{my space}

Okay, I'd like to say I have balance in my life, but this is pretty much where I spend the majority of my day...:) Since my sister moved out and got married in March, we transformed her room into a family room with my craft/office space in the corner of the room (along with a few of Tessa's toys so that she can do stuff next to me...very important!)...So on the other side, we have a couch and our entertainment center (which I love because our living room doesn't have a tv...so it's hardly ever on....that is the best! I guess it also helps that we don't have cable too!)


{Talk it out}: So Jay got this great counter top off a construction job he did a few months back. And we just bought legs at Ikea for $5 bucks a piece....I LOVE my desk....it's big and versatile. So for my fellow crafters out there looking for ways to get more organized and are wanting to find ways to be more efficient, I thought I'd share some tips and ways that work for me to keep my projects organized and my time more manageable!


{at my fingertips} I love being able to sit and craft/sew/blog/whatever and have everything that I need (well, almost everything!) at arms length.

{my all-things-computer-world} I heart my computer. I couldn't live without it. I've had this beauty for a little over a year and it's been great to me! Since recently adding CS4....I hardly ever leave her side. I'm rather addicted! I have to say though, because of its location, it's much easier to multitask while sewing/creating.

{basket organizer} I got this idea from my good designer friend Brooke, who posted this a while back. I have my pens, my notebooks which I am constantly writing project ideas, patterns, daily to-dos....my receipts and important papers. It's in a perfect spot because I use most of this stuff often, especially my flower pens!

{my palate} My rotary mat never leaves this counter. I do EVERYTHING on it. Because I do so much sewing/measuring, I need it constantly. So it's where I begin and finish all of my projects. It also prevents any damage to my counter top table!

{jars} I have all of my creating "tools" above on my shelf in these jars. I love it, because I always know where my little scissors, tweezers, small rulers, pens, pencils and other things are.

{yet again, more containers} I use buttons on many different projects. It's so nice to have to organized by color because I know/see exactly what I have. I also have a couple containers (behind these) with my safety pins and magnetic snaps....Plus, not-to-mention that the colors are so fun to look at!

{bucket o' glue} ...and a couple other essentials. I always like to have various adhesives on hand, plus my tape measure and my lighter....yes, my lighter....I use it for burning the edges of ribbon! Next to my bucket in my rotary cutter. Again, I am always using it, so it's nice to be able to grab it when needed!

{roll it on out} Moving on to my craft closet, which I manage to get all of my crafting stuff in, besides whats on the table. I love this roll out storage shelf. It allows me to store my file cabinet right behind it for easy access while also saving me space. The things on these shelves are things I use a little less, to it's nice to tuck it away in the closet!

{the closet} Okay, so it doesn't look that organized, right? Well, look at when I shut the doors! Ta-da! It's all gone....That's probably my favorite feature with using this cabinet. So I keep all of my scrapbooking, photos, patterns I've created, and sewing notions in here. I love it and know where everything goes! I also keep all of my tissue paper and wrapping stuff on top of it. I also store my ongoing projects in here to reduce any clutter on my table.

{"to the side" shelves} My lovely husband put these three shelves to utilize all of the closest space. I covered the splintery wood with draw liners so no accidents would happen! I also use this area alot. I have things divided up in baskets. I have a basket with paint, my glue gun, and things of that nature....and another with fabric in it. In the above basket, I have yarn and felt....I also keep all of my photography discs and other misc. things in here! A GREAT storage space!

Okay, so I think I've covered all of my favorites. I just have to say that I am SO thankful that I even have this space. This is the first time that I feel like my "craft" area is completely functional, and everything has a place. It's also really easy to keep clean because of those two reasons! I hope that I've given you a few ideas how to be more organized so that the creativity can flow!

Happy crafting....