Getting Organized: Christmas Edition November 29, 2008

If you’ve been reading, you know that my recent major project has been calendars for Christmas.  I have 10 of them to make, and that means 120 6″ x 6″ pages.  So, I’ve had to organize myself, particularly when it comes to making multiple calendars for multiple people who may see other people’s calendars-and when I take an idea and run with it, like I did in the last post I want to avoid someone seeing the same page over and over when they go to someone else’s house.  So, today I came up with an organizational system that I thought I had to share.

Let me first say that I never iron clothes.  I only iron when I absolutely have to.  I typically don’t purchase clothing that has to be ironed.  So, when you notice that my organization system is an ironing board, you may chuckle, but hey, it’s working.

I also have to comment on the fact that I have a small townhouse that I share with K.  We don’t really have a ton of space, and my crafting supplies take a whole room.  (As a matter of fact, we picked out a two bedroom, so that I had crafting space.)  So, now you understand the reasons that I had to use the ironing board.

I began by organizational system by making lists that have the name of each person who is receiving a calendar, and then put the list of each month under the name of that person.  Like so:

Then, I began to distribute the calendar pages under each person’s name, and I wrote the month that I intended the page to be used for.  Like this:

I didn’t want to come to the page later and think, “What the heck month was I thinking about for this?”.  I also have a hard time with certain months like May and June.  Maybe there are just too many ideas out there for that time of year, but I wanted to work on some of those first, so that I got past my block for those months.

Finally, I placed the written list on top of the pages that I have already made.  This will allow me to see if I’ve avoided a certain month or time of year, and will allow me to make sure that people who will see other people’s calendars won’t be able to see four months of the same calendar page.  It will also allow me to track my progress as I go.  You see?

So, this has already made the work flow easier.  What do you do to make the Holiday crafting less chaotic?

The next installment of the Calendars… November 29, 2008

Well, as I said in my last post, I tend to find and idea for all of those calendar pages and run with it.  This idea came from that same issue of PaperCrafts (August/September 2008); on page 63.  The designer was Lisa Nichols. Here it is:

My inspiration from this design will be quite apparent.  I took the idea and ran with it.  I made it in several color combinations and with some other variations.  I’m only going to highlight some of the best ones, and I’m not going to bore you with more and more of the same page, just different colors.  I’m only going to show you the pages that I think turned out the best.  Here is my work based on the inspiration card:

For this one, I used the basic outline and picked words to highlight each quadrant of the card.  I then thought that it needed some more “bling”, so I added the self-adhesive rhinestones.  The paper was more than likely purchased at my favorite big-box store and some of it could also be leftover Stampin’ Up! paper that has been retired.  The rhinestones actually came from Wal-Mart of all places.  I find more and more good stuff in thier craft areas.

Here comes #2:

This was a true Valentine’s Day inspiration.  I had some vellum stickers lying around that just happened to fit into the center of each of these squares.  I love the way it turned out.  A perfect February page.

I inked the edges of both the inside white paper, and the outside pink paper.  That is truly one of my favorite techniques.  It can either highlight something or age it.  I love how it always draws your eye to the center of what you inked.

Here’s the third one:

This page was actually the first one that I worked on.  It became the template for the others, and figuring out my spacing for the squares was the hardest portion of my work.  After I did that, I lay the original inside white paper beside the next page that I worked on, and made marks on the next one, so that I didn’t have to work to measure every time.  I continued to use a ruler to make sure that my marks were straight, but after that, no ruler for me.

So you can see how a magazine, or an advertisement becomes a jumping off point for other work.  What do you do to look for inspiration?

I scraplift, and it is not a crime. November 23, 2008

*Particularly when I give credit to the original creator* 

In my mind, scrapbooking and card making magazines should be used as a “jumping off point” for beginning projects.  They are always, and will always be the first thing that I reach for when I need to start a new project.  I look to the men and women who design in them for inspiration.  Sometimes that inspiration is just a color or a particular shape that is used.  Sometimes it is the composition of a design.  Sometimes I out and out scraplift their design with my own spin on it.  Today was an example of that.

