Craft Storage Ideas

Craft Room Tour {Mom’s Space}

Cicily Lesher — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:34:03 +0000

Happy Monday! This is Cicily the Pink Dalmatian Scrapper with another craft tour.

I thought I would share a cozy craft room that is near & dear to my heart. It’s my Mom’s craft space! She chose this cozy corner of the basement for the view out the back to the corn fields. And while it’s small, it’s an organized and inspirational space that is comfortable to craft in.

I have to say that my favorite craft spaces are ones with personality and decorated to show something of the crafter within!

I love my mom’s solution for pin storage!

We both share a passion for “found” storage solutions and love finding treasures at 2nd hand stores. This is one of her latest finds, a record cabinet that is perfect for 12×12 paper pads!

These were just a few of her great storage solutions. I hope this inspires all you crafters who have small spaces and inspires all crafters to make your space uniquely you!

Organized Clear Stamp Storage

Melissa Chipperfield — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:15 +0000

Always hunting for stamp storage ideas that are simple and organized, I was thrilled when I stumbled across Jennifer McGuire’s recent post! Using plastic containers originally designated for storing soda cans in the refrigerator, she discovered a way to store her clear stamps with the help of either Office Depot CD sleeves or Avery Elle stamp storage pockets:

A girl after my own obsessive compulsive heart, she labels each and every pocket with an electronic label machine for additional efficiency when looking through her stamp sets:

I love that these clear sleeves make it easy to see what stamps are in each set when searching through your stash! I think this may just be the solution I’ve been looking for! Go take a look at her post where you’ll find even more information, including links to the specific products!

Storage Solution Roundup: Wafer Thin Dies

Noelle McAdams — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:38 +0000

Hi all! Noelle here today with my latest storage solution for my ever-expanding collection of dies. You may remember from my Studio Tour that I had been using these knife racks from Ikea for storing my dies. I had five of them, and they eventually became so crammed that I was faced with a dilemma… Either get another knife rack or come up with a better way to store them since I had way too many. Being that I design for The Cat’s Pajamas, and sometimes guest design for other companies, I am blessed because I get a lot of free stuff in the mail. It’s wonderful! However, lately my tiny space is feeling even more cramped than normal. I have barely any wall space and I knew that adding another knife rack (maybe even 2 or 3 more down the road…) just wasn’t going to work. So I needed to come up with a new idea. Then looking around on Pinterest I found a few cool ones…

Magnetic vent covers nailed straight to the wall.

Decorative magnetic board

Pocket binder

Die storage on rings

ArtBin magnetic storage case

And I came up with my own system, though very similar to others I’ve seen. I had this long silver bin I got at the thrift store a few months ago, I decided to make that my bin for the dies, though in hindsight I might end up putting the cards in plastic pocket sheets in a binder instead of this bin. The cards I made are 3 ¾” by 5 ½” so they would fit nicely in 4” x 6” pockets. But for now, the bin works well. The width of the bin dictated the width of my cards and you can see that some of the dies overhang their cards a bit.

I started out using those cheap magnets that come on the phonebooks. I have a pile of them and they’re so thin that they cut well with a paper cutter. You can even punch through them I once discovered while trying to turn my sons Perler Beads creations into magnets! When I ran out of those, I went to the craft store and got two packs of that magnetic strip that comes in rolls. It even has adhesive already on the back.

I used more of that cheap white cardstock that I’m trying to use up. I cut one of each die also from the white and adhered the white die-cuts that would be included on that card on the front. On the back I put the magnetic strip, and the dies that were for that card. One thing to note is that while nesting dies work fine on this magnetic strip, you can’t really layer dies on it. The magnetic pull of the knife racks is far stronger than these little craft magnet strips.

