2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge ~ #9 Books and Magazines

You may recall that Challenge #8 was organizing your paper cosmetics. I have a rather large collection although I am pretty sure there are lots of you with even more. But mine ARE organized.

So I am more than ready for Challenge #9 . . .

Books and Magazines

Inspiration for scrapbook pages is everywhere. But what is the best way to organize it so that it's actually USEFUL?

First consider cutting up your magazines and idea books, and only saving the ideas that you really plan to use. Magazines and idea books that just sit on your shelves aren't really useful. It can take hours to go through your books to find the one layout you remember. Having your ideas in a condensed form, arranged in a way that makes sense to you is much more effective. If you are able to cut up your magazines, here are some ideas for arranging them:

theme (holidays, birthday, babies, pets, travel etc)
number of photos used in the layout
journaling ideas
colours
quotes
techniques

Now that you've decided how to arrange them, where do you store them? A few ideas:

* a composition book or some other kind of sketchbook: you can sketch in here and adhere page ideas into it. It's also portable, so you can take it with you to crops!
* an index card box: adhere your ideas to index cards
* idea file folders. Place your ideas inside file folders and label the index tab. Store in a portable file box. Add categories as needed.
* binder with page protectors: tuck clippings into the page protectors

If you have decided you are NOT cutting up your magazines . . .

SORT: Make sure that the magazines and books are still relevant to you. If you are holding onto magazines more than a year or two old, REALLY make sure they still interest you. Sort them into piles: KEEP, DONATE, SELL, TOSS

PURGE: Trash the TOSS pile. Arrange immediate drop-off or pick-up of the DONATE pile. Bag up and assign a price and your initials to the SELL pile.

ASSIGN: sort your magazines/books by title/date of issue, and consider storing your books and magazines down low due to their weight.

CONTAINERIZE: store in boxes or magazine holders.

EQUALIZE: Consider getting varied colours of post-it flags, and setting up categories for ideas. Each time you get a new book or magazine, flag the pages you like according to your system, so that you an easily see from the outside of your books which one might have an idea applicable to the project you are working on.

Only one week left of our challenge . . . 

how's your space looking now?

Canadian Book ~ Deviant by Patrick Grace

Happy Publication Day to Deviant (University of Alberta Press) by poet Patrick Grace! 

Deviant traces a trajectory of queer self-discovery from childhood to adulthood, examining love, fear, grief, and the violence that men are capable of in intimate same-sex relationships. Richly engaged with the tangible and experiential, Patrick Grace’s confessional poetry captures profound, sharp emotions, tracking a journey impacted equally by beauty and by brutality. Coming-of-age identity struggles are recalled with wry wit, and dreamlike poems embrace adolescent queer love and connections as a way to cope with the fear and cruelty that can occur in gay relationships. Later poems in the collection recall vivid moments of psychological trauma and stalking and explore the bias of the justice system toward gay men. 

Collecting memories, dreams, and fears about sexual identity, Deviant makes important contributions to queer coming-of-age and intimate partner violence narratives. 

@thepoetpatrick 

@river_street_writes 

#canlit #poetry #queerlit #queerliterature #bookishcanadians #bookstagramcanada #canadianpoet #canadianpoetry #poets #poetsofig #poetsofinstagram #poetrycollection #canadianliterature #literature #whattoreadnext #poetrylovers #queerpoetry #queerpoet #canadianreaders #readersofig #canadianbooks

2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge ~ Challenge #8 Paper Cosmetics

How does it feel to know we are nearly done?  Your crafting space should be looking a lot better by now.  I bet you aren't opening 15 different storage containers while trying to find that one item you need anymore.

Challenge #8

   

It is time to organize our "paper cosmetics": paints, inks, embossing powders, mists, and other products that add a little something special to our pages.  If you do mixed media or art journaling I bet your stock of paper cosmetics is pretty substantial.  Let's get started . . .

