My Craft Room!

Today I am sharing with you pictures of my Craft Room.  It is my favorite room in my house!  Before I post pictures, I will admit that my room did not always look wonderful.  I need to find some before pictures to post, because honestly, it was more of a craft walk in closet than a room where I could work.  But, except for the desk, I had all of this furniture in the room before.  We have been slowly working our way through the house, painting and putting down new floor, and it was finally time to work on my "craft closet".  Every time I walked to the door, I was thoroughly intimidated by the whole project, and wanted to turn around and walk away.  But I started with a small area, and slowly, very slowly, worked my way through it.  I sorted, threw away things, donated to charity, gave to my friends, just about everything.  And I moved every bit of my room to my sunroom, my dining room, and my downstairs den.  Every. Single. Thing.  It did not happen in one day.  It took many days, even more than one week.  But I hung in there and one day I told my husband that we could paint me room the next week!  We did, and then I got to move every single thing back in.  Again, it wasn't done in a day.  But I intentionally moved everything back in to spots that made sense to me.  Was it worth it?  YES!  I thoroughly love my Craft Room now.

Why do I share all of that with you?  Because if I can get a beautiful, organized craft room from the horrid closet, so can you.  And if you are intimidated to get started on the task, I would encourage you to get busy.  Start at the door, and work your way through it!

Anyway, here is a picture of my room.  It is the smallest bedroom in our house, but perfect for me, because everything is just a few steps away!

My card stock is stored in the open bins, punches and other miscellaneous supplies in the drawers underneath.  To the left of what is pictured, I have another stack of cubbies where I store my DSP, business forms, catalogs and stuff like that.

This is where I store my stamps.  I bought this shelving unit from Target several years ago, I found it in the children's bedroom section.  I like the six cubbies at the top, where I have my clear mount stamps.

Here is my desk.  Several years ago, I was boarding a plane and there was a copy of the magazine "Where Women Create" left on my seat.  One of the featured studios that month had a desk like this, and I knew then that I wanted it.  I can work from both sides.  The side with the stool (which I rarely use) is where I normally stamp, the side with the paper cutter is there I cut card stock.  My Big Shot is on the floor on the side with the cutter, and I put it on the corner to use.  The cubbies in the desk hold LOTS of stuff, but it is organized and I can find it.  I am a visual person, so I like to have my supplies where I can see them!  I need to take another picture, because I have two units to hold my stamp pads on either side of the Ott light.  The green on the top of my desk is two of the largest self healing mats I could find.  That protects my desk top and if one gets seriously messed up at some point, it is easier to replace than the desk top.

Another thing I LOVE about my desk is that it is counter height.  I have discovered that I really love to stand up while I craft.  I see my projects better, my posture is better, and my neck and shoulders don't seem to hurt as much as when I sat at a desk.  The biggest advantage of all, though, for me is that since I am standing up, I will put things away, in their home, when I am finished with them!

If you look closely at the desk, the cubbie unit against the wall faces the room.  Most pictures of this desk show the cubbies facing the outside of the desk.  Because my room is small, I knew the desk would be against the wall, so I asked my husband to turn the cubbies toward the inside of the desk so I could use them easier.  The center cubbies are the ones I store things I don't need too often, because I have to crawl under the desk to get to them!

Here is my closet:

I had my husband remove the doors to the closet.  It made it easier to get in and retrieve the things I need.  At the bottom left in the picture, I placed an old bookcase.  I can put six of the Iris plastic cases  (about 14 x 14) on each shelf, and keep my bright plastic bins that I use to put my supplies for a project at my workshops.  The shelves on top of the bookcase, and on the closet shelf are closet organization shelves from Target (Closetmaid, I think).  Target puts them on sale periodically.  I store lots of little things here, from ziplock bags of all sizes to my business cards.  The top of my closet holds things I don't need very often.  The drawer units were some I had, but didn't have room for on my paper storage wall.  I keep ribbon, embellishments, glue dots, etc. there.  Next to my drawers are my bags.  The large utility tote (from Thirty-One) is what I use to take my stuff to workshops.  I can fit three of my colorful bins with all the stuff for one project in that bag.

Another one of my favorite parts of the room is a frame that my friend, Rhonda, gave me for my birthday:

It has wire strung between the frame, and little clothespins where I can hang my favorite cards!  It was an awesome gift!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your tour of my craft room.  My intention is not to wow you with MY craft room, but to encourage you to make your own room, desk, or corner a space you can enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy stampin and scrappin,
Linda