Gooseberry Cottage is Growing!!!

Well, Gooseberry Cottage is growing!  My hubby has heard my pleas or rather he is tired of listening to me complain.  =)  Either way, my little cottage is going to be expanding!

With that expansion will hopefully come card classes where you will be able to come and visit Gooseberry Cottage!  Enjoy the courtyard, learn a few new techniques and enjoy some fun creating cards of your very own!

Of course, hubby did put ONE little stipulation to my expansion.  I need to sell 1000 cards!  At the time of our little conversation, I said, "No problem!  I can totally do that!"  Now, I am going, "HOW IN THE WORLD!?!"

So I have spent the last FOUR HOURS looking for a cute thermometer to mark my card progress and I found the perfect one!  =)   Priorities, right?

Starting today, I am on the road to Gooseberry Cottage Expansion!  Of course, I certainly don't want to leave you all out of the fun so I will definitely be taking pictures and sharing the process!  It should be loads of fun since we will be doing a lot of it ourselves and I know you will be DEVASTATED not to join in the dirt, filth and manual labor.  So the next best thing is pictures, right?!  =)

If you would like to "help" by ordering a card or two, you are more than welcome to hop on over to our Etsy Store or to our website to check out a card!

I suppose I better get back to work and start making cards!   Keep checking back to see all the fun or follow us on Facebook!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

Suzanne

Gooseberry Cottage - The Courtyard is Finished!!

Well my hubby outdid himself, that's for sure!  The enclosed courtyard for Gooseberry Cottage is now ready, minus a few little cutesty things I still want to buy.  =)

Here is our before and after photos of my new little heaven!!

Thank You for Visiting

Vinnie our Mascot!

Thank you so much for taking the tour of Gooseberry Cottage and seeing where I get to play with all of my pretty papers and stamps!  My husband has truly outdone himself and this was a HUGE labor of love on his part. (I may need to be reminded of that next time he pisses me off! he he he)

There will be some tweaking and some improvements along the way as well as some new organizational epiphanies so I will be sure and share!

Until next time,

Happy Stamping!

Suzanne

All My Supplies

All of My Color Fun

 THIS is my favorite part of Gooseberry Cottage!  I used to lie awake at night dreaming of this!  It was driving me crazy that I couldn't start it when I lived in Gilbert and that I had to wait to get to New Mexico!  Every time I would make a card and I had to go to 3 or 4 different areas in my studio to get what I needed it would irritate me so much!  Now that I am here I am in HEAVEN!

So here is my theory!  The baskets are organized by color family and then they flip flop between hears and butterflies so I know when one color family ends and another begins.

Goodies in the Baskets

Here is what inside the baskets look like!  Each basket as the ink, ribbons, buttons, brads, refills, sponges, extra ribbon pieces I didn't use or even punched out labels, butterflies, etc.  It is all in one place!  I can them all at my fingertips and I love it!  I have also realized that when I have everything out before me I find new uses for some of the accessories I would forget about!  LOVE IT!!!!

Close up of my baskets

Keeping Them Safe

Right now I am surrounded by DIRT!  A LOT OF DIRT!  Everything in my cottage has a thin layer of dirt and I have been here a week!  It is driving me insane!  But my hubby and son are busting their backs to get my courtyard finished and gravel and grass in so it will cut down on all of this yuckiness!  In the meantime, he installed these gorgeous frosted glass doors on my shelving units to keep them safe and dust free!

I can't tell you how much I love this organizational system and how much time it saves me!  Plus it didn't cost me a lot at all!  $49 for the Billy bookcase, $70 for the doors, and the baskets were $1 a piece on Amazon!

LOVE IT!

Stamps, Stamps and More Stamps!

Back in March we talked about how I organize all of my stamps with my little dot and journal system.  Well, here is the finished project!

Each wood mounted stamp case size has its own color and mostly its own shelf.  I had to combine a couple of the sizes due to space, but the majority of them have their own shelf.  You can check out the method of my madness on my earlier blog posts!  Part One - Part Two.

All of my clear stamps are in the Benno shelves from Ikea, the other shelving unit is the Billy from Ikea.  LOVE THEM!  My clear stamps are all alphabetized with some space in-between to add more sets from the new Stampin' Up! catalog that came out!  Oh ya, baby!

I cannot tell you how happy this little system makes me!  And it seriously takes up a 4 foot wall that we thought was going to be a dead space!   Woo hoo!!!!

Virtual Card Class Sticks and Stubbies

Monthly Bucket

Before my little kits for the Virtual Card Class go out, this is where they live!  So there you go, a sneak peak at next months goodies!  It is so easy to just grab the bucket and sort away!

And here they are!  The stamps for the next 6 months!  (With my untidy cords!  Still need to fix that!)

