Organize your Stuff Week 17 (round 5): CKC Portland…Scrapbooking Convention

WoW! First of all, thank you Fabulous Spouse for arranging for us to have this AWESOME weekend away.  It is THE best gift ever! Second, thank you Grandmother, for taking on the gargantuan task of child wrangler and actually making it possible!

Thurday Preview Crop

For those of you who do not know what CKC is… it is the Creating Keepsakes (like the magazine) Convention. There are a gagillion classes (yes, spell check , gagillion is a real word…ask anyone under 3’ 10”), crops, vendors, techniques. Creative Me was in heaven, OCD Me was stroking out, and the POW was doing everything within her power to keep the Inner Horder from busting the bank!



Friday Photoshop Class



Today the POW had us spend 6 hours (3 classes) learning about Photoshop Elements. Mrs. Patty Debowski (of http://thedigitalscrapbookteacher.com/) was our super patient and fabulous teacher. By the end, even PA Me was getting the hand of it! *Yeah*

Here are our first 2 (ever!) digital layouts:

OCD Me loves this! Creative Me is still sitting the fence…(especially with her good friend the Inner Hoarder just salivating to buy some more tactile stuff!), but we must admit it is a pretty cool way to whip up layouts quick!

Also, while we were walking about in between classes, who should we run into…none other than Michelle Ogdahl…the COO of Avocado Arts (Clear Acrylic Stamp Company). She is super cool and super nice!

Now, we must admit, that we have been cyber stalking Avocado Arts for a LONG time now… (it made the favorites list LONG before the school district…with the printable lunch menus…did on the computer). However, the POW has always put her foot down when Creative Me and the Inner Hoarder wanted to buy them, because we did not know what quality of clear acrylic/ photopolymer with which they were made. (We are still recovering from our made in China crappy MME Acrylic Stamps that were SO cute *sad face*).

Let us tell you, these ROCK! Love them! This is a card that we made without conditioning the stamp at all! Fabulous ink acceptability! They are photopolymers made in the United States, and super sticky and pliable. Did we mention that Miss Michelle was super sweet and awesome in person too! She even let us get our picture with her!

Tomorrow is four more hours of Photoshop training…and an evening crop. Wish our bottom well…It is in serious danger of falling asleep…LOL!

Organize your Stuff: Week 14 (round 5): WOYWW 141

Welcome Wonderful What’s On Your Work-desk Wednesday(WOYWW)! We hope that you had a Valentine’s Day that was as wonderful as ours, yesterday! We are a little late getting this post up as it is usually prep-ed Tuesday night, but the little guys were busy texting Fabulous Spouse on Facebook until 9:30 PM last night…hogging the laptop!

Here is our desk as it sits unloved, and uncleaned by OCD Me.

To view other desks/ creative spaces, and the cool projects in the making from crafters around the world, visit the always Fabulous Julia at the Stamping Ground! (PS- We are sure that there are probably a few Valentine peeks in there).

Yesterday, our kids woke super early (like 5AM early) to see what stash of Valentines goodies had been left at their breakfast seats. Amongst the goodies were little candy boxes with stuffed animals. Leave it to Illusive Middle Child to maim his in the extraction process. So, it was time to break out our sewing kit (the same one that we used on today’s card) and patch the little mouse up.

Paper:Simple Stories, Echo Park, MME, CTMH
Notions: Bo Bunny, MME, DMC floss, unknown flower

Today’s card was made for our Design Team entry for Sketch #106: Anything Goes. This card is 100% scraps and leftovers. The flower was a crop win from prior to our 2008 move! ...and of course the DMC floss that fixed the mouse. Speaking of crops, week 14 is crops. OCD Me is the queen of crops. It is not something that we really need to organize. Here is round 3's post with pictures of the must have items that we pack.  You can skip to the bottom now, It you do not want the family news!

But what about the candy? You can’t have Valentine’s Day without Candy! The tribe had plenty of that!

We also received a surprise box of Sheri’s Berries chocolate covered strawberries from Fabulous Spouse (as the family is highly allergic to roses and we got flowers as our surprise gift last week). He is the BEST! The POW shared… because, well, it would be rude not to…even if the Inner Hoarder wanted them all for herself.

While we wish that we could reach out and hug him, the last couple of days, the internet has been stable enough to Skype, and the sound of his voice is really the only present that we need. (However, Inner Hoarder and the rest of our personalities are totally fine with the surprise gifts that we have been receiving! We LOVE our presents.)

Our picture of the week from the Front is this: a snowball fight. If only all wars were fought this way! LOL! Over 6 new inches of snow fell in Afghanistan (or Fabulous Spouse’s corner of it anyway) this week.

The POW loves this time of year! There are so many little, fun, no pressure holidays that the kids enjoy, and Valentine’s Day is a great kick off. (in case you are wondering, on the horizon we have Fauschnaut Day/Shrove Tuesday-Feb 21, Dr. Seuss’s birthday- March 2, Toy Soldier Day- March 4 (to march forth...lol!), Pi (3.14)Day-March 14, St. Patrick’s Day- March 17), but it is Valentine’s Day that gets us crafting! Girl Friday hand makes (or Cricut made, LOL!) all of her cards. It makes Creative Me SO proud!

