Organizational {Friday} Die Cut Unit Again with Quickutz

Okay, not to belabor my post from last week about the amazing Stampin' Things Die Cuts & More unit but I changed some things already, and I wanted to share!

If you remember, last week I showed you the top of the unit with a few Quickutz dies and some Sizzlet dies (large and small). Well, I decided to try all of my 2x2 Quickutz dies in the top!!! I really love it, and I think I will leave them there. Here is what it looked like last Friday: And here is what it looks like now:
As you can see, I had to turn the 2x2 dies sideways in the center section but I really like it. The center section will also hold the 2x4 dies there really nicely. You can fit two rows of 2x4 dies and one row of 2x2 dies in the center section if you wish. I keep my alpha dies in alphabetical order so it is easy to find which alpha I am looking for. And since the unit sits on a swivel base, it is easy to turn around to look at the center section too. Super easy, super wonderful. I am going to redo my tags, however. They are blue, and they MUST be pink. LOL! I didn't have time for that this week but that is coming!

The only difference having my Quickutz dies in the top is that because the Quickutz dies have the tab on each die with the die number, I cannot fit both my Cuttlebug and my BigShot on top now. If you fill the top with Sizzlets or dies that don't have the tab like Quickutz does, you will still be able to fit both machines on top. I think I am going to get rid of my Cuttlebug anyway so this was not an issue for me. But the BigShot still fits beautifully on top with all of these Quickutz dies there. I just center the unit now instead of placing it towards the edge. :)

If you missed last week's post about this unit, look here. And be sure to join me next week when I will show you my Cuttlebug embossing folders stored on this unit. That has changed slightly too. :) Yes, organization is always a changing and fun process! Enjoy your Friday!

Organizational {Friday} Die Cuts & More Unit

Most of you know that I have several organizational pieces from Sue of Stampin' Things. Well, I must share my latest piece with you--the Die Cuts and More unit. Once again, I am extremely pleased with this unit! Sue's workmanship and customer service is beyond amazing. I sure wish I was gifted that way but thus I am not. LOL!

This unit works for the following products:

*Quickutz
*Sizzix
*Cuttlebug
*Nestabilities
*Spellbinders
*SU Big Shot products
*Etc., etc., etc.

This unit measures 18"x12"x14", has a swivel base, and hold dies 2"x2" all the way up to the extended 6"x13 3/4". It can hold approximately:

*Up to 60 BigZ and Original Die Cuts plus 11 BigZ XL and Movers and Shapers
*OVER 150+ Sizzlets, Embosslets, and Sizzlets Decorative Strip Dies
*All Cutting Pads (Standard, Extended and Decorative)
*All Spacer Platforms (Standard, Extended and Decorative)
*All Premium Crease Pads, Texturz Pads
*Texturz Plates, Cuttlebug Embossing Folders
*Countless Quickutz dies
*Holds many Nestabilities (when stored in CD cases)

It will also hold BOTH a Big Shot and Cuttlebug on top with dies under them. Here you can see a few Quickutz alpha dies and some Sizzlet dies (both large and small Sizzlets) in the top. And yes, I have tons of room left for a lot more here!
Then here you can see both my BigShot and my Cuttlebug on top of the dies. The dies are hidden just underneath both of my machines. And the cubbies below my machines hold all of my cutting and embossing pads and the big Sizzix Texturz plates. Again, tons of room left to grow here too.

On this side of the unit, I put my Cuttlebug embossing folders. I have them in alphabetical order by design name. I again, have tons of room left. For now I have a jar of miscellaneous buttons and two tins full of WRMK metal alphas. These storage areas here can actually hold a lot of Sizzix dies or Quickutz 4x4 dies. I just do not have that many dies yet so this works great for me and looks pretty in my area. :) I did put some of my Quickutz 4x4 storage binders on here, and they worked beautifully but I already have a different storage area for those. But you could certainly put yours on here. I do not have any of the 4x8 alphas so I could not test those for you.
And on this side, you can see my few Sizzix dies, my Quickutz 12" border dies, and some of my large CM punches. One thing I noticed when I received the unit is that one side is blank. The way the storage areas have to be for the extended dies, etc., I think this side must be built as it is. But don't fear. I found a GREAT solution for the blank side. I altered a KaiserCraft memo board to hang there. I am always needing paper in my craft area so this is perfect!
Board: KaiserCraft Memo Board
Papers: Memory Box Gossamer Flitter & Gossamer Happenstance
Stamp Ink: Adirondack shell pink, SU creamy caramel
Stamp: Memory Box Branch Heart E1310
Paints: Memory Makers rose petal, Smooch vanilla shimmer, Shimmerz angel wings
Embellishments: misc. ribbon, Memory Box baby pink pearls, My Mind's Eye buttons, Bazzill flowers, American Crafts felt flower, Basic Grey dark chocolate chip micro-chip stickers, Mod Podge

