Studio is DONE! Well almost...

I got such a huge response from my Instagram followers about how I'm organizing/stetting up my studio that I decided to share it with the rest of the world.  I was hoping to put together a YouTube video that will show from start to finish how I created my room, but after the floors and trimmings were put on I couldn't wait to move my furniture in and get creating.  So I might have to get creative and mix a video with pictures...I don't know.  I guess I'll have to see how tech savvy I really am to pull that off.  Any who...let's get started.

First, I'd like to share some pics of where I was storing my stuff and what the chosen room looked liked without furniture.  I thought I had some before pictures of the room as a whole.  Then I remembered that instead of taking pictures, I took a video.

This may look like a lot of stuff, but I didn't hardly have anything double stacked and I made walk-ways between everything so I could still access the majority of it.  Once I moved all my stuff into the room (which took about 5 days off and on), I had a weeding party and made the decision to part with a few things.

Here are the few "during" pictures that I have... 

I chose to take out the closet for more space.  I figured my ScrapBox would fit perfectly in this space

Here is a picture of my dad and my son taking down the closet walls

My work schedule only allows me to work on my room about every other 5 days or so and that's also in between being a mom.

OK, so now its been about 2 weeks after the closet came out.  I painted the walls and my dad & I installed this beautiful flooring I picked up at Ikea (very cheap & now they don't sell flooring anymore).  Then about 2 weeks after that I sanded and stained the trimming to match the floors.  While the trimming was drying, I mod podged my light switch/outlet covers.

Here is what the covers look like.  I used a paper pack from Stampin' Up (I believe it was the This & That papers) .  I also used 2 different kinds of Mod Podge. The first one I used was a hard coat to glue the papers to the covers and seal the tops of them.  The next one I used was a glittered style to add some sparkle.  Once all my furniture was placed in the room, you can only see the light switch and maybe one outlet.  Oh well, I know they're pretty. 

My daughter found this lamp for me at a local thrift store.  It didn't work so we picked it up cheap.  I brought it home, tightened up a few things and stuck a bulb in and it works perfectly.  Still thinking that I should change the shade....

A couple more weeks go by, I'm slowly moving my stuff in.  I decided that I wanted a new light.  I went with florescent lighting because of the wattage output as well as being energy efficient.

Now I have some leftover flooring...whatever should I do with it?  I figured it was going to sit in my storage shed FOREVER so why not just use it up.  I got a brilliant idea to make a table top.  Now I'm not a carpenter by all means, had no clue what I was doing only what I wanted.  So I purchased a piece of plywood, cut my flooring to size and put a trim around the edges.  I bought these 2 bookcases from Walmart.com for $39 (for both!) and decided they would make great "legs" for my table top and maybe match my main desk.  I think it worked out just fine...

On the shelves of the bookcases is where I store all my bags for paper bag minis (in the turquoise basket), card bases & envelopes (in another turquoise basket on the other side), extra unused photo albums, my Cricut Mini (which has a long story to go with it that I'll share at a later date), a Bind-it-All, the box for my Gypsy (I just can't part with it), all my photo containers, extra containers for Stampin' Up stamps, CTMH stamps & Cricut carts (you just never know), all my media for the die-cut machines (stencil, metal, chalkboard etc.), and some small square containers that I picked up at Ikea that during this picture stored some embellishments that were recently purchased and needed to be put away.

My room had a ton of "problem areas".  I needed to find places for items that went on shelves that I didn't want to put in this room.  I took pictures of all my "problem areas" so I could decide what I had and what I needed.

This table was a major "problem area".  It made it tough to get to the bins below it and easy for my to stash stuff underneath it and on top of it.  The bags underneath the table are used for my orders that have been placed and need to be picked up and for my workshop layouts that need to have pictures put on.  There is also a stack of old catalogs next to the bags and a future workshop is being stored inside that album box.  On top of the table are projects that are in progress, a smaller bag that I use to clean up after my workshops (helps make it much easier to put supplies away) and catalogs and order forms.

Here is another "problem area".  This is my Project Life stuff next to a bag that has my shelf brackets and rods from Ikea.  Why haven't I put them on the walls yet?  Cause my walls are so clean and pretty that I don't want to put holes in them...tough, cause this stuff needs a home.

Okay, this "problem area" is an example of how lazy I am.  I could easily fix this area simply by putting things away.  What is this stuff?  The black and green bag holds all of my Imagine carts, extra cutting mats & a few page protectors for my Project Life albums that I chose not to use yet.  The chevron bag and file folder are holding some projects that I put together for my daughter to sell to help her earn money for a trip.  Those items just need to be taken out and put with my other completed projects.  Also, if you will notice, I have my Yudo tubes sitting on the floor...the machine is on the other side of the room....seriously?

