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I need some ideas. I am trying to get my craft room into shape so I can actually use it. I am looking for ideas on storage, organization, etc. I have a couple of those rolling, multi-drawer carts, but I put all my stamps in there and then I have to search for the ones I want. (Also bought a dup. set because I forgot what I had :? ) I have thought about making some type of sample sheet and filing it. We're military and so we move often and I never know if I am going to end up with a whole room or the corner of the bedroom. One of these days I will have an entire wing that I will have some famous designer make all useful and pretty, but until then, I would love some fresh ideas.
BTW, I am new to the site as of today, but I can already tell I will be checking in daily.
I have 3 of those rolly-drawer-stacky things that I made into 2 tall stacks. I have one on each side of my desk and a board across them to make a shelf. Then I put one of those 2 shelf shoe rack thingies and my current stamp sets are on that. My retired stamp sets are in an assemble-it-yourself white melamine cabinets. If I manage to get it cleaned up today, I'll post a picture.
I went to Fred Meyer and bought a wooden wine cabinet with doors. Inside it has many shallow adjustable shelves that are also nice, hard wood. They are meant to hold bottles of wine so have small wooden didviders on them, I just flipped them over. My sets are stacked with the set label name out so I can just grab that set. On the top shelf I have those small plastic bins from Wal Mart (I noticed them in photos of Beate's stamp room, too). In these I keep the supplies for each project I am currently working on, stamps, adhesive, punched paper etc. I have all my ink pads in a large, shallow basket on shelf 2, that I slide out when i'm using pads. The bottom shelf holds my idea books and markers.
The best part is, I just close the doors when I'm not working and it looks like normal furniture on the outside. My paper is in a file cabinet drawer.
It holds 30-40 sets, my ink pads, markers, idea books, paper trimmer, stampin cleaners, markers, etc!
I also have the rolling carts, and many baskets and drawer sets to keep everything. It seems like when I fially have everything organized, I get more stuff and have no place to put it!
You should make a stamp book! Make a copy of the label sheet (or an extra copy when you copy it for your case... Forums at Splitcoaststampers) and write the name in large letters at the bottom of the page. Put all the pages into a small notebook, and then you know what all you have. It helps so you do not have to search through all your sets to see what you want.
Oh, and at Sams club the other day I saw a great rolling cart with 7 drawers! It was too tall for my space, but oh how I wanted one!
__________________ Whitney
"Would you not like to be sitting on top of the world with
your legs hanging free" -Dave Matthews Band
Before I purchased organizational bins/units/etc. for my craft room (which used to be our home office) I did a LOT of research.
Specifically, I purchased two back issues of scrapbooking magazines that featured the editor's craft room. I studied the desk layouts and how they maximized the area they had.
Regretably, I no longer have these issues, having passed them onto friends. They were prior to August, 2002, as that was the month I was 'given' my space by my DH.
One issue was Creating Keepsakes, and it was Becky Higgins' craft room; the other was Memory Makers and featured Michele's (the editior) room.
Sorry I do not have the specific month/year issue reference to give you but they were an awesome help to me, even though I don't scrapbook nearly as much as I stamp.
I do recommend installing shelving to the ceiling, starting about 20" front your desk surface. I also recommend having an L-shaped desk, and Ott (or similar, simulated sunlight) lighting.
Here's an old pic of my room, it has been 'tidied up a bit' since this photo was taken since I took over the other wall of the room .
StarLitStudio's space is awesome...and you can see more in the "Stampin' Spaces" section in the gallery (click on "Special Collections" in the gallery; then you'll find "Stampin' Spaces as one of your choices).
I can totally relate to having to be flexible with stamping spaces. Altho we are not military, we are National Park Service and we move every few yrs. Never know what you are gonna get. I currently have a small corner of the living room. I am attaching several pics to give you an idea of what I have done. This is my scrapping, stamping, quilting area. My recommendation is to build up as much as possible. I plan on adding more shelves in the next few months.
__________________ Melissa Wadkins (Mel)
Peace begins with a smile.
Member #3785
Location: I live in the beautiful state of South Carolina.
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This is what I've done
I am lobbying hard for my own craft room ... but until then I use a closet to store all my toys! I bought 2 Iris carts that have 3 drawers each, the bottom drawer is a file so I put all my cardstock in file folders that hang -- this works very well and takes very little space. The other drawers I put my stuff in like embellishments, etc. I also bought 2 Mini Iris carts and stacked them on top of the larger drawers. I think they have 6 smaller drawers each -- so total that gives me 18 drawers. I also bought a label maker and labeled every drawer so I wouldn't keep forgetting which drawer held which toy.
I keep my stamps turned up on end in a milk crate. So far I only need one crate, but I will have to purchase a second crate soon. I keep my ink pads and refills in the color caddy.
