{Organization} Die Cuts, Wood Veneers, and More

Messy Desk
Over the past few weeks, I have been cleaning my studio. It has not been cleaned this well since we left Texas 5 1/2 years ago. I want my studio to be ready for the new year so that I can create without the stress of messes. I also now have a good handle on what I still have after getting rid of a lot of things. Here you can see one of my desks before I cleaned it and then the after photo. It feels SO good to have a beautifully clean desk.

IKEA Fintorp

I also purchased new items from Ikea to help with the organization of my art desk. I am loving this too. The Ikea pieces are hanging on the wall in the photo, and it is from the Fintorp line if you are interested.

To see more information on the other paint storage, look here and here.

Die Cuts
One thing I still really struggled with has been die cuts. I had drawers full of them, and I didn't use them much because I could never find what I wanted. My first attempt at organizing them, I tried the binder method organizing by color. After putting several pieces into my binder, I realized this took way too much time, and it was not going to work for me at all.

So, I purchased an Iris case with 16 smaller cases. I then organized the die cuts by color; however, the first four cases contain these die cuts: doilies, months/weekdays, numbers, and multi-color. It is SO fast to sort them this way, so easy to see what I have, and now I will actually be able to use them this year. I also was able to empty three drawers in my Scrap 'n Cube so I can store something else in those drawers. Here is what my new die cut storage looks like:

Wood Veneer
My wood veneers have been in a case for 4 1/2 years, and I love to store them that way. The only trouble I had was with the numbers so I just kept them in the original packaging in a drawer. I still wasn't happy with that so I put them in a smaller case I had in the basement, labeled them, and this little container fits happily in a Scrap 'n Cube drawer for easy access. Really excited about how this turned out too.

To see my other wood veneer storage, click here.

Thanks for joining me, and if you have caught the cleaning bug like I have, I hope you finish soon. I know that is what I am hoping for myself too! :)

Organizational {Friday} My Studio Video Tour

Yes, can you believe the title? My studio tour is finally here for you to see. It only took me a year after moving in to get it ready for you. LOL! I have not been happy with my room and have moved things around several times. I am finally really pleased with it. And I decided not to put up window treatments. I love all of the light I have and wanted to keep the windows "as is."

Now on with the tour. First, my room is not one of those white, clean rooms. I love different woods. I love "cozy," and my room is definitely that. I serves many purposes so you will see:

*A die cut area

*A sewing space

*An office space

*An art journaling table

*My Scrap 'n Cube for scrapping

I have room for 4 people to craft in here with me. Now to just find some local scrappy friends. LOL!

As you watch the video, I take you on an "overview" of the room. Below the video, you will see links to the posts that talk about specific parts of my room. If there are other things you would like me to post about, please be sure to leave a comment in the comment section here.

Now, here are some links to previous posts that go into detail about specific pieces you see in the video:

*6x6 paper storage unit

*Fabric storage

*Over-the-door unit for Simple Stories storage

*Plastic bins for flowers

*Rolodex Stamp Inventory

*Raskog Cart from IKEA

*Scrap 'n Cube Cart

*Scrap 'n Cube Mini Apothecary Cabinet

*Scrap 'n Cube Paper Tower

*Stratford Storage unit with baskets

*Ultimate Tray by Stampin' Things

*Other Stampin' Things posts (inks, etc.)

*Washi tape storage

*Wine rack pencil storage

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed my tour. If you are ever in the area, I would love to have you come by and craft with me! Blessings,

Update December 2015: Unfortunately my friend and owner of Stampin' Things passed away from breast cancer. Her products linked above are no longer available. Thank you for your understanding and prayers for Sue's family.

Organizational {Friday} Scrap 'n Cube Paper Tower

Guess what arrived on my doorstep yesterday? Yes, my Scrap 'n Cube Paper Tower! I was SO excited to see the UPS man with his trolley full of 4 boxes! Scrap 'n Cube always packages their products beautifully. Over the past 7 years of ordering from them (gosh has it been that long), I have never had anything damaged!

If you remember, my old paper rack (a Display Dynamics paper rack) crashed and broke a few weeks ago. Here are photos after the crash:

Mind you, I had just unboxed all of my paper and gotten it organized on the paper rack then it all crashed. Here is the messy pile of paper that was left--all 21" of it:

Don't ya just love that old Disney paper? I can't part with it. One day I will get to all of those Disney photos, and that paper may just come in handy. :)

So this morning I have been re-organizing that pile of paper and putting it into my new Scrap 'n Cube Paper Tower. Here are the cubes and floor bases just after I unboxed them yesterday:

There are 4 cubes and 2 floor bases. I got 2 floor bases because I wasn't sure if I will stack all 4 cubes on 1 base or split them up with 2 cubes in 2 separate places in my room each on their own base. That's what I love about Scrap 'n Cube--so versatile, easy to move and rearrange! So many options available for sure! I have moved my room 3 times now in 7 years and rearranged my Scrap 'n Cube each time. It works in EVERY single room! I can't wait to share my full room once it's done.

