14 Ideas To Help You
Organize Your Craft Room
January 14, 2015
Organizing one’s craft room or craft stash can be an extremely personal, and in
some cases, (cough my own cough) overwhelming and painful undertaking.
Whether you are a (pardon the pun) dyed-in-the wool knit or crochet supply
hoarder, an obsessive fabric fanatic, have a passion for paper crafts, or, and
perhaps, the most dangerous cocktail of clutter-creating makers, the
pan-crafter, there are some basic tips, and organizational tools to make 2015 a
more organized and ultimately, stress-free year for creating.
Sure, you could spend hours on Pinterest gazing upon the
pristine workspaces of others, or, you could read the round-up below which
includes some practical and do-able tips from a few crafty names you may
recognize, to make areas of your craft stash more usable.
Do you sew?
Doesn’t matter. Do you buy fabric with the intention of sewing? Or worse yet, do you save/rescue/inherit articles of clothing purely for the fabric and that fabric’s project potential? You are not alone. I myself store fabric in plastic lidded bins that are stacked floor-to-ceiling in my craft room/deathtrap-of-spare-room, but I wanted a professional opinion and asked Shaerie Mead, owner of Sew LA, here in Los Angeles, what she recommended for fabric storage. Here’s what she had to say:
Doesn’t matter. Do you buy fabric with the intention of sewing? Or worse yet, do you save/rescue/inherit articles of clothing purely for the fabric and that fabric’s project potential? You are not alone. I myself store fabric in plastic lidded bins that are stacked floor-to-ceiling in my craft room/deathtrap-of-spare-room, but I wanted a professional opinion and asked Shaerie Mead, owner of Sew LA, here in Los Angeles, what she recommended for fabric storage. Here’s what she had to say:
“How you organize your stash
depends upon what kind of space you have available! If you have closet space,
try draping fabric over coat hangers. If you have a blank wall, organize fabric
in plastic bins by type and stack them up. If you are lucky enough to have good
shelving, consider attaching doors or even tacking on some extra fabric like a
curtain to protect your stash from dust. I have also wrapped fabric on mini
cardboard ‘bolts’ for lining up on shelves.”
Tapes, Ribbon + Wrap
Are you a mixed media artist? Has your personal mantra changed
in the last few years from “Put a bird on it” to “Put Washi Tape on it”? That’s
fine. Admitting your addiction is the first step. The second step is arranging
your collection of spooled splendor in a way that allows you to gaze upon your
lovely adhesives while showing off your keen eye for color.
Courtney
Cerruti is a mega-talented artist and she knows more about
Washi tape than anyone I know, so naturally, I turned to her for help in
maintaining a collection. She ALSO happens to have a book out about Washi tape
(Washi Tape: 101+
Ideas for Paper Crafts, Book Arts, Fashion, Decorating, Entertaining, and Party
Fun!) and
shared a quote directly from said publication:
“A thread spool organizer
doubles as the perfect storage for a large collection of washi tape. You can
find these at the local craft store, and they can hang on the wall or stand
alone on a desk. Organize your tape by color or at random”
For the remainder of your spool-related crafts (I’m looking at
you, ribbon and gift-wrap) there are loads of way to make it easy to access
what you need. Here are a few of my top picks from the web.
Got a thin ribbon surplus? See the rest of this (minty) fresh
up-cycling tutorial onPrudent Baby.
Looking for a wrapping station or place to store your large
gift-wrap ribbon, wrapping paper rolls or butcher paper? I like the idea of this hidden station.
Don’t have the closet space for a wrapping station? Me either. I do happen to have a few doors in my home
and dedicating one to a DIY that would keep my clutter at bay sounds like a
fine idea. Here’s the full how-to.
(Image from Everything Etsy)
Organizing Odds and Ends
So you make/own/hoard everything. You art journal, you sew, you knit, you’re into kitsch, and
decoupage. I get it, your craft stash looks more like a Michaels (without the
helpful aisle markers, shelving and staff).
What’s a crafter to do, when they DO it all? Jennifer Perkins is
an amazing do-it-all kind of lady; She’s a crafter, writer, mom, and multi-talented maker and I knew she’d
have some reassuring tips for those of us with a crafting space that is more
chaos than color coated labels. Here’s what she shared with me:
“Plastic bins are a crafters
best friends. Sure vintage tins and bowls look better on your desk, but
realistically you need something you can see inside and stack.
Some crafters work better in
carefully curated amounts of chaos. I like to have all my options spread out in
front of me when I am working on something. My workspace may look a mess, but I
know where everything is and sometimes things spilled on a table next to each
other strikes inspiration.
Be mindful of where you put your craft supplies. In my current
home I don’t have a studio space, whereas at my old house I had my entire
two-car garage converted into a workspace. I put the items I don’t use often in
my garage and the items I usually daily in my desk drawers.
Don’t get obsessed with organizing. Sometimes I see pictures of
studios and think those people must spend more time color coordinating,
collating pretty paper and playing with a label maker than they ever do being
creative. Sure you need to have a system, but don’t get so caught up with idea
of being featured in the next issue ofWhere Women Create that you are too busy organizing to
create anything.”
Jennifer shared a craft room tour with MAKE back in 2010. It still holds up.
Don’t have an entire room to organize? Just a shelf or closet or
drawer? These small-space solutions are for you:
This would make my clutter look so much neater. Download these
labels from Ashley Hackshaw right here.
Running out of shelf space?Build this wall-mounted
worktable/organization station. Brilliant. Crafty. Discrete.
Is your paper collection a lovely heap of possibility? This craft room tour will either spark inspiration, or
strike shame into your own unorganized heart.
Calling all Magpies and glitter-users, I saw this and thought of
you… Sequins and glitter stored neat n tidy at The Crafty Pickle.
Finally, scissor sisters, I think this modification of the
magnetic knife holder we’ve all seen is just plain great when it comes to
keeping track of cutters. See how it’s made over at Curbly.
Looking to add shelving to help you achieve some of this? I
recommend the Elfasolutions at the Container Store, and just about
everything at Ikea.com.
Don’t forget to keep an eye out for used bookcases on Craig’s
List and at thrift stores. You can make over your creative workspace
without breaking the bank, or losing your mind. Just take it one craft material
at a time, and don’t forget to breathe!
Did I miss any MUST-SEE solutions? What’s your favorite way to
stay organized?
Source:
http://blog.creativelive.com/how-to-organize-your-craft-room/