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I love my room too. However if I can work on something while watching tv I will bring my little lap thing in and work on something, but not to often especially now since I haven't been doing as many stamping projects just scrapping stuff.
If I'm not in the bath tub or cooking...I'm in my stamp room. BUT...I have a computer,TV,and stereo in my room. I can't stand to be in a room without a TV!!!!
MY DH was instrumental in helping to create my room (forget guest rooms!!)and I do most 99% of all my work there - great sunlight etc.,
Couple suggestions is a wide area - my DH took an old door and finished it and it is a great size - the depth is important as you can work in the front area and store in the back. Also he set up the table so I can stand while I work - a quick fix is to put 1 gallon paint cans under each leg and it makes a perfect height for standing while working.
Then my DH ( I love that man) finished an old dresser with mini drawers up top and normal drawers below - what a great storage place.
Then....I splurged and bot a paper rack (Shelving) like they have in the scrap stores ($175 CDN) but the best value for my money as it stores 12X12 - 36 slots - so I can see all my paper and remember! what I have!
No TV or the like in my hobby room and I am concentrating and mentally drifting when I stamp, etc.
If it wasn't for my room - I might be in a rubber room!!!!
I have a large, daylight basement with 9 foot ceilings that I converted to my stamp room. There is a couch and a TV with cable, music, a bathroom, and even a guest room if I feel like taking a nap. I hold my group meetings there and my classes too.
The funny part is, is that this used to be my children's "play room". All their toys and videos were kept here. They kept trashing it, and wouldn't pick up their toys, so I took it away. Best decision I ever made. Except I never pick up my stamps and ink and paper and it is a mess all the time. I hope my kids never notice the irony. My daddy had a saying: do as I say, not as I do.
Oh, and before anyone gets jealous, my house is on the market, we're moving and I more than likely won't get anything like this ever in my life ever again. If you want a house with a beautiful stamp area go onto the MLS and look in Phoenixville, PA!
I am in my "creative space" every day. I stamp more now than I ever did in the past. It's nice to have everything organized in it's own place (most of the time) and not have to shuffle stuff around.
Whenever my husband saw me stamping in the dining room he would say...guess we are eating at the patio table for the next month....cause I would hate to put it all away after I got it out.
Location: Beautiful BC with my soulmate and he is a stamper too!!
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I stamp only in my room, but it has a tv and a stereo in it so i don't feel like I'm missing anything. Not to mention it has a coffee maker and fridge in it too!
__________________ Kelly Emmie is my dog is case you were wondering Wanna read my Diary? Diaries Of A Stamper
I stamp in my room most of the time but for some reason really feel more comfortable stamping at the kitchen counter. I do like however being able to leave a project I am working on out and just shutting the door until I can get back to it.
I have my own stamp room and wouldn't have it any other way - it's wonderful to have a dedicated space that doesn't need to be disturbed to make the house look presentable! I, too, like working at a higher counter, so DH made me a little table that sits on top of my drop down work counter that elevates my work area to the height of a kitchen countertop. Not only is it more comfortable to stamp at this height (I like to work standing rather than sitting), but the area between the new table top and the old is open and I use that space to store my various paper cutters. They are very easily accessible when I need them, but they are slipped down into this space when I'm stamping and using the work space for "creating". I love this set-up and am glad DH was able to figure out such a creative solution to my table-height dilemna. :-D
My stamp room is probably the size of a good closet, so I really don't do much stamping in there for that reason! If I did have a big room that would totally be where I stayed when it came to stamping!
I converted my spare bedroom closet into my stamp space a while back (picture in my gallery) and I absolutely love it! I've been getting so much more done since I did that because now everything is at my fingertips. I have a portable DVD player in there and I'll watch my favorite movies or TV shows on DVD while I stamp.
I stamp in my stamp room/office all the time. Of course I have a tv hooked up to cable in there and have it on. My computer is also in my stamp area. you can see pics in my gallery. I have added a punch storage unit on the wall since those pics. I love having my area.
