Stampy Storage Solutions

I have struggled for years to find the best way to store my stamp collection. Yes, I am old school like that and still have wooden block rubber stamps.

My collection

I could never decide or find the right bin or box to keep them in - until now!! I honestly can't remember where I saw this idea (Becky perhaps?) or in what application it was used but this little thing is my new BFF!

From Home Depot

I put some thought in to the fact that I didn't want a repeat of a previous problem - that if I can't see them I don't know what I have. So first I grouped similar stamps together to see what I was working with. Then I started dividing them in to drawers to make sure I maximized space and made sure the bigger stamps had a home. Then I did something that took forever.....ok, like 3 days but still....

Prints

I once bought out an entire Michael's bin of these chipboard albums. At ten cents each you would have done it too and you know it, so don't judge. Because I have so many of them, they were perfect. So I stamped. 

And I stamped.......

It took me several of these little albums to stamp them all but I finally got there. The images on a single page correspond to a single drawer in the little "dresser". And the cute tape? Identifies which drawer to go to!

Almost there..

So now I have these handy little flip books of images to peruse when I am looking for a stamp. And since they are grouped, deciding which "Happy Birthday" one to use is a snap! Then to make sure that the books were kept within quick reach I grabbed some Command Hooks. 

Ummm.....yes that would be the dresser full and my clear stamps waiting their turn to make reference books. You know what that means! Back to Home Depot (thanks Adam!) 

Fabulous!! I even had some of the smaller drawers still empty at the top so I added a few stickers to the front. 

Star Brads

The stickers help me remember which type of fun tidbit I have tucked in there. And finally, Adam the Amazing hung my organizers on the wall next to my book shelf. 

All Hung

Now I can find my stamps and inks quick! I love this new wall system! The rest of my craft room is under reorganization too, so who knows what else I might come up with! How do you organize your crafty corner?

Mother's Day Totes

My mom, the avid Pinterest and Facebook user, decided to "hint" at what she wanted for Mother's Day by posting the Pin on my Wall. Subtle, right? It worked. She got what she wanted, although it was a couple of weeks late because on the first try, my daughter was unhappy with the results. (Not too unhappy since she kept it for herself) So, handy (ha ha!) tote bags it was.

Dad

Mom

Part one of this process was that Adam and I had to stamp our hands on the totes. After that came the kiddo and a couple of details. Sadly I didn't get a finished picture of them, but I used yellow fabric paint to make a swirl in the center, and green to do the outline of a leaf in the corner of each.

Drying

When I mailed them I was a little nervous about the paint sticking to itself in the envelope (it's over 100 degrees here) so I made sure to fold them design out and they made it to their respective locations just fine.

4 in 14 May

As the month was turning yet again, I was trying to think of a cute theme for my May "pretty shelf". May brings to mind Mother's Day, but somehow decorating a shelf saying I was great seemed a little too far. (Although perhaps the kiddo gets a guest starring role next year!) So, I went a little on the lame side with the whole "April Showers, May Flowers" route and tried to find things I already had that reminded me of Spring and flowers.

May Flowers

Here is the shelf as a whole. If you have seen my other months, the bird and rabbit are March recycles, and the vase is a February recycle. This was a bit of a harder month for me, since I was really trying not to spend money on anything new.

February Recycle

 Next to the vase, I added this colorful little bucket that I picked up in the Target Special Finds bin for a dollar around Easter time either last year or the year before. They have them all the time in different designs at different holidays / seasons.

Kid Creations

If you have ever celebrated even one holiday with a kid in Pre-School or Elementary school, you know what these are. Yes, mine are now about 8 years old. No, I have never lit the candle inside. Yes, they did melt in the moving boxes at one point. Don't care. Still keeping them. In fact, hoping to get more when I get grand-babies ( a LONG time from now).