To work, I have to use the dinning room table, but that's not too far from the closet I'm using so I just carry what I need back and forth (for now).
I am fortunate to have a sunroom the size of the garage below it and about half of it I use for my stamping room.
Stamp inventory - I actually took a 3-ring binder and when I get a new stamp set I make a 2 copies of the sticker sheet. One I cut and put into the bottom of the stamp set box, the other I put in a sheet protector and add it alphabetically to the the binder. Those that are retired get pulled, I write retire on it and put in the back section of the binder. I find this also helps when looking for a phrase and don't know what set it's in.
Storing stamp sets - I ALWAYS put the stamp set name sticker on the end of the box. My husband used to own a bowling pro shop so I have his wall display unit that has 12x12 inch cubes made of wood (36 in all). I buy those plastic trays at the dollar store and I can fit one in each cube. I put my stamp sets in these in alpha order as best I can. This way I can pull the tray out like a drawer and look for the set I need. (no...the whole thing is not filled with stamp sets!!) I use the little plastic shoeboxes with lids and put my embossing powders, punches etc in which also fit in the cubes.
I also have 2 chest of drawers that I found at BJ's (Sams Club, similar) that have 3 wide drawers, plus a tall Iris cart, a short Iris cart and 3 3-drawers that can sit on top of a desk. I have them on the iris carts. I find that milk crates are the perfect size for 12x12 paper and then I bought those files holders by Eldon, they have a lid that opens and a handle, you can put hanging letter size folders in there...perfect for letter size paper organization and easy carrying to shows.
I just ordered the cassette holder from Fellowes for my stamp pads.
Oh..I went into the hardware section of Walmart and found a workshop organizer that men use for screws and things (cheap!!) that can sit on top of a desk, table or can be screwed into a wall and has lots of little drawers, perfect for embellishments.
Thanks to all. I am so glad I have found this site. I can't believe how many and how fast the responses came. The links are so helpful as are the pictures.
I have a week long break from school and my DH coming up. I know what I will be up to. Then by the time he gets home, I will have a working space and can justify the "need" for all my stuff.
Hi!
Welcome Home!
Organization...
Ok...I started with a wicker basket in November.
3 Baskets in December.
3 baskets and a box in January.
4 baskets and 3 boxes in February.
Everything piled on a Microwave cart in March.
One storage bin in April.
Two storage bins in May.
A corner of the bedroom closet in June.
Doubled in July. (retirement order received)
1/8 of the closet in August.
1/3 of the closet in September.
Tomorrow...Dh is helping me move to a corner of the basement.
I have opened Pandora's box...and I can't get it closed!!!
__________________ Many Blessings & Much Joy! Michelle
Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:12
Hi,
I just emptied out my 3rd bedrm of endless junk, so it will be my stamping room. Now what! Its small 11x8. I had a friend make a counter thing on the 11 foot wall. Its plywood. Do I paint it black, white or some other color? I have a rolling plastic file, iris cart things, and I bought the vertical paper holder from QVC.( Not used yet) My stamping stuff is everywhere, I thought this would be a good idea, but now what? It has one ceiling fixture, (it the corner) do I need special lighting or anything else special? I spend a lot of time reading all your advice, I know you guys have the answers, please help.
Thanks,
Barbara
Hi,
I just emptied out my 3rd bedrm of endless junk, so it will be my stamping room. Now what! Its small 11x8. I had a friend make a counter thing on the 11 foot wall. Its plywood. Do I paint it black, white or some other color? I have a rolling plastic file, iris cart things, and I bought the vertical paper holder from QVC.( Not used yet) My stamping stuff is everywhere, I thought this would be a good idea, but now what? It has one ceiling fixture, (it the corner) do I need special lighting or anything else special? I spend a lot of time reading all your advice, I know you guys have the answers, please help.
Thanks,
Barbara
Dear Barbara,
counter thing: If your moulding (in the room) is painted white then paint it white. If your moulding is stained then stain it.
After painting or staining, I would do some research at your local Home Depot or Lowe's and ask the people that work in the paint dept. about your situation. You want to seal the plywood and create a non-pourous surface and something that you can wipe ink off of. Thnk laminate but in a paint form. Heck, if I can seal my garage floor with the new stuff on the market then they must make something that will resist stamping inks!
Keep in mind unless you can move your counter thing outside you will need to consider the fumes/interior use when it comes to paint. Make sure the staff in the paint dept. understand this.
iris carts/etc: can these be stored under your counter thing? I suggest a tall, sturdy bookshelf or two in addition to your items, as you want to utilize wall space if it is available.
lighting: replace your bulbs with the simulated sunlight bulbs that are now available at a resonable cost from Lowe's or Home Depot. Consider a floor or clamp or table model from Ott or a competitor that features simulated sunlight lighting. Your eyes will thank you.
