I love organizing... and that's probably a really good thing because I seem to like to collect a lot of STUFF. And if you have a lot of stuff.. you better keep it organized or you have a MESS. lol Not only do I love to organize but I love to see other peoples creative ways to organize, so that's why every once in a while I do a post sharing photos of my studio and my organizing, in hopes it might inspire someone. When I organize my craft room, first off it has to be functional....but I also like when I can use things to organize that also make my room a and fun and enjoyable place for me to be. Oh... and I'm a bargain shopper... so I love finding fun inexpensive ways to organize... flea market, garage sale or on sale.... I'm all about it!
My room is not large by any means, so I have to find ways to utilize every bit of space I can. "IF" I have any spare wall space I try to hang up some of my artwork. (like the canvas below)
Plastic 12x12 containers
The shelves in the closet are filled with plastic bins that are all labeled. The first shelf is the plastic bins you can get at Hobby Lobby or Michaels that hold 12x12 papers. I use those to hold my
Fancy Pants Designs Collections because they can not only hold the papers but all the other matching embellishments for that specific line. I love keeping those all together so I don't have to go searching for them. Some of mine are holding 2 or 3 collections.
Jars screwed under the shelf
Years ago Fancy Pants flowers used to come in the little glass jars you see under the bottom shelf in the closet. I saved them and screwed the lids into the bottom of the shelf, so that I could fill the jars with embellishments. Saves space and keeps them out of the way. Of course this would work with any small jars :)
Paper Racks
Paper racks are awesome but can be pricey if you by they online. It always so sad to see local scrapbook stores close, but if you have a local store that is closing, check with them right away.. because maybe you can buy their racks from them before someone else gets the chance. But hurry, people know that's the time to get them. That is where I got mine. These paper racks hold my cardstock.
12x12 clear plastic paper holders
If you don't have paper racks, I've also found these clear plastic hanging holders at Staples. They have 12x12 and 8 1/2 x 11 sizes. ( you can see them in the second photo down)
Die Cut Machine and Die storage
Totally non-traditional on this one.... Do you see the yellow and black roller skate case in the photo above? ( lower left corner). That is what my Wizard and dies are kept in.
More Storage
I love cigar boxes and cheese boxes and have a lot of them, so I do use them for some storage for small things. This is the inside of the little white cabinet in the photo above. The only things I put in here are the things like pom poms, shells, slides, things I don't use that often. I do have them labeled, but still not at good as clear.
Clear containers such as jars for storage
I have a bit of a fetish with with glass jars and containers, I'll admit it. But serious, they are great for storage! The reason..... you can see what's in them! I have found with me, that I need to "SEE" what I have as far as supplies or I forget I have it and it doesn't get used. Having my supplies in glass containers works great for me! You can find containers so inexpensive at sales, but you can also just recycle from what you use at home. Jelly, sauces, ect.. All of those you see below with the while lids are old Smuckers jelly jars.
Table/Desk/workspace
I have a large library table I use as a desk, (I'll show you further down in this post) but sometimes for sorting things, for big projects or when you have someone over to craft, you need extra table space. The problem is, having it out all the time.. it takes up too much space. The solution is to have a table with drop leaves, or pull out extensions like theis little red one I found at a flea market. It didn't have chairs with it, but I didn't really need them. I found and old chair at an estate sale and a $5 bench at a garage sale that I painted and covered the top with a piece of fabric I had. I can push it underneath so it doesn't take up any space. Works great.
Hoosier
I was lucky enough to get a good deal on this hoosier at "The Junction" Flea Market a number of years ago. I have every bit of it filled. Below holds two big bins, one sold cardstock scraps and the other patterned scraps. the drawers, all kinds of odds and ends... and inside my most used wood mounted stamps. All my wood mount stamps wont fit in here, but it's a handy place for my faves.
Plastic expandable racks
I found some plastic expandable racks like these at Walmart that work great to set some of my "most used" stamps on inside my Hoosier. With the stair step, they are easy to see.
Wooden Pop Crate for Paint
I have used this old wooden soda crate for my acrylic paint storage for a long time now and it works great.
Ends out.. so you can see the color of course :)
I've also see paint organized and contained like this if you don't have a crate. Here is a link to a great tutorial on
Mad in Crafts Blog.
As you can see .. the top of my Hoosier is put to use also. Like I said, I have to utilize all my space, but I also love to have a place to set my favorite things to make my studio a place I LIKE to spend time in.
Metal Files
I cant believe when I first saw these Metal Files at a thrift store in Lincoln when I was out and about with my Sis, that I even hesitated. She actually had to convince me of the potential. They were the ugliest office gray and Army green. ick $4 and $5 for the larger ones. I have one other one that I painted pink. All I did was give them a quick sand, paint them different colors and then add a chalkboard tape to the book plate slot in front.
Chalkboard Tape, labels, and tags
Using Chalkboard tape is a great way to label your containers because it makes it so easy to change what you put in the container. I may need a big container for something .. then use a lot of it and then I could use that bigger container for something else and move those things to a smaller one. Easy to just wipe off the label and change it.
Fancy Pants had many Chalkboard Tapes ,labels and Tags that are so fun.
I have another 12x12 paper rack over in the corner. I use it to hold my most current or newest papers, so they don't get buried (
again... if it's out of sight.. I forget I have it).
More Storage
Okay, you can see .. again ..more glass jars and containers. This white shelf is courtesy my sister. I cant remember if she got it free or for very little, but it works GREAT for holding all my jars.. so I'm loving it.
We both love bargains. lol Speaking of that. That orange framed chalkboard was $10. It was a mirror and the frame was gold (plastic). I spray painted the frame orange and just flipped the mirror over and spray painted the back with chalkboard paint. That way if I ever change my mind and can still flip it around to the mirror again.
The wood boxes on the wall, where in clearance bins at Hobby Lobby... but UGLY!... so I just covered them with pretty scrapbook papers.
All these jars with lids that I store things in were all picked up for almost nothing at the Estate Dispersal Sale or at other flea markets, ect.
I can see it all... AND its' pretty. THAT makes me happy.
Spice Racks
Years of working for Tattered Angles, I accumulated quite a bit of TA mists. I have some in bins also.. but again, for me out of site is out of mind. And.. this way it's so much more accessible. Two garage sale spice racks. For the most part they are behind the door, and that doesn't cause any problem at all.
This is a Making Memories shelf that I got at Michael's ( oh.. with a 40% off coupon of course). It holds a lot also.
I found this self at a flea market also. If it was just a shelf I probably wouldn't have picked it up..but I really needed a paper towel holder by my desk, so it went home with me :) This has mostly just favorite things on it, but as you can see there are even tiny jars on there that hold things like wiggly eyes, jump rings, charms, ect.
Work Space
oh, nothing special here, but actually this is were I spend all my time. Having a big work space is important to me. Luckily my cousin gave me this awesome library table years ago. I put down a piece of laminate to help protect it from my paint, mist, ink, markers , glue, whatever. And no, it doesn't always look this tidy.
See that pink rotary phone? Yes, it's the phone I use up here, and I love it. Jarad gave it took me for a present a number of years ago.
Calendar
I realize I didn't take a photo of my calendar, but it is super important to me to have a big write on wipe off calendar on the bulletin board that hangs straight in front of my desk.
Light
A few years ago I asked Dan to put a shelf above my desk area and add a light to the underneath of it, so it would shine down on my work area on my desk. I had the light for a long time and then for some reason it quite working. About the time I ran across this vintage light ( the green one) and hung it. My room is on the North side of the house, and although I have two big windows, I'll take all the light I can get. I also have a regular ceiling light, 4 recessed lights and a lamp. Sometimes I pull out my
Ott lite at night. I like light when I work.
Some things like buttons, lace ect.... I have lots of ,but I don't put it all out. I put out some that is easy to get to and then I know I have others in bins in the closet. I find just having "some" out, makes it convenient. If I get in that mood where I have to dig thru the entire bin to find just the right piece for the project I'm working on.. then so be it... I will! ( this happens often).
Punches
When I was teaching a lot I used the large upstairs closet outside my room for class supplies. I have yet to give that closet up. lol I have a dresser in there, that I used to hold things like my punches , ribbons and fabric. I save flat boxes to set inside the drawers to help keep things separated and in place.
I wanted to share one other thing with you. It's these utility carts. I got mine at Sams a number of years ago. This is a old photo. I don't use it like this now. I use it to hold my
AccuCut Machine and dies. It's a great heavy duty cart that is easy to pull, so if you don't have a craft room, consider something like this when you can store your craft supplies and just pull them out when you are ready to work at that the table.
Okay, I hope maybe you found even one thing that might help you in your crafting and/or organizing. Like I said I love hearing from others what they have found works for them. It's always fun to share ideas.
Thanks for stopping by and letting me share.
Vicki
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