Anyway, each shelf in each cube will hold about 120 sheets of 12x12 paper which equates to over 720 sheets per storage cube or 2,880 sheets per paper tower! Wow, now I pray I never have that much paper to go through. LOL! For my cubes, I have decided for now to stack the 4 cubes on 1 floor base. Here is how the cubes looked after I stacked them in their new space:

So very sturdy, and this thing will NOT fall down! And here is how they look with my paper put away:

To organize the paper, I always put cardstock on top in "color order."

Then the lower half is patterned paper organized alphabetically by manufacturer. Notice I have two slots left, and a lot of the slots are not full. I am thankful for that!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed seeing a part of my new room with my new paper tower. Thanks for stopping by! Blessings to each of you!

Organizational {Friday} New Furniture!

Now when I say "new furniture," I don't mean I got rid of what I already have. I LOVE my Scrap 'n Cube. I think most of you that have been around a while know that. :) Anyway, I added to my Scrap 'n Cube with a new piece called the Scrap 'n Cube "Mini Apothecary Cabinet." Let me tell you, this piece is anything but "mini." LOL! I also got a new shelving unit from Hobby Lobby and added baskets from Target. I did have to move out one piece out of my room, and I will show you that too. So, let's get started. Sit back and relax; it's a long post today with lots of photos. :)

Hobby Lobby Shelf
If you remember from my room tour, I had a magazine basket that sat at the end of my office desk. You can see it here.

One day I realized that that silly basket was probably as deep as a shelving unit. If I could find a shelving unit that was the same depth, I would have more storage space. So, off to Hobby Lobby I went, and I am happy to say, I found the perfect shelving unit! I then ran to Target and purchased adorable baskets for the shelves. Here are the pieces together in my room in the spot where the magazine basket used to be:

This unit now holds:

**8x8 and 6x6 paper pads (I have a lot of them)
**Idea books
**The current scrapbook album I am working in
**Foam stamps
**My die binder
**Chipboard letters

Love that this did not take up anymore space but gave me vertical storage space!

The Mini Apothecary Cabinet
First, the dimensions of this little beauty are 38”(h) x 29-1/4”(w) x 15-7/8”(d). Definitely not what I would call a "mini" cabinet. :) And when it arrived at my house, I was stunned to see the packaging. How was I going to get it out? The delivery man told me I would need a crowbar, hammer, and various other tools. Eeek!

It was packed very well but hubby was not home to help me. So, I was bound and determined to get my furniture out. After a bit of sweat and tears, out it came!

Yes, I was able get it out all on my own. It is SO beautiful. Such a gorgeous piece of craftsmanship! And now I can really get to work! I moved one drawer unit out and into our bedroom. I needed a piece in there anyway, and this was perfect. Remember this one?

Once I moved that out, I moved in my new unit. I added some baskets, flowers, a dress form, and pink labels to the drawers to dress it up a bit. We will look at how I did the dress form in a minute. Here is how the new cabinet looks:

Oh I just LOVE this piece. Now the pieces to the left of it are the QB Storage Cart and the 2 Shelf Cube with Drawers. The storage cart is on casters so when I need in my drawer, it is easy to roll this piece out. I keep things in that drawer that I do not need often anyway.  And here you can see inside some of the baskets and drawers (I am still filling and organizing):

I am truly enjoying this piece. Everything is really at my fingertips. Love that!

Dress Form
Now I wanted to share what I did with the dress form. I purchased it from Hobby Lobby for $9. Yes, it was half off. :) I have seen people create a skirt using ribbon but I did not want to do that. I decided to use some of my left over Basic Grey fabric from my curtains. I cut 1" strips and looped them over the wire by about an inch. I then used a dot of fabric glue to keep the fabric on the wire.

I tried tying the fabric strips but I did not like it. I then alternated fabrics around the dress form and finished off with a pink satin ribbon.

I know some people make the ribbons very full so that it looks like a skirt. For now, I like it like this because it adds just a touch of color but I can still see the entire dress form. I like that! I may add more fabric later but for now this works.

