So I decided to stop selling CTMH at the end of the year last year and decided to do a little clearing out and some rearranging in the craft house since I would not be using it as a classroom so much anymore. I wanted to make it a little less crowded and a little easier for myself and my family to use together. So I started going through things and reorganizing. While this drives my husband crazy, I rather like to rearrange and reorganize. So I started the revamp in January and it's now almost April...not bad...not great either, but not bad. So here's how the craft house looks now. I still want to add some comfy seating in there and possibly rearrange a few more things but for now, I'm going to try this out and see how it goes.
This is the view as you walk through the door. All of those little white tilt bins use to be full of embellishments but I found that they were too big for most of my embellishments to be sorted individually so I did something else with them and am not really sure what I'm going to put in them right now. There are a few punchies in there as well as some bulk embellishments at this point, I'm sure that will change. I thought about putting my beads in there but decided that would probably end up the same way as the embellishments and I would feel like I was wasting space. However, I guess if you think about it, I'm wasting it with them being empty...hmmm. Below those bins are a few of my punches. Most of the top row are corner punches that I simply removed the guard from to make them fit a little better. Snapping the guard back on is easy as pie so for me it works.
Just around the corner from the bins are 2 rows of wire baskets that use to be part of a rotating display at the local hardware store. I originally brought the display home and put my 8.5x11 paper in the bins but found I didn't like it in the end and was going to throw it out. But since I hate to throw out good storage, Andy and I put our thinking caps on and decided we could use a sawz-all and cut the wire bins off the display piece and use them flat on the wall. So I filled them up with my ribbon collection and my little fabric collection. Below them on the floor is a basket full of cross stitch supplies as well as a tote full of EK Success paper doll punches that Izzy loves to play with.
I use to have all of my ribbons on rolls as well as wrapped around pieces of chipboard and it took up two big drawers. I have always struggled with how to store my ribbon so that I could find what I want and so that it wasn't tangled up. I started out with all of them on rolls on a couple of dowels but they were always dangling and unraveling and the empty rolls in the middle of the dowels would drive me crazy. So then I pulled the smaller amounts off the rolls and put them in baggies and punched holes in the baggies and put each color on a snap ring. This worked but it was so bulky that I hated it. That and the fact that I was always wanting the ribbon out of the middle of the set! LOL! So then I took them all out of the baggies and cut a bunch of chipboard into 4x6 pieces and sat and wrapped for an entire weekend. I liked this idea because I could see everything but once I put them all in a drawer, I never wanted to pull them out so it didn't work. So this time I decided to roll them all in rolls and put them into small 2x2 baggies and then divided those little baggies up into larger 6x9 baggies by color and fiber. Once I had them all bagged and sorted, I used one bin for each color and added the rolls that were pretty full into the mix as well. I think I like it! So this is one of the bags...patterned blues so you can see what I'm rambling about.
Traveling a little further around the corner, I have my books on the top shelf (see 1st pic ... ooops! I went through all of my magazines last year and tore out the pages I liked and threw the rest away. The pages I liked are all in the basket on the top right and the books I wanted to keep are all on the top shelf) with my beads below that and my yarn schtuff below the beading schtuff. I have a couple of totes of yarn and all of my needles and hooks in a can on the table.
Above the yarn schtuff is the bead schtuff. I have most of my beads sorted by color in embellishment binders and then the bigger focal pieces, wire, etc are in the cigar boxes. I keep my beading tools in a Pampered Chef tool turnaround for easy access as well. The basket on the left side is full of ideas I want to create someday. I use to keep all of my magazines but decided to simply tear out the designs I liked and throw the rest away. So much nicer. I moved a table below this shelf (again, see 1st pic) and have an Ott light set up to make beading a little easier. I like that it's out of the way of everything else so if I want to leave a project sitting, I can.
This is the inside of one of the bead organizer binders...
If you keep going around to the next wall, you'll find my paper. I have all of my 12x12 paper sorted first by cardstock or pattern paper, then by color. So if I want a piece of brown cs, I know where to look.
Below that I have my 8.5x11 paper (also sorted by color) and my smaller albums.
The next thing on this wall is a row of shelving that holds my CTMH stamps which are sorted by theme. I am in the process of coming up with a better solution for my clear stamps at this point but haven't quite narrowed down what I want to do with them. Above the stamps are boxes and baskets full of scrap cardstock sorted by size. When I'm making cards, I like to dig through my scraps to see what I can use before cutting new sheets down. Sometimes I find it, sometimes I don't! Above that on the top shelf are memorabilia boxes for each of my family members. These hold things that are too bulky to use in a scrapbook or that I haven't scrapped yet.
