Craft Room Tour again...

Let's continue the Craft Room tour! Today I'm going to show you how I've set up my Big Shot and how I store a lot of my embellishments and punches.

I love my IKEA shelves! They are the perfect size, and you can stand them up vertically or horizontally. They work great under the windows. On top of this shelf I keep my Big Shot and my Cricut. It's great having a "countertop" like this because I don't have to keep putting away my tools when I'm not using them. They are always ready to go! Underneath the Big Shot I keep all my dies, embossing folders, etc, etc. The longer dies I just store on their sides and slide them into the shelf. The smaller ones I keep in a plastic shoe box. I like that I can just pull the box out and see what dies I have, since the boxes don't have lids on them. If you look closely at the two bottom right shelves, I have also added hanging baskets. These are perfect to hold the Sizzlits and small alphabet die sets. I found the baskets at Lowes.

On the bottom left shelf I have a slide-out box that I also got at Ikea. They are made specifically for the "Expedit" shelving units. I keep some of my Cricut supplies in this box. On the other shelves I have card samples and other random things that still need more organizing. The good thing is that there is plenty of space and I can move stuff around if I need to.

Next to the Ikea shelf I have a 4-drawer bin that I keep miscellaneous things in, like my scrub pads, plus some leftover supplies from old projects. Next to that is a 4-foot table and this holds a ton of stuff! Starting from the right is my ribbon shelf. I think I got it at Target and was able to find some extra shelves to add to it. I bought baskets at either Michaels or Joanns, and they fit perfectly. I keep all of my ribbon in the baskets and it's really easy to use. I just pull out the basket and find the ribbon I need. This basket system holds more ribbon than anyone should ever need, and I like that I can take the ribbon to the table, sit down, and cut what I need.

Next to the ribbon shelf are drawer bins that I keep my punches and other embellishments in. The bottom drawers hold the punches, since they are heavy, and in the top drawers are brads, buttons, eyelets, etc. In the white bottom drawers on the left side is where I keep my jumbo wheels and cartridges. As you can see, these drawers also hold a lot of stuff! On top of the drawers I have a Color Caddy and that's where I keep my ink pad doubles.

Way back in the corner is another Ikea shelf. It's narrow and tall and works well in this space. I store markers, ink refills, and just a lot of other extra things that need a home. On the very bottom shelves I keep things that I don't use very often, since it's hard to reach down there. I added one of the baskets from Lowes here as well, and that enables me to use the space more wisely.


So don't try to look under the table! I'll show you that next time. That's where I store my 8 1/2 x 11 card stock and I love my system!

See you next time!

Craft Room Tour

Okay, let's start the tour of my craft room! I'll do this over a few posts, since there's a lot to see...

I'll begin on the wall with the sliding glass door. From there I look out onto a patio and my backyard. I planted some flowering bushes this spring, so the view is really nice! By the door is my cutting station. It's not quite as big as I'd like, but I'm working with what I have. I put my cutter on top of an old microwave cart, and I chose this piece of discarded furniture because it's a little higher than a table, so less stress on the back. (gotta think about things like that at my age!) Plus, it's great for storage. Right now on the shelf I am keeping my new Simply Scored tool, plus some hanging folders that I am in the process of getting ready for my Designer Paper files. Underneath I've stashed a bunch of retired stamp sets that I still haven't cut out, so of course, never used! However, I can't part with them just yet.

Next to the cutting table are the "Crop In Style" filing cubes. They are 2 separate units, and I am storing all my Designer Paper in there. They hold a lot, but I still had to purge quite a bit so I could fit everything in these 2 cubes! They are high quality, very heavy, and I got them on a website called "Create for Less". Here's the drawback... Crop in Style makes these great filing cubes, yet they discontinued the hanging files that go in them! What???? So I purchased the hanging folders online (they are Cropper Hopper brand), but now I have to modify them so they actually fit in the cubes! They are a little too wide, so I have to cut down the sides and also make the metal hanger shorter. Yes, this is a real pain, which is why I'm not done yet! Then, to really complicate things, I got the cubes at 2 different times, probably a year apart, and they've changed the hanging bars inside, just enough that one cube requires the hanging folders to be about 1/4 inch smaller than the other - ugh! So now I have to modify the folders in 2 different ways. Anyway, I just wanted to warn you in case you were thinking about using this system.

Next I want to show you how I store my stamp sets. I'm using 2 bookcases that aren't very deep, maybe 12 inches. I've labeled all the sets on the side of their boxes, and they are organized by theme, such as Greetings, All Occasion, Flowers, Christmas, Halloween, Alphabets, etc. This has worked really well for me. On one shelf I have all my clear mount stamps, which definitely take up less space! But as you can see, I've already filled one shelf, so will once again need to reorganize just a bit. On the top of one shelf is where I keep my embossing powders and glitter. I have transferred them out of the tiny bottles they come in and keep them in plastic gladware type containers. I find it a lot easier to use the powders like this, with less mess. On top of the other shelf I have some displays set up.

Coming around the room, next you see how I organize my 12x12 cardstock. These are Crop In Style cubes, and they are perfect! They come separately and stack very nicely. They are also pretty heavy and sturdy. I store my card stock alphabetically by color name. To help them stay upright, I use the paper holders and dividers, which can be found in the Stampin' Up! catalog on page 226. I actually turn them sideways so I can just slide the paper in and out easily. And on top of those cubes I have a Color Caddy, where I keep retired ink pads.

So there's the start of the tour, we've made it about 1/4 of the way around the room! I think if you click on the photo, it will enlarge so you can see things up a little bit closer. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will answer you. Or you can email me at Sue@WeLoveToStamp.com.

My New Craft Room!

As promised long ago, I have finally cleaned up my new craft room and taken some pictures! Today I am just going to show you the view from all 4 corners, just to give you an idea of the whole picture. Then over the next few posts, I will go from area to area, and show you how I've organized things. As most of you know, organizing a craft room is always a work in progress, but I do feel like I've got it pretty well under control, at least for the moment!

In this photo you can see I have 2 work tables in the middle of the room. I can comfortably seat 8, or I can work on 8 different projects at once! I just move from seat to seat, depending on my mood for the day! If you would ever stop by unannounced, the room would not look like this, I can guarantee it! There is usually stuff all over the tables...

What I really love is that now I actually have some windows that let in light! Two double windows plus a sliding glass door, it's like a sanctuary. I did lose some wall space because of that, but luckily I was able to turn 2 Ikea shelves on their sides, so I still have storage under the windows. I painted the room "Baja Breeze" and I LOVE it! So calming.



For the flooring, I used Pergo, and now I don't have to worry about ink pads being dropped on the carpet. I was originally going to make my own curtains, but then I found the perfect ones at Country Curtains. So it cost a little more, but it saved a lot of time.

And as you can see in the photo below, my husband has hooked me up with the latest technology! In the back corner is my new TV (I swear, it wasn't that big in the store!), plus I have a DVR and a Blu-Ray player. Believe me, I didn't think I needed all that stuff, but since he was buying, I agreed! It really is nice to be able to watch TV or listen to music while I'm working. Truly the most incredible craft room, don't you think?!

More next time...