Clutter Books

I recently read 'Clutter Free' by Kathi Lipp (a great read for anyone who struggles with clutter) and that got me motivated once again to do a bit of clearing out. I've also been trying to make sure that all the stuff I have (or in this case, am keeping) actually has a place to live, rather than being piled up around my bedroom (I still live at home, so my only "just for me" space is my bedroom).

For me, de-cluttering is generally not just a time to sort through, discard or donate my stuff, but to get creative and re-purpose things. This has also been coupled with a need for certain things, particularly at work.

In my job in an After School Care Program, we are required to make observations about what the children in our care are doing and are interested in, To make it easier to remember, we carry notebooks with us to write things down as we notice them.

As I looked around my room, I remembered some scrap paper that I had saved. It had been stored away waiting to be  used, so I cut it to size, added some cardboard covers (cardboard was originally packaging), and added some pretty paper to the front from my stash of scrapbooking paper scraps. The only things I used that were new was clear contact to protect the covers and Bind-it-All wires.

I have now made 4 little notebooks - perfect size to slip into a pocket. I'll be taking them to work for myself and my fellow staff members to use. I still have more scrap paper and we still need more notebooks, so I'll probably be making more.

I love being able to de-clutter and be creative at the same time.

Cards and Memories

Wow! I can't believe it's already past the middle of April ... and that I haven't put anything on this blog since January.

Crafting took a bit of a back seat with the start of the year and I just didn't have the ideas.
I have done a few more cards for my friend (she still hasn't seen them, unless she reads this blog), and I have been working on a few other projects - mainly putting all my memory stuff in books (more on that later). I'm also still trying to get African Sunset finished for my sister's birthday later this year; and I'm desperate to get it done and move onto something else (I've been working on it, off and on, for 5 years).

In case you were wondering, my camp costume worked really well (sorry I don't have a photo - although there may be one somewhere).

Cards

 This one was for my brother - just using stickers on a green card ... Simple!

A découpage lion for a friend's cute 1 year old! It took me hours to cut out all the layers (I think there were 7 layers).

 These two are for my friend. It was remarkable how the first one (burgundy bow) came together. It all started with the bow. I have several of these that came off some packaging (can't quite remember what, although they may have been around some of the writing paper sets that I had - see earlier posts for how I've used those), and I wanted to use them somehow because they have been stashed away for years. So I rummaged around in my scraps of card and found the embossed background that I had done to test out a Fiskars texture plate. Then I layered it with the burgundy cardstock (it was from an old Stampin' Up! range) and added the final touch with a Kaiser Craft tag from one of their collectables collections (can't remember which and I'm too lazy to get them out to check).

The second one also uses elements from Kaiser Crafts Collectables - the koala and gum leaves. The photo behind is one that I took on a holiday to Phillip Island last year. I'm really happy how that worked too.

There are several more cards to be made for my friend - one I have got inspiration from at a craft show that I went to over the weekend. It is expanding on a 'Make-and-Take' that I did while there (details to come in a future post), plus there will be a Mother's Day card to make (inspiration also found at the craft show).

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Memories
How many of you have a box (or several) packed full of tickets, invitations and other memorabilia that you just can't throw away, but they get all mixed up in the box you have them in?
Well, my next project has been working out what to do with all these things, and what I have done with them was inspired by Kristen from The Next Bird. I stumbled on her page thanks to Pintrest and the rest, so I'm told, is history! Yes, my history - at least from the last couple of years.

My memory journal, is of course my own. I didn't have the rings, but I do have something else - my Bind-it-All! You'll remember that from the journals and notepads I've made previously. It's one of the most useful things and the great thing is that I didn't even have to buy it - I won it in a competition!! (but enough about that, lets get on with the project).

I started with 2014, as the items from that year were at the top of my box. I sorted them into date order as best I could (not everything had a date). Then I made my covers! Recycled cardboard from some packaging, covered with pretty scrapbooking paper and then clear contact over the whole lot to protect it (the label on the front was done later when I figured out what I wanted - I had thought about an inside cover page - using my Brother P-touch).

As I went through everything I punched the holes in them and figured out the best way to display them. Some items were stuck to a piece of cardstock or scrapbooking paper as they were too small to individually punch. For other things that I didn't want to punch or wanted to see both sides I made pockets with scrapbooking paper and washi tape.

I got really creative with some of the pockets - like using the map of Phillip Island to hold some the the memory things from there and I marked on the map where we went, stayed and used the camera washi tape to mark where I took photos, just cutting an individual camera for each spot.

I also started using some of my stash of mini pockets that are pre-cut but you make up yourself. These were stuck onto paper, not individually punched.