Okay, so we have finally made it to the end of this post. Sorry it's so long but definitely a lot to share today. I hope you have enjoyed it. Have a blessed weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Organizational {Friday} Room Tour Details

So, last week I posted a little "room/space tour" of my crafting space. If you missed that post, you can see it here. One of the comments/questions came from Cassie. She said:

Cassie said...
thanks for sharing patter! i really liked the toy bin storage redo that you shared earlier in the week -- and would love to know do you have the same thing in ALL the cubes? what other things are you able to fit in there? And where did you get your scrappin cubes?
October 23, 2009 10:23 PM

So, today I thought I would share more details in what I keep in the toy bins and what I keep in the Scrap 'n Cube. So, let's get started.

My Scrap 'n Cube basically holds EVERYTHING. Finding the right piece of furniture for your space is SO important! When my husband and I were looking for furniture for my space, we knew we did not want something permanent such as cabinetry. We wanted to be able to move whatever we decided to purchase to another room or another home someday. While I love rooms that have the cabinetry built in, for us it was not practical. And why spend all of that money when you may not live there forever. That was our thinking anyway. So, we spent all of the money in a portable, rearrangable, AND expandable system! I believe I have had my unit for almost 4 years now, and it still looks brand new. You do not have to build a thing! It comes to you completely built. You just stack your cubes as you want them. They are solid wood not pressboard, and they will be around MANY years after I am gone. The kids already have dibs on who gets the unit after we pass. LOL! They love it too!

Scrap 'n Cube
Let's look at what I have in the drawers. I am going to post a picture of some of the drawers and if I have already covered this particular storage method in a post, I will include a link. If you want to see more details on an item, just click the link! :)

Ribbon
All of my ribbon is kept in 6 drawers of my Scrap 'n Cube. It works beautifully! Here is a link to this topic! Chipboard
Some of my chipboard is kept in the Scrap 'n Cube and some of it is kept in the toy bin. You can see more information here, and you will see the chipboard bin storage below. Ink Spots
Some of my ink spots are kept in a drawer. The others are all stored on my Stampin' Things Unit. You can see more about my ink storage here and my Stampin' Things Unit here. Border Punches
I keep my border punches in one drawer. Now, obviously this drawer is full. If I buy anymore, I will have to have another drawer to store them. So, for now, this keeps me from buying anymore punches! LOL!Rub-ons
I have 3 different drawers filled with rub-ons. I have one drawer for decorative rub-ons, one for rub-on words, and one for rub-on letters. It's always easy to find what I need.Shimmerz and LuminArte Paints
I store my Shimmerz and LuminArte paints these in one of my drawers. It is so handy! And to see complete details, visit the post here.Quickutz Dies
I love keeping my Quickutz dies in my Scrap 'n Cube. They stay neat, I can find what I need fast, and the drawers are so sturdy that I don't have to worry about the weight. Here is a post about this particular storage.Other Items
Some of the other things I store in my Scrap 'n Cube drawers are:
*Bling
*ATC goodies
*Smaller Tools (Scor-It mini, Crop-O-Dile, scissors, etc.)
*Labeler and tapes
*Adhesives (I keep a large hand on supply so I don't run out)
*Card bases from Memory Box
*Tins and smaller items to alter
*Larger flowers

These drawers are amazing and hold so much. I am sure I left out other things that are stored in this unit but it gives you an idea. :)

Toy Bin
Now let's look at some of the things I keep in the toy bin.

6x6 Papers
I store all of my 6x6 papers in 2 of the toy bins. You can find complete details on this storage here. Chipboard
Some of my chipboard I keep in Maya Road tins. And those tins are the perfect size for the smaller sized bin. You can see more about that here.Tools
I keep some of my larger tools in a bin. The larger tools kept here are:
*Bind-it-All
*Crimper
*Quickutz Squeeze

Felt & Other Fabrics
I keep one bin full of colored felt and other fabrics and materials that I use for die cutting. They lay very nicely in the larger bin, and they are easy to grab when I need them.

Watercolors
I keep my large tin of watercolor pencils and my watercolor paper in a bin also.

Other Items
Other items I keep in the toy bin are:
*Larger alterables
*Zutter wires for binding
*Creative Cafe goodies (all in one nice spot)

I hope this post has been helpful. It is hard to show you everything, and I do move things around from time to time. I think most of you have found that organizing is a task that never ends but it is fun! To me anyway. LOL! :) Again, please let me know if you have questions, if you have a specific topic you want covered, etc. Thanks for stopping by, and have a blessed weekend!