Thursday, April 24, 2014

Welcome to my happy place



My friend, Lisa Elton asked me to share my craft space today with the Craft Storage Ideas blog
I figured this was the perfect opportunity to clean up my space (yes, it's not usually this neat!)
and do a little purging as well (such a great feeling!)

My craft space is located in a corner of our basement, under a west window, 
so in the afternoons, I get a lot of nice light.
I share my space with my daughter. 
When we'd first set up the space like this, last June, I thought that I'd have two tables facing each
other so we can each have our own space to craft, which worked throughout the summer.
Then, in the fall, we dog sat for a month. To keep the dog from chewing up Sage's Lego Friends,
I suggested that Sage use the craft table for her toys. and this is what she's done ever since! LOL!
When she does want to craft, she either pushes her toys out of the way or comes over to my side.


As you can see, she didn't quite catch the enthusiasm for tidying up her space. ;)

Moving on to my side...


On my side of the table, at the end of the left hand side, I keep my sewing machine set up,
which I use on a lot of my paper crafting projects.

On the right hand side, I have my work station.


I store my stamps in Tim Holtz folders in baskets. They're located right in front of me, 
so they're easy to grab and use, since I stamp on all of my projects.

I picked up the baskets at the local dollar store and I store them by manufacturer.
The first basket holds my Papertrey Ink stamps, the second one holds 
my Reverse Confetti stamp sets and the third one holds all of the others.


Beside these baskets, behind my Tonic 12" paper trimmer, I have a caddy that I got at Winners
that holds my scissors, paper-piecing tool, craft knife, pencils, paint brushes, pens, etc.
It also holds some 8.5x11" white card stock from Staples that I use to make my card backs.


Behind that caddy are legal sized hanging folders, 
in which I store my 12x12 patterned paper, sorted alphabetically by manufacturer.


Next, I have some more hanging folders (these are letter size), 
in which I store my 8.5x11" card stock.
In front of these hanging folders, I have one of three muffin tins that I spray painted white.
This one holds my baker's twine.


Beside these, I have my four-tiered rotating trays that I got from Harbor Freight.


On the top layer, I store my button twine, some embossing paste, mist bottles, glossy accents, etc.
On the second layer, I have my tape runners, sanding block, corner rounder, date stamps, Tim Holtz blending tools, etc.
On the bottom two layers, I store my Papertrey Ink, sorted by colour families, as well as my Versafine Black Onyx ink and Versamark pad. These are the inks I use most often.

Beside my table, to my right, I have an IKEA cart that I use as my die cutting station.


On the top, I have my Big Shot, smaller paper trimmer and ATG gun.
Behind these, I have a display stand that I use to store some stamps that I don't use terribly often, 
my punches and my larger dies/coverplates/impression plates.


Below these, on the top shelf, I have two boxes that I got from Winners.
The one holds my 6x6 patterned paper pads, sorted alphabetically by manufacturer.
The other holds my photos waiting to be scrapbooked.


On the bottom shelf, I have my heat gun and a basket of ink.

Behind where I sit is my IKEA expedit shelf, which I love!
On the top of my shelf, I have some things that I love, including cards sent to me 
from crafty friends, the Bible verse I cut from vinyl on my Silhouette and 
one of the magazines where my card was featured on the cover.


Here's what I store on the shelves...
On the top left hand side, I have the binder that holds my dies
a box of cards and a box that holds plastic bags.
Beside that, I have some containers that hold my most used embossing powders and two more 
painted muffin tins: one holds my PTI felt & the other my embossing powders & washi tape.
Below those, is a basket that holds my purchased embellishments, including decorative brads,
enamel dots, mini clothes-pins, chipboard & acrylic embellishments, etc.
Beside those are some containers that hold my buttons, sorted by colour, 
and my Pretty Pink Posh sequins, ribbons & twine.


To the right of these shelves, I have some more boxes (these hold more cards & ribbon)
& my candy jar that holds my sugar free Werthers candies.
Beside those is my docking station so I can listen to music while I craft.
Under those is a box that holds some stamp boxes that I use to package card sets, 
my large ruler and some paper bags I use for treat bags.
Then, I have a wire basket (from Winners) that holds my packages of 8.5x11" card stock. 


