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I also have a shelf that isn't shown on my blog post...
But now that I think about it, I'm not sure how helpful that pic is. Oh well, anyway...
There's a problem with this set up. My husband goes to bed by 10 p.m. at the latest. I usually go to bed around 2 a.m.
I'd like to do some work at night, but obviously I can't.
So, I need to rethink things. I have a few options that I can think of.
1. I can try to move some supplies into the living room closet.
2. I can try to make kits ahead of time (but then why not just finish the silly cards... this seems kind of crazy but maybe I'm not thinking it out clearly)
3. I can replace some furniture in the living room (I have a 42" half wall or up to 48" half wall that I can use maybe...)
Ideas? I'm kind of frustrated. Every time I think, "Ok, I'm in the mood for cards... I realize everything is in the room with Kevin
Help? I'm almost ready to stop buying, take what I have, give it away, and quit. I just got started. I have a blast when I do get to do it, but when I realized that my BEST hours of working are turned off to me... I decided I need to either find a way to make it work, or just give it up.
If you love it and want to keep doing it, then we're here to help you find a way! There are a lot of people who create in closets or on one wall in one room, etc., so look in the forums for pics of their spaces. Decide what you're okay looking at all the time and what you want to hide, then plan around that. If you're just starting out, you probably don't have more than you could easily camouflage...
I would suggest starting by taking inventory of what you have/use the most and which storage 'container' would work best for it. Personally, I'm all about consolidation - having all my "stuff" in the smallest footprint possible - even though I have an entire room (and a fairly large one) to work in. There are some ideas on my blog HERE and HERE, and I love the ideas on Diane's blog.
These are certainly not meant to steer you in my direction, but rather a starting point for your thought process, ya know? Keep us posted on what you come up with - I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for another idea! Good luck with that!
Okay, I probably should have looked at your blog before I replied to your post, but it looks to me like what you're already using could easily be tweaked to move to another wall/corner/closet in a different room. I really like what you've done there...
Actually, the kit thing isn't such a bad idea. I'd rather just finish up the card all at once, too, but sometimes time is really at a premium and I don't have a bigger chunk of time to go through the whole process from start to finish. When I make my teacher appreciation cards, some birthday cards, Christmas cards, etc. I tend to make a bunch of the same design. I don't have a dedicated crafting space, so I can't always get everything out I need all at once. But, if I have the design of what I want to make and the list of supplies I need for the project, I can break it down into 5-10 minutes chunks of time. I'll get out a few punches and punch everything I'll need. Next time I might stamp the lined images I'll need, and so on. Pretty soon I have all the pieces and parts put together that I can take someplace to work on or putting all together if I have a bit more time. If you're not a planner and can't schedule in bits and pieces of time over the long term, then this method won't work too well for you, but if you are, then it's not a bad idea. If all your components have been punched, colored, etc. ahead of time then you could take your kits someplace after your husband goes to bed to work on them elsewhere. You'd like my husband - he can sleep through anything, so even if he went to bed, I could still be up working and he wouldn't have a clue.
My first thought: relegate hubby to the couch! LOL, I'm such a byotch! Seriously thought, I'm assuming you don't have a spare bedroom, garage, attic, den or other room you could convert?
Too bad I can't get it to you, but I have something that might really help. It's actually a computer armoir that folds up. I got it at an office supply store like Staples or Office Max. There's lots of room both inside and on top and you can close it up so it looks like just another piece of furniture in your living room. Then you could be there when hubs is sleeping. I've attached a pic for you.
I gave up years ago on having anything extra-even a reading light-in our bedroom. DH worked nights for years and it permanently messed up his sleeping patterns. So I'd get it all out of there and move everything into a corner of the living room or another room. Once it's done, you'll be happy and wonder why you didn't do it sooner!
Sorry Michelle, I couldn't help but giggle. Spare bedroom... my friends would howl.
You see, we had all this extra space in our 1100 sq ft home, so we decided to have nine (yes that is the number 9) children so we wouldn't waste any of that space. Yeah.
Believe it or not, our house is not packed with stuff... or even people. I'm fanatical about not producing wall-to-wall furniture anywhere, so while the kids do have triple bunk beds, the rest of the house is fairly normal. People always ask how we live in that "itty bitty house" (It really does look TINY from the outside) but once they walk through they always say, "Wow! I had no idea you have so much space!"
