DENVER -- Some people fantasize about chocolate chip cookies, or going on a fabulous vacation. That's fine for them, but my biggest fantasy is much more mundane: I dream of being organized.

"A place for everything and everything in its place" -- those words call to me like a love song. And before the holidays hit is a great time to start, when you're getting ready to decorate for the season. This project packs a double whammy -- you'll not only sort out those stacks of magazines and brochures, but you'll organize your decorating ideas as well.

Plop down on the couch with that big stack of magazines and tear out pages with looks that appeal to you. Wouldn't that toile fabric look great on the wingback by the window? And what about using an old farm stool for a bedside table? Tear that page out, too. Soon, you will have amassed a stack of shiny magazine pages on one side of you, and the pile of magazines on your other side will have been reduced to carcasses, which, in the spirit of organization, you can justify throwing away.

But what to do with the stack of magazine pages? By solving one organizational problem, you have created another. For a fun solution, make the project below.

The basic idea is to transform an inexpensive photo album into an idea file. By making use of the clear photo pockets, you can store magazine clippings, even fabric swatches and paint samples all in one place where everything is easy to see. Photos that are too large to fit neatly in the pockets can either be folded to fit or reduced on the copy machine. Think of the photo pockets as storage slots rather than display pages. You can easily put several clippings or swatches into each pocket.

Think of the design you will make to decorate the book's cover as a collage, but using fabric instead of paper. Since the collage will be color copied, it will be totally flat, but you can use items with some texture to give it the appearance of depth.

And since the pockets are clear plastic, you can write on them with a marker. Thus, if you store a photo of a pillow because you like the fabric for the guest room, you can write a note on the pocket the pillow picture is stored in to remind yourself why you liked it. Best of all, if you change your mind and want to re-use that pocket to store a different idea, a paper towel dampened with a little glass cleaner will easily remove your notes. Think of the clear pages as small wipe-on wipe-off boards. Some pages will actually take a dry erase marker, so try yours.

The photo albums used to make our idea files are small enough to carry in a purse or tote bag so that you'll have your ideas handy when you're out shopping. If you want to be really organized, add a page or two listing relevant measurements of all of your rooms, windows, and so on.

While this is a decorating idea file, the concept works just as well for any other part of your life. If you will be a June bride, it is not a moment too soon to start a wedding idea file. Crafters are always looking for clever ways to store ideas for projects and materials.

And there's no reason you can't use a photo album as -- guess what? A photo album. Decorate appropriately, using the same techniques.

What You Need

Small plastic photo album with removable clear plastic cover
Scraps of fabric and trims, flat buttons, etc. and/or photo of your house
Magazine pages
Scissors
Glue stick
Double edged tape
Color copy machine

What To Do

1. Remove clear plastic cover on photo album. Spread out flat. Use this as a pattern to cut out a piece of fabric for the background. Cut fabric about 1/4 " larger than the cover all the way around.

2. Use double faced tape or glue stick to create a fabric collage, focusing on the part of the cover that will be the front, although you may want to decorate the book's spine and back as well. When attaching trims to the fabric, cut the ends of the trim to extend beyond the fabric. Remember, since you are going to copy this collage, the items don't have to be very securely attached -- just enough so that you can turn the fabric collage over to place it on the copier screen.

3. Take collage to copy store and copy on color copier. When you get home, lay the clear plastic cover over the collage, center it properly, and cut it out, cutting just barely smaller than the edge of the cover, so that the collage will fit in the cover. Slide collage into cover, slide cover over album.