Moving on to the bottom two shelves, I have a Creative Memories accordion folder that holds my patterned paper scraps, again sorted alphabetically by manufacturer, and my Chickaniddy Crafts products, stored in large plastic bags.
The cloth container beside those holds some miscellaneous tools, large clear bags, etc.
Below these, I have some rubbermaid containers. 
The top one holds spare twine, adhesive refills, extra Tim Holtz refills, etc. 
The bottom one holds envelopes.
The shelf beside those holds some craft foam, watercolour and acetate pads, page protectors and my notebooks where I sketch out ideas.

Oh, and I should explain that the wicker basket beside the shelving unit has my Monthly Moments binder and accessories in it.


And, beside these shelves, I have some black binders in which I store my alphabet stickers, 
sketches and online course print-outs. 
Beside these, I have my and my 12x12" card stock.
Then, I have the magazines in which I've been published.
Below those are two more rubbermaid containers. The top one holds my patterned paper scraps 
that I don't really use much (these are available for Sage to use).
The bottom one holds my Silhouette vinyl, extra blades, etc.
The last container holds some sewing projects and my watercolour paints.


And there you have it -- my happy place. :)

Thanks for looking!

22 comments:

Lisa Elton said...

Thanks for sharing your cute space Leigh and for allowing me to feature it at CSI!!

Lynn said...

I love seeing where you and Sage create Leigh. Fabulous space! Love all the nooks and crannies!

Tracey McNeely said...

Leigh an awesome tour of your craft space! You are so super organized my friend. Picked up some ideas here! Thanks so much for sharing!

Miriam Prantner said...

What an amazing space! Color me a little green!

Lisa's Creative Niche said...

This is beautiful! Love the way you organize your 12 by 12

Vikki H said...

thanks for the great tour of your crafting space. My counter in the utility room is much too crowded and hubby keeps asking me to move into a spare bedroom - you've inspired me to move!

Deb said...

Leigh, this is fabulous! You have given me some great ideas!

Marlena M. said...

Holy smokes, you are one organized lady! Fantastic crafty space and beautiful daughter Leigh~

cm said...

As one who crafts on a corner of the kitchen counter (seriously...that's my 'zone'), your happy place is exponentially spectacular from my perspective! Organized, pretty, inspiring...no wonder your cards are ever so gorgeous! And the best part: sharing your space with your daughter! WOW!! I need to scope out that Ikea cart; perhaps that will give me more 'room'...Thanks so much for sharing these inspiring photos!
c

Unknown said...

Such a beautiful craft room!

Nancy Guse said...

Your craft room is FABULOUS Leigh!!! I also love along with everything else is your button container. Could you share where you picked that up from? Happy crafting!!

Kara said...

love your space! enjoy it!

Lee-Anne said...

What an awesome space...so well organized, Leigh! Lots of great ideas...thanks for sharing your happy place with us :)

Saranne Valentine said...

Great space! I would like to know your tables and where you purchased the wood tops, and are they just sitting on the tables? Thanks!

Lindsey said...

I can easily see why this is your happy place...I'm certain it could be my happy place, too! :)

Anonymous said...

Om Goodness, what an awesome, neatly organized area! I love the colors of your wall, so happy!!

Joyce said...

Fabulous crafty space, Leigh. I feel like I just came over to your house for a nice visit. Love how you share your space with Sage.

A Crafty Person said...

So fun to see where the "MAGIC" happens! Thanks for sharing.

Diane Jaquay said...

Oh my goodness, Leigh, you certainly are organized!! I love seeing other people's crafty spaces, thanks for taking us on a tour of yours!

Jennifer K said...

What a great space! I took special note of how you store your 8.5x11 cardstock in the filing folders. I'm trying to figure out if I like how I store mine and I never thought about standing up my paper in the file folders - that's kind of a brilliant idea! :)

Joni Andaya said...

Oh so love your craft space Leigh!!!

Petti said...

Thank you for sharing. It's a very nice and clean place. So well organized!