Good morning! I am excited to share my first post on the CardMaker blog! Today I will be giving you a little tour of my crafty space.

I don’t have a room of my own, but an office I share with my husband. Later this year we will be redoing this room to make it more functional for me since it was first a playroom for the kids before it became our office and I had a career in crafting. Putting down hardwood floors to make cleaning up easier is in the plan, as well as more shelving and cabinets, customized to the sizes I need for different tools, new paint colors, etc. Starting a Pinterest board for what I want in here is on my “to-do” list. Soon, I may have a new and improved space, but until then, here is what I’m currently using!

Full disclosure: This room is usually on the messy side (a sign of real work happening), but I’m getting better about more regular sweeps. The photo above is somewhere in between. I love streaming movies off Netflix while I work, mostly documentaries so I can listen and learn while I craft, but of course comedies and other stuff, too. I have 500 movies in my queue at all times, so I always have something to watch! Other times I choose silence (because there’s not much of that when my family is home) or listen to some iTunes.

 

I like lots of color everywhere. I also like the look of craft rooms where everything can be hidden but I don’t know if I’d remember to use all the stuff I didn’t see all the time. I found some bookcases at Walmart last spring to hold my binders containing stamp sets and dies and a few big items, like my baskets of cards, embossing stuff, a tub of designer paper, etc. These shelves will not last long, but the room was getting so full I simply had to go vertical—I couldn’t wait for a renovation!

 

These bars from IKEA are great for storing punches or buckets of markers. It is really one of the only systems I consistently use as it’s easy to hang items back on the bar and hooks are good for random dies and tape rolls. All my other stuff tends to spill out all over my desk until I force myself to clean up.

 

I have turntable caddies I found at Hobby Lobby in the painting section for pens, pencils, powders, scissors, etc. Also, any time we have a spare can, mug or jar, that usually gets filled too. The few Copic® markers you see in that jar are ones that have been exiled from my marker bin until I buy re-inkers for those colors. That is also on my to-do list!

 

I got a Silhouette this summer, which I ♥ so I make lots of projects with that, including stuff for my craft room. I also have a bunch of CardMaker issues and crafting books to flip through for inspiration or just to escape!

 

I loved all the bird clips I was seeing everywhere so I cut some of my own from black cardstock and glued them to tiny clothespins to decorate the window and display cards from friends (since I was running out of shelf space and they are too pretty to put away!) I strung up twine to clip them on but found since the blinds are pretty much always closed, I could clip the birds onto them also.

 

It’s important to keep things nearby to keep me from taking myself too seriously … not that I need a lot of help with that!

I had to buy this print at a street fair since the cat on the left looks just like our cat.

Here is my collection of buttons.

Here are Copic marker color charts, cardstock samplers and other odds and ends.

I attach Bible verses that inspire me right in front of me to keep me on track. My instructor at the gym at my church passes these out at the end of every class. God bless you, Karen!

Photos of my boys and sweet things that they write for me are around the room.

And of course some of their terribly creative artwork—William thinks he might like to be an illustrator someday, too.

Since I have sons, they also make me LEGO creations which I am not allowed to take apart. William made the one shown above, which is not sculptural, but “a weight you can lift to keep in shape during stamp breaks!” I tried to put this back in their LEGO bucket after a few months, but it was promptly returned to my stamp room, so I guess there’s no getting rid of it.

 

I use an OTT Lite and white paper to photograph my cards, no light box.

 

Oh, and a “No Whining” sign I found at the dollar store that I posted on the door. Since it is a shared space with a second computer, and right off our kitchen, the kids are in here ALL the time. I do what I can to keep the peace.

That’s my place, you like? It has most everything I could want, with the exception of a magic elf to put my things away after each stamping session, and then I’d truly be set!

Thanks for visiting!

~Melanie