I hadn't been down in my craftroom much since February. This is partly because my new job had me plenty busy the last two months, partly because I was under the weather for a bit and became "creatively blocked" to say the least, and mostly because our boiler (which sits a few feet from my basement craftroom) was leaking small amounts of carbon monoxide. Ummm...yeah. Needless to say, it got neglected a bit, and became a bit of a disaster area.
Enter Saturday: National Scrapbook Day. If nothing else, it got me to descend to my basement, flick on the light, and get a good look at the place. It became my mission this past weekend to make scrapbooking possible again. Step 1: craftroom cleanup.
It was really just putting things back into their places. Then I wiped everything down with cleaning spray to get rid of the winter germs. The 'Afters' are so nice, aren't they? :)
I also added some *new containers* in the space because we all know accumulation makes your supplies over-grow your storage for it, and if you get montly kits like me, it happens faster than you realize.
I went to The Container Store yesterday with a list of items that needed a new home. Such items included badges and flair, wood veneer pieces, paper clips, loads and loads of sticker sheets, and project life cards - both sizes. Above I used this container for the badges (left) and this container for the wood veneer (right).
The first container I spotted when I walked into the store was the Fridge+Freeze Bin. It's perfect for 3x4 inserts, and I can picture myself quickly flipping through them in search of the right card.
I even made my own dividers using my favorite tall and thin paper pad from Target, and wrapping a sheet underneath a bunch of categorized cards. I've seen people organize their cards by color, but I organized mine by type: full patterns, statement cards, icons, journal cards, etc.
Perfecto! ...Now for the 6x4 cards, I went through many options while in the store. I'm happy I settled on the bin I did.
It was a bin specially for 4x6 photos - which of course works for pocket scrapbooking inserts too.
The best part is...
It comes with a few individual containers perfect for grouping Studio Calico kits or 'themed' cards together, but can still fit together in the same overall bin. Genius!
Yesterday, I spent a good couple hours in my beloved designated craft space. It felt good to be there. It felt good to be good to a space that's always so good to me. And once all the new containers were in place, and Mission: Craftroom Cleanup was complete, I enjoyed a Sunday afternoon filled with all you see below:
Thanks for visiting, and shoot me any comments or questions you may have regarding organizing or crafting or supplies. ♥ Have a great start to your week! Feliz Cinco de Mayo!