De-cluttering with Deflecto!

Happy New Year!  Wishing us all a wonderful and blessed New Year!  May all your dreams come true for 2018!  Would you like to know my dream for the new year?  It is actually the same one that I have every year!  I dream of having my studio completely cleaned up and organized as well as the rest of my house!  

I think fighting clutter is high on the list for most of us.  By the time Christmas is over, I can barely get to my desk in the studio! There are boxes and clutter everywhere!  Since I love to work in this room without the clutter, I have decided to take it in hand and attempt to start fresh for this year.

I am taking some pictures of where I am now, and the great products I have to help me get organized.

This is a picture of a portion of the studio as I walk through the door.  I have actually been sorting through things and eliminated a lot of boxes, but still have a long way to go.  I will post another blog once I work my way through all of this and show you how it turned out!

In the photo below I am showing a bookshelf that is filled with some of my Deflecto storage.  I have various sizes of tilt out interlocking multi-bin storage organizer that fit together for storing smaller things like flowers, embellishments, hardware, etc. I am going to empty everything and make it more efficient as I have a tendency to put things out of sight without giving it much thought.  Sound familiar?  

The tilt-out bins can be removed which allows for 2 different modes of storage.  The tilt bin can be used to hold pens as you can see on the upper shelf to the left.  Right below that is a newer product made especially for holding pens.  These interlock and you can add as many as you like.  They can be stood upright or put on their sides as shown.  These also fit nicely into the new caddy storage that is very popular with crafters and makers.  Here is another view below.  On the top of the shelf are more Deflecto storage products that I have used for various purposes.

The photo below features one of my favorite products from Deflecto.  These are interlocking 4-bin units that can be taken apart and used as a single compartment.  I have added knobs to the front of some of the bins; others I made into a candy bin with knobs decorating the top.  Right now, I have them all interlocked into a unit and I need to organize everything that is in the bins.  I love these!  They are fun and easy to alter if you like to personalize your decor.  You can separate the bins and use them as gifts, personalizing them for the recipient.

The next photo shown is a close-up of my favorite bins.  If you look close at the lower left hand quad, you will see the clear acrylic knobs that I attached to the bins.  I love the way these look!  You can purchase 1 bin at a time, or purchase them in a package of 4.

If you share my pain with clutter, leave me a message if you have any organizing tips that work well for you!  

The products I have used here are listed below.

Interlocking Multi-Bin Storage Organizer:  4 Bin Unit, #20403CR; 5 Bin Unit #20503CR; 6 Bin Unit #20603CR

Stackable Cube Organizers:  2-Drawer Cube #350101CR; X-Divider Cube #350201CR; 4-Drawer Cube #350301CR; Standard Cube #350401CR

Interlocking Marker Organizer #29123CR

Check out on here:  Craft site

I will be back with an update on my de-clutter!  Leave me a comment if you have any special tips!  My special tip is donate, donate, donate! Lol!

Cheers!

Marilyn

Creativation Phoenix 2017

Having lived in the Valley of the Sun for many years; I was excited to come back to my old stomping grounds.  Some amazing changes have taken place since I lived there; one of them being the expansion of the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport which is now the 5th largest in the United States.  The days of the single terminal are gone!  I love the palm trees, cactus and sunshine.  Even though the sunshine stayed hidden for most of the trip!

Next is a picture of our hotel from the 11th floor.  A beautiful view!

Outside the hotel at the bus stop.  It was really nice when the bus showed up.  Sometimes it didn't; and I was caught hailing a cab.

Designer Sue Eldred was first up on Saturday for the Make 'n Takes.  Deflecto has many products that make a wonderful surface for a plethora of craft projects.  Sue designed a very cute little desk calendar for the class.  A good time was had by all!

Here is another broader view of the Deflecto Make n' Take table.  All of the gray shirts are the Deflecto Team members.  You won't find a more wonderful group of people!

Designer Monica Taylor was a member of our first Deflecto Design team.  Many times we don't get to meet our design team members in person until we are at a trade show.  It was a pleasure getting to meet Monica.

Below is "Coach" Pat Foley of Deflecto fame.  He keeps things hopping in the Deflecto booth with the deflecto caddy challenges and is a gracious host to anyone who visits the booth.  We kinda like him.

There is always something going on in the Deflecto booth.  Charity Wings came by for a visit and did an interview with Pat.

And the winner is..............................................Pat.

Got a photo op with some more of our Deflecto team.  Ken, Mark, Chris and Rich.

