Organization | Catered Crop

The creative mind plays with the object it loves.
~ Carl Gustav Jung

Welcome to another edition of Friday Five: random thoughts in my rambling head for giggles and grins. This week's Friday Five is the part two sequel to last week's Friday Five, which was all about finding creative and vintage ways of storing crafty supplies.

Yes, there's more!

Grin #6 - Ribbon and Bows

I have a lot of ribbon – it's kind of my fetish. Oh, and I love Corinna's Ribbon Carousel. Have you seen her newest design? It's classy and elegant and totally Up Town!

After I filled up my Carousel, I raided the kitchen.

Loaf pans for scraps of lace wrapped around clothes pins . . .

crock jars for string . . .

and an antique aluminum foil, wax paper, and paper towel holder my daughter gave me for Christmas.

And, from the tool shed . . . this antique tool box.

Grin #7 – Paper Packs.

Do they still give you these baskets to store your personal things in at the city swimming pools? This one's the perfect size for my paper packs (another fetish of mine).

I found these white enamel drawers for one dollar at one of the Canton Trade Days, the perfect size for my October Afternoon paper packs.

Grin #8 - Sticky Stuff.

I use so much adhesive, I keep a whole drawer full of it within close reach. And, of course, right with the adhesive is the Un-Du adhesive remover.

Grin #9 - My Go To Box

I'm very organized when I work (or rather play) because, seriously, I have a terrible memory. If I don't put things back as I use them, I lose them. This little drawer sits on my desk as my go-to box. It's where I put things as I'm working on my projects to keep my desk clear and so I can find my things after I turn my back on them.

Grin #10 - Buttons and Buttons

I love my buttons, so I like to keep them under glass when I can gaze at them.

Or in a muffin tin.

Or, maybe in Mom's school-girl lunch box.

I hope you enjoyed my nickle tour of the Crop Crib. Ah man, I love all this old stuff. Combining old treasures with new treasures is such a treat.

January 28, 2012 | Filed Under: Crop Crib, Organization, Tips and Techniques | 7 Comments

The creative mind plays with the object it loves.
~ Carl Gustav Jung

Welcome to another edition of Friday Five: random thoughts in my rambling head for giggles and grins.

I'll admit it. Sometimes I have as much fun organizing my craft toys as I do creating with them. Maybe that's the Virgo in me. I especially I like to find creative and vintage ways of storing my supplies. If your New Years resolution was to get more organized, hopefully these pictures from the Crop Crib will spark some ideas for you.

Grin #1 - Buttons.

Yes, the Virgo in me actually sorted all my stock buttons by color and then arranged them in the same order as the color wheel. A little obsessive, compulsive, right? Ah, but it's so pretty to look at. Nirvana. I found these bottles at Ikea and tied bows from torn fabric strips to match the buttons inside.

Grin #2 – Markers and Pencils.

Turns out the cubby holes in Dad's roll top desk are perfect for storing Copic markers (yep, organized in the same order as the color wheel).

A vintage sewing machine drawer and little buckets store my Prisma pencils on top of Dad's desk.

Grin #3 - Die Cuts.

The turquoise basket on Grandma's sewing machine was my Mom's sewing basket – we always reached for when we needed to hem some pants or sew on a button. It holds my Die-Namics from My Favorite Things.

I found this vintage vanity case at a little antique store in my Central Texas travels. It's perfect for my Nestabilities and embossing folders.

Grin #4 - Glitter and Such

These old kitchen canisters hold my glitter, embossing powders and flocking powder. The canisters keep them fresh, don't you know.

Grin #5 - Flower Pots.

These old flower vases belonged to my two Grandmothers. The one on the right always sat on a table in my Grandma Black's living room. It's too dear to hide in a cabinet somewhere. I get to enjoy it every time I grab a pair of fabric scissors.

This old planter was my Mom's. I don't have her green thumb, so it holds my acrylic blocks for stamping.

The Crop Crib is definitely my Zen room. I love this room, not so much for its eclectic decor, but because it's full of treasures and sweet memories from my family. I stamp at my Dad's roll top desk, blog in my Mom's overstuffed chair, keep my scissors in Grandma's flower vase . . . you get the idea.

There's more! Come back next Friday for part two of my creative storage ideas. Meanwhile, if you want a panoramic view of the whole Crop Crib, just click here.

Until next time, Hugs!

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January 20, 2012 | Filed Under: Crop Crib, Friday Five, Organization Tagged With: Crop Crib, Friday Five, Organization | 6 Comments

Jigger Craigin: [trying to seduce Carrie Pipperidge] Oh, Miss Pipperidge, I'm just crazy fer you!
Why, just to see your lovely smile I'd swim through beer with my mouth closed!
~ Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, 1945, from the musical Carousel

Hee, hee, that quote doesn't really have to do with anything other than it's from the musical Carousel, and it's such a great line! And, it's a great excuse for me to tell you about something I'm crazy excited about. Maybe Billy Bigelow wouldn't have gotten fired from the carnival as a carousel barker if he had this to tell you about.

Aren't those pretty? After more than two years, three design changes, three raw material changes, and four different manufacturers, our very own Corinna McGregor is unveiling her ultimate in ribbon storage systems.

Here's how it works. Corinna's Ribbon Carousel^© looks and spins like a carousel. It holds up to 96 rolls of 3/8" ribbon with spool sizes up to 4", but it uses less than a 7" square on your workspace. And if you like to take your ribbons on the road, this puppy weighs less than 4 pounds. Some minimal assembly is required, and sorry guys, but the ribbons are not included.

So, how am I doing? Think I'd make a good carousel barker? I'm sure I've left something out, so just head to RibbonCarousel.com where you can get all the goods. And, darlin's, you can grab the golden ring because Corinna gave me a Free Shipping code just for Catered Crop readers: DTBFS.

March 11, 2011 | Filed Under: Organization Tagged With: Organization, Ribbon Carousel | 3 Comments