March 6, 2007
46 Comments
I feel like running yet another contest.. Here’s the challenge. I was inspired by Cindy Keery’s blog the other day regarding people’s organizational tips… So this is the scoop. Since I am absolutely and utterly OBSSESSED with any type of container or box or pillow case or ziploc or garbage bag, I think it would be fun to talk about how we organize our goodies. I am asking this for a selfish reason. My DH Ryan told me that he is willing to take a coupla days off this week to reorganize my whole OFFICE/STUDIO/CRAFTROOM (please don’t be confused with the laundry room as that will be the next fiasco to tackle).. Sooooooooo… If anyone has anything that is JUICY and CUTE and PRACTICAL (as if we can all reinvent the wheel).. it would be great to hear!!! I want LOTSA comments. I am a little upset cuz I know I have lots of lurkers on my blog and I wanna “MEET” everyone.. so really, if you never said HI, please do so… I know I am not talking to my famous 8 people only!!(I love all 8).. So will ya? HUH? HUH? HUH? Maybe this will be the first step to a potential Yahoo group?
Prize? No clue yet but they are usually really good (at least I think so..LOL).
So come on.. you have a few days to reinvent the wheel and give some groovy ideas.. I would love to HEAR!!!!!
Don’t be shy.. you know you are with fella-bellas.. so TALK, will ya? Even if you don’t have a tip, say hi and make up a tip..
MWAH!
Em
P.S. thanks to all for the good wishes re. my trip.. my next entry will be about that
I like to store things in the divided boxes that are used for storing embroidery flossy. I bought quite a few the other day for like $1.50 at AC Moore. They are really great for embellishments. I have one that is just full of eyelets. Another has mixed stuff. One has primas divided up by color. In another one I have a ton of Bobbin Ribbon. The tiny spools fit perfectly in there and when I use a roll up I keep the bobbin and wind other ribbon on it. Hubby also cut me up some dowels and I made my own bobbins to go in there. I love it and those boxes stack up so neatly. I just use my label maker and put on the side what is in there. Hope you get some great ideas!! Love the site!!
~Melissa
You think YOUR craft room need improvement. I’m too ashamed to even photograph where I craft. Just try to imagine an unfinished basement with only two west facing small windows (at ground level)…bare floor joists exposed which I have nails hammered in where I hang things that I use, but not every day…they are at arms reach when I need them and I can see them, since most items are in zip-lock baggies. I do have plastic bins that house other items, binders for reference material, metal shelving for other storage. I constantly whine to my DH about how he needs to move his computer room down there and let me come upstairs…but alas, I’m still captive in the dungeon. It’s a wonder I’m imspired to create at all. BUT, then there my Bella…those sweet smiling girlies who inspire me to rise above the dark dankness that is my hobby room and create sweet, funny, and sometimes sarcastic cards. Thank goodness for them!
Welcome back. Love the bellas!
When I was in the Navy, I scored several of the most awesome metal boxes with a hinged lids. I put an accordian file in one and having been storing my cardstock in it for nearly 10 years! (It’s about 10 inches or so deep)
Soon, I’ll be shifting to a tall literature rack that will hold 8 1/2×11 paper. It’s got 20 slots and soon will hold all my 8 1/2×11 cardstock. (I’m not finished sorting it yet.) like this one: http://www.mfblouin.com/prodinfo.asp?number=FLWM02230
I use a toolbox to hold my heat gun, stamp pads, eyelet containers, acrylic handles, etc. I add my unmounted stamps to it when I’m ready to travel and stamp.
As for the rest of storage, IKEA is calling my name! LOL
Good luck on your craft room makeover!
I would love to reorganize my craft room as well. I am in the process of unmounting all my mounted stamps. I store them all in CD cases. My paper scraps I store by color family in those plastic bins with drawers. Now, when I need a small piece of paper in a certain color, I know where to look. Good luck on your quest!
Hmmm – I am an organizational stuff freak! My favorite store is The Container Store. They sent me a credit card once and I had to cut it up immediately. That was death in an envelope.
I still don’t have my craft room the way I want it because the way I want would seriously cut into my stamp budget. But let me give you a bit of a funny and I will email a picture when I am on my home computer. Last summer I guess it was, Mom and I were at Wal-Mart and they were clearing out those big boxes that look like magazine boxes but are for flip-flops and slippers… well, we asked if we could have a few… I took them and sorted all my card stock into plastic envelopes (which BTW I don’t like much anymore) and put them into these boxes. I used my stamps to create a label of the color family names so that I could cover the box label where it had the shoe size and picture of the flip-flop or slipper. These boxes have proven to be very helpful and because they held shoes… they are very sturdy!
