Organize your Stuff: Week 9(round 5): WOYWW 134

Whirlwind Wednesday is upon us! Time to whip up a picture of your desk/ crafting space and post it for What’s On Your Work desk Wednesday (WOYWW) hosted by the always Awesome Julia over at the Stamping Ground!

Here is our desk this week.

With the return from Las Vegas, Christmas preparations, and the impending departure of Fabulous Spouse for all parts sandy, it has definitely slumped in the organization department.

Lucky for us, Fabulous Crisann is giving those of us at the Two Peas in a Bucket Organize your Stuff Challenge until January 1st to complete week 9 embellishments. *Phew*.

Also, here is our Week 8: Projects and Kits…still a work in progress, but as organized as it is going to get this year! It took us until today to figure out how to turn off the cloaking device that PA Me had employed… after all, We are an elf/ baker/ crafter/ taxi/ Mommy God…not an Engineer! (Ok, maybe that last one was going just a bit too far. LOL… maybe).

As for layouts, here are a few that Creative Me pumped out in an effort to complete Fabulous Spouse’s Iraq album. Not Chritmas-y, but done... We will put them up on Friday with the Week 9 pictures.

Speaking of whirlwinds… here are some pictures from this past week. (please skip to the end if you do not want the family pics and info).

Fabulous Spouse took us out to the Purple Cafe & Wine Bar for our last date.  We got a great table by the window, ate some fabulous faire and had two great flights of red.  If you ever go, the salted caramels are to DIE for! (We even brought some home to share with the kids.

We finished the Christmas Cookies. Here is Girl Friday making Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies with Fabulous Spouse. (There is nothing sexier than a man in the kitchen making yummy desserts).

Then the kids had the annual Christmas Pagent for the Children's Mass. Oldest Child was an Alter Server, and the other two were in the Choir of Angels.

Then we went home to decorate the tree for Santa, hang the stockings, eat some pizza, and track Santa online at NORAD (and nothing says Santa is real like the US Military tracing him with its spy satellites).

Then of course, there was Christmas Day. It may have only taken 13 minutes to undo hundreds of elf hours of labor.  Fortunately, they all seemed happy at what self elves found.  Oldest Child even got some obsucre game that has not been made for several years (acording to him, Santa has an e-bay elf who tracks down that sort of stuff).  They claim that they were super extra good, as they got more than their three gifts that they requested from Santa.

Then, the next day, we had to take Fabulous Spouse to the airport to send him off to Afghanistan on Virgin Airlines (insert terribly inapropriate joke about flying a virgin to prevent the terrorists from meeting their fourty in heaven).

Tuesday, we sat on the couch and did nothing. :)

Today, we blog hop! Happy WOYWW!

Organize your Stuff: Week 8 (round 4): Projects, Pages, and Kits part 2

It has been a busy week here at the shoe. (For those of you who are not regular readers, it is our family of 5, our cat, Fabulous Spouse’s SIL (whose husband is IA to Iraq), her two little ones, her 2 cats and her dog…therefore our home has become that of nursery rhymes “there was an old lady who lived in a shoe…”) However, we did manage to get two layouts done from when Fabulous Spouse went to Iraq during the surge in 2007 in honor of the Operation Write Home blog hop tomorrow morning. (PS- thanks for scrolling down if you are reading this after the hop has begun!).

Speaking of Kits, here Creative Me used the Destinations kit from Simple Stories that was purchased by the Inner Hoarder at CKC Portland in March… this is currently my current new favorite paper manufacturer!

The POW has been instructed by Creative Me that layout #2 is not perfect yet, but OCD Me wanted it published anyways, so that we could show that we are making progress (the rest of this album… so far… can be viewed here in my Facebook album).

Here is some blog candy with which the POW has convinced the Inner Hoarder to part.

We have three prizes. One for those who are followers and comment to this post, one for comments to followers who post to the blog hop post, and one for the comments of followers posted on June 1st. There will be more than the 4x6 journaling elements page, one of the three playing card strips, and ribbon in each…but we are not sure what. We work at a scrapbook store all this weekend, and SOMETHING will speak to Creative Me, we are sure of it! Since Oldest Child was my random generator for the last blog hop (and truly, is there anything more random than a boy in middle school?). Girl Friday, Illusive Middle Child, and Shark Bait a.k.a. The Toddler will pick the winners this time around.