You could also use hooks to hang scissors or ribbon, etc. Use your imagination to customize this side as you wish. There are also other blank wood areas around the unit as you can probably see. I talked to Sue, and she said it is not a problem to put nails, hooks, or whatever in those areas to add hanging storage as you wish. Now that's fun! Nothing more fun than expandable and customizable storage!

If you would like to see my post on the other units I have from Stampin' Things, see my post here. I hope you have enjoyed today's post. Be sure to stop by and see what else Sue has at Stampin' Things. You will not be disappointed in any piece you get from her! Blessings to each of you!

Organizational {Friday}

Well, I have jumped on the Nestabilities bandwagon! :) I had some of the Quickutz cookie cutter dies but of course they don't emboss. So, my dearest husband told me to get the Nesties I wanted for my birthday, so guess what? I took him up on it! Now, I see a lot of discussions on message boards about how to store these little beauties. Well, because my Quickutz cookie cutter dies were already in the Quickutz magnetic folders, I just decided to continue to use those. I had room, and they work perfect. No sense in buying something else when this works great for me. Here is what the magnetic folders look like with the Nesties and the Quickutz:
Then I store all of these magnetic folders in an 8x8 Cropper Hopper paper holder. Each paper holder will hold 7 magnetic folders. This is just the perfect solution for me. I don't have anything labeled yet, but as I am sure you know, I will get to that! Ms. Organization can't go without her labels. Ha!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. The folders can be expensive but I always wait for great sales! I hope this helps some of you, and have a joyous Friday!

Tuesday's {Tip}

Stickles! Do you have any yet? Well, if you don't you need to grab some fast! I love these little bottles of fun! For those of you that haven't heard of them, they are bottles of glitter glue in assorted colors. I have the basic colors plus some fun additional ones.


I have been experimenting with them a lot. I have found a few fun ways to use them:

• Fill button holes with a fun color.
  
  
• Outline diecuts to give dimension.
  


• Use a paint brush and spread over die cut letters and shapes for a glittered effect.



• Dot onto ribbon for a fun effect.



• Stamp an image and then go over the image with Stickles.



• Use them as an accent on chipboard shapes.

In this layout, I did a few different things. I used silver Stickles to fill in the button holes, to add bling to my ribbon, and to add additional bling "dots" around the buttons and Heidi Swapp bling. I then used another Stickles color to paint on my Quickutz die cut letters in the title. Sometimes the bottles do get clogged so I just use a straight pin and push it through the hole. Works perfectly after that.

Feel free to post your tips in the comments section and add to this list of Stickles fun! Have a joyous Tuesday!

Organizational {Friday}

Okay, so some of you have spent the past couple of weeks creating your new inspirational binders by tearing up your old scrappy magazines. I hope you are enjoying them! I know I use mine quite a bit! Well, this week, I wanted to share my "Title" book with you. As I go through my scrappy magazines, I look at titles people use on layouts, cards, altered items, etc. Sometimes I find some really great titles, and sometimes I am inspired and think of fun titles. So of course, I have to write them down or I will forget them. So, I created a Title Idea Book.

I have tabs for each letter of the alphabet, and I also have topic tabs at the back. I used my Quickutz tab die to create my tabs. Quick and easy! Topics include things like travel, the seasons, family, kids, me, cards, everyday life, etc.When I find a title I like or am inspired to think of a title, I write it down in the alphabetized section of my book first. Then I write it down again in the topic section. That way, I can search for titles in my book two different ways. My book has enough pages so that I can divide it up this way and use it effectively. So before tearing apart those magazines, be sure to look for some fun titles so you can create your own Title Idea Book! Have fun!