I also love, love, love the Rubbermaid 3-drawer plastic boxes as you will see when I send you a picture of my area.
BTW my area is in the garage, so Lynn you are a little better off than I am where a basement is usually climate controlled… in other words has heat when it needs it or AC. I have neither. We have two portable electric heaters and my sweater lives on my chair and in the summer – well we just roast with a little portable fan blowing as best as it can. But I do have a refrigerator in the room so I don’t have to run upstairs whenever I need water or a wine cooler!! LOL
Thanks for holding a contest and for mentioning my blog today! I found that a quick trip to Ikea was very helpful in semi-organizing my stamping space. I love the Expedit shelf and the little white shelves for holding large background stamps. You can see pics of my room here:
http://imagine-dream-create.blogspot.com/2007/01/my-stamping-space.html
It’s a very small space, and it’s kinda messy, but it’s mine and I like it!
The best organizational tip for stamping is to sort my card stock by color in hanging file folders. On the label thingy I put the item number and a punched our circle of the card stock for quick reference.
Cindy
Dab nag it!! And I thought I could hide/lurk in here forever!! I can’t help lurk. I’m good at it; so I do it all the time. That is until someone calls you on it! 😉 So this is me, Sandra, offically saying hi to you.
I don’t have any Bella’s (yet), and am really wet behind the ears as far as stamping is concerned. For the past few years my thing has been scrapbooking. That was until about 3 months ago when my good friend introduced me to her SU stamp collection…and then the splitcoaststampers website. I’m sure you all know the rest of the story!! 🙂
Anyway, I really don’t have a great organizational tip. The only thing I have that is kind of cool are some old, wooden kraft american cheese boxes (3″x12″). I bought them at an antique store for $2 each and I store my prima flower jars in them. They add a bit of old world charm to my space.
Nothing like a good RAK to force me out of my shell. 😉
Ok, My best storage solution was to take the photo boxes…you know, the clear acrylic ones. I turn them upside down and use them to store my stamps in. My father in-law made me a cabinet arount the boxes. So you can slide the boxes in and out like little drawers. No more shelves of rubbahhhhhh. If you want, email me and I can show you what I am talking about…GOOD LUCK…….Also I store everything in baskets……
Right now I don’t have a lot of “wall space” in my stamp room so what I do for a lot of my wood mounted stamps is store them in clear plastic shoe boxes that I got from the dollar store. Yes, they were only $1. I think Walmart sells them too. All are labelled according to themes: Holiday, Verses, Flowers, etc. I use a smaller square clear storage box also from the Dollar store to store unmounted stamps and idea I borrowed from a friend. Again each box is labelled according to company name (yes, there is a stamping bella box). I also have my stamps all stamped on cs and stored in a binder again by them. Card stock that is 8 1/2 x 11 is stored in a file cabinet and my 12×12 is in a clear acrylic stacking storage paper tray. An idea for storing ribbon is using evestroughs. They are the perfect size, the ribbon stays on the roll and they can be hung on the back of a door, a wall, etc. I love this look. I have pretty baskets to store finished cards in. Pretty glass jars for ribbon, buttons, etc. Pill bottles from the dollar store (stacking kind) to store brads & eyelets and these sit on my desk. I also have 2 of the 12×12 iris carts that I store seasonal papers (ex Halloween, Christmas, etc) and all of the embellishments that go for that occasion. This makes holiday stamping & card making easier. The main thing is to have everything labelled. It makes life so much easier. Hope this helps. My upstairs is currently being renovated so my stamp room is the last on the list (currently I’m back in the kitchen stamping lol) and I can’t wait to reorganize it again.
I currently have my craft area is wherever I happen to pull out the card table… needless to say I have one two door cabinet that has all… well most of my stamp sets in it. then I have a seven drawer system that stores most of my 8.5×11 cardstock and a drawer full of embellishments. My small collection of 12×12 paper is all neatly sacked in a basket on the end table. I so dream to one day have a craft room of my own… yeah right once the kids are out of the house yes. Thanks so much emily for creating these cute Bellas and keep them coming.
