Dear What's-On-Your-Workdesk-Wednesday, oh my goodness I have missed you lovelies so much!! I can't believe I've been absent this many weeks from the coolest desk party on the planet...especially my crafty babes across the pond!!
And what do I have to share today, a mess! I think my crafty corner of the world hates me because, even though my show is over, I feel like I've had a million things going on and taking me away from my happy place! Now, mind you, it is not bad, because I've been having too much fun. But as you know, it all just turns into...what did Julia say today...a craft junkyard? Yes!! I'm with Julia on that.
Remember those crafty totes I told you about weeks ago? Well thank goodness for them, because they have helped alleviate what would be a giant mess. Instead it's just a medium mess on the craft table--enough to bug me.
I love these totes a ton, and they have taken the abuse of me just stuffing things in there because I don't have time to organize and think about it. This is the crafty tote that takes the mess off my desk. See how I bought Valentines stickers I did NOTHING with! Sad. They are cute though. I have a heart fetish.
This is my art journaling, bible journaling tote. Same story. I stuff stuff, get ready, and leave the house for all the things going on...retreats and resorts...my new aerobics class I love...choir practice...get togethers...committee meetings...I would like there to be two of me. I kinda love washi tape by the way! I get so distracted, it's like...shiny!
Here's something that might save me...they had a big sale on storage/organizers at Michaels and I thought this was cute. It's going to take some thought though.
In the meantime...I took a teenage-style selfie in the office ladies' just to show you I'm still alive!!
I'm off for some visits, and I can't wait to see you lovelies and what you've been up to.
Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch
Happy What's-on-your-Workdesk-Wednesday lovelies! Just click on that link if you're mystified.
My desk is full of happy place goodness, like my birthday mug from darling nephew, my listy pad with lots of shopping lists, my cross-stitch and even that kitty pen. I love that kitty pen. And being super busy with work and rehearsals for the musical 9 to 5, I am just having a ball. Now, you would think I'd be dog tired all the time (at 56 I'm even older than Jan!!)--but energy seems to promote more energy! I do have to get my sleep though, take my vitamins, use my cool mist essential oil humidifier, totally limit night time carbs, and drink plenty of water. Hello! High maintenance! But that's okay. The only cookies for me are apparently here on blogger where they have a notice up about telling my European friends we have cookies. But trust me, they are not chocolate chip.
I have experienced more desk delight lately because of this amazing thing--one of those multi-pocket tote organizers. I picked up two on sale for half-price, and they've change my life, oh yeh. This one carries the brunt of my messy deskness. It's just packed with things that I like to keep out and about and in view, but they are all organized, including some rings of washi tape hanging on a ring on the tote. That tote thinks of everything. I love her. I even have a Hello Kitty flashdrive hanging there! And of course, that's my new glue gun--remember, the one that is cordless AND has a light! I am notorious for actually losing glue guns. So that baby is in sight at all times.
To the left is multi-pocket organizing craft tote no. 2. This is my bible-art-journaling tote. So it is packed with all of those supplies. I can just carry it to the coffee table if I want to hang out there and journal, I can take it to bed and journal with my lap desk, or even to my sunroom. The Reset Girl on Youtube is responsible for this, and I love her. She even took one of those craft totes on a plane. So, I'm pretty sure I could take this anywhere I'm going to be camped out for a while and want something creative to do. It is heavy though--it has so many pockets inside and out, that you have no problem stuffing in your markers, ink pads, stamps, planners, journals, bibles, and little makeup bags to organize your ephemera, stickers and embellishments. LOVE!!!
And check me out--it is the last room of the 12-month dollhouse cross-stitch!!! It is almost complete. It's the garage, and I still have another thing to stitch on the shelf, and some outlining to do. Woo hoo!
Right now we are rehearsing 9 to 5 The Musical on the fourth floor of our Little Theatre (and by the way, there is NO elevator). It was renovated from some major grants, and I just love touches like this where they have painted on some motivation. So cute. Here's where I am A LOT right now.
Happy Wednesday! I'm off to visit the WOYWW village!
Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch
Week after week...messy desktop after messy desktop...constantly wondering why can't I keep this place tidy so I'll feel more creative...what's my problem.