Consider investing in a VERY comfortable chair with wheels (five pronged; wheel base - don't even look at the four pronged ones) and a rubbermaid mat if you have carpet in the room.
I'm ripping out my carpet in my stamp room and putting in Pergo next month so I can roll around the whole darn room!
I started stamping 2 yrs ago, and this week signed on as a demonstrator. My daughter moved out over a yr ago, so her room has now been designated the "Stamp Room". I'm just getting it organized. I haven't had the money to invest in a lot of equipment or accessories for it. However, my company was upgrading departments and had a raffle of office equipment. I won a nice wooden desk (it has no drawers, but was free) and a metal shelving unit that I'm going to repaint. Also, when the food delivery guys bring our lunch orders, they always leave those Coca Cola crates, so everyone's been saving them for me. They work quite well for supplies; I just label the sides so I know what's in them. My parents moved out of their condo last week, and my father had a wooden shelving unit he had made for canned goods, so that's going into my stamping room. My boyfriend bought a used color TV for $10 which I hooked up to the satellite "box" and placed on a swivel TV stand that I almost threw out. All I need is a phone line to put my computer in there so I can get onto the SU website to do my orders. I had to move all the stamping/scrapping stuff out of my sewing room as it was getting too cramped. My ultimate goal is to get a huge armoire for the stamp room so I can close the doors when I'm not working on stamping, and have fewer mismatched pieces. But for now almost everything in there has been free so I can't complain about that, can I? I will need to invest in some decent lighting; I do suggest you really look for good lighting so you're not straining your eyes. The older one gets, the greater the need for more lighting, so take that into account. Track lights are great, and can be mounted on walls or ceilings. Good luck!
Hi Christye - The one thing I did that helped the most to turn me into a stampin' fool was to start a catalog. It's categorized into flowers, backgrounds, guy things, girl things, celestial, hearts, different holidays, critters, etc. Non-SU stamps are stored in 3-drawer stackable units with clear fronts with a few stamps turned forward so I can see the category. The drawers match the pages. I just look in my catalog for ideas and I can see right where to find the stamp.
SU stamps are in a different catalog, categorized in the same manner but including the name of the set, and stored like books on shelves in alphabetical order with the name of the set on the "spine". They take up very little room that way and are so easy to find.
I could go on about how I organize my cardstock, inks, embellishments, etc. but the stamps are the main thing. Less time rummaging around means more time stamping!
If I manage to get it cleaned up today, I'll post a picture.
:oops: 20 days later and my stamping space is still not cleaned up. If there's been any change at all, I would have to say it's worse. :oops: Oh well, tomorrow's - oh guess I'm actually talking about today (Saturday) - another day. Maybe I'll clear some space and do a little stamping!
That Creating Keepsakes article was great. I even found a couple ideas for my corner of the kitchen "creating" area. I do WAY toooo many crafts. They are starting to take over the house.
Although I did this when I first started buying SU sets (5 years ago) you could take some time to do it now!
In Excel, (you could do it in word, too) I set up a spreadsheet and put the month & year, the name of the set, what page it is on in the catalog, or if it is in a mini, and the price (or free, if it was a hostess set or whatever. I sort it to alphabetical, so I can find it faster. Before we had this wonderful web-site, and a few of the others that are around, I would (and still do, sometimes) go to the page in any of the catalogs (current or previous) and see what they did with the stamp set. I was going to attach a portion of my spread sheet, but it didn't look good when I tried to do it, so if you want a sample, let me know and I'll send it via e-mail.
I also stamp the entire set in black on white card stock and write the name of the set under it. I draw a black line, so I can put more than one on a page and slip it in a page protector in a binder. I put the Excel list, and the stamp samples in a binder. I also have my pages with paper, ink, markers and etc. from the SU web-site. And, a page for wheels. dry embossing template samples, scissors (cut and labeled), eyelets, etc. That binder is as valuable to me as is my SU catalog! (in the back, I have prints of digital pictures of most of the cards that I have sent to people, labeled with the name of the person I sent it to with the month and year. (so I don't use the same set or colors for the same person!) When I want to make a card, I go thru my binder to see what kind of stamp set I want to use. And if I want to find a "happy birthday' , or saying, I just go thru and pick one out!
I've always been known as an 'organizer', and have a lot of other things in my 'stamp studio', but I think I've gone on long enough here! Good Luck!
Location: I live in the beautiful state of South Carolina.
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In this month's issue of Scrap and Stamp there is an article on a lady's stamp room -- AMAZING!!! She has over 4,000 stamps!!! It says she is a hobby SU demo as well. You've got to see her iris cart storage, it's huge.
Does anyone have a file, either in word or excel of all the current stamp sets? I really need this and don't want to make one from scratch. I know someone out there has to have one. Please????
How do you organize your space?
