Season of Friendship Box & Cards

I've been busy this week making card boxes for my Mom. Her Christian Women's Group is having a little bazaar next week at their monthly meeting. She told me she had a bunch of cards I'd given her over the years to use and she thought she'd just take some of them. I said "Whoa .... let me look at them first!" A lot of them were from my early card making days and they looked it too!! Way back then, I didn't do much stamping. I started out taking a card class at our local Senior Center where we did a lot of dry embossing and punches .... you know, punch a few flowers and glue them on a card!! (attaching a few of them!) So, needless to say, those cards are going in the trash!! I made a box using a pattern from Scor Pal. I just did something wrong and my top became my bottom and my bottom became my top. My plan was to use patterned paper for the top and solid for the bottom, but .... things don't always work out the way you plan it! Anyway, I ended up putting the tree from Season of Friendship (Holiday mini catalog) on the top of the box and coordinated it with the patterned bottom. I then made 4 cards using the same stamp set for the box.

This fall card I embossed the tree with Copper Embossing Powder and the background (retired background stamp - Stripes). The leaves are stamped in Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss. I used my Nestabilities to cut the ovals.

This winter card I stamped the tree twice and used Crystal Effects on the darker tree. I stamped snowflakes all over. I used Stickles on the tree branches. The patterned paper at the bottom is from Hostess Patterns Pack with a strip of Kiwi and strip of Baja Breeze. The three dots at the bottom are covered with Crystal Effects.

The spring card uses Green Galore cardstock and Riding Hood Red. The tree is stamped in Basic Gray ink with Green Galore leaves and Pink Pirouette flowers. The saying "friend to friend" is from Pocket Silouettes.

This winter card base is Night of Navy wheeled with a retired Snowflake wheel in Whisper White. I used the Top Note Die (in my Cuttlebug) to cut a white and a Pacific Point die. I stamped snowflakes all around the tree and stickled the bottom of the card and put Star Dust stickles on the tree.

Jelly Bean Jar

Supplies:
Happy Birthday jelly bean jar
Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set*
Paper Confetti White; Rose Red card stock; and Kiwi Kiss textured card stock
Ink: Chocolate Chip; Close to Cocoa; Kiwi Kiss; Pacific Point; Pumpkin Pie; Rose Red;Jet Black StazOn pad
Accessories: Kiwi Kiss; 5/8" striped grosgrain ribbon; Chit Chat Rub-Ons; Stampin' Dimensionals; Aqua Painter; Coluzzle Cutting System; 1/8" Circle punch


*Want to make a Halloween treat instead? Substitute one of Stampin' Up's brand-new Halloween stamp sets from the 2008 Holiday Mini Catalog (pages 4-5) for the cupcake on the tag!

Come on down .... join SU!!

This is a great time to become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. There are some great specials being offered right now by Stampin' Up! and there's no better time to sign up! Click Here for more information. For a limited time only, you can sign on as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator for as little as $99. At that level, there are three Starter Kit options to choose from. Or, for an even better deal with more stamp sets and products, you can sign on for just $199. With this option, you receive an additional FREE stamp set of your choice, bringing the value of the Starter Kit to more than $400. Both these offers are only available until October 11th. Whichever way you choose to join, you become a member of my team and will receive regular inspiration, advise and encouragement from me and have the benefit of Stampin' Up! publications and web resources that are available only to active Demonstrators. It is possible to be part of my team, even if you don't live locally. We will communicate via e-mail and phone and you will have the same access to inspiration, support and encouragement. Have you decided that you want to be a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator? E-mail me to get started! I would love to welcome YOU to the my Stampin' Up team.

Here are a few great reasons to be a SU demonstrator:

• Never pay full price again. You'll get a 20% discount on everything you purchase.
• Your favorite hobby becomes your business and then it becomes a GREAT tax deduction!
• Earn extra money for your family or just enough to support your stamping. You can earn 20-32% commission.
• You will make lots of great stamping buddies. You'll become friends with your hostesses, customers, and lot of other demonstrators.
• Stampin' Up! demonstrators receive monthly and quarterly magazines with tons of samples and great business ideas.
• Demonstrators have access to the Stampin' Up! web site which is filled with samples, ideas, and business tips. You can even have your own personal web site!

The Garage / or Basement

Where do you start? With the bad, scary corner. First, get rid of unsalvageables. If the basement flooded and a whole bunch of stuff got waterlogged, these are no longer your possessions; they're a mildew fest. Just say goodbye.

Once you've gotten rid of the garbage, start grouping similar items, which makes it easy to see what there's too much of and what's broken. Tackle one category at a time—the holiday decorations, the seasonal clothing, the journals you've been keeping for years. If you have enough room, spread everything out to take stock of it all.

When everything has been sorted, prune: Is this important enough to save? Is it useful? Discard what isn't.

Next, containerize what's left, but don't buy storage bins until you have an understanding of what you're putting into them. It doesn't serve you to come home with two 40-gallon tubs if what you need is 19 shoe boxes. Sure, you can label boxes, but why not be able to see the contents immediately? And if you also use your basement as a play space for your kids or to entertain, get rolling shelves that can be moved to one side of the room and perhaps even covered with drapes.

At the end of this project, you'll have accomplished three goals: There will be less stuff, what's left will be in order, and everything will be in containers that work with your space. Being organized isn't about getting rid of everything you own or trying to become a different person; it's about living the way you want to live, but better. There are enough things in the world that you can't control—but you can bring some order into your home and your life.


This is an excerpt from Oprah Magazine by Andrew Mellow, a professional organizer. To learn more about Mr. Mellow visit VirgoMan.com

Monday Mailer

We started a new round of Monday Mailers this week with my NC SU group.  I made my card using the new SU Sizzix Top Note die.  It is really cool and I can see a lot of uses for it.  I have used it to make bag toppers for Halloween and this card.