The measuring cup is full of stamps that I used back in December and haven't put away yet...I'm a slacker!
Below those shelves are 5 dressers with the following things in them. These started out in the girls' room to sort their toys. This proved to be too difficult for them so we decided to find something different for them and move the dressers out to the craft house.
The first dresser holds alterable things as well as my bind it all supplies. The second dresser is full of unmounted rubber stamps. I have put the first two drawers worth of stamps into cd cases and the bottom two are still in ziplock bags because I ran out of cases. I took all of my rubber stamp sets apart and sorted them by category so that if I wanted something specific I didn't have to try to figure out which set it was in. When I did this, I stamped each one on index cards so that I could easily identify where they were and how I categorized them. I don't love them in these drawers but until I find the right piece to hold them, that's where they're staying.
In the dresser next to that are my clear envelopes, bags, sheet protectors, etc. Beside that are the clear stamps that I started to organize already. I have them in CD cases right now but that is going to change as soon as I figure out what I really want them in. I haven't inventoried these on index cards yet but will when I decide how I'm really going to store them. I also have my rubber stamp mounting supplies in this dresser.
The final dresser is full of my die cut supplies. It holds my Sizzix, embossing folders and cricut supplies.
I took my cricut cartridges out of the boxes and keep them in plastic pencil cases...easier for me to see and takes up much less room.
The next shelf on this wall holds my 12x12 albums, my photos, cards and misc. schtuff. The top shelf has some 8.5x11 cs, my atc album and the blue boxes hold all of the cards I've made/swapped. I did go through those and categorized them last month so that I could start using them. The shelf below that holds my coluzzle binder, some unused albums, a basket full of memorabilia that needs to be sorted into the correct boxes and a box labeled "Stuff" that is full of embellishments I found in various places when I was cleaning the craft house. The shelf below that holds my photos which are sorted by person for the most part. I also have a tote there that is full of pages that I made but never put pictures on. So sad! Below that is my shelf of 12x12 albums.
This is the box of embellishments that were found in various baskets, boxes and drawers that they didn't belong in! Someday when I'm really bored, I'll sit and sort them and put them where they belong.
I have my albums marked with a string and a tag so I know what's in each of them.
There is also a bookshelf below this shelf that holds all of my computer supplies, discs, etc. I forgot to take that picture but it's there. I also have a rolling tote between this shelf and my computer desk that holds things for the girls to play with. There are Legos, Matchbox Cars, Lincoln Logs, Pom Poms, Popsicle Sticks, Foam Stickers and Foam Stamps...mostly this is Izzy's cart but the big girls do like to play with the Legos.
And if you're following along, we'll now come to the computer desk section of the craft house. My computer is in the house right now but when I am using it in the craft house, this is where it stays. On top are my favorite birdhouses, some tiles with my girls' pics on them, a few journals and just some schtuff I love. On the shelves are my printer papers, photo papers, a basket full of cords and my library book stack.
These are a few of my favorite things on my computer desk. The angel is one that our dear friends (Ed & Angie Hill of Kalispell) made for us when we were married. Beside it a photo of Andy & I on one of our few dates since we had kids. Under them is a very well loved copy of Shakespeare that my mom gave me when I last visited her. I have a thing for old well loved books and this one is beautifully loved. On the shelf behind them is a very old copy of a german bible. It is dated 1905 and is falling apart so I tied it together with a red ribbon. Andy brought it home one day though I can't recall where he said he found it. Beside that is a cardinal. You'll find cardinals all over my craft house. They remind me of my Grandma O'Brien so when I see one, I generally can't resist picking it up if it's crafty in any way.
On the shelf above my computer desk is this carved book that my mom made and gave to me for Christmas last year. She just knocked my socks off with this one. She drew it out and then carved it all by hand and then painted it. It always makes me smile and I love that she included the word "Expect" with the Dream and Believe...it reminds me of her personality and that always makes me smile too! There are also two rocks on this shelf...one is a ladybug that my sweet friend, Peggy Schultz made me years ago when we first became friends. The other is a rock I found at the river that looked like a fish head so I had to bring it home.
