Now can I just say that if you have a scrap room please don't be offended by this post - that is not my intention. And if you are of a nervous disposition you may want to look away. Not that there is anything to look away from but it just seemed to flow from the previous sentence.
This is a post for all those who don't have a dedicated expedit-lined sanctuary to create in. It is for those who make do with a corner of a room, or have to drag the stash out and put it back again 'cos you scrap in the lounge/dining room/bedroom/kitchen*. It is a post to (hopefully) share that there are loads of us out there, creating in corners, and to unite us together.
*I haven't included bathroom so apologies if that is where I would find you with your scissors and glue.
Please don't get me wrong. I don't dislike people who DO have craft rooms, you are all lovely and wonderful, it's just that no-one ever seems to blog about their NON-CRAFT ROOM SPACE, so I am redressing the balance now!
And I guess if I did have a spare room I might craft there instead ;)
This post was inspired by something I saw on Facebook (no not a cat video or a funny sign). More boringly it was several posts asking how people organised their stash/paper.
We had an extension several years ago (this is relevant I promise) to provide more bedroom space. We decided to NOT give each child their own room - sharing never did us any harm *although my sister and I did resort to have a dividing line down the centre of the room at one point*.
We are best friends, as well as sisters, now so the damage wasn't lasting.
We chose to make the smallest room into a second bathroom instead, and it has been well worth it. (Goodness don't teenagers spend a long time in the shower?)
The extension did mean that we gained an extra reception room downstairs. This rapidly became a multi-use room, it hosted the x-box, pc's, piano and a variety of furniture (that stored my best china and all the other 'stuff' that doesn't have it's own home).
And I got one little corner, one little spot to keep my crafting goodies and albums. The overspill went under the stairs.
The overspill has gone, along with a good chunk of papers, punches, dies and embellishments that rarely/never got used. This is what remains. (This sort of continues in the second part of the post which I am hoping to finish next week).
The large paper bags are from Quirky Kits. The striped bag contains said kits, the pink one has my cardstock in (almost exclusively white) and the yellow all the oddments, offcuts and a few sheets left from my pre-kit days that I WILL use. It also houses an impulse TKMAXX buy of a HUGE stack of My Minds Eye papers.
The larger green boxes house some alphabet dies, a couple of extended strips, the plates for the bigshot and my mists/paints/stencils.
The two smaller green boxes hide washi tape, twine, stamps, thickers and xyron runner.
The bright yellow box has PL cards in it. In the cream tin are my glues, sticky dots etc. The blue tin contains ALL my ink pads,
Yep that is them - 4 x jenni bowlin, 1 distress pad (for inking edges) 6 x momento and 3 x versa colour - actually I think two are on my dining room table but you get the idea ;)
The silver and black tin contains chipboard alphabets and some gems/dots. And the greeny-grey box at the back has my embellishments (die-cuts, stickers, wooden veneers and Nuvo drops).
In the bottom of the basket is a box with my punches and another box with some 6 x 6 pads in. Finally in the green and brown tin are the rest of my dies.
In the bottom of the basket is a box with my punches and another box with some 6 x 6 pads in. Finally in the green and brown tin are the rest of my dies.
That is it.
All my 'stash'.
The more I had, the less I used.
I still like to get it out and spread it all over the dining room table - but at least it doesn't take too long to put it away again.
So be loud, be proud and be honest about where YOU scrap if it isn't in one of those specially built log cabins in the garden or in a beautiful white walled room with central heating and purpose built cupboards (*not jealous at all*).
And if you do share, I may show you what that corner normally looks like when I haven't tidied it and half most of it is spread around my dining room chairs and table :)
Louise x
I love this post Louise! I too once had a small corner. I'm happy to say I've now progressed to half the study (which used to be the kids play room, which used to be the garage!) so yes I'll admit it. I'm a scrap Booker and I have an expedit obsession. But I love that you've shouted loud and proud about your space. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Once my darling teenagers have left home properly there will probably be no stopping me converting their bedroom. And I love a bit of Ikea furniture as much as the next person so there may well be an expedit or two heading that way! But in the meanwhile my corner will do :)
DeleteYou make a great point here! We have a multi purpose room at the top of the house and I use a corner of it. Sometimes I get asked for pictures of my space for a guest post or something like that; but really there isn't much to see. And I don't have a silhouette, or a cricut, or a diecutter, or a heatgun, or any embossing powders, or..well, you get the idea! I'm more a few sheets of paper and some double sided tape kind of girl. Good post.
ReplyDelete...and you do such an amazing job with 'just' paper and dst. I honestly find it easier to scrap with less 'stuff' because I'm not wasting time looking through it all.
DeleteI love this article and you are quite right - the more you have the less you end up using. I craft in our office space and I am also expedit free. My storage is a ragtag collection of odd boxes, tubs basically whatever I find around the house that I can put stuff in. I do feel sometimes that the VERY coordinated, super organised rooms seem to be more about the organising than the crafting (but maybe I'm biased).
ReplyDeleteMy sons always shared even though there was a spare room and they now share a house. It hasn't done them any harm learning to share either.
It's lovely to know that I am not alone in a ragtag assortment of boxes and tins. I'd rather spend any spare cash on quality products that on a special set of matching boxes or jars to keep things in.
DeleteGood to hear sharing has worked well for your sons. Mine are closer than they often let on (they are identical twins) and whilst they fall out they do 'have each other's backs'.
Oh I enjoyed this post, I smiled the whole read through. And I am left with a single question. Did you know what was in any of those containers before you opened them for a picture? I have to use open storage, and yes, am lucky enough to have the space, to know what I have.
ReplyDeleteI wrote on the lid of each box what is in it. If i was super arty i would cover them in a mixed media photo collage of their contents but I'm not. In fact I think it is because I am quite a simple unfussy scrapper that means i work better with fewer things.
DeleteGood post! I thought I was getting a craft room but DH seems to have taken over some of it and then the overflow of books got moved in, his old desk (I hide sewing supplies in it) and the ever present ironing board. So my craft room is now a table under the window and some shelves (2) in the bookcases with other things stuffed where ever they'll fit. I have a wishblade but I can't even remember the last time I used it or if it will work with the windows version on the machine in there. I've got stuff stored in the closet here in the computer room and 4 iris sets of drawers stacked beside my desk here in the ocmputer room. All the albums are in here too. I need to go through all my stuff because I'm practically doing nothing but digi now with the odd PL (vacations project). I'd love it all together but until we get rid of more stuff it will stay that way. Heaven help me if anyone wanted a picture of it - it's a disaster.
ReplyDeleteGo on Gail - share some photos. If only as an antidote to all those pristine scrap rooms that are shared so often on facebook! I suspect most of us scrap under these circumstances in truth. Most of my boxes are not scattered under and around one end of the dining room table - I really must tidy them away!
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