Assembling a crafty Autumn basket........

Hi, I'm back today to share something very fun. Many of you that have followed my blog have found my Inspiration Station posts to be some of your favorites. In these posts I've shown you my own baskets brimming with my crafty favorites for that particular holiday or season. Today I'd like to share with you exactly how I go about shopping my own stash and assembling an Autumn crafty basket for this Fall and Halloween season. I recently offered many Autumn Basket goodies to my shop so I'll be using many of those items + some other stuff from my personal stash.

There are 3 basics steps I take when organizing an Inspiration Station of sorts:

1. Collect and gather...Use new collections and always shop your own stash. No need to get out every item you own. Keep it rather simple.

2. Organize.....Group like items together so they are easy to find. Digging through a cardboard box with piles of stuff layered in is not the idea here.

3. Display.....Find a basket or tray to display your items so they are within easy reach but also pleasing to the eye when sitting out for an extended period of time. Think of it like creating a fun display for a small boutique.

So first up I gathered Fall and Halloween items from my stash. Most of the items you see below are shop items that I offered up in the shop this last week. I like to select products that can be used for cards, gifts and scrapbooking.

I've got a variety of sacks in different colors and sizes. Perfect for holding cards and small gifts. The ribbon is from the Seam Binding Trio along with the Vintage Sequin Confetti Sacks and some black paperclips from the Striped Treat Sacks Kit.
Below I have Dripping Doilies some leaves and old book paper that are all found in the Autumn Kraft Packaging Kit. The items from this collection will be suitable for all Fall and even Thanksgiving projects.
I have twine in all colors so I just selected the ones suitable for my Fall projects. I could easily add in some yellow and brown to the mix too.
More little items from the Striped Treat Sacks Kit plus a nice pile of the Vintage Halloween Button Assortment.

Here I have some Vintage Rust Lace, a few of the Washi tapes from my Autumn Basket shop goodies plus a few more from my stash.

Okay, so next up I need to organize my stash of items. You'll notice that almost everything I have is out of it's packaging. I like to see product without all the wrapping as I think I'm more likely to use it and not be a Halloween hoarder. Here I have all my flat sacks and envelopes staked together.
Next I took the smaller flat items like the book pages, small sacks, doilies and leaves and clipped them together with small clothespins. This is extremely helpful in keeping items nice and tidy.
For ribbons, laces and twines I like to wrap them around cardboard or old fashioned clothespins and secure with long stick pins. Having a bunch of loose ends just makes a mess.
For small items, you know I love my old jello molds. They're perfect for dumping stuff in and it makes all the tiny items very visible. Again, if you see it you will be more likely to use it.
Washi tapes. Wonderful Washi tapes. You might have a bazillion in your collection but each project doesn't need to show it. Just grab a few that fit the theme and call it good. The bottom left were from my Autumn Basket shop update and the two top ones on the right are new from the October Afternoon Witch Hazel collection.
Next up it's time to create a fun display of my Autumn items. I like to use woven baskets or woven/metal trays that have low sides for my displays. A deep basket will prevent you from seeing all the goodies inside. Today I'm using a sturdy woven tray with handles that I got from Nell Hill in Atchison, Kansas. It's a great home goods shop that promotes these types of baskets for all kinds of uses. Having a few good staple baskets/trays like this can be so helpful in your household organizing. I have several and use them for crafty storage, displaying holiday items, holding silverware & napkins for a party, carrying snacks to the Lounge for a tv night. All kinds of uses. Get you some good baskets.
And then I just neatly tucked all my Autumn goodies inside. I start with the tallest items in the back and then just add items in ending with my small items in the front. It's very organized, I've got a nice sized but not overwhelming collection of items and they're displayed in a fun way. If this doesn't tempt me to create something fun for Fall, nothing will.
Okay maybe these new October Afternoon goodies will. :) So many companies are now offering a wide array of crafty goodies for one particular line. October Afternoon always, always does a fantastic job of this. Even before I became a Design Team member I always purchased lots of the pieces and parts of a line. It's just that good. You can see the line of Witch Hazel products over at 2peas right here.

