My Craft Space

This is quite a long and photo-heavy post so please do make a brew and pull up a chair!  I'll also keep this as a page rather than a post so I can add any updates later :)

June 2020

It's been three years (!!!) since I bought my Ikea desk and set up my craft space in my hall.  Where on earth has that time gone?  You can find my original post detailing my 'new' workstation further down in this page.

I have made a few changes since then, nothing major, but I thought I'd give you an update as I've spent some time during this pandemic lockdown having a good sort out and tidy up.

Ok, so apart from a bookcase which houses a lot of my stash (stamps, cardstock, paper, etc.), the area pictured below is the extent of my craft space.  This set up is situated in the hall of my flat, and in my earlier post I shared more pictures to explain the location.

Firstly, don't panic.  Yes, I have a cream carpet in my hall but I also usually have a clear plastic floor mat here.  I am currently working from home during lockdown so I've had to move the mat into the lounge to save my carpet from the wheels of my office chair!  Once I head back to the office the mat will return to it's usual home.

There are two main changes here.  The first is the chair which I purchased shortly after sharing my earlier tour.  You can find the link to the exact chair, here.  The second addition is my trolley.  I was at full capacity and had things in drawers and in my main cupboard which would have worked better having them close to hand and this trolley has made so much difference.  I bought this one, here, from Hobbycraft.

Ok, on to each area...

My Big Shot die cutting machine sits to the left of my desk and I can just slide it forward when I need to use it.  My ink blender brushes were a treat to myself earlier this year and they sit beside a little dish that I use for small die cuts and bits and pieces I don't want to lose.  And the three white planters I bought from Ikea and I use these to store my little bags of sequins/shaker mixes, sprinkles and jewels.

The main change here is my glass mat.  I've had it for a couple of years now and I love it!  In the left hand corner I have a Spellbinders Magnetic Pick Up Tool where I put my dies after use so I don't lose them.  My heat gun is now hanging up on a hook and all my tools/glues/brushes, etc. are now housed in clear plastic organisers, which are actually meant for bathroom storage.  The wire basket on the top shelf is where I store my completed cards before bagging up and new stamp sets which I need to catalogue before storing away.

The long drawer in front of my chair still contains my trimmers, MISTI stamping platforms and score boards.  I also keep a couple of plastic mats in here that I use when ink blending.

This top drawer to the left of the desk is still my clean up drawer, I just store my baby wipes, kitchen paper, stamp shammy and a scrubber pad.

This is the cupboard to the left of my chair.  On the top shelf I store my folder of swatches (you can find a post about this, here), another folder which stores my address and packaging labels, and my adult colouring books.  Below are two more ring binders, one has spare pockets and the other has print outs of some of my digi stamps (which I never use!). And on the bottom shelf I have a lever arch file which stores my stencil collection (you can find a post about this, here).  The rest are currently empty.

Next is my trolley off to the side of my desk...

In the top section I store the binders which house my dies (you can find a post about these, here), a basket containing my embossing folders and a couple of notebooks.  I use these for ideas and to jot down the products I use on each card so I can refer back to it when writing my blog posts.

In the central section of my trolley I have my ProMarkers and FlexMarkers which I store in cardboard pen pots which I glued together (you can see this bargain storage, here).  My foam tape rolls also live here as well as some plastic containers in which I store some card bases and panels which I've trimmed to size ready to use.

In the base section are colouring mediums and washi tape.  I have my tin of Polychromos, my Coloursoft and Inktense pencils, my Zig markers and other coloured pens.

Next up is my Alex drawer unit from Ikea, to the right of my desk.  My printer sits on the top...

The top drawer remains the same, I store my mini Distress Inks in here and have since added some Distress Oxides (still lots of shades to collect!)

The second drawer is where my dye inks live.  These are mainly Altenew ink cubes and on the lower level I have a few Memento dew drop inks.

This next drawer is for my Versa Color pigment inks as well as my regularly used large ink pads.  I also now have some business cards which I keep in here.

This drawer is still the same and still the most boring!  Adhesives, post-it notes and acrylic blocks.  Some of these rolls I've had for years but I always reach for the same ones, I really do need to use these up!

No change to this either, my little pots drawer.  Embossing powders, mica powders, embossing paste, Brushos, Liquid Pearls and Stickles.

Finishing touches in this drawer: Nuvo drops, sequins, self-adhesive enamel dots and gems, shaker fillers and glitters.

A bit of a mixture in here: my personalised stamps, action wobblers, corner punch, label maker, Chibitronics LEDs/batteries/copper tape, printer cartridges, spare pens and miscellaneous tools.

Watercolour and painting products in here.

The bottom drawer still stores my envelopes and cello bags.

My main storage cupboard is on the opposite wall, a few things have moved about in here...

 

Still the same Billy bookcase from Ikea with glazed doors.

On the top are boxes in which I store my completed cards.  The top shelf is the start of my stamp storage, they are stored alphabetically by brand but continue on the lower shelves (I had to make the best use of the bookcase by moving the shelf widths around).  I'd like to spend some time transferring more of my stamps into the pockets I started using previously .  The next shelf is my main cardstock stash, as well as vellum, acetate, etc.  Basically anything in sheet form.

