Friday, December 16, 2022

Craft Room Organization: Office Supplies

Craft Studio

Hello friends and happy almost Christmas!  

I've got two more posts sharing my craft room organization; today's office supplies and one more with my solution for pretty miscellaneous storage.  The storage post will have to wait until January 6 when I return from my yearly holiday work break, but for now you can check out my office corner:

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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here

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Want to see more from the craft room?  Visit these previous posts:



Craft Studio
Craft Studio

On the window ledge next to my work table are a few decorative items.  This post shows how I restyled a similar candelabra and this one gives step-by-step instructions for the block style art pieces. 

I like having the open work surface for paperwork as well as space for a laptop.  My Cricut cutting cart is right next to this table so I can hook right up and cut away!

The windows themselves are covered in removable vinyl, here is a tutorial.



Craft Studio

Next to my desk table is a large file cabinet.  A thrift store purchase, I repainted the body in white and sprayed the hardware gold.  Instead of labels in the name plates, I added a bit of my rose printed scrapbook paper.



Craft Studio

In the top drawer is where I keep all of my ideas and inspiration for my Esty shop.  Focusing on instant download printables and SVG files, I like to keep a running file of potential shop items.  I have a category for each season/ holiday and any time I get an idea I jot it down and tuck the paper away in the appropriate file.  Then when it comes time to design for my shop, I can just pull the file I need and work away!



Craft Studio

The bottom drawer is where I keep my business files for both my Etsy shop and blog.  Categories like marketing, posting schedules and product information all go here.  If you check out this listing, you can purchase my set of blog/ creative business organizational printables for just 99 cents!  There are over 100 pages that you can print as many copies of as you need to help you get and stay organized.  The photos in the listing show the pages arranged in a binder if you prefer, but I like being able to grab files as I need them.



Craft Studio

Up on top of the file cabinet is a set of medium sized plastic drawers.  
You can read here how I customized them.



Craft Studio

The bottom drawer is stashed with extra notebooks and notepads.



Craft Studio
Craft Studio
Craft Studio

The middle drawer has books and binders that contain project notes.  

For example the heart covered notebook lists all of the paint colors I use for particular projects. Sometimes I finish a project and then want to go back and add more to the collection.  It's sooooo helpful to have a list of the exact paint colors that I used!  

The constellation notebook has a list of my downloaded fonts separated by category.  My pc organizes them alphabetically, so it's nice to have a list where they are grouped by style.  All of these fonts (and more) can be downloaded for free at DaFont.com.



Craft Studio

The top drawer has extra file folders.



Craft Studio

On top of the medium plastic drawers are two sets of small plastic drawers, also customized.



Craft Studio
Craft Studio
Craft Studio
Craft Studio
Craft Studio
Craft Studio

These hold various office supplies such as writing utensils, scissors, tape, paper clips, business cards and the like.



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Friday, December 9, 2022

Craft Room Organization: Painting

Craft Studio

Happy holidays my friends!  Today's addition to tour of my craft room storage and organization is my painting shelf - check it out:

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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here

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Want to see more from the craft room?  Visit these previous posts:



Craft Studio

Up on top of the shelf I have a couple of cake turntables that I found at the thrift store.  Intended to be used for cake decorating, I find them useful for all kinds of painting projects as well as for decorating faux cakes.  Just put your object on top and you can turn as needed.  Originally gray and white, I used gold spray paint to make them match my craft studio decor 😄.  I also like to cover them with a bit of parchment or paper when working to keep them clean and pretty.

(Michael's craft store has this one)



Craft Studio
Craft Studio

Next to the turn tables is a small plastic drawer set where I keep my brushes.  

Some of my brushes are artist's brushes that I purchased here; 

The rest are less expensive craft brushes and sponge brushes that I get at Dollar Tree.
The plastic paint trays are from there too.

Here is how I customize my drawers.



Craft Studio
Craft Studio

Below on the shelving is my stock of acrylic paints that I keep in plastic shoe storage bins.  You can find these at Dollar Tree, but the ones at Walmart are sturdier!  I like to separate my bottles by color and keep the open bottles up front in the bin, with the duplicates still sealed in the back.  Once I open an extra, I jot the color down on my shopping list and that way I don't run out of any particular color.

My craft studio can get pretty cold in the winter so at first I was worried about how some of my supplies would hold up, but after a full year of seasons everything has been ok.  This might vary depending on your location and how well your space is insulated though.



Craft Studio

All the spray paint cans are on the bottom.



Craft Studio
Craft Studio

As well as miscellaneous bins for other types of paint.  One holds my puffy (fabric) paints while another contains an assortment of water colors.



Craft Studio

You can pick up canvases at any craft store, but I like to keep my eyes out for them at garage sales and thrift stores - you wouldn't believe how often I snag them for just a couple of dollars!  Then I bring them home and tuck them away behind my tool storage 😊

It's nice to have a supply on hand for when inspiration strikes or when the kids just want to have fun.



Craft Studio






















 

Friday, December 2, 2022

Holiday Ornament Re-style

 Christmas Decor

Go into any store selling holiday decor and you will find a nice selection of tree ornaments in all shapes, colors and sizes.  But what if you don't see your exact color?  Or maybe you have a ton at home already (in a different shade) and don't want to make an additional purchase.  Or maybe you just prefer to recycle?  Here is an easy way to restyle existing ornaments to complement any style:


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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here

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Christmas Decor

I found a few bags of tree baubles at a yard sale for only a quarter each.  They weren't the colors that I liked, but for that price I knew I could easily restyle them!  Instead of green and brown, I wanted them to be pink, gold and rose gold.



Christmas Decor

I simply used some spray paint that I already had on hand to recolor them...



Christmas Decor

...and then bundled them together into groups of three using pipe cleaners.  I like to bundle my ornaments because it makes more of a statement when hanging on the tree.  I also prefer to use pipe cleaners (as opposed to hooks or ribbon) because I can wrap them around the branches of the tree.  This makes them secure and keeps them from falling off.

Want more tree decorating tips?  Here is an old post where I share how I improve the look of artificial trees and here is one where I show how I like to string my lights.  The photos are old, from before I rebranded, but the information is still good 😎



Christmas Decor

And there you have it, customized ornaments to fit any decor!