Reindeer in flight!!!!

I am in the middle of trying to get everything ready for the Big Day... Christmas.... which is only 25 days away... yikes where has the time gone??? Does anyone see it flying by quicker than ever???  Well it sure did fly past here... Even though we are thinking about the spring plantings, and what to buy and what do we want, we are now also thinking about Christmas...

I am trying to make gift tags and special cards... so here is one that is a real combination... and it fills the challenge on The Shabby Tea Room Challenge... so it is perfect...

The Challenge was to make a card to GET IN SHAPE for the holidays... how great is that one... We could not use a square or rectangle... but could use an oval or circle... I choose to use the oblong oval from Spellbinders... I layered it with glittered strips of punched out paper lace with a new Martha punch... and then put an oval scalloped frame around it... then I made two Parchment Holly leaves and put a bow on...

Then I created the Reindeer with the Tim Holtz Die cut

And THEN.... I used a little Just Rite stamp to finish off the look I desired...

Wishing you a holiday filled with Peace and Joy... just my feelings 100%...

Here is a close up of the Reindeer and the greeting... The deer is so very delicate and I hope you can see all the glitter ... it is soft, but it layer upon layer of glittered paper lace...
On the back I put a Swiss dotted oval just to finish it off... and then also a space to write a message...
This is an card first... as it will be mailed... but it is going to go onto a present as well.. and then it can be used as an ornament... I love it when a plan comes together ...
Thanks Debbie for such a great challenge this week...

How you all have a wonderful week of creating and getting ready for Christmas... and also thanks for taking the time to stop by for a visit... Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie

Chistmas is holly and.....

Christmas is holly, and reds and greens.... and the smell of balsam in the air... All favorites for this time of the year... I love them all. I had always wanted to have a bouquet of holly when I lived up north... but it seemed so very expensive for a few branches... now I have huge trees all around me... We have one that is over 45 feet tall... and it is so wonderful... I love them all... but I leave them to grow... and do not disturb them during the holiday season...I just admire them... all year long...

With that said, you can understand why I have to make so many white cards with Red and Green, and with poinsettias, and with holly and with all the Christmas things... I love them... So here are a few more that are from the Poinsettia with Background collection on Pretties by Bonnie  I have really had a lot of fun with this collection... I hope that all of you have bought it are also enjoying it as I am...

For larger views of these cards, please go over to Pretties by Bonnie
I have a lot of cards to share with you...

This one I used the newest Cuttlebug Embossing Plus folder... called Carly... it is really so pretty... you will see a few more cards made with it... I had fun with this one... I also have a few extra right now... so if you want one, let me know...



the cardstock that I used on these cards is a very deep rich hunter green...it shows up black... but it is a lovely deep green... 

This card has a new embossing folder from Winter Frolic... there are some cute folders in that set... but this one was perfect for this... Wishing You Peace and Love at Christmas and Always... how perfect is that for me... I love it... With a border of holly and berries all around it... take a larger look over at Pretties by Bonnie

Now this is just the Carly embossing plus folder by Cuttlebug... I used the stencil part also... and then used a thin black marker to go around all the embossed areas...

And the center was sunken into the oval center... so soft and pretty...

I wanted to show you the beauty of this folder all alone...

With this one I added some things.... The border is a Fiskars punch... I love it... it is new to me and so sweet... don't know why I didn't have it a long time ago... I love the sweet little daisies...

Even though this is not a demur embossing folder, it certainly does allow this saying to go with it...

Here is the corner of this card... all the delicate parts... the edging, the sentiment and  then the embossing... I really love this look... ..

So much of the country is covered with snow and ice... so I had to make this card for Joanne Travis... who motivated me to make this... as she was going out to make a snowman... Oh I use to love to make snowmen with my kids... so much fun..

There's no people like snow people.... How very true... sometimes they are around for a long long time... just slowly lingering to catch as much of this life style as possible.... LOL  !!!

I used a Cuttlebug folder from Winter Frolic set for this... and used a marker to color all the embossing and then a little stickels to add the glittery snow effects...

The background... a New Martha punch set... wow... what a pretty one... The snowman is an Inkakadinkadoo stamp... look closely and you will see SANTA.... and his reindeer... and also little trees and all kinds of fun things... so cute...

Well Take a look at the top cards over on Pretties by Bonnie... and have a happy day creating all that you desire... Thanks for stopping in for a visit and please come back again... Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie

More cards ! ! !