Before getting on to the work that I did, let me first explain what some of my Christmas crafting is like for me.  About 3 years ago, I made my grandmother a 6″ x 6″ Stampin’ Up! desk calendar.  She loved it.  Since then, it has become a perpetual gift for her as well as my aunt (her daughter); they actually ask for it every year, like a little kid sitting on santa’s lap.  (My aunt actually made the phone call last week to remind me that she wanted a calendar again this year.)

Last year, when I had no idea what to get my new boyfriend’s sisters and mother (it was our first Christmas together), he suggested that I make “those cool calendars that I was working on for my grandma and aunt.”  I also had a request from my aunt to make two for her sisters in law, because they enjoyed the one that she has out at her house.  So, my original calendar project of one per year, has blossomed into oh-10, 6″ x 6″ calendars.  When you do the math, you realize that that means 120 6″ x 6″ pages, which represent each month of the year.  I will also be creating an 8 1/2″ x 11″ calendar, because that’s what K’s mom prefers.  So, needless to say, I look for inspiration where I can find it; and I usually pick out a few designs that I mass produce for several of the calendars-because it saves time and my sanity.

I had a pretty productive day yesterday, and I completed almost one-calendar’s worth of pages, or approximately 12 of them. 

While I was working, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss some of the inspiration that I get-and give credit to the amazing designers who I love.  I’m going to be referencing the August/September issue of PaperCrafts.  As I’ve said before, I love all things PaperCrafts (other than their swapping system, but I intend to talk about that in another post), and I want to share my inspiration side-by-side with my finished product so that you can see just how much I scraplift.  (And again, it is nothing to be ashamed of.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery- and I would LOVE it if someone shared something that they made based on work that I’ve done.)

So, here is the first page of inspiration in PaperCrafts:

This design was originally done by Joan Heaps, and was on page 24 of PaperCrafts August/September 2008.

Here is what I was inspired to create based on the design:

You can clearly see where my inspiration was.  I loved the layout of circles (I used a ribbon holder, the top to my ModgePodge container and a round brad holder to trace the circles), and the way that the inspiration card had had a fall vibe.  I also took the cue of using a quote in the middle of the page to make it the highlight.  It is not an exact interpretation of the original- but you know where I got the idea.

Here’s #2:

Becky Olsen Design

 This was originally designed by Becky Olsen and was on page 48 of the same PaperCrafts issue.

Here is my interpretation:

 

You can see where I used the same color scheme, the same idea of the bold, plain pink paper at the top, but I used a softer pattern for the bottom.  I liked the use of the flower with a decorative brad on the right side, so I mimicked that as well.  The green border in the middle was simply a slice from another patterned piece of paper and I wanted a bold statement in the corner, so I added the “happiness” stamp.  Once again, you can tell where my inspiration came from, but you can tell my interpretations of the original.

I think that’s all I’m going to show today.  I have lots more, especially one that I fell in love with and used with several color variations.  They have turned out great-but I have to get back to work while the house is quiet, and I can get some more of these 120 pages done.

What ways do you scraplift?

Where do you find inspiration?

An FO! November 22, 2008

That’s Finished Object for those of you who are not savvy to the crafty-blog-land out there.  I made a couple of scarves; and had K take a picture of me in my first Stitch n Bitch project.  (If you are a knitter who has a little bit of rebel in you, you really need to check out Debbie Stoller’s Stitch n Bitch books.  You can find them here.)

I made the Wavy Gravy scarf that was designed by Rachel Russ.  It was easy-peasy, and it was a pattern that I could memorize and take along with me to family gatherings or to work to play with inbetween doing my actual work.

Here’s the photo:  (I’m going to get another one with the scarf itself, so that you can see the detailing, and just how easy it was.)

