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Memory Works Express

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Memory Works: August “Memory Works Express” Kit with Simple Stories “Take a Hike”

memory works express take a hike

Our monthly kit, MEMORY WORKS EXPRESS, is now available for sale “a la carte” for a flat price, no joining required. I thought I would mention it because it contains 2 things that are very popular right now: Simple Stories TAKE A HIKE and wood veneer shapes. Aren’t those little wooden camera shapes by STUDIO CALICO flippin’ cute?

wood veneer cameras studio calico

Here is a list of what you get in the kit:

Patterned Paper
{1} 12×12 Happy Trails – Take a Hike (Simple Stories)
{1} 12×12 Back to Nature – Take a Hike (Simple Stories)
{1} 12×12 Happy Camper– Take a Hike (Simple Stories)
{1} 12×12 Adventure – Take a Hike (Simple Stories)
{1} 12×12 4×6 Journal Cards – Take a Hike (Simple Stories)
{1} 12×12 6×4 Vertical Journaling Cards – Take a Hike (Simple Stories)
{1} 12×12 Brown Wood/Map – Take a Hike (Simple Stories)
{1} 12×12 Orange Stripe/Ledger – Take a Hike (Simple Stories)
{1} 12×12 Green Dot/Prints– Take a Hike (Simple Stories)
{1} 12×12 Yellow Chevron/Grid – Take a Hike (Simple Stories)
{1} 12×12 Navy/Icons – Take a Hike (Simple Stories)
{1} 12×12 Bingo Cards/Chevron – Take a Hike (Simple Stories)

Embellishments
{1} 12×12 Take a Hike Fundamental Stickers (Simple Stories)
{1} 12×12 Take a Hike Expressions Stickers (Simple Stories)
{1} Chipboard Acorn Coaster Book (Maya Road)
{3} Wood Twigs – Assorted Styles (Maya Road)
{4} Green Leaf Trinket Pins (Maya Road)
{5} Wood Veneer Cameras (Studio Calico)
{1} River Felt Layered Details (American Crafts)
{10} Campy Buttons – Assorted Sizes & Styles (MemoryWorks)
{1} ½ Yard Orange Dot Ribbon (Creative Impressions)
{1} ½ Yard Brown Dot Ribbon (Creative Impressions)
{1} ½ Yard Green Dot Ribbon (Creative Impressions)

The price is $36.00 plus tax and shipping. It’s shipped straight from our Utah home office to you within 1-2 business days. When you buy a la carte, it’s a little more expensive than the monthly Memory Works Express price ($29.95) but there is no joining, no commitment. Well, there’s no commitment for MWE either but you do have to proactively cancel if you no longer want to receive them.

Do you have some camping, park, or outdoor photos from this summer that would work well with it? We didn’t go camping this summer but I have stacks of photos from past trips that I need to do! And I love the look of the Simple Stories “Take a Hike” line.

You can get this awesome kit HERE.

Memory Works: April 2010 Express Kit

I just got my first look at the Memory Works Express (MWE) kit for April 2010 and thought I’d share. Is this stinkin’ adorable or what?

Here are some sample layouts and cards with the “Strawberry Kisses” kit.

I don’t currently get the monthly kit but I’m going to have to break down and buy this one. Come to think of it, I might just join up with a subscription again. I’ve really liked recent months of this kit.

For example, HERE was March 2010 called “Delight” …

THIS was the February 2010 kit called “Mamma Mia” …

And this was the January 2010 kit, “Beginnings.”

Yeah, I need to just break down and subscribe. I love every kit that comes out, and it’s definitely a good deal. Here is some information about the MEMORY WORKS EXPRESS KIT. If you would like to order a single kit, or subscribe for the monthly kit, check out my website HERE. If you have any questions about Memory Works Express, feel free to e-mail me at scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com.

Diary of a Scrapbook Room Makeover: Part Three

If you need to get caught up on my diary, here are the entries so far:

PROLOGUE
PART ONE
PART TWO
QUESTIONS ANSWERED
PHOTOS HELD HOSTAGE, DAY 3

And now it’s time for Part Three! Yeah, like, FINALLY! Most of these photos were taken on October 5, which is 10 days ago. This is pretty much what my room still looks like today (10/15/09), other than a few little changes. As always, I apologize for the quality of my photos. My nice digi camera is out of commission because the charger doesn’t work and until the Money Fairy makes a drop at our house, I can’t afford to buy a new one, or a new camera. Thus…I have for you iPhone pictures!

