Monday, February 10, 2014

My sanctuary..my craftroom



Before I give you the grand tour of my crafty space, I wanted you all to know this has been a long time coming. I have never really shown any of my crafty spaces, much less open drawers, cabinets, and closets. There was not plan on doing this anytime soon either as I have been waiting on curtains and making a final decision on paint color. However, since the Bitten By the Bug challenge this week was showing your craft space I though what the hay!

There are a few things I should point out. First, I know I have a ridiculous amount of things. However, remember that this is my full-time job. Secondly, I started out scrapbooking over a decade ago, sitting on the floor of my closet. Having a room was not on my radar until much, much later. Here I am though, and I have to say I really love this space. There is much more to do to make it a pretty room, but it is VERY functional. I will post more pics once my curtains arrive and are installed.

This is a wall I have shown before. Most of my ribbon is stored here. Buttons, flowers, and some embellishments are also stored here. The white container is full of receipts that I keep for my little business. Below that, is a file cabinet that I store most of my non-CTMH stamps.

These set of cabinets house my Cricut cartridges, cartridge giveaways, alterable items, shipping supplies, envelopes, and more ribbon :-)
The Ikea cubes (I do not have pictures of the contents because this post is long enough.) store more giveaways, customer thank you gifts, cardstock scraps, current CTMH paper packs, fabric, vinyl, and Anna Griffin stuff.
This is my workspace. As nice as having cabinets are, I still keep quite a bit out on my desk for easy access. I wish I could have one of those rooms where everything is neatly put away, but it would be a huge pain to pull everything out every time I craft.
Against my better judgement, I am showing you my closet. This is where I keep my core'dinations cardstock, patterned paper, sewing machine, projects I have already made like cards, layouts, boxes, and gift bags, 12 x 24 paper, and felt.
This is my trusty Cricut machine. My new Explore machine comes Wednesday, and it will go in this space as well. My television is on quite a bit while I create. Sometimes it is just on the music channel, but I typically have General Hospital or old CSI episodes going.
This is where my craft room lap top lives, so it is easy to use the CCR. I also keep my washi tape here for easy access. This is where I tend to keep new things as well, because if I can see it I will be more likely to use it.
This is where I keep my punches. I do not use them all that much, but it is good to have them handy for when I do. Also, this is where my tape gun and stamp scrubber lives.
More punches, journaling pens, and white signo uniball pens are stored on the left.
Inks, inks, and more inks! The more options the better! The refills are kept above.
The white little box is my PictureMate Charm. Just perfect for scrapbooking! I bought it for the new Picture My Life program that Close To my Hearts sells. Then I have my trimmer, Cuttlebug folders (in the aqua plastic container) and new patterned paper in the floral bucket (got all of these from Target).
This is where I make all of my projects.
This little rolling cart is perfect for holding my Close To My Heart organizational containers. I bought it at Ikea.

This is a small CTMH organizational container. This is so perfect for my little edge inks.
In this CTMH Small Organizational container I store all of my current embellishments that coordinate with the CTMH patterned papers.
In this CTMH Medium container I store misc embellishments and CTMH fabric.
This is another medium container, and I store all of my adhesive backed embellishments like rhinestones and pearls.
This is where I currently keep my Cuttlebug folders. I will be moving them into a large CTMH storage container very soon!
Here is where I keep my Cuttlebug and Cuttlebug plates. Also, here is where I keep my stamps that coordinate with CTMH cartridges in Large CTMH Organizers. They are divided up by cartridge, so I have one for Art Philosophy, Artiste, and Artbooking.
Here is where I keep my loose ribbon (by color), my E2, my Cricut Mini, and Your Story. I also keep brads, markers, and extra scissors here. In the Medium clear CTMH organizer, I have all of my Picture My Life cards.
Here is a better look at my Picture My Life organization.
In these CTMH stamp organizers, I keep all of my M sized stamps, dies, font stamps, and seasonal stamps. Also, when there is a new catalog, I keep all of the new stamps here, so I am sure to use them before they get integrated with all of the other stamps.