I, too am relegated to the icky basement… DH offered to move my stuff up to the sunny office, but I just laughed cause it is too small LOL.
My very favourite part of my craft space is the two HUGE pieces of peg board on the wall. On all the hooks I house my punches (both large and handheld), my scissors, my tape, crimpers, some containers for erasers, glitter glue etc and some large dowels (sp?) have all my ribbon spools on them. It keeps the ‘clutter’ off my workspace. Well, ok, in theory it keeps the clutter off my workspace! HA HA.
Glad you’re back Em…… can’t wait to hear all about it!
hh
One of my most treasured items in my craft room (next to my crafts) is a little metal tackle or nail organizer that I retrieved from my grandpa’s basement. It has a cute little handle and these mini clear drawers, great for seeing the items inside! I put bobbins, ribbon, beads, charms, embossing powder, spools of thread, etc. in mine. I love that he was collector of EVERYTHING, probably where I inherited it from. Plus small items like these get easily lost. Here’s a thought, you could store your bellas in one of these! Ha HA!
Hi Emily – Here are some storage products that I have used in my stamp studio….
1. adjustable steel shelving unit purchased from Costco filled with baskets and paper storage boxes – I like the open concept kind of storage as I want everything to be easily accessed and visiible. I also reorganize quite often so this type of storage enables me to switch things around without much effort
2 over the door pocket organizer is on the inside of my closet door for storage of my hand held punches
3 refinished an old spice rack which has three shelves used for storage of embosing powders, stamps cleaners, sprays, etc
4. wire grid cubes provides vertical storage for 12×12 papers
5. shelving unit for display and storage of wood mounted stamps
6. iris carts stacked for storage of um’s, ribbons, embellishments, etc
Love your stamps and will be interested in hearing how you have reorganized your workspace! Thanks for offering the blog candy!
Ok, here is an idea. You can get peboard and cut into large squares and paint different, fun colors. There are tons of different types of things you can hang on the board, not just hooks. I hang scissor, ribbon, tools, and many other things. You can also put little boards across 2 hooks and have shelves. It is actually pretty cute! The possibilites are endless.
Thanks! Ok, now I see that somebody else said the same thing. Oh well it’s still a cute idea.
Well, I have no huge words of wisdom…as I have my things in about 4 rooms, 2 upstairs, and 2 downstairs. I do however have a great basket, called a spin organizer, by longaberger. Pricey, but love it! I can put most of my little things in it and it sits on my computer desk. I am still looking for that perfect storage…so if you find it, do share. Good luck and I will be interested to see what others have/do.
I haven’t done too much fantastic organizing. I figure I would wait to do a full blown makeover on my room for when we buy our first house (whenever that will be…) The best thing I have done so far was to get wood organizers for my ink pads from here: http://www.bcdservices.com/suink/store/pid_10.htm. I had them custom made but they were basically the same as that but with a dowel going across the bottom to hold spool of ribbon. I have two and love them.
On a recent trip to Michael’s I found a new way to organize my misc. ribbon. They used plain canning/jelly jars ($1.49 at Michaels) and wound the ribbon around dollpins, and pinned the end. I am a total ribbon fanatic, so this was a cute way for me to display my yummies and keep them organized. I have a picture in my gallery on SCS, here is a link:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=487577&cat=500&ppuser=6528
I took over our spare “bedroom”. I use that term lightly because it isn’t even big enough for a twin bed. It’s really a huge closet. I have shelves from floor to ceiling and a TON of rubbermade boxes. But the best thing is my label maker. Every single box is labeled with its contents. I’d be lost without it!
I have been drooling — literally drooling — over the products at the Container Store. The shelving they have is so beautiful, and I know it would be sturdy. But, it also isn’t cheap. So, my stamps are stored in a large clear plastic sweater box — and sadly, I need to go buy another because I’ve already filled that up. I bought a plastic file folder box (with a lid to keep curious little hands out!) that has all my 8 1/2 x 11 paper in it. It is in hanging folders each with a tab listing the color name. A handy, and inexpensive purchase. Then I have another bin with all my alterable items that I’m hoarding – chipboard, frames, comp books, giant paperclips etc. I bought a little tote bag at Michaels which holds all my “tools” punches, ruler, bone folder etc. Its pretty and has all my things that I need at the ready. As for my “desk”, I’ve got a six foot banquet table. Until I prove to my DH that this isn’t a passing fad, he’s not willing to spend the money on actual furniture (also the reason no shelves for me just yet) So my collection continues to grow, stacking itself on the table. But, I’m trying to be careful so that he doesn’t notice just how LARGE the collection is growing… that is, thanks to all you enablers! (wink – love ya!) Emily, can I say one of the things I love about the Bellas is that they don’t take up a lot of space!