Today I have a few cards to share with you.... the first one is to my Grandson, for his Advent house... it tells him what to do... also that the ELF is watching that he only opens one drawer a day.... LOL... so much fun.

I sure do wish I had an ELF around when our kids were growing up... although they were really not a problem with things like that... at least I didn't know about it... what we don't doesn't hurt right???  This little elf will help.

I made him with a digital that I got somewhere... and I love it... he is so cute... and then I used a Christmas ornament embossing folder to create the side panel.. I used markers and Stickles to decorate it ... love that stickels... works like a charm to spruce things up a little bit...

Just Rite is having the last challenge of the year.. so I made a few cards for that too..

This one I was reminded of by a card swaping friend... Cathy Kaylor... who sent it to me... we had made this card a while back in the spring and I had forgotten all about the fold... I love it... Thanks for the reminder Cathy...

Anyway I used embossing folders behind all the white... and then stamped all the cute little emblems for the corners and then for the main section... Everything is pop dottted so it is really sharp looking...
The Bow is detailed with Flower soft... as are the holly leaves on the corners.  

Here is one of the corners so you can see the detail there too...

I used markers to color and a gold marker for the edging...


The little red bows really make it pop...

Another card ...  A cute little snowman...
I had just bought this punch set the other night... thanks to Marie... Thank you Marie...
I love it... and it is so perfect for so many different themes... for this one it really reminds me of snow flakes... so I used the Snow man on the sled... with some added snowflakes and little blue star rhinestone gems... how perfect... love it ...

I used Flower soft for the fluffy white snow... and accented the flower soft with some dew drops...

Just so you can see up a little bit closer... this snowman is really presious... love him...
I know some one who will love this as a Christmas card...

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving... and if traveling a safe and sound journey...

Thanks for stopping by today.. and taking a peek at my corner of the world...
Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie

So much to share with you...

I have so many things to share with you today..
First off... I have posted a few things on other blogs... as I just didn't think I should put it all on here... LOL... way too much...

I decided about a month ago to start to create an Advent house for our Grandson... so I have published that on Art Between the Pages...  But here is a small picture of the finished house... there are lots more on the blog...

I really had fun creating this and hope that you will enjoy it too.. so please stop by and see all the fun things I did to create it...









Then I also did another release today on Pretties by Bonnie

I had so very much fun with these digital images.. and I hope that you will too... they are precolored.. so all you have to do is to print and you are ready to make a card...

Here is an example of one card I made in minutes...

I love this one... and it was so very simple and quite striking to say the least...


I do hope you will take a look see..









Okay... but that is only a few of the things I have been working on...
I still have something else to share with you...


 Last night was our monthly stamp group meeting.. we always have a fun and good time... lots of laughs, enjoyment... and also I have to say buying and paying each other ... LOL... those there last night will certainly remember all of that going on.. I always bring a box of goodies that are extras etc... and the gals have fun buying a few things that they didn't know that they HAD to have.. Oh my goodness... last night I even got Marie to sell a really pretty punch set to me... you all know how much I love these sets... well as soon as I got home I had to punch out some pieces... I will share with you soon... dont' worry..

Anyway... today I wanted to share this really fun card that Marie patiently shared with us...

The front of the card looks like any other card... but when you pull the ribbon... it slides open... so much fun... 


I used the Poinsettia Background for the front panel.. and then added a cardinal from Heartfelt Creations... and a holly poinsettia from  Poinsettia Background collection... 

I stamped all over the dark green paper with a lovely pine cone and pine branch stamp... and used versa mark to create the images...

 



When you slide it open... You can see two messages..
(I didn't take the picture so that you could see the second message.. but it is there...  ) 

 This is what it looks like when open... so much fun... I love it when surprises are at hand when you open a card ...

Deck the Halls with boughs of Holly.. I just might do that this year... but it is so hard to clean up... but so very pretty with a few red bows... plain a simple ... with candles and holly... lovely Christmas time...

Thanks again Marie... We also made a cute Gingerbread boy and girl card.. and a turkey... with chocolate...
I will share them later on with you...

Have you ever started to think about creating a special card... and then you go to create it... and it doesn't happen the way you want it... well that is what started 10 days ago with this one... I wanted to have it one way, and tried to do it... but did't like it and so I did something else... then I tried it the next day... and something else came out... so finally yesterday I was able to get this card done the way I really wanted it... after many tries... I FINALLY got the elegant card I wanted...

