Craft Room Organization

 

Since it’s still January (barely), I decided it wasn’t too late to discuss some organizational ideas.  Whether you have an entire room devoted to all things crafty, or just a tiny little corner of the dining room,  there are lots of easy and affordable ways to keep your stuff from spilling all over the room.  I’ve included some pictures of my space and the things I use to keep me put together and inspired.
My space is set up in a “U” shape.  I have some storage and my computer along one long arm of the “U”.  This is where I store all my cardstock and patterned paper.  I have everything sorted by color.  This paper stacker was purchased at Ben Franklin.  I couldn’t find this item anywhere in Alaska, so my sweet mommy purchased it for me in Seattle and spent more to ship it to me than she paid for it!  And wouldn’t you know it, I see it everywhere now.  I also employ a lot of photo boxes that house old pictures yet to be scrapped.  These days I do not print pictures that I’m not ready to scrap.  They are stored safely on my computer and burned to a CD at the end of every year.  You can’t even imagine how much this has simplified my life!

Along the short side of the “U” is where I store my inspirational material in clear plastic magazine holders that I found at a garage sale.  I also have a couple of baskets that hold odds and ends like packs of ribbon or assorted embellishments.  Also along this wall is my Lazy Susan purchased at Bed, Bath & Beyond which holds baby food jars full of buttons, silk flowers and sequins.  So stop throwing away those jars!  I peeled the labels off and tossed them into the dishwasher.  They look adorable! 

On the other long side of the “U” above my work station is a peg board that my husband found in the scrap pile at work.  I bought some pegs at Home Depot and there hangs an assortment of things.  Embellishments that I want to use right away, things that inspire me, and things that just don’t fit anywhere else!  Oh and my spooled ribbon stick, just a dowel sitting on top of some drapery hardware.

Under the peg board is where the magic happens!  I try to keep this area as clear as possible so that I can spread out in all directions.  Just my handy dandy paper cutter, my sewing machine and a couple fun things to look at.

My weakness as a scrap booker comes in the form of alphabets.  Any time I see a new sheet of alphabets I have to have them.  This has led to some serious alphabet overload.  You can see some of them hanging on the refrigerator that sits next to my work station.  Because I literally have hundreds of sheets of alphabet stickers and die-cuts, I purchased these cute binders at Wal-Mart along with some clear page protectors and there are all my alphabets, nice and organized.  When I’m working on a layout I can just quickly flip through until I find the perfect size and color of a letter that I need.  In another binder I house all my sheets of embellishments and stickers.  They are organized by theme and it’s easy to flip through and find what I need.  This process has severely decluttered my space and I’m using things that I completely forgot I had!

I also like to use little divided plastic boxes to house all my teeny tiny embellishments.  This includes brads and eyelets, tags and chipboard accents.  Another one houses all my embroidery thread. 

So that’s my space and I love it.  My sweet mom and supportive hubby helped me build it and now I have no excuse to get caught up on my albums!

-Rachelle