The third shelf has a box of my patterned papers, large stamp sets which were free with publications, foam sheets , Xyron sticker maker, plastic zip wallets containing scraps (you can find a post about these, here), and some tins containing some small wooden stamps and embellishments.  The next shelf is where the rest of my stamps live.

On the next shelf are my Stampin' Up stamps (must all be retired by now!), some wooden stamps, various plastic boxes containing twine, partially made cards, chalks, a box of random cling stamps, unmounted stamps, background stamps and the larger ones that won't fit in the other stamp containers.  Also some pads of 12 x 12 paper that won't fit anywhere else!  And on the bottom shelf are ribbons, old pens and embellishments I rarely use such as brads and eyelets, and other bits and pieces like foils, gilding flakes and a few stickers.

So, not a huge change but a little more organised.  And although I've purged some things in the last three years, it's clear that I've gained a lot more..oops!  Perhaps it's time for a destash in the near future!

Thank you so much for taking a look at my craft space, I hope you like it and that it might give you some ideas for your own craft room.

May 2017

After crafting from my lounge table for years and being in a disorganised state of chaos I've finally utilised an area in my hall which is also a much more handy distance from my craft stash cupboard which has always lived out here.

It's not a huge area but I measured up and was able to purchase some furniture from Ikea...the Micke Workstation which consists of the desk and add-on unit, and the Alex nine drawer chest.

You can see what my hall looked like beforehand in this post here.  I've always liked to have my hall free of clutter so that it looked nice for anyone visiting but I decided that my need for a proper craft space was greater and as long as I keep it tidy (!!!) it shouldn't be too intimidating in my small flat.  The ceiling and walls have been painted (the wall paint colour is 'Creamy Mint' by Valspar if anyone is interested) but I still have the gloss to do.  I couldn't wait to get my furniture in place so I'll have to shift it to paint the gloss at some point! :D

So, I'll take you on a tour...

This is the view as you walk up from my front door.  My existing cupboard is on the right beside another built-in cupboard (housing boring things like general household junk, vacuum cleaner, etc!) and the desk you can see on the left.  I had to go for the Micke desk as it's shallow enough to allow the loft ladder to come down from the hatch above.

This is the reverse view looking from the kitchen down towards the front door.  I've bought the plastic floor mat to stop the carpet getting ruined by the chair and to hopefully save it in case I drop anything!  At the moment I'm just using a chair from my lounge/diner but I'm on the lookout for a permanent one eventually.

Here's my lovely new workstation!  

I've spent lots of time making it look pretty and not much time actually crafting yet but I've been through my whole stash and found a home for everything in places which I think will work well.

Along the top shelf are some planters I picked up from Morrisons (a UK supermarket for those who aren't familiar) for £2 each, very similar to the white ones from Ikea that I've seen many fellow crafters using.  In these I'm storing my Zig markers, a mixture of other markers such as Staedtler Triplus Fineliners, Stabilo pens and Gelly Roll, and also my washi tape.  The faux lavender and succulents are some I picked up from Sainsbury's (I like supermarket shopping!) which I use for photo staging.  Behind my Big Shot I keep notepads and a book detailing which products I've used in case I'm not posting it straight away, and a little bowl for collecting bits and bobs as I create.  On the centre shelf is a little cage container (bought recently from Matalan) which I'll probably use to store new goodies in and cards which need to be bagged up, personalised with my stamp, etc.  Behind my craft mat from left to right are two notebooks, one in which I record the challenges I follow and the closure dates, and another which I want to use to make notes of different techniques I want to try.  I have another planter containing various pens, pencils and brushes, the cable hole in the back of the desk is the new home for my heat gun, another planter which holds my tools such as scissors, water sprayers, pokey tool, palette knife, etc., my Little Miss Blogger mug which was a gift from my Bestie at Christmas, a little tin which contains things such as spare craft knife blades, pencil sharpener and eraser, a cute folding container I purchased at The Works which houses the likes of adhesives, Glossy Accents, powder tool and tweezers, then on the far right is my roll of 3M tape.

And then on the magnetic backing board and along the top in photo clips I've got lovely things I've received from friends and blogging buddies.  The round flowery magnets were very inexpensive and purchased from Sainsbury's.

I use the long drawer along the front of the desk to store my MISTIs (yay, I now have the original one too!), my trimmers, scoreboards and some blending mats.

The drawer to the left I use to store regularly used items such as baby wipes, kitchen roll, rulers, most used ink pads, scrubber pad, stamp shammy (which I keep in the blue container which is actually meant for storing crackers!) and my personalised stamp.

In the desk cupboard I've got some files at the bottom (which are currently empty but bought in the sale in WH Smith) behind which I have my teeny sewing machine (which I really must use!).  On the top two shelves I have various binders containing: my stencils (you can find details of my stencil storage here), coin pockets ready for me to create some colour swatches, print-outs of some of my digi stamps and a colouring book.  Next to my bin I have a painting board which sits nicely between the desk leg and drawer unit. Unfortunately, there are no electrical sockets near my desk so I'm having to use an extension lead but it's not an issue.