The front of the Window Poinsettia card...
I used the Holly poinsettia from the Poinsettia Background collection... and made it large... so that it would fit inside the window of this Spellbinder Frame...

I colored the poinsettia with my Tombow markers... and also some Liquid Pearls in the center... love the textures of that...

I actually used 4 poinsettias to make the flower... two on each side and I flip them when printing... one of the great things about digital images... you can create the look and do what you need to do with the images...
 After coloring the images, I glued them all together, and then a thin gold thread to hold them from the card and frame..

Swiss dotted paper was also used for additional textures... love them all..

Then when you open the card...

 
The filigree is from a die cut made by Spellbinders for Heartfelt Creations... love it.... so very elegant in all it's glory...

Using one on the front of the card.. and two on the inside... Also a Background from the Poinsettia background collection... as is the Holly poinsettia and the cardinal...

Looking a little bit closer... you can see more of the details...

I love the richenss of the Christmas colors.. and the white really makes it stand out even more...

I do hope that you will take a look at the other two blogs... and see all the goodies there... and also that you have a fun day creating your special items to share and give...

I have certainly had a lot of fun with these digital images.. and do hope that you will too.. Thanks for stopping by... and see you soon... Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie

Announcing Poinsettia Background PLUS!!!!

I have just released a set of digitals that I really love... I have worked to make sure that you get the most for your dollar and also can make cards really fast.....as at this time of the year... every minute counts... and yet you still want a FANTASTIC looking card... right???

Well I think that this does it for you...  You see there is a background and also a cardinal, a holly leaf Poinsettia and then a branch of Holly too.. yikes.... and you can let your imagination go wild with this one..  I have a lot of other cards on  Pretties by Bonnie so take a click over there too... you will also see the pictures of the digitals...

The background is of course black and white when you receive it... but I suggest that you color it... and then scan and print it ... that is if you have a printer that will give you great to good copies..

It really does save a lot of time... and the results are really fun.. as I love using all kinds of my Spellbinders on these... as you can see.. 


And this one ... since it is an easel card... I used a smaller one on the bottom section... LOVE IT...

The top of the card closeup...

I made the poinsettia's only an inch large...

and I did a fancy punch paper for the background behind the backgrounds... LOL... too many backgrounds...







Okay... onto the bottom half...

This set can be bought and you can have it in your hands in less than 24 hours...

Check it out..

Here is the bottom one.... I used a larger poinsettia here... and a little bird from another digital set I did... and there is the holly branch...

I love Pink Poinsettias even though they are manipulated by man... I still think they are pretty... even the purple ones... but I think the pink ones are my favorite..

Of course I love the all white on white look for the border... (a spellbinder... what else!!!)

So do hope you will take a look and see all the other cards and also place an order to help you get your cards done a little bit quicker this season...

Hope you have a fun day... and evening...
and that you enjoyed this... thanks for taking a stop by... Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie

The Crow

I love crows... they are the law of the forest... they are generally in groups and I usually always see three of them together...

Their feathers at times are so shiney and black... they are magestic looking... They keep our backroads clean of road kills... and keep others at bay...

When I saw this Tim Holtz Die cut... with the cat ... I had to have it... for the CROW ... .I love cats too.. but this is cat with it's back up... but the CROW... oh I do love it...

I also used Tim Holtz bird cage die cut.. and used a piece of plastic to make a mask... and got my fingers all inky... what fun.. a little Dried Marigold... and a sponge can make a day... add in some paper lace made with Spellbinders... and then a tag with a Just Rite .... Love it... What fun mixing all these fun things together... I also added some Pretties by Bonnie flowers...  a daisy... what else... my favorite flower... my favorite bird... and  that pretty green leaf wreath...  For the centers of the flowers... dimensional pearls and a pearl... really love adding layers where ever I can... 

Hope you enjoy this one... for more cards with more of this same kind of flower... go over to
Pretties by Bonnie  and see the latest colelction of daisy cards..

Thanks for stopping by... .I do hope that you have signed up as a follower... I would love to give all these things away... the pile is really in need of going to a new home.. so please help me in finding a new home for all of it... sign up... thanks a million... Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie   

Fall is still here!!!

The Just Rite challenge today is to create a fall card with the colors of Navy, Rust and Gold... with of course a fall theme... So this is what I created... 

I started off with a white base of 6x6... and then added the rust paper... it has a very delicate white fleck in it... I love it... I dont' have too much of it left either... I must have bought it about 6 years ago..LOL... do I hoard??? NO... just love it.. 

