A Crafter's Best Friend - the Raskog!

Raskog! What the heck is that? You may have heard the name but you have surely seen the three tiered utility cart or one of it’s cousins on Pinterest or your friend’s craft room. As an IKEA fan, I remember wanting a Raskog so much when they were first released. There were two things I couldn’t get over - the hospital blue colour and the price, which I think was around $69 at the time.

Fortunately, the price came down and more colours were released! Never was I so excited about a piece of furniture in my life - and I think that is why people adore their Raskogs and are so devoted to them. If you don’t believe me, google “Pimp my Raskog” or join the Facebook group of the same thing. What makes the humble utility cart so appealing is it’s infinitely customizability. It’s not just A Raskog, with a little creativity, it becomes YOUR Raskog. Folks add paint, vinyl stickers and trick the carts out with containers and more. Add a cutting board and you have an instant work surface. Flip over the top tier for a sewing cart. If you’re short on space, Raskog to the rescue! All you have to do is search for "Pimp My Raskog" and admire the way people have customized their little carts. It's amazing how attached we can be to an inanimate object. My theory is that a Raskog is just so handy and an extension of our creatives selves that we can't help but fall in love with them.

The only downside to Raskogs is that they are a little rascally to assemble, with tiny screws that like to fall out of the hole while you try to screw them in. I think it took about a half hour to assemble and then I soon busy organizing all my craft stuff. It’s been a constant struggle to keep the craft stuff under control - it just gets all over the place no matter how much IKEA furniture you own - but it has made a huge difference in keeping my supplies off the kitchen table. I have seven cups hanging off the side of the top tier for pens and pencils, then two on either end for cutting utensils, sponges, adhesives and random stuff. Antonius baskets will fit in the tray - which I previously featured.

All my catalogs and albums are within easy reach on the top tier along with some larger crafty items. My Big Shot lives on the second tier - the handle hangs outside the tray, while the third tier is a catchall of papers and projects. I love that I can wheel my supplies out of the way or closer to the kitchen table - but it lives just outside the kitchen most days! It’s been tempting to get a second one, I have to confess for the basement where a lot of my art supplies are.

If you don’t have an IKEA near you, don’t worry. You can find Raskog style carts at Michaels, Sam's Club and Target. I have to admit, it's been tempting to get another...

June Update

Whoops, ran out of month again! There were many good reasons, I assure you! First of all, my mom and I went on our first vacation together in many years. We went to the lovely Okanagan region of British Columbia and enjoyed a week there.

For some reason, I always end up watching home and garden shows on vacation. Perhaps we watched a few too many because soon I couldn't wait to get back and rearrange the basement. As it happened, there was an unplanned opportunity to do so! Let's call the unplanned opportunity a leaky water line.

Once I realized all the potential, my husband and I set to work on cleaning OUT the basement. It didn't seem like a lot of stuff...until we found ourselves marking multiple trips to the recycling depot. Knowing that I would have the basement of my dreams motivated me as we tossed, sorted, cleaned and scratched our heads at some of the stuff we found. Stay tuned! I took some before pictures.

I am working on a team swap, but working on the basement was exhausting. Things downstairs moved upstairs and I tried not to pack too much of my stamping stuff away. I managed to break down the cards into steps and hope to finish them this weekend for the next team meeting. Here's a sneak peek - it took forever to fussy cut all the little birds!

Whew! June flew by pretty fast. I did order a lot of the new products. May can be a scary time for a demonstrator because you want the new stamps, but there may be some things from the previous year that you want too. I'm really in love with the Tea Room suite, especially the set of cards. These are perfect for scrapbooking or quick makes when you need one. I don't believe it, but I forgot to order the stamps and die set despite ordering the paper...ah well! It happens :-)

Wish me luck with my reno - I'll need it! The result will be worth it.

May Stamping Project - Mother's Day Cards

Making a handmade card for Mother's Day always takes me back to grade school! This year I reused some leftover card fronts from OnStage swaps to make cards for my MIL and my mother. I hate anything to go to waste in the craft room! I customized them and made 5x7" card blanks to affix the card fronts to. Voila!

If you miss purchasing them when the new catalogue comes out, they may show up on the Clearance Rack.

April Update - Stampin' Up! Onstage

I can't believe how fast April went by! It seems just like yesterday I was hopping on a bus to Red Deer, Alberta, after work for OnStage. This is a special Stampin' Up event for demonstrators only and it is loads of fun! Not only do you get to meet other demonstrators and hang out with your team mates, you are treated to sneak peeks of new stuff, craft with new stuff and go home with new stuff! It's such an exciting event and one where I feel special and recognized. It's thrilling to see others accomplishments and celebrate their successes. It was also extra special because it was SU's 30th anniversary!

