Video Tour of My Craft Room!

Well, I finally filmed my craft space for you.  It's my happy place to play with paper.  I've got some fun ideas for paper organizing, some cool units from The Container Store, a slat wall, a pegboard and some other organizing goodies you may fancy.

Just so you know I am in a basement.  I painted the concrete and such to pretty it up a bit, but it's not one of those ultra frilly pretty rooms where everything has matching dust covers.  It is, however, VERY organized.  In fact, sometimes I think I have a problem.  I go a little nuts when it comes to sorting and labeling, but perhaps that will help give you some ideas.

I have linked to many of the mentioned products directly below the video.

Here's the video tour.... 

Here's a bunch  of links for your convenience and shopping enjoyment :)

Here's a link to the Stamp Index & Inventory Binder I mentioned.

Smart Store Totes & Inserts - This link takes you to the small ones, but there are other sizes

48 Pocket Greeting Card Rack

Raskog Kitchen Card - This is also available in blue, but they were out when I went

Elfa Drawer Units - You do have to pick all the components separately.  The frame, the drawers, if you want a top, etc.  They are awesome, but if you want them take your time and make sure you order all the parts you need so you won't be disappointed.

Display Dynamics Paper Trays - like I said in the video I have the lipless kind, so that's what I linked to, but you can find the kind with a lip on the site also if you prefer that

Slatwall - Just a warning shipping was VERY expensive for such large items so if you can buy the big wall part locally you should end up saving money.

Accessories for the Slatwall - Shipping on these is more affordable and they have an amazing selection.  I have simple pegs, and also lots of the acrylic pieces.

Ribbon Dispenser Boxes

Dazzle Caddy - To hold Stickles, Liquid Pearls, etc.

Galvanized Steel Pegboard Pack

Durahook Shelves I Use on My Pegboard - WARNING!!!!  These are NOT meant to work on a metal pegboard so if you use them on one you will need to install some wood behind them.  It's easy to do, but I wanted to tell you because I know not everyone would want to go to the trouble to do that.

Thanks for stopping by to see my little piece of paradise :)  I do hope you enjoyed it and maybe got an idea or two.  I know I LOVE looking at other people's rooms.  My room is definitely not perfect and I have a lot of details to finish, but I figure it will never be totally "show ready" so I thought now was as good of a time as any.

Have a wonderful and very crafty day!

Amber

A Peek At My Work Desk

An overview of the whole desk.

I decided that today I would share just a small section of my craft space.  It's my work desk area.

The first photo shows the whole desk in my main craft area.  The desk was custom built by my husband.  It's simple in design, but incredibly sturdy and very large.

I've recently made some changes I'm really excited about.

My New Pegboard.

I just got this awesome pegboard and it is something I've been dreaming of for months.  I really need things in view as much as possible, but I don't want them looking cluttered and messy.  This satisfied my desire for order, and also let me have things within easy reach so I can grab things quickly and put them away easily.

It houses my more frequently used essentials such as adhesives, scissors, etc.

I have it right behind my craft mat with paper trimmer nearby so I can easily work with everything at hand.

Here are a couple close up shots of little organizing tools on it for easy reference.

My embossing reference tags.

These are my embossing reference tags.  This way I can browse all of my embossing folders and plates easily. They are separated by category and each category has it's own ring.  I intend to label the categories, but have not figured out exactly how I'm going about that yet.

Ink Reference Tags.

Here are a few of my ink reference tags.  I took them off the board for a better view.  Each color has it's own ring, and each ring is labeled with a matching color of ribbon.  I LOVE these!  It can be hard to tell the ink's true color from the ink pad and this gives me the most accurate reference.  I have fun using them to create color combos and they also help me closely match cardstock or other product to my ink.

Embellishment Center and Ink Pad Storage.

Here you can see my Making Memories Embellishment Center.  I used to use it for glitter and other embellishments, but have since installed a large slat wall instead and wasn't sure what to do with this.  Now it's become my stamping essentials area.

You can't see it, but my embossing gun rests on top of the unit.  The top row hold jars filled with blending sponges and one jar has slips of paper with scrapbooking challenges in it.  The shelf below holds my embossing buddy, Washi Tape, and my re-inkers.  Below that I have my baby wipes and a couple ink pads.  Under that I have my Stamp-a-ma-jig, cleaners, personalized stamp, ink blending tool, and brayer.  The bottom 2 shelves hold all my acrylic blocks.

Nestled in between the embellishment center and ink pad organizer is my favorite foam surface for stamping.