Organizational {Friday}

Okay, so did you spend this past week tearing apart your old scrappy magazines? Do you have a nice pile to put in your inspirational binder now? I am sure you do! Now, let’s put these books together! First, create your categories. They will be different for all of you. To give you an idea, here are my categories:

Alterables
Book of Me
Cards
Challenges
Embellish
Flowers
Journaling
Layouts
Organize
Patterns
Photography
Quotes
Ribbon
Stamps
Technique

Once you have your categories created, sort your stack into those categories. Now you are ready to put your pages into page protectors. I only put the whole magazine page in a protector if I want to keep the entire page. If there is just a small section of a page I want to keep, I cut the section out and use my glue stick to paste it onto the back of a junk piece of paper. I can get many ideas on one page a lot of times. This saves room in your binder. I also note underneath the idea which magazine it came from and the designer's name if listed. See a sample here:

If the magazine name is visible when I cut it out, I just circle it. I have two ideas I have cut out on this sheet, and I still have room for one or two more ideas on this one page.

After getting your categories created, your pages sorted and in page protectors, now just fill up that binder! You can also create a fun cover for your binder. I created one but I couldn’t add a lot of fun lumpy stuff because of the tight plastic cover. Oh well, at least it’s pink and I know what binder it is.

Now, how do you keep up with your book? Here is what I do. As I get a new magazine, I go through the previous issue that I still have on my desk. I tear the older one up and keep the new one until I get another issue. So basically, I only have one issue of each magazine at a time. This keeps me from getting a mountain of magazines again. I also have gone through my inspirational binder on occasion and tossed one or two things. I don’t toss much but sometimes I wonder what was I thinking when I decided to keep something. Ha! Anyway, have fun, ask questions, and post links to your books in the comment section. We would love to see them! Happy Organizing!

2007 Year Review Layout

As part of my creative team work at Faith Sisters, I did a layout reviewing this entire year. I have never done a layout like this before, and I must say it was fun to look back at what happened. I write an annual Christmas letter but when I did this layout, I realized some things I forgot to put in the letter. Oh well. And I used the new Quickutz calendar dies. They worked perfectly for this layout. Anyway, I think I am going to do a layout like this every year. It was so fun, and is a great overview of the year! If you haven't done a layout like this before, you really should try it! Thanks for stopping by and looking!

Organizational Friday {Late}

Sorry for the late post everyone. I had a busy Friday, and it was my Mom's birthday yesterday! Happy Birthday Mom!!! The girls and I took dinner to her and enjoyed a little "girlie" time together.

So, today let's talk about storing all of those Quickutz alphas and shapes. I have probably lost most of my audience now. Eeek! I know a lot of you do not use Quickutz especially with the new electronic machines out there. However, some of us still love our dies. And this storage could possibly used for Cuttlebug dies and others.

First, let's talk alphas. I personally store all of mine in my Scrap 'n Cube drawers. However, any drawer or tray will work. First, I created little cardstock tags. I use these as my dividers between alphas, and it also allows me to see exactly what I have for each set.

Then, I store the alphas in alphabetical order. These drawers also fit my 2x4 dies. It works perfectly for me. I have two drawers like this, and I can actually see what I have much better than using the Quickutz storage binders.

I got this idea from my friend Libby who stores her dies in trays. You can see Libby's storage trays here.

As much as I love storing my alphas in drawers, I didn't want to store my shapes that way. So, I purchased a package of slide mount holders and put them in a regular 3-ring binder. However, with so many shapes, I didn't know how I would find each shape. So, I first sorted the shapes alphabetically and then created a document in Microsoft Word that looks like this:

Each section has this cover page with the picture of each die that I have in that section, the name of the die, the QK number, and the number of dies for each set. For instance, if you look at the Bottle Cap die set, it has 6 dies. I want to make sure I know how many I have, and how many are needed to make each shape. This cover page also makes it very easy to find my dies. I love it. You can go to the Quickutz site to grab these pictures. It works really well for me.

Feel free to post your ideas or links to your ideas in the comment section. I know I love to learn from everyone too! Have a great weekend everyone!

Got {Figgy Pudding}?

Oh my goodness, have you played with the new Basic Grey Fiddy Pudding papers yet? Wow, they are so fun. The colors are spectacular--blues, greens, reds, browns, etc. I created five cards for an article for Scrapjazz.com. I will post that article when it is published. Then I created this layout this weekend of my precious girls. The font is Quickutz Finale. This is our holiday picture that I will include with our Christmas cards. Sorry for the blurry picture. I will need to try to retake it today but I wanted to go ahead and post it. The journaling reads: "I don't know how we got this cute picture because we spent most of the time chasing the neighbor's cat away!" Oh that darn cat! I really dislike cats. Sorry cat lovers. They always attacked me as a child, and I have a terrible fear of them. Thankfully my dh and girls are very allergic to them. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the layout, and you really should pick up some Figgy Pudding! Happy Scrapping!