SORT: 

First go through each of these items and make sure your colours haven't expired.  Are ink pads still juicy?  Are lids still intact? Do paints still mix together when shaken? Are your chalks still intact enough to use?  Sort all of your paper cosmetics into TOSS, KEEP, SELL, DONATE

PURGE: 

Throw out the TOSS items.  Bag up and assign a price and your initials to the SELL pile, and put them immediately in your garage sale box.  Arrange for pick-up or drop-off of the DONATE pile.

ASSIGN: 

Sort your KEEP pile into categories that make sense to you.

CONTAINERIZE: 

Inks last longest when stored horizontally, upside down on a shelf, in a drawer, or maybe a cassette tape holder?  Paints could be stacked on a narrow shelf, on a tiered rack, in spice racks, etc.  Embossing powders, chalks and other cosmetics could be stored in well-labeled drawers or bins.

EQUALIZE: 

Take a few minutes at the end of each scrapping session, when you return from a crop, or return from a shopping trip to put your paper cosmetics away where they belong.

Please share your progress on our Facebook group.

2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge ~ #7 Embellishments

So how did you make out with Challenge #6?  I'm not a huge fibre user on my pages so I was pretty sure this was an easy challenge for me. It was fun re-discovering just how much pretty ribbon, floss and washi tape I actually do have.

Are you ready for Challenge #7?





Embellishments are some of the easiest things to buy. Everything looks so good, and you really believe you NEED everything! Embellishments are also one of the supplies most affected by trends so careful consideration is really needed here.

It's also important to find a system that will help you store all of your embellishments in a way that won't overwhelm you, yet also is visible enough that you don't forget to USE them. 

Let's S.P.A.C.E. them.

SORT: 

As always, bring all of your embellishments together. Touch every piece that you have and ruthlessly sort through them, deciding what to KEEP, TOSS, SELL, DONATE.

PURGE: 

Immediately throw out the TOSS pile. Bag up and assign a price and your initials to the SELL pile, and put them in the garage sale box. Set up a drop-off or pick-up of the DONATE pile.

ASSIGN: 

Sort through the KEEP pile in a way that makes sense to you. Some ideas for sorting your embellishments:

1) by category (buttons, brads, alphabets, charms, etc.)
2) by colour
3) by manufacturer
4) by type (metal, acrylic), or
5) by theme

CONTAINERIZE: 

Now that you've decided how to sort your embellishments, the next step is decided how to store them, and how to label them! Researching online will give you great ideas. Talk to other crafters about what ideas worked for them.

EQUALIZE: 

Take a few minutes at the end of each scrapping session, when you return from a crop, or return from a shopping trip to put your embellishments away where they belong.

Please share a photo of your organized embellishments with us here.

2024 Craft Space Organization Challenge #6 ~ Ribbons and Fibres and Washi Tape

Are you ready for Challenge #6? 

Let's talk about Ribbons and fibres and washi tape. 

There is no "right" way to store your ribbons and fibre. The most important factor is that the system works for YOU. First, let's make some S.P.A.C.E.

SORT: 

Gather together all of your ribbons and fiber, and sort them into piles: KEEP, TOSS, SELL, DONATE.

PURGE: 

Throw out the TOSS pile. Immediately make arrangements for pick-up or drop-off of the DONATE pile. Bag up, and assign a price and your initials to the SELL pile, and immediately put these in your garage sale box.

ASSIGN: 

Sort your KEEP pile into types/colours of fibre and ribbon. If your ribbons are in a big wrinkled mess, take time now to give everything a pressing (careful with the heat, some synthetics may melt!).

CONTAINERIZE: 

Consider the space that you have, and the way that you work. Here are some ideas that work for both ribbons and fibres:

1) on those little cardboard bobbins meant for embroidery floss

2) organized by colour in big clear glass jars on a shelf

3) wound and paper clipped and stored with their coordinating embellishments

4) Cropper Hopper mini embellishment boxes and sorted by colour

5) in small ziploc bags stored in a photo box, or on a big ring

6) in sports cards organizer pages, sorted by colour and in a binder

7) wound on index cards and stored in a photo box

EQUALIZE: 

Take a few minutes at the end of each scrapping session, when you return from a crop, or return from a shopping trip to put your ribbons and fibres away where they belong.

Share your progress by posting photos at in our Facebook group.