Eesh. I just wrote a book. Sorry.
Em – I sure wish you were doing a contest for the messiest stamp table! I haven’t stamped for nearly a week because I don’t have a single inch of clean tabletop to play!
My most fav. organizational item that I have is for my ribbon on spools. I purchased some of those bistro or cafe or something like that curtain rod/holder things. I guess I’m not being really helpful here, but they are the fixtures or the parts that go in the window, not the rod, just the hookie part… anyway, I screwed those thingies into my galvenized steel shelving unit and used some dowels as the rod and I put my ribbon spools on that. What I love about it is that those hook things (curtain rod holders) are adjustable so I could set them far enough away from the shelving unit to fit the ribbon spools, yet they are not in the way of the stuff on the shelf. I suppose I should send a picture since I really cannot explain it very well, but then you would all see what a mess the rest of my stamping area is!
I think I will try those doll pins for my loose ribbon.
Kisa
Hidee ho!! My stamp room is what used to be our spare bedroom. You would think I’d have enough room but…..some would say I have too much stuff. To the latter I say “NEVER!!”
Anyhoo, I am always on the lookout for great organizational tools and containers. The last two that I purchased are currently my favourites (my favourites can change at any given moment, as anyone who knows me can tell you). BUT I am also always on the lookout for bargoons….’cause any money that I save can be used to purchase MORE STAMPIN’ STUFFS!!
I digress……..the first is the 12×12 paper container that I purchased at Costco for like, $40. It has six clear flat containers with hinged lids and each one can hold hundreds of sheets of paper. And each container slides into a rack, like a drawer. It is FANTASTIC and I love it!
But my FAVE-erit thing (I don’t really spell that badly, I was trying to be funny) cost me less than $8 and I found it at Walmart!!! I refer to it as my Tower ‘O Ribbon!!! They are square containers that can stack on each other and they have holes on all sides. So I have ALL my ribbon (any you KNOW how much ribbon I have) in this tower on my desk that takes up like no room at all because it’s stacked!!! Heehee!! Here is a link to a picture of it !! http://kraftinkimmieskorner.blogspot.com/search/label/Organization
I have yet to find a good organizational container for my Bellas and blocks…..hint, hint!! Can’t wait to see what you come up with for those, you krafty girl!!! Luv ya!!
Dorky-Bella
I am currently living out of boxes…ugh! But we are moving in 2 weeks and I will have the much dreamed of craft space…yippee! Painting it purple and a tiffany purple and green chandelier hanging….not much light from it, but it looks fun 🙂
I have several white shelving units for my stamp sets….i keep like stamps (not in su sets) in lined baskets. I have a curtain on the closet to hide my junk (yet make it easy to get to when in use)…and plastic shoe holder things on the back of the door for my punches.
I do use a lot of photo boxes too for sizzix dies, lightbox stuff, etc….this works good to keep them together but pretty!
And I LOVE my labelmaker…one of my favorite organizational tools!!!
Thanks for the great blog…I so enjoy reading it!!!!
alas… no great ideas… I’m still looking myself. I would truly die from happiness if my dh agreed to clean and organize my craft stuff! You are a lucky girl (turning green with envy)!
