Great job on the reorganization, Carol. I have all my ribbon on flat cardboard bobbins I've made. I need to make more for the Christmas ribbon I added this year.

Here's my ribbon storage

and this is my embellishment storage.

Kelly, I must have read your mind on the challenge. I just uploaded a page today about ice cream.

when I was a girl scout leader, we made ice cream in a baggie. You put the ice cream ingredients in a sandwich or quart size baggie and put it in a larger baggie with the rock salt and ice, seal and toss it around until frozen. The girls would toss it back and forth. They always loved making it.

cookies & cream and chocolate are my favs!

Ok, Kelly, I just noticed your S2S amount in your siggy - that can't be your total for 2012 so far can it? If so, you have been one busy gal!

LOL - would be nice!

No.. I have just been battling this horrid head cold and not closed out the 2011 line yet. My check register is sitting on my desk, along with the December tickets, to be added in. Hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday I'll get everything switched over.

For an AWESOME way to use strips of DP 1" wide and 7/8", check out my blog post for today. I cut enough for 10 cards last night in no time flat once I figured out the measurements... which you'll also find in the blog post.

I like your ribbon storage - I was going to do that originally...but I don't have enough drawer space and had space on the peg board after moving all the metal dies!!!

I keep my embellishments in 3 different compartment boxes.....

I'm sure that in about 6 - 12 months my tastes will change again and then I'll have to reorganize again....isnt' that what we do???

Oh my goodness, yours are so neat!!! I have too many of everything to be that neat! LOL
Okay I thought I joined this already, but couldn't even find this thread. So now I have found it and want to join.
I had kind of joined the last of 2011. I was too busy to take time to assign money value to everything. But, I did all my 40 some Christmas cards just out of my stash. In fact I didn't spend any money except for a special project for my DGS, the last 2 to 3 months of 2011. I did all kinds of challenges and sb pages. So, I will try to start keeping tract in 2012. I am in process of decluttering, or just reorganizing my craft room. Painted it and will soon have it all redone. I will upload and link photos when I get it done.
So am i starting in the hole: Paint $30.00, cabinets and cabinet top ???- will find out tomorrow. Or can I count it even since I didn't spend money in last 3 months of 2011?? :) Hope so!

:)
Sharon

Sharon, it is your choice, but you have the freedom to start 2012 back at $0. I certainly did, as I ended the year with a - balance. I notice some people who ended the year on a + balance have carried that over, and that is good too. As Kelly always says, it's mostly about making us more aware of what we are spending and also conscious of what we do have and to try to use what we already have instead of spending more.
You are certainly approaching this the right way, by sprucing up your craft room and organizing it all. I'll be looking forward to seeing the photos. And you don't have to count what you spend on fixing up your craft room....at least that is my take on it. Maybe someone else can clarify that.

One more post this morning. I'm so excited! My DD nd her husband went to visit my son for three days over New Years and brought back the gift he had bought me. Yesterday was the first time we have been able to get together since they got home (at a family funeral) and they brought my gift.......wait for it.....it's a Cricut with Gypsy and 4 cartridges! I really like the things you can do with it, but didn't feel justified in buying one, but now I have one, thanks to my son. Woo hoo...can't wait to clear my living room table (pile hight with crafting stuff) and try it out!

Congrats!!!! I'm like you...I have never been able to justify the expense!!!! Can't wait to see some of your projects!!!

Enjoy your Cricut. I love my cutter. I have the Silhouette Cameo. I think it's sat on the shelf for one whole week now. It's the longest it's been put away.

Woo hoo! I love my Cricut. I'm a scrapbooker too so it I use it more for that than for cards.

I got two more cards done today but will have to wait to photo and upload tonight. Ina, your comment on my tea cup card inspired these which uses the same stamp. I really like them!

Gotta go get ready and head to the office.

Hmmm I am really going to have to give the ice cream theme some thought. My favorite ice cream flavor far and away is chocolate, but brown makes me think of more somber card themes like fall and such. I don't like to eat them as much, but the colors that get me excited are the sherbet shades of yellow, raspberry, and lime green, bright but not tipping over into fluorescent. I will dig around in ye olde stash and see what jumps out...

In the meantime, I finished out last week's challenge with a new year's card that you can see here.

Over the weekend I think I need to decide my list of credits to give myself and start a tally for this year.

Hey girls!

I've finally had the opportunity to add/ subtract the December totals in my 2011 register. I finished off 2011 with +$274.42 cents. That is up from -12.58 at the end of 2010.

So I'm setting my balance to Zero. I will tell you I've already made 10 Christmas cards, 2 Teapot Tuesday cards. But I'm also placing an SU order this month and going to the city on Saturday :-)

Yeah, pretty much. Though I do have to say I'm happy with my drawer storage. When I'm finally able to have a studio I know the Entertainment Center unit, the Idea drawer unit and my desk will not change. Also, a 6'x8' work island Bob and I designed 27 years ago. It's my quilt storage/ cutting table.

