a (real-life) scraproom tour

so, I thought I'd show the 5-cent tour of my crafting space. Now, keep in mind that this is real life, not anything staged-- so, this is what it looks like when I'm working in it. It's not exactly 'clean' but it's organized enough for me to find what I need (usually). I started out standing pretty much in the center of the room, and I took the pictures going clockwise around the room.

my desk, from the Container store- my primary workspace.
(notice the Diet Dr. Pepper, one of my essential supplies!)

my ancient television, in the corner of the room. If I'm not watching a DVD,
I usually have the Boomerang cable channel on to watch retro cartoons.

Sometimes the cats come up and hang out with me; in that case, I'll have to move some of the stuff so they can look out the window. I picked up the rolling liquor (?) tray table thing at an estate sale. It holds my extra page protectors, as well as unfinished and finished SB pages in boxes. Next to it is my Cropper Hopper paper storage which holds hanging file folders.

the cropper hopper hanging files hold pretty much my entire collection of patterned paper, arranged in my own particular order- sort of by manufacturer, as well as the 'mood' of the paper. The box above it holds any patterned paper sheets that have been cut into and are no longer 12x12.

 The cropper hopper is another piece that's been in my collection for years- I think I bought it about 15 years ago, and it's been holding my patterned paper ever since. The basket part lifts out so I can take it with me to crops (since I like to have all my supplies with me, lol!). Plus, it helps keep my collection of paper contained- I don't want to ever have more 12x12 patterned paper than what fits in here- otherwise, there's just too much for me to be comfortable with, and I know I need to thin out my collection. 

The wall opposite the desk is entirely full of shelves, both bookshelves and adjustable hanging shelves on the wall. I got these shelves about 15 years ago, too (also at the Container store) and have used them in every crafting space I've ever had- they're the best thing for holding all the 'stuff' that comes with my many different types of crafts. I also have two Ikea bookshelves, which are arranged one on either side of the hanging shelves.

the left-hand bookshelf holds my art journals, some art books, various other books
(incuding some of my childhood favorites- thanks, Mom!), and a number of cigar boxes
that I use for storing various smaller-size crafting and scrapping supplies.

a view of the hanging shelves, plus the 2x2 cube Expidit shelf (also from Ikea)
that holds my vintage typewriter and various other supplies.
The wooden table also came from Ikea, and is my secondary work surface.
(it used to be our kitchen table, actually- lol!)

a closer view of a couple of the shelves. I recently re-organized alot of my supplies
into these 12x12 plastic boxes, and I like this system a lot. Things are organized
into categories so they're easy to find, and the boxes are easy to look through.

farther along the same shelves-- I can display my latest completed scrapbook page, there's still some empty space for displaying other things, and my paper cutters and sewing templates are easily accessible right next to my work surface.

 and, now for the total 'reality-check' part of the tour- the closet:

The closet had doors on, but we took them off to give easier access to the space inside. This is the 'not-so-neat' part of my crafting space-- it's various spaces and boxes hold my acrylic paints, random vintage books I use for journaling, and rolled sheets of paper, along with boxes of fabric, sewing supplies, cross-stitching fabric, polyfil stuffing, etc. and other things I don't need to access very often. 

and last but not least, one of the newest / oldest items in my crafting space, my pencil sharpener, which is attached to the wall next to the closet:

this pencil sharpener came from my Grandma's house, and had been 'lost' for quite
a while, till I re-organized my crafting space and found it again!

Thanks for coming along on the nickel tour of my crafting space! Right now, I'm not actually not working in this space, though- lol! go fgure, right?!? I've got my computer, photo printer, and idea books spread all over the table in the kitchen, planning scrapbook pages and layouts, and editing / printing photos.