Love to see pics of your punch storage unit
__________________ Lisa C., Mom to 3 great kids, 3 super dogs and an cat that thinks she is a dog! My Gallery
Re: For those of you who have actual stamp rooms...
Hi~
I have a stamp room. It is very small, and old bedroom that only had enough room for one bed and a small table (no room for a dress or chest of drawers). I do not stamp in there. It is an absolute mess. I just put supplies in there. I have been trying to clean it up for 3 years, but it only gets to a relatively functional mess. I know this is awful, but I feel I should be honest about it. I have been stamping on the dining room table for all these years, and that is still my favorite place to stamp (much to my husband's chagrin). There is more light in there and a view of the lake.
When I first started stamping, I had one cabinet in the china cabinet and one shelf in the kitchen cabinet. Now, I have tons of stuff. I hate to get rid of anything, and it has become quite a collection of stuff.
I am sooo glad a dedicated a room for stamping. Yes, it also is the computer room and the room for all our home files and paperwork, but it keeps everything in one room and keeps the rest of the house uncluttered. I have a TV and radio, as well as a fax and scanner and my camera set up in the room. My only problem - it is very hot (the A/C does not do well in this room).
We have one spare bedroom that is too small and cut up by doors and bathroom opening to be a good guest room (which we didn't need anyway...we live near family.) So we put the Billy system of shelves along two walls (from Ikea) and and Anton desk to match (it's a big one.)
You can configure the Billy shelves anyway you like--corner cabinets, smaller cd/curio unit, etc. The bottom part is cut out so it fits flat/flush against the wall--like a built in.
And the price is good. They've held up really well. They are made to hold really heavy things--no buckling!
I have to see all my "stuff" to remember what I have--visual learner! so having my stamps in baskets on the shelves is really nice.
I have a little tv and of course my computer in my room--and a comfy chair for when one of the kids joins me. But I can open the door and hear the tv downstairs, music, whatever.
I cut out stamps downstairs but I stamp only in my room. I just can't lug it all downstairs and then back up again!
My DH and I are working on my scrap room right now. It is the same area that I always had, but now we are actually putting in cabinets and counters, it will look awesome!
I LOVE having my own space. It is half the family room so I can be in there and the kids can be playing on their side and we are all happy.
__________________ Jennifer
Proud Mom to 2 beautiful sons & 1 precious daughter
My stamping room is also my office, the *testing* room (I homeschool), and I run my Mary Kay business out of it. (I've been a consultant since '89.) I only have a radio, but it's all I need as I rarely watch TV. My computer is almost always being used, if not by me, then by one of the four other members of the family so I have to share my room a lot. That I don't like, but what can you do. We are going to look at laptops tonight so maybe I won't be so crowded around the computer in the future. But, I digress!
I love my room and it is my favorite place to stamp. It's a bit small though so if I have friends over to stamp, we go to a table in the rec room. Right now I stamp at a nice size desk, but there isn't room for two . . . only me!
I just got to thinking as I went back and reread some of the posts - even though I consider my stamp room/office, *mine* . . . every person in the family uses it. But, it is fairly clean because I have to clean up pretty much after every project. With so many people in and out of it, I have to. I don't want them messing up my stuff!! (And, if it was out . . . they would!!)
I have a room which I am using. It's not all mine (yet!) as it is the former bedroom of one of my girls. Still moving stuff out (when we find a new, proper home for it all) so I can get my stuff organized better. But I love it and spend a lot of time there. And, yes, that's where I stamp!
I have a stamp room/office and i LOVE It. I have a 14 month old daughter who is into everything. before if I was stamping during a nap and she woke up early I had to put everything away so she couldnt get into it. now I leave what IM doing, close the door and then I can get right back to it when I have a minute. Id love a tv in there though!
Wow, I'm joining a little late, but it seems that we all agree a craft room is a must! We had a small spare bedroom for "guests" who never came to visit. Finally, my husband and I turned it into a computer/craft room. I LOVE IT! I had been working on a folding table in our living room for a few years. It seemed to take longer to set everything up and then clean up than time I had to create. Now, I can leave a scrap book page on my desk and come back to it later with a fresh eye. What a great advantage for me! Good luck with your decision.