For the 2013 Memory book, I used covers from an old display book. The spine of the display book had broken, but the covers were still good and perfectly matched the holes that the Bind-it-All makes. My favourite pocket from that one, is the pocket I made out of a paper hat from a Christmas cracker.

It took a bit of work to figure it out, as I didn't want the things I put in it to go between the paper layers and I wanted to make it a strong as possible, given that it is just tissue paper. So I put the washi tape at the top and made sure when I folded it over that it held the layers together. Originally I was just punching it and putting it in, but then I decided to stick it to the cardstock for extra strength - it's the purple pocket at the bottom of the above photo!

I had thought about stopping with just those 2 years, but then I looked in the box again and decided to keep going with other years, so I'm now working on 2012. I just have to wait for a parcel in the mail because although I have more packaging cardboard, it is not fully A4 size, so I've had to order some A4 chipboard. I'm told it's on it's way, but that stuff is hard to find. Hopefully the thickness is right - thick enough to be strong, but thin enough to fit in my Bind-it-All.

I will say, it is a lot of work to get these books right - making pockets, punching the pages, arranging the items so that one spot isn't too bulky, but I'm really pleased with the result, and now my memory things are neat and not getting mixed up in a jumbled box.

There were some things that were just too bulky to put in, but I have now put them all together in an envelope and that fits into the box with the book.

Re-purpose, Reuse ... But Get Crafty

As often happens in January, I get busy crafting things - either because I have more time to do it or because there is a need for something.

I already mentioned the super hero cape that I made for Kids Camp, but that wasn't all I needed for the costume.
Most of my costumes get recycled in one form or another, either because they originally came from an OP Shop, or because I have thought of a way to use them differently for another costume. Several years ago I altered a t-shirt by putting a fringe on the bottom and putting on some iron-on motifs. The iron-on motifs had started to come off, and I wasn't going to use the costume again, but then I realised it would work a little differently for a super hero costume. I kept the fringe on the bottom, but this time I have put on my made up super hero logo.

 I matched the colour of the logo fabric to the fringe.

The logo is actually the letter B. I flipped the letter backwards and put them together then flipped them upside down. The stitching around the edge is very close zigzag stitch, and the detail in the centre is actually a bright pink gel pen (it may wash out, but it works for now).

Then I was thinking about hair and what I would do for that, and ended up making myself a new headband - using the same fabric as I used for the logo combined with some purple ribbon that I had in my stash.

The headband is based on some others that I've made in the past, but with some small alterations because of the length of fabric that I had and the addition of the purple ribbon. In many ways I think it has improved my pattern - which is always a good thing.

And here are the two together - perfect match! Plus I'm certain I'll wear the headband at other times, so it really won't be wasted.

Now all I need is a really cool super hero name!

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Now for something not camp related.

How many of you used to have pen-pals that you wrote letters to on pretty writing paper. I certainly had my share and a collection of writing paper to match.

These days I don't write many letters, but I still have a collection of writing paper and have been trying to find creative ways of using it.
Last year I used some to make a journal, but I still have plenty left. One pad, although really pretty was not one that I would have chosen (I didn't buy it. It was a gift). I think it still had all it's pages (but I didn't count them), so I figured out it would make a perfect note pad for in my handbag.

I used the whole thing - front and back cardboard and all the pages.

The back cover and all the pages were cut in half. However I cut the front cover so that I would still have the picture in the middle.

Every second page only has the border because the girl was just on one side, however I flipped each of those pages so that the border is always on the same side.
I then just used my Bind-it-All to put the wire in.

Who Needs a Journal?

My latest crafting project was not cross stitch (still working on that), nor was it a card made specially for someone!

This one was for me - a new journal!

Several years ago I won a Bind-it-All. An amazing tool that enables me to bind up all manner of things in a variety of shapes and sizes. So far I've only made journals, but there is always the possibility for something more.
Anyway, back to my current one ...

This one has been a combination of recycling and re-purposing. The covers were some cardboard used as packaging that I trimmed to size and then covered. The front cover is a beautiful Grace Taylor scrapbooking paper, with clear contact over the top to protect it. Unfortunately I ran out out of clear contact, but found some patterned contact in the back of my cupboard - silver holographic stars!

The internal pages were also a challenge. I really wanted some lined paper, but I can never find good quality paper of the right size that has lines. So my brilliant idea was to look through my stash of writing paper from the days when I used to write letters to pen-pals. I had 3 pads of blue paper that was excellent quality, not lined, but that's OK. So I pulled all the pages apart and they are the pages of this journal!

The wire is a little big (I didn't have the right size on hand), but that will work well, because for the purpose of this journal, I often stick other pages in and the extra size wire will allow the journal to expand.

Now, if you live in Australia, could you please give me some suggestions of where I might find some good quality lined paper?