Then added a Square of white framed out with Martha punch ... and then put a cuttlebug piece of paper over that.. which I inked... You really can't see it... but I did enjoy getting messy... my kind of thing...

Then a few layers of Spellbinders...
The Beaded Circle... the Lacey circle... and then the Classic Circle... I love circles... even thought the apple stamp is an oval... I wanted to play with circles today.. .can you tell.. LOL..

Oh I wanted to put some gems on this... and I had this really lovely Navy pearls... so they are on the Beaded circle... and the ribbons hold it all up there with a couple of bows... 

Okay... then I colored them all with markers... I wanted some WORDS on the front... not something that I usually do... but I wanted them.. so I chose to use The Beauty of Fall... today the colors on our leaves are so very pretty... When we were eating breakfast the sun was coming thru the trees in our back yard... and the Reds and Yellows were so strong and Magnificent... I love it... we sat there enjoying ourselves as the sun rose and allowed us to see more of the wonders of nature... A very nice way to start the day off...

Fall in all its glory is truly a time of showing us that we are all 'renewable' and will be ever living... so it is a glorious time... The Beauty of Fall... the apple certrainly tells the story... as does the bittersweet in stamp...
love it...

Well I had fun with this challenge... Thanks Sharon...
Hope you have a wonderful evening and week-end...
Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie 

Daisies my Favorite Flower...

Daisies are truly my very favorite flower of all times... Glenn and I had a Daisy wedding over 40 years ago... and it still is my very favorite flower... I love all kinds of daisies... but really love the wild ones... they are so very uncontrolled in all ways...

So with that in mind I have taken my daisy and created this GREAT folder of digitals to create all kinds of Pretties with them...  So please take a look on Pretties by Bonnie  and you will see all the cards that I made as examples to show these pretties...

Just so you can see the rest of the card..

The Brown print is a block print I made in the summer... and used some acrylic paints to print it with... and then the Sunflower.... all of the directions on how to make all these flowers are included   in the package of goodies...

So check it out...

Just go on over to Pretties by Bonnie
and see them all...

Have a super nice day... and come on back tomorrow for some more things...

Love, Light and Peace...
Bonnie

Sneak Preview

Tomorrow I will be releasing another new Combination on Pretties by Bonnie but I thought that you might like to see a 'little' something ahead of time... not a lot... just a little bit...

This is just part of the card... of course...
but tomorrow you will be able to see this whole card... and a few more...

I am really excited about this release....
More digitals to play with...
             Create with........
                   Collect..........
                        and not clutter with... yeah!!!

That is one nice thing about these digitals... you can gt as many as you desire... and they can all be in one neat place... How perfect for those of us that like to have MORE all the time...

This is a really fun combination... so I do hope you will come back tomorrow so you can see it all...

Hope you hav a wonderful day... You know what I will be doing all day long...  and it will not be washing windows...  LOL...  Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie

More Winnings

Oh wow... when we stopped at the mail box it was loaded with wonderful things... a few cards from some dear friends... no bills... and then a special package for me...  and this is what was in it.. 

Winnings from A JUST RITE challenge...  and it was sponsored by Flower Soft... $20.00 worth... but it was more than $20.00 worth...

Thank you Just Rite and Thank You Flower Soft... I love all the wonderful prizes...

A wonderful rubber stamp... Sage Ultra fine Flower Soft... and then special glue... WOW... Wonderful prizes...

I will use them all tomorrow...

Thanks again... Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie

New directions

I have decided that I need to take some new directions in my life... and take hold of some of the things that I love to do.... one of which is to draw and create items to go along with stamps that I love... and also with embossing folders etc...

So I will be advancing my drawings on the Pretties by Bonnie blog... and I do hope that you will take a look over there and see what is going on... This is one of the newest releases... and I love it with this Just Rite saying...

Please visit there and become a follower there also...  I am expanding onto that blog and will not always be putting the cards that I make onto this blog also... dial up is so much fun... but at this time, I would really rahter be drawing and creating for other purposes...

Have a wonderful day... create and create... get those Christmas cards made and addressed... this flower is really pretty on a Christmas card... all done up with reds and white.. and some greens... oh my goodness... love it.... Have fun... and thanks for stopping by for a visit... Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie

Stamps and other areas of importance...