And if you're not into buying too much "themed" product or items that are too matchy/matchy, don't worry. Every collection from October Afternoon and most other companies too has a fantastic mix of specific themed items + items that can be used for everyday type projects. So for example with the OA Witch Hazel line, you will definitely notice the Halloween themed papers and doodads. But if you look closely at the back of many of the patterned papers, labels and embellishments you'll see that the designs are very generic in nature. Perfect if you like the mixy/matchy look like me.
When I get a new collection of goodies, I do tend to keep them in the packaging for a while. I said before that I like to take everything out of the packaging....but while it's all still new and shiny, I like to keep items together. Then after a while I rip it all apart and store it all together. But for now I'll keep the Witch Hazel packages in something like this old sewing machine drawer.
And I couldn't forget about the patterned papers. Usually I will mix and match papers from my stash and will not purchase special themed papers. Those specific papers tend to never get used because the patterns might be too big or I just buy too much. But again, that's what I love about OA papers. There's a little something for everyone and I know that some of these papers will be used for many projects that aren't Fall or Halloween themed.
And that concludes my post for today. I hope you are excited to get to your crafty space and whip up a little Autumn Basket of your own. Have fun!

2010 Halloween Inspiration Station

Hi friends, it's October which means Halloween is coming.  I love all things spooky and scary....orange and black......frightful and delightful.  Pumpkins and gourds, witches and bats, black cats and ghosts.....it's all so fun!  Without further delay, it's time to show you my 2010 Halloween Inspiration Station.  I use this old wooden carrying tray with inserts to keep all my Halloween goodies tucked inside.  By keeping themed supplies all in once place, you get a good idea as to what supplies you actually have on hand.  It's fun to go shopping in your own boxes and bins.  Plus, it's very inspiring to see all the goodies grouped together.  You can pick and choose from all the trinkets and baubles and papers.  Of course I don't use each and every item that I tuck into my Inspiration Stations.....I just use what inspires me at the moment and the rest goes back into my stash when the holiday is over.  Fun stuff!

You all know that I love me some tags!  This season, I've aged a stash of tags so that they look worn and tattered.  The tags shown below are Small and Medium Manila Parcel Tags, Medium Orange Parcel Tags and Large Metal Rim Tags from my Etsy shop.

Love the little baubles and embellishments tucked into vintage jello molds.  Here I have felt ghosts, old checker pieces, bats, glittery flowers, buttons and rhinestone sequin buttons.

Vintage ribbons and laces and ric racs are always fun.  I've added some burlap in there too for so me great texture.

Vintage buttons in jars and jello molds....Martha Stewart glitters.

And my faves this year that I'm hoarding.....Bingo cards of all sorts and these vintage playing cards with the number 13 on them.

A little stash of my Rustic Clothespins, dyed in yellow and orange....

And Halloween papers of all sorts...some of my faves this year are from The Girls Paperie.

I love this old orange and black tin that I got a garage sale...perfect for tucking in a few Halloween goodies to display on my desk.

And how about a few projects made with my Halloween goodies?  I just love these little stuffed felt ghosts that I got on clearance last year from Making Memories.  I used them front and center on a few collaged tags.  Simply slap on some papers, sticker borders, ric rac, flowers, buttons.....an Orange Soda Carnival Ticket under the ghost....and stitch up the sides with dark thread to keep it in place.

I tied the tags to some Brown Paper Sacks that I will fill with candy bars or homemade treats.  I've got a few friends that I'm sure would love some fun Halloween mail!

I used black Wrinkle Ribbon, a snippet of orange lace and Kraft Silk Ribbon to tie the tags around the sacks.  As you can see in the background below, border stickers make for some quick and easy accent pieces....I used snippets on my tags and across the sack fronts.  Such cute little goody bags....with a vintage flair.

Hope you enjoy!  Please feel free to share what your plans are this Halloween.  Jordan's birthday party is finally is this weekend and we're making caramel apples, mummy looking pigs in a blanket and witches fingers....I haven't gotten much further than that.  I think I'll get out my Halloween decorations so it will look festive when her little friends come over!

2008 Halloween Inspiration Station...and some cards!!

Edited: I'm starting a blog list of other Halloween Inspiration Stations. Be sure to send me your links so I can post it here.

1. Here's Jen's Inspiration Station HERE. She found lots of goodies that have never even been used. Creating your own Inspiration Station is a GREAT way to collect all of your supplies into one area...and hopefully put them to good use this year.