Another thing to think about for the future, is you can always do the ribbon on the cardboard bobbins and store them in the photo boxes by color or color family.

Hey Sharon!
Yeah, I think you had bookmarked the 2011 but not the 2012 thread. Glad you found us. If you're ever lost, just PM me and I'll do what I can to help.

As to the 'remodeling', I don't think I'd count it. It's not necessarily part of what you need to 'use' in your space.

I'd get your room the way you want it then focus on putting it to good use! :-)

Whoo Hooo! I never thought I'd want a Cricut the whole 3 years I demo'd it at Michaels. I felt I had tools that did what I need. Well, I guess it was true at the time. Then we moved to the Hundred Acre Woods (okay, only 25 hehe) and I knew that Camp Out cartridge what get a lot of use between pages for our property and all my Girl Scout pics.... so hubby got me a Cricut Create for Christmas. Then I found out Camp Out was retired! I finally got one from a SCS quacker just before Christmas. I've since bought another cartridge and am borrowing another from a friend.

Yeah, guess I needed the Cricut! LOL

Don't discount the chocolate. You can always add another color with it and turn it into a valentine. Pink and Brown go great together! So do some lighter shades of blue that can have a real feminine look.

Carol I love the pictures of your crafting space!

Sharon I don't think I would count the expenses to fix up your space so it is more user friendly. I haven't counted organizational items I am using in my room.

Holy Buckets Kelly! Did you make all of those little embellishment boxes? I'm impressed!

LOVE the strip cards on your blog Kelly! I'll have to go back later and get the dimensions from you.

Angie - thanks!! We spent some more time down there tonight. We opted not to put the ribbon on dowels...the dowels we had started to bow...plus DH said that since I had already spent money on ribbon holders to continue to use them. I did run out tonight to The Container Store and got one more. And I made a promise to myself that there would be no more new ribbon coming into the house UNLESS I emptied a spool!!

Tomorrow I have to go to the bank and ask them for a check register and update my totals for all the cards I've made the past few weeks.

I will take pictures of the new storage for the metal dies...plus all the cards I have made..I just keep forgetting to charge the camera battery!!!

I sooooo wish we had a container store! I had never been to one until Christmas time. My sis and I went to the one in Cincinnati. OMG!!! Loved the place. I got containers for my beads that are perfect! And liners for the drawers in my Elfa units. I could have spent a LOT more time (and $) in there. And they were so helpful! That was the best part. We had just left IKEA and decided that we never had to go back there again. ugh.

I uploaded one of the cards I made today. The other will be uploaded tomorrow because I have it scheduled to post on my blog in the morning.

Enchanted Conversations

I just uploaded a sympathy card I had to quickly put together. My coworker's brother died in the middle of the night.
Angel Sympathy by grammatroll - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers

Wonderful card and image, Debbie! I left some love.

Thanks, Michele. I just found out I have to make another sympathy card, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. My niece's husband's grandmother passed away this morning. My dh was just organizing a couple pictures because the family commissioned him to draw her portrait. It'll mean even more to them now.

I uploaded the other two cards I made yesterday. These are the cards that Ina's comment inspired. Thanks Ina! For all the details about them, check out my blog post today.

Dueling Tea Cups

The Emboss Resist had made the tea cup image so much better!

Yeah, Angie, I did. I cut them all out one night then sat and watched TV while I put them together. There are 3 drawers of them. Plus the Christmas embellishment tote has about 20 in it.

I did notice the DP measurement for the longer of the 2 strips is about 1/8 too long. So I need to go in and change that dimension. Will do that this morning.

Left love, Michelle. I'm really liking that stamp set the more I see it used. In the catty, it just doesn't jump out at me.

Left love, Debbie.

Great cards. Left love both places :-)

I said I was going to do a card or page every day this year. Well so far, I haven't actually done that but I have made 6 cards and 5 pages which total 11 items and it is day 11 of 2012. Woo hoo!

thanks for the love everyone. That is another thing I am going to work on this year - leaving love for everyone.

Just one last check in this morning, ladies.

I see I have 2 down for the S2S12A challenge and no one for the S2S12B challenge. Remember to use your keywords so I can find you :-)

I made a card for this challenge, but was operating off of my memory. You know how that can go. As I made an anniversary card, could I be wishing my hubby great things in the next year of our marriage? Get this, he will be gone on our wedding anniversary, so I will be sending it in his luggage :)

Distressing Love

Great card, Toni! I think it's a great idea to put in in his luggage.

Congrats on 11 by 1-11! I will have so much catching up to do, when I can get into my craft room. I have only done two cards by 11-12! Maybe this week-end. I will be so excited when I can get started again!
:)
Sharon