So this is as you look into the room from the dining room doorway. Kids’ homework/crafting table in front, my scrap desk behind that, coffee table and couch back by the window, and the junk corner in the very back left.

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Here is my “cube wall,” which are Store in Style cubes with mostly Cropper Hopper vertical storage of paper/embellishments, and jars with ribbons, chipboard letters, etc. In other words, if there is a fire, this is the stuff I’m grabbing. Yep, one by one, cube by cube. Not. Kidding. What’s that? Oh, of COURSE I’d grab my kids and hubby first! Sheesh.

On the left, the white bin has office supplies I need to find a new home for; they came out of a cupboard in the L-shaped desk. The bag and cardboard box are things I brought home from my office when I was allowed to start working from home. That was in April 2009. Nope. Not unpacked yet. This is one example of things that were dumped in my scrap area and I was too busy to do anything with them at the time, so they just cluttered the place up. Don’t judge. It won’t take long to put the stuff away, I would just rather sort and put away scrappy supplies than work manuals, paperclips, baby wipes, and boxes of tea, wouldn’t you? Procrastinators Unite!….Tomorrow.

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Here’s the oak cabinet that used to hold a TV, VCR, old school Atari games, and kids’ DVDs/games; now it’s a resting place for my grossly overpacked SCRAPRACK. I have always had a big crush on my Scrap Rack, and it’s insane ability to sort my scrapbook supplies by theme. But I have abused Scrap Rack. I have overfilled Scrap Rack. Now I hardly ever touch Scrap Rack and we miss each other. I flipped through it a bit tonight and it was embarisken. I have some reeeeeeaaaally old things in there that need to be purged in a big way. Like Creative Memories stickers circa 2001, some Mrs. Grossman’s border stickers, and various shape die cuts from Paper Pizzazz.

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Note to scrappers who began after 2007: You are lucky. By the time you started scrapping, most of the products being put out there have been pretty designer-ish and awesome. But prior to that, especially late 1990s/early 2000s? There was some pretty rough stuff out there. You would cringe. So if you don’t know what “Mrs. Grossman’s” or “Paper Pizzazz” means, no worries. You didn’t miss a thing. Trust me.

Here is the new and improved bookshelf #4! It used to be toys from top to bottom. Now the toys have been moved into the new playroom, freeing up space for kids’ crafts. There is coloring, drawing, painting, scratch art, activity books, puzzle books, foam stamps, crayons, acrylic paints, markers, and brushes. Wait, what? That all sounds fun! Do I REALLY have to share with my kids? Hee.

It was fun but sad to purge the coloring and activity books, seeing things my kids had drawn and colored when they were much younger (yeah, it had been awhile since this stuff had been gone through). But I gave the old color books to a friend who’s going to use them in her Sunday school classes so that made me happy and they were easier to let go. I have tons of art and schoolwork from my kids, so in the scheme of things, they had to go. In return, clear and organized shelves – yahoo!

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Here is the homework/craft table. See the clear mat in the middle? I got 2 of those at a craft store years ago and they were a smart purchase; the other one is on my scrap desk under my BG mats. They’re great for protecting your table from permanent damage, portable for moving to other tables or counters, and easy to clean. The clear mat was about 1.5 inches too long when I laid it horizontally across the table like this, so I cut the excess off. Guess what I used? My Basic Grey Magnetic Mat. How many times have I said I love that thing?!?! I lined the clear mat up on the BG mat grid, put the metal ruler over it, and sliced down the clear mat with a craft knife. It didn’t go all the way through so I flipped it over and cut in the same place and Voila! Then I used my Creative Memories Corner Rounder to make the 2 new corners match with the existing rounded ones. I was pretty darn proud of myself because that’s about as handyman as I get, LOL! Ideally, I would like this same kind of mat but large enough to cover the entire table. Then again, it’s an old banged up table so I’m not gonna stress on it.

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Here’s a top view of the newly cleaned up, cleaned out, organized, and labeled craft carousel. As you scrappers know, this is actually a Making Memories DESKTOP CAROUSEL, intended for scrapbook supplies. I tried to use it as such when I first got it, but it never worked for me. The main problem is that I need to keep my most-used tools in something portable for taking to crops. Even if I used it for least-used tools, the footprint is so big, that it takes up a lot of desk room once you leave it a wide berth to spin around. It really needs to be in the middle of a table or desk, and while my scrap area doesn’t allow for that, it does work perfectly on the homework/craft table, doesn’t it?

