What a mess!

Things I've discovered about the way I work and make things:

1. I have no problems making a big mess.

2. I'm okay with it because I know I'm good at cleaning up.

3. Sometimes I annoy myself because I clean up too quickly. I put things away and then have to pull them out again 10 mins later.

4. I can work in an organised (to me) mess. I cannot work in chaos.

5. I need a lot of space to work. I know the desk is huge, but I'd have 17 desks this big in my house if I could.

The 17 desks (let's see if I can list 17. I'm going to try!)

1. One for extra work space in my room.

2. Die-cutting in my room.

3. A place to dump stuff in my room.

4. A gift wrapping station.

5. A writing desk (okay, so this one doesn't need to be as big as the others).

6. A desk for Andrew, so I have somewhere to put his stuff.

7/8/9. Three for my laundry - folding, baskets, just junk in that there laundry.

10. A general all purpose anything desk because you need one of those.

11. A place to put stuff we have to take and give to people. I cannot see my mother at any time without giving her something, or her giving something to me. Currently we have an egg carton that needs to go to Andrew's brother (he keeps chooks) and DVDs that need to go to Andrew's dad. There's always things to give to people and I've no where to put them! And Mum's going to give me a Christmas carol book the next time I see her and I'll probably return her Women's Weekly if I've finished it by then. See? Always something to give and get back.

12. Okay, running out of ideas. Oh, a bigger desk to scrap standing up at.

13. And one to put behind me to dump extra scrapping stuff.

14. Another bench in the kitchen. In my next kitchen, I want it to be eat in. I've been watching too much Escape to the Country - I want a little table in the middle of my kitchen. I'd love that.

15. A desk/counter/bench outside to dump stuff on. And a cupboard underneath to dump stuff in.

16. Nearly there. A fold up table to bring upstairs for when we have extra people over.

17. Last one. Can I think of one? Ha ha, and it took a bit of thinking - a ping pong table. We love ping pong, but we don't play anymore. Andrew turned our table into our kitchen bench!

There you go, 17 desks/tables/workspaces - ridiculous amounts of surface area!

6. I need space to work, but I also need to see what I've got in order to use it. If I'm making Christmas cards I pull out all the fun Christmas stuff I want to use and put it in front of me so I can see it.

And the list goes on...Things I've discovered about the way I work and make things:

7. I hate using cheap tools. Give me quality any day of the week.

8. I have several cards/projects on the go at once. It's because I start making something, get an idea for something else and then move on to make it, so I don't forget it. I always come back to the previous things, so it works for me. I rarely have unfinished projects.

9. I like working on self-healing mats because the glue doesn't stick to them.

10. I try a lot of systems of how to access things easily - sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

11. Accessibility is key for me. I can't stand not being able to find things easily.  

Other things I've discovered about how I work and make things:

12. I get an idea and try something like that Doily Lace across the red card - sometimes it works immediately and sometimes it doesn't. This one is in the "I want this to work pile, but I don't think it's going to."

13. If things aren't working, I leave them and work on something else. Usually some time away will tell me whether to persue the idea or not. With the Doily Lace on that vertical card, it didn't work. Sad. But I ended up getting it to work on a horizontal version. Glad.

14. I tend to do lots of versions using the same idea to see just how good the idea is - eg. Jennifer's Brackets edger card idea. She made a card base out of it with the edger on both sides. I did the same thing, but also then went on to do a horizontal version, one like the green above with the edger on the top only and then one with the brackets on both sides, but as a layer on the card, rather than the card base. I like to see how many things can come from the one idea.

15. If I'm experimenting with a new product, I always choose cream/white/clear first. Cream card, white/clear embossing powder/ink, clear/white Glimmer Mist/Glimmer Glam, Crystal/Diamond/Stardust Stickles, Versamark Ink, cream pearls, clear rhinestones, white flowers (actually, that's wrong, I think I went pink first that time), clear glitter, Pearl Perfect Pearls etc etc.

16. I write myself a lot of notes while I'm making stuff, so I remember what I want to make next. I like the constant flow of going from one thing to another, which is why I have a few things on the go at once.

17. I don't like being stuck as to what to do next!

18. What I think I'll use most in the beginning, is not what I used most in the end. For example, a pack of patterned paper. There will be one I think I'll love, but I won't use it much. And one I didn't think much of in the beginning will become a favourite. That Eyelet Lace punch above is one of those dark horses. Love it now.

19. And when the crafting for the year is over, I get a real need to give the place a good clean. A move 'em on out clean and a spring clean to get rid of the dust and glitter and all those tiny punch pieces that get themselves everywhere. Might do that while the weather is still cooler...still feels like spring, might as well spring clean.

20. Nah, forget 20. Who says lists have to end on an even number?

:o)