Last "problem area".  My main desk.  On the corner closest to you is a project, on the opposite corner is another project and in the middle was a workshop I was working on.  Plus, can you see how cluttered I let my die-cut table get?  Something has to stop, now!  Especially since I'm expecting a new machine to come in soon.

I finally dove in and put my rods on the wall.  If I wanted to get my "problem areas" taken care of, I had to get serious.  

The rods and containers are all from Ikea.  The upper basket holds my washi tape, the middle bin holds all my fabric (don't laugh, I don't sew) and on the bottom rod is shelves for my button containers (also from Ikea) and an empty bin. 

This shelf was given to me by my daughter (it didn't fit in her room).  I also had this curtain rod hanging out in the garage.  The brackets for this shelf have a twist in the middle that I stuck the rod through.  Perfect for these bins that I found at Ross and another container from Ikea.  The hooks used to hold the bins up are also from Ikea (I love that store).

My new machine showed up just in time.  I put "old faithful" & the E2 on the shelf along with my Gypsy accessories & my daughter's Gypsy (don't ask).  The Ross bins are currently empty & the Ikea container has pens & things for the Cricuts.  I kept my Imagine on the table for a couple reasons that I will explain in another post.  

Underneath the table I had mounted a shelf to hold all the machine "transformers" (those big boxes that are between the plug for the machines and the plug for the wall),  I also mounted a surge protector so I didn't have to keep unplugging my machines when I decided  which one I'm going to use.  On the wall on either side of the table are the organizers from Thirty-one that started this whole room (the large one can kind of be seen in the photo of my messy main desk).  I chose all my colors from these three organizers.  The organizer on the left holds all my previous workshop/all day event directions just in case.  The organizer on the right holds my Stampin' Up catalog, some sticky notes, a notebook & all my 12" long scraps (which I will share what I'm doing with those in another post).

Here is my pride & joy.  This is the Original ScrapBox.  *sigh*  I don't know what I would do without it.  As you can see I removed my "problem area" all together.  Simply took the table off, no more problem area.  I can reach my bins easily and it provides a really nice "flow" for the room.  The bin in the left lower corner is holding & sitting on top of all the stuff I'm weeding out of my room.  My bag for all my orders still needs to be accessible and it works for me so I chose to leave it right where it is.  I'm not sure what to do with the lamp as of right now.  The cute little corner shelves were found at the same thrift store as that lamp.  I found brackets for it at (of course) Ikea and covered them in washi tape so they weren't so shiny.  I will share everything that is inside and on top of my ScrapBox in another post (or two).  There is a lot of stuff stored within.

And this is where the table ended up.  I had attached it to my main desk.  Now I have a place for someone to join me or for my sewing machine (yes, I have a machine I just don't use it for fabric a whole lot - don't judge me) or for when I need a little more space for a project.  But I will not stash anything on it or on top of it because I keep it folded down when I'm not using it.  My ink pads are held in a cassette holder that I found at a yard sale a few years ago.  My CTMH pads are in alpha order & my Stampin' Up pads are in ROY G BIV order (I don't know why - that's just the way I have them).

I had to capture this wall in 2 shots, sorry.  
My main desk was getting in the way of the overall shot.  

 The pink shelf came from the closet we removed from this room (I painted it of course) and the brackets for it came from Ikea (they used to be red, but I painted those too).  Sitting on the shelf from left to right: my Project Life storage containers & albums, my file folders that have all my finished layouts that need pictures, a Heidi Swapp file folder that has all my WOTG instructions inside, an empty re-purposed jewelry box, extra Project Life page protectors, another empty bin from Ross & my carry case for my CTMH inks.  All my stamps are stored in CTMH's large organizers.  I'll share how I have them organized in another post.  The shelving that my stamps are sitting on are from a bookcase that broke during my move into this house.  I saved the shelves and purchased a track system for $8 to put them on, instant bookcase!  I have 3 paper racks that I picked up for $45 at a local scrapbook store that unfortunately went out of business a few years ago.  I got the idea to put my table cloth over the racks while I'm not using it from a fellow consultant.

And finally, here is my main desk.  My desk is from a company called Hurcraft.  I've tried to look them up, but couldn't find them anywhere so I don't think they are in business anymore (please correct me if I'm wrong).  The company was based out of SLC, UT and was demo-ing these desks at an Expo that I attended.  They had 8 desks at this expo to show off all the different types of tops available.  Near the end of the show they had offered, only to those that could transport these 8 desks home that day, these desks at a huge discount.  I happened to be driving my Excursion that weekend so I raised my hand and brought this beauty home for only $400.  And to add to the pot, they offered 1 accessory for the desk for free.  I chose a 36" ribbon holder & also purchased a little side shelf for 20% off, but I can't remember how much I paid for it.  
All the projects that I had at each corner of my desk went inside the chevron bag that was under the table of the ScrapBox. It is sitting next to the paper racks so when I want to work on one of them I can just grab the whole bag and flip through what I want to work on.  I made the Lazy Susan Carousel from an idea I saw at Ikea (all the stuff to make it was also from Ikea).  I'll share what I store inside the cups of the carousel and what other items I have on top of my desk in a later post.  I SEWED the curtain for the front of my desk - don't worry it was just a few straight stitches that I figured I could handle.

