Coming Back

Helloooooo? Do I hear an echo? Hmmm…
 
I’ve left this and any of my readership alone for a very long time.
 
Back in the beginning of the year things here on this blog, plus another I was working on, were going great guns. Social media was on the front burner. Instagram posts were flying. Facebook was burning up with comments and likes. Behind the scenes a bunch of us were busy everyday for hours planning for the next thing. Many hours. Everyday.
 
It was too much. The core of the other blog broke down. Then I started to break down.
 
Time to take a break. From all things internet.
 
So…other than peeking in to keep up with friends I dropped almost all social media. Including my blog.
 
And it’s been on my mind lately so I’m back in here typing….
 
No promises of regularity or how faithful I will be.
 
Only a desire to restart in  a more fulfilling way…a more authentic way.
Until next time,
Susan

National Organization Month: What are you doing?

National Organization Month and what are you doing to re-organize your home, life, and studio?

I am an avid cook so drawers that are completely unusable and crazy messy drive me crazy! So the first place I start with organization is in my kitchen. This baking drawer was such a mess I didn’t realize I had purchased several identical items! Now it’s labeled and things that go together are side by side.

Kitchen Baking Drawer

I wish I had a before picture of this. You wouldn’t have known even what this area was for. AND I threw out spices from the Jurassic period! Oy! Now it’s a pleasure to open this space!

Spices Galore

You couldn’t even tell what this area was for before I started! Plus I threw out spices from the turn of the century! Now it’s a pleasure to open this cupboard.

Bread Baking Station

How many crumbs can there really be in any one spot? This is my bread baking area…yes there are two bread machines. As a side note I bake all of our bread products from scratch. No more preservatives or hidden GMO for us! May sound crazy but it has solved a couple of health issues we had going on. AND it tastes delicious this way!

But..back to organization! With this many things on one counter area it easily gets out of whack. This is how it’s supposed to be!

Next organization project? Besides the entire house? Pieces of the studio…stay tuned!

Until next time,

Susan

P.S. Please hop over to my collaborative blog for some other organization tips from the studios of the girls!!

Gift From Etsy

Woo hoo!!

Look what came in the mail awhile back! I had forgotten to show it off but here it is…

The new Etsy attachment that allows for payments to be taken with my smart phone!

Etsy Payment Box

This is how it came to me.. With it’s own really fabulous packaging. Great branding and something we all need to pay attention to. Huge sticker on the mailing envelope, cards with their logo…even the rubber band is their signature color!

And it gets better…

etsydongle3

You can use all the cards in or on your show tables or booth. One folds into a table stand…and the box that holds the device…

etsydongle1

…has a slit in it to hold the credit card sign!!! It’s a fabulous thing!! And it was free!

I have yet to try it out but I will and report back. If you have a shop on Etsy you should ask for one of these! It never hurts to try new things!

Until next time,

Susan

ICE® Resin Design Team Everyone!

Here is a list of all the bio’s and the artsy members of the ICE® Resin design team for 2015!

Creative Team 2015

Don’t miss any of them! All of the design team members are crazy talented, have unique points of view, and include interesting tidbits about themselves.

Chantal Johnson

Heather Widener

Sandy Martin

Clare Horner

John Creighton-Petersen

and ME!

 

 Until next time,

Susan

Arc Planner: My Daughters Point of View

Hi! Hello! I’m AdaLee, and I’m writing a guest blog post for my mom about our Arc Planner!!

Recently my mom and I both started to get more organized and we got ourselves an Arc planner organizer and notebook.

AddiesplannerAddiesplanner

The Arc planner is disc based, not three-hole-based, which means that instead of the normal three-hole rings, they have 11 discs as the binding. We both have a faux-leather cover arc filled with dividers and paper and what nots of our choice.

Addiesplanner (1)

Mine happens to have normal three-hole-punched college-ruled paper, graph paper, and even some blank paper. Since these papers are not already compatible with the Arc because of their inferior three-hole-punches, the Arc planner has a punch system that makes pretty much any kind of stationery into something that can be put into the arc!

arcplannerpunch2

I love this thing. I honestly do.

I had a super lame three-hole binder that had d-shaped clips instead of the default O shaped or C shaped ones normally in three-hole binders. What the meant was that papers in the binder would be incredibly difficult to maneuver without putting unnecessary stress on the punched holes. This resulted in a lot of torn paper, including some that was (or would be) important to class.

Addiesplanner (6)

 With the arc, I can now not have to worry about any paper tearing too much, for the way the Arc punches the paper that fits in it, individual papers put under too much stress simply pop out.

 Addiesplanner (4)

No worries. No damage. Just pop them back in again and
***ta da!!!*** you’re all good!!

On top of that, having to repunch and reformat all of the paper that I put into this thing requires me to be more organized about my schoolwork. My failed organizational days are gone!

Thank you Arc!!