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The carousel had been on our dining room table for about the last year or so which has been Homework Central. It had crayon marks, broken erasers, pencil shavings, you name it. It was looking pretty beat up and fugly, and was not organized whatsoever. So I took everything out of it, turned it upside down over the trash to get the gookies out, and Windexed it within an inch of its life. Then I lovingly organized and labeled each section. Oh, and I spent about 30 minutes one night hand sharpening all of those regular and colored pencils. Now that was good fun.

See, lookie! Look at my labels! They totally rock, huh? Pencil sharpeners, little tapes, mini gel pens….

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Staplers and big tape, scissors, and all that other fun stuff…

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The husband and children have been instructed in the proper care of my baby. My baby has been labeled so there are no excuses. If they eff it up, there will be hell to pay. And I mean it! Don’t mess with me, I’m the mommy! And you know our family motto: (Say it with me now!) “If Mommy ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy….” See? Simple.

Okay, here are the 3 measly shelves I have restricted my books to. I know, it’s riDONKulous but something had to give. Scrap supplies or books? Scrap supplies or books? Hmmmm….SCRAP SUPPLIES! But clearly, my bookies need to be organized, alphabetized, and color coded. By Dewey Decimal System. Yet another project in the wings.

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Here in the Corner of Shame #1 are 3 boxes that need to go in the attic (“oh, dear??? honeybuns??? love of my life??? would you please do me an itsy bitsy little favor wavor?? thanks, hun!”). Cuz I don’t do attics. Did you know there are, like, SPIDERS up there?!? And it’s hot. Very hot. In other words, not happening. {Please revert to the family motto listed above…}.

The wire cube and panels sitting on top used to be under my desk; I used them to hide…erm, I mean….STORE a multitude of things. Like Christmas and birthday gifts, a family quilt, my sugar-free cookie stash…you know, that kind of thing. I don’t know if I’ll use them in my scrap room again. If not, they would make great toy storage for the new play room. If you want some of these cubes, you can get them at Target or Costco. Not the most sturdy storage, but they do work and the price warms the cockles of my ever-lovin’, bargain-huntin’ heart.

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Here is the front side of my big L-shaped desk. I had 3 of these 12×12 Sterlite containers before; they were on my bookshelves. When I moved the couch away from the front of my desk, I realized *gasp* people would be able to see all the crap I keep under there and also my fat heifer thighs. I decided, “No, this just will not do.” When I realized how perfectly these Sterlite drawers fit, I bought 3 more sets and killed 2 birds with 1 stone: lots more storage room and Fat Heifer Thigh View Blockage. A good purchase, don’t you think? {And I got them on sale for $9 instead of $12 each, hehe}.

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That big blue navy thing is my Crop In Style XXL aka Old Faithful. That thing has been jammed full of supplies, crammed into my Honda trunk, and rolled over bumpy hotel entranceways to more crops than I can count. She will be retired this Christmas when I get a new set of crop bags from DH and mi madre.

This clear container is under the homework/craft table. It’s all organized and has scrappy hand-me-downs for the kids to scrapbook with. We make handmade cards a lot, too. My entire extended family and friends could totally be lying to me, but they all say they love our personally designed cards with custom artwork and handwritten messages. And if they ARE lying? Screw ’em.

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Here’s the couch, so exciting. Ugly, old throw pillow. Oh, remind me to talk about pillows later. And now you can see the reason my scrap room looks a might bit better than it did last time you were here (see PART TWO, link at top of post). It’s because I stuck a bunch of ugly junk behind the couch. I’m calling it the “I’ll Deal With You Later” pile. It’s mostly old family memorabilia and photos that need to be sorted. It’s such a huge project, I can’t even fathom it right now. So I’m (partially) hiding it. It’s out of the way so I can continue making progress with my room….but it’s like the great white shark under the water while you blissfully swim in the ocean. You might be having fun up top, but you now it’s down there stalking you. Damn shark.

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It’s actually been really nice having that coffee table there. Just in the last month or so since I put it there, it’s been used for: Jetmax cube assembly, homework, hubby doing paperwork, a foot stool for kids reading on the couch, a game of table hockey, and a nice big area for me to sort and organize scrap supplies. Unfortunately, it’s also been used to lie on, stand on, and hide under. Hey, nothing’s perfect.

Here is Corner of Shame #2 aka Big Daddy Shame. I think I’ve told you already what most of it is. The two blue bins are monthly kits I used to get from MEMORY WORKS EXPRESS. I’ve always kept them together as a kit but I think I’m going to separate them out. I’m not sure…what do you do with kits? Keep them together or mix the items in with the rest of your stash?

