My crafting corner

Hi Everyone!
At Lawnscaping we've been doing a series of Friday posts where we designers have been sharing our carfty spaces and today it is my turn. At first I hesitated because as you can see my space is very tiny (this is also where I sew and paint ) and not fancy at all but then I thought - why not???   I'm probably not the only one with very limited space -so this could perhaps be a post where we could give eachother some compact crafting ideas.

We have a three-room- apartment in the center of Gothenburg and we LOVE  it here but of course I wouldn't mind an extra room or two! This room used to be our office till we had Ted 4 years ago. It is now his room but I've kept my crafty desk in one corner and I guess I'll find out how long he'll let me keep it there (-:

My crafting budget isn't very large so I have no specially designed furniture for my tools and supplies but have made use of things we already had at home; winebottle crates,  shoeboxes, cd-boxes, old bathroom cupboards and drawers. I like that I have everything within reach when I sit at my desk - just wish I was a more tidy and organized crafter, because unfortunately my desk turns into a bombshell disater withing minutes after starting a project and then the quickest solution is often to move  down on the floor and suddenly things aren't that easy to reach anymore (-; 

I have a pin board where I keep some of my favorite embellishments so I don't forget to use them! The stamps I use the most are also always within reach and so are my 6x6 paper pads. I have an IKEA box under my desk, next to my sewing machine, where I keep my 12x12 papers and cardstock.

 

I've printed pictures of all the stamps and stampsets I have and put into a photo album so I can easily  flip through that to find the perfect image or sentiment I for a card I'm working on. It is also great for when I'm Writing my blogposts and need to know the name of a certain set.

 

 

I keep my dies like this in a cd sleeve book. It is easy to find the dies and it doesn't take up a lot of space.

 

 Other ideas for compact crafting:

 

1. As soon as you know your not going to use an old product or tool any more,  give it away or sell it on ebay.

2. Before you rush to buy a new cool product or tool make sure you don't already have something very similar or have a product that can be used in different way with the same result.

3. Label all your boxes, files and folders carefully so you know exactly where to find what - searching for things have a strange way of eating up a lot of space!!!

4. Organize your desk so that the tools and supplies you use the most are closest to you - biggest chance of putting them right back after you've used them - I use my inkblenders and distress inks (-; and 6x6 patterned papers on almost all my projects!

5. I sort my markers by  putting a rubberband around colors that have the same tone, that way I don't need one box for greens and one box for blues etc.

 

 

It would be awesome if you would continue this list and share your ideas for compact/budget storage and crafting in the comments section below!

Have a great day!, Hugs Karin