2. Check out my friend Heather's collection of Halloween goodies HERE. She's got the GOO punch from Martha! Gotta get me some goo!

3. Look at Lynn's Inspiration Station HERE. I spy a cute Longaberger basket, gotta love those! And look at the SU! goodies, I didn't even get ANY of those stamps out! Once you start digging through like Lynn did, you find out you have a lot more then you think!

It's double bonus day here at Mish Mash. Not only am I going to show you my 2008 Halloween Inspiration Station, I'm going to show you a few Halloween cards too!! I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!Woohoo, let's begin our little tour. This year, I put all my Halloween goodies in a portable vintage drawer so that I can set it on my desk while I'm working. I find these old drawers at antique stores and flea markets. I'm always on the look out for them! This one was REALLY cool because it has wooden dividers in it, probably a card file drawer of sorts. I can easily take out the dividers to make space for whatever goodies I want to place in there.

This first section has a ton of Halloween ribbons in oranges and blacks. I'm still hoarding that Martha Stewart ribbon from last year!
Here's some chipboard stickers and tiny alphabet stickers by Making Memories. And don't forget about the Halloween images booklet by Crafty Secrets. Frightfully good stuff!
I got out my little bread pan and tucked in all my stamp images I want to use this year. I've got Papertrey, Stampendous and some darling Whipper Snapper images by my good friend Anna Wight. I can't wait to ink up that little Ghosty Girl. And how about a haunted house with Papertrey's Boards and Beams set. Oh ya, gonna try that soon!
And then there's the embellishments...buttons and baubles, oh my! And the glitter, I'm all over the glitter this year. Pine's into the glitter too, check out her blog. Stay tuned for glitter mania on my cards today!
And last but certainly not least.....the paper. I was in Halloween heaven (is that contradictory?) when I spied these new My Mind's Eye papers the other day. They called my name like a kindred spirit........Miiiiiishie.....buyyyyyy meeeeeeeee. So I did.

Okay, enough about my oh so ghostly goodies, let's see some cards! First, I want to show you a fun technique I did with glitter today. I used some of Martha's glitter from Michael's. By the way, have you seen Martha's daughter's new show called Whatever Martha? It's a total hoot, the other day they were making fun of Martha's cigar purses! You must watch it!! I digress so easily, onto the glitter.

First, I have to tell you about the colored image (more digressing). I stamped my Karen Lockhart image called Pumpkins in a Wheelbarrow onto Papertrey's Shimmery Cardstock and colored it in with Copic Sketch Markers. Oh boy, is that ever a bootiful effect! The finished image takes on a ghostly appearance, kind of opaque with a cloud of smoke over it. (like those special effects, spooky huh?) Okay, THEN I cut out my stamped image with a Spellbinder's Square Nestabilities Die Template. While the cut square was still in the die template, I used my Quickie Glue Pen by Sakura and outlined the square image. I made a very fine, neat line of glue.

Then I not so neatly dumped glitter all over the image. Don't be shy here girls, you can put the glitter back in the bottle!
Shake the glitter off carefully and you're left with a very neat outline of glitter. This is a good time to zoom in so you can see the shimmery glitter, the shimmery cardstock and the fun black and white polka dots I added to the pumpkins. I had to make them match the cardstock!
Here's my spooktacular(am I with it today or what?) finished cards. I used some of that vintage polka dotty paper from My Mind's Eye, black cardstock, black satin ribbon and Karen Lockhart's *pumpkins for sale* sentiment.

On this closeup, you can see some Making Memories epoxy circle embellishments with green Foofala buttons tied on top. It's all so delicious, I could goblin them up. (Snort!)
Here's a closeup of the polka dotty pumpkins. I used a SU! white gel pen and a Sakura something-or-other black pen to make the dots.
I think I must keep these cards for myself...at least for a week or so. They are just frightfully delightful to me! Totally witchin', dude! OKAY! I'll stop now.....but I do love to talk in Halloween terms this time of year. It's so much fun!

Have YOU made your Halloween Inspiration Station? Link me up in the comments section and I'll share your link on my blog. Have fun this Halloween, my ghoul friends! I need one more thing for Halloween this year and that is the Martha Stewart slime punch or whatever it's called. I love the drippy look!

Here's Taylor's Inspiration Station, isn't the tiered basket cute? I just love Taylor, she's so sweet!!