I decided to use a color coding system, since I tend to work in terms of manufacturer, but you could also break it down by themes, shapes, borders, etc. I started with my Cat’s Pajamas (TCP) CutUps, since I have more of them than any other kind. I didn’t get any more done before this was due, so sorry you won’t get to see the rainbow of manufacturers! When I was all done with all the die cards, I made a yellow divider card, and yellow tabs with the names of the dies included on each card. I’ll do blue for Spellbinders, green for My Favorite Things, red for Papertrey Ink, and so on. This is how the one section looked, the others won’t be nearly as big as this one, but I like how I can keep expanding this without needing to use up more precious wall space.

Maybe a couple of the knife racks will end up in my kitchen…. I’m sure something else will take up that wall space in my studio soon enough!

Have a stellar day! :)

All About The Furniture: Cutting Table from Storage Cubbies

Hazel Hamman — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:26 +0000

Hallo! Hazel, from Sunny South Africa again. By now you would know that I am the world’s biggest hybrid crafter. That translates into “ I’m allowed to have a lot of stuff”. I also love to recycle, reuse and repurpose – that means A LOT MORE STUFF.

Today I’m sharing cubicles recycled into a wonderful cutting table. The idea is super great and easy to do. I hope my husband is not reading this post – I want him to think I’m brilliant and saving him money by thinking up “our” next project – a table from recycled storage cubbies!

I got the idea via my friend Pinterest ex the blog of Georgia Peachez. First up the before picture of her space: a folding table (balanced on paint cans for extra height) and a wall of cubbies.

And NOW:

In Georgia’s own words:

“Instead of building a wall of cubbies, I used the cubbies to build the island cutting table. To build this I used 4 sets of cubbies and connected them for stability using L-brackets and mending brackets. The top is just a cutting board.”

Hop over to Georgia’s blog and tell her how much we love her idea and while you are feeling inspired – try it out and send me a link to your project. I would love to see what you did and …………………….. my hubby and I will sure try an adapted version of this – I will post my link in the comments as well. Just watch this space!

That’s it from me. I’m off to find my husband. Have a great day and please check back as my teammates and I have a lot more storage ideas to share with you.

Craft Room: Our Home Away from Home

Laura Silva — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:00:38 +0000

Hello! I am so excited to share today’s craft room with you. I recently stumbled upon this room by a sweet comment from the blog’s owner on my own blog, Laura’s Crafty Life. This room is gorgeous and so beautifully organized and decorated!

Maria, from Our Home Away from Home, has done a great job incorporating DIY builds, craft supplies and fantastic decor items to make this a truly inspirational place to be!

The first thing that struck me was how beautifully the red accents jumped out against the backdrop of white furniture. She made a lot of these items herself from items she thrifted and re-used.

Her husband built the shelves and cabinets for the room. (Handy guy!)

I love how she organized her crafting supplies to make them easily accessible and also a stunning part of her decor.

If you get a chance, head over to Maria’s blog to check out the reveal. So many amazing details! She is still not completely done and I can’t wait to see all the finishing touches.

Recollections Craft Accessory Organizer: Product Highlight

Cicily Lesher — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00:02 +0000

Hello fellow crafters! It’s Cicily the Pink Dalmatian Scrapper with today’s product highlight. I always enjoy seeing everyone’s variation on the Recollections Craft Accessory Organizer, I even have one myself. So I thought I would share what some fellow crafters have done with the product to personalize it for their accessory needs.

My mom pointed out to me that her latest wall mounted organizer was slightly different then mine and when I went online to get this picture, sure enough one of the shelves is missing and there’s no longer bead-board in the back. So you may notice that difference between some rooms. I wanted to point that out in case someone rushed out to M’s and was disappointed with the change. The Recollections Craft Accessory Organizer is a wall mounted shelving unit that has multiple shelves & cubbies to organize your craft goodies. The wall mount keeps everything off your crafting space & the minimal depth means items aren’t buried and lost in the back.

This is my Embellishment organizer. Recollections does make containers to fit in the cubbies, however I didn’t care so much for the price or the fact that they were plastic. I measured the openings and found jars and glass containers from Walmart and filled them with my goodies! I also added a metal strip to the bottom and usuing magnets hang Stickles & stamping tools.

