Organizing a la Tiffany Spaulding

Some time back I bought some of those giant page protector-type pages that are divided for craft supplies, but I could not justify paying -- at that time $90 -- for the binder they fit in.  I placed them in a regular 3-ring binder that certainly wasn't deep enough to hold the pages but it gave me a place to start.  You can see how messy that was.

Then I ran across her organization "classes" on YouTube and became inspired to make a binder from chipboard.  I covered it with Contac paper and suspended three dowels in the sides, with little screw eyes to hold them in place.  I can easily add things this way.  Her particular binder has about 7 3-ring binder things (no clue what to call them.) glued in the back and if I ever find such things I may change my construction.  But for now, this is much neater.

At this point I had not figured out how to keep the dowels from slipping out, or how to also make them easy to remove.

I didn't have any wingnuts, but I finally decided to use the screw eyes.  They are easy to remove.

Further,Tiffany Spaulding's classes had even more ideas and I ended up not only sorting things by color, but taking inventory -- and classifying -- the entire contents of my studio.  Let me enthusiastically recommend her organization classes.  I think I have indicated before that I live with my daughter and her family, and they probably have not spent an hour in my studio in the past six years, so they have no clue what is out there or where to find anything.  Well, now they do!  I listed every item, from embellishments to power tools in a key format, which shows not only what there is but where it is.

Tiffany's idea to number boxes, much like a library system, means I no longer have to have things in view in order to remember they exist!

The embellishments I use most often I have placed in drawer organizers under a fiberglass-topped work station, and photographed them for myself actually.  I have spent far too much valuable time looking for things and now that is over!

See how helpful?  I have tiny charms that can be used in mixed media as well as in the little window cards I like to make.  And all those sequins for shaker cards...

She also suggested something that makes perfect sense: why not just keep 5 or 6 pages of each color of paper within reach and store the remaining stock (catalogued of course) for replenishing later.  I am also creating some craft packs to be donated to nursing homes or schools.  I have enough materials to start my own distribution center.

This has been very helpful to me, since I jump from making greeting cards to now, making little paper houses and furniture.  And finally I am beginning to work on the several albums I must finish, which include many old pictures from my mother's collection as well as my own.  I have some collage projects that are waiting to be completed and I really would like to get back to painting.

My studio is now efficiently arranged with work tables for specific tasks.  I have an area for painting, for gluing, for constructing and for "thinking."




AND I just received the new cutter, the KNK Force, which is an amazing piece of equipment that cuts not only paper but plastic and thin wood.  I'm still learning what it can do.  (If you buy one through my link, I'll get a commission of course, but in any case, go look at it!)  It is brand new and the software is in beta form but is being worked on to the point that everything should be complete by the end of the year, I hope. For now, it will perform the basic functions of cutting, engraving and embossing. There is a Facebook group made up of all of us who just received our machines and are finding out what it can do.  There is some amazing creativity on display.

Back to work!  I am working with tiny people (commonly used in model train set-ups) to populate my tiny houses.  I will have to modify some of them with clay and paint to get the kind of positions I need them to have, and that will be fun!

So little time, so much to play with!

How to keep your craft room neat

The first way, of course, is not to do anything in there after you've straightened up!

For some reason, after a project, in which I am totally focused and adding things I forgot I had each time I open another drawer, I turn around and see that it looks like a tornado has hit!  I don't know how that happens, but there always seems to be a day at least of cleanup!

I just finished making dozens of Christmas cards (all different) and saving pictures of things I found on the Internet along the way with more ideas for future projects, and this week is the week of cleanup.  Which means reorganizing.  Which leads to finding things I forgot I had, ergo more ideas for more things to make.  I am determined to use up and/or give away everything I've accumulated during the years, but since I keep getting more stuff, it's like one step forward, two steps back!

Last week I saw the most astounding craft table online. (See photograph) So I've been busy trying to create just that situation with a large piece of plexiglass I have on hand.  It has come to the point in my life that if something is not in a clear box or other see-through container, I will forget about it. Everything is labeled, even the drawers.  This comes from excess possessions, I am sure.

I laid the piece of plexiglass atop a rolling cart I bought some time back.  It has metal shelves, and holds plastic drawers on each level.  On top of the drawers I put some drawer organizers which allow for little stuff that I can now see through the table top.  The only thing is the plexiglass is much wider than the cart and I am going to have to stabilize the ends with something.  As soon as I find my yardstick, I'll figure out what length and then go back to Home Depot for 2x4s or something like that, I think if I create a u-shaped support for each end, that will work.  There's nothing I can do to expand the space I have, so I keep finding new ways to store things where they are easy to get to and visible at the same time.  Visible is very important to me these days.

One thing your craft room has to have is a large trash can.  Some things I used to save -- like bits of leftover cardstock (maybe could be used for trim one day?) I have come to be able to just let it go; there is only so much time in the day and the days fly by.  We have a recycle pickup every other week and paper is definitely a recycle item.

Often I find wasted space in my craft area.  There are things I don't want to discard (like all my clay tools) but don't plan to use them anytime soon.  These are items that can be removed from view and even moved someplace else, like the garage.  But let me recommend you create an inventory of sorts, so you can (1) remember they exist and (2) where you put them.  And be careful that just thinking about that doesn't start you off on a new rabbit trail.... like "hey, I think I'll do clay stuff today."  You don't get anywhere like that!

