There is no doubt about it: Crafting is relaxing.
So much so, that even moving my crafting stuff around and browsing through my stash dreaming about my next series of projects is relaxing.
As you know, I’ve finally started getting my new craft room together. I put in a floor and moved the furniture around to maximize the space and really make it functional. I had the plain ceramic light bulb holders changed to some pretty sparkly ceiling fixtures. It probably cost more to have an electrician come in and change them than the lights themselves cost. But they are pretty!
I’m loving the room and spending time in my space! Finally! It has been over a year since I’ve had time to do this and if feels good for my soul.
I’m also unpacking the last pile of boxes a little at a time. I’m organizing what I have in here first so that I can find things and they are within reach of my work space.
I like having my craft room divided into sections. I have my papercrafting in one corner, my sewing in another corner, a cutting space along one wall for die cutting and all the “machines”, the TV and Nordic Track (phew, that thing is getting dusty!) are in another corner, and then storage pieces and a second table on the other side.
Of course, the piano that my daughter asked me to store until she finishes grad school and has a more permanent location is in my craft space. It takes up 6 feet of wall space!! That will be a cozy chair and a nice light one of these days.
I considered making a small office space on that side, but I mostly use my craft table or the project table in my room for my laptop.
Slowly but surely it is coming together. My storage pieces are still all mismatched unloved furniture that served some other function at some point in its life. Perhaps I will paint it all white and then it will feel more cohesive. Perhaps I’ll leave it just like this and craft instead of making everything match.
I do confess to browsing craft rooms on Pinterest and drooling over those rooms that people have gutted and redone with all the Ikea cabinets and coordinating Stamp-n-Storage pieces. I just can’t see my self parting with my hard earned money to get rid of perfectly functional stuff just to make it beautiful and Pinterest worthy.
If I win the lottery though…I’m doing the Pinterest worthy craft room, a new deck, new kitchen cabinets and a new soaker tub.
Just sayin’.
It could happen. I should play the lottery.
Instead, I threw on some organizing videos while organizing.
Why have I not watched these sooner?
People have amazing suggestions and ideas!
Can I just say…Thank you Jennifer McGuire for those fabulous organizing videos and the series of your favorite crafty things for 2017. (That series goes back for years and it’s amazing!)
What perfect timing too since I’m essentially setting up my room. (Her room is so Pinterest worthy and she was definitely born organized. And doesn’t she just seem so nice?!)
Of course Stamp-n-Storage had a great sale on Black Friday-Cyber Monday just as I was wishing for a couple of things from them. I hope my stuff comes soon. I know just where it is going and what it will hold.
Of course, this has created new DIY projects.
Let’s start with stamp and die storage. I’ve been spreading my wings and trying new products because I can’t be a crafting expert if I haven’t tried other products. (Right?! I can justify any purchase. Just ask me if you need an excuse or an argument.)
But they don’t come in the stamp cases like Stampin’ Up!’s stamps. I love the cases with the pictures on the outside. They store so perfectly on a shelf and they are easy to find. They look nice and it’s all so uniform. Stamp-n-Storage has some nice stamp storage pieces. I have two of the 3 shelf organizers and I store so many stamp sets on them. I actually turned them sideways and my husband mounted them on the wall above my cutting station. He added two of the shelves that use the brackets and the boards and I have all of my (well…not all) retired stamp sets organized on them. Yes…organized by categories!
Many people have videos on how they organize the other stamps. I’m loving these Avery Elle clear storage pockets. I also got some from My Favorite Things and those are great. I would have ordered more of those but they were sold out. They were actually the ones I started with and then I ordered a larger size for bigger stamp sets from Amazon and those are the Avery Elle pockets.
I’m probably not the only person watching organizing videos and organizing craft supplies.
I’m guessing we all want to start 2018 with a clean craft room so we can hunker down for the winter and just relax and create.
My first organizing project is stamp and die storage.
This seemed like the logical place to start. You can’t use what you can’t find.
I ordered some of the clear refrigerator bins, the My Favorite Thinks clear storage pockets, and some new stamps and dies. (You didn’t expect me to order just organizing stuff did you?) I also got a new chair on Cyber Monday. A tempurpedic one. I plan on spending a lot of time in this chair and my backside is thanking me already. It was 60% off so I got a nice chair.
As far as my non-SU stamps and dies, I’ve decided to store them in these nice thick vinyl MFT and Avery Elle pockets. I’m storing the stamps with the coordinating dies. I don’t do that with my Stampin’ Up! ones. I love the nice vinyl sleeves the Stampin’ Up! dies come in. I just add a magnetic sheet to hold them so they don’t get bent. My SU dies are stored in the boxes I got from Stamp-n-Storage last year and I really like those. I keep the current ones on my cutting counter and the other ones in a cabinet in front of me so I can pull them out when I want to use them.
I watched Jennifer McGuire’s video and I really liked that she cuts a piece of white card stock and slides that in the envelope. It really looks tidy and it gives it a little bit more stiffness. Genius. **Sigh** I added a magnetic sheet for the coordinating dies and hand wrote the label. I wasn’t born organized and I don’t have the patience to make fancy labels. I’m not going to get them stuck on straight anyway, so I’m not going to stress out over having it just so.
I want to be able to find it so I can use it. That’s all.
I also want my room tidy when I walk in every day after work so I can sit down and craft. It’s more relaxing when it’s tidy.
I’ll put one with a nice label that’s on straight in the front of the bin and nobody will ever know the others aren’t as perfect as that one.
The next thing I have to decide is what I want to use for as dividers. She uses plastic folders cut up with rounded corners and perfect labels. I want to use some laminated card stock with my imperfect label.
I don’t have a heavy duty corner chomper. I need one. I’ll put that on my list of craft supplies to buy this year. Rounded corners on the dividers looks nice.
I have 2 label makers so don’t go thinking that’s going on the list and getting used.
My goal this weekend include:
- finish the stamp storage system
- finish the die storage system
- complete the cutting station
- unpack 6 boxes
- work on my December Daily Journal
- keep blogging daily
- wrap Christmas gifts
- clean, pay bills, return bottles and do the grocery shopping
- take a long walk each day…maybe I’ll walk into town and browse in Burton’s Book Store. I LOVE this town. There is a bakery just down the street I’ll likely browse too.
I would love to make a video or two and get that going again. I miss making videos.
I’ve been taking stamping and lettering classes. There are new tools out there and I think you should never stop learning new techniques.
I’ll be sharing some of those with you too!
I’m going to get back to work!
Thank you for stopping by! Happy holidays.