To the right of the computer desk there was a little space between that and the door so I added a couple of wire baskets to the wall. The top one holds some of the knitted goodies I've finished. The middle holds papers that need my attention as well as a nifty little bag that my friend, Stacey, gave me at CU that is full of jewelry that I've finished recently. The bottom one holds whatever happens to land there that day...usually my journal, my camera, some music, my wallet, etc.
On the other side of the door is this big dresser full of card supplies and stamping supplies. I have a drawer full of tiles, another full of stencils, some adhesive refills, trimmers and the rest are card supplies and boxes to alter. I picked this dresser up at a yard sale about 10 years ago for $20.00 and it served as our tv stand for years and then when we moved into this house, it became my crafting dresser. Can you believe it use to hold almost all of my craft supplies?! CRAZY!
Sitting on top of that dresser is my Clip It Up (I turned another one of these into a jewelry holder in my bedroom...love it!). I have whatever stickers could be hung up on this. They are sorted by category...alpha, tags, rubons, girl stuff, boy stuff, words, etc.
Beside that are my embellishment drawers. I have drawers for alphabets so that each letter & number has it's own drawer. I love just being able to open the drawer that I need and finding something fun to work with.
I also have drawers set up for my chipboard pieces so that it's easier to find them.
I also found this the best way to hold all of my flowers...
and my embossing powders. I took them out of their jars a couple of years ago because they were just taking up too much space. I poured them all into 2x2 baggies and labeled them. I love this so much more than jars!
Lastly, this is where I also hold all of my embellishments. I have them sorted by color because that's how I think. Generally each color has 2 drawers...one for fasteners (brads, eyelets, etc.) and one for misc. embellishments.
Above these are my frames that someday I'll do something with. I also have my wooden shoes up there for easy access when it's raining. I love them. My mom painted this set for me and the bottoms have all been worn off already! I seriously love how my feet feel in them. Izzy must have inherited this too because she loves her wooden shoes as much as I do!
Continuing along we come to my desk area. I saw this desk at a 2nd Hand shop in Bozeman for $25.00 and since I didn't have a truck with me at the time, I asked my dad to pick it up for me the next day when he made a trip up there. Well, he came back and told me it was gone, nearly broke my heart. Then he smiled that stupid smile and I knew he was just messing with me. LOL! Above it I have all of my ink pads and reinkers (can you say obsessed?) for easy access.
To the right is this shelf that holds most of my buttons as well as a few extra reinkers and my foam paint brushes. I have struggled with button sorting as well. I dream of having a big bowl full of buttons on an antique scale (this is a dream) but I tried it once and though it looked so beautiful, I found that I could never find what I was looking for when I wanted it so I sat and sorted them all back out by color which makes my OCD tendencies much happier! ;) I also have my brayers hanging from this shelf as well as my little dandelion girl (I love dandelions).
Just below this shelf I attached a little basket that holds my stamp blocks. Below that is a little tray with my scrubbers and spray and baby wipes in it.
On my desk is this candle holder that I turned into my often-used-tools holder. I have my exacto knives, chalk tools, embossing tools, erasers, etc. in here within easy reach which makes it easy to sit for a while and play. On my desktop there are lighters and matches (no, I don't smoke & that's not a pack of Marlboro...I use to collect these and for some reason they always end up on my desk so I decided to just make a place for them there and not worry about it. I also have a little tray full of adhesives, another full of blade refills and my little jar of fortunes from fortune cookies (I never throw those away for some reason...superstitious, I guess). I also keep my journaling pens on my desk.
Above my desk on the right is another set of wire bins that hold my Jolee's stickers (can you tell I liked those when they came out?!), eyelets (by color) and my scrapbook paints. Below that is a shelf that holds my stamping markers, rulers, and candy stash.
To the right of my desk is a tall bookshelf that houses a lot of my paper craft supplies.
On top are my colored pencils (by color kinda) as well as my mom's colored pencils from when I was a kid (you know, the ones we weren't allowed to even think about touching?!), my grandma's pastels and my unopened box of crayola crayons. These are the things my kids aren't allowed to touch of mine. LOL! They have to have their own crayons. Below that on the top shelf are a box and a basket full of small scraps and strips of paper along with my stamping wheels and scoring boards.
On the next shelf down are 12x12 bags of large pieces of scraps sorted by color. There are also small containers full of various scrap supplies...adhesives, sponges, scissors, date stamps, sanding blocks, embossing supplies, and punches.
