Old Bill’s New Pattern Sorter

Okay, so, I don’t like to scrapbook.  Before you click away in disgust, let me plead my case.  We all have our things (I don’t like to quilt either) that bring us ran – dom epiphanies and those that tempt us to violence in the craft room.  Scrap-booking falls into the latter category for me; moving all those little tiny pieces around, snipping here, gluing there.   Ugh.  Quilting takes me to nasty places in my personality too (sorry to let you down, but yes, they exist). I could sew up a custom suit and wear it to church on Sunday, but ask me to quilt or scrapbook and you’ll get the whiny face.  

Now, I’ve tried.  I have definitely tried.  I’ve made three small, quilts and that’s it, over the course of six years.  There definitely aren’t any in the distant future and if I assemble one, YOU will be the first to know.  I began a scrapbook while my husband was in Iraq for fourteen months and dropped it like a hot potato when he returned – I needed a HUGE motivation for that one I guess and it left when he walked in the door.  (smile)

Needless to say, I’ve got a box full of scrapbooking stuff in my sewing closet; papers, stickers, embellishments, cardstock, punchers, little mounting things (whatever you call them) and they’ve just sat there for years. So, I decided to raid the box and morph them into something I’d actually have fun creating and make use of.  I sew often for my daughter and tire with pressing the pattern pieces to fit neatly inside the envelopes again.  I also make some of the patterns for her clothing from flannel (try squeezing that in an average envelope – no way). So, I yanked out our old bill sorter from the hall closet (we use the computer for that now), threw the old stuff in it away and went to work with my scrapbook supplies… and a stapler. Sure, I could have gone nuts with the Mod Podge, but I just bought my very first bottle and haven’t even figured out how to use it yet. (Don’t you dare laugh at me)

I can now fold the pattern pieces in larger shapes and toss the envelopes in as well

I put a good dent in my scrap-booking sticker and trim stash

I’ve found a spot for my original DearMadelyn patterns

I re-purposed the old bill sorter that was trash-bound: we didn’t like Bill anyway

I didn’t buy anything

I feel so accomplished… (contented sigh)

As always don’t look too closely, it’s not perfect… just lovely to live with.
www.dearmadelyn.com