Three Things : On My Table

Threethings

My work table is a total disaster right now (not to mention the floor around my table).

Piles of things I have pulled out from the lockers; pieces of paper with notes jotted on the front and back of concepts and ideas I want to implement (these notes are currently keeping me sane); punches; adhesive; paint. Projects in progress.

Messydesk

Yes, it could be more of a mess. I've seen worse around here. But for someone like me who was really getting the hang of cleaning up everything after completing a project this feels like one big mess that just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

These days those longer chunks of time are harder to come by (hence the very messy table) yet the ideas and the passion is definitely still there. I am relearning how to get things done & how to work in minutes rather than hours. In between feeding and changing and playing with Anna I am scanning and uploading and printing and adhering and painting. Less concerned with the mess than attempting to get some creative work done in the moments I have available.

Luckily, in the midst of all those piles, I have been inspired by a bunch of new-to-me products including the three shown above. All found on my table this week:

1. Martha Stewart Scallop Dot Edge Punch. I noticed last week that Scrapbook.com now carries some of the Martha Stewart craft products. I ordered this one last week and am really excited to put it to good use.

2. Tim Holtz Mini Paper Clips. Looking forward to using these to attach some real life ephemera. The size is just right: not too big + not too small.

3. Jenni Bowlin Pearl Flowers. These little gems have made their way on to a couple of my projects for the magazine recently including the layout featuring the Anna's playlist. It's a great little touch.

What's on your desk or table today? Are you working in the midst of a mess too?

Dottedline

[ Three Things is a weekly product series : check out the archives here. ]

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131 thoughts

  1. Ali Edwards says…
    04/14/2009

    Creative mess is totally a part of the process for sure!!! I should have taken a photo of the floor so you could see the piles there too.

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Liberty Post Editor says…
    04/14/2009

    Ha! I just spent a full week (and I'm not joking) cleaning and editing and organizing my office. I feel so good now. Your place looks so creative and inviting and wonderful!

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Leslie says…
    04/14/2009

    The mess I have right now is...
    1-My cute little Emma made us a darling Easter sign...so the scraps from that are still there.
    2-A layout of my Mom, husband and kids I'm working on. Just need to glue everything down.
    3-Lot of flowers and notes scattered about as I ADORE flowers and I must write my ideas on bits of paper or I will forget!!:)

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Lani says…
    04/14/2009

    My son's 5th birthday party. I am making tshirts with iron-on transfers instead of 'junk' bags for the favors. I hope it works the way I want it to, and that people like the idea.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Michelle W. says…
    04/14/2009

    Wow, I have to say that it makes me feel SO much better to see your scrap area a mess!! Cause that's what my table looks like right now :)

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Gracelyn says…
      02/18/2014

      Action requires knldoewge, and now I can act!

  6. lindsay says…
    04/14/2009

    I was completely inspired by a combination of your amazing Baby Anna album and the fact that I never LOVED the baby book I created for my 2 year old. SO, I spent the weekend revamping his book and creating the "bones" for the baby I am expecting in August while my mom had my son. What a fun Saturday scrapbooking with no interruption. Never quite got to the cleaning up part because I was trying to get so much done in my very rare free time. Desk is now covered in various baby paper, embellishments, clippings, etc...Thanks for the inspiration Ali!
    p.s. had so much fun with the 6x12 page protectors!

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. carolkolakowski says…
    04/14/2009

    What's on my work table today? TAX RETURNS - yuck.
    You were so smart to do yours before the baby!

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Alexandra Maldonado says…
    04/14/2009

    Ali, this seriously is the happiest moment of my life!! lol.. I am always SO intimidated by your perfect and orderly space! now I see you're human too! :o)
    On my desk are my new favorite gray corduroy brads form Stampin' Up!, my stack of distress ink pads and a cluster of homemade model magic "transformers"! (don't ask me how those got there!)
    Enjoy the creative process!

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Christina O says…
    04/14/2009

    My whole scraproom is a mess but a guess a creative mess :) I feel you with the taking the time to get some work done in between caring for the kiddos. And thanks for the heads up with scrapbook.com caring MS products.

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. NancyN says…
    04/14/2009

    Messy just doesn't describe my craft area. I've got 3 projects in the works right now. My DD needs some picking up so I am making a mini book of reasons why I admire her. I am working on a family book for my sister. Finally, I am working on gift card holders for 180 faculty/staff. I thought as my children got older, life would get easier. Not true.
    I love ribbon and buttons. Can't seem to get enough of them. My favorite is my Grandmother's button box. LOVE IT!

