Feb 5, 2010

Erika’s Craft Room

Oh the joys a craft space can bring! Hi Everyone I’m Erika Taylor and I’m so excited to take you all on a tour of my crafting space. It is a tiny space measuring in at 5’9” x 9’3” but it is all about how you use the space that matters. So let’s go for a tour shall we. Come on in.clip_image001From the bi-fold doors, this is the view you’ll see. The room was originally the back entrance to the house, but the owners before us made it into a sewing room, so my vision of a craft space wasn’t far off.clip_image002When you have a small space, using both horizontal and vertical space is so important. Make the most of the space you have right? Now let’s get into the corners and crevasses that make this room work for me. First, the built in shelves that carry all my alterable, markers, extra inks, tools and almost anything in a bottle (glues, gesso, crackle mediums etc). The top shelf is fabric and my light box.

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My stamps are organized in binders by manufacturer mainly, although I do have a miscellaneous album too. Most of my stamps are acrylic or cling mount but I do have a little treasure trove of wood mounts too, which you’ll see in a few photos.clip_image002[4]Two tables make up my workspace and are filled with tons of things that I consider necessities. This great 3 tiered unit holds all of my alcohol inks, stickles, Distress Crackle paints, and most used embossing powders. And each tier spins. Gotta love that!clip_image003[4]Then there is my love affair with Shimmerz paints. I’m a very visual crafter, so I need to have things out in the open in this space. Right beside the Shimmerz is my ever growing Glimmer Mist collection.clip_image005[4]clip_image007I’m looking for a better way to organize my ink because my ink has been like a few rabbits. Once you have a few, you’ve got hundreds. Oh how I love ink. Chalk ink, Staz-on ink, Distress Ink…the list could go on and on and on. Right now the ink stays on a little shelf right above my workspace, but if it stays there it will start looking much like a skyline. Huge towers of ink!clip_image009The second table holds my Big Shot, metal pieces, jars of small embellishments like brads and eyelets, and a pair of bird watching binoculars. With the small window in the space, I can hear the birds in the yard, so I’ve got to be ready for them. You’ll also find my newest creations on this table waiting for photo studio time lol. You’ll notice in the bottom left corner a basket full of stuff. This is my open stash storage and it is the one thing that drives me batty. I think a Clip it Up with baggies should fix the problem. clip_image011Now onto the supplies wall. I love slat wall. It displays everything so nicely and everything always has a home. Is that a Clip it Up Ribbon Organizer I see??? All of my packaged embellishments are hanging in groups. Chipboard, Grungeboard, bling, borders, flowers, etc. Every time I walk into my craft space, this is the first thing I see and makes me feel like I’m in my own personal craft shop. Uber cool.clip_image013Alright so off to see what is to the right of where I sit and create. A full sized Billy Bookshelf stuffed with inspiration, books, magazines and my wood block stamps and fibers. Little jars holding strands of texture, color coded goodness, like the rainbow.clip_image015Behind my workspace there is a small Expedite bookshelf lying on its side that stores a plethora of jazz. From bubble wrap to magazines, paper packs to punches and everything in between. On the top is my cutting station and cardstock paper storage. Above that you can see more coloring and painting mediums. Have you come to the conclusion that I like to color? Since I was 3 and that hasn’t gone away. I still grab a coloring book with my children and color away. I can even stay in the lines now. Practice, Practice, Practice!!

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I’ve got a great solution for scrap paper pieces. This unit holds all of my scraps and every drawer is for a specific color. Reds, Pinks, Oranges, Yellows, Greens, Blues, Purples, Whites, Blacks, and Metallics. Now if I can only remember to open these up a little more instead of putting a full piece under the knife.

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One of the smartest uses of space for me, in this tiny area, was attaching magnetic knife racks to small areas like the corner and directly above my workspace. These little gems are super inexpensive and hold my Spellbinders Dies. LOVE IT!!!!

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Are you all still with me? Only a few photos left to go. It is amazing how much you can fit into such a small space isn’t it? Since I make so many cards every year, there has to be a spot to keep them all. Two aluminum photo boxes that have been altered then tabbed with occasions and dates for an easy way to find an appropriate card.

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My newest addition to my craft space, I just had to save for last. Let me tell you I had ribbon all over the place and for me, if it isn’t organized I just don’t use it. So here is the newest member of the Taylor craft room family, The Ribbon Organizer. All the ribbon I get from Really Reasonable Ribbon fits so nicely on this dream of an organizer. The next step is to alter it. How fun is that!?!

clip_image023Thank you so much for sharing this time in my craft space with me. I hope that you have enjoyed it and you’ve gained a few ideas on how to make your space work for you. Share with me a picture of your favorite part of your craft space or the space that makes you go batty. I’d love to see those pictures.

Until next time… Toodles

Erika Taylor
http://taylordconcepts.blogspot.com

34 comments:

  1. Love the slat wall, can I come play? :)

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  2. Wow Erica! That is a fabulous space you have! Great work with a small area!!
    And yeah... i wanna come play too! :)

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  3. Erika, I love how well organized your space is. It has given me good ideas for wall shelving for my supplies. TFS
    Linda (lind)

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  4. Love how you orgainized so much scrapping supples in a small place. You have also solved my problem for storage of the spellbinders. Can't wait till I go to Canadian Tire. Hope that have it. TFS

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  5. Love your craft room. Mine is not a room but a space in our office which is a small space on our computer desk (L shape) for my cricut and then I have stacks of bags and wheeled carts all over the room with stuff in it that I have to pull out everytime I create. I cannot leave anything out because of little fingers. So I want a craft room. LOL

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  6. Erika, very nice! It's like a little mini craft store!

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  7. Hi Erika, using the magnetic knife racks to organize Spellbinders dies is brilliant! Love your space. Also, see if you can find an old cassette tape holder at a thrift store or garage sale. I have two, made of oak, and each was made to hold 100 cassettes but most ink pads fit perfectly. I labeled the edge of eeach w/ name and a color swatch. They are wall mounted and so free up that all-important table space for me. Cheers!--Autumn from NGS

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  8. Oh my goodness, Erika. Will you come and organize my mess? Please? This is wonderful.

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  9. Can't believe you got so much into this space..it is a dream space. Thanks for sharing.
    nancy mayer

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  10. Love how you've organzied your space. Fabulous that so much is open to view and close at hand.

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  11. Youre super organized! I love all the storage. I need to do that magnetic knife holder trick. :) Thanks for sharing

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  12. I especially like your tiered unit which holds all of your alcohol inks, stickles, Distress Crackle paints, and most used embossing powders!!!
    Your craft room looks more like a shop, when can I come visit? LOL

    It's just beautiful!

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  13. Great tour, Erika! I've been thinking about doing some magnetic storage for my punches and the knife magnet strip might work. Lots of good ideas in your studio!

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  14. Erika, I LOVE how organized your space is! You are so clever to make your space work so well for you. I love your scrap paper organizer (although I'm right there with ya... gotta USE those scraps, LOL!). And the magnetic knife holder for Nesties is just brilliant. Thanks for sharing!

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  15. Wow that is super organized - love it!

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  16. l love your space but l could make it untidy in two mins flat!!!xwish l was that tidyxxlucky ladyxlynda

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  17. How many square feet is this space, Erika? I looks good---really good! Are you sure you use any of it??? Kidding, of course. You have given me some great ideas, though. Thanks for doing that. You are truly well organized.
    Evette Rice
    evetterice@aol.com

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  18. Love the organization. I'm always building a special shelf here and there to hold things.

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  19. awesome, fabulous and TRULY an amazing use of the small space....thank you so much for sharing Erica!!!

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  20. Love that slat wall. Looks like a craft store. I have a small space and cannot hang or nail anything on the walls. I have a tall book shelf for paper and albums and drawers and drawers of embellishments until I got a two-tier Clip It Up. It freed up almost 3 drawers of embellishments and now I have room for more!

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  21. Great job on organizing your new craft room! Incredible what you fit in there. Thanks for all the neat tricks in storage of ribbons and nesties, et al! Enjoy seeing and reading all about it, Erica! Thanks

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  22. Thank you all so very much for your comments. You can come and play anytime and I'd love to help you out with your organization woes.

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  23. Sooo many great ideas! thank you for the tour- my favorite idea would probably be the SpellBinders storage. Trying to figure out where I could do that!

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  24. Holy cow, it looks like a store!!

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  25. great room! love all of your ideas!

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  26. Gorgeous studio, Erika! Love all your organizing and the slat wall is especially amazing! Like a little oasis to craft the hours away, eh? :) Thanks for sharing with us!

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  27. Great use of your space. I never seem to be able to keep my working space clear. Sometimes having more space is a waste. Thanks for sharing.
    Sue Rapin

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  28. Thanks for the tour Erika. Great use of a small space and I love your idea for scrap storage. I've added it to my list for the next trip to the city.

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  29. Fabulous Erika, so well organised! I too have a small craftroom and lots of shelving and two big cupboards. I only recently got this sorted and it is so much better now that I have homes for everything. Thank you so much for sharing all these amazing piccies with us :o)
    hugs
    wynneth
    x

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  30. Such a great scrapping space Erica!!

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  31. I love your idea for the paper scraps, you are so organized!! Come to my house okay? haha

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  32. WOW! Fabulous use of space, Erika! I have an odd shaped mini-room and can definitely use your organizational tips. TFS!

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  33. Erika

    I love the buckets full of pencils and such. i am always looking for different ways to store my 100's of pencils and markers and such. That is great what you've done. Thanks for sharing!

    and Autumn Light Designs...Love your tip on the cassette cases for stamps...Fantastic idea! Thanks for that!

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  34. Wow!! What a room! Looks more like a store than a craft room ha ha! Great ideas thanks!

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