March 27, Winter Again?

Well, it is March right? Outside it's 24 degrees. At least no rain. Well I survived my trip to Long Island for the Copic Certification Course. Oh what fun! I met some wonderful and talented ladies! Hi Anna, Bonnie, Suzanne and Debbie! I purchased a sketch book, more Copics and now practice, practice, practice. Even though I've enjoyed using the makers before attending the course, I didn't realize how much more they can do. I'm hooked on the Airbrush system. I also joined the Magnolia-licious yahoo group. What fun! The stamps are adorable! Will post art soon. Have a wonderful day, wherever the day takes you. Carlotta

March 16: Is it Spring yet?

Happy St. Patricks Day a bit early. I am so trying to get into spring thing but Mother Nature is so not complying. Here in Massachusetts we've had many days of rain, torrential downpours and flooding. At this point I'll take snow, at least it's pretty and doesn't flood the basement. I have today off and continue my purging and organizing. Although I did splurge and buy a Bamboo tablet to hopefully help my photo editing speed up a bit. Hopefully I will post my first technique class next week as I will be going to the Copic certification class. As is well documented, I love all things copic! Have a great Tuesday. Carlotta

March 14: Time

I finally did it! Day one of my very own blog. It was not as labor intensive as I thought it would be. At least I have done SOMETHING productive on such a rainy, blah day. Well now, let me take a moment to introduce myself. Carlotta Vachon. I am a 40 something scrapbooker, photographer, cardmaker, quilter and computer lover. Lover of all things Chocolate.
Massachusetts is where I call home. A lovely piece of land where Cloe (Our yellow lab) can freely run. My son is involved in several sports including hockey and lacrosse. Needless to say my weekends are usually jam packed with little time for me. This blog is what I will refer to as "my" time. Time to connect with those who love to keep their memories. To those who know what a Brad is. (not the one married to Angelina). Time is something everyone I know, could use more of. I have often said that I could get so many more layouts done if I could just find all of my embellishments when I need them. Therefore, I would like the focus of today's post to be on organization.
How organized are we really? Do you organize your cardstock, patterned papers, embellishments, tools and ribbons? or Do you just neatly pile "old" vs "new"? Several thoughts immediately come to mind. Mostly where to begin. I don't recommend emptying the closet or chest of drawers first. What I have found that works well is to isolate one group of scrapbooking ingredients such as my tools and organized just the one grouping. Taking inventory first, PURGING the unused/unwanted items and then considering what type of container to store in (Creative free reign). I love soft storage such as bags and binders. Hard plastic boxes and containers tend to take up too much space. Anyone who has seen my "studio" remembers it as a nursery for one tiny baby. To say the least, it's a bit more than a closet! Lastly, I label everything! The best purchase I've made this year is a new Brother P-touch. Brother even has a really cool pink tape. Those of you who love pink need to check out Robyn at my www.mypinkstamper.com. She's a whoot, you'll lover her!
Another site to help with creative storage ideas is the crafty storage blog. See sidebar. The more organized we are the more layouts we finish. Just give yourself ample time. Some items will need much more time than others (clear stamp storage). On that note.....Happy Sorting. Carlotta