If you recall I shared photos of my scary disorganized cluttered space I call a craft room. If you didn't see the photos you can see them here - My Disaster Area. Well I worked my tail off and I am so happy with how things turned out!
This is what my shelves used to be (left) (wire milk crate type cubes) and this is what it looks like now! These are rolling wire shelving units that I bought off Wal-Mart.com - they were 1/2 price of what the same type of rack is off U-Line or other comparable sites.
Another view of the racks - The paper is my specialty papers - water color, mixed media, pastel papers, etc and the right side is all Club Scrap. I now have all of my various mediums segregated in their own boxes (yeah!!) and labeled.
Before and After... This is mostly embellishments, embossing folders, stencils and large die storage.
I know this doesn't look much different but it is. It's much less cluttered and there is nothing on the floor anymore! YEAH :)
No real before on this one but it's much more organized and I have extra space too!
New Room - Storage Rack #1
Storage Rack #2
Shelf above storage Rack #1 - I haven't had a chance to put all of the stuff I want to up there but it's for things I like (bird cages, cameras, old tins, etc) and the favorite projects I've made. I also have vintage game boxes I will put on the walls as well but that's a winter project.
Before...lots of piles everywhere - all in danger of toppling over.
After...lots of room for various things and no more piles!
And finally, my colored pencil storage solution. I took someones suggestion of using a picnic utensil holder and found this nifty vintage looking bucket. It's got 6 sections which works out perfectly.
I put Styrofoam sheets in the bottom so the pencil leads wouldn't break and it also raises the height a bit so I can see them all. I have my watercolor, prismacolor, spectrum noir, inktense and other misc. colored pencils in here. The only pencils I left in the tin were my pastel pencils. I was worried that the softer pastels would break even with the styrofoam.
I still have one major hurdle to over come and that is my ribbon/fiber collection. I didn't take a photo of it but it's massive and a mess. It was in a rolling tower, a basket, over-flow in a flower box and basically everywhere so I have it in boxes right now which again - a winter project - I will sort ribbons from fibers then store by color. That is going to be a huge task but I have the storage containers ready to go...just need the time.
So there you have it...disaster to organized. Oh and the only thing under my desk now is my trash can and a bag of bubble wrap (for shipping stuff from my Etsy store). Both of my legs fit under the desk now at the same time!!! It's wonderful :)
You did a great job!! It is a never ending battle to keep supplies organized.
ReplyDeleteThanks, that's for sure Caroline!
DeleteAWESOME JOB!
ReplyDeletegreat looking storage
ReplyDeleteWonderful! And what a lot of work. I am reorganizing my craft room as well. It is getting there, but all the horizontal surfaces have miscellaneous items--the hardest to sort and sift. Bravo for a job well done!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, sorting is the time killer...seems like it takes forever!
DeleteLooks great and I bet it feels awesome to have that behind you!
ReplyDeleteYes it sure does - it's like a weight off my shoulders.
DeleteI especially love the bucket with the pencils and Styrofoam Roni. That is such a clever idea and I will keep my eyes open for something similar and remember the Styrofoam because it will protect the pencils.
ReplyDeleteI acquired a lovely bookcase and I have added labels to boxes that I have put in there and my goodness it makes such a difference when you are looking for stuff! I know I need to knuckle under with it because it will do that and now you should be able to get to what you need/want quicker too!
I'm still sorting, filing, marking up and editing of mine and it's nowhere near the size of your stash, thank goodness, I have another room upstairs with fabric and stuff which I hope to start on once my stamping and paper crafting area is sorted.
Organising my stamps is so frustrating. I've always struggled with them because I have many old wood mounted that I love so won't sell or pass on. I've found it hard to get certain stamps off their mounts and then the foam - that is a nightmare! Any tips would be greatly appreciated Karen xx
Yes it does make a huge difference when you want something. It's nice to have all of my like items in one spot. I had organized clutter before but it's nice just to walk over to a box of glue and pull out the one I want.
DeleteAs far as the stamps go if I run into a rubber stamp that is stubborn about coming off the block or foam I usually heat it for a few seconds (10+) with my heat tool. It won't harm the rubber, it just softens the glue enough to release from the wood and/or foam. I've read where some people pop their stamps in the microwave for 30 seconds but I've never been brave enough to try that. The heat tool takes a bit longer since you do one at a time but it works for me. Hope that helps!
WOW! What a huge undertaking Roni!
ReplyDeleteAnd look- you can put both legs under the desk again! heehee You made me laugh with that one!
Thanks for sharing ")
Rini, your space looks wonderful and I am sure that I am sure that I am speaking for all of use that we had sympathy pains for the process, but we applaud your efforts and the wonderful outcome!
ReplyDeleteIt seems every time that a get a certain amount of new items in my space or I complete a mass production of cards, I always feel compelled to completely clean out and reorganize my space. Right now, I have about a third of my supplies sitting in my hallway since my last clean up because of my health issues as you know Roni. So Roni, I truly celebrate your victory...it's your victory and it's beautiful! Happy creating!