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There’s also a wide format Epson printer that I spent boo coo bucks on a few years ago, and never used. I’m a horrible person. I won’t bore you with all the details. I have my reasons. But, yeah, now I need to get rid of it. Sell it? E-waste it? Goodwilll? I dunno. Of course, I would prefer to sell it, even for just $100 or something (I paid over $300 and used it maybe 20 times). But to prove to a buyer that it works, I’d need to spend about $100 on printer cartridges and I just don’t know if it’s worth it. Would it even sell? Bah.

Above the Corner of Shame #2 is my MM Embellishment Shelf. It’s pretty well organized but I now have THIS to install somewhere once it’s painted and cleaned up, so I’m still figuring out what goes where and whether to move this shelf.

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This photo is probably hard to figure out, because I was focusing on the scene outside the window. It’s the view into my backyard, the view I see when I sit at my scrap desk. Our backyard has a pretty pool and a gorgeous view, but this dog pen thingee is ruining everything! Must go. Will go soon. We borrowed it from our neighbors when we got LANDRY, who didn’t care to stay in the big dog pen on the side of the house. This kennel is a pain in the arse to return to our neighbors, as all four adults need to take a corner and walk it through a gate and across an acre of their property. But I need to make that happen, don’t I? And those atrociously dirty windows! Disgraceful. When is that window cleaner girl going to do her friggin’ job?!! Oh, wait. That would be ME, wouldn’t it? There is only a little overhang over all three of my scrapbook room windows/slider (no patio cover) and also no grass out there, just dirt, concrete, and gravel. So especially when it rains like it just did, the windows get very dirty, the screens very dusty, and it’s hard to keep up on them. But I must. What a waste of a wonderful view.

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Here is the Epicenter of Erika’s Craftivity. Chair, Basic Grey mats, Cutterpede trimmer, flat pack with most-used tools, Ott lite, little tote with scissors and pens, and the main requirement for scrapping, Diet Coke. There’s a single Cropper Hopper vertical file that I was thinking of keeping on my desk as a place to keep projects in progress and/or new purchases until I put them away. Now I have another idea for where to put recent purchases, but I like the projects in progress holder idea. I tend to be a “stacker,” with various piles on my desk. 12×12 piles take up a lot of desk space; at least getting them vertical would save some room.

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Also, I put my little bookshelf stereo here. I didn’t think I would, but I really miss having the television in here, just for the white noise if nothing else. So I was compelled to hook up my stereo and play some K-Life and the college radio station also has awesome music. I don’t do well with total silence. It makes me spun up. Eeeeeee!!!!

Here’s the left side of my desk. Blue flat packs full of acrylic stamps and inks, shopping bag with some RAK stuff in it, Ziploc with a scrappy project, white holder for Prima flower jars and skittles, black tote for punches and Xyron “X”, and Amy Butler tote for cards and RAKs to and from scrappy friends. I’ve been slowly cleaning that out, putting stamps and other gifts away. I need a good storage system for or project to make with all those handmade cards that I cherish…maybe bind them into a mini book or something.

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Here is the view if I’m standing in front of the couch. Standing ON the coffee table??? Who, ME??? Nah, I would never do that. As you can see, I haven’t sorted through those idea books and magazines yet. In fact, I think the pile has grown larger as I come across more of them. Yes, it’s a sickness. And I don’t care.

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Just don’t look under the desk. Move along. There’s nothing to see here….

So that’s a tour of my scrapbook room and how the makeover has been coming along. I’m so happy you’re on this journey with me. Yes, it’s embarrassing to share my major clutter issues and extreme scrapbook supply hoarding. But, oh well, you still seem to like me.

I’m learning so much as I go along; basic scrappy storage things and even things about myself that are deeper and more telling than one would expect from a mere room makeover. Like I’ve learned that I’m happy with how much I cherish my memories and all the “things” that go with it. Yet I don’t have to keep it all. And just because I spent money on something doesn’t mean I have to be guilted into keeping it forever. Selling it or giving it away can bring happiness to someone else, like Sunday school kids, so that’s a good thing.

Please keep checking in with me and cheer on my progress so I follow through and don’t give up. And don’t forget about my 500,000 hits blog candy because we’re coming up on the end….at 499,413 as I post this entry. Good luck!

Memory Works: Come “Shopping” with a Consultant

It’s pretty funny that this comes on the heels of my POST about how I have so much scrap stuff that I feel defensive of it, LOL!