My paper is organized in a standing up file(large black file from staples), I put all of my ink pads in thin shoe boxes so I can read them all and grab them quickly. My eyelets and brads are in little tic-tac like boxes that have flip lids..I love them! All of my stamps are organized by size and use in a double deep wooden book shelf so they appear to be less then they are (LOL). My ribbon scraps are in a ivy bowl, easy to reach and see…my primas are in mason jars, divided by different brands. My regular ribbon is stored in photo boxes that ahve dividers in them, my acrylic blocks are in another photo box so that they can all fit, all of my punches, hardware, embossing powder, and other goodies are stored in a three draw storage unit. I also have a basket full of reinkers and alcohol inks which I keep near by, a cup fill of scissors, felt tip pens, gel pen, and aqua painters. Lastly (I think) I have two shoe boxes full of things I have pruchased for other people when I see things on sale that I know a fellow stamper would love…I do have more…lol…My Bellas are mounted on EZ mount foam in CD cases, cards are in a few shoe boxes and two clear shoebox like containters. Okay, I’m done now, I think 🙂
Hi! I am not sure if I’ll be of any help as everyone’s craft room look great. I don’t have one …yet… probably when I have my own house. 🙂 I am sharing room with my sister. My stash is in boxes. What I would like though is the craft area suggestions that container store has. They are dreamy. Yeah, I have to wait till I have my own house.. :O
HI Emily,
I have actually just gotten a craft room, and I went to IKEA to get organized, as well as visiting a local, on line store to get paper storage. http://www.scrapbooking.ca. I LOVE both stores.
At Ikea I went into the kitchen section and got these really great hanging system things, it’s like a towel rack that you attach to your wall, and it has these great little buckets, and cotainers that you can hang from the bar. That way everything is at arms reach, and yet off your work surface.
The bars also absoultly perfect for punch storage, and inexpensive to boot. I also have an awesome glass top desk from there that I can use as a light table, woo hoo dual purpose! and it has a TON of storage. I also got some of their “Strippa” shelves, I put those up on my wall and I display my stamps so I can always see what I have. I also picked up some magazine holders and boxes and things too. Oh, and ink pad storage! They have this cute little dvd rsck that fits my ink pads perfectly! It’s awesome. I need 4 almost 5 of them now, but they are also wall mounted so close at hand, but off my work surface, and totally paintable! From the on line store I got my wire paper racks. and that’s it, I’m sure there’s a million other things I could tell you about, but, it’s late, and my brain shut off 15 minutes ago. 🙂 Nighty nighty! Hope this gives you some inspiration for your own space.
A.
Ok…I must confess that I am a total lurker!! I love this site and have already ordered and played with 2 bellas!!!! I am a fairly new stamper, so I don’t really have any advice for containers. However, I can give one tip. Take everything and just throw it in the closet so the DH can’t see!! That’s what I do…and it has worked so far 🙂
Amanda
Okay, so I am also in the process of organizing all of my crafting items. I found Memory Makers sortables about 6 months ago, and I am in love with them. I use them to seperate my brads, eyelets, clips, etc. I am a bit silly on seperating the brads that I seperate each color into each cube. I also take my label maker and put what color group is in the columns. So when they get low, I know which ones I need to buy for refils. For a creative twits, I use Fruit baskets (from our local orchard) to put the most frequently used ribbon in. It looks nice sitting on top of my book case in the room.
Okay, so that is about it…except I have to say I love Bellaland!
Okay, so I am also in the process of organizing all of my crafting items. I found Memory Makers sortables about 6 months ago, and I am in love with them. I use them to seperate my brads, eyelets, clips, etc. I am a bit silly on seperating the brads that I seperate each color into each cube. I also take my label maker and put what color group is in the columns. So when they get low, I know which ones I need to buy for refils. For a creative twits, I use Fruit baskets (from our local orchard) to put the most frequently used ribbon in. It looks nice sitting on top of my book case in the room.
Okay, so that is about it…except I have to say I love Bellaland!
Manda
Okay, coming out of lurking to post. 😉
I bought these really neat plastic boxes at the dollar store, they are divided into 6 sections. I have 10 of them. one for each color that I sort all my buttons, brads, eyelets, tiny beads, etc. etc. that I use for scrapping and card making. Comes in very handy when looking for a matching or contrasting color item to add to a card or page. Also, for my ribbons, I have the rolls slid on to pants hangers that I got a Target. There are 4 rungs on each hanger, and I can add the ribbon rolls to every rung or every other if they are too big. I hang those in the closet of my craft room. 🙂
By the way, will be placing an order soon, having the hardest time decided *which* Bellas to buy!! Too many choices!
Jeanne
I just started the “blog” thing. I mentioned the beautiful bellas…still coming in the mail. I hope they arrive today when i get off work..
Stamp room came about when my ex moved out of the house. (not wanted, but love the craft/stamp room now. It is half craft, half play room..
I have a large wooden shelf that I have all the stamps and paper on. I went to Target and bout 2 rubbermaid 4 drawer containers…Love those, need another one..I put scissors/punches in one, adhesives, cutters and all sorts of things there…
My Stampin Up Demonstrator April Lopez (awesome lady) used the containers that beads come in, pocked a small hole and put the twin in it! This keeps it from knotting up..