Here is the 36" ribbon holder that came with my desk.  I tried to order more holders like it from the company, but unfortunately their website said it was under maintenance (forever) and now it is completely gone :(  The rods from Ikea worked perfect enough for me. 

Here is what the "inside" of my desk looks like.  Again I had to take 2 shots of it, sorry.  Originally, these stands are meant to be turned outward, but then I wouldn't of had a spot for my punches.   So I turned them inward and now use them mostly for bulk storage.  

On the left are my CTMH old-style organizers that hold all my fasteners (brads, eyelets, photo mounts, etc.) & acrylic blocks.  I'll show you how I have those organized in a later post (kind of sounding like a broken record...).  In the next cubbie below, inside the green bin is all my Mod Podge bottles, Xyron refills & Foamies.  Below them are paper packs sorted by manufacturer (mostly Creative Memories & Teresa Collins).  The green binder holds ALL of my Scrapbook Generation sketches.  I purchased all of their original books (volumes 1 -8), took them out of their original bindings, 3-hole punched them and then sorted them by photo amount.  Much easier to find what I'm looking for instead of going though 8 books.  Moving to the next set of cubbies on the left...the top one has my trash bin (the top of my desk has a cut-out for this purpose), it's a Thirty-one bin that has a grocery bag put in it so when it gets full I can just toss it).  Next cubbie down has all the My Pink Stamper videos along with some boxes that have my extra inks for the Imagine & extra adhesives like red tape and Zig two-way.  The bottom center cubbie has more pattern papers ALL from My Minds Eye.   The 3rd section is made up of paper racks that I have used for all my DCWV paper stacks & Stampin' Up pattern papers.  I have them sorted by theme. Below the racks is another cubbie that holds paper kits from Quick Quotes and CTMH papers that I'm using specifically for my kids' albums.  On the right shelves, starting at the top, inside the polka-dotted boxes are all my Cricut carts w/overlays & handbooks (I'll show you how I have those organized in a later post).  Between the boxes in the polka-dotted binders are all my "special" Cricut carts (solutions, project & event, seasonal & lite).  At the farthest end of the top shelf are some crafting books that I just can't seem to part with.  The middle shelf has my ATG adhesive (in the USPS box - I order it in bulk), my larger photos (in brown box - must find something else) & a Scrapbook kit that my daughter won at her first Expo.  On the bottom shelf, I have chipboard in one of the white boxes & memorabilia in the other one; the middle green box has my extra 3-D foamies & glue dots; the last green box has all my Cricut font carts.  Underneath the green boxes are foam pads that my girls use when we stamp during a workshop and on top of the white and green boxes is where I store my vinyl so that it is flat when I want to use it.  I also mounted a surge protector for all the lights that I use on my desk and other tools I might want to plug in.  I use 2 Ott-lites and 1 LED light to get the blend of lighting that I prefer.  So instead of having 3 cords going across my floor to the plug in, I only have one which is secured with a cord cover so no one trips on it.  Now I need to work on securing the cords that are hanging under my desk.  I attached another rod from Ikea to the bottom of the table top for this basket.  I use it for quick access to my ATG tape refills, cutting blade replacements & Cricut blade replacements.  Right now I also have the single stamps from CTMH in there.  I also keep my label maker in there.

I truly hope someone out there reads this.  I wanted to be as thorough as possible without turning this post into a book.  Should I not of listed what I had in certain spots?   Did you prefer that I did?  I'm just curious.  I like to know what other crafters keep in there drawers because it gives me ideas of how they store stuff and what works for them.  How do you store stuff? What works for you?  I mentioned more detailed posts about certain areas of my room (8 to be exact).  Would you be interested in those posts?  I would love to hear what your thoughts are about what you want to read and especially how much you want to read.

I also wanted to point out that this is my first craft "room".  I've always only had a "space".  I started out with a Rubbermaid bin and a rolling, hanging file folder cart.  Over the years I moved up to a regular desk with a hutch that I had set up in my bedroom (over 10 years ago).  I acquired the furniture I shared with you over the years.  My ScrapBox was purchased in 2010 with the help of my income tax refund.  Before I made the decision to purchase it, I probably already spent that same amount in other various organizing systems.  The Hurcraft desk I purchased in 2011.  I feel very blessed that my new house came with this extra room and that I was able to transform it to this place of bliss for very little out-of-pocket cost.  But I will never forget where I started and how far I've come.  Thank you for letting me share this with you.