My Studio Revamped

My studio resides in my basement, which at one point was an unfinished, dingy area. It’s been an ongoing project to beautify and make it more of a creative retreat than just a corner of the dingy basement. I looked for a before pic so you could see just how far this place has come, but couldn’ t find one. When hubby moved in, we had to move the guest room down here as well, so you’ll see the bed in the background.

I moved the chair (it’s ugly) but this is where I normally sit.

 On this bookshelf, I keep the stuff I use most. I have several of the 3-drawer, $5 Walmart do-dads and here’s the categories I have in them:

Tools: Adhesives, Misc Tools (stamp cleaner, brayer, etc), and Cutting tools 
Color: Inkpads, Favorite Coloring Media (pastels, colored pencils) and another drawer of coloring media
Embellishments: Hardware, Paper embellishments, and ?(I forget at the moment what the last drawer is)
Projects: Scraps of patterned paper; Current projects (cards and such I’ve recently created); and Do-overs (images I’ve stamped and done nothing with or cardfronts that I will eventually turn into cards to give away)
On the top shelf there’s another organizer for Scrapbook stuff: Finished scrapbook pages (sometimes I create them but they don’t really go in an album, so they live here)Photos to be filed, Memorobilia (ticket stubs, etc I want to scrapbook)

So what else do I keep on the bookshelf?

Top row: I have several boxes of photos, but just keep the most current one or two on these shelves; Small baskets with current stamp sets in CD cases; a smaller 3-drawer organizer for things like gel pens, CS already cut to card size;
Middle row: in black photo boxes, I keep ribbon on rolls, and loose ribbon. In the green basket, I keep punches (I don’t have a huge collection,but the ones I have are too big for the drawers).
Bottom row: A basket with new stamp sets waiting to be cut out, or put into CD cases,a basket to stash stuff that needs to be put away, and a tray to slide projects in process out of the way.

So I guess I was really on a color coordinating kick when I did these containers about a year ago. Before, they were functional but industrial looking. I used TAC’s Sands of Time scrapbooking paper to beautify them and hide the contents. Then I used the big alphabet letters to label them. I may be weird, but it makes me happy to live in a coordinated, beautiful room.

I painted this old bookcase, the paper keeper on the table, and the corner cabinets a friend gave me. In the cabinets I keep misc. stuff like things to be altered and embossing powder (I like to keep them in plastic tubs so I can just dip my paper in and shake off). In this paper holder, I keep 12 x 12 paper sorted by color. (I keep the TAC current sets together in my paper taker under the table). You’ll notice my little TV/CD player. I got that for $6 at the 1/2 of 1/2 store. I sometimes listen to audio books or music CDs when I work. The narrow silver shelf on the left is a bathroom organizer I bought years ago and re-purposed. I keep lesser – used items here: envelopes, notecards, older photos, wider ribbon, paints, etc. To the left of that I have a CD tower with older stamp sets.

You’re probably wondering why I still have a Christmas tree up. It’s actually my wizard of Oz tree with my favorite Oz ornaments. I have a little theme going with the ruby slipper, OZ birdhouse and Oz character cows on the bookshelf. I haven’t yet hung any pics downstairs, so there’s more decorating to be done. Oh yes, and I like to keep a yummy smelling candle on the candle warmer.

This is one of my favorite organizing tools. My friend Niki gave it to me several years ago and it’s been invaluable for organizing my papers. On the bottom row, I keep 8 1/2 x 11 paper organized by color family. Directly above, I keep scraps. The top row is for things like packages of paper I haven’t opened,alphabet stamp sets, catalogs, TAC’s 8×8 and 9X9 scrapbook collections, scrap paper, vellum, etc. You may wonder why I have this turned on it’s side. I simply can reach more stuff and can flip through the papers in each section easier than if they were stacked in a pile.

 

Before the transformation, the walls were dingy dark paneling. I used drywall mud to texture right over the paneling and painted them this celery green and a few of the other walls a robin’s egg blue (I didn’t get that area completely clean and tidy). If I had taken another pic to the right, you’d see a glider and klik-klak (sorta like a futon/couch), a bathroom, and an area where I keep my fine art stuff. I do enjoy having the TV/DVD player down there. It’s nice to “watch” movies while I create. Of course I normally get comedies or light hearted movies, since I am mostly listening and not watching. I made the white armoire with the shutter doors for my living room in Wichita. It didn’t work in this house, so it’s perfect for my studio. Inside, I have all my gift wrap, bags, ribbon, tissue paper organized (for the time being).

 

And here’s my favorite little stamping buddy, Rajah. Since the dogs don’t come downstairs often (without coaxing anyway), he finds this a quiet retreat as well.

So anyway, that’s my studio….as clean as it gets, too. It’s been buried for the last 6 months, so it’s so nice to have it re-emerge! Come on over sometime, there’s plenty of room for friends!

~ by tawnyamarie on March 23, 2009.