On ebay I found this great company that makes wooden shelves (in Canada) that you can mount or not…to hold stamp pads, and ribbon. i have 2 of those…let me see can i find a link…
http://stores.ebay.com/Craft-Organizers
these are very sturdy and heavy…I highly recommend them.
If I ever go digital, I will take a picture. Maybe I can get my DS to use his webcam and take a pic for me…
welcome back, missed you! Hope you had fun in Niagra Falls. Until next time…Chris
I am new to your blog and stamps – really like the fun look to these and just ordered a couple last week. Ok, so organization. I have a hole of a workspace. It used to be a cedar closet in the basement. We took out the rod and hung up wire shelving for small plastic drawer-storage. These hold stamps organized by theme. I also have storage for 12×12 patterened paper, powders, adhesives, embellishments, punches and other tools. My ribbons are organized by color in empty candle jars, as well as mini size spaghetti sauce jars. Ikea wood boxes are hung on the walls and house inks, stamps that I like to look at, and glitter bottles. It is a very cramped space, but I try to make the most of it. Unmounted stamps are great for this because these take up lots less space! I’d post pics, but I’m not sure how to do it. Thanks!
Em, I am afraid to say that I cannot reinvent the wheel cause as far as I am concerned Amy R has done that already, I want her crafting space, especially how she does her ribbon!!!!
My hubby has put some pine shelves up above my computer (which unfortunately has stay on my crafting desk right in front of me cause I am totally obsessabella!!!!) which also unfortunately cuts down on my crafting area!!, and because it is in our lounge/old dining area now my crafting area it would not be easy to take down without leaving holes in my very lovely wallpaper!!!! But, having said that we are going to ikea in about week and a half time so watch this space!!!!!
Organization? What’s that? Ha! I do have two items that I think are very cool and keep small *stuff* safe & sound. I found them at IKEA in the Kitchen section ~~ THE FIRST is a metal type backing/board, that stands on it’s own (easle style) or can be fastened to the wall. The board resembles chrome and acts like a magnet, to hold nine containers (originally designed for spices) that are metal/chrome as well, but have a clear, acrylic window in the top to see what’s inside. The great thing is you can buy other size canisters, shapes, etc. and as long as they have a magnet on the back, they stick to the back. NOTE: Prior to XMas I saw a similar set/spice rack at Cdn. Tire for under $25.00. **I see the new show, called Racheal Ray … look on the wall behind her oven where there is a large “R” initial .. that’s the item I’m referring too. 🙂
SECOND, is a neat and sweet idea I purchased also via IKEA; clear glass containers, in the shape of milk bottles, in various sizes, that also have metal tops, so they kinda match (meant for salt & pepper, spices, etc.), esp. since all the milk bottle containers are hot this year with the faux flowers in them. The glass is thick and durable so no concern of breaking them and the price is great @ approx. $3.00 –> $9.00 each, depending on size.
The MAJOR necessity I have in storage items is I want something that keeps my Treasures secure and dust free. I hate working on something and then pull out a crisp, brand new piece of paper to find dust on it or smudges of dirt! Grrrrr ! OK so I’m a bit anal but both of the above items keeps everything neat, organized and clean. :0) Good Luck Em in finding enough room for all your loot…hehehehehee.
I wish I had some wonderful words of wisdom to share . . . my stamping space is actually the laundry room – – can you relate Em?? 🙂 Actually I have a very nice countertop space to stamp on, and a wall of built in cabinets, it’s just not big enough. So all my stamp sets are in drawers on our cold back porch. My bellas, BTW, are currently suffocating their plastic bags – they long for a home Em!! 🙂 I know it’s coming! Ok, so my paper, some I have in a portable plastic tote from Walmart, the kind that you put hanging folders in – I have one for each color family (SU of course) and then another hanging folder in front of each family for large scraps of that color family (like 1/2 or more). My small scraps each have their own plastic bin by color family. The large packs I have stacked in one of the cabinets. I also have one of those 3 drawer plastic rolling things (for lack of a better word) from Walmart. Then I use lots of the little plastic bins to organize all my markers, ribbons, adhesives, embelishments, etc. I’d love to have one of those fancy craft rooms I’ve seen out there, but for now I will be content and try to be as organized as I can in my little corner! 🙂
I have an unfortunate pasion for all things pink, girly and chrome (weird combination, yes). Anyway, I got this groovy little standy thing from the Lakeside Catalog. It comes with 4 pull out drawer things (they are canvas with bottom structure). The key here is…The pull outs have a fun flower printed on the front. Each flower is a different color. I use this for my medium to small scraps. I put them all in the corect colored flower bin (yellows in yellow, etc). I have a cute cork board with fun flowers painted on it. I use that to hang my challenges, swaps and RAK lists (but I leave it sorta free so I can still see the pattern~LOL)
Target sells these uber cute chrome spice racks (only in stores). It is 3 tier and each tier is deep enough to hold my inkpads (Palette, Stazon, Brilliance, you get the idea).