But I truly was overdue in placing a Memory Works order; I haven’t done one since July 15, when I got that MEGA KIT from My Minds Eye for myself, and filled two customer orders. In the meantime, I’ve gotten several product credits for signing up new consultants (both hobbyists and “premium” consultants….thanks so much ladies!) that have been burning a hole in my virtual shopping cart. I’ve been restraining myself from using them as I watched all the new stuff from CHA Summer come in. But most of it is here now, and if I wait too long, the things I want will be gonzo. {The only thing I’m still waiting for are the new THICKERS}. Today, I received a customer order so the time had come to place an actual order instead of just dreaming about it, lol. Besides, I NEED STOCK!

I thought I’d share what one of my orders looks like. Back when I was going gangbusters with MEMORY WORKS (last year, before the economy tanked), I would make $100+ orders like this about once every month or two. If you figure that as an MW CONSULTANT, I get 20% of the retail amount of each order, you can see I was making some pretty nice bank. I mean, I was never no Lisa “QVC” Bearnson, but I was doing okay :)

However, those were the good ol’ days, and placing an order like this now literally makes my hands shake. I’ve got about half of the cost covered already with product credits and the customer order. But the rest is just cash I’m laying out there, hoping to sell these products to friends and at crops, and recoup my money with a little bit of profit. Or if I can sell 80% of it, then the 20% that I can’t sell – and thus, it enters my own stash for good – can be considered my “profit.” That’s why I only buy products that I love and would use myself….because if I can’t sell them, they become mine. Mines, all mines! Yeah, break my heart, why don’t you? Force me to take all these ugly scrap supplies that no one wants.

Okay, on to the order. This is gonna be pic heavy, so get ready to scroll, especially you Laptoppers like me….

1 BasicGrey: Take Note – Eerie $5.00

****** From here down to We R MK stamps and then the white Thickers, these are items on Fall Clearance so the prices are great; a good time to stock up! ******

1 American Crafts: Thickers – Lullaby Blush $3.20

1 Basic Grey: Chip Sticker ABCs – Lime Rickey $5.60

1 BoBunny: Gearhead Rub-on – Grease Monkey $2.80

1 Heidi Swapp: Tools – Edge Distresser $1.20

2 Jenni Bowlin: Label Strip Stickers – Brown $2.00

1 Making Memories: Tiny Alpha – Teal $2.40

1 MME: Theme Set – Cowabunga $5.40

1 MME: Theme Set – Wild Ride $5.40

1 Pink Paislee: Chipboard Letters – Fascinating $3.60

2 We R Memory Keepers: Clear Stamps – List $ .80

1 7 Gypsies: Theme Set – Victoria $5.00

1 American Crafts: Thickers – Sprinkles White $4.00

1 American Crafts: Thickers – Sprinkles Lavender $5.00

1 BoBunny: Combo Stickers – St Nick $3.00

1 Cosmo Cricket: Rub-ons – The Boyfriend $3.00

1 Creative Imaginations: Cardstock Stickers – South Seas $3.50

1 Creative Imaginations: Theme Set – Class Act $6.00

1 Creative Imaginations: Journaling Pad – Class Act $5.00

1 Creative Imaginations: Theme Set – Liberty $3.75

1 Creative Imaginations: Journaling Pad – Just Wonderful $5.50

1 Creative Imaginations: Holey Cardstock – Chocolate Swirl $2.00

1 Fancy Pants: Notebook – Christmas Magic $9.00

1 Jenni Bowlin: Memo Book – Black $4.50

1 MME: Theme Set – The Spider’s Web $7.75

1 MME: Theme Set – Merry Days of Christmas $7.75

1 Pink Paislee: Theme Set – Amber Road $5.50

1 Scrap Within Reach: Journaling Tags – Paper Boy $1.20

1 Three Bugs: Die-cut Tags – To the Rescue $2.00

Okay, first I have to comment on some of these items…

Basic Grey “Lime Rickey” blue chip stickers – Love! How did I never notice those before?

Jenni Bowlin brown label stickers – Did you notice I ordered two? Mama wants her own set. Not. For. Sale.

We R Memory Keepers clear stamps – Only 80 stinkin’ cents. I mean, that’s a no-brainer, right? I got one to sell, one to keep.

7 Gypsies “Victoria” Theme set – Remember that from HERE? Yeah, I caved and bought it. Those papers are sooooo pretty! But here’s the deal I made with the scrapbook goddesses: I’m going to set that paper free, and offer it for sale to customers. If it flies to someone else, it was never mine to begin with. If it returns to me, it was mine all along…

Pink Paislee “Amber Road” theme set – I drooled over it HERE. I finally ordered some. I’m going to set it free also. And hope that it comes back….