The next shelf holds even more small containers full of scrap supplies...jewels/gems, rubon runners, alcohol inks, acrylic frames, glitter glue, shimmer paints, hemp, clay, glitter (also in 2x2 bags...much better than all those jars), fun flock, wire, and magnets. I also have a couple of cutting tools on this shelf.
And you guessed it! The next shelf holds slightly larger containers full of scrap supplies...glue dots/foam, mini pads, glitter spray, cutting tools, stamp wheel supplies, embroidery floss, chalks, embossers, silly scissors, more adhesive, embossing powders I haven't labeled yet, misc tools. I didn't photograph the bottom shelf as it is mostly empty containers.
On the floor in front of this shelf is a basket full of page kits that are ready to go...just need cut and put together. This is my brainless work for when I just can't think anymore but I want to get something done.
Moving along this wall is what's left of the kitchen cabinets that were originally in this little house. I took the doors off so that I could easily access my punches. I used to have these hanging in punch pals in the bathroom but it took up too much space so I downsized a little and was able to get them all in totes by category. I haven't really used these since moving them so I'm not sure how it will work out but I'm hopeful! Above that I have more containers full of stickers and misc. scrapping pieces. I also have the charm bracelet from CU on this shelf for display...that thing is too heavy to wear regularly. LOL!
The stickers are sorted in these little baskets just like they are on the Clip It Up to keep it easy.
And another look at the punch storage...
Hanging on the wall between the shelf and the cabinet are my masks and glimmer screens.
The next wall use to be the kitchen wall and since we weren't really planning on using this house as a craft house for long term, we didn't take the sink out but instead put a set of boards over it and made a makeshift counter top. When I was at my mom's last, we went through all of her craft supplies and she sent me home with some fun new toys to play with. I have all of my acrylic paints in the toolbox and then all of the supplies around it. I plan to actually put all of these things in the bathroom once it's finished. So this is their temporary home. There is also a small basket full of mini albums on this counter top as well.
The cabinet above the sink area holds the taller items like spray paint cans and larger alterable schtuff.
Continuing along this wall, are more empty bins (yeah) as well as my border punches and CM punches. I also have a cornhusk doll I picked up at a yard sale, a fun piece of artwork my friend, Peggy, made for me a few years ago, another Raggedy Ann doll, a sign my friend, Keeli, gave me and smaller little knick knacks that make me smile.
My border punches are in this little hanging paper mache box. I have found that these are a pain to store any other way so this is what works best for me so that's where they stay.
We haven't finished the use-to-be-bathroom yet but this is the start of it. I have my file cabinet in there as well as my gift wrap.
I used a few bags to hold all of the other gift bags I have and keep them organized then used plant hangers to simply hang them up high out of the way.
There is a little built in shelf in here as well that I am using to hold my tri-chem paints and my small stash of sewing supplies. I do have my sewing table in here as well as my gift wrap cart and a desk for the girls but right now it's all covered with stuff I need to put on Ebay so I didn't take a pic of it.
And THE most important part of my craft house redo is that now Izzy can ride her bike around the table over and over and over again and she can even do skidmarks in the open area! LOL!
I warned you it was a long trip around. I hope you enjoyed it! I'm sure glad to have it all cleaned up again!
WOW. The next time my husband says I am crazy I will show him this post... I just can't believe my eyes.....
Posted by: zuzanna | November 12, 2010 at 03:03 PM
Oh Wendy! It's wonderful to get another tour of the Craft House! It looks amazing and it's no wonder it took you months to reorganize. You've got lots o' stuff! Said with complete admiration!
I'm glad you are able to customize it to your needs (like Izzy's bike riding-love that).
What an amazing place to create! You are very blessed.
Posted by: Jeanne | March 27, 2010 at 07:29 AM
Ah such memories of the craft house!!! I sure do miss that place! It looks great! I wish I had some of your energy!
Posted by: Keeli Anderson | March 25, 2010 at 01:36 PM
Holy cow woman! :) That is unbelievable and beautiful! It's better than some of the craft stores I've been in! LOL! Thanks for giving me a tour!
Posted by: Joy | March 25, 2010 at 02:25 AM
Fantastic Lady Scrapper.
Posted by: Kathie Davis | March 24, 2010 at 11:12 PM
i {heart} u.
Posted by: kristan martin | March 24, 2010 at 09:47 PM
Holy crap! You have about twice as much now as you did when I came to visit! :) Love you, crazy scrap woman!
Posted by: Erin Gudge | March 24, 2010 at 08:44 PM