Cynthia
I have our 3rd bedroom as mine.
I love to stamp in there but find I really like being out with dh cuz i don't get to see him much anyway. So, I have a table I can move out to the living room with a project to work on in there. My room is right off the LR so I can just pop in and out for supplies. During the day, I use the room exclusively. I don't like mess out in the open.
I've been off the stamping wagon for some time but hope to get going again soon.
WOW! It seems like everyone's in agreement -- a craft/stamp room is the way to go!
I do appreciate all the answers, and especially hearing from those of you who have a TV/radio/computer in your stamp room. I think that will really be the thing for me -- I hate stamping in silence.
My other issue is that I don't necessarily want to be separated from my family. However, the houses that we're looking at in the area we'll be moving to are all two story, and since we'll have four bedrooms upstairs, I think we'll have most of our 'activity' stuff up there. One room will be the computer room/guest room, one room will be the stamp room/TV room, and the other two will be our bedrooms.
I feel better having a plan! Of course, it's all pie in the sky until we actually move, but I'm the kind of person who really needs to think things through before they happen. Thanks so much, everyone!
__________________ --Anne
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.
--Henry Van Dyke
My stamp room is the old coal bin room of my 100+ year old house. The space is about 10x 12. I have a radio to play my favorite classical station. It is the only place I stamp. When I get tired I can leave my stuff on the desk and come back to it later. The best part? No more glitter in the mashed potatoes!!!!
__________________ Jane
Judge yourself by the intention of your actions and by the strength with which you face the challenges that stand in your way.
I used to have all of my stamping and scrapbooking stuff in piles in our basement. The basement is finished, so it is pretty nice. I just hated the thought of having to drag my things out everytime I wanted to use them, and then clean it all up when I was done. So I hardly ever worked on either.
My daughter is now old enough that we could move her room upstairs, so I kindly asked my husband if I could use her old room as my craft room. My defense was, he has an entire garage to do what he loves to do, and I have a table in the basement that has to be clean at all times. Needless to say, I got my room. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on furniture for my room, and just by pure luck, my company was getting rid of some office furniture. I got my "L" shaped metal desk - 6' x 7' - for $5. Two office chairs for free, and a great literature shelf for free also. My DH & DD even surprised me one weekend, and while I was gone for a scrapbooking weekend, they installed track lighting over my desk! I am in there all of the time. I bought myself a small TV and have a DVD player in there also. I call it my sanctuary! Every woman needs one!!!
Chris
__________________ "I believe, that my life's gonna see, the love I give, return to me..." John Mayer
I got so tired of lugging my stamping stuff to the kitchen table and when I left it there stored in neat rubber made carts and totes it still looked like crap, plus it was a pain to try to find anything. On a typical day of stamping in the kitchen I would make 2 maybe 3 cards. But since my husband made me a craft area in our sunroom, I have everything at my finger tips, I can find everything (including those paper piercing needles that I knew I bought but could never find). I can leave stuff out, although I prefer to clean it up after a day of stamping because my stamping area is so pretty when it's clean. So yesterday after a whole day of stamping in my new area, I made about 7 cards and they weren't all quickies, I did embossing (wet and dry) and watercoloring, paper piercing etc.
Go with the stamp room, your family can come visit you.
I'd say that I do about 90% of my stamping in my craft room. The main exceptions are at Christmas, when I'm making 80 cards, then I do alot of the cutting, assemblying, etc on TV trays with the family. The other time is when hubby is out of town, the I might do some stamping on TV trays in the sitting room just outside the craft room, while watching TV with DS.
My husband bugged for a long time that we could turn our smallest bedroom, which is now empty since the addition to the house, into a scrappin/stampin room for me. I think he was tired of looking at all my stuff in our new bedroom (the cluttered table and desk were not quite what he had envisioned in the newly finished room). I thought I'd never use it to acually work in, but boy was I wrong. A friend of the family was redoing thier kitchen as passed thier cabinets to us (free!!), my DH installed them around the room, I now have an awesome space with lots of counter top to work with. Still adding shelves etc as I go along but everything is within reach, organized...I love it! It's not a huge room about 9feet by 10feet (quite small for a bedroom, thus the addition to our old home) I also love that my work space is at counter level, I find it more comfortable to work at. Get a space of your own...if it turns out you still drag your stuff else where to work you will still have a great place to keep it all, and a retreat if you ever need it!