I love it, and I loved making it.

More FOs to come, I promise!

Work, work, work November 22, 2008

Well, I have actually made it through 3 weeks of my new job.  I really do like it a lot (and I like the people that I work with.)  Which all adds up to a good thing.  I’m a little overwhelmed with it this week, because we learned about the accounting and credit processes that we take care of daily-and I HATE with a capital H, accounting.  Numbers and I do not get along.  When I have to do any math for the knitting that I do, I break into a cold sweat.  It’s not fun for me.  Not only that, the girl that I ride to work with, M, LOVES math.  She loves it so much, she helps her husband with his math homework (he’s going to school to be an accountant) for FUN!  I have seriously tried to counsel this girl about how sick she is, but she simply will not listen. 

As far as any crafting goes, I have begun the big Christmas work.  I am planning on making some 12 x 12 wallhangings for my uncle (similar to the ones that I made for my sisters and my mom for mother’s day–be sure to check out the post here.  I am also working on family recipe books for my sisters and my mom.  There will also be a parade of calendars-which I will of course post here, and the continuing work on the CJ.  I am really enjoying that – and if you are ever asked to be in one, take the time to do it.  It’s been fun, a learning experience and has been inspiring.

So, how to do the preparations for the Holidays come for you?

Update/ Info November 15, 2008

Thank you all for the e mails and the prayers that were sent my mom’s way this week.  She’s back home, feeling a little tired and learning how to live with her diverticulitis. 

Also, thanks for the support as I figure out how to juggle my life and my new job.  I think the winter is going to be the toughest thing to adjust to-I have an hour and about 15 minute commute-and in Michigan, that can be a little challenging.  But, I look forward to being able to leave work at work, and not being called every day that I have off.

I’m sure that I’ll be writing more and more about work-since I haven’t done that much.  I named this blog for the way that my life and my crafts collide.  I need to talk more about that “life” stuff, and will do so more often.

So, how do you make your crafty life and your work life work together?

Minor Medical News- November 9, 2008

Unfortunately, I have not been able to get my posts up as quickly as I had anticipated.  I am working on them, and working feverishly on the CJ’s that I have, but there was a minor medical emergency in my family yesterday (which was the day that I had set aside to work on my posts).  My mother was diagnosed with diverticulitis, and spent the night in the hospital.  She’s doing fine, but when my horoscope told me that I would have a setback in scheduling yesterday, I didn’t know that it would mean that!

I did, however, finish a scarf that I will be taking a picture of very soon.  It’s for a girl that I used to work with, and she is a Michigan State fan—I know, I know.  I cannot change everyone.

So, while waiting for news, I finished that scarf and began my first project in the round!  I want to learn how to knit in the round so that I can eventually make a sweater or two.  So, cross your fingers for me–plus, it’s getting to crunch time for Christmas presents.  I’m beginning to finalize THE LIST, and figuring out who will be recieving handmade gifts, and who will not.

How are your Christmas preparations going?

Sitting on two journals November 2, 2008

The CJ is moving right along.  I’ve actually had a little bit of a crafty-overload with working on two of the CJ’s.  But it’s really a good crafty-overload.  My old job ended yesterday, and I worked 12 days straight to make sure that everyone was trained and filled in on my job duties; since there was a decision not to replace me-people below me were taking over my duties.  Being the nice person I am, I wanted to make sure that the transition was as painless as possible.

Back on craftiness-The first CJ that I recieved has a fall theme-and the other has a friendship theme.  I’ve got to try to get a little work done in both of them before too long, because I want to keep on top of them-so that I don’t have the last minute rush like I had last month.

I’m also planning in earnest for Christmas presents.  I have a couple of scarves knitted-and I’m going to post those here as well-I’m really proud of them.  I know that my someday sister in law and I will be working on family recipe books-that we will be scrapbooking.  I really have to get her motivated to ask for recipes so that we can get going on them.

How are all of your crafty-Christmas plans going?