I used Mr. Sock Monkey and the pumpkin from the Sock Monkey Accessory set (thanks, Ashley!!) and the Sanded Background stamp.  The ribbon is Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon.  I paper pieced the monkey with paper from the Winter Mini Catalog (Autumn Vine) and used my white gel pen for his mouth.  Isn't he cute?

I received my Monday Mailer today from Becky Campbell, who is very talented!!  She used designer paper and her square scallop punch to create a very unique card.  Thanks Becky!

The Computer!

You don't want to spend an hour looking for a scone recipe—or your résumé—because you're searching through all the stuff on your desktop.

If you can't see the pretty picture on your computer screen because it's full of icons for documents, downloads, and photos, start making folders. Color-code them: The folder for your financial documents can be green, the one for your job search can be blue. Like goes with like—all your résumés in one folder, all photos in another. Label each one clearly. Then put all your folders in "My Documents," a master folder that you have whether you're on a Mac or a PC.

You can save e-mail correspondence, but discard the one that says, "Great, see you at 12 on Thursday!" and save the one with information about what you discussed. By the way, if you're constantly responding to e-mail, you're being pulled away from the things that you need or want to do. Try checking it hourly.


This is an excerpt from Oprah Magazine by Andrew Mellow, a professional organizer. To learn more about Mr. Mellow visit VirgoMan.com

The Car!

I'm afraid I'm pretty guilty of this one!! If you have to clear off the backseat for company, there's a problem.

What shouldn't be in the car: old food wrappers, toys, the dry cleaning or recycling you've been meaning to drop off for a week (just take it out of the car until you're ready to make the trip), out-of-season tools (if it's June, you can remove the ice scraper from the trunk).

What should be in the car: registration, insurance certificate, owner's manual, maps and/or GPS, extra pair of sunglasses in case of glare, small folding umbrella, headset for your cell phone (preferably you're not talking while driving, but if you are, please be hands-free), envelope with supermarket and drive-through restaurant coupons and any gift certificates you've received (it's pointless for them to be in the drawer at home).

What should be in the trunk: tool kit, flashlight, working spare tire. In winter, add ice scraper, bag of kitty litter (for traction in snow), a small blanket.


This is an excerpt from Oprah Magazine by Andrew Mellow, a professional organizer. To learn more about Mr. Mellow visit VirgoMan.com

The New Things That Haven't Been Used

Do you buy things because they're on sale? If you didn't need them, they weren't a bargain. Here are the three questions to ask before you buy anything:

1. Where would this live? A very practical consideration, especially if you're trying to declutter.

2. What am I going to do with it? If it has a purpose or fills a need, fine. If you already have four of them, not fine.

3. What is it replacing? When something is broken or you don't like the old version as much as the new one, then by all means, charge away. But be prepared to get rid of the old item when you get home.


This is an excerpt from Oprah Magazine by Andrew Mellow, a professional organizer. To learn more about Mr. Mellow visit VirgoMan.com

The Drawer Full of Photos

When we moved to Washington back in 2003, I took all my photos I had collected for years in boxes and started sorting. My plan was to start scrapbooking them. Well, I had photos back to the '70's! My daughter told me I was being awfully ambitious. Well, she was right. I did scrapbook quite a few - starting at the most recent. But, you know that "recent" group kept growing and getting more recent as I continued to take pictures. It gets so overwhelming!! I don't know what the answer is - I still have 4 boxes of pictures (and they are continuting to grow - only digitally now) and I haven't scrapbooked in a long time!! But here is the expert's (professional organizer, Andrew Mellon) advice:


If you don't have time to put your photos in an album or scrapbook, it's okay to stop pretending you're going to do it. Get clear shoe boxes to store them in instead.

Then get a kitchen timer. Why? Because sorting through photos leads to reminiscing, and suddenly it's three hours later. But you're not looking at photos now—you're organizing them so that looking at them later will be more fun. Decide how long you have and set the timer.

Group the photos by subject—the family reunion, your trip to Florida ... While you're grouping, you're also sorting: Is it a clear picture? Do you even know who those people are? Throw away any that don't measure up, and any in which you can't stand the sight of yourself. When you're done, label the boxes accordingly: "Family Reunion, February 2008."



This is an excerpt from Oprah Magazine by Andrew Mellow, a professional organizer. To learn more about Mr. Mellow visit VirgoMan.com

Inherited Items & Momentos

Your home is not a museum. Many people subscribe to the unwritten rule that you're obligated to keep your great-aunt's dishes, even if you don't like them, just because she used them. But maybe your great-aunt never liked them either and also felt too guilty to let them go. Things don't have to become yours simply because they belonged to a relative. You're not living her life, and you're not a bad person for giving inherited items away.

If the acquired stuff is worth money, you may feel bound to it financially: "It's real silver—I can't give it away." Yes, you can. Donate it, document what it's worth, and take it off your taxes. Or give it to another family member who would really like it. Or sell it on eBay. And if you like something enough to keep it, consider it a replacement, not an addition—keep Grandma's reading lamp, but donate the one you already have.

Mementos from your own life are harder to part with because when you see them, you relive the story: To you, it's the cashmere V-neck you wore on your first date with the man who would become your husband; to anyone else, it's just an old sweater full of holes. The key to parting with items suspended in time is not to replay that story. Leave the room, come back in, and see what you're really holding on to—a sweater that's seen better days.

Rule of thumb: If it serves no purpose, let it go.

This is an excerpt from Oprah Magazine by Andrew Mellow, a professional organizer. To learn more about Mr. Mellow visit VirgoMan.com