This cabinet holds my iron, starch, Gypsy, extra adhesives, CTMH How To books, and other crafting books.
In this cabinet, I keep paints and misc supplies.
Here are my Cricut cartridges. I got these containers at Joann's.
Giveaways, envelopes, misc ribbon, gift bags, and cartridges that have not been organized yet.
Acrylic blocks for stamping.
Not the most organized looking drawer, but I know where to find what I need. This drawer houses my chalk inks and misc stamping supplies.
This is where I keep my Cricut supplies like blades and such.
More stamping supplies like embossing powders.
CTMH cardstock.
More cardstock and my label maker.
Here is where I store my alterable items.
I keep my albums and other misc items in here.
I have this on one of my walls in my room. It was a Christmas present from my son and I just love it! I think he got it at Kirkland's.
Here is a list of CTMH organizational items that you saw in my room:



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89 comments:

Joan Smith said...

Good Monday Morning Miss Melanie!
Thanks for sharing your most treasured Crafting room. I love it.
You sure have a place for everything & I'd say everything in it's place. I love the color too. You definitely have lots of awesomeness in there but that's what it takes to do what you do and girl you do it like non other. It was so much fun taking the tour. It make me happy to now be able to picture you creating away in your cute craft room. Have an awesome crafty kind of day!!

Crystal said...

Love your room. We recently moved and I went from 700 sq ft (basement) crafting area to a room of about 300 sq ft. I have stuff stacked everywhere. Still weeding thru it months later. Someday !!!

LST in Colorado said...

Thanks for the wonderful tour of your crafting room. Would you like to come and arrange mine for me? ;o) I got a storage unit from Ikea for some of my crafting supplies, but I know I'll be getting more. Aren't they great? And your baskets add that nice pop of color that your so famous for.

Jayne said...

Mel your craftroom is gorgeous and thanks for sharing it. You are so well organised. I have a friend that says I have so much craft stuff but I remind her it's over 12 years of collecting(hoarding!)!!
Hugs

Jill Rugg said...

I love your scrap room-thanks so much for sharing! I love seeing how other people organize their supplies-my room needs cleaned in such a bad way, every time I get started I find something inspiring and end up making a layout instead of organizing-lol!

Ann said...

Mel,
Sure wish you lived closer I am in the process and have my metal wardrobe all organized. Fixing to enclose my front porch and transforming it into a craft room. My 2014 resolution was to get organized and I have been working diligently on it.
Thanks for showing us your crafy area. Great job!!
Mstgane
Ann

Nncy said...

Such a beautiful workspace! Love the color.

Anonymous said...

Wow, Melanie, your scrap space truly is a sanctuary. I love that you went with white for your cabinets. I wish I lived close by so I could come hang out in there! LOL

Marta
sassyscraps1@yahoo.com

Sue D said...

Wow--what a beautiful room to create in! thanks for sharing your organizational ideas.

La Chula Fashions said...

I love it soooo jealous !! All the organized spaces is what I truly love 😊 there's just something to be said for having a space for everything! Plus knowing where it's at lol!! Great job 👍👊💪😜

ncsignterp said...

Wow! What an amazing room and workspace. Love the organizational ideas. I will definitely use someof your ideas in my craft room.

jeanne said...

Thanks for sharing your crafty space with us...very organized and inspiring! I hate it when people who don't craft say..."My, you have a lot of stuff!"...crafters need stuff to create! :-)

Debbie (from Sugar Land) said...

Awesome space Melanie. You've done a great job of making it useful and beautiful at the same time.

Gregsgirl's crafty corner said...

Melanie you have a fabulous craft room, I'm in awe!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous room. But I have a question-Do the clear plastic bins you store your cartridges in have a name? And how many cartridges do they hold? I have over 250 carts and most of them are just stacked in a couple of places in my room and my computer desk. I could use the extra space.

Martha Herrera said...

WOW! Thank you so much for sharing your craft-room with us!
You are very organized.
And thank you for the chance to win Create A Critter 2!

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed seeing your room. I am always looking for storage ideas and you gave me some. I only have a craft area not a full room so space is limited.

Cathy said...

your room is amzing...I said that to myself after the first four pictures.lol soooo sooo much stuff. thanks for sharing.
cathyplus5.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

All I have to say is OMG!!

Charity Brown said...