Right in front of the embellishment center is my craft mat I like most for inking techniques.

The ink pad organizer was custom built by my Father-in-Law.  I just adore it for quick access and the way it displays the pretty colors.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this small peek into my area.  I love organizing and my craft room is a great place to do just that.

Someday I'll do a whole room tour with a video, but I'm still working on lots of things and would like to wait until more of them are completed.

Thanks for visiting!

Amber

Some Welcome New Additions to My Craft Room

My husband built this for me this past weekend.  I wanted storage for all my stamps - stored in DVD cases.  I wanted shelves that were the right size and not way deeper or taller than they needed to be.  These shelves are the PERFECT size for the dvd cases without wasting space.  I have plenty of additional space on the shelves so I won't have to change them as my collection grows.  For now that extra space works to store a few other odds and ends and display some cards.  I notice when I put my cards in boxes I forget I have them and don't send them to anyone.  I'm hoping maybe displaying them will help with that problem.

The desk you see a little of in the photo was also built by my husband.  He was using it in his office and let me have it for sewing.  The photo is pointing towards my new organizer from The Container Store.  It's one of their Elfa storage pieces, which I LOVE.  Nice and sturdy.  I just have to put the labels on the drawers and they'll be done.  I have a thread organizer on top.  The drawers hold all my sewing essentials, scissors, bobbins, patterns, pins, sewing manual, etc.  I love that they are RIGHT there so I don't have to get up every time I need to get something out or put something away.  The desk has plenty of space for cutting too, so I put my rotary cutting mat above these shelves.

We just found these adorable storage containers at Target.  Purple is my favorite color so I was pretty excited.  They hold things for embroidery, cross stitch, knitting, crochet, and jewelry making.  I didn't like too many random things loose on the shelves so I think this looks better, and it's also practical since I can carry an organizer over to a work space if I want.

The reason for the new additions is that I have been dabbling a lot more with my sewing, knitting, and other types of crafting lately.  I really needed to re-arrange my craft space to better accommodate the sewing in particular.  

Thanks for stopping by.  I know, I stink.  I haven't been posting many projects and I keep falling behind on visiting all my friends to see your beautiful work and leave you nice comments.  I promise I still love ya'll.  I'm just going through a phase of getting into new habits and haven't adjusted yet. I could go on and on about all the fun things my kids and I are doing,but I'll just say it's been AWESOME and worth it.  I just need to find some balance when it comes to getting my time in my craft room too :)

Handmade Holiday Organizer

This week my design assignment for Miss Craft Junkie Too was to give a holiday organization tip.  I went ahead and did a project that will help keep me organized for all my handmade gift giving and cardmaking for many holiday seasons to come. 

This is a 6 inch cube sized box.  I'll discuss and show you the inside first, where the organization is - and then show you how I made the outside cute.

Inside I placed a cardboard divider in the box.  I wanted to be able to put cards in the front of the box, and have file folders in the back.  To keep everything from sliding around too much I figured this divider would help.  

The dividers in the back are really simple.  I just cut cute double sided papers that I would say are a medium thickness, then I scored them in half.  They are from a K & Company holiday stack.  To cut the tabs along the top I used the Cricut and the From My Kitchen cartridge.  Then I drew some stitching lines and wrote names on the tabs with one of my Stampin' Write markers from Stampin' Up. 

One of the tabs is labeled "cards" so I can keep a list of who I have made cards for, or sent cards too.  The other tabs are all names, and each family only has one folder.  So, for example - my husband's sister is named Becca, and the folder just has her name on it, but it will also include the gift lists for her kids.

My plan is to put any gift ideas in the appropriate folder.  Also, if I decide I know I want to make a certain project I can write a supply list, and also record where the pattern is if it's something that requires one.  

I decorated the outside to look like a present.  I used a couple die cuts from Doodlebug Designs with some Stickles and Buttons.  I covered the whole thing with some DCWV patterned paper and finished off with some high quality grosgrain ribbon.  I tied a bow, knowing that my family cannot replicate it - so I'll know if someone has peeked!  *LOL*

More Storage Information - Video

This video answers some questions I've gotten about the new storage cart I bought for my Expression, but I also show my FAVORITE storage item, which is a great, durable unit where I store 12 by 12 paper, punches, and other goodies.

Cricut Expression Storage Cart

I just bought a great cart that has 12 storage drawers and fits the Cricut Expression really well.  I made a video showing it :)



Here's the direct link to it at Office Depot