Our deflecto design team members all love Jesika!  She sends out our monthly product boxes and always makes it personal, crafty and fun!  Thank you, Jesika!

Coach Foley prepping between Caddy Challenges.  He is really good at this!  The grand winner went home with $350.00!

I taught the Make 'n Take on Sunday.  We made wet erase sign boards from one of the deflecto frames.  I always love to see the creativity of each participant.  They always make the project their own and inspire others with their ideas!

Here is another lovely project by one of our Creativation attendees!

There were caddys stacked up on each side of the booth.  Lucky ticket recipients got to take one home after the show.  There were 400 free caddys given out at the show.  How cool, right??

The last day of the show.  Sue was on her way out and we ran into each other in the Plaid booth.  I was excited to see all the new product that Plaid has this year.  I am looking forward to working with some of it!

As you can see by this point....I did NOT get out of the booth much this year.  When I was out; I had hurting feet and just couldn't get around the entire show.  I couldn't resist these gorgeous paper flowers though.  I love making paper flowers of all shapes and sizes and these beauties shown here are making a BIG statement!

I also got a peek at Canvas Corp.  Their booth was right behind Deflecto and they always have wonderful products!  Fun and inspiring!

Marilyn, Pat, Tammy and Anita.  Thanks Anita for sharing your pic!

From what I could see; journaling, embellishments, textures and memory papers are still huge.

Paints, surfaces, organic and vintage are still prevalent.  Upcycling and DIY will be around for a long time!  

This is the 4th year since Deflecto joined the crafting industry.  They continue to create and innovate with new products.  The products are geared toward craft storage and event signage. What a great company with wonderful people.  If you haven't gotten to know them; make sure to check out the website and plan on stopping by their booth next year!

Make sure to take time to enjoy the small blessings along the way,

and

Live Life with a Flourish!

Marilyn

Build a Treat Station with Deflecto Stackable Storage!

Storage is fun for the obvious things, right?  I decided to up the fun factor by putting together this DIY Candy, Gum and Nut treat station.  This is perfect for any party, get together, or as home decor.  It will be perfect in my design studio to provide treats for my guests.  We always get hungry when we are creating!

You will need: 

Acetate scrapbook paper:  I used four different designs of 8-1/2" x 11" papers
Americana Acrylic Paint by DecoArt:  Sea Aqua (to match the papers)
Wooden Ball knobs:  two 1-1/4"
Mod Podge:  Dimensional Magic by Plaid (for gluing)
Glitter cardstock:  12" x 12" gold
Die cutting machine (Cricut) to cut letters
Paper trimmer
Ruler
Paintbrush, two 1/4" dowels (for paint handles)
Adhesive tape runnerYou will need:

*deflecto:  interlocking stackable storage (4 bins in unit #421103CR)

Here is the finished project!  Next, I will tell you how I did it.

1.  For each drawer:  Use the ruler to measure the height and width of the front of one bin drawer.  Cut the acetate to fit; apply small dots of adhesive to the right side of the acetate, top and bottom.  Adhere to the inside of the bin drawer.  Cut a contrasting paper to fit the inside of the back of the drawer.  I used an acetate with a cursive design on it.  This is just to add a little dimension.  Repeat for all four drawers.  Cut extra pieces of acetate to further decorate the top and sides of the unit if desired.

2.  Die cut the letters from the glitter cardstock.  My largest letters are 1-1/2"  The smallest are 3/4".  Make sure all of the cut letters fit on the bin drawer before you glue them down.  You will adhere them directly to the acrylic bin drawer as shown.  Use the Mod Podge dimensional magic as the adhesive for adhering the letters.  Apply small dots of adhesive to the acetate paper to adhere each piece to the acrylic.

3.  This is what the wooden knobs look like before you paint them.  Make sure you like the way they look on your treat station.  Some may prefer to leave it plain.

4.  Insert one end of the wooden dowel (or chopstick) into the pre-drilled hole of the ball knob.  Paint each knob and let dry thoroughly.

5.  Adhere the knobs to the top of the treat unit as shown using a dab of the dimensional magic adhesive for each.

There you have it!  You can attach your bins to each other as shown in the photo above, or keep them separate to place around your event or home.  How you decorate your storage bins is up to you.  The possibilities are endless!

Visit deflecto crafts Solutions at http://www.deflecto.com/craft/  for ordering information.

I hope you got some inspiration here today.  I love getting comments and questions.  You can leave one below!

Make sure to enjoy the little blessings along the way and,

Live Life with a Flourish!

Marilyn