Organize your Stuff: Week 8 (round 4): Projects, Pages, and Kits part 1

Here is our Tuesday Trio layout for this week: Sketch #68, New Beginnings. This card was made using BoBunny paper that Creative Me received in the May Heartstring Designs’ Kit. It was already cut to 6 x 12 and we did not know what to do with it! But ta-dah! It is done!

 It is kind of like Willy Wonka (the non-Johnny Depp version) with bubbles, bubbles everywhere and not a drop to drink… but like Charlie and Uncle Joe, we cannot resist and a few Fizzy Lifting Drinks and before you know it the Inner Hoarder has amassed a small…ok not so small… stash of stuff that just never seems to make the page. It is not that it isn’t good stuff, it is just that the Inner Hoarder cannot find the right layout…or in the heat of the moment goes out and buys even more stuff that is “just perfect” for that layout.

The other thing that Creative Me seems to amass is piles of un-journaled layouts (to be honest it is because OCD Me is paranoid and does not want the POW to disclose too much about our family…but seriously-we have a blog!). That and PA Me just gets us distracted by the time we have to put in the journaling! We tackled a bunch of them today. Now we mostly have Iraq layouts that just need journaling from Fabulous Spouse.

Finally, we have the Scrapbook Store Projects! Creative Me has a bunch- that are just lacking photos! Why is it that we never seem to take enough 3x3 and 4x4 photos to use in these projects? Due to space constraints, The POW made a rule two years ago that Creative Me could not take a class unless she finished a class project…so we have not taken a non-CKC weekend class in 2 years…hmmm.

In the arena of projects, hoping (cross my fingers) to get more 2007 Iraq layouts done by this weekend (as it is Memorial Weekend). Wish us luck!

Organize your Stuff: Week 8 (round 3): Projects and Kits Part 2

This Sunday is Halloween here in the United States, a major children’s holiday. Therefore, I was busier than usual! Three kids, three costumes…including the standard last minute changes, plus organizing a layout and a card! Woo Hoo!

Speaking of layouts, here is the final layout from the Glee Club Challenge at Dixie Pieces: Golden Oldies and Buddy Holly. The song title that I chose was "Every Day" and changed it to not every day. While at work, I saw this Bo Bunny Paper that reminded me of the Bass/ Rankin claymation holiday specials. The swirls of the snowflakes just brought back that nostalgia! So, I printed most of my pictures from this once a decade snowstorm in blue tint to give it that oldies feel. To give you perspective, I think last year, we had one day with a dusting, and this is FEET of snow!

Also, there was a mini challenge to make a card using the theme Monster Mash. Here is mine using pieces from the CTMH Hooligans On the Go kit.  Ironically, the patterned paper from the kit has the words Monster Mash printed right on it.  Girl Friday and Ellusive Middle Child just added eyeballs...BTW-goggly eyes are the best $1.39 ever spen a JoAnns!

I have definitely come a long way since the last time that OCD Me organized my projects and kits (round 2 link here). Therefore, there was not too much for the POW to do in organizing the unfinished projects and kits other than to hold court. The Kits of the Month that I was gifted years ago was sorted by theme with my papers last year. The POW thought about putting them back in the general population this year, but PA Me convinced OCD Me that they are better organized this way…at least for this year. Therefore, all of my unused Club Scrap will remain segregated. (It is all because of Zen Master Wookiemouse and her introduction of the label maker!)

The leftovers from my Family Reunion album, which actually did begin this journey back in January, was paroled though. I used the bicycle and stripe papers in last week’s layouts…even if it did not make my mental cut for the Glee Club Challenge… and my Tuesday Trio Sketch # 40 card. Even PA Me and the Inner Hoarder had to admit that what left was doing a good job playing with others. So, the remaining pieces have been released from solitary confinement in its Iris container, permanently rehabilitated, and relegated to a non threatening job placement in misc. paper. Yeah!… minor progress!

