Tag Archives: getting organized

Forward Motion


Posted by tlcinspirations

It has been a little over a month since we set up shop at Happy Delusions, in Renton, WA, sharing this unique venue with many other talented artisans.  Mary Clymer is the very charming owner and operator of this thriving little gift shop in downtown Renton, which features many “one of a kind”, handmade designs from an array of arts and crafts.  We would like to share with you a few of our items, along with some artisan favorites, although there are too many to show here.  We hope that if you visit downtown Renton that you stop in, and check it out for yourself.  Our local festival, Renton River Days is coming soon!

And here’s a little preview of our items…TLC Inspirations

We are experiencing many changes this year, most of them positive.  Rachel has moved to North Carolina (due to hubby’s job) which has brought a slew of challenges for her and her family.  It was an 8 day journey with a moving truck trying to avoid floods and tornados, but they made it!  They are currently getting settled in their new home, and new community.  Since they have never been anywhere on the east coast, there should be a lot to learn and explore.  I miss them, but sometimes moms just need to let go, and let live.  We have many ways to stay connected, and continue our TLC Inspirations partnership, thanks to technology.

Since we closed down our online shops temporarily, we have been expanding our crafting into new directions.  Rachel has been learning how to machine and needle felt, and she has created some adorable and unique handbags.  I, on the other hand, have become more interested in machine embroidery, and trying to implement that beautiful craft into some of my bag designs.  We hope to have some of these new creations available to our customers online soon.  We will keep you posted.

On another note, we started a YouTube channel a couple of months ago, and will be creating tutorials, so that we can share our experiences, ideas, and knowledge.  We hope that you will watch for upcoming tutorials, and visit our YouTube Channel, and subscribe as we add more content.

Find us on FB, Twitter, YouTube, and of course, here on our blog.

Bonnie & Rachel


By George, I think I’ve Done it!


Posted by tlcinspirations

     

This is my follow-up post to “Now, that’s Embarrassing“, and, After many days of monkey grease, interruptions, to do mayhem and kid transporting, I have completed my task of cleaning up my office. I would like for you to specifically note the multiple storage baskets and clean surface areas. Well done, right? Well, where did my craft supplies all go, you ask???
Well, I dug out several old jars I’ve collected over the years and put them to very good, even genius, use. These are some of the things that I use on a regular basis. Anything that I don’t use on a regular basis is tucked away in a box in that lovely white closet you see in the picture above. I can’t bring myself to show you a pic of the inside of THAT closet, lol. I will get to that later :)  
I ran to our local store and picked up a couple more small baskets for all of my fabrics, so now those are out of the way and looking lovely in the corner of my office. Oh, and look….
I’ve tucked some of my different sized shipping boxes away…between my printer table and my desk. What’s great is that they’re still within easy reach when I’m ready to pack something up and send it on it’s way.
See? I’m using my own suggestions and everything…practicing what you preach, so to speak :)

If I can do it, believe me, YOU can do it. I would recommend setting aside an afternoon when your kids aren’t home, though, lol. They tend to, uh, be obstacles in the process.
Happy crafting!!!



Now, THAT’s Embarrassing…


Posted by tlcinspirations

How would you feel if someone walked into your craft area right this minute? No, not in five minutes, after you’ve frantically hidden things under your desk and in your yarn basket. An unexpected guest walked right in to your work area….Embarrassed? Unorganized? Discombobulated? Totally.

I just moved recently, from a giant office/craft area to a very, very tiny one. I have stuff. A lot of stuff. So, how do you fit a refrigerator into a shoe box? I don’t know! Who do I look like…MacGuyver?

This is what my office looks like today. Please don’t judge me :)
Let’s see…coffee cup, two phones, boxes of envelopes, band-aids (what the?), bills, receipts, glue, photos, candy, cords, buttons, camera, tissue….I could go on, but you get the point. 

Oh, and next to my printer
 (my only other surface area), is more stuff.
Unless THIS qualifies 
as surface area (on TOP of my desk hutch)?
Oh, and then there’s my
chair/cat bed/storage area.
Ok, maybe this isn’t so bad. Maybe your work area is 
worse. Well, wait…I should probably ante up full disclosure here…
…technically, my craft area has oozed into my living room.
Now, THAT’s embarrassing! My front door is about 5 feet to the right.

Getting Your you-know-what Together
  1. Reorganize cabinets and drawers (you will find that once they’re clean, you can fit more stuff in them).
  2. File away your documents, receipts, and bills into a file drawer (if you have one) or pick up a file organizer at your local office supply store and put them in there. They take up a small amount of space and you can fit loads of documents in them.
  3. Take small items (beads, wire, clips, rubberbands, etc) and place them in jars and/or small containers in your windowsill or on a shelf. They will be where you need them when you need them and they’ll look pretty.
  4. For your yarns and fabric scraps, use a basket and then store that basket in an inconspicuous area (under a table). If you don’t have anywhere to put it, don’t fret. Yarns and fabrics are beautiful, so leave them on display – they’ll add wonderful colorful and texture to your room (and maybe a little inspiration).
  5. Keep all shipping items (boxes, envelopes, cards, etc) in one place for easy access. Boxes and large envelopes can be bulky, but broken down, they can easily slide between pieces of furniture and out of the way.
  6. Use a sweet little box for all of your electronic equipment (in my case, it’s a ornate hat box from the gift exchange last year)…such as cords, batteries or even your iPod. Also great for old photos and Christmas cards :)
  7. Instead of those 10 million sticky notes covering everything from your computer screen to your wall, use a notepad program on your computer for all of your ideas and shopping lists.
  8. When in doubt, throw it out…no, not these days. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. That does NOT mean be a pack rat. Things that you know you aren’t going to use can always be given away to a church, thrift store  or charity.
  9. Keep a small garbage can in your work area at all times….and use it!
  10. And, most importantly, once you’re organized, put in the extra effort to stay organized, so we don’t have to go through this all over again. Keep related craft items together, so you can just take out what you need for a project and easily stash it away when you’re done.
I will follow all of my own suggestions and post some photos of my new and improved, clean work area as soon as I complete this task…and, I’m sure, along the way, wonder why I’m such a slob.
♥♥♥Happy Crafting♥♥♥