Today I wanted to take a minute to show you my creative space. I moved over the summer and got a brand new space to create in! It's definitely different from my last space which looked like this:
This is my new space and you'll see I had to get a little more creative with it.
This space was originally a storage closet off of our media room which is where our family spends most of their time. Because of the small space (4' 10" x 3' 8") I had to get a new desk and say good bye to my bookcase.
My new desk is a small students desk but it suits my purposes, I just have to be careful to not get too many projects going at once.
The desk has two small shelves that I use for storage. I keep my most used items towards the front (Cuttlebug, paper trimmer, Crop-a-Dile, small embellishment boxes etc) and the seldom used items tucked away in the back.
In a small space every inch counts so I like to make sure everything I use often is close and within reach.
On the left side of my desk I tucked away my scraps holder. It's a 12x12 accordion style case that I sort scraps by color and then a section for patterned paper. I use my scraps all the time so I keep them close. I also put my score board here because I'm always using it for something.
Underneath my desk I keep my magazines and catalogs that I use for inspiration as well as extra items that don't have a home else where.
With small spaces you have to think vertically. This closet came with a high shelf already installed.
This is where I keep very rarely used items like materials I have collected for later projects, my baby Cricut I take to crops, extra business supplies etc.
Above my desk I put in two small shelves that I discovered when we moved. They weren't being used and adding them gave me some additional storage. On the first shelf I keep my inks, punches and a box of odds and ins.
The second shelf has my flowers (in the glass jar with metal lid), projects in progress, a box of completed cards and my ribbons. There is also a jar hidden in the back right corner that holds my ribbon scraps.
In the floor by the door on the right side I have two large boxes. The black box shown here houses all of my paper - yep, that's it! I try to only buy paper that I have a plan for so I don't have a huge stash. In the front are my small paper pads (6x6, 8x8, 6x12 etc). Behind that are my 8 1/2 x 11 papers, then my 12x12 patterned paper and finally my 12x12 solids. The very back also holds the mats for my Cricut.
The pink box holds all of my stamps, yeah, that's ALL of my stamps. I tried to find different ways to house my stamps. For any cheap $1 stamps I used some CD cases I had laying around. Whoever first thought of this idea is a genius!
For my wood mounted stamps I tried a similar technique. I love to save cute containers. Especially ones I think I can get crafty with later. My husband always buys me these yummy chocolates for the holidays.
They come in these great plastic two part containers and I couldn't bare to throw them out. So I used them to house my wood mount stamps.
The stamps fit perfectly and the boxes store nicely on their side in my stamp box.
I also keep this peg board tucked beside my desk. I usually use this peg board at craft fairs but I don't have anywhere else to keep it between shows so I use it to hold packages of stickers and embellishments.
And no space is complete without a few things that just make you smile. Here are just a few things I keep around just to make me happy.
My Audrey Hepburn "Breakfast at Tiffany's" print. I just love Audrey! :)
Just a few trinkets I've collected over the years. The print on the back left is a mini painting I picked up at a local Italian Festival a few years ago. The picture on the right is an ATC business card from an artist I met at a craft fair. She made all of these adorable paintings with sheep doing funny things. This one is a sheep snorkeling. The coaster in the front on the left is from Europe. A lady I once worked with brought it back to me after a vacation she took. Last, but not least, the little tray on the right is from my favorite place, Disney World. I usually keep small embellishments that I have leftover from other projects here so I don't forget about them.
Well, that's my space, I hope you enjoyed the tour and if you have a small space I hope I've given you some small space inspiration!