Keeping it Close

At My Fingertips

Pier One Imports was totally picking up my vibe on colors for Gooseberry Cottage!  I picked up so many cool accessories and I love them all!  I used this super cool basket to keep all of my tape, pearls and rhinestones.  It is all together in one place and each to access and looks great on my workstation!

And this is the bad boy my hubby ran out and hunted all over town for!  We had two fatalities during the move and one was my color printer!  I had it safely tucked into the back of my Prius to keep it safe from the movers and silly me forgot it was back there and I opened the hatch and out it fell.  It promptly busted into a million pieces and I had a few foul words spew forth from my lips and a possible kick to a shattered piece.  (Note to self, don't kick sharp plastic objects while wearing flip flops...it doesn't feel good!)

And do you know what that little blue light in the right hand corner means?  WIRELESS!!!   AND to top it off it actually works!  Happy dance!!!!

My Work Station

Work Station

One little draw back of my new little cottage is the lack of a big work space.  My last two studios had some killer space and I utilized it to its full potential.  But I am trying to make do and I am sure I will get to used to my cozy little spot.  I still have everything at my fingertips which is the most important part aside from a place to have a yummy snack!

Yumminess!

Mmmmm, chocolate covered raisins!  Thank you, Laurla for supplying me with the good stuff!   The little container next to my dish of chocolate heaven is my trash cup.  I used to have a bigger trash can, but it was too big for my desk and not as cute!  At least I have a chance at containing the Dimensional backings! 

Happy Stamping!

Suzanne

Big Shot Station

My Big Shot station is also home to some overflow supplies that desperately needed a home!  Here we have all of my Big Shot supplies, my stamp cleaning station, all of my containers for embossing powders, my must have Xyron machine that my cousin Courtney introduced me too and my Granny keeps me supplied with the refills!   These babies make my ribbon life so much easier and my ladies love them at our classes!

Can I just say that I LOVE the Avon calendars?  They have the most gorgeous flowers for their monthly pictures and I love them all!  Thank you, Gaby!

The only thing missing at the moment are the cute polka dot valances my mom is doing up for me.  Those should be up by next week!

Happy Stamping!

Suzanne

Snack Station

Let's face it, my brain cannot function nor can it comprehend creative genius without a few snackies!  Chocolate covered raisins, almonds, Cheez-It's and cool funky straws for my beverages!   It is like a party in my little cottage!  Plus, my snack station sits on my mini fridge!  All I need to do is snag my bottle of champagne from my mom and put that bad boy in my fridge for consumption to celebrate pretty cards!  Oh ya, baby!

Happy Stamping!
Suzanne

Cutting Station

Next to my paper I put my cutting station.  Seems to make sense!  Grab some paper, cut away and start working on a card!  I have my big monster cutter, courtesy of the wonderful suggestion from Penny at Penguin Stamper.  Gotta love the QCM monster cutter for big projects and classes, but I do love my Carl.  Carl and I have had a very long standing relationship and I love him dearly!  He is my go to guy for all of my everyday cutting needs.  He cuts, he scores and if I could get him to take out the trash it would be a match made in heaven!

My little blue bucket is an incognito trash can for all of the little scraps that I don't keep and the little drawers to the left is where I keep my blades, cutters, small tools AND my cheater papers!   I cut a bunch of white and ivory 1st and 2nd layers since I use them the most.  This way I don't have to waste precious stamping time cutting paper all of the time!  I love it!

The turquoise box on top of my drawers is empty!  Shhhhhhhh, it is only there to bring the turquoise across the room, but the plum one beneath it is being put to work!  Occasionally I will cut and score a card only to veto it.  Instead of tucking it away in my scrap boxes with all of the other miscellaneous parts, I put them in their own home next to my cutters.  This way I can open the box, take a quick gander and pull out the color that I need!  Love the time saving!!!

Tomorrow I will show you my snack area!!  You can't have a cottage without a few snackies!

Happy Stamping!
Suzanne

All My Paper

It may not be ALL of my paper, but these are my basics.  The solid sheets that I use every day.  I have them all sorted by the color family which will come in handy when I get to my nifty ink and goody organizational system.

As much as I like the Designer Paper, it isn't something I used on a normal basis so it has its own home under my tables.   The boxes on top of the paper racks are for my scraps.  I have each color family in its own gallon size Ziploc baggie so I can easily go through and see if I can use it for a project.  Besides the fact the colors look great with the decor!

As for my little visitors, you can't have a cottage without Santa Mouse and even a bunny needs a home, a home of his own.  And Garrett very diligently hand sewed me a pink bunny to go with my other little dudes.  I just love it!

I still need to get some sheers for the window and that should be happening this weekend when I go back to Gilbert.  Can't wait!!

