I think, for any hobbyist, the biggest challenge of collecting and gathering tools and supplies is storage. Most people prefer to have all their things organized in a certain way and many people look high and low for the perfect space/storage compartment to house all their goodies.

I’m new to Project Life. I did start, well kind of start, last year. But it only went as far as buying. The actually working it was almost non-existent. I didn’t decide to do it until the second week of January and by the time I got supplies in, it was the end of January. By the time I got my first kit subscription (Citrus Twist), it was the end of February. By then I was too behind to bother. So as usual I did a few scrapbook pages here and there.

But this year, it’s a different story. I have stuff! And while they’re 2012/2013 designs, they’re all lovely and I am, well kind of, pass the only-using-what’s-latest-and-greatest supplies. Living where I live now in the UK and only working when I want to work has curbed my (crazy) spending on craft goods habits.

For my PL storage system, I really wanted to get the IKEA Raskog, $49. BUT, England’s IKEA is selling it for £50! Which is more less $80! This doesn’t make sense!! Most of the time the prices are not that huge of a difference. For example a 5×5 Expedit is $199 (before tax) in the US and £130 (around $212 with tax included) here. So depending where you’re at in the US, the Expedit is more less the same. So I shall wait for a sale!

Lovely isn’t it? The one above is Heidi Swapps. You can see how people are using the Raskog on Pinterest. It’s pretty neat!!

In the meantime, I am using this crib I found at a charity shop (Goodwills are in the charity shops category) for £5 ($8-ish). I had baby prop, for my photography, in mind when I bought it but after some thought, the crib makes a really cool Project Life organizer!

I don’t remember where I got the wicker container but it fit the 4×6 and 3×4 cards really well. I can also place the Citrus Twist rubber stamps next to the 3×4 cards. A few months ago I also found some American Craft baker’s twine at my local TKMaxx ( =TJMaxx) for really cheap and I plan to use them this year. Next to it, all the 6×6 pads that came with my kits and a few that I bought at TKMaxx for £2.99/ea. The back bit is not easy to see but I know what are there. Alpha sticker on the right, 12×12 paper in the back and sentiment/embellishment stickers in between. I don’t have much still so it’s still easy to remember where things are.

Besides the Citrus Twist kits and my small purchases, I’ve also gathered all the WPlus9 stamps that I can use to stamp lines, sentiments, backgrounds and cute little embellishments.

I have more background stamps and the seasonal ones but it’s still January and I only dug out the ones I can use on a daily basis. My crib can’t fit anymore and I do want a good visual of what I have.

When I was a Designer for Pebbles Inc, owned by American Craft, I was about to buy all sorts of AC Thickers for a huge discount (one of the perk of being a Pebbles DT during my time) and I stocked up. I have lots and I plan on using many of them this year! I don’t have a good storage system for this yet (to where I can see what I have better) but once that Raskog comes on sale, I can put most of what’s in this bin on the bottom cart.

And here’s my pile. I craft on the floor. I sewed on the floor too but I found that it was actually better when I used my table. HA!

I need to print a couple photos and I’ll be done with my cover page for PL. It’s week 2 now for me and I cannot wait to see what memories, good or bad, we will make and the lessons learned this week!

Have a great day! xx