I setup my lovely stamp room in January 2005. I'm in here every day and yes - I stamp or scrapbook most days. I'm sure that whatever you decide will be best for you - let us know how it turns out!
__________________ Do or do not - there is no try! (Yoda) / SCS Featured Stamper FS730 / Dirty Dozen Alumni
I stamp in my room about 90% of the time. Sometimes I stamp in the living room when my husband is out of town, but mostly I use my room. I put my laptop on the countertop & watch movies or DVDs of my favorite shows as I stamp.
I only scanned the first few answers, so I'm not sure if I'm the only one that does not stamp in my craft room. But, it seems as if I'm in the minority.
Let me sort of explain why I don't use my room. First off it was a guest room, and as my craft supplies multiplied it morphed into my craft space. I even got rid of the bed. Then I put in two tables, the extra computer and my craft stuff continued to multiply (at a faster rate). I tried to work in there several times, but found myself dragging out all my supplies to the kitchen table, at first I thought it was the better lighting. Then I realized I felt weird in the room, due to the position of the table I worked at. My back was to the door and the room is down the hall from the family room and everything else. As for the hallway, I never liked it, so I had my dh put in french doors (in the hall) and close off the original room entrance. The hall no longer feels like a hall... yeah! But I'm still not working in the room that much. I think there are several more reasons I don't work in there. The top one being that I am a multi-tasker, so when I'm in the kitchen I can still deal with other things and the family. Secondly, the room is always in progress, right now it's minimally cluttered, but awaiting cabinetry (when we remodel our kitchen).
Anyway, my point is... know yourself, will you be comfortable in the room? Or is it just a storage space? Go in there and get a real feel for what works for you.
I still have hope that I will use it when the cabinets are in place. I do love having the room, and I spend a lot of time in there organizing all of my stamps, scrapping supplies and other fun craft stuff.
Dina
I use my stamp room 98% of the time. The other 2% of the time is spent at my kitchen Island beacause it is higher than my desks and when my neck is acting up I need to use a higher top. Some day I will do my room all over and I will have a work space with higher counters.
I love my stamping room. I even had them put a lock on it, which requires a key, so I can go in there and no one can bother me. During the day when every one is at school/work I work down there. Some evenings if I want to do some stamping, I will bring a project upstairs so I can stamp and spend time with DH.
__________________ Martha
"When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life." Jean Shinoda Bolen
I have a stamping "area" in one part of our family room where there is also a TV and computer. I like that the rest of my family is around and I'm not shutting myself off from them. They are doing homework or whatever while I stamp.
In our last two homes we've put in what most would consider a bar which is actually my stamping area. Probably a couple of times a year I clear off the counters so that we can use it when the kids entertain or for graduation or something. A couple of times a month I expand my stamping space into the rest of the family room for classes etc.
I don't completely clean it when the kids are just having friends over but it does force me to put it in order once in a while. There have been a few times when they've had friends over when I had stamping to do - a swap or something - and I just pack a basket to take upstairs while I watch TV with DH.
The last time I cleared the counter was when my son had friends over for the Super Bowl. Here's what it looks like when it's clean; I wouldn't dare take a picture right now!
My stamp room is my sanctuary. I can play my music and make as big a mess as I want. When I need to be with my family, well, that's when I mount my stamps. Lin
I have to say that I just finished organizing my craft room in my new house and oooh how pleased I am. My laptop and small dest face out a window were I can watch the birds eat out of their feeders. On the opposite wall I have a counter top that sits ontop of shelving and storage. Like others only stamp in MY ROOM. I get so much more done and feel more relaxed in my own space. A radio/stereo helps and my laptop plays movies if I am in the mood for that . Good luck with your decision.
Re: For those of you who have actual stamp rooms...