The last areas of my studio... today I will be able to finish this up... so you will be able to see all of it here ...
First off I have to tell you that I our grew my last area in the house... and one of the reasons... too many stamps... so when I moved into this new area, I realized that I still needed more room... do we ever have ENOUGH...??? MY husband says that he could build be a staduim and I would fill it, in a short period of time... and he is so very right... I guess being married for over 40 years he knows me by now... do you think????  DUH... anyway... you I am sure have the same problems... too little space... no matter what we have it is not enough... so you have to conserve space... so I felt that all the wood took up way too much un needed space... so off it came... each rubber stamp was put into a pocket of the trading card plastic pages... and then either put into a drawer or into a notecook...

I had over 100 drawers of stamps... and got it down to 30... that is a lot of space...  I have added another 8 but that is for my Asian collection of stamps... I love them... not that i use them that often anymore... but I do love them...

This picture doesn't show everything... but you can sort of get an idea... 80% of my  stamps are in this area... On the top shelf... are some notebooks... Snow, Christmas, flowers, sayings... and then underneath are all the drawers of stamps... 

Underneath the fish painting is a basket filled with containers of my tapesty stamps... ready and easy to use also... If they are not available to use quilckly... you will not use them either without a huge process of pulling them out and  setting them up... mine are always handy and ready to use...

The shorter set of drawers on the right hand side of the picture is where all my Asian stamps are... and the Asain Washi paper is rolled and on top of that bin... organized... everything together... easily found... TOGETHER things that are similar...

The back side of the white drawers is on the messy table... and in there are all my sheets of inked foams... that are in plastic bags... I can easily find each color... as the reds are in one area... the browns in another and so on... you know the routine now...

I love the Just rite stamps... and so have taken that notebook out to show you the page set up...

When I get a new set of stamps... I cut up the front page, and then put each stamp behind it... always knowing which stamp is where... I do the same with all my others... expect because most of the time they don't come with a picture... I then stamp it...

You will always know where each stamp is... all the time..

I have it also broken down into categories with Just Rite... like year round, winter/Christmas,  square and rectangle... etc... so that is even easier...

And if you have a catalog of a company... keep that with it..  You can always use a reference when necessary...

Okay... so I hope that you sort of can visualize my spaces... If I stand up in the office area... this is what you look down on... yes my studio is a sunken room...  and even thought it is only a few steps... it keeps everything in there...

The long table you are seeing... that is where guests and others can play... over to the far right that you can't see... a wall of french doors... that allows the outside into my studio... the smells of each season come into the studio as they change...

Hope that you have enjoyed this virtual tour of my spaces... and that you can now organize your space a little bit better so that you can find things... and also work easier... remember Rome wasn't built in a day... and your work space will take time to organize... so do it slowly and that way you will also remember where everything is...

Have fun creating as you find things... Love, Light and Peace... Bonnie 

Ribbon, Paper and Punches... oh so many things...

Okay... I need to get on with this...
Today... I am going to share with you the rest of that wall behind where I sit... Over to my right... as I am facing my markers... (are you following me??)  is where I keep all my RIBBON.. and I do have a lot of it... when we moved from NJ... I had a business with 100's of bolts of fabric... and also bolts and spools of lace, and ribbon... some I still have some of ... and some I have bought since we have lived here... you always need ribbon... Pretty ribbons right... not dull ones... so I gather them... piece by piece or spool by spool...  you get the idea... 

Again the rule of thumb... being able to find things quick and easy... not a week later... so all my ribbon is on area... and each color has a drawer... okay... some colors have two drawers... because I have too many green fibers... and then green ribbons... so they each have a drawer... orgznize for YOU... not besause I did it a certain way... this is to show you what I have done... with all my STUFF... and you create your way of handling your STUFF...

I bought a large selection of 1/2 inch ribbons... and wanted to be able to have them handy at all times... to move them around ... so I put them onto a dowel.. .and taped the dowel into a bin... and it holds all the spools of 1/2 inch ribbon... again... the rainbow display of colors...
from white to black... and everything inbetween...

The white notebooks over on the top of the far cabinet... they hold all my printed tea bags ... ready to be folded... and color seperated... I do classes teaching this... so it is important that the colors be seperated... Underneath the drawers hold different kinds of not used often papers... like mulberry, corrugated, vellum and other delicate papers...

A basket of tissue papers... not neat... but all there... and ready to used for what ever project they are needed for... 

Okay... now we are on the wall behind where I sit... adn as you will see... you can see that we have turned the corner... you can see the white notebooks... where all the tea bags are... and now we are onto paper... lots and lots of paper... way too much...but I love it all..

