My scrap closet is done!!!

This is Week 4 of the 2Peas organizational challenge .... paper!

Last week, I was able to take the non-scrapping stuff out of my closet, and I gained the rest of a shelf, so now, I have 2 entire shelves in addition to my half shelf.  I also gathered all of my memorabilia and put it into bins ... I actually had LESS than I thought!!  This will make it easier to organize.  Most of my stuff is in ziploc bags, with the info written on the space provided (i.e., Valentine's Day 2012, Yosemite trip, etc.).

Anyway, here are the updated pictures of my space:

A general view from the doorway.  As you can kind of tell, I have the bottom two FULL shelves for my scrapping stuff, and the top shelf has 2 boxes of Christmas ornaments, some family puzzles, exercise stuff, and a few bins of general craft supplies (wreaths, beads, glue gun, etc.).  It's nice to spread it out a bit so I don't feel so crammed.

Underneath to the right:  my paper holder and trash can.  The 2 carts hold card and supplies, and scrapping stuff.

Underneath to the left:  large paper trimmer and my stamps.  I just ordered (and received!) 3 stamp boxes from Close To My Heart to hold my acrylic stamps.  Any stamps that didn't fit (CTMH alphabets, assorted others) I have stored in my PSB, just behind the boxes.  I was going to donate/sell the PSB, since I don't store my stickers in it anymore, then it hit me:  I could use the inserts for all my other stamps!  I like this set-up better than my old one.

Desktop to the left:  this is now where I store my chipboard.  I used to have it all in a large white box, but then I couldn't see it, and I used to forget about it (out of sight, out of mind).  So I found this for $4.99 at Christmas Tree Shops:

I'm not too crazy about the words/design, but it's the right size and shape for my large pages of chipboard, so I got it!  I have a set of alphabet letters in the tin, and a package of heart chipboards in the burgundy box, so they're all right there at my fingertips!

Desktop to the left/front: Here is a better view of my acrylic cookbook holder for my ideas books. I also have a small bin for my ribbon that I haven't put in the holder (just above), and my new bin for my Cricut cartridges and books. I picked this up at Hobby Lobby in the clearance section:

It wasn't until I loaded it up that I figured out WHY it was on clearance:

It doesn't have the latches!!!  That's okay, I'll make due with it.

Desktop to the right:  my Cricut, heat embosser, Xyron, and a speaker thingy for my iPod.  Under the Cricut is a small plastic bin with my embossing powders.  It used to be in a picture box, but it wasn't see-thru.  Now it is!

Shelves to the left:  these are my bins for patterned paper, themed boxes (Christmas, Travel, etc.) and paper scraps in accordian folders next to the black picture albums.

Shelves to the front:  albums that I am working on, extra pictures, negatives.  Top shelf:  new albums and bins for memorabilia.

Shelves to the right:  idea books, yearbooks, picture albums.  Top shelf:  bins of memorabilia dn small bin of Cricut cases.

Well, there you have it.  I feel so much more relaxed and at peace in my updated space!

This week's challenge is paper, but mine is pretty much all organized.  I can take updated pics, and go through it to weed out old stuff.  Since I'm done organizing, I might be able to make some things this week, too!

Oh, and just for fun, here are a couple of pictures of my sweet pups!!!

Pictures of my scrap closet

Following up my last post, here are pictures of my scrap closet:

Here's a general view of my closet.  It's right off of our family room, so my kids, my DH can be in there watching TV, etc., and I can be happily scrapping away ... with either the door open or closed.  It's nice to be close to the hub of the house.

As I sit down, this is my work area.  I have a self-healing craft mat on the surface, and in front of me are my adhesives, craft caddy with tools (scissors, tweezers, etc.).  To my left (which is hard to see, since it fell over!) I have a clear cookbook holder which I use to prop up my ideas books.  I saw a gal do this at a crop and thought it was ingenious!!  This way, the book is upright and doesn't take too much valuable desktop space.  This is also a good view of my 'half-deep' shelf.  It is a U shape, just like my desktop, and it holds all of my embellishments, ribbon, threads, stamp pads and accessories, Cricut accessories, cutters, and photo printer stuff.

To my immediate right, you can see my Cricut on a wire shelf, with cartridges underneath, along with my heat embossig tool and the powders (in a box under Cricut).  I've got my OttLight with a travel clock (so I don't stay up too late!!), and just off to the right, I keep my photo printer with a space for my laptop.  I also have my portable hard drive just for pictures.

On the full shelf above, I keep all my idea books, old yearbooks, etc., plus some memorabilia.  That stuff is mostly in ziploc bags, in no real organization.  Need to work on that!!

 



Here is another look at my immediate right.