I use DMc boxes for ribbon. Anything under 2 yards will wind well around a floss spool and they fit nicely in the container. The other thing I do is organize them by color then texture (A little neurotic, yes; but they look so yummy when you open the lid-or even when the lid is closed).
Target also has these tool holders (chrome). I use them to hang my scissors on my hutch.
Funny for me to read this thread today…Yesturday I tore my room to shreds and started re-organizing. I am really getting there. I hope I become settled for a while. I go through this process once every couple of months since I moved my room. Phew~my aching back!
I loved reading everyones posts. I got more ideas from them. THANK YOU!
Most of my lose stamps are stored in Iris carts. I have 12 carts, stacked two high. Each drawer is labelled and sorted by manufacturer/company (I remember stamps by company). I also have two additonal Iris carts to store my inks and reinkers (again by company). My SU sets are stored in DVD racks (similar to bookshelves) and most of my UM stamps are in 3-ring binders which are stored in a closed bookshelf (away from dust and light).
All my bellas are stored in their very own bella condos. 🙂 I picked up several of the Ori Yoki storage boxes by Marvy Uchida and they are perfect for the bellas. I got the pink/brown and blue/brown in dots and stripes and they are very retro looking and stack very nicely. Good thing I picked up a few boxes as I have more bellas on the way!
My craft room is our dinning room right now…I’m waiting on some of the kiddos to go off to college so I can take over their bedroom. Mwah! We live in a very small house so the six of us could never fit in the tiny dinning room anyway. I went cheap with my storage beacuse I want to go all out (At Ikea of course) when I get one of those bedrooms. LOL I have the white storage cubes (3 units one has two drawer for ribbon but I out grow that) from Target with yellow cloth bins and metal mesh bins inside the cubbies to hold my carfting stuffs. The room is painted kind of an aqua blue. Very beachy looking…did I mention our house is on stilts??? Yes it sits 8 feet off the ground…I park my Expedition and DH’s small boat under the house. Looks like a house from the Keys so I had to go with a tropical beach theme. 🙂 It’s not much but it’s mine and the colors make me smile when I am working in there. I also have to admit I like being close to everyone else. DH is always close by watching TV and the kids are taking turns on their puter in the living room and my son is always walking through to get to the kitchen. I swear that boy does not stop eating!!! I may not ever move into one of the bedrooms. 😉
Hey, I have a dining room craft corner, too, just like Jen! And we have a small house with 6 people squeezed in–maybe she’s my alter ego! The little room houses our computer and my craft ‘stuff’. The room is painted Not Quite Navy (really–I took the CS to Home Depot and had them match it–I actually did that with several rooms in the house–Mellow Moss in the living room, More Mustard in the entryway, Creamy Caramel in the stairway. . .but I digress.
I have 2 large cabinets from Ikea along one wall (I love Ikea for storage and craft stuff–doesn’t break the budget and works like a charm!), and in them I store stamp sets, 12×12 paper, all my machines (Cricut, Cuttlebug, laminator(s), etc.) and other stuff like the kids school supplies. The shoebox sized bins with lids fit great inside, and the shelves are adjustable, which makes it easy. For my regular cardstock, I have one of those document sorters from Office Depot or somewhere (someone actually GAVE it to me–woo hoo!). It has 36 slots and sits near my desk so everything is at arm’s length, and I can see easily what I’m running low on. On top of that, I have a garage organizer thingy (technical term)–basically, one of those plastic storage things with drawers (32 small and 12 large)–adn I keep most of my embellishments (brads, charms, tags, buttons, glitter, eyelets, etc) in there and have the little drawers labeled to make it easier. Of course, since I am always buying more embellishments (I think I could embellish the whole town by now), I have to find room for more. I keep all my pads, reinkers, stickles, markers, in my DzynTec pad holders–clear acrylic with doors. I used to have them on a turntable, but have now lined them up along the edge of my desk; they take up less space that way. I keep all my big punches in a set of plastic drawers (I’m running out of room!). My favorite item is the Pampered Chef tool turnabout–it sits on my desk next to my lamp (which happens to be the one with the organizer compartments on the base–very cool), and holds paintbrushes, scissors, ruler, wheel handles, and all sorts of odds & ends.