We also created heart shaped banana chocolate chip pancakes (and bacon) for supper. We rarely do breakfast for dinner, so it has a fabulous aura and mystique (and when PA Me feels lazy and whips it up, we get Super Cool Mom points!). Hope that you have had a great week and as wonderful a Valentine’s Day as we have!

In Honor of Valentine’s Candy, post a comment and be entered for WOYWW blog candy…no need to follow (We will ship international!...it just takes a long time to recieve.) We will post the winner next WOYWW. If we get more than 40 comments, we will give away 2 Candies.

Organize your Stuff: Week 14 (round 4): OLW Blog Hop & Crops

Welcome to those who are on the One Little Word Blog Hop to see what we all did with our OLW homework. This is the finished product of what Creative Me came up with:

Here is a few before pics.The hardest part for us was the color choice. OCD Me wanted to keep with the blue of the first nine patch because embracing brings peace and calm. Creative Me was thinking more seasonal change, and summer colors. PA Me said that we can do summer colors when we get summer temperatures. Therefore, we compromised, and the POW told us to use a little bit of blue, some green for spring, and a touch of yellow for the hope of summer!

The only other issue that we had was that the embossed clock and numbers were originally clear embossed with paint overtop, but Creative Me was overruled, and we redid it in bronze. Also, the blue first and last card seemed too blue, so we painted it.

We have been doing a lot of embracing these days, especially embracing the end of the school year. However, Girl Friday has not embraced the fact that 62 degrees Fahrenheit is too cold to play in the sprinkler! Nor have any of them really embraced the idea of sleeping in yet…although we wish that they would.

As for crops, the last one that we attended was at CKC Portland. The big thing about crops is to plan ahead. This is realistically a social event, where the pages come second in many instances. However, we have learned that OCD Me tends to over pack, and so when the POW preps our stuff ahead of time, there is not quite as much stuff to cart around.

Here is a link to round 3 with pics of some of my regular crop supplies: rolling cart, tiered shelf, mini table, tool bag...all esentials!

JULY 1 BLOG HOP PARTICIPANTS
Margie   http://xnomads.typepad.com/blog
Rebekah http://istampscrapcraft.blogspot.com/
Kelly        http://kellyxenos.typepad.com/
Julie Ann  http://julieannshahin2.blogspot.com
Jill       http://jillconyers.typepad.com/
Jamie  http://jmpgirl.blogspot.com/
Cherie   http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com/
Nikki  http://www.inkyart.com.au/

Amanda       http://scrappnbee.blogspot.com/  <-- you are here

Melissa S  http://blog.mshanhun.com/

Monica B  http://questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com/

Lisa A    http://backtoallen.com/writers_blog/

Sam  http://learncreatedo.wordpress.com/

Karen   http://womenontractors.blogspot.com

Lynn  http://www.crafty-creativity.blogspot.com/

Jenn  http://www.studiojenn.blogspot.com/

Kathryn http://www.katlodesigns.com/

Cindy  http://seriousplay.typepad.com/

Organize your Stuff: Week 14 (round 4): WOYWW & Crops part 1

We  apologize for the lateness of this post.  Blogger crashed yesterday, and we lost this whole post!  Darned you blogger!!!

This has been a hectic week to say the least! So, here is our desk, messy as usual....

Check out the restof the desks around the world at the Stamping Ground!

There is no card, as Creative Me jumped the gun and did next week's sketch for Tuesday Trio, rather than the one for this week.  OOoopps!  However, on July 1st we will have a cool little 9 patch for One Little Word to show off for our June Homework.  The POW is confident that it will be fabulous, but OCD Me is... as usual... not so sure.  PA Me and the end of school year schedule has kept us on the ropes, and away from the desk more than usual.  Creative Me is sure you will be WOW-ed, so come on by and check it out (along with some crop stuff!).

For starters this week, we went MIA into the wilderness relocation and electronic deprograming program.  For two days we had forced family fun at Illusive Middle Child's Cub Scout Pack Family Campout with no gameboys or X box or Wii.

It monsooned the first day, but was sunny with just the right ammount of mud for optimal childhood pleasure and dirty laundry maximization for the rest of the weekend.

Monday, Fabulous Spouse took off  to save the world, one power plant at a time, leaving us home to manage on our own. 

But that is OK, because last night, our parents arrived from the East Coast ready for summertime fun with the grandkids (even if we are still experiencing early spring 60s and 70s weather).  We are hoping for some berry picking, sprinkler running and maybe a few fireworks!  Lets keep our fingers crossed!

Organize your Stuff: Week 14 (round 3): Crops

Ok, OK. The POW is aware that we are behind, and PA Me has been ordered back to therapy, or at least to TRY to allow us to keep up during the holiday season! …I apologize in advance. We are up to our eyeballs in December commitments, and sinking fast! So, until January, you may just get this Tuesday posting, but I will try to sneak in a Friday or Saturday post when I can.

