A place to play...

The Tuesday Tutorial on the Stars & Stamps Blog this week? Organize your space. It's a constant struggle for new crafters as well as those of us who have been collecting junk, I mean supplies, for over 25 years.

I converted my dining room into my crafty area. Who needs a dining room table for eight? Not me. My mother is probably looking down from heaven, shaking her head. Never fear Mom, your dining room table and chairs are stored in the basement.

Welcome to my happy place!

My most important piece of furniture is my work table. I bought this piece of kitchen furniture at Ikea. It has cabinet storage on the opposite side from where I sit. Lots of room for me, and there's enough overhang for others to join me. I wanted a tall piece for my work surface, because I stand a lot to craft.

I keep several things on my table top: Pampered Chef spinner for my "must have at arm's reach" tools, a metal letter organizer holding bits of white and kraft leftovers, ATG, Fiscars paper trimmer, cutting mat, baby wipes, set-up for photos, and computer.

And on the floor near my place at the table? The little cart holds hanging files with scrap paper. This is my "go to first" place when making cards. I use it a lot! There's a trash can at the ready, and not seen here, a paper bag for recyclables.

The bookshelf across from my desk holds lots of stuff. I'm a "if I don't see it, I won't use it" person. Woodblock stamps are stored here (on the "step" spice racks) as well as recently made cards. I like to look at them. (I rotate some of the stamps according to the season.) Buttons, dies, and embossing folders are on the bottom shelf.

This is my favorite piece in the room! I found these two card catalogs at a flea market years ago. They're awesome! Lots of drawers for things! It sits behind me within arm's reach. I like that I can label each drawer, and I can rearrange the drawers easily. These card catalogs are sitting on a coffee table my parents bought when I was a child, it's sturdy! (Glad I "retrieved" the table from my brother's house.)

The stamp storage on top is a Christmas gift from my brother. He took one of my stamp pads and made me a terrific wooden holder. Grab and go! Love this!

Here's another flea market find. It's an old, doctor's cabinet and has 4 skinny drawers, one deep drawer, and cabinet storage in the bottom. That big jar on top? It hold miniscule pencils I retrieved from middle school students, and it makes me laugh. There are hundreds of stubs in there!

Here's a peek inside two of the drawers. Left side holds neglected calligraphy supplies and the right, tape and glue!

Here's my paper and "stuff" closet. I keep all my 12x12 card stock and patterned paper in here. This is always a work in progress. I'm happy I can close the door.

Spool ribbon is in a grab and dig basket. This isn't working for me. The boxes behind the door hold embroidery floss, quilling stuff, and who knows what.

Here's another Ikea purchase. This piece sits just behind me on the right of my work space. The bottom 2 drawers hold my most used punches. Top 4 drawers hold tools, embellishments, and grab it quick stuff. Oh, and one drawer holds my stuff for OWH: cards, card bases, envelopes, packing slips, Sunday comics, and my OWH stamp.

Here's a peek inside 2 of the drawers. These are the neatest ones. I'm a sloppy crafter, and you can't see what's in the other ones!

Loose ribbon hangs on the back of a door. I keep this door pushed back so I don't have to look at it. Plus it hides what's left of my plastic storage.

Here's what my ribbon door hides. I need to go through these plastic drawers and purge some stuff! The red drawer piece is another Ikea purchase, and it holds more punches.

I'm so happy with this cart! I got it at an office supply store. Since my LSS closed (the one VERY close to my house), I've started using SU card stock, and this is an awesome way to store it.

Steel dies are always a big problem. I think I've finally settled on this container. I bought some heavy display sheets (thicker than chipboard) at the office supply store, and I took them to Griffin Middle School to use their mega paper cutter. The next step was to attach the peel and stick magnets to the boards and woohoo!! I can flip through these quickly. It would probably help if I put label tabs on them.

I picked up these boxes at Hobby Lobby, and I keep my clear stamps in one and clings in the other. I like being able to flip through them quickly.

I keep my "sentiment heavy" clear stamps in this little tin.

Thanks for sticking with me to the end of this post. One thing led to another. I'll be quiet now.