Reported By Colleen SchaanWe all have our own space in which we create...whether it be a cavernous room filled with cupboards, drawers, and counter space or a corner closet closed off with a curtain. Crafters tend to make their space as comfortable and inviting as possible. We also like it to reflect our own personal style and taste. For many crafters, organization is the key to creative success. Today, I will bring you into my world and share with you my journey to a kicken’ craft room and some of my favorite tips for organization.
Tip - Always plan out your necessary workspace wisely. If you are thinking of moving into a new space, take a day or two to observe the lighting and temperature during different times of the day. Look at available electrical outlets and logical traffic flow. (If you have ever built a new home, it is just like planning out a kitchen!) Make a list of necessary work zones and decide where each zone will work best in the available space. Think about how you typically work and what areas would work well together.
Possible zones might include* main crafting station (chair and table)
* main supply zone (inks, writing tools, scissors, embellishments...)
* paper zone
* cutting/tool zone (paper cutters, embossing machines, binders...)
* stamp zone (ummm...stamps of course!)
* library/idea zone
Let’s talk about my zones and how I have them organized.
Cutting/Cropping StationMy cutting station is a 2 1/2 x 8 foot hard plastic table. I have my rotary paper cutter, my Rubicoil, my Big Shot, and my cropper cutters on the table and ready to use. I notice that I use my tools more if I can see them and I don’t have to dig around for them. I also have a small CD player on the table for setting just the right mood.
Main Crafting Station and Supply ZoneThis is what I call creative central. My desk, a tall rolling chair, and my supply storage. I like to keep my desk as clean as possible and free from clutter. I also like to have a well-lit work zone, so I have a large, clip-on light attached to the desk.
On the top of my supply storage I have the items that are most often used. I have three pencil holders (one with scissors, one with blender pens and aqua pens, and one with pencils and pens), my small drawer cabinet (top drawer holds acrylic blocks, second holds adhesive, third holds pop dots and double sided foam, and forth holds stamped images and paper embellishments), my
Stampin’ Up! markers, my classic inks and refills (yes, each of my stamp pads are numbered...they are filed by color family and alphabetically), and my acrylic paints and glitter glues. These items are not “loose” and look fine out in the open because they are neat and tidy.
Under this table top supply area I have two plastic carts and a hanger with my wheels. I know...the carts don’t match and it drives me bonkers!!!! Let’s start with the cart on the left. Keep in mind that I use most of these items each time I stamp. The top drawer is buttons, brads, eyelets, pearl ex, and embossing powders. I like to have things that have “like” containers in the same area. This is a thinner drawer and the perfect place for these items...as long as I don’t get any more...this drawer is full. The second drawer is full of my other inks (I really need to get another caddy, but not all my ink pads would fit because they are different sizes. I have all of my Craft ink spots here along with some spectrum pads, my StayzOn, two VersaMarks, three Tim Holtz distressing inks, and some chalk inks too. My third drawer is full of my favorite stuff...coloring supplies! I have my chalks, my SU watercolor pencils and crayons, my Prismacolor pencils and all the tools necessary to apply, sponge, blend, and highlight. The last drawer in this cart is full of tools. I have my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, wheel guide, Coluzzel, and tool kit here.
The second cart is full of the “embellishment” kind of stuff. There are only three drawers on this cart, but they are much deeper. The top drawer is full of embellishments. I have my flowers, hardware, coasters, chipboard, rub-ons, stickers, anything and everything that didn’t fit elsewhere! The last two drawers are full of ribbon. I had my ribbon on the top of the table, but it was a pain in the pattoti to use. I actually left it in the SU ribbon holders but I modified them a bit by cutting off the lower lip. This way the ribbon moves freely in the holder when I grab an end. I like having my ribbon in the holders and not just thrown in the drawer because it keeps all my rolls neat and tidy (see a pattern here?) The other ribbon drawer if full of bottles from an old spice rack filled with my favorite ribbons. The other part is where I throw my “scraps” when I have enough to use again. This systems seems to be working...as long as I stay out of the craft stores. I am thinking I will soon need another cart for my new supplies.
Paper StorageI have two spots for papers; one for cardstock and one for patterned paper. I have a short, wide (sounds like me) filing cabinet that makes up my “paper area”. The top of the filing cabinet holds two plastic 12x12 paper storage files.
Each wide file comes with four individual narrower files and about six dividers. I took the narrow files out and use each file separately. I have the two wide files on the outsides as bookends for the thinner files. The first wide file contains all four color families of 12x12 cardstock from SU. Each narrow file is full of a different style or manufacturer of patterned paper. (For example, I have one for Daisy D’s papers, one for K&Company, one for Basic Grey...). I have the other wide file full of scraps. As my love of patterned paper grows, I will need to purchase more of these files...and some sturdy book-ends.
The bulk of my paper is stored inside the file cabinet. I have a hanging file folder for each color. Each color is labeled and placed into the file cabinet alphabetically by color family. (I use primarily SU cardstock.)
I love that I can open one drawer and have all of my cardstock available to me. I can also quickly see what I am running low on...always a plus. Now, storing my scraps used to be an issue. I tried the basket of scraps, bags of scraps, piles of scraps...nothing worked. (I actually got so frustrated at one point that I threw away all of my scraps!!! GASP - the waste!) Eventually I found a better way to store them. I cut down a manilla file folder and stapled one side of it to the inside, back cover of my hanging file.
This way, when the file is hanging, I have the full sheets of cardstock in front and a neat place for scraps in the back. Now...the first place I look is the back of each hanging file for scraps and guess what...I am using them!