Here is my Design Team card for Tuesday Trio Sketch #44- circle challenge. Creative Me finally tried out punching out the same color punch-out as base page, and loved the result on this card. I think that it is definitely something that Creative Me will have to keep in the mental rolodex for future layouts and cards!

Also, the POW promised to share some blogs to pass on the Stylish Blogger Award from last week to some people who have not received it yet (and so many of my favorites already have!!!). Here are some, because *gasp* we have only been on the computer like 30 minutes all week! (Sorry!) These four are great, and PA Me has volunteered to keep searching… but that means that nothing else would get done! Congratulations on being a Stylish Blogger…at least in my mind!

Just link back here when you accept your award.

Tell your bloggers 8 things about yourself.

Send this to up to 8 Stylish Bloggers you know!

http://craftystorage.blogspot.com/ -because I envy every one of those scrap rooms, and it gives me some great inspiration! I spent HOURS here the first time I visited (PS- Tracy-saw your room on Nov 29th entry! Congrats!!!)

http://orlishamir.blogspot.com/ -This is Orli’s blog from my Tuesday Trio Design Team. She always does fabulous work, and I considered here stylish before she made the team…plus it was her birthday this week!

http://justanotherdayherein.blogspot.com/ -Debby really inspired me when she entered a card contest at Tuesday Trio, and she definitely has scrapping style! Debby you rock!

http://kawaiisb.dropper.hacca.jp/ Aci does some really neat and different stuff! I found her on 2 peas, and always enjoy peeking at her site! I love the way you think outside the box and get creative!

So, crops. Every crop starts with PA Me in charge. I do not think that the POW has ever negotiated a pack out more than 48 hours in advance (and that would only be the order photos part, and sometimes that is only an hour or two prior to the crop! I love you Costco!!). Mostly I think that is because I am a mom and too busy … and I am a mom, and packed boxes in the hallway means the Scrap Fairy has left presents for Girl Friday… and they will never make it to the crop.

So, at least 2 hours prior to crop time… The POW finally gets Creative Me and OCD Me together to pack. It goes amazingly well, as I crop like once a month since 2005, so my once written out OCD Me lists are now mostly memorized. My key tools are as follows:

Crop Bags (I actually have 3 plus one mini for my ink tower).  These are important here, as we have a rainy season from  November to July!

a wooden rack that I got at Fred Meyers (a Krogers store) from the kitchen/ bath/ storage section.  This way you can overpack, and fit it on your table!

mini folding table-when I think I can get away with it, or know that the table space will be really small.  Currently a works in progress catch-all!

Tool bag (I need to upgrade to a larger model…hint, hint Santa-they have them at Wal Mart).  I use it at home and away, and it carries all the essentials from Crop-o-dile to exacto blade to staples.

CTMH reversible mat (self healing/ stamping)- I forgot this once, and it was horrible!

Scrap folder (with my scraps) to add that extra bit of color or whatever...

The rest depends on the project, and the time of the crop- 3 days or 3 hours or somewhere in between.  Those things get stuffed into those crop bags and I am on the road. Since I have all of my cardstock in Cropper hoppers, if it is a BIG crop, I can just pack them up in a cardboard box from Costco, and they come with-easy peasy!

Organize your Stuff Challenge: Weeks 14 & 15- crops, inks, and embossing powder

Let me first start by apologizing for taking last week off. We were in Monterey, CA to celebrate Easter, and unfortunately, the Easter Bunny did not drop off free WiFi with the Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies. However, we did get lots of pictures (and a few minor boulders passing as pebbles from Pebble Beach and the 17 mile drive) for future layouts… but for this entry, I am still scrapping February…

Here, I finally found an excuse to use some of that mulberry paper I found during paper week, but haven’t used since 2003! …and Inner Harder feels vindicated… in person this actually looks really cool, as the edges were touched with Versa Mark ink and gold embossing powder. …and then just like that (and bell bottoms and leggings)… something old is new again…

As for crops (Week 14), the POW and OCD Me have this one mastered! The first rule to crops: have enough storage. Here in the Pacific Northwest, that means bags too… as you have a 75% chance of rain or greater, September through June. My first bag, the purple one on the left was from 2005, when I went to my first 3 day crop and the POW realized that I did my best work from 1AM to about 5AM…just like term papers in college… hmmm… Next came the wooden shelving…a must. When it comes to crops… when you can’t spread out, spread up! OCD Me definitely endorses Zen Master Wookiemouse and the need to preplan layouts. I have yet to under plan, but I definitely get more accomplished with a plan… and without it, OCD Me SO over packs!!!

Now, on to Week 15… The first part of this week is a progress check of before and present…

All of my voices agree that we are making progress, and even better, Fabulous Spouse thinks that it is looking good too. As for inks and embossing OCD Me tackled that ages ago. She is a firm believer in saving for storage, as it will make your life your life easier in the end. Therefore, the embossing powders live in a sterlite container with the embossing gun and one of my several versa mark pads. Most of my inks are in one of my two carousels, and the re-inkers are on a shelf in the hutch that they sit upon.

And, so that is week 14 and 15! Next week is paint, glitter and stickles.