As you can probably tell from the things I ordered, I have customers with boys, public safety customers, and customers who have surfers in their family (we do live by the coast, after all). You can also see that I like to order products based on the seasons on either side of us at any given time, because that’s what people are scrapping now or preparing to scrap for. Right now, that would be 4th of July and 9/11, summer, back to school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Alphas and journaling items are always big sellers. It’s all a balancing act, placing an order, because I have to stay within my budget, fill customer orders, and choose other items based on what I think customers will like, taking into consideration the seasons, and what hobbies and interests my regular customers have. Also, I try to keep in mind the tastes of my friends. For instance, there were about 5 different Halloween sets I chose from and I went with one that has a more “distress-y” look because, in my experience, in my crowd, that sells over the real bold, bright look.

Now, don’t you wish you were a Memory Works consultant?!? LOL I don’t know if that was interesting at all, but I thought if nothing else, you’d enjoy looking at the pretty pictures. “I do NOT have scrapbooker’s A.D.D. …. Ooooh, look sparklies!!” Yeah, I got your number, sister. Holla!

I placed this order online late Tuesday night, and got an instant order receipt in my e-mail. Then Wednesday morning around 11, I got a UPS shipping notification that 2 boxes were on the way to me ALREADY! That’s one thing I *lurve* about Memory Works; they ship your order within one business day of receiving it. I also signed up a friend to start receiving the monthly kit, called MEMORY WORKS EXPRESS. The September kits had already gone out, so her first kit would normally have been the October. But she asked if she could still get September, so I e-mailed Miss Fabulosity aka Jodi at MW customer service. She said to just let her know when I had registered my friend, and she would manually go in and start her in September. Voila! It was done, just as she said. I got a UPS notice that my friend’s kit has shipped, also.

Now what’s super cool is that this friend, me, and a few others are meeting up to crop this Saturday…and our Memory Works shipments are due to arrive….wait for it….wait for it…..FRIDAY!!! Just in time :) So that will be wicked cool. Sorry I keep bragging on Memory Works…I just can’t say enough good things about ’em. It was really fun to “shop” for that order, even if most of it will be sold to others (hopefully). Hope you enjoyed our shopping trip, too!

Scrapbook Organization: My Space…AGAIN

This is so embarrassing. After all my bragging about organizing my scrap space earlier this year (it was THIS POST), it’s a mess again. Holy cow! I think it’s even worse. Yeah, I just looked at the Before photos from last time and it is much, much worse now. My excuse is that I started as a scrapbook consultant this year and now, in addition to all my own stuff, I have to ‘keep stock on hand’ of Memory Works products. At any given time, I also have boxes of orders here until I distribute them. But, that being said, the real reason it’s a mess is because I haven’t kept up on it. I didn’t create a solution before I had the problem. And I’ve kept buying new scrapbook supplies while hardly using any. Okay, here is the disgusting evidence:

This is as you walk into my scrapping area, which is the back half of a larger room with the kids’ play area in the front. As you can see, the walkway is closing in on itself and I can barely walk through there without losing body parts. The box of red albums is a Daisy D’s Year in Review and Christmas album. I’m doing a class/party on that the week after Christmas. There’s my little Lexmark standalone photo printer that I got at Target for $25 on Clearance. I tried to use it once, got frustrated when it wouldn’t print anything but green photos, and it has sat collecting dust ever since. Although I did recently buy that Lexmark-specific photo paper (it’s sitting on top of the printer) to try again before I toss the thing out the window. The blue bins I bought last month to try and better display my products at crops, etc. (will be a separate post about those later). Until now, I’ve been using a big clear Rubbermaid container and small, white plastic baskets to display things. The Rubbermaid is just plain ugly and the white baskets are cute enough, but the sides are too low and everything just kind of flops over and won’t stand up for customers to look through it. You can also se my XXL tote and another smaller one (don’t remember what that one is called). I load them up with MW products when I go to crops and it’s nice because they protect everything from dust and getting bent in transit, and the XXL is on rollers so I can really carry lots of stuff. The problem is then I have no room to take my own crop stuff (tool kit, page kits, etc.). Needing a solution to that problem. The cream tote is all my Memory Works catalogs and paperwork. Well, I shouldn’t say “all”…there is another huge white binder of stuff in my home office. The black box is a Creative Memories Power Sort box full of photos and memorabilia from my Europe cruise. That was in 2006 and I’m only about half way through the album (if you don’t count journaling, of which I’ve hardly done any). Everything in the Power Sort is getting dusty because I can’t put the lid on or it will crush my brochures, menus, etc. To the far right is my shelf which has stayed pretty organized, mainly because it’s packed and there is nowhere to put anything else. But it needs work, for sure. The two ziploc bags on the floor are my templates, CM cutting system, Coluzzles, etc. They used to go on that shelf but they got kicked out when I bought some new blank albums.

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After you walk in my scrap area and take a left, you’re looking at the window and my desk. That stack of paper with the black and white Jenni Bowlin on the top (love it!) is my December kit from Memory Works Express. I had it out of the box to look through it and never put it away. Under that are some other recent purchases: K&Co. Wild Saffron slab; DCWV cardstock pad with the jagged edges (what’s that called?), and two SIS tool packs that are empty. I had all my acrylic stamping stuff in one of them and it got full, so I bought an identical one when they were on a great sale at Tuesday Morning. Then I found the black tote at Michaels (you’ll see it later in the tour) for 40% off and moved all my stamps into the tote. Not sure if I’m liking it, so while I decide, the empty blue tool packs sit empty. The ribbon jars on the right look fine ~ I’ve managed to keep up with my ribbon this way, just tossing in any new ribbon I get right away. The large white box and another stack under the brown box (that you can’t see here) are picture frames from Costco that I bought about two months ago. Okay, let’s be honest, it’s been more like six months. I HATE the picture frames I have around my house right now and keep saying I will redo them, but there they sit. It just seems so intimidating to figure out which pictures I want to put in which frames, get them enlarged and/or converted to black and white, choose which pictures go where in the house, and hang them. I’m procrastinating big time on that one. The basket on the top right is full {bursting at the seams} with letter stickers. Even though I have a Cricut, I can’t seem to stop buying alpha rub-ons, Thickers, chipboard alphas and sometimes even sticker letters. Although I’m proud to say I don’t buy those much anymore because I know I won’t use them; I have years’ worth to use already. Although most of my letters are at least in one place (that basket), they definitely need to be purged and organized.

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This is the top of my legal size filing cabinet. Inside is actually very organized, with all my greeting cards sorted by event; receipts, instruction books, etc in files; and office supplies like printer paper, extra cartridges, etc. Again, ribbon jars look good although they’re dusty on top. I purged magazines and idea books last time I did The Big Cleanup and now the stack is back! New magazines, idea books and other books that need to be purged or put away.

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Here is the heart of the space, where i actually scrap, my L-shaped desk. With the missing front trim that never got put on because we didn’t follow the instructions properly when we put it together from the box. Once the desk was together, waaayyyy too much trouble to pull it apart again just to add some silly little trim. Anyway, you can see my black tool pack which holds many of my essentials – various adhesives, stylus, stapler, etc. The papers on top are envelopes from Christmas cards we’ve received so I can update my address list. I mean, really, that doesn’t even belong in here and that’s what happens a lot. If I want to straighten another area of the house, I just put things in here. Voila! We have a mess! On the right side are sticky notes and mailing supplies; my new ToteAlly Cool totes (larger for punches, Stickles, etc and smaller one for Cropadile, pens and scissors); the ever present Diet Coke. In the back are recently developed photos that have nowhere to go so I keep stuffing them back there. To the left is my ScrapRack which is very organized but too full so, see, the little K&Co. tags are falling out of the Christmas section. And my glorious new Basic Grey Magnetic Mats and faithful Cutterpede paper trimmer.

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Here is my little corner with my stereo (new Pebbles Inc. Ribbon Iron on top cooling off because I just used it); high dollar printer and scanner that I never use; random Mike’s and Target stamps for long-overdue RAK’s; baby wipes to clean acrylic stamps; and my labeler which surprisingly gets a lot of use in my space. I’m very organized about being disorganized! The desk drawers have computer equipment, font and software CD’s, etc and are very organized but I don’t seem to go in there very much, so maybe that stuff could go elsewhere and open up some space for scrap-related things? The cupboard side contains my Cricut, mats, and cartridges on top, a bin with electrical cords, phone cords, power strip, etc on bottom. Again, why is that stuff in here? I do have an old laptop on my desk that I just use for journaling but I hardly ever use the accessories anymore so they could go in a closet or something. See, progress already!