This is the new style of organizer (my Mom’s). Also using the jars from Walmart & other assorted glass containers.

Here’s one that went opposite from me and used it exclusively for ribbon.

Have a small crafting space? Here is one used in a closet!

I love all the color & decorated containers.

Have you seen CSI’s very own Dorris Weeaks craft room? She has 3 of the organizers! Click on the picture to go to a CSI tour of her room.

Here’s a closeup of the 2 she uses for stamp display/storage and how she modified the shelving to hold more. Click on the picture to go to the tutorial on how she did this.

There are so many options and ways to organize your embellishments within the Organizer. These are just a few ideas. Let us know if you have a unique way to use your Recollections Craft Accessory Organizer.

DIY Cork Covered Pencil Cups

Melissa Chipperfield — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:00:44 +0000

Are you into recycling everyday things into useful storage items? I found the perfect little DIY project for such a thing!

Cork covered cans, anyone?! Who knew tin cans could be so adorable?

Allison over at The 3 R’s Blog provides complete instructions for these eye appealing holders! You can personalize these by using any silhouette images you’d like! Be sure to go take a peek!

Enjoy your day!

Genevive Rulona {Thoughtful Crafts}

Rebecca Boyer — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:00:26 +0000

Good morning! I’m thinking you are going to love today’s guest post! Here’s Genevive!

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I’m Genevive Badilla – Rulona, a Filipino based in Singapore, wife to my very supportive and loving husband Benjo Rulona, and mom of two adorable boys Rujim and Miguel. I am a teacher by profession but motherhood and scrapbooking changed my career plans. I am now a busy stay-at-home-mom, taking care of my boys, maintaining my online craft store, ThoughtfulCrafts.

Welcome to my “happy place”. So thankful to my dear husband for approving and supporting my hobby and passion to the point that he allowed me to use part of our dining area as my studio. I used to be in this room but I decided to shift outside so I can use the bigger table when I have workshops (yes I conduct a class of four here!), but more than that, I like to see my kids while doing my stuff and they won’t think their Mommy is hiding in her room all the time haha..

1. What kind of budget did you have when organizing your space?

We are just renting this house so all the things you can see in my craft room are movable and temporary. As much as possible I don’t want to spend too much on storage. Apart from the fact that I am quite a stingy person haha! But I feel so blessed to be able to work as scrapbooking instructor and design team at Made With Love, a local scrapbooking store and so most of my stuff are freebies or bought using our DT vouchers on top of huge discounts during sales! My greatest splurge so far is whenever I go to Ikea where I practically get anything white — from the white billy book case to white baskets and boxes. I also like to go to Cash Converters (a second hand store in Singapore) where I got these glass containers to hold my buttons and flowers…

2. What was your greatest challenge?

I must turn the lights on when I work and I must go outdoors to take photos of my projects. So when I will have my own place someday, that’s the first thing I must keep in mind!

3. Are you a “organize it once” kind of girl, or are your storage solutions constantly evolving?

I think I’m an “organize as I go” kind of girl and yes my storage solutions constantly evolve. There are times when in the middle of creating something, I just think of an organizing Idea and I do it right there and then. Like when I thought of this twine basket. I was cutting some dress form die-cuts for a project when I just thought using it as twine spools. It turned out cute

4. What is one thing you’d like to improve about your storage/organization?

If we will be blessed to have our own place in God’s time, I would like the wall to be painted white instead of orange, I will get rid of those boxes under my work table (by using up those papers fast!) and think about a better way to organize my punches.

… see my son’s art work on the wall

… latest projects on a, this was a grocery basket given by a friend last Christmas

…out of sight, out of mind. I use washi tapes all the time and I believe it’s because they are right in front of me when I create.

…putting up this shelves was a fun experience for me. I felt like I was altering a giant printer’s tray

… I put all my dies at the bottom because they are heavy. These bookcases will curve over time when you put heavy stuff on them.

