Quick Tip: Craft Room Organization

Stay Organized: Quick Tips
Keep a can, bucket or basket handy to place the things you're using when your done with them. This will help in two ways. A basket is easily carried around the room to put your items back in their spaces. A tin can, like the one below, can hold items you still need to use for your projects that you aren't ready to put away. Doing this keeps your workspace clean. For small items that may fall through basket holes I just use a small can or box that sits inside the basket. Another way to avoid losing anything is to place cardboard, paper or cloth in the bottom.  

  Happy Crafting! 

Some of My Favorite Craft Storage Tips Found on the Web

Better Homes and Gardens
My favorite is the heater vent to hold Stamps and the cup holder to hold markers since I've read that markers should be stored on their sides for longevity.

The Inking Spot of Crain Creations
The woman who runs this blog used a drain spout to hold her Copic markers by cutting the drain spout into pieces and then adhering them together. It's cute, a great organizing idea and the cost was under $10.00. If you don't own Copics, I'm sure there are a lot of other craft items to use this idea for.
 
Scrapbook.com
This is for Stickles storage and I don't own any Stickles yet, but I own Adirondack Inks from Tim Holtz and this looks like a great storage idea for them as well. "Used 11x14 free standing acrylic frame, strips of Velcro, and Velcro dots on bottles. Will hold 44 bottles of Stickles."

http://studiocalico.typepad.com/studio_calico/2011/08/emilys-tip.html
I'm not sure what the name of this particular website is, but it showed that you can use a spice rack for your Glimmer Mists and paint sprays. You could also use it to store your acrylic craft paints and be able to see all the colors. Now I wish I hadn't of thrown that old spice rack out.


I saw something interesting in a used travel trailer a friend bought. There were small jars hanging from the underside of a cabinet. The lids had been attached to the wood with screws and all you had to do was unscrew the jar as you needed it. I liked this idea because it would be a great way to keep small embellishments organized and you can easily see the contents. The underside of shelves and cabinets are often overlooked for storage. Of course you could use plastic containers if you're afraid of breaking a glass jar or don't want to add much weight to a thinner shelf.

I have been working the past couple of months to set up a room for my crafting and art materials. I'm always looking for an inexpensive and easy to access way to store materials. I use a very inexpensive curtain rod to keep my burlap and wax paper on. Since the curtain rod does not have to be opened very far it is quite sturdy. I think the small shelf will get the underside treatment for my inks.

Altered Box: Loving Blue, Brown and Green

  

I wanted to give an altered box a try and I'm so glad that I did. I had been storing my lace pieces in an ugly box. No matter where you sit it or how you stand it, it's ugly! So I gathered my homemade paint sprays and glitter mists together, some Gesso, modeling paste, cream colored, yellow and white flowers, brown ribbon, a birds nest, a blue bird and got busy. 

 Before

  

The Result is Fabulous!

I'm so excited! I am now hooked on altering boxes and I'm looking at all those other ugly boxes I have that I'm storing my craft items in. This would make a great gift and/or gift package too.

Steps I took to make my Altered Box:

1. Apply Gesso to the entire outside of the box in thin coats (I used my heat tool to dry the coats of Gesso quickly). You can also use paint instead of Gesso, but I used Gesso to get more texture).

2. I used my home-made paint sprays and glimmer mists to color the box and my heat tool between colors to keep them from mixing too much. I also sprayed enough some of the time that I could get the colors to run which I think is a nice effect.

3. Use your ink stamps to decorate the box as you wish. I didn't do a lot of stamping, just a few here and there.

4. Using a template with modeling paste allowed me to create the leaves and flowers on the sides and top of the box.

5. You can decorate your box with silk flowers, make your own flowers or use something else such as Christmas decorations, etc. Just let your creative juices flow. I used white, cream and yellow silk flowers and sprayed them with my blue glimmer mist. Since the flowers were different colors they came out different shades of blue and the yellow flowers became green.

6. After the flowers dried I began arranging them with the bird and nest on the box. I used a hot glue gun to adhere them to the box lid and each other.

7. I wanted some sentiments (a little inspiration) so I found some foam letters and placed words on my box that could be read from different directions since it sits on an open shelf.

That was it. It took me just a few hours to make. I let the modeling paste dry overnight before going to the next step.

Give making an Altered Box a shot and please share as I would love to see them.

Helpful Tip: Craftroom Workspace Organization and Convenience

     Working on a craft project and tired of the mess it generates?

     If you're like me you work on multiple projects at one time. If I get stuck on a project I set it aside to work on another and return to it when I feel refreshed and inspired again.

     Place your loose items you will be using for a project in a container. Use one container per project to store items that you made for that project and items that you do not currently need for another. For example, I make a certain type of flower(s) and pick my colors and embellishments for each project ahead of time. Having those things contained and organized makes life a lot easier, because my work space is free of extra clutter. I still may need to grab something that I decide to add as I go, but I don't have to run around my craft room nearly as many times when I've got glue, tape, ink and everything else stuck to my hands and fingers. I'm also not looking for those loose items I've already gathered that end up pushed underneath a piece of card-stock or worse have fallen to the floor and are now under the wheel of my chair.

     When you're ready to work on it again, all the items you've prepared and made will be neatly tucked away and readily available. I place my project container on a low stand beside me so the contents are easily viewed, accessible and out of the way.

     I use a basket for items I'm finished with. As soon as I'm done with something I place it in the basket. When the time comes to place the items back in their original storage spaces it's much easier to have my basket to carry them around in. For this purpose, a small cheap plastic basket with a handle works great.