Organizational {Friday}

Submitting, designing, entering contests, etc., takes time. It can also become confusing if you are designing for several different places. I thought this week we would talk about how to organize those ideas and deadlines (or CJs and swaps). In a future addition of Organizational {Friday}, I will probably post my Excel file I use for submissions.

I purchased this tiny notebook from HEB (my local grocery store). It measures 5 ½” x 4”, and has 200 pages in it. I decided to alter it to help me keep track of deadlines, ideas, etc. I made my book this week so it doesn’t have much in it yet but is has already come in handy! I put all of my current assignments in it, and when I received a new assignment yesterday, it was very easy to add to my book. And I don't know about you but I always come up with my best ideas at the most inopportune moment so this book is small enough to take out and about with me so I can scribble those ideas down.

The front was very easy to cover because it is so small. I just cut one piece of patterned paper and glued it to the front. Then I cut out a bunch of flowers and arranged them in the upper right corner. Then using my Quickutz, I cut out my title. Quick and easy! The papers are from the ACBailey Designs November kit. Yummy, aren't they? I sectioned off the book into four sections since right now I am doing work for four sites. I used my Quickutz tab die to make my tabs. Then I added paper clips to each section so as I complete my work, I can put those pages in the paperclip and always turn to my current page. Of course, I list the assignment and the due date. Then when I have completed an assignment, I will mark it off with the completed date and move on.
I have already used this fun book many times this week! I think it will really come in handy. I hope it inspires you to organize your commitments in a way that helps you best! Happy scrapping!

{Faith Sister} Challenges

This fun challenge at Faith Sisters was to scrap "A Day in the Life of . . ." This was quite fun for me since I had never really done a page like this before. But because I didn't have room on my 9x9 page to fit everything I do in a day, I tried to include pieces of my days/weeks. And of course each day is different for me but I tried to give a nice overview. And I had fun making my different "thickers" out of my Quickutz fonts. I used Quickutz Metro (both classic and skinni mini) on this layout. And of course I had to use my favorite color too (baby pink). This was a fun challenge for sure!

One of our first challenges as a new Creative Team at Faith Sisters was to scrap our testimony. I don't have a defining moment when I accepted Christ so I shared some different things on this layout. The journaling says: "I accepted Christ in late 1997 after being invited to Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). I don’t have a defining moment but I remember totally relying on Him when we had to sell our house and move to Texas. Only the Lord can bring a buyer in 2 hours! God has used BSF to bring me to Him, to grow me, to mold me, and to teach me to serve Him!" Scripture verse: "1 Peter 1:8 NIV—Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”

I hope this layout will be an inspiration to those of you that may not have a defining moment in your walk. Thanks for stopping by, and have a joyous day!

Maya Road, MME, and Quickutz!

Oh my goodness, I got to play with the most fun products for my DT work at AC Bailey Designs! I love all of these My Mind's Eye's papers. Thankfully I still have some left so I can still play with more! I love the colors and that the papers are double sided! On this first layout, I made lots of journaling strips with the reverse side of one of the patterened papers. And I used my Quickutz to make my own "thickers."
"You love sports. You love being the tomboy of the family. You love your long bike rides with Daddy. But here you are trying on your new bike gear unable to do anything. Your devastating head injury won't allow you to ride, play, or enjoy! But remember, God has the perfect plan. Let Him be your passion."

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV

On this second layout, I used the new Maya Road office sheers. Oh goodness, I love these things! I can see myself using these a lot on my layouts! There are a lot of designs per package. Fun, fun! And the Bazzill with an Edge is very fun too! This layout is of my daughter in her new bike gear with her new bike. However, she can't ride it or play because of her head injury!
And for this last layout, I used the Maya Road chipboard arrows. Again, tons of arrows in the package, and many different types. Love these too! And I got to use my new Quickutz monograms. Oh goodness, these were definitely worth every penny! I used foam for the letter here also.Journaling: "Though you have had many, many challenges throughout your precious life, you continue to try your best and lift up others who are hurting. We are so proud of you! Love, Mom and Dad Oct. 15, 2007. Picture: July 2000"

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139:14 NIV

And I did this fun matchbook note holder as part of a challenge from Cathy Pascual. I can see myself making a lot of these!

Thanks for looking, and I hope you are inspired to try some of these fun products!