It’s a work in progress and I’m always experimenting with ways to keep it neat and fun. I also use some small terracotta flower pots that my kids painted and I use them to store pens and other stuff–it keeps my kids close even when they are at school!
My latest organization has been putting all my unmounted stamp sets into CD Jewel cases and putting them in the Ikea CD rack my husband (finally) mounted above my stamping table. I love having them all right there at my disposal!! The other great thing I have is a friend bought me a clear plastic over the door shoe rack to put all my punches in. Now I can easily see them and grab what I need, then return it when I’m done. Stillworking on organizing everything else!!!
Can’t wait for my Bellas!!! 🙂 I have to tell you that I recently posted on my blog that until recently, I’ve been a monogomous stamper with SU! products, but that all changed when my affair with Bella started!! 😉 Keep ’em coming!!!
Huggs,
Jana (in Germany!)
I am afraid that I cannot be much help – my daughters keep telling me that they do not know how I can find anything in my craft/stamping room! Actually – there are many times where I go looking for something and cannot find it – until I do not need it anymore!! I will not admit that to them though.
I do have some Ikea shelves, some small drawer units and may containers.
Good luck with your re-organizing and if you some up with any great ideas please share.
Sue
I don’t have a craft room, just a section of our family room. I don’t have any wall space to hang things on as that is already taken. I do have a nice strudy table in the middle of the floor that is always loaded with every stamping related item that I manage to pull out. I usually have a clean 12 x 12 space on the table on which to work but not today! If I don’t clean up I won’t be stamping. Besides being addicted to bellas, other stamps, paper, ink, etc., etc. I’m addicted to ribbon; I store it in cardboard photo boxes; I can store 2 columns of ribbon on spools in one box. My paper is stored in hanging folders; my scrap paper is sorted by color in a plastic shoebox box that sits on my table; most of my ink pads are store in an ink pad storage unit that I love. Enjoy organizing your new office / studio / craft room!
My advice is to enjoy your space, organized or not!! I store everything in a small closet and drag it out to the dining room table to use, and then drag it all back…really not fun!
Thanks for the chance to win some goodies!
Jodie
Organization? I have one word for ya…Cropper Hopper. I have almost their entire line. Love the vertical storage for paper (I have all the sizes!). and the Scrap Storage…I now use my scrap pieces of paper!! Love the embellishment boxes (tiny rectangle and mini small square ones) for all my brads etc…These cute little boxes fit into the embellishment organizers. I punched a hole in the top of the little box with my Cropadile and stuck in the embellishment that goes in that particular box…then I can see everything I’ve got at a glance. Should take a pic, but my batteries are dead on the camera! What else have I got from Cropper Hopper? Oh ya…the embellishment drawers and ribbon cards for my ribbon. They are FAB!! I also have the supply case for all my scissors, punches, paints, adhesives and stuff like that. I have had to hunt high and low for this stuff as some of it is elusive!! I like that it’s all one system…looks good together, stacks together and all that!
I am totally addicted to The Container Store. I could look around there for hours. Of course, almost everything I get is for storage in my “craft closet”. My very favorite item is the clear acrylic shirt and accessory drawer with the dividers, found here: http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=62561&PRODID=63209.
These things stack, which utilizes my space better and it is very easy to get to the contents because the drawers slide out. I actually use these things all over my house, even have them in the pantry.
Here is how I am using them in my craft room. If you use one divider from front to back, they hold standard size cards and envelopes, perfectly. I also use them this way to store all my scrapbooking/stamping stuff sorted by color. So each drawer holds two colors of embellishments, etc. If you place two dividers in going from side to side, they hold rolls of ribbon perfectly, even the taller ones.
Hope this helps someone!
Diane
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