… those white boxes hold my ribbons and embellishments.

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I really do love Genevive’s room! It’s perfect! And I love that it’s not hidden away, but in plain sight so she can still interact with her family! Be sure to visit Genevive’s blog for more details about how she works!

Craft Room: {scrappingklo}

Doris Weeaks — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:19:59 +0000

Hello! Welcome to my latest craft room feature! This room has to be one of the most well-thought out, highly functional rooms I’ve come across! Scrapping Klo designed and had this room built to her specifications. I hope you’ll find it as inspiring as I do!

Closet-turned-AWESOME- storage!

What an awesome transformation here, making the very most from the inset that is the closet in this room! But just wait – it gets even more amazing!

Pull out drawers in cabinets make for concealed, yet handy, storage.

Those aren’t just cabinet doors, they are each carefully designed drawers, that accommodate everything imaginable! Check out the photos here for more details.

More storage

This is her storage adjacent to her computer work station. Once again, the use of slide out drawers and platforms makes using and storing her equipment and supplies quick and easy!

Wall mounted work station

More ingenious, space-saving ideas – the wall mounted work station. Not only does it provide a great space to actually work on, it doubles as wall storage for all her paints and glitters, etc. Be sure to check out her blog to find out how you could have one of these for your very own!

There are just too many amazing ideas in this one craft space – you need to check it out for yourself! Just follow this link for a really great “tour” of Scrappin Klo’s craft room.

See you next time! ~ Doris

Storage Solution Roundup: Fabric storage

Hazel Hamman — Thu, 02 May 2013 12:00:17 +0000

Hallo, Hazel from Sunny South Africa again and today I’m sharing fabric storage ideas. Now, I’m a hybrid crafter – for me it means that I buy the minimum, recycle, reuse and repurpose as much as possible and I craft in ANY medium. My mom used to make all our clothes and I do mine as well and therefore I can’t resist a beautiful piece of fabric.

They are quite bulky to store so I’ve made a deal with myself – with clothes I don’t store anything – I only buy once the previous item has been made. However, I do indulge in my little secret pleasure – a beautiful piece of fabric. My rule is – if it is not for clothes, I’m only allowed the minimum yardage they sell. It works very well – I always have beautiful fabrics to choose from for my hybrid fancies and I don’t go overboard and buy stock that will never be used.

Anyway, it still has to be stored and I went to my friends Google and Pinterest for some tips. Want to see what they came up with?

First up: Recycle, reuse and repurpose the furniture you’ve got.

A dresser:

A chest of drawers:

SOURCE

CD Racks:

SOURCE

Now that we have covered my favorite options, what about a few new ideas?

Gift wrap rack:

What a great idea that you can make yourself.

SOURCE

Hangers:

SOURCE

On Rolls:

SOURCE

Wall mounted racks / hangers:

SOURCE

And now for my favorite – storing scraps! If you only buy the minimum yardage I think that most of the time my fabric stash is categorized under scraps. This is what I found:

Wire baskets:

SOURCE

If only we could find these in Sunny South Africa, this would be the one for me.

Plastic baskets:

SOURCE

Look at the banner made out of vintage patterns. I love it!

Closed plastic containers:

SOURCE

Now, this one is for me. Not the one that looks the best but at least I can see what is inside and don’t have to chase dust bunnies as I go.

And something I stumbled upon that I think is a GREAT idea:

SOURCE

Why not tag your fabric? Name and yardage. I can’t tell you how many times I had to roll down an entire roll to re-measure and when I have to re-order ……………… well, I don’t because if you buy the minimum, you don’t get the print on the side with the name, repeat and color. Mark my words, in future I’ll write it down when I buy!! (and I’ll tag my fabric)

I hope you have enjoyed my extended tour around blogland to see what is out there for storing fabric. If you have a system that works for you or an excellent one you found online PLEASE send me a comment – I would love to look or hear from you.

That’s it from me. Have a great day and see u again soon.