Silliness

The last little fun flower I added was this chipboard album I made a couple years ago. Since it is sturdy and on a ring, it stands up like an easel all on it's own. This is one of my favorite pictures of her - we are at the World's Largest Gift Shop in Las Vegas and the giant hat is made of foam, the poker chips are pillows. We were there waiting on family to gift shop, so we decided to get silly with some of the SWAG.

4 in 14 April - Project

Back around Christmas time I saw this fun idea on Pinterest to leave little gifts on your neighbors doors. For some reason I decided it would be fun to do it again for Easter. I thought it would be fun to leave little egg on the doorsteps for our neighbors with treats inside.

Printed "tags"

I started by printing a few sheets of these little "labels" on some pastel computer paper. 

All Trimmed

Thank you straight trimmer for making cutting these little guys a breeze. So far I think this project is about five minutes in and I am almost done. Loving that. Now for the treats....

Yum!!

I bought the assorted bag of non-melting candy. We already have temperatures in excess of ninety so chocolate was out of the question. We sorted it out so that no one person would get all the same thing. 

Pink!

Each of these little eggs held five little candy treats in them. The left over was my daughter's favorite part, as she is a fan of the Bottlecap candies. The last piece of the puzzle was to put the little strips in the eggs. 

Egged!

We folded it a little bit so that the "From the" part was tucked inside and all that showed was the "You have been egged" part. Our original plan was to leave them for people to wake up to Good Friday morning, but life got away from us. So instead the next morning they were found. My husband and daughter really enjoy their "ninja" skills slinking through the neighborhood delivery these.

4 in 14 April - Recipe

So this week I decided to "steal" from my husband his invention for dinner. Very tasty, and kind of pretty to look at. I think we may need to have this for dinner again soon!

4 in 14 April

So, March was a bust. I had trouble just getting in one post. For those close to me, that comes as no surprise. My personal life has been craziness finding out my kiddo isn't well. Our family has undergone a serious life change. That being said, in an effort to regain some sort of normal I am trying to get back on track with my blog.

So back to my pretty shelf....

I scored all these items a while back at Hobby Lobby. The eggs came in a four pack, and are printed burlap. I love the little ceramic animals.

My Stitch Fix #2

It came!! Another cute little box with the lovely Stitch Fix logo. Again, promised myself I would try on everything. Excuse the slightly fuzzy photos. This time it was the kiddo as photog and she's still learning. I should also mention, I don't look at the price sheet until after I try on, since I don't want cost to be my only deciding factor if I really love a piece. And I know me......that would sway me.

Add caption

Rylin Pintuck Detailed Silk Blouse
$78.00

My first thought was that this looks pretty much exactly like item #1 in Fix #1. This one is black and that one was navy, but they are essentially the same and if you recall I returned that one as well.

Returned.

Hydie Geo Print Crochet Detail Blouse
$68.00

Same style....again. And not a flattering style for me. Also the black shoulders are a crochet type panel and the bra straps were showing. I. HATE. THAT. The fabric pattern was just so-so. I am not super in to the geometric patterns that seems popular right now.

Bye-Bye

Pierson Lace Detailed Short Sleeve Shirt
$48.00

Not a huge fan of lace or mint. And again, the bra strap issue. I did like that this was an actual short sleeve, which I had asked for, instead of sleeveless.

See-Ya

Hailey Geo Print Tie Waist Dress
$58.00

I didn't even bother to put shoes on and "style" it as they suggest because laying out I really liked it and was sure about this one. Then I looked in the mirror and thought......oh, what a cute potato sack. Sniffle. I was a little sad.

Tear Filled Goodbye



If you are familiar with Stitch Fix you are probably looking for photo number 5 right now. Scroll on back up to the first three pictures. The jeans were the fifth item. Johnny Skinny Jeans. I love skinny jeans with my boots. They were the right length, SOFT, stretch and comfy, smaller pockets on the bum (which makes a gal's bum look better) and fit like they were custom made for me. It was love. I was sure they were my new favorite jeans.
$88.00
I cried a little when they went back in the return envelope.