The Your Next Stamp design team is starting a new mini series for 2014…”Getting Organized”!
Today I am kicking off the series, with the top ten craft organizing mistakes I make. Yep, this list is all about what not to do! I am a “craft after the kids go to sleep” kind of gal. That means when I am done crafting I am ready for bed and don’t want to take the time to clean up. That also means my crafting area is typically anything but organized!
1 – Garbage Can – Placing a garbage can right next to the work area is a huge mistake if the desk is covered in piles. Piles tend to topple and it always seems that the tower falls right into the garbage can.
2 – Ribbon Storage – If the goal is to have a ribbon jumble, then I highly recommend storing spools without securing the loose ends.
3 – Dirty Stamps (part I) – If you like ruining your finished cards, then not cleaning stamps is the way to go. Ink tends to create a mess and it spreads easily. It ends up on the work area and inevitably on fingers and then fingers always pick up the just completed card and leave an ink smear – not good!
4 – Dirty Stamps (part II) – Not cleaning stamps can lead to friendship issues. If dirty stamps are stuck back in their package do not loan these out to friends. The friend may not know that the stamps still have BLACK ink on them and then when said friend attempts to use their new PINK ink pad the BLACK ink transfers to the PINK ink pad and RUINS IT!!! If this happens, buy said friend a new PINK ink pad.
5 – Loose Stamps – Leaving stamps out loose on the work area leads to lost stamps. Acrylic stamps will stick to almost anything, even hair.
6 – Dies – Loose dies are easily lost too. I believe mine are hiding with the stamps I have lost. Fortunately I have not had dies get stuck in my hair, yet.
7 – Glue – When glue does not get put back where it belongs it tends to multiply. When one goes missing, more is opened and before you know it there are 5 open bottles that take up much needed space.
8 – Scrap paper – Keeping scraps is a great idea, but there must be a good way to organize them to avoid ending up with a BEAUTIFUL card front that is inadvertently glued on to a card base that has stamping on the back.
9 – Cords – For those items that require cords I do not recommend storing the cords away from the items. It leads to FORGETTING the cords when traveling with the items. Sooooo sad to pack up the Cricut, paper, stamps, and ink, then arrive and realize that nothing is going to get done because the power cords back at home.
10 – Markers – Not tracking what you already own is costly. Markers are extremely tempting to buy and without a tracking system in place it is easy to end up with duplicates; duplicate markers and duplicate refills.
So what type of organizing mistakes do you make? I am not an expert when it comes to organization, but hopefully after my teammates share their tips over the coming weeks we will all be closer to conquering our craft areas.
The card I am sharing today is for everyone attempting to organize their craft areas.
Card Details: Smiley Happy Critter Crew Set Two, Talk Bubbles Dies, and the sentiments from Celebration Circles and Insta Love.
Good Luck!!!
Smiles,
Julie
Okay one question…
…are you lurking in my craft room? lol.
I’m a craft til’ you drop crafter so my work top is a mess most of the time.
As a result things do not always get put away as I use them.
If I stop to clean it can also mess with my mojo. (at least that’s what I tell myself. lol}
As I was writing an idea popped into my head for a place to put the dies and clear stamps as I work until I put them back in their rightful places.
I have these sheets of magnetic material I bought at Michaels.
I am going to keep one of them near my work space to hold those precious pieces.
It will both keep them from taking a ride to nowhere and I’ll know those stamps still need to be cleaned.
Thanks for the inspiration.
I LOVE your card.
Crafty hugs,
D~
DesignsByDragonfly.blogspot
LOL! This is so funny Julie! I’m sure many people can relate! I tend to be over the top organized but I am guilty of a few things on your ‘not to do’ list ;o) Your space might be messy but your projects are far from unorganized, you always produce fabulous and adorable projects!!! xx
You have great tips but your humour is amazing..thanks!
Too funny and so true! Your “mess” is nothing compared to mine!!
Oh, Julie, I was almost laughing out loud at this!! Because . . . I have most of those issues, too. I don’t know how many times I have missplaced clear stamps because I stuck them in a “safe” place and didn’t put them back where they belong. Luckily, I have managed to find them all eventually. And I am so guilty of getting ink on my fingers and then touching my finished card. Arggg . . . or even accidentally brushed a card panel against an ink pad that I didn’t bother to shut. And half the time I can’t find something that I just used, ’cause it ended up underneath a piece of paper that I just threw to the side. So, you are not alone.
Whenever I’m looking for a missing item and moving everything around, I envision everyone else’s craft area as neat and organized and swear I’m going to do the same. Of course it never gets done. Thanks for helping me realize I am not the only one!
Julie, what a chuckle you gave me this morning, i loved your tips of what not to do..
Julie, I have to laugh, because I’ve had many of those same issues — lost stamps, lost dies, scrap paper issues. My work area winds up looking like a craft bomb went off and I’m always checking the trash can before it gets taken outside! LOL I just finally re-organized my craft room, moving in some more furniture, losing other, to aide in my organization. Thanks for sharing!