Project Scrapbox Workbox: Installment #1

Lots of changes this month... lots to be thankful for and lots to look forward to... On the work front, I said good bye to an old company and hello to a new company! I am so excited and I can't wait to jump right in. But the last few weeks have also been so busy wrapping things up and tying loose ends.

On the crafting front, I am excited to share that I made the investment in the Scrapbox Workbox. At first, I was hesitant because the box itself isn't necessarily my style with its traditional furniture look. But after further research, I was convinced it will meet all of my organizational and functional needs. And it did!

As you can see, it's still a somewhat unfinished workspace... meaning, I didn't complete all the organization of my craft stuff nor did I finalize the configuration of all the inside shelving. But the point of this post is just to share some things I learned through this huge investment. Installment #2 will be about the finished workspace and how I personalized it to inspire me each time I open the unit.

Research & Decision:

• I wanted to purchase the unit with a discount, free shipping, and from a company with great customer care.
• I finally bought it from Legacy Scrapbooking because I personally found the owners, Larry and Lynda, extremely responsive and helpful.
• Plus, there was a 5% additional discount when you "LIKE" Legacy Scrapbooking on Facebook.

Timeline:

• 9 days shipping from Utah to my New York apartment (amazing shipping time, if you ask me)
• 0.5 hours moving and unwrapping the 5 boxes (total weight of 450 lbs.)
  
• 5.5 hours building the unit (Thank you, love of my life!)
  
• 3 hours configuring the inside shelving (still working on this)
  
• Lifetime of craft organization at my fingertips! Love it!
  

My 'Before' Studio:

• I had two large craft units (one of them featured in this previous blog post), one small craft drawer, one small book shelf, and a small craft desk scattered around my living room, taking up way too much space.
• But I loved the eclectic collected look of all the different units thrown together.

My 'After' Studio:

• I have one large craft unit that magically fits everything craft-related in a highly organized manner!
• I will be personalizing it further so it feels more like my "studio" and less of just a huge display shelves.

 

Next Steps:

• Personalize the inside of the unit!
• Come back and check out installment #2 on "Project Scrapbox Workbox"!
  

Hope you found this post helpful if you're looking for information on the Scrapbox Workbox and let me know if you have any questions about it!

Oh, and on a separate note, a great big thank you to Aussie Scrap Source for featuring one of my favorite layouts this past weekend. I used one of my absolute favorite punches on it, the Martha Stewart studded heart punch and now it is also on sale for 25% off at Two Peas!


Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #3: Bring the Bling

It's once again Wednesday, but here, it'll be another CAS-ual Friday! This week's challenge is "Bring the Bling" in a clean & simple way. Sometimes it's very easy to overdo it with bling, so I'm glad CAS-ual Fridays came up with the challenge.

My guy and I love dogs! The other day, we met a friend's 3-month old Boston Terrier puppy. He is one of the cutest puppies ever! I quickly snapped this pic of my guy totally melting while holding the pup. It was certainly "love at first sight"! I loved the moment and the pic, so I just had to scrap it!

The layout design has been floating in my head since I first saw the Paper Smooches Boob Tube set. I wanted the layout to be cute yet masculine... To achieve "cute", I incorporated a heart, rhinestones as telly knobs and electrical current accents, and the super adorable Boob Tube image. To achieve "masculine", I used muted colors/neutral patterns from Cosmo Cricket's Togetherness collection and Echo Park's For the Record collection, made it a little off-center for the "thrown-together" look, and industrial-looking wire antennas to top off the super cute Boob Tube image.

So whaddaya think? Can cute and masculine coexist? :)

Here's a closer look: The antennas were created by twisting wire around a skewer to desired length. I then removed the skewer and attached the wire to the page with white thread. (It looks invisible.) The electrical current was drawn freehand. The rhinestones and twisted wire give a doubly bling and shiny effect.

I adore the telly images from the Boob Tube set by Paper Smooches. They're so cute and versatile! Love! To give the layout some additional dimension, I used 3-D pop dots to affix the Boob Tube to the page.

Used: Cosmo Cricket pattern papers, Echo Park pattern papers and alphabet stickers, Paper Smooches Boob Tube stamp, staineless steel wire from my dad's garage stash, Me & My Big Ideas rhinestones, Bic Mark-it markers

Thank you for the great inspiration, CAS-ual Fridays! And thanks to the lovely Girl Fridays who stopped by my last post and so kindly left encouraging comments!

And lastly, a big thank you to Aussie Scrap Source for featuring my "Blooms" layout two weekends ago. I used the Martha Stewart/EK Success punches in many different ways in it and it's one of my favorite layouts. Check out the post for more inspiration!

Thanks for looking!
- KRAFTY pearl