On top of my Alex unit I have my printer and the box contains my embossing folders.  This box is way too big for them but all the others I looked at were too small so I got this one and will store something else in there at some point.  It also matches the boxes on top of my main cupboard.  There was some unused space behind the printer so I keep all my faux flowers in a vase there which I use for my photography.

Top drawer of my Alex - This has to be my favourite drawer!  I love my Distress Inks and it looks so pretty.  I also store my blending tools, spare sponges and my Ink Dusters in here.

Second drawer - Dye inks: Altenew and Memento mini ink pads.

Third drawer - Pigment ink pads, mainly Versa Color and a handful of Hero Arts and Versa Magic

Fourth drawer (not so pretty!) - Random rolls of adhesive, masking tape, stencil tape, post-it notes, glue runner refills, acrylic blocks and bottles of stamp cleaner.  Right at the back I keep my label maker and spare ink cartridges for my printer.

Fifth drawer aka 'Little Pots Drawer' - Embossing powders (which need swatches made or it will drive me mad!), mica powders, Perfect Pearls, gilding wax, Brushos, embossing paste, Liquid Pearls and Stickles.

Sixth drawer aka 'Sparkle Drawer' - This contains my enamel dots, gems, Nuvo glitters, spare Wink of Stella pens, and at the back I have a box containing sequins, shaker mixes, Cosmic Shimmer spray, etc.

Seventh drawer - I keep my dies in here, stored in DoCrafts Papermania binders.  Not the best use of this drawer but I need them to hand so didn't want them in my main cupboard.

Eighth drawer - This is where I keep my watercolour paints, coloured pencils, Inktense pencils and a few accessories such as masking fluid, paper stumps and water brushes.

Bottom drawer - pretty boring, just envelope and card bag storage.

Moving on to my main cupboard.  

This is a Billy bookcase from Ikea with the half glazed doors.  I bought this a few years ago and didn't want it as an open bookcase in my hall.  You my have noticed the lampshade in front of it.  The right hand door does very slightly come into contact with it and MOST of the time I remember but it has got whacked on more than one occasion! lol  Luckily it's plastic!

Along the top of my bookcase I have some storage boxes I bought from Dunelm which I use to store my completed cards.  I bought the smaller boxes to display my cards when I had a card sale. 

The top shelf houses some of my stamps which I store alphabetically by manufacturer in Avery Elle pockets and in InterDesign Fridge Binz.

On the shelf below I store all my cardstock and have made card some card dividers to keep it all separated.  Also on this shelf are items such as fun foam, acetate, vellum, mulberry paper, shrink plastic, masking paper, etc.  Basically, anything in sheet form. 

On the third shelf on the right is box containing my patterned papers and also some 12 x 12 cardstock that won't fit on the shelf above.  Then on the left I have my ProMarkers and FlexMarkers stored in my homemade budget storage, see previous post here.  It would have been great to have these near my work area but the desk just isn't big enough.  Behind those I store a few random bits and pieces (the vertical sheets are coloured fun foam), and items I don't use very often such as my gilding flakes kit, eyelet setter kit, my Xyron sticker makers, Whispers marker pens, and would you believe it....my light box!  Yes, I still have one!  I still have a few brass stencils so I'll keep it for as long as I have room for it! lol

On shelf four I have the rest of my alphabetical stamp storage.  The larger box contains larger stamp sets, cling stamps and unmounted stamps.  Hopefully I'll find a better way to store these at some point.  On the right hand side at the back I have a box containing loads of 3D foam pads which I really must use up before I buy another big roll, my Avery Elle stamp pockets, and the two Gorjuss tins were a gift from my friend and are currently empty.

On the shelf below I've got my Uniko and Stampin' Up stamps in acrylic DVD containers by Muji, but these have been discontinued which is why I've since bought the Fridge Binz.  Under these containers are boxes containing some wooden stamps, punches (not many, I've condensed my stash right down now that I use dies), chalks, and behind are some stickers/toppers and miscellaneous bits such as magnetic tape, binding rings, bow maker...things I wanted to keep but had no idea where to put!

 And finally, on the bottom shelf from left to right I have some zip files containing offcuts, incomplete cards, bloopers, etc., the purple binder holds brads and eyelets, the drawer unit contains gilding flakes, foil, buttons, various embellies, stickers and rub-ons.  Then to the right I have ribbon and twine storage and a couple of empty containers.

So there you have it, and if you're still with me thank you so much for reading to the end.  I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of my new craft space, and please feel free to ask if you have any questions about my storage.

I've thoroughly enjoyed re-organising everything and clearing the decks in my lounge.  It will be lovely to have that space back too, to use as it should be used.  I've still got some organising to do such as creating swatches and transferring stamps into pockets, etc. but on the whole I'm pretty much sorted now.  Happy days :)