day 10 : authentic space
i have this sign framed on the wall right as you walk in/out of the craft castle that reads "creativity is messy and i am very creative" and that should sort of capture the essence of my space.
don't get me wrong, i love organization. like seriously love it. my label maker is one of my favorite tools. i love the perfection of things in their homes and alphabetizing supplies and rainbow order for all the things. but when i'm in the middle of a project or idea, it's quite possible that one spectator might think that a bomb went off.
i pull papers and stamps and ink and envelopes. they'll be sitting next to my big momma tape runner and mac daddy paper trimmer. and sooner than later, my entire desk will be covered and i'll be working in a space roughly the size of 6" x 6" - maybe. and then as i embrace the craftermath, i get to clean up and reorganize all the supplies that i'm so lucky to have. i get to be thankful for having such an amazing hobby that is also a business. and that's my favorite part.
i'm actually in the middle of a huge re-organization project where i'm going through all my drawers and cabinets and cubbies and evaluating supplies. getting rid of things that don't serve me the way that i need them to and donating to those who might appreciate things [like our local children's hospital!] but i wanted to share a glimpse of some of my favorite things.
[top left] : my stamps - which make up a decent 51% of my supplies [i'm estimating]. i have them stored in plastic sleeves and in clear containers and i know where they are stored because i have it all mapped out in an app. nope, not ocd at all.
[top right] : one of my die-cutting machines. this one is an old one but a good one. it works amazingly well for die-cutting all the metal dies i own as well as adding texture with embossing folders.
[bottom left] : colored cardstock, in roygbiv order. 90% of my solid paper is from papertrey ink because i love the way it matches all the inks i own, but i'm slowly adding in bits of lawn fawn, mft, and gina k because one can never have too much paper.
[bottom right] : buttons and rae dunn. i don't use buttons nearly enough, but they perfectly coordinate with the paper that i own and i love the way they create a nice backdrop behind my desk. the rae dunn mugs are a somewhat recent obsession and i love the motivation and encouragement they provide.
as i wrap up the organizational gutting of the craft castle, i plan to do a long post [or a series of posts] about where i got a lot of my creative decorative items and my ideas for what works for me in terms of organizing in hopes that it might help someone else. i think many crafters enjoy the process of organizing as much as they do creating!
hopefully you've enjoyed this little glimpse into the craft castle. i'm so grateful for joanne hawker and her amazing inspiration throughout this month!