Happy Stamping!

Suzanne

We Have Arrived!

Entry Way

Well Garrett and I made it to New Mexico and Gooseberry Cottage is just about finished!!!  My mom and Jordyn helped me get the place looking all snazzy and getting things organized!  Which I can not tell you just how wonderful that makes me feel!  I love having all of my goodies organized and easily accessible!

Work Area

I will be taking you on tour of my little cottage over the next few days.  Some things are still a work in progress and I am hoping to have them finished over the next few days.  You can see the tall cardboard boxes off to the left and those are actually doors for my nifty new organizational system for all of my inks, ribbons, brads, and accessories.  Wait til you see what I have done with those!   It is my favorite part!

I am just hoping that with all of the new goodies I have coming from Stampin' Up! tomorrow I still have room for everything!  I may need to talk to the hubby about getting me a room addition!  =)

Until tomorrow!

Happy Stamping!
Suzanne

Unloading in the Cottage

The funniest part of my day today was Stephan calling me and telling me that if I have a thought to bring something else to New Mexico, don't.  LOL   I think he is trying to nicely tell me I have too much crap and he is probably right!  He made a super human effort on Friday to zip away from work and drive the 6 hours to Gilbert to rent a trailer to bring my studio up to NM.  

Not only did he do a major turn around: Get to Gilbert on Friday night, load on Saturday and head back to NM at 6am Sunday morning, he had to unload the entire trailer by himself!!  If I ever dare to even question if he loves me, I think I need to look back at these pictures!

The real crazy part about all of this is this IS my studio stuff.  Every box is part of my craft room, all my stamps, inks, paper, cutters, you name it, THIS is Gooseberry Cottage.  Dare I tell him that I have another U-Haul full of stuff coming on Thursday?  Ooops!

I will admit that I am super excited to tackle the mass amounts of boxes and put together my little sanctuary!  The best part is my mom and daughter are coming up with me so we get to work on it together!!!  Woo hoo!

Next post...after I get all settled!

Happy Stamping because I sure can't right now!  =)

Suzanne

Gooseberry Cottage is Ready and Waiting

Gooseberry Cottage is FINISHED!!!!   My hubby busted his hump and got it all finished just in time for our May 31st move in date!  Talk about my very own Superman and if that isn't enough, he has already started in on the courtyard!  I am beyond spoiled and loved, that's for damn sure!

I just need to get a couple of cute little things to adorn the outside of the cottage.  I am dying to get a cute little mailbox to put little notes in for the family, a Gooseberry Cottage sign and a couple of cutesy flags to hang outside the window.  Plus a cute frog or two for the patio!  (Yes, I have a thing for frogs and my mom still buys me cute froggy jammies every now and again.)

As soon as I get up to New Mexico I will be sure and take more pictures with all of the goodies!!!

In case you missed it, let's take a quick tour of Gooseberry Cottage and her transformation!

The Outside

The back wall where G's room and bathroom will be

Installing the Drywall

The front of the cottage

Garrett's bedroom!

The front of the cottage with the lights and drywall up

Bathroom

Framing in Garrett's room and bathroom

Almost Finished!

Well we have been crazy busy here at Gooseberry Cottage!  Aside from a laptop committing suicide, Stephan and his father have completed the bathroom in the cottage!!  We just need to get a mirror for over the sink and the bathroom will be finished.  The only thing left to do is install the carpet which if all goes well, will be installed next week!

Life back in Gilbert has been crazy as well.  We are starting the packing process, moving odds and ends to the storage room, my daughter graduates in a few weeks, work is coming to an end, and friends and family need to be visited.  Not to mention the last few card classes need to be had.

It is definitely one of those bittersweet moments where I am super excited to FINALLY live a life with my husband without the dividing forces of living two separate lives.  The lives we have in our home towns and the lives we share on Friday nights together.  It is definitely taking its toll as we have been doing this for a year and a half and we are both excited to finally be together.  The bitter side of things is leaving my friends, my family, and my daughter behind.  My mom insists I am not REALLY leaving because we will be back so often for my son to see his father and she does have a point.  (Mom's are smart like that!)

As time draws near more emotions come to surface; the excitement, the anxiety, the thrill and fear of the unknown, the wonderment and the start of a new chapter in life.  I will have a new life ahead of me, a life where I get to make cards to my little hearts content, mixed in with helping Stephan run his DJ business, being a mom to 3 boys and 2 girls, a wife, contracting for my current employer, avoiding going into Farmington at all costs, and cooking to my little hearts content!  Garrett is SO looking forward to that one!

So a lot happening here and I promise to be a bit more consistent in my posts especially once I am all set up in my new digs!!!

Until then,

Happy Stamping!
Suzanne