First off... all the 12 x 12 solid colored paper... starting at the top with white and black... and going into the rainbow of red, orange, yellow.. and etc. etc.. .I do follow that through out the studio...

Next rack... also 12 x 12 papers... special papers that I really need to go thru... also projects that I am working on... and special pads with punched embellishments... all those special papers... for special topics...

The next bin.. scrap papers... printed and some solid scraps... from time to time I do clean this out... but so many of these drawers have little tiny pieces of really REALLY special paper... and I could never throw it out... so maybe this is not scrap ... but special... but you get the idea... right... ???? organize to fit YOUR NEEDs... no one elses...

Okay... so I love K and Company... and need to have a place where their pads can stand up... and I can find them easily... also I have a lot of misc printed papers... they are all in this area also...

6 x 6 in a basket... all neat and ready to be pulled out to use on a 6x6 book... or project...

Underneath... one of the trolleys... used for plastic Crop Hopper bins... filled with printed papers... each bin holds a different color paper... again... in the proper order... these are just PRINTED papers... not solid papers... and there are some 8.5 x 11 printed papers in there too..

then you can see the next set of drawers is all solid color papers... starting at the top with off white... and then reds and on down... Browns are at the very bottom... you can see the corner of the paint table and the acrylic blocks... so you know where you are...
at least I hope so...

Okay... now I am going to skip down the row of bins... and go to the punches... If I am sitting and looking at my markers.. this row of punches is way down at the end of the next set of tables... against the wall...

It is all my punches... and for those that know me... you know I LOVE punches... so there is a lot here to share with you...

On the top... are the Zyrons I have ... I don't use them that often... as glue is less costly... then there are embellishments... all kinds... but underneath the top shelf... bins and bins of flowers ready to be put onto cards or books... also plastic bags, and other needed supplies for classes and special needs...

Then under that last board... my punches... bins of them... but all organized... over on the far left... all the corner punches that we all had to have years ago... and then under them the circle punches... byt Blue Hill and then the Fiskar border punches...

The next bin hold Martha... No not really Martha... Martha Stewart punches... and they are organized to a point... hearts in one drawer, frilly in another etc etc... then next set of drawers sort of had to be there... it holds all kinds of things... plastic sheets, bins, little bottles etc... all for altered books or some kind of use... jsut good stuff... but again organized to suit MY NEEDS...  the next set of drawers... all my punches for making flowers...There are over 600 punhes in this area... and they are all very neatly organized and can easily be found by someone new to the studio...

The last set of drawers is all kinds of punches... misc ones... snow flakes... winter mittens... .dragons, you get the idea... but all ORGANIZED... so that others and also ME... can find them... quick and easy... drawers are generally labeled... and if not... then all you have to do is to open... and you can see what is in there... really easily...

Okay... there is a small space.. where you can walk..
and then there is the other section of table that I work on... this is another 8 foot table... and this is the cutting area... all the dies are here... and all the embossing folders... so that is why the punches are also down here...  keeps it all in one area...

Likes are together... punching, diecuts, embossing... all together...

My Spellbinders... all sorted so that I can again find them easily... cirlces, squares, ovals, Christmas, fruit, etc.. etc... Be hind you will see a wall of the old type of dies... I still use them from time to time... so I keep them handy... but not out in front...

Then behind the Big shot... and my Cuttlebug you will see wooden bins of toyz... all kinds of great toyz... ones I love to use...  Tim Holtz die templates...  even the old blue Fiskar embossing sheets... you just never know when you need to have this... so keep it handy.. 

This picture really should have been in front of the other one... but you can see what I am talking about... the towers are on the edge of the table.. .and they act as a partition ... all the Spellbinders are sorted...








Okay... do you have a lot of the little

Cuttlebug cutting blocks... I have them in the containers... Easy to find... My little side kick to use them on... they are so much easier to use than the huge macines...
And then all my embossing folders... again organized to the umph degree... easy to find... dots, swirls, words, etc etc...

And my Cuttlebug ... that is funny... I have had my Big shot for about three years... prior to that I had the red Sizzix... it is underneath... yes it is... I just still have it... anyway... I love my big shot... but it is so heavy to take to meetings etc... so I bought the cuttlebug... lighter and smaller and more compact... but the plates have not been used for cutting... they are virgin to cutting... I will break down and use it one of these days... but there is not need to now... anyway... when the Twilling flowers came out... I needed the longer plates.. .so I got them... and do cut on them... but not on the shorter ones ... funny but true... everyone knows my cuttlebug is a cutting virgin... and not to use it for cutting... LOL...