Well, now I know thanks to a half-price craft tote sale at Hobby Lobby. I was always drawn to these totes, but in the back of my mind I thought, what would I really do with all those pockets, nooks and crannies and they'd most likely end up being tossed aside, OR cause me to buy craft supplies I don't really need to fill up those pockets!
Oh no, no, no, mademoiselle. Oh contraire. They solved two big craft desk organization problems!
Let me say first, it's one thing to actually have a project spread out...but it's another to constantly have my piles and ongoing mess!
Problem One: I am always working on more than one project, and I don't want to let one get buried, forget what I was doing with it, and it ends up in the UFO bin. So it's in a pile on the desk.
Problem Two: If I really put things away, completely out of my sight, then they tend to stay there. For years possibly. I forget about them and don't use them. That is a craft tragedy in my mind. So I tend to let those things hang around on my desktop somewhere, knowing that at least I'll see them all the time. But then, you know, things get piled up.
What the craft tote does: All the stuff that I like to use all the time is upright, visible, yet organized in the craft tote. It even has a sturdy ring to hang my washi rings on! I love that. And, although it is loaded up and very heavy, it has super sturdy handles, so I can move this thing around the craft room. I can change out what I want in it, and basically it is my messy desktop all organized and extremely handy without taking up all that valuable real estate on the desk. It is now housing little patterned paper pads I want to use soon, the cropadile, favorite pens and markers, my new cordless glue gun (go me), things that tend to go in and out of my purse and lay on my desktop, my planner, stencils, stamps, ink pads, favorite scissors, and my awesome mini stapler.
And this Paper Studio Craft Tote is still not completely full. It has interior pockets within the compartments, so I can stuff receipts in there, mail, a package of ephemera I don't want to open yet but don't want to lose track of, and my extra Midori goodies I'm working on.
I could also stick my current stitching project in here, but I actually rescued a smaller, old craft tote and have deemed it my current stitching project tote--I was on a roll. And now my desk is happy.
Just my big to-do listy book I was writing in, and a cuppa.
And if you've made it all the way down here...here's what NOT to buy at Hobby Lobby.
Isn't it adorable! A little portable office. DON'T buy it. It promised that it came with a hole punch. There's no hole punch in here. Then, I tried to load the stapler and it immediately broke. *sigh* I'm going to take it back. And anyway, I have a cute mini stapler from Office Depot that works fantastic. I don't even know why I bought this--I was sucked in by the cuteness.
Later this week I'll post my Craft Tote Bliss Part Two--what really started all of this. My bible journaling tote! It's the same tote by Paper Studio in a different color, and it is now home to all my wonderful bible journaling goodies that I can carry around the house, move from table to desk, or take in my car. I'll break it all down for you on how I put mine together and why on Thursday.
Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch
This is a little reminder that you don't have to shop at the craft stores for everything in your crafty corner of life. I happen to love all the new rose gold that's been appearing everywhere. And I needed a little embroidery bag to throw in my work bag every day. BUT...I really wanted one with rose gold hardware. It just makes me happy.
I was in the cosmetics aisle, though, not the craft store, and I found a whole new inexpensive line of cosmetics bags from Flower Beauty--the new brand by Drew Barrymore. The best thing, besides the price, is the gorgeous oversized rose gold zipper pulls and hardware! So cute. I just picked up this little one for now, and then right there in the same aisle, I found rose gold stork scissors! What?!? As someone who threads a needle every day, I love my little gold stork scissors. But these rose gold stork scissors are adorable. They're meant to be brow trimmers, but now they are repurposed as another pair of embroidery scissors, plus they look cute in this bag. Boom!
It's just those little daily things that can bring us extra joy--so why not find what you like and repurpose it! After all, my favorite travel craft bag is an Orla Kiely diaper bag! And I left the actual diaper bags years far behind me! But let me tell you, nothing has more pockets or is built more sturdy than a diaper bag. Makes you rethink what you need and where you shop for it!
Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch
Here's something that might save me...they had a big sale on storage/organizers at Michaels and I thought this was cute. It's going to take some thought though.
