My Creative Space

UPDATE

My craft room recently underwent another overhaul. The island is still in the middle, but the Michaels cubes have been replaced by Ikea Kallax units. The walls have been painted white and I did a huge reorganization and purge/destash. I'm excited to share it with you. Pictures coming soon!

My crafty space has evolved so much since I started scrapbooking in 2004. Like most scrapbookers, I first started scrapping on my dining room table. After two years of that, it was clear my crafty stash and I had outgrown the dining room and it was time to move on.

My First Craft Room

My first dedicated craft room was in one of the spare rooms in the basement which was being used as an office. It was a small space, about 11 ft x 12 ft. There is no window in this room so no natural light of any kind, and in my infinite wisdom I decided to paint the room burnt orange...why, I don't know. The computer desk and matching wall unit in that wood grain contributed to the overall darkness of the room. But it was the furniture I had available at the time and it served me well in those early days. 

Craftroom #2

It wasn't long before I outgrew that space. And quite frankly my aging eyes couldn't handle working in that dark and gloomy room anymore. By this time, I had met some crafty friends from the crops I had attended that I wanted to invite over to scrap. I had also started teaching and needed a larger space to accommodate my classes. (These are all the clever reasons I used to justify to my husband why I needed a bigger room!)

I moved into a much larger room in our basement, about 11 ft x 19 ft that we were using as a spare bedroom. I bought a new desk from Wayfair and added some Michaels and Ikea furniture. I spent a great deal of time organizing and decorating the room and was very happy with the upgrade.  

After being in the room for a little while, I soon realized that sitting for long periods of time and being hunched over while crafting wasn't doing my back any good. So I went hunting for an island but all the islands I liked cost $500 and up. It was then that I turned to Pinterest for help. Sure enough I found a DIY project that looked simple enough to create and for less than a hundred bucks, it didn't break the bank.

Ikea Linmon table tops with sawhorse legs. Chairs from Ikea too.

White desk and pink chair from Wayfair!

White frames purchased at Michael's which I painted using Vicki Boutin paints. Quotes by DCWV.

WRMK 12" x 12" paper trays. Love them!

DIY island using Ikea Linmon table top and two 6-cube organizers from Home Depot.

Michael's Cubes

Hubby made me those shelves for my ribbon spools.

Built-in bookshelf, top two rows hold all my scrapbooks.
Stamps and dies on 3rd row organized a la Jennifer McGuire mode.
4th row has extra collection kits, 6x6 paper pads, vellum, transparencies.
On the floor are two Ikea storage boxes with Project Life supplies.

Ikea Alex drawer unit where I store all my scrapbooking collections. Ink jet printer for everyday use.

Another Alex unit which houses my colour printer supplies and my PHD's (projects half done). This is the colour printer I use to print my pics at home.

I use this cart from Michael's to organize all my scraps of cardstock. Organizing it this way has been a game changer for me! I have my friend Michelle to thank for that.

My hubby made me this cute card display stand using leftover beadsboard from our kitchen reno.

A shelf I use to hold some of my mixed media/watercolouring products.

More Ikea storage boxes filled with Thickers and random embellishments.

Welcome basket with magazines and catalogues.

I love my island and I rarely use that Ikea stool. I prefer to craft standing up.

Behind the door, I have an Ikea shelf and some towel racks to hold my small stash of punches.

MY HAPPY PLACE!!