You know, the garage redo though... I was planning on kicking the college students out there when they're studying but I could go out there if I took a corner for my stuff... hmmmm hadn't thought of that. Wonder if Kevin'll get that done before I learn to hate paper...
LOL, the way you were talking, I assumed there wasn't any "extra" space!
My hubby is going to redo the garage for me this summer and I can hardly wait! Like you, I like to have everything at hand or I tend to forget and just use what's there. I do have a decent sized room now, but it's really not very convenient and besides, I'm a greedy son of a gun! ;)
Oh, my. I mentioned my dilemma to Kevin today and his response?
"Well, then we fix it. What's the point of having a few hours to yourself every night and having the tools and supplies to use then if you can't do it?" He also mentioned that he probably isn't sleeping anyway so I might as well go retrieve what I want. I didn't have the heart to tell him that it'd take more work than it's worth to get it all... and then put it back..
So, now to find or create furniture that takes up the lower half of walls and/or the back of my living room closet... or maybe there is the hall closet. Wonder if I got the albums out of there, if we could put the one closet into the other... and give me the big one... or a lot of it... hmmmmmmm
Anyway, back to wookiemouse and see what she has for design ideas I guess.
The good news is, I can still shop for fun stuff this weekend... I'm gonna keep stampin'!
when i first started stamping all my supplies were about what you are showing on that shelf but i had them in heavy stationary boxes ( pretty ones) and my desk in my living room is an antique sofa table ( so open on the bottom) and i stacked the boxes under that desk in plain sight and played on the kitchen table) (and this was in a house less then 1000 sq feet) It can be done, thats nice that hubs is on board with helping you figure out a way to do it and a place you can move everything to.
Well, my closet isn't that shallow. It's an old 50's house with narrower and deeper closets.
The fact is, we've been here 22 years. If I don't make it work, hubby will probably get fed up and insist we buy a bigger house. Um, I don't WANT a bigger house, so I make sure I keep this one functioning well.
However, I'm excited about the possibilities... I'll be spending my next few days trying to figure this all out!
Yippeeeeeeee
LOVE that woman's closet though. That was amazing.
I'm off to check out knockoff furniture again... maybe we can build something to go in here. Love that blog.
Ok... What do you think would be MOST important to have available outside my bedroom.
I'm thinking stuff like...
Cutter
Paper
Scissors
Adhesive
Ink
What else?
I'm thinking I could choose a stamp set and any punches that I'd need before he went to bed, and keep them in a basket. Just put them away in the morning and fill up a new basket the next morning.
I too craft in a corner of my bedroom. I had DH put up a privacy curtain for me. We used 2 large eye screws, some coated wire & 2 Kingsize Flat sheets. When I have the curtain closed there's just a faint glow of light on the sleeping side. I'd take pictures to show up but that requires cleaning the area up first :P
I have the computer armoire that michelle328 has. I've had it forever and when I got a laptop computer, I needed to either repurpose it or get rid of it. So it's now my stamp studio in my guest room. Works great!
What about a fold down table from the closet? Kinda like those fold down ironing boards. Then you could store everything in the closet, but also have a table to craft on in the same space.
I have plenty of space to work with... just need a storage system and a good idea of what TO store.
I think I'm going to put shallow shelves at the back of my living room closet (deep and narrow coat closet_ and put stuff on there. We'll have to move the rod, but who cares.!
I stamp along the wall/corner of my dining room. I started off with a single drawer, but suffice to say after 4 years of stamping I outgrew that drawer. LOL. I recently re-did my area so I could store everything neatly without taking up a whole lot of space. I bought a cube organzier from Closet Maid (at Lowe's) and a drawer. I used baskets and shelves that I already had and put it together. I like to have an open work space so I use a desk that I already had and two folding tables from Office Max.
I'm not sure how much room you can squeeze out of a community room, but I can say after re-organizing my stuff I can actually eat in my dining room again.
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I have a rolling toolbox that I take to scrap at friends' houses. It holds my paper trimmer, ink, ribbon piercing tools & mats, embellies in a Craftmate container, Cropadile, markers, & unmounted stamp sets & blocks, some paper & punches. It will fit my Cricut in the bottom & 12x12 paper if I need it to. You will have to plan ahead for set & paper & punch needs tho.
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Bridget
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Rethinking organization...