Wow, I want a room like that someday! Love it..it looks so nice & bright...Can't get enough light!

Anonymous said...

Awesome, thanks for sharing your great ideas with us. You inspire me. My goal is for my craft room to look like that one day, or Thanks
Theresa
tacalo@live.com

Unknown said...

Wow!!! Such an amazing space and so well organized! Thank you so much for sharing.

Peg said...

Melanie, what a wonderful crafting area you have! Thanks for sharing. I can see why you get so much done. It is harder to accomplish something in a smaller area when one has so many supplies as it seems you are always looking for something that has gotten misplaced and you spend more time just cleaning up after a project and trying to organize things.

Linda said...

Oh my gosh, your room is amazing! LOVE it!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing you organized & functional craft room. It is easier to work when you know where to find what you need.
Donna K U

Brenda said...

Such a beautiful and well organized room Melanie!! You are another one that I visioned what your room looked like and it was just like my vision. lol Mayra's was the other one. I love how organized you are, having a place for everything and everything in it's place. I think we all have a ton of "stuff" but since a lot of us have been doing it for a long, long time we have had the time to accumulate it all. Very beautiful room and maybe on day mine can be this organized! lol Hugs!

okieladybug or okie_ladybug said...

I'm totally jealous of the cabinets!! But I have to say I am a little disappointed in your organization of the cartridges. I noticed they are just tossed in the bottom container and not lined up nicely! What the heck Mel? Get those things in order HA HA HA

Avra Williams said...

Beautiful, well organized room!

Kim said...

Wow, your craft room is so great and organized. I do have a question. Where did you get your cricut cover? If you can, please e mail me at dolphin6859@gmail.com. Thanks
Kim

Kirk and Melanie said...

Thanks SO VERY MUCH for sharing your space and your ideas!! I especially love your box for your Picture My Life cards!! Your color shelves are very inviting too!

Mayras Designs said...

I am in love with your room ! Beautiful cabinets , lovely layout ! I love the way you have everything stored ! Fantastic creative room ! Hope you have a wonderful week !

Mayra
Mayrasdesigns.blogspot.com

ScrappySue said...

Thanks for sharing your crafting room. What a joy it must be to have such an area to create! You gave us a lot of great ideas for organizing.

Anonymous said...

very nice craft room! i especially love your ikea rolling cart. ya! need to find me one of them! am wondering what your 'altering items' are? hmmm. you dooo have alot. bright and cheerful. nice place to craft!

Coelle said...

What a beautifully organized craft room...though most of us will never have anything close to yours, it's so helpful to see how you have organized different tools and supplies. Thanks so much for sharing your space...what a wonderful place to create!

Angie said...

What a beautiful workspace. Jealous, would be the word! Love all of the cupboard space!
Spangleram@aol.com

Anonymous said...

Debbie from Fallston:

I just LOVE your room! I keep trying to get organized, but it never stays that way too long. I keep saying "One Day" when it comes to getting it together. Hopefully, that "one day" will come!

Thanks for showing your room!

Unknown said...

You are so wonderfully organized. I am sure that you spent a lot of time getting it this way. Thanks for sharing your craft room!

Karen Sue said...

Wow you have a great craft room, and all so organized, thanks for sharing.

Kat said...

WOW! Love your room. Lots of space and very organized.
I only have a very small room, crammed with my sewing/quilting/machine embroidery, scrapbooking/stamping, and knitting stuff.

tcope said...

I am insanely jealous!!! Love Love LOVE your craft room!

Dianna said...

Your space is awesome! Thanks for inviting us in! And thanks for the chance to win this cartridge!

Melissa said...

What a nice space!!!

Barb said...

Wow! Your Craftroom is awesome. So organized and a place for everything. I store my card making supplies in the basement and in a second floor spare bedroom. There are times I feel like I'm at the gym when working on a project. Thanks for a chance to win the Create A Critter cart.

Anita said...

What an amazing space! Great tips on organizing!

kgraham said...

I'm very impressed by you organizational skills. I've tried but haven't come up with any real breakthroughs. Thanks for sharing!

Judy Webb said...

So happy for you to have such a wonderful room. Yes to home office. Enjoy your blog

Jaren said...