I have a huge box of jewelry supplies -- beads, findings, pendants, and bezels.  Last week I needed a chain for a project I was working on, and dug the huge container out from under my bed.  Then I got all fired up about jewelry, but I tamped that down quickly because for one thing, I hardly ever wear jewelry, and too, I have dozens of pretty bracelets that I have made that I don't know what to do with. But I am now thinking of taking the jewelry supplies out to the studio and putting them instead into a see-through drawer in case I need something.

A few years ago a new mother began saving all her baby food bottles for me, and I was happy to get them because they are great for mixing acrylic paint and saving it while working on a particular project.  This year I dug them out again, cleaned them up, and they will be little vessels for hand scrubs my daughter makes!  They're easy to label, and wrap with a bow and square of paper or cloth.
See?  There was a reason to keep those.  But little by little, things are getting used and moved on out.

The next idea bubbling up from somewhere is to put together "craft packs" which include an assortment of materials at a low price.  I see some on various websites that cater to scrapbookers, but what I have in mind is more a mixed media melange.  Customers would only need their own scissors and glue to make use of them.  Stay tuned.

10 ways to know if you are a craft/mixed media junkie

There are some addictions we just have to acknowledge, and decide whether or not there is a real downside.  Here are some ways to know whether you are addicted to the habit of crafting:

• 1.  You see a bottle or jar someone is getting ready to throw away and your heart beats a little faster.
• 2.  A package comes in the mail; inside is corrugated cardboard or tissue and you grab it to save for someday.
• 3.  You see a new paint additive in the hardware store and you immediately think of ways to use it.
• 4.  The neighbors put something on the lawn for the weekly heavy pick-up and you really want to go examine it before the truck comes.  Sometimes you do, and you bring it inside.
• 5.  You go to Scrapbook.com regularly to see what new products there are this week, even if you don't order anything.  Mostly you realize you already have that.
• 6.  When you go to Amazon just to order something simple, like coffee or a book, you end up clicking on all the recommended items that relate to making stuff.
• 7.  Your craft room is full of things you cannot use in a lifetime.  You obsess over organization.
• 8.  You spend entirely too much time on Pinterest in the DIY sections, and hours on YouTube watching tutorials.
• 9.  You want to order every new die cutting machine that comes on the market.
• 10. You pore over every craft store mailer just in case there's something they have at 40% off this week that you don't have yet.

And there are lots more signs, like when shopping you drift over to the craft supplies area just because.

Well, these things certainly apply to me, and to a few of my acquaintances.  I think that's one of the reasons there are so many exchanges and swaps online for cards and handmade gifts.  And the groups!  There are so many exciting things to learn from other people.

But here is the downside:

There is only so much time in a day, not to mention a lifetime.  In my case, I figure I have maybe a decade left, and assuming I can still create things during the remainder of my years, I still won't be able to use everything I have accumulated in the many ways I can imagine.  I have been working on de-stashing for several years now, yet it seems that each new fascination or project requires maybe one more product... so for that reason, I have lots and lots of supplies, every type of adhesive that exists on the planet (except silicone glue.  What is that anyway?  I keep meaning to do a search on Amazon and get some.) and every type of paper made.  I have even learned to make paper, so I have the screen and supplies for that too.


And painting substrates: I have canvases, cardboard, mat board, board-board, and watercolor paper. I have fabric paint of all types.

Oh, and speaking of fabric, last year I learned to hook rugs, so I have those supplies, and then I saw a video about rag rugs so I am building a frame for that.  I'm done making quilts.

I have supplies for making art journals, scrapbooks, binding machines, brads and I LOVE making little books.  I have clay and clay molds.  I have the oven for that.  I have woodworking supplies and carving knives.  And I'm not even talking yet about the Dremels.

Recently I discovered parchment craft, so I set up an online store for that since I found supplies hard to get in the USA. That's taking time (and another addiction) too.

I have never had much success with Etsy, but I am about to start making little craft packs, and various die cut shapes and putting them up for sale somewhere.  I recently sent a lot of my hand-made greeting cards to a nursing home I know about, so the staff can give residents birthday cards when they need one.  I like that idea.  An acquaintance of mine is doing paper crafting on a volunteer basis in another senior center, so I sent a big pack of "stuff" to her,  I don't mind sharing because my stock of that sort of thing is boundless.  On my "to-do" list this week is to contact local activity directors of nursing homes to see if they could use things like this.

There are so many things I want to make.  Each time I go into the studio I see something I have been planning to do, but since I'm in the middle of whatever I'm doing right now, of course I can't get to it. I have photo albums and scrapbooks of my own that need finishing.  I recently found some sketches I did of my granddaughters when they were babies and I thought saving those all together in one scrapbook would be a great idea.  I went to a used bookstore and found a big hard-back childrens' book and gessoed it to use for that purpose.  I started it.  It remains unfinished.

So to me, this is the downside.  I see other people quite happy to relax once in awhile, to just read or watch TV and sometimes I envy them,  But my addiction compels me to keep trying to finish all these fun projects.  I think my fantasy is that if I keep at it, I will finally use up all of my supplies and then I can relax and do nothing.

By the way, I just ordered a new super-duper does-everything cutter! I can't wait til it gets here!  Just think,.. then I can make stencils, more wood ornaments and frames, templates, engrave more materials....

Now I have to go find that silicone glue.