Hello Lovelies! How is it that 9 years have gone by since I created my craft room??? In the last 2 years especially, I made many changes to The PaperMint Studio and decided to sit with them for a while to see what stuck before I started sharing.
I got a little push from PaperCrafter Magazine this February, when they reached out to do a feature on the Studio. So I am still in disbelief that my crafting space is actually in Issue 172 of the publication that should be available starting today at Michaels, JoAnn and Barnes and Noble! Cover page below, so you know which issue. :-)
This is me looking very surprised about all of this!!! :-) :-) :-)
I feel like I have learned a lot about what suits me and my crafting style over the last few years. I've been inspired by so many crafters with great ideas and this has changed the way I've used my space. I've kept the following "principles" in mind as I switched things up:
The room is a blank canvas on which the supplies, tools and artwork add the color to make it a happy place
The space is modular and can easily be updated as my interests evolve
Storage is clear and concealed (and mobile). Reveal the pretty things and keep the mundane out of sight
A place for everything , with your faves nearby
Take it personally, don't loose your individuality and whimsy, these things fuel creativity
With that in mind, here's the plan:
Today, I have a couple of pictures to explore the room and highlight some of the things I've changed
Then I'll start sharing a series of blog posts on different types of storage and organization that I use to maintain some semblance of order
Along the way, I'll upload a video tour of the space, which I'll probably need to break up a bit, this room is literally packed to the rafters...LOL
I hope that this in turn may inspire you and many help in deciding what to do and what NOT to do.
Entering the Studio
Lighting is changed to daylight bulbs in ceiling and chandelier
I got a shiny new chair with built-in padding for my tush
I set up a planning/journaling on one of the desks by the window
Paper & Ink Wall
Swapped out my Stampin' Up Inks, Markers and Refills for oodles of Distress Inks, Oxides, Refills, Markers and Crayons
Replaced my Cricut cartridge collection with Ikea storage boxes for my not-so-often used tools
Added some artwork to remember some of my trips abroad
My Craft Island "Desk"
said bye to the large central drawer and replaced it with two shelves
moved my most used tools from the drawer to the desktop carousel
Shelves of Color
All my inks, sprays, paints, stains, etc are now in clear acrylic containers to keep them easily accessible, organized and portable
Card Corner
Since I mostly make cards now, I swapped out the scrapbook pages that adorned my bookcase end-caps for a little inspiration
The plan is to change these out once per month
Open Shelving Tower on Desk
given my burgeoning obsessions with pens and calligraphy ink, I keep mostly pens in this tower and some fabric supplies. It was really hard to move my punch collection mostly out of my craft room... WAAAHHH!!!
Planning and Journaling
I might have fallen in love with planning and created a little area on the desk for my planning and journaling supplies... :-)
All Things Tim!
Keeping all my Tim Holtz tools, embellishments and consumables together so I don't have to go on a treasure hunt to find an item when making
Tim Holtz Stamps, Dies, Stencils and Embossing folders have another home
Stamps, Dies, Stencils and Embossing Folder Shelving
Drawers for Scrapbooking, Paper & Tools
My stamps and dies also now live in plastic envelopes inside acrylic bins
I have a lot of heart for scrapbooking but I spend most of my time making cards, so I replaced a top row of 4 deep file drawers with shallow drawers for other tools
Swapped out some fabric bins with more white IKEA storage contaainers on top of the bookcase
Lovelies, thanks for taking this quick tour with me, I'll start breaking this down for upcoming blog posts and sharing links to the goodies that I picked up at Simon Says Stamp that help keep The PaperMint from succumbing to chaos. LOL
In the interim a have linked a smattering of the items that you see in the pictures above in the Supplies section below if you want to explore.
As I work on the blog posts, let me know what questions you have about the room or how I organize it in the comments.
Thank you for stopping by and see you soon!
SUPPLIES:
Some of my craftroom favorites and staples which you may see in this post are linked below. The upcoming storage blog posts will be both more comprehensive and focused around particular crafting items (e.g. stamps, ink, paper etc) and give detail on what I use, why I like it and how I organize it.
Please note that these are compensated affiliate links used at no cost to you. I really appreciate your support. Click on the icons below each product picture to shop with SimonSaysStamp.com.