Personal goal-post Halloween…finally finish that kit for the mini album from our trip to California over Spring Break soon so that those papers and embellishments can be paroled for time served and good behavior. Even the Inner Hoarder has approved parole. We are just waiting on PA Me and Creative Me to finish…and waiting…

Oh, On a final note… Fabulous Spouse took me to Ikea the other day and gifted me with a 4x4 Expedit to super increase my storage! He is the best! He even put it together for me…yeah! Here is a post construction picture. The POW is going to put a back on it so that it can act as a wall in the hallway in the future. PA Me keeps nodding, but on the inside is really saying riiight…maybe this spring, IF I’m not distracted…

Organize your Stuff: Week 8 (round 3): Projects and Kits Part 1

If you are like me, there is at least one project that you have started that is not yet complete (I blame PA Me). It may be from that class that you took at your local scrapbook store, or retreat, or convention. Or, it may be that kit of the month that you opened up and went grea-a-a-t…and promptly set it aside (if it was more than 4 years ago, start thinking donate or purge). For whatever the reason, we have STUFF (papers, findings, stickers etc) that have segregated themselves from the rest of the scrapbooking supplies.

This week, the POW will be working to refine this section of the scrap room with OCD Me. It is time to see if these kits/ projects/ whatever still need to be kept together, or if it is time that they just learn to play well with others and get released back into the general scrapbooking population. It is easier for me than Ideas, because worst case, nobody gets paroled, and we retain the status quo. (PA Me would like that).

This week at Tuesday Trio (Sketch# 40), we were challenged to use scraps! Do you recognize any of them?  Top picture is the front of the card, and the bottom is the inside.  See you at the end of the week!

Organize your Stuff Challenge: Week 8 Projects, Unfinished Pages, Kits

This week, I am still playing catch-up to those on the http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/ web site.  While many of them are on Week 9, I have been tackling Week 8: Projects, Unfinished Pages, and Kits.  All those weeks ago, when I was sent to my room to perpare for a clean slate, I kept looking at this massive pile that was getting bigger and bigger...and after its third move to the corner... even bigger still, and thought this is going to be my hardest week.

But you know, it was not so bad.  OCD Me and the Inner Hoarder have been in therapy together with the POW (after she escaped from last week).  So, as a reward for decidin that I was just going to do it this week, I took off and went to a crop.  OK, so PA me missed her sessions.  She meant to go, really, it just never happened.  Besides this had been scheduled for months.  So, I took Friday off of work.  Girl Friday helped me pack up the van... and unpack at the church mulit purpouse room.  She was not happy that she could not stay with the 49 other crafters, but I told her that if you were not old enough to drive a car, then you could not stay.... So, she offered to show me that she could drive my car.  Instead, I offered to take her to Costco for samples (and to pick up my pictures).  ...it is that whole shiny object thing.  It runs in families.

I got home at midnight Friday and Saturday, with 50 8x8 layouts complete for my annual Mother's Day albums that I send out... this year they WILL be out before August. ...unike the last wo years! Sunday, we watched the US lose at hockey in overtime to Canada in the Olympics, and then went to work.  Here is my layout.

Fabulous Spouse then brought down the piles of ...well mostly kits... and I sorted everything...all over the floor...One of the biggest things that I had to sort was one year gift membership to Club Scrap. I don't think that I ever used any of it. It took 2 big Cropper Hoppers and 2 smaller sleves to get it manageable...and I still cannot find December. Oh well.  Then we watched the Olympic closing ceremonies, and went to bed. 

OCD Me was in a very happy place the next day, as she got to use the P-touch label maker a lot.  A lot of the papers got re-appropriated to general paper and the embellishments set asside as the POW convinved the Inner Hoarder Me that it was OK as these were things I had gotten free or as prizes from crops, and if it stayed on its own, I'd never use it.  The Basic Grey Kits ended up in the the Basic Grey file, Wild Asparagus with My Mind's Eye, and a few others were left as kits, even though it was really just paper lines with their stickers.  I had my brother's wedding scrapbook from 2004 (I think at this point it will be a great 10 year anniversary gift), and 7 other projects.  It really came together very well. 

The after is here, and about half of the size of the original, and the only thing that went in the recyleables was the seven 12x12 cardboard shipping boxes that were eating up some of the space. ...now to tackle embellishments...