Woo!

Everyone received a reversible tote bag with a planner and stamps - naturally!

Inside the bag was also a fun surprise - a light up letter box. Fuuuunnnnn!

I learned a lot of new techniques just by swapping with other demos. My favourite tip from OnStage was to fill a plastic baggie with embossing powder, stamp with Versamark and then dip the piece of paper into the baggie to coat. Using embossing powder has always been a little scary for me because I just picture glitter getting everywhere. My favourite part of the event was swaps. I just loved coming home with new ideas and my swaps were well received. I remembered to keep one of each for myself.

I can't wait until next year!

March Stamping Project: Happy Easter Egg Greeting Cards

Somehow Easter always sneaks up on me, so I designed a simple card for a fast turnaround. I made these double sided flat cards, but with a few changes you can make them into regular cards.



Supply list for four flat cards

• 1 sheet Elegant Eggplant 8.5x11" cardstock
• 3 sheets Whisper White 8.5x11" cardstock
• Elegant Eggplant ink
• Daffodil Delight ink
• Hello Easter stamp set (only available until the end of May!)
• Scissor snips, ruler and craft knife or Stampin' Trimmer
• Adhesive and Stampin' Dimensionals
• Stampin' Sponges

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Cut a sheet of Elegant Eggplant cardstock into 4 4.25x5.5" pieces.

1. Cut two sheets of Whisper White cardstock into 8 pieces. First, trim the cardstock down to 7.5x10" sheets. Save the scraps for later. Cut the sheets in half at 5" on the longest side and then in half again at 3.75".
2. Trim the leftover strips to 0.75x3.5".
3. Stamp "Happy Easter" on the strips with Elegant Eggplant ink and notch each end.
4. On another piece of cardstock, stamp the largest egg in Elegant Eggplant. Colour if you wish.
5. Carefully cut out each large egg with scissor snips.
6. Sponge the front panel all over with Daffodil Delight and affix to one side of the Elegant Eggplant panel.
7. Take the back panel and sponge the edges with Daffodil Delight. Stamp leaves and a rabbit in Elegant Eggplant ink. Affix that to the Elegant Eggplant panel. Make sure both front and back are facing the same way and one isn't upside down :)
8. Stick down the Easter egg to the front.
9. Place 2 Stampin Dimensionals on the back of the Happy Easter sentiment and stick on the front.

One of the reasons that I chose the decorative egg over the striped one in the set was that it reminded me of eggs I used to make in school back home in Edmonton. The art of traditional Eastern European egg decorating is lots of of fun! Have a happy and blessed Easter!

Keeping Cutting Dies Organized - How I Do It

I have a funny story about why paying attention to storing dies is so important. Years ago I bought a rectangular die set because it had one or two sizes I needed. Well, I misplaced those dies. No problem, I ordered another set and strived to look after them better. Wellllll...I misplaced the dies from the second set. Then I ordered a third set! Somehow I managed to find all the missing dies, so now I can do my die cutting thrice as fast.

The problem is though, dies are expensive and you can’t always get a replacement set. Unlike stamps, dies present their own little storage problem. They don’t always stick back on the sheet nicely and the packaging is a little mysterious. Some people get magnet sheets for their dies and empty DVD cases. You can also make a binder with magnet sheets and plastic sleeves.

Leaflets Framelits dies

I use the original packaging because I’m cheap and eco-friendly like that, plus I don’t want to take up more space than I have to. I may get to the binder stage some day! But what's working for me now is identifying all my dies by cutting each one out on scrap paper and affixing them to the paper liner. This way I can test them out, use up scraps and identify them quickly by grouping them together. Any other suggestions? Leave a comment!

February Stamping Project: Lovely Swan Centrepiece or Decoration

LOL you may have expected a Valentine’s Day card or project this month, but instead I present a project that is just as full of romance and love as any card. When I saw that display stampers were wanted for for OnStage, I literally jumped at the opportunity to apply. And I had to jump because I only had a few things that qualified for the three cards, one scrapbook page and two 3-D objects.

This idea materialized somehow except that I was lying in bed thinking about it and had to get out of bed to quickly sketch it before I forgot. When the Lovely Swan stamp set appeared in last year’s Occasions catalog, I knew I had to order it not just because it featured a bird - but because it looked so versatile for any card that needed a touch of flowers or nature. I will get around to updating this post with some instructions and a supply list - I didn't really keep track of how I made it!

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