Welcome to 2012!

Happy belated New Year! One of my resolutions for the new year is to update my blog at least once a week - 2011 was NOT an exceptionally craft-filled year for me and I have decided that this year will be different: I WILL set aside time every week to create something handmade and use up many of the supplies that I have in my awesome craft studio.

Week one of the new year has been devoted to reorganizing my craft studio - the dream room that my ex-boyfriend Tom and I designed and he built back in June of 2010. It's taken me that long to figure out where everything should be so that I can really create in a functional space without having to look for the things I need. I finally have my "most used tools" within reach of the area that I use most as my work space. This includes my GlueGlider Pros, craft knife, craft pick, TweezerBees, my brand new Tonic Studios Scissors (how did I live without these???), Zig 2-way Glue (all sizes),  Zig Millennium Pens, rulers, stickles, paper trimmer, bone folders, crop-o-dile, zots, red-line tape, foam dots, Prima flowers, Heat It gun, sanding blocks, Copic Markers and other tools I use frequently when I craft. A few years ago I had bought a locker shelf for one of my daughters - it never was used so I put it to work to help organize this space, as pictured below:

I also have a spinning rack that was purchased for bottles of acrylic paint, but I repurposed it to hold my Adirondack acrylic paint dabbers, glimmer mists, Perfect Pearls mists, Distress stains, and ModPodge bottles:

Below my most used tools are those cool storage cubes you can find at most craft stores. I have them stacked two high and 5 across and they hold loose single sheet patterned papers, card stock and assorted embellishments. I find it very useful to have these products within reach when I'm working.

Tim Holtz Distress inks are all neatly stored behind my non-stick craft sheet and the handy Ranger Inkssentials Craft Spinner Ink Blending Tool Storage rack which holds labeled blending tools for each color family:

The little shelving unit above also houses my embossing powders, inks and assorted stamping products.

Across the room are 2 pegboards: one holds embellishment products such as Tim Holtz idea-ology products, gemstones and other bling, grungeboard, boa trim, Jolee stickers, metal charms and the like:

The second pegboard is actually a garage type workbench with a lighted hutch top. It was hanging out in my garage doing absolutely nothing so it was moved into my craft studio where it now holds my other not-so-often used tools like decorative edged scissors, alcohol inks, shaped brads, hot glue guns, painters tape, magnets, distress paint, as well as backup supplies like Zig 2-ways, replacement blades and perfect pearls. I know where they are when I need them, but I'm no longer sorting through everything to find just what I need most often.  This works exceptionally well for me. The bottom half of the workbench is divided into two units: one is a two-door shelved cabinet and the other is a 3-drawer unit that organizes my painting supplies, polymer clay supplies and my "F" drawer that holds my fake fur, felt and feathers :)

That's just a small part of my craft studio tour - tomorrow we'll explore a little more of my creative space, and (hopefully) I can share another resolution that I'm working really hard to make happen :)

Thanks for visiting and...

Happy crafting,
Barb!