Okay... one last thing to show you... see that big old wierd burgundy tool...??? Well that is called an arbor press... and I use it for my punches... it saves me time and PAIN... I love it... it cost $50.00 at a tool place that my hubby took me too... and it will punch a ton... literally a ton... I love it... so I keep it with all my cutting stuff...


And now you can see the bins in MY Space... so you should know where we are...

Hope that you enjoyed this area... and can sort of get a better idea of my work space...
it is a long space... with a narrow space between the wall and the tables... as there is another set of tables on the other side... where people can sit and play or work on thier projects...

Each area has a cutting tool and also scissors, glues, and water spritzer and heat guns... so most of the time after being here a couple of times people know that they don't have to drag that stuff along with them... it is all here in place and ready to be used...

Join me back here again tomorrow for more... Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie 

Painting and getting messy area...

Okay... every studio or work space needs to have a space where you can let it all go... this is a very important area... sometimes people get up set when they are in someone elses space... and need to feel free... so I hope that this does it in my studio... When you are relaxed... everything seems to flow a lot easier... and that is what I am trying to do for me and others...

This space is right behind My Space... so all I have to do is to turn around it I am there... it is also a long enough space that two of us can work there... which is great... This is where all my paints, inks etc are kept...

As you can see... I build with boards, containers, bins... what ever is at hand... I need things to be at certain levels... and that is the main purpose... nothing more of less...

On the far left is paper... which I will show you tomorrow or the next day... dont' worry... you WILL see it all..

On the top you will see drawers... and there are crapas, stick pastels, expensive pastels for portrait drawing... ink pads... not used that often... that is because it is on the 2nd or top shelf... next to it... the drawers are loaded with all my inks from Ranger... they are used only for filling up pads, and sometimes if I want to do a lot of brayer work... but the drawers are then removed...  I have two drawers of inks... and they are tall so the the other drawers have been removed... but the other ones are hold my chalks... I have them all... as my good friend Ellen... she works for the distributing company... and is always asking me for samples of cards using the chalks... and then will give me the set I have used... how wonderful... so I have them all.. I love making the cards anyway...

Underneath that area... there is a board... that is held up by two other sets of drawers... you will see why in a minute... anyway the far left lower set of drawers holds my most used ink pads... Ranger Archival... and all the inks to refill the pads... all at hand... nice and convenient... in front of that ... my wooden bin of acrylic blocks... and the double sided tape I use to hold the stamps in place... real expensive(LOL)... and really works best for me...

The other thing that I want to bring to your attention... is that I have and use often for a lot of things... a large 12 x 12 foam sheet for stamping, creating petals of flowers on... I use it a lot and keep it in this area... 99% of the time... Keeping tools where they SHOULD be is also important ... so you don't have to waste time looking all over for them... I still do my fair share... please don't get the idea that this is always perfect and always in place... when working... I sometimes do stop and clean up so I can continue... as I do tend to get a wee bit sloppy at times...

Okay... now you can see why I need to make a shelf... as I needed a shorter area underneath for all my paints...
My Twinkling H20's... I love them... and use them all the time... They have to be convenient or you will not use them..
So each color has it's own drawer... it starts up in the top left corner with red... then to pinks... then to yellows... next row... oranges, light green... dark green....
Next row... turquoise... blues and light purples
Next row... dark purples, light tans and browns
then all the others like white, black, gold, and the other metal colors...  brushes are right above... all convenient too... a spray bottle to wet the colors... and paper towels on the lower level...  the little bins of bottles above the drawers... oh my goodness... another obsession...

RANGER GLITZ... Three bins of them... first there is the stickles... again all in color order so you can find the color easily you are looking for... and then the next bin is Liquid pearls... and dimensional pearls... and then distress stickles... three bins filled with lovely GLITZ!!!!  How perfect can that be...

I think you can also see that I have my rough and ready tan embossing sheets on the table too... under the purple foam... I am all ready in this area to create a mess... and no problem at all..

This is the top area again.. over my paints... I just realized I forgot to photograph an area...  I will try and add that in prior to letting this be released... I have time and am doing this for the entire week.. .as I am taking a break from blogging and going to really put all my time into getting these other projects DONE... need to... they are gifts...

Okay... this is a not much used product area... but I still use all these things... so they need to be organized and ready to go...

