Kelly Seeks

Eventually I will be bringing you a round up of DIY fall crafts you can do with kids. I have mine slaving away right now working on some to make our home home fall festive. But until we are done and I have more coffee I decided to bring you some tips on organizing your craft room. Since I had to dig out some supplies for the fall projects we are working on; I decided to show you around my craft room and ways I try to pretend to be more organized.

The first thing I did when creating my craft room (or craft closet or craft desk; where ever you can carve out a little spot of yourself) was congering up some storage. I bought one of those $18 book cases at Walmart and was able to assemble it in a hour or so. But I hate run of the mill products and decided to use some fabric I bought in bulk, by mistake, to line the back of the shelf. You can’t tell much from the first photo, but the back of the shelf is a pink and white lattice pattern. I am sure there is a way to pull off the backing and line the back after assembly, but I suggest doing this step before hand. I had to add a little hot glue in places to help hold the backing to the shelf since the fabric was a little thicker than the length of the small puny nails supplied to attach the backing.  After assembly I filled her up.

The first shelf consists of all my ribbon. I bought a cheapo tension rod at Walmart and slid all the ribbon that could fit on it. Then stretched the rod to fit the lenght of the shelf. If I was smarter, I would have bought two tension rods and moved the shelf one peg hole lower in order to fit two rods on the top shelf.

The next shelf holds all my bulks of fabric. In order to have them all prettiely displayed, I cut up the free flat rate shipping boxes from the post office and wrapped my fabric around them. I have also seen people by comic book cardboard backings for the same usage. But I’m cheap and wanted instant gratification (Amazon would have taken to long).

My Third shelf houses my overflowing basket of fabric scraps. I do a lot of sewing and a lot of messing up! Instead of throwing out my unfinished crappy project, I rip the seams out and keep the scraps. I also have a random collection of lace doilies. They come in handy for projects to add a special handmade touch. You just don’t see them used much anymore and I love the vintage appeal they give.  This shelf also houses my Washi tape collection. Its puny I know, compared to some of my friends, but that stuff is not cheap! So I hoard it and use it only on special projects.  I was able to get the glass container for $6 at Walmart in the kitchen storage section.

On the bottom shelf is my sewing machine, books and random supplies, so random I have no idea what is even down there. I stole the curtain I made for another project and adapted it to fit here to hide the mess. What is funny is that the curtain isn’t even sewed with the machine. The hems and pocket for the tension rod are created with No-Sew. Sometimes I just don’t want to whip that big boy out for smaller easier projects.

I won’t show you the inside of my craft room, I will show you a few storage features I use. Most were formed from looking around my house and finding items I no longer used or wanted to change anyways. I told you; I’m cheap!

I bought this from Ross and originally used it above my kitchen sink to hold my scrub brush, dish soap and other kitchen stuff. However, we moved into a new home where there was no room for it and it was just sitting in my storage closest. So…instant and free craft paint holder.

I often feel like a criminal, but I love collecting the free paint chip samples. They are so pretty and colorful and come in so hand for so many projects. I used them both on my moleskin calendar hack and my DIY butterfly mobile projects. I simply bought a little contain from Walmart and store them in color order.

I love upcycling items and this is no different. I shared with you my storage solution earlier this year for all my random pens and markers. This container is what is left over from the Crystal Light packets.

Lastly, is my Sharpie pen collection. After the mason jar craze, a bunch of parties I went to used them as sliverware holders, drink cups and more. I asked the hostess if I could have or buy them (for cheap!) after the party ended. However, you can buy them in bulk at Walmart for about $15 for 8.

I’d love to see what you all have come up with for storage solutions in your office or home. I’m always looking for new ways to make myself believe I am a organized person!