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Carrie Alexander says…
    04/14/2009

    Project 365 book, getting caught up. Finding creative ways to fill the holes on days I forgot to take picts. Thank goodnes for notes! Latest Cocoa Daisy kit. At work, WASL testing materials. Let the testing season begin, because Spring sure hasn't!

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. Carrie Alexander says…
    04/14/2009

    Messy during the set up, but SOOOO worth it in the end! Now my workflow for pictures is so NOT messy it almost scares me...Isn't the LOM class the BEST!

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Kathy F says…
    04/14/2009

    I am known to have a TON of clutter and organized mess everywhere! :) LOL! My "area" looks a lot of the time like an atomic bomb hit it! :) It is a "mom", thing...so I hope you aren't worrying about it.
    It is nice to hear that you would rather create and play with your little ones (yes, Simon, too)than worry about what your "table" looks like! :)
    I just love how easy going you are Ali...such an inspiration!

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. Sam says…
    04/14/2009

    Unfortunately, I don't have a scrap space at the moment so my "desk" is actually a big plastic container I use to hold the supplies I'm interested in using. (I bring up the plastic bin from storage in the unfinished basement.) Not the best situation but it's what I'm able to do for now.
    So, anyway, now that you know I'm not really using a desk, I do have some products that I've been using recently. A couple of them are the new upper crest border punch from fiskars and a scallop circle punch.

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Amanda S. says…
    04/14/2009

    All my acrylic Stamps, a pile of nearly finished projects, my laptop, some patterned paper I ordered that came in.... all-in-all my desk is a hot mess! LOL :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. debbies says…
    04/14/2009

    I have recently taken up art journaling. I kept a journal for many years, but this is a whole new level, and it has been keeping my desk covered with bottles of MM paint, paper scraps, silk flowers, wire and beads. I also have my boy's baby-album-in-progress pile. The American Crafts three-ring binder album, ultrasounds, and lots and lots of Prima and MM paper! It can get overwhelming trying to get all these wonderful ideas out of your mind and onto a canvas of some sort.

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Lisa says…
    04/14/2009

    The scallop circle punch from Stampin Up! is on my table a lot lately. And buttons. Hybrid layouts are making a big mess there, too. Really enjoying being able to scrapbook on weekends away or vacations without having to take a ton of stuff...then putting the stuff on when I get back home.

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. Ali Edwards says…
    04/14/2009

    awesome :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Ali Edwards says…
    04/14/2009

    HA! Sounds like I need to show my mess more often!

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Mariangeles_spain says…
    04/14/2009

    My table it's not really messy right now... I have my Xmas stuff out as I'm working my Xmas 08 album.
    I try to keep some kind of order so I can find everything and work fluently.
    My side table is messier (sp?). I have a binder with Shimelle's Journal Your Xmas lessons, an album with rubons, journaling spots, etc, foam stamps, my binder of scraps,... but everything is in its place! :o)

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Maureen says…
    04/14/2009

    lets see...I am staring at a couple of camera manuals, notes from the ATJ class at BPS, punched accents for a mini album project, and SS Quick & Easy Photo Albums special issue, to get ideas for same project, and way to many other things to list.....

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. JustMeAgain says…
    04/14/2009

    Ali, I love seeing your fun and creative table...it looks just like mine right now! For me, with a full time career, a two-hour daily commute, a daughter, a husband, a house that is in constant need of attention whether inside or out in the yard, "relearning how to get things done & how to work in minutes rather than hours", has been my life motto!
    Thanks for making me feel NORMAL! :D

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Sandi Malloy says…
    04/14/2009

    Nice to see I'm in good messy company. I always thought it was just me who had working piles. I have 2 scrap desks and right now both have chipboard pieces and letters to make an album, modge podge and a variety of paper on them. I'm showing my friend how to construct one from scratch. It's so much fun to scrap with a friend sometimes.

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. Melanie says…
    04/14/2009

    "Are you working in the midst of a mess too?"
    Always ... I do try to clean up, but while I work, I grab and throw things around ... end up working on two or three things at once. When finished, I attempt to clean it up and put it all back, but something usually inspires me again and away I go ... having three kids though usually means working in fits and starts, so it takes me weeks to complete anything. Much less get it all cleaned up! Vicious cycle.

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Erica Hettwer says…
    04/14/2009

    I've got piles of goodies from the hospital on my desk. Audrey's birth certificate, wrist bands, all that good stuff that I can't wait to put in her book...or a shadow box.
    I'm another one that really struggles to put stuff away between projects. I think I'm just afraid that my mojo will go-go if I stop! LOL! :D

    Reply 0 Replies

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