WOWZERS! Your craft room is gorgeous. The number one thing I love about it besides all the obvious organizational tips/containers is the lightness of the room. I love light and airy spaces, and I feel like you can be more creative like that. That looks like a fun place to be!!!

Juliana said...

I love your setup, very nice. I loved having my Expedit on it's side in front of the window, but I needed more cubby's so I put it upright and now only have a small one there now. I like to store my cutting machines on the top of the small one. I also use the same carts, I like how you used the teal cart to match your colors. Have you considered the Ikea towel racks for your punches? would get them off the desk and free up some space. Thanks for sharing your sanctuary I enjoyed it and I picked up a few ideas too. Just Beautiful!!

Petra said...

Thanks for letting us peek in your craft room. I would love to have that space. I will use some of the ideas that you shared!

Unknown said...

You have a fantastic creative space! A dream room for sure! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one addicted to embossing folders! Thanks for sharing your beautiful room!

Unknown said...

Thank you for the wonderful post! I loved seeing your craft space and your ideas for organizing things. Seeing the things we do the same and the things we do different plus some terrific ideas!

Vanessa said...

What a wonderful space! You are so well organized! Thanks for sharing your craft room with us.

Unknown said...

I love how you have your embellishments color coordinated by color rather than separate them by item. LOL, I would love to trade art studios with you!

Anonymous said...

That is one wonderful craft room and so organized. Thanks for the chance to win also.
sekala45@roadrunner.com

Windy said...

Nicely organized! I got some ideas for storing a few of my things, so thanks for sharing. I just saw the Large Organizer in the CTMH catalog--it's probably been there for a long time but I never noticed it--and have it on my list to buy. Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

I appreciate all the photos showing us your awesome crafting space. You have done a great job with it. I am happy for you and hope to have my own space someday too.
Thanks, also, for the cart drawing.
Lothringen from MI

Cynthia Baldwin said...

You have such an amazing space!! Thanks for sharing all the details!

Treva said...

Wow, you have an awesome craft space. Thanks for sharing!

Camilla said...

I am so impressed with your beautiful craft room. Thought I had a lot. It is just beautiful and a very pleasant place to do you crafting. This cartridge has so many different ideas. If I do not win it will be my next purchase. Thank you.

Mollie said...

Hey Melanie! So basically you have the dream craft room for the rest of us :) SO JEALOUS!!! It looks FABULOUS!!! Have a great week!

Emily
Mollie's Motif

Doxie Lover said...

I am loving but laughing so hard at what you said at first. So like me! First the disqualifiers....same as mine....hard to show anyone my craft room. There is method to my madness! What is so funny though is what you said about having so much. Qualified by it being your full time job. Well it isn't my full time job, but I have every bit as much "stuff" if not more. I always explain how I started scrap booking many many years ago. I really did! You can really collect a lot! But, I love every button and scrap if it!!! It's your wall says.... It IS cheaper than therapy. It makes me happy. Girls.....there is nothing wrong in doing what you love! You are really good at it, and SOOOO appreciated. Thank you for sharing your wonderful room and life with us!!!! God blessed you with great talent.

yolanda said...

Love it!! It's kinda girly but so inviting :). I would like to set up a space like this one day. How do you keep everything so organized? I don't have nearly as much but a lot and I can never seem to keep it organized. :)

Caroline said...

Wow Melanie, your craft room is AMAZING? It is so neat and organized. I love it!

Unknown said...

Hey Mel,

Love seeing pics of your craft room. Always nice to see how other people organize their craft space. :)

Mandi

Bev McCrary said...

Wow! Love your craft room! Thanks for posting and giving us so many ideas. Would love to win the cartridge. Looks like a lot of fun things to make. Blessings, Bev

Anonymous said...

WOW! Can I come PLAY! My dad always said find something that you LOVE to do & make it your dream job!I think you found yours!Thank for sharing your sanctuary/craft showroom,so happy for you.WE ARE SO BLESS WITH YOUR TALENT/TIME YOU GIVE US
THANKS,
BLESS U

Unknown said...

Wow! Wish I had a crafty room like this that has lots and lots of goodies to play ;-) I so love it. Its bright and everything has a place.

abusybee - DoubleClick Connections said...

