Organizing My Studio

I have a lot of craft supplies….like A LOT….No, I mean more than the average Josephine Crafter…Really, you DON'T understand, I really really have a lot a lot.   Creating things fills my heart and soul in a way that is beyond words so procuring craft supplies gives my brain and spirit a transfusion of it's life blood. This would be bad enough if I was a paper crafter…but I also do glass solder, jewelry, sew, and make general crafts like wreaths, flower arranging, home decor and on and on.  Add on my I-Hate-To-Add-To-The-Landfill because I-Might-Find-A-Cool-Use-For-That hoarding and my studio is packed to the max with delicious items.  The end result is my studio is always a mess.

One way I know I have a lot of stuff is the new trend to publish craft rooms and studios in various magazines and blogs.  You see I laugh out loud when I see these well organized craft rooms.  Because there is no way my stuff would ever fit in anything even close to the storage in these rooms.  But having to see such well organized spaces does given em ideas and motivation to keep attempting to rein in the mess.  Last year I bought a bunch of the white laminate organizers sold at Michael's and it helped but my desk is always really bad.  You can see…













I must have mentioned this to my mom so for Christmas she bought me an ink organizers specifically made for Distress Pads- I have there pads but I mainly use Distress and have all of the 48 colors and most of the Reinkers.

You can see what an amazing change this made on my desk…and it keeps the Reinker right with the pad so it is easy to find whether I want to add ink to a pad or make a spray.  I added the colored labels from the set of labels I got from Paula Cheney making it easier to find the color I want with only a glance and giving me a very pretty visual right in front of my workspace.  While I was at it I also redid the labels on my Distress Stains- here you see the white labels before I inked them.   Ironically, cleaning off my workspace led to cleaning up my entire studio and moving my stamp cabinet closer to my new workspace and filling up again.  Don't tell anyone but for the last at least 8 months- I have been storing my stamps on the floor next to my workspace.  Ugh, it was a big mess.

The sad thing is that even though I reorganized everything it is still a mess….the clutter is the problem.  I just have too many projects half done or supplies purchased but haven't started them or supplies and tools for a specific craft that I am currently NOT working on…it is a process though.  I think the hardest part is finding storage that fits the need.  Like I need small shallow shovels and lots of them because deep shelves and drawers swallow supplies and I cannot find them or forget that I own them.  But it is a fight that I will continue to fight and I am trying to back off buying supplies…yeah right…did you see all the cool crap Tim is releasing in the next 6 months? I did and there is a bunch of must haves….like a TON.  Oh and I am helping a friend with her wedding…Super excited about it and you will see most of the projects here as they are completed but it also means ordering more supplies…new tags, new papers, ink in the wedding colors….peony stamp to coordinate with her flowers…you get my point.

But back to my new ink organizer.  It was made by Organize More and made in the USA.  Actually the products are Made To Order so it did take a good 6 weeks to arrive, but it was worth the wait.   Check out their website OrganizeMore.com to see all the great stuff they sell.  This is not a paid endorsement, in fact they have no idea I am writing this post-I just love the product and wanted to pass it on.  They have organizers for Stampin' Up and Close To My Heart ink pads; ribbon rolls; punches; stamp wheels; and Sizzix dies.  They carry organizers that hold a combination of ink pads and ribbon rolls as well as stamp sets from Stampin' Up.  Even the Copic crowd will find a storage unit.  There are a few more but I don't want to bore you….check it out.

As for labeling my Distress Products…I used label paper and cut out circles using a 1/2 inch circle punch, applied them to the top of the Stains, then simply swiped the stain over the label.  I found it gave a nicer finish if I screwed the lid back on the stain and then dragged the wet label over paper towel.  It kept the color from pooling and leaving an uneven appearance.  The labels for the ink pads were made by Paula so I don't know the specifics but Avery 48266 File Folder labels would work.  You can add the names using either a Word or hand write them.  MS Word has templates for all the Avery Labels making it pretty easy to do.  For most of the labels I stuck the labels on and then used my Blending Tool to add the ink but as I went on I found that dragging the ink pad over the label worked better giving me a more accurate color.

Laters  Baby….