Spritzers... beads, Tim Holtz stampers for all the colors... and bins of embossing powder... what color do you need... it is there..  and then I have a lot of twinkling h20 spritzers too... they are really a lot of fun to use... but when I use them.. I need to use them all.. and I bring down the entire bin... and cover everything around me and the area... I get a little carried away with them... so much fun... You can see all the toyz and things... and you have most of them too... just remember when oranizing them... put them into an area where you will be doing this kind of activity... that is the important factor... keeping like things togehter...

Details of organization

Okay... yesterday I shared with you the right side of underneath my space.. today... it is the left side on the floor...

There is a bin... which I will show you the insides of that... but the purple notebook!!!!  Do you ever print out things that you like, and things you want to do, and Ohhhh I love that card... I love the way that she made the bow... or I love the layering on that... well you print it out... and where does it go???
Into a pile... and can you ever find it when you want to use it???? NO... so this notebook has plastic pages... and also the 'trading card' pages... the ones with the smaller pockets ... like 9 on a page... it you print out snapshot size, it fits perfectly into those little pockets... just enough to remind you of the detail that you loved...

Underneath are drawers that are filled with things like staplers, tools that are used less often, things like that... but what I want to do is talk about this bin...

I am going to bring it up onto the table... and take the bags out...
Just a minute here...

Okay... now can you see better... it is on the table... and we will start to really take a closer look at details...

When you are organizing your craft area... you need a place for YOUR things... mine might not be the same as yours... but  these are suggestions that you might be able to use for the same thing... or something similiar...

When I punch something out ... I might not use it... and I then I punch something else out... and before you know it... I have about 5-6 things punched... and decide to use ribbon!!!!  Now what do you do with all these things... throw them away??? NO NO NO....
But what... I will never find them when I need them... or could use them.. ...  .... Oh yes you can...
Thus this handy... convient bin... with plastic zip lock bags... how inexpensive is that... and it is very effective in so many ways... you can add other things... but this is what I am talking about...

You are in the middle of making a quick card... and need some trim... oh my goodness... I just need 3 inches... Out comes the bag with all the excess Martha punching...

and you pick something out... something that if it wasn't organized you would never find it quickly and would punch another one... this way... you might have your choise of 5-6 things... that you punched yesterday and didn't use on that card... and this matches perfectly... and it is used...

WOW... how convient too...

Have you ever sat and just punched things out... trying to make something...??? I do lots of times... and I might get three sides perfect.. and need four perfect sides for  this card... but some other card I only need 3 perfect sides... oh what a life saver this is...

So as you can see... all kinds of things that are punched are in here..

Now here is another bag...
You have a good friend over who is sharing all her new punches and toys that she bought at the most recent convention... and you dont' know what you are going to use these for... but you LOVE this new idea... and you choose a few colors... and punch a few to use on SPECIAL cards...

What do you do with them... you organize into a trading card page... and slip into a bag and put into the bin... you know where it will be... as this is the first place you look for things already punched and ready to use...

Aren't these pretty...    Marie shared this great punch and I made a lot of these... we also use them on a card... and she won a challenge with it on ODBD.... wow... talk about powerful punches...

And how many times have you shared embossing folders and have a ton of pre-embossed sheets just waiting to be used... I have way too many... and love them all.. and need to be able to find them quickly... especially when in need of one...

So another bag with all the pre embossed sheets... even ones that you have inked and don't like for a particular card... but might use it for another project... I love creating things from just this bin... and I limit myself to just using from this bin... a challenge in it's self at times...

Okay... one last bag... how about all the digital images that you print out... when I print them... I might print 6-8 different sized so that I get the correct one for the project I am working on...

And then when done... I have a whole sheet of extras... and quite a few loose ones... so into the bag they go... I generally will always use them... not a problem... besides... I certainly am not going to throw them away... someone will certainly use them... someday... right???

I jsut recently won 16 digital images and they were sentiments... so I printed them up, so that I would have them handy... and I know exactly where they are!!!  No problem at all...

So this is the bin at my left leg... all kinds of t hings... I can ceratinly add bags, or take away bags... but the idea is to know where certain types of things are...

and with this system I do...
Hope that this helps you in some way...

Have a fun day... organize a little bit each day... dont' get frustrated... and if you don't like it... live with it for a while... and then change it around... just enjoy playing in between all these projects... and you will be surprised at how creative your mind will get as you clean up... you will find things that YOU HAVE TO USE... so stop what you are doing .... and USE IT... and enjoy...

See you tomorrow... with more tips on organizing your spaces...  

Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie...