Washi Tape Holder for Scrapbooking and Crafting

So... we all go through several changes over time as we look to see what will work best for our crafting/scrapbooking area.  I just made a change that I love, truly!!!!  I knew that I wanted something to hold my tapes where I could get to them.  I didn't wanna put them on a spring rod and not be able to have it in my hand, I didn't want to toss them in a drawer or have to rummage through a basket any more either.

I knew that I wanted something like a gutter that I could just attach to the shelf and let it hang down.  I had seen that done for ribbons (though my ribbons are all in a book now, but that should be another blog posting! lol).  I knew that the guttering I had seen was too large, but I also knew that there had to be a solution out there somewhere.  So, off to HomeDepot I went, they should know me by name by now.

This is what I ended up purchasing.  Bottom Door Seal.... 36" long.. perfect!  Light weight, about seven dollars easy to install and I didn't have to paint or do anything to it.

This also comes in different lengths and colors.  My area was 36", so this was perfect.  You can see in the top picture that there is a back area that goes up the back of the door, that is what I screwed into the front of the shelf.  There are the little rubbery parts hanging down, and I was going to cut those off, but they really don't bother me... so I got lazy and left them.  Then, on the very front is the little rubber tube, and I knew that would hold the rolls on like the curve of the guttering.  I thought about using a couple yardsticks to make the "L" shape and then just glue straws across the front, but this was already done and just so easy.  Let's move on.

The above picture has the info on the packaging so that you will know what you are looking for if you decide to do this little project.   Please post in the comments if you do this project and would love to see a photo of it... did you find it easy?

Took everything off the shelf and put it down on the floor... marked where the holds would go.  I have plastic covered my table and shelves, so it does mean that the holes had to made in the plastic and fabric before I could screw the thing together.  IF I don't, the screw bites into the fabrics and twists it and just tears it up... I have experienced this first hand.

I didn't wanna drag out the drill and bits, so I just hammered in a large nail and then pulled it out.  Hole made and ready to move on.  There are five holes and screws that come for attaching, I only did every other one.  It is so lightweight that I knew that three would be plenty.

Wow... just realized how dusty that shelf is.  Here it is attached... very fast and easy!

This is just to show you looking from the back, part of the thingy sticks up over the top of the shelf.  I knew that it was a bit wider than what I needed, but I also knew that with what went on that shelf that it was gonna be ok.  You know how you can just expect something to go wrong on a project, no matter how simple?  Well, it didn't.... this went just like clock work, very easy!

This is the shelf put back up with the "bits container" and tv back up on it.

This is just a close up.  I was so glad that they sent little "white" screws that blended in so well.

Here is the shelf with the holder and the washi tape all in place.  You can see that I had to put the glittery washi over to the side, yes... I have too much washi.  Yet, I did notice that I need the reds and oranges!  Also, in the "bits" container right behind the tape, Those four drawers that are pulled out have my small clear decorative rolls of tapes that I got from China off AliExpress.  They are just cheap stuff that don't get used often and they fit there just fine. 

Here is a close up of how well the tapes fit in the Door Seal... perfect!  Also, you can see that there is a paper and ring there to the right top of the photo...  These are cut down index cards that have samples all my washi, where I got it or who made it... all hole punched and ready to look at if I need to.  I had made it when the tape was all in a basket as a reference.  I see no reason to just toss it out... it does include those rolls from China, so it is still useful even though I can see all the good stuff!

So, hope you enjoyed this little run through, maybe you could leave comments below of what you use or how you organize your washi or other supplies!  I like hearing from my readers!

-Pam

Scrapbooking Tour ....

As usual, there will be tons of pictures... so go grab a snack while they download.  Also, if you are not a follower, you can take care of that and then you will know when I post each time.

I will start with the room as a whole, then break it down, and then end with the overall look again.  IF you have any questions, please feel free to ask them down under comments!  Ok... hold on, here we go!!!

This is my working area.  We will start the tour with the left side and do a sweep around to the right.

These are my stencils... seems that I have a box of them in the closet also, but these are the ones I use the most with scrapbooking.  The blue clip hangers are on an "over the toilet" toilet paper holder.  I got it for just a few bucks at Home Depot and the guy there actually drilled the hole in it so that I would be able to put it on the wall.  They love it when they see me coming!

This is down under the stencils... Prisma Color Pencils that I got one year with my birthday money.  I don't use them much, but want to get back into using them more.  Battery operated pencil sharpener... I use this all the time!  Edged scissors just crammed into a solo cup.

Traveled to the right a bit.  Blue stencil is for lines and just hangs in the dead space on the wall... have never used it, but have started a project that I think it will be getting used a lot in.  The white rectangular plastic container to the left is from mom's stash of containers, has squares all across the bottom like a strainer....it was just the size for my tapes, hand fan, and other odd things in little cups with lids.  The blue stacking thing is also from mom's stash.  Mom died the end of 2013 and we are finding all sorts of treasures at the house as Daddy is having us go through.  Anyway, it holds all my hole and boarder punches. This is all setting on a board that is going across a childhood bench that my mom's mom's dad made.

There it is... it is a brown bench that is toddler size and just fits in this area.  Under the board are two "frozen meal containers" that house my washi tapes and writing utensils.  Thanx to my Dad for the idea to put the board there and just keep going up the wall!!!  Under the set is another container from Mom's stash... inks, misters, and water colors.  Then my sticker machine with extra refills behind it in a basket.  The little gray felt basket is full of containers with tiny buttons, brads, and that sort of thing.

We have moved to the right, still on the desk top...  This was a great find at one of the hobby stores.  Was cheaper to use a coupon and get the entire thing than to get the containers by themselves.  I took the front off, put two rulers under the front to make it tilt back slightly and it fits in the spot perfectly.  It houses all my paper stuff... cut outs, punch outs, sizzix and cricut extras, ephemera packages,...

Still moving to the right... my daughter convinced me to tear all the pages out of the small pad of paper, note sized papers and cards.  They all fit in these two containers.  Good call, Sarah!!!  Behind these are a basket full of inspirational wraps, cards, and goodies that Sarah brought back for me from her two year stay in So.Korea.

While we are at this spot... do you see the two boards/legs sticking up there?  That was a 2x4x something that I had Home Depot to cut for me.  It serves as legs for the shelf.  I had one full sheet of lumber cut up for the table top and all the shelves.  The tabletop is on shelves from Target, and is wrapped in teal fabric and then wrapped in clear tablecloth fabric and staple gunned on.  Then, all the other parts are just painted teal with a bottle of craft paints.  Ok... back to the tour.

This is a basket that I already had... I put in the plastic storage containers for paper... you can see that I cut the tops off and put put labels on my tabs that I cut ... most used stickers are in there and it just slides out so that I can ruffle through for what I need.  No, this is not all my stickers... you are so funny to think that!

This is to the right of the stickers, just on the table but up under the shelf.  Papers that are organized by color and theme... thank you Sarah!

This is to the right of the large paper you just saw... I want you to see this side cause it shows it propped up on paint cans.  I have never had it fall off and it make it to where the two units are seen from the front as one large stacked container, even though it is two.  Make since??  Here... look below.

This is the front.  I got two of these desk organizers and just put one behind the other and stacked the back one so that I could see it better.  This is full of all sorts of do-dads, scissors, exactos, almost like a junk drawer that gets the once over every so often.  Hey, works for me.

Now, let's move up to the shelf above all this stuff....

These are those large plastic envelopes again.  This time, I used them for that purpose instead of cutting the tops off.  Each one has the papers and stickers according to the label.  These are things that I just don't get into that often,  So it was good to put them up a shelf and on the end.  That basket to the right is just some leftover stuff that needs to find a home.

Still moving to the right on that shelf... My homemade stamp organizer... thank you, Sarah!!!  Yes, she does a lot for me!!!  Then, solid 8.5x11 paper.  The organizer has extra tags, flower punches, and more do-dads...  Then, to the right is a small lunch box with all my crystals in it.

Just wanted to show you this...  It is a small binder.  I decorated some papers and just slid in the front.

I already had these smaller sleeves.  So, I just went on ebay and worked out a price with someone for the overhead transparencies.  Sarah went to stamping each one and then we stuck on the stamps.  She has a book for all hers too, but hers is the 8.5x11 sized book.  They work really well, it can be flipped through, pull out what I want and go to work.  IF one should fall off the page, the sleeve keeps it in the book til I find it and can put it back in place.

This is the small tv that we used to have in our bedroom.  There is no cable, and no stations... hubby got me a comcast plug thingy that lets me watch anything from my phone on it.  So, we can watch movies, youtube videos or anything else that we can stream in.

This hangs on the wall to the right.  It houses punches and cut outs according to what is printed or drawn on the front of each drawer.  These are two units that I had out in the garage at one time.  The bottom one is hung on the wall and the top one just sets on top in the grooves for stacking.

Now, let's head up to the next shelf.  This shelf is not as deep as the one below, but remember, I was using every bit of that single sheet of lumber for the entire desk and I wanted an extra deep desk.

Photo boxes hang off just a bit, but work perfectly up there.  3D art projects, extra sleeves, Big Bite,...

Ribbons, rick rack, lace.  Extra and ongoing books, and smashbooks.  Another basket of little cute letters, thank yous, and stuff from So.Korea.  

To the right of the desk is this Container Store cart that I got at a yard sale for $8.  Oh yes, I shop like that!!!  I did have to purchase a top and the casters, but so worth it.  Holds my cutting stuff!

The left side under the desk.. those bookshelf wire units from Target.  This one holds some printed 8.5x11 papers, scraps and paint chips samples.  Yes, I do ask for paint samples, and I purchase enough paint over time that they really don't mind.

The green container on the bottom was a $1 garage sale find and houses all my sticker alphas.  The trash can was from Mom's stash... I love that I can toss stuff at the top and it just slides in!

Here is my table top area... it really is rather large.  I am currently doing a smaller album with some of the 10,000 or so photos that we found.  I am doing a family tree project and just journaling a very small part of each family.  You can see part of this book and how this project is going in my last blog... or maybe it was the one before that... anyway... it is in here somewhere and rather fun to see!

And, that brings us back to the start.  Oh, there is an Ott Lamp there.  Works great when I am in there in the evenings.  Got it from a friend when his sweet wife died.   Look around, find free or almost free stuff... it is all every changing.  This is the longest I have had it like this and it is really working well for me.  Hope you enjoyed looking around and maybe are inspired by something here.  See ya in a  couple weeks.

So Many Pictures

I know... it has been a long, very long time.  Things were rough for a while after mom died, and we have had our ups and downs.  My latest endeavor was to sort, label, scan, label again, and organize to folders the photos that we had found.  It is just a photo... but the memories that each one stirs up is amazing to me.  I went to my dad's and started filling my car... a carload and a half later, I had them all at my house.  I assume that there were well over 50,000 because I scanned over 2,000 to an SD card to share with family.  I would never with that task on ANYONE!!!   Do your kids a favor... label and separate your pictures by family.   IF you can, go ahead an scan them, it will save your children so much time.  I am currently having my dad to write up some stories of his life.

Above... this is the machine that we purchased from Best Buy.  Was around $150 and worth every single cent!  It is really easy to use and you download to an SD card.  I did have to use double stick tape for pictures that were a different size.  I also had to cut down some negatives that were over sized to be able to fit.   Most of the over sized negatives were not of things that I wanted, so that worked out well.

Just a small portion of my mess... had this going on for four weeks.  Worked for hours on end.  I must say, this was so worth it.  We found so many gems and precious memories!  My mom had put back albums and envelopes from her mom, dad's mom and dad's aunt.   And then.... there were all of hers!

So, now all I have left to do is all the family homes, all my own families photos and then start on my husband's side.  Trying really hard to not leave anything for my kids to have to do.  I even plan to go ahead and scan in everything on the walls.  This doesn't mean that I am not making any albums!  This just means that I am saving everything first!

Now, for some pictures of what I have been doing the last few days... the fun stuff!!!!  The pay off of all the hard work!

 First of all... let me show you what I am using instead of the standard scrapbook or smash book...  Remember these old albums where you can slide in the pictures at the top and bottom and the negatives go in the center narrow area??  I have had fun working with these....  I really like how I can use that center negative area for documenting or putting in more photos!

Below... First page is my mom as a kid and single.  The great thing about doing this, I can add and move things around if I happen to find more pictures!

Next is dad.

Then, the wedding.  I cut a slit in the top right sleeve so that the wedding invite can be opened and viewed.

Last in this section is my parent's lives together.

I am going to do some dividers at each section and add some family trees to explain who is who.  My mom was adopted by her mom's second husband, so I want to add some stuff in there about that too.  I have already done my mom's siblings and my dad's siblings, though they will be in a different tab.  I will be doing their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents next.  Then, there are all the siblings families.... again, each new group will have a family tree and new tab.  IF you are in my family... do me a favor and facebook message me all the names, birth dates, weddings,... that you have in your crew... it will save me some time later.  Thanx!

Well, that is about it for now.  Most of you know that I am a decorative painter and do shows in the Fall... I am so far behind on painting.  I have over a dozen domed cake plates in the dining room just waiting for my paints to make themselves known.  I will get back to painting soon... but, for now, I am enjoying working with pictures and paper and making some new memories.

I do hope that it won't be too long before I have more to share.  Maybe I can figure out what kind of family documentation I will be doing and can post that next.  I hope that this posting has encouraged you to get your pictures scanned, sorted, labeled.

Guest Post- a True Scrapbooking "Haul"

So... you will be able to tell from the start of this that I am not doing the blogging.  My daughter is much more thorough in her "showing" of what is what.  Even now, she is getting the original price to show along with what she has already done...she is just an all in kinda girl.  I love it and it should be interesting to see how this turns out.  Might have her do a bit more blogging more often, what say you??   Oh, and yes, we have our own organizational systems and we will use all this in time.   So without further ado *drum roll here* this is how the ladies in my house shop:

Ever watched a craft supply "haul" video and wondered how people can afford to shop the way they do?  Honestly, if it's more than $1.99, I probably won't get it.  Even at 99 cents I've been known to put something down as just not enough bang for my buck.  Here's how we do affordable scrapbook shopping.

Today, my mom and I went on the "tour of craft stores" that we do maybe once a month- the big (previously) two-story JoAnns, the newest Michaels, and the larger Hobby Lobby in DFW.  They're kind of all in a row from where we live, so we just goof off and wander them all for good clearance steals.  This time, we also discovered a warehouse sized Tuesday Mornings and a few smaller Tuesday Mornings along the same path.  Usually we end up buying next to nothing, but every once in a while we find really good deals.  Here's our damage from possibly the best run we've had in years.

Stop 1- JoAnns, where we both got teacher discount cards for an additional 15% our entire purchase.

Mom's Haul:
Basic Grey Page Flags- .96
Little Yellow Bicycle "Making the Grade" Tear-Out Ticket and Journaling Card Book- .96
7 Gypsies Tickets- .96
Sizzix Triplets "Banner" - 14.99 x 40% off- 8.99
Creative Imaginations Oceanside Stickers- .25
Creative Imaginations Life's Journey Stickers- .25
Total after 15% discount: $11.40

My Haul:

Mosaic Thickers in Metal- .50

Mosaic Thickers in Light Pink- .50

Prima Say it in Crystals Hexagons- .50 x2

Basic Grey Page Flags- .96

Basic Grey "Hey Girl" Die-Cut Shapes-  .96

Total after 15% discount- $3.61

Stop 2- Tuesday Morning

Disappoint.  Mom got one stamp marked .49 at 20% off, so it was .42.  Woohoo.  (I already had these stamps, I think she was feeling some envy.)

Stop 3- Tuesday Morning Warehouse

Whooooa this place was big.  I might have had a freak out in the parking lot.  It was really interesting, but extremely disappointing by the lack of organization in the store.  I found myself lacking the will to dig through their stuff and we almost left empty handed (except a completely unrelated children's Christmas gift).  On the way to check out, we spotted the 80% off clearance bins.  Jackpot!

Mom's Haul-

Opalite Archival Shimmer Ink in Cypress Frost- .59

Versa Magic Archival Ink in Sierra Vista- .59

Total: $1.27

My Haul-

Opalite Archival Shimmer Ink in Cypress Frost- .59

Autumn Leaves Clear Stamps by Rhonna Farrer Love- .03 

Total: $0.67

Stop 4- the "new" Michaels

We were super disappointed here until we found a score on the clearance aisle.  I've been really wanting some colored embossing powder, but obviously, I'm super cheap.  Colored powders (and I want bright or neon) are usually about $3 a bottle, or in a pack of three to five (with an ugly color!) for $10.  We found the Recollections Detail Embossing Powder in Neon for $3.49.  Yes, I doubled the cost of my thus far purchases on embossing powder.  But I needed it!  Tax brought me up to $3.77

Stop 5- the "big" Hobby Lobby

Mom's Haul-

Little Yellow Bicycle Handwritten Love Journaling Stickers in Travel- .64

Chic Tags Journaling Tags in Birthday Cake- .60

Bo Bunny Note Worthy Die-Cuts in Prairie Chic- 1.43

Jenni Bowlin Identify General Mini Deck- .64

Echo Park Paper Co Memos in "For the Record"- .90

Total with tax- $4.56

My Haul-

Pebbles Phrase Stickers in Lake- 1.07

Bo Bunny Noteworthy Die-Cuts in "Family is Noteworthy"- 1.43

Total with tax- $2.71

Stop 6- Tuesday Mornings on the way home

At this point we were tired, and we grabbed one paper pack off the clearance rack to split.  It was WeRMemoryKeepers For the Record in "Documented."  With a 20% off and tax, it was $0.85.

Mom's Total- $18.08 including tax (and remember, she bought a Sizzix Die-Cut for $7.60!)

My Total- $11.18 including tax 

And for those who are curious, without the discounts Mom would have come out at $54.96 and I would have been at $50.97.  I personally believe that means I got a better deal since mine was worth more if we don't count the Sizzix.  Heh.  Though without the discounts we would have just window shopped and spent nothing, we were literally seduced by clearance and never even got to bust out our coupons.

This is how WE haul.

-Sarah

COMPLETE HAUL PHOTOS

Mom

Me