Thursday, June 12, 2014

Buried Treasure - From Mess to Marvelous 05/16/12


 I realized a few years ago that there was no way I could keep all the magazines that were accumulating in the studio.  And then there were the stacks of computer printouts, workshop instructions, yada-yada-yada.



 So at first, I put loose items in three ring binders, then I went through many of the magazines and clipped out the articles that I wanted to keep(leftovers went into the collage pile or recycling) and these went into the binders as well.


  But of course,over time, when I would come up with more articles or printouts, they just got shoved into the nearest notebook and you guessed it - pretty soon I had a whole new kind of chaos!


One of my projects this spring was to tame this particular paper tiger. First I amassed all the binders, all the  loose pages and all the magazines that were waiting to be clipped.


Then, duh, I actually came up with all the categories I needed and,"duh 2", made labels for the outsides of the binders so I now know what's in each one.  I know it sounds so simple, you'd think a college graduate, not to mention a librarian, would have done this the first time around.  But better late than never.



Now if I'm looking for that article on "art journaling" I can just go right to the binder that says Art Journaling, if I want info on shops and flea markets - there's a  labeled binder!


Sometimes it's the little simple things that make us so happy!



18 comments:

  1. what the what!!?"???.......I hope that Martha Stewart sees that SOME PEOPLE walk the talk. Bravo!

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    1. Lisa - organizing yes, but not the home-making part!
      Erin

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  2. Great idea for organizing source materials!
    By the way, I have fond memories of Morro Bay.
    visiting from seth's buried treasure.

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    1. Morro Bay is a great spot, we love living here- like a dream come true.
      Erin

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  3. I salute you on what had to be a daunting task...
    putting things into one category is often what stumps me...
    looks like you had great success with your approach!

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    1. Patty - Being a librarian helped! And I love to organize.
      Erin

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  4. You could come up with your own Dewey Decimal System, too!
    Good job on the organization ~

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    1. bobbie - Thanks, things aren't by Dewey on my shelves, but sometimes pretty close!
      Erin

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  5. sounds like a great way for me to organize my binders of articles and clippings thanks for sharing

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    1. Lin - It's really been help when I'm looking for a particular article. Thanks for visiting.
      Erin

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  6. What organizational inspiration!!
    Wonderful Buried Treasure!
    All the best,
    Mary
    Mixed-Media Map Art

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    1. Mary - Sometimes I call myself a left-brained artist because I love the organizational tasks in the studio so much.
      Erin

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  7. such a great idea...and good for you to make the time to do this, wonder if you are still on top of it.

    Also, 1500 posts!! woo hoo....(jeez, it took 10 attempts to get that h word, auto correct wanted me to say hop!!!!)

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    1. Stephanie - My next goal is to get through 17 years back issues of Somerset Studios - maybe I'll just leave them intact! Don't you hate auto-correct? Seems like it changes things to the wrong words more than it helps!
      Erin

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  8. Wow Erin, great organizational skills! I have a headache just thinking about where and how I would begin! teeheehee
    Thanks for sharing your Buried Treasure!
    Jackie ")

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    1. Jackie - Thanks, just do it a bit at a time and eventually - voila!
      Erin

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  9. I'm big on organizing, too. You did a fabulous job, and I suspect it stays much straighter than when you first started the project.

    One of the things I do with my art magazine pages that have lots of colorful and enjoyable art on them (and cannot be used for collage fodder), is use them as envelopes. I sew the pages up two sides and add double stick tape to close them. I get rid of some lovely art, which the mail people seem to like, and it doesn't end up in my recycle bin. It may end up in someone else's recycle bin, but most people tell me they save the envies.

    Great repost of buried treasure.

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    Replies
    1. Great idea - I use pages as collage fodder, but hadn't thought of envelopes! I will definitely give that a try.
      Erin

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