Library and Stamp StorageI have two tall (6 or 7 foot) bookcases that make up this zone. My library is pretty small right now. I have two shelves that house binders full of tips and techniques, layouts and sketches, favorite examples, and stamp images. (I will get to my stamp image binder later.) I also have catalogs from various stamp companies and a number of stamping, papercrafting, and scrapbooking magazines filed here.
Now, onto my stamp collection. I have 164 stamp sets from Stampin’Up!, 25 CD cases full of unmounted or acrylic stamps, and a large number of loose mounted stamps. So how do I organize them all? Simple...by number.
Let’s start with the SU sets. They come in a nice clamshell container. I stand them up on their side and label them with the name of the stamp set and a number. I don’t have any fancy numbering system. The first set I got was number 1, the second set was number 2 and so on. I can easily read the name of the stamp set and pull it out when I need it. Having the number also allows me to replace it properly when I am done. I store my stamps standing on the side and not stacked on top of each other. I know it takes up a bit more space, but it is easier to pull a set and put it back without having to remove other sets.
Next onto my loose mounted stamps. I have a number of them and I don’t like storing them individually. I just don’t like loose ends, so I put them together in my own “sets” and store them in the clamshell cases that I get from SU. I usually purchase the large or extra large ones so I can fit a number of stamps in them. I try to put sets together from the same manufacturer. For example, all of my
Eat Cake stamps are loose, wood mounted. At the moment, I can fit all of them into one clamshell case. I just give the “set” a generic name and give it the next number in the sequence. (I will often write the name of the image right on the stamp itself or on a sheet of paper included in the case.) I need to purchase more cases as you can see...I have a large number of loose sets again.
While many of my sets are mounted, I am finding that unmounted or acrylic sets are pretty cool too. Some of my unmounted sets are the rubber image only (in which case I use a thin layer of Aileen’s Tack It on the back) and some are the rubber attached to foam with a “cling” layer. Either way, I can quickly and easily pick an image and attach it to an acrylic block to use just like my acrylic stamps. Storing unmounted stamps is just as simple and really saves room. I store all of my unmounted sets in empty CD cases. I remove the CD “insert” and place the stamps on the sides of the case. My acrylic sets and the sets with no foam will fit on both sides of the case. Most often, I can store two full sets in just one CD case. The sets with the foam backing are too thick and can only be stored on one side of the case. With my acrylic stamps, I always have stamps stored on both sides of the case and it can be hard to see what the stamps are, so I place a sheet of white paper inside so I can see each side separately. One thing to note, your acrylic stamps WILL get stained...that is okay. It drove me nutters at first, but now I like it because I can easily see the stamps. (There is nothing like dropping a clear stamp and searching around on the floor for it before the puppy gets it!) Like my mounted stamps, I store the CD cases on their side and label them with the name of the set and a number. I started over with #1 again for my CD cases.
So, why do I number my sets and how do I know what stamps I have? What if I am looking for a specific stamp and I don’t know where it is??? How do I find it??? Easily. The name and numbers on the sides of the cases correspond with a name and number in a book. Remember my stamped images book in my library?
Every time I get a new stamp, I ink it up and stamp it in my book. If it is a set, I stamp all of the images from the set together. If it is a loose mounted stamp, I find a “miscellaneous” case with room and add it to that set. If there is no room, I start a new case. (Any stamps that are stored together are stamped together - get it?) At the top of the page, I have a place to write the name of the set and a place for a number. The name is easy...and if there is more than one stamp or set together, I write them both. The number is just the next in line. For example, if I stopped with #140 and I get a new set, this set will be #141. If the set is in a CD case and my last one was #13, I just write CD #14. This way I have a record of all of the images I have and a quick way to find them. (I always make sure my stamps are put back in numerical order.) Does any of this make sense???
Okay, so there it is...my whole craft room in all of its glory! The cutting station, the work and supply zone, the paper storage, and the stamp collection. I know that I am more organized than some and not as much as others. My goal was to share with you my system and maybe give you some new ideas...I hope I was successful.
The Scraponizer ToolBox made it's debut at CHA this year and is quickly becoming one of the hottest storage items to hit the craft world. Made of acid-free, durable poly-vinyl, this crystal clear organizing system is a great way to clean up your craft space!
The other thing that I really enjoy for my semi-organization are these craft boxes. They are found at any craft store and even at Wal-Mart and are usually $2 or less depending on the style. You can often find them in the beading area or where the embroidery floss is. These are great for embellishments and perfectly hold Bobbin Ribbon. And all being the same size they stack very neatly on a shelve for no wasted space. I'm currently in the process of filling some new ones I just purchased. I'm planning on getting them more organized by filling one with ribbon, one with eyelets, one with brads, one with primas, etc etc etc. Then using my label maker to label the sides to make things easier to find when I have more of them.
So, what IS the main problem when it comes to my organization? Without a doubt, it’s putting things back in their proper places! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got every organizer cube/box/folder known to mankind. I’ve got drawers dedicated for ribbon, paper, markers, embellishments, inks, etc. I’ve got shelves for stamps. But all these drawers don’t do me a lick of good because I don’t take the time to put everything I touch back in its intended home. Why? Am I too busy? At times that might be the case. Unfortunately, laziness is more than likely the culprit I’m sad to say. I just don’t want to take the time to put every little thing back in its place. With as much stuff as I use, it seems like I would be putting things away constantly and not getting any stamping done!
We have to stay ahead of the clutter. We can’t allow it overtake us because clutter suppresses creativity. And our creativity is what fuels us. If we don’t have our creativity, we don’t have much now do we?