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Here is the rest of my desk. There is the black Michael’s tote I told you about. All my acrylic stamps, ink pads, alcohol inks, stamp cleaners, etc are in there. Behind the tote are: a bucket of Prima flowers I’m borrowing from a friend, my ink pens in Creative Memories Pen Holders, and random new products that need to be put away. The Colorbok paper pads under the black tote will be for sale, but I need to log them in my computer first. The pile on the left is mostly the stuff from my Secret Santa (thanks again!) and the right side pile is memorabilia to file and a new notebook for scrap ideas, to do lists, etc. (First entry should be: TO DO ~ Clean up your damn space!).

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Wow, okay… Seeing your mess in a big full color photo is even MORE eye-opening, even MORE embarrassing and shocking. Deep breath. Count to 10. Breathe out through the nose. Yoga breaths, yoga breaths. Okay. I’m back. This is the table to the left of my desk (the far side of it is near the walkway we already saw). I brought this table in the last time I organized, thinking it would be extra space to work on big projects, sort my photos, or have a friend over to crop. Yeah, right. It’s become a primo dumping ground for the stuff I guess I just used to leave on the floor. On the table you can see more gingerbread jars which I’ve been dumping various embellies in that either need to be put away, or are prizes for crops. The 12×12 stack back there is mainly paper to file or put a price tag on. The white baskets I was using to display my products ~ one is empty, the other has in it two Memory Works Express Kits from May 2007. One is mine, one is for sale. There are papers and embellishments in a super large Ziploc, including a box of glitter chipboard letters from K&Co. which I need to keep bagged together to sale and/or act as a sample of the kit. The problem is that each of these kits comes with an alterable project and this one was a small paint can. I mean, jeez, how to you even store that?? I guess my lame answer is, “In a white plastic basket.” Down below the table are my very organized page kits in a white plastic crate, another jar, and a Target bag with a flattened postal box and some acrylic stamps to sell once I get them in the computer and price tags put on. At the bottom middle of the photo are two cardboard file boxes on the floor. Hiding under the bag of Figgy Pudding Card Kit stuff (with cards in progress) is one project box (album, papers, embellishments, photos and souveniers from a big trip we took in, yes, 2005). The other is a project box for my 2006 cruise album. Neither has even been touched in months, except to add or take papers from. What you can’t see is that the entire space under my desk is filled with bins of my old photo storage system (remember THIS POST about how I was going to re-do that?), altered projects to make (photo cubes, shadow boxes, etc.), and Christmas presents. I’ve been shoving gifts under there all year because it’s the perfect hiding place. Everyone is scared to come over here! Seriously, my DH sends the kids in to grab the wastepaper basket once in a while or he just yells over to me, “Hey, how’s your trash? Bring it here if it needs emptied, please.” Smart man. Very, very smart man.

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This is just a close up of the jars on the table, and you can see the blue basket in the background where I’ve put some of the paper packs I have for sale. They are elsewhere in the house, but I have a total of two large blue bins (like the one on the table), two medium sized green ones, and two small blue ones. They are all filled with MW products for sale. The baskets themselves are organized, but I have nowhere in my scrap space to put them.

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So, I have survived the ultimate in humiliation by showing you my ‘crap’ area. I mean, SERIOUSLY?? SERIOUSLY?? And why am I subjecting myself to this, you ask? Because that’s what it takes for me to get to work and get this place cleaned up again. Last time, I entered an Organization Challenge on the CK Message Board. This time, I’m sharing it here on my blog. Now I’m accountable (I mean, if you guys out there really care??) and I WILL get organized again. I’ve come to this conclusion: Now that I’m a scrapbook consultant and have to keep a lot of extra products and paperwork around, this space just isn’t big enough anymore.

Part One of My Plan: My wheels have been turning about how I can re-work this space, maybe somehow utilizing our guest bedroom/office also. I already got DH’s approval to get rid of the old king sized bed in there that takes up half of the room, yet only gets used about four times per year when my mom visits. (No worries, Mom, we’ll findya another place to sleep!).

Part Two of My Plan: I have two weeks off from work for the holidays. Granted, I could get busy with my ‘from home’ jobs, I have at least one scrapbooking event, and we may go out of town for a few days. But I think this is a great opportunity to spend some time getting my scrap area organized…once and for all…um, yeah, right! Do I have your support? You got any suggestions for the dilemmas I’ve shared? I challenge YOU to organize your scrapbooking area over the Christmas break, so post in Comments if you will join me. I would love it if you sent me some photos I could post of your before/after or link us to your blog showing same. DEADLINE IS SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2008 (‘cuz ya gotta have a deadline or else you won’t do it!)…

Good luck and God Bless Us all!

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