Your space is amazing! Carri~Abusybee

carolyn's creations said...

You do have a lot of supplies and tools, but it is all so well organized!!! It looks great! Thanks for sharing!!

marg0006 said...

Wish I had some of that space. Great crafting ideas.

Donna from Downunder said...

I love your room. I'm working on re-organising my space now, but keep getting distracted by wanting to use my goodies.

Peg Toth said...

I love it! Showed it to my husband who commented "looks like somebody has a little bit more craft stuff than you do." lol
Thanks for sharing. You made my day.

Cricut Chao said...

Your Craft Room Is A Dream Come true. Love how organized you are!

CraftyComadres said...

Love your room. I just painted my daughters room and am trying to organize it into my craft room. Love your organizational ideas. I might have to copy a few of them.

Pam MacKay said...

Oh my goodness your craft room is awesome! It should be published in a magazine! You are one of the most organized crafters I have ever seen! FABULOUS Happy Space!

Kim said...

Wow, you must have spent thousands of dollars on all of your supplies. This is great! I love it.

Michelle said...

WoW - quite the room!! I need to re-organize mine again, but that will have to wait until this semester is over!

Where did you get the "Scrapbooking is Cheaper than Therapy" vinyl sign from?

Thanks for sharing & inspiring us all to clean up & organize our smack!!

:-)

Debbie C. said...

Really enjoyed the tour of your craft room. I hope to have a dedicated room someday and I love getting ideas.

moknowsall said...

OMGOSH Melanie! You are so organized. I would want to touch anything once I got it looking like that. This is what my dream craft room looks like. Can you please come over and get me organized? I have a plan in my head to put in upper and lower cabinets in my room just like yours.

Fabulous craft room. The storage is great.

Maureen
Bbtb2

Tina Campbell said...

What a super cute room, wow and so huge. Love the way you organize too. I use the large CTMH organizer for stamps too and the med for my PL cards and I got another one waiting for the new CTMH Picture this cards :) Great idea for the embossing folders, I can see I'll be getting another case soon for that

Sue N. said...

Please tell me you are not always this organized....LOL! When I dream of a new craft room, I dream of cabinets. I love my space and it is me, but I would love for everything to match. The scrapbooking quote says it all. Thanks for Sharing!!!

Anonymous said...

Absolutely beautiful! Am very envious, LOL! I, too, moved a few months ago and, very thankfully, my craft space in the basement is almost 3 times the size of the last room. It's been a slow-go and 90% of my stuff is still in boxes. Very frustrating. I have the same lamp you have with the cubbies around it. I love that it has an outlet. I keep my heat embossing tool stored and plugged into it! Marsha from NY

Anonymous said...

Your craftroom is so cute. I have been crafting one way or another for most of my life. My Mom is very creative so I did things with her. Currently, I am in the corner of our bedroom. I use a lot of the cases that you got at Joann's too. I have an Ikea desk that is attached to an 8 section bookcase. Really not a lot of space, but maybe my husband will build my own space someday. After the kids move out? LOL
Kathleen

D- said...

I LOVE your crafting space.
I wish I had a room I could designate as just my crafting space but in my little 965 sq. ft 3 bedroom home space is limited.
Right now my crafting space shares space with the guest/storage room.
Thanks for sharing.
Crafty hugs,
D~
DesignsByDragonfly.blogspot

Barbalot said...

Wow! That is one amazing craft room! What a great space in which to create and inspire us. I am always reorganizing and decorating my craft room. Feel blessed to have my own space.

Eva Laney said...

oh I am so in love and so jealous of your craftroom. SOOO beautiful!!! I am totally happy with mine though too and feel blessed to have all I do. Hope you can come by and visit :) http://evasscrapsncards.blogspot.com/2014/02/craft-room-make-over.html

JustJules said...

WOW! Can I come and scrap with you! What a great room! You do some amazing work in there! Thank you for letting us in your "space"!

Sharon said...

Oh my gosh!!! Your Crafty Room is awesomeness for sure Melanie!!! I so love all of the cabinet space and drawers. Everything has a place. Fabulous!!!! :)

Yash said...


Thanks You for posting it!
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