 

This is to my immediate left.  The large black tote holds all of my acrylic stamps, mostly from CTMH.  I leave them in there when I crop, but I think I may have to get a better organization system when I am home.  Also to my left, I put any odds and ends that are leftover when I do a page (page scraps, pieces I don't use, etc.)   All of it gets put where it belongs before I start another page.  I also prop the current album there while I am working on it.

This is to my left on the shelf.  I keep all of my patterned papers here.  I have them divided by patterned paper packs, page kits, loose patterned paper (sorted by main color), and I also have my chipboard accents (in the white box) as well as clear dividers.  A couple of those big boxes hold my Christmas, Baby/Kids, and Travel stuff -- paper, stickers, embelishments, etc., so I can just grab a box when I'm working on those themes and all of my stuff is in there.

 

 

This is below my desk to the right.  I have all of my solid cardstock in the paper keeper, so I just wheel that out and open it when I want it.  This goes with my to crops, too.  It's a really great way for me to store my cardstock and it's out of the way when I don't need it.  My trash can is there, too, as you can see.  I also have some other craft stuff there, because I don't know where else to put it!

 

 

Under my desk in front, I have 4 Iris carts, that house my pens, paints, Coluzzle, chalks, and extra adhesive, ribbon, etc.  I keep my cards in one, too, as well as stuff I don't use anymore.  I need to go through this, as I have 2 carts of that stuff!!  Plus, I keep materials for swaps in there (baggies, envelopes, labels).  I haven't done swaps in a long time, but I'll keep it because I may do more again.

 

 

 

Yeah, under the desk to the left.  THIS I really need to go through, as I have stuff that I want to get rid of!!  Strap-hinge albums and my Sizzix are the bulk of it, but I am also putting memorabilia there -- I have a lot and no real place to organize all of it together.  I need to purge!!!

 

 

This last picture shows the shelves just above the front of my workspace.  The first shelf houses my albums.  I work chronologically BUT I also have albums divided by subject:  Kids' first years, Christmas, Travel, Disney, Everyday, Special Occaisions, etc.  It's just how I think of things.  I can always change it up, as I don't attach my pages to the album pages, so I can move them if I want to.  But as of right now I don't.

 

Above that I have extra albums and memorabilia.  The shelves to the left and right are for other stuff, as well as the whole top shelf.  I'd like to eventually use all the shelves except the very top one for my scrapping stuff, so I need to find homes for that stuff.  We'll see how it goes ...

 

So, there you have it.  My scrap closet.  The layout really hasn't changed much since I set it up.  I had a good idea of how I worked, so I was able to lay it out the way I wanted from the start.  There's just a few areas to be tweaked.  I can't wait!



Scrapping area overhaul

Now that my kids are back to school, I can devote some more time to scrapping!!  Yeah!!!

First, though, I need to re-do some areas of my scrap room/closet.  Some things work, and some don't.  This all started with me finding  this thread  on 2Ps.  I haven't really done an evaluation as my scrap area grew, so it's about time I did!

Here's my post from that thread:

I have never done one of these, and I usually stick to the NSBR, but I wandered over here ... and with my kids in school now, I will have more time to scrap!!

My name is Lisa, and I'm a SAHM to 2 girls: 9 yo and 12 yo. I have been scrapping for a LONG time (like, since 1997!) yet, I have not finished oldest DD's baby book!!!

I have not finished a layout, or created anything, but I need to do a bit of an overhaul to my scrap space. I finally have my own scrap space!!! It's in a walk-in closet in our family room. My DH fitted it with a desktop and shelves one weekend when I was away with our girls (love that man!!). It's basically a U shaped desk, with a half-wide U shelf, then full shelves up to the ceiling (does that make sense?)

WHAT WORKS:
1. Everything at my fingertips. I have to be organized, especially when I scrap, so I set it up so that I really don't even have to get out of my chair to reach anything. And I have things organized by the way that I think of things.
2. I have most 'themes' grouped together. I have those clear storage envelopes grouped by themes: birthday, sports/hobbies, summer, fall, etc. I have larger bins for Christmas and Travel. I put paper packs, stickers, etc. in there so I just have to grab the correct envelope and everything is in there.
3. I always put everything back in it's home after I've done a layout. For some reason, I always do this. This means paper scraps are put away, scissors, EVERYTHING is put back before I start another layout. That way, no items are cluttering my work space and I can start fresh.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
1. Memorabilia storage. I have so much stuff, and no real organization of it.
2. Photos. I have been digital since 2000, but I don't have any way of searching by keyword, etc. Just date.
3. Some shelves are not scrapping stuff! The closet was originally a general/toy storage closet, so there is some stuff that is still in there that I need to move.

That's it for now!

I will post some pictures as soon as I download them from my camera!!