Get Ready, Get Set.... Create!

Before I get started on this new creative adventure, I felt I should somewhat organize my art space.  But first, a little background...

My art space had been in about 1/3 of the room we refer to as our "homeschool" room.  It was small and cramped, but I was grateful to have it.  However, I NEVER had privacy, and I have a great distaste for being "watched" while I work (it makes me extremely self conscious).  My children (especially when they were small) would wander into it and borrow (ha!) whatever they thought they needed.

About 14 months ago, my husband decided that for a gift for me, he would convert half the garage to an art space for me.  Downside, I have to share it with the deep freeze, washer/dryer, and some other storage items... BUT, it has a door and the kids stay out!  And I could organize it the way I wanted to, including paint color. 

I moved in about a year ago.  I have a LOT of stuff, but I have been doing art of some sort since I was a child, and really began to get into rubber stamping and mixed-media back in 1989, so I have 21+ years of supplies, paper, etc.

Here are some pictures of what it looks like:

 

When you walk in the door, my area is to the left.  This is what you see.  It is two 4' x 8' folding tables we have had for years put together in an "L" shape.

 

This is what is on the first table.  The baskets on the pegboard are left over from my son's nursery.  The wire shelving they are on were freezer shelves from an old freezer my husband found.  In the center you can see the old cassette rack I found years ago at McDougal's, that I keep my excess ink pads on.

 

Another view.  The old picture, to the right of the calendar, is my mother's baby picture.

 

A small shelving unit (we have had since we first got married!) that has some boxes of stamps, along with cropper hopper paper organizers (with the paper sorted by either manuf. or style).

 

I bought a bunch of the Lisa/Becky Rail System items when my husband put this together for me.  I love them (and am so sad they are no longer made).  These shelves hold my prima flowers, buckets of markers, some inks, and stamps.

 

More Rail System Shelves.

 

You can see here the paint racks that hang on the rail system... there are three, two with paint, one with my glimmer mists.  I also have two shelves that have my disstress pads, and on the desk is my heat gun, an Ott light, and my new fave item, my magnetic cutting mat with ruler!

 

The right side of the work area... my mini clip-it-up, a two-tier lazy susan with paint daubbers, etc.

 

close up of mini clip-it-up

 

This is directly behind my work area... several Iris carts (slowly collected over 20 years) filled with Embossing Powders, paints, glitter, adhesives, and stamps.  On top of them are more papers, stickers and a large two-tiered clip-it-up.

 

Close up of stickers.

 

These two carts were given to me by a good friend.  She had bought them on sale, and never even opened them.  They sat in her attic for years.  (They LOOK like Elfa, but they are not... but all the Elfa paraphernalia works with it, like the melamine top that has my paper cutter on it, and the basket liners.) I put paint in them, tissue papers, Fimo/Sculpy clay items, and doo-dads like eyelets and brads).  I also recycle boxes and use them as holders for my stickles, reinkers, etc. and have those in the drawers also.

 
 

Just a fun board to put cards and other items on.  I love to look at them.

 

 A view from the far end.  This area is long and narrow.

The yellow chair is one I retrieved from my neighbor's driveway (she was going to throw it away...she did say I could have it). It was a horrible shade of green, so I bought some spray paint for plastic and repainted it.  

There is more, including three shelving units with all my cardstock, my bind-it-all materials, boxes of stamps, other boxes with seasonal papers/stamps, my art-related books, and my magazines (I have every issue of Somerset Studio and Cloth Paper Scissors).  

