Loft right off the master bedroom. You have seen my boxes from CTMH holding my project life cards, my 6×6 paper pads, and my washi collection…… ahhh washi, I love you so! So without further ado let me share my wood veneer and sequins storage!

This is my before photo how I sorted my ever growing wood veneer collection. It started with an embroidery floss box and then added a container I found at the dollar spot at Target. Not a bad storage idea I was just running out of room, they felt really squished, and I was just got happy how it looked.

And here is my after. I was able to fit a few different designs per box as they hold quite a bit, I put like items together. I still have some growing room for more as well.

What you see here is the Close To My Heart Small organizer, The foam insert, and 4 sets of the craft boxes to go inside. I love how I can take out the box I want to work with and not have the entire thing on my desk.

Adorable right? So then once I completed this I thought of other things I could organize in the same fashion…. Buttons, Brads, Little die cuts, Flair, a little mix of everything in one box to carry ALL your embellishments. Of course I only had one more case and my sequins collection has started to get out of hand so you can guess what I did…

Same exact idea with the wood veneer. Now I only have to take the box that I will be working with to my table instead of having all of them out. I have all different sizes of sequins in the same box as it is so easy to poke around and find the one I want.

As soon as I get all of my supplies in order and my scrap space the way I want it, I will definitely do a little tour. I hope this helps you with ideas to sort your supplies. You can purchase all the CTMH container supplies I have shown today and in the past posts from your local consultant or directly from my website here. If you have any questions about the storage I used here or any of my other storage solutions please let me know. I am happy to help in any way I can, *** I am no longer an active CTMH consultant but keeping things at a hobbyist level. If I can help you get supplies you need just let me know.***

Happy Crafting!

I know, I’m at it again…..

Published on April 3, 2013January 22, 2015 by Taniesa2 Comments

I PROMISE this week I will be posting a few weeks worth of my Project life spreads (I am really excited to share them with you too) but for today I am doing a product spotlight for the Close To My Heart Large organizer.

You have seen my posts on how the medium organizer is PERFECT for project life card organization (if you haven’t check out my past post I am still giving away a set of organizing tabs for every medium case ordered until the 19th). You also may of seen my Washi Tape organizing solution using the CTMH Small organizer (best solution I have found that works really well for my tape ~~obsession~~ collection) But now I have to share an idea that I discovered totally by accident. It’s kind of a funny story…. So I am a fairly new consultant for CTMH and during my first month as a consultant I sold some cases for project life organization via my website ( http://thecraftypickle.ctmh.com). I saw only the large and the small on the website so I assumed the case I had for my cards was the large. So my lovely customers ordered the cases and while they were in route to them I discovered that the medium cases were the ones they wanted and they were out of stock *OH NO* I felt so completely horrible that I made such a mistake. I contacted these kind ladies and explained my situation and told them rather than have them go through the hassle of shipping back to CTMH waiting on a refund or an exchange and having to absorb MORE shipping charges that I would just purchase the cases from them and refund all shipping fees. This left me with two lovely large organizers. I figured that I would just use them for stamp storage. Goodness knows I need to get my stamps under control. While this worked out pretty well for my stamps (Its actually very ideal for CTMH stamps, they fit PERFECTLY) its not quite what I wanted. I am still contemplating using Kinsey Wilson’s stamp organization system she did for hers (check it out here: http://kinseygirl.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/09/acrylic-stamp-storage.html ) So I was brainstorming how to use them beings that I am still working on reorganizing my scrapbook loft. I ended up finding the perfect solution and goes perfectly with the other organizers as I use them all for Project life. my 6×6 paper pads! Take a look!

I am still not completely happy with the dividers I am using, Going to play around with the cameo and see if I can make something prettier but for now these get the job done. I have them organized by manufacturer except for christmas themed ones as I had so many of those. You could be extra fancy and use the dividers made to fit this case by CTMH (they are quite pretty) I Just haven’t got my hands on them yet.

These Large organizers stack with the medium and small organizers perfectly, they have a little grove in them so they fit without sliding all over the place. I have mine stacked in a trio when I am not popping the medium one in my ikea cart for use. (they all fit in the popular Ikea RÅSKOG cart as well, I will post photos of this on my instagram)

The large organizers just got back in stock and I am so excited because some of you have been waiting for yours. I hope this 6×6 paper storage idea helps you gain control of your cute little paper pads like it did mine. If you would like to order one please contact your CTMH consultant or order from me here: http://thecraftypickle.ctmh.com/Retail/Products.aspx?CatalogID=164 (this link takes you directly to the organizers)

Happy Crafting (and organizing)

Finally found a Washi storage system that works!

Published on March 19, 2013April 25, 2016 by Taniesa12 Comments

So I have been on the hunt for a storage system for all the Washi tape I have accumulated. I started out in one drawer and that worked for a while but I quickly outgrew that. Washi was everywhere! You might remember my post a few weeks ago about my project life card storage using the Close To My Heart Medium organizer cases. Well those worked out so well that I got a couple of large organizers for my stamps. Those cases stacked up perfectly which made me think of the small organizer and my washi dilemma. I wasn’t too sure if my washi would fit or the rolls would be a little too big so I took a chance and ordered just one of the cases. I was so excited everything fit perfectly with a little room to spare height wise.

Did I mention that these cases stack perfectly together? The only difference in the dimentions is the height of the cases.

So now that I found that these cases work I am going to order a couple more to fit the rest of my collection (yes that was only half of my washi) in the case that I pictured I have a total of 116 rolls, some are wide washi rolls so it could fit more or less depending on the size of your washi tape. I also plan on getting one more along with the insert and small boxes so that I can organize my smaller embellishments like wood veneer.

If you would like to see these cases with the washi a little closer check out THIS youtube video.

To check out the organizers I have described and see more, check out my CTMH website at http://www.thecraftypickle.ctmh.com or click the blinkie on the right hand side of my page (under my photo)

Happy Crafting!