Hello!
It's been a while since my last blog post because I am currently neck high in major house reno projects. I'm either 'all in or all out' lol so imagine my delight when Regina said this DT post for The Cutting Cafe would be sharing our craft rooms. Whew! I couldn't make something if I wanted to right now as most of the access is blocked off so the crew can get through to build new support columns under our sub floor foundation. Time has taken its toll and we're addressing that issue before new flooring is installed. Fortunately though I took some photos last fall to share with a friend and I can share now with all of you.
Okay here we go...
In the photo above you see my husband's workmanship in the desk he built for me. A friend offered us some stone he had lying around and it makes an awesome work surface. My work stool was a bargain find at the Goodwill store in Franklin, Tennessee for a whopping $10.00. Underneath I store cardboard and recycled carton containers in the white bin and canvases behind it. On my desk is the beginnings of a baby album that I was working on last fall after my grandson made his appearance in September. :) You'll also see a wall container that I purchased at Lowe's and it holds all of my Tim Holtz metal and 3D elements. I used an acrylic container to organize my TH tags, industrial stickers and more. The clear drawer units holds my perfect pearls, pearl ex and twinkling H2O's.
To the left of my desk is clear Sterilite containers from Wal-Mart which hold various crafty products. The decorative box on the left is a Michael's find and holds all of my fancy trim rolls. I keep twine at the handy because I probably use more of it than ribbon actually. Never realized that but think it's true.
On the right I have an upright storage closet and I attached some of my larger dies to the front with magnetic tape. It houses my photos to be used, collage magazines/papers, more alterables, binders and much more. Beyond it is a dresser that was from my daughter's childhood bedroom set.
I use the drawers to store wood stamps, punches, material and holiday themed paper/embellishments/ribbon. On top I have my Graphic 45 paper (yes I hoard it lol) in Cropper Hopper storage containers. My large Xyron sticker machine is at the end and you can also see the pegboard with hanging embellishments/stickers on it. My hubby installed shelves above for storing stamps, dies, embossing folders and more. A girl can never have too much crafty stuff, right!?! Maybe, I dunno. ;)
I also used her desk and night stand to hold more supplies and I use it as another work surface. Again my sweet hubby put the shelves up for me and you can see the peg board in the corner. It's been a great way to store a lot of embellishments/stickers in a small space. You can see another clear storage container and on top is a decorative Christmas box that I store 6x6 holiday paper pads and embellishments in.
The night stand is full of ribbon that's organized by color/style. I have washi tape, ink sprays and some paper crafting supplies in desktop organizers on top. I keep my crafty bags and apron hanging on the wall and on the right side you can see another wall organizer that holds random things. The string of hearts was from a Pocket Letter Pal, Natasha, and I like to place things others have made me around the room. :) On the back wall you can see one of my dear PLP's, Katrin, fabric themed pocket letter which I adore.
On the shelves above are my Tim Holtz stamps, Christmas wood stamps, Janome sewing machine (behind the gingerbread girl which is a Cutting Cafe file btw) and also my chipboard collection.
On the top of the desk I have my music {always motivates me}, some of my fave dies and my red/black washi tape collection.
The door leads to the crawl space under our main floor {where they need the access} and this room is on the lower level. As I get older I am rethinking this multi level home situation. Someday we'll be back on one floor! Anyway I have a white bookshelf that holds tons of paper pads, two clear Sterilite 3-drawer units and those are binders on top that are chock full of pocket letters from pals. Above that is another fun pl my pal Katrin made for me. I placed a 3 shelf wall unit on top of the bookshelf and it stores things I've made plus more wood stamps and 6x6 paper pads. On the top of it I have Tim's Compendium of Curiosities book series, seam binding which I store in a candy jar (and rarely use unfortunately), a decorative box that's full of cards I've received from friends from all over the world and a lamp with the cutest little shade ever. I purchased it years ago for my daughter's bedroom and she outgrew it but I didn't want to part with it.
{that smoothie is yummy btw}
This is another desk I basically use for making cards and most of my ink pads are stored above the cubby system (aka shoe rack from Lowe's) and in the clear drawer units. I do have some in the top drawer of the night stand as well that I forgot about. Oops! I keep the things handy that I need for making quick cards or simple projects at arm's reach. This was one of the desks my mom used when she was making cards before Alzheimer's stopped her ability to craft. For that reason it's special to me and I'll always keep it. If you look on top of the cubby you'll see a cassette holder I used to store my Distress Ink and Archival ink pads. On top of that are my embossing powders and they're up there so I don't forget to use them. With me I'm afraid "out of sight is out of mind" so I try to keep a lot ever before me. ;) Sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed but hey I bought this stuff and I want to use it. One thing is for certain - I don't think I'll ever use everything but I'm going to give it my best effort. I am thinking about a purge though so we'll see....
Well this isn't the prettiest photo but it shows how I roll....yes stuff stacked up to be taken upstairs which sometimes take a while ;) to make it up the stairs. This is an old entertainment center and I have kept it because it provides massive storage. In the double doors I have the clear 12x12 paper organizers and it keeps them nice and clean. On the shelves I have alterables, extra TH products, 12x12 designer paper from various companies, and more things such as books I plan to alter, etc.. The planner (bottom shelf) was a DT project for the Cutting Cafe and I was updating it. I always have baby wipes on hand for quick clean ups and my mixed media fun time.
On top I store my art magazines/books, Thickers and word stickers, journals, old books I plan to use for collage and I stuffed a cup (I received with a Mother's Day gift in it last year) with tubes of Liquitex paints.
This photo is looking straight at my craft room and I have work surfaces on the left, right and a desk on the back wall. I'm thinking about installing cabinets and countertops on one side if I do reno this room but that's for another day. ;) In the meantime I use this card table and wire drawer organizer to store more stuff. I have a trunk under the table that's full of paper and behind it are more crafty treasures. On top is a decorative box (back left corner) full of stamps, candy jars full of washi and other embellishments, a paint caddy and my beloved BigKick die cutter by Sizzix. The wire unit stores boxes of paper flowers, art supplies, bling collection and more. Behind it you can see my scrap paper bin and underneath that are two 4 drawer units full of stamps.
Of course no craft room is complete without your faithful companion and my furbaby, Jasmine, has spent many hours in here with me. She's happy as a clam as long as she can be near me. I adore this girl! The round decorative tin holds my Tim Holtz tissue paper and a roll of wax paper that I use for die cutting (works well with intricate dies) and in my mixed media.
Well that's a wrap of my craft room, thanks for stopping by today and checking it out! I'm a big fan of Pinterest and I have a board where I pin ideas for crafty design and organization tips. You'll see I have put several of them into use in my own crafty space.
If you wanna take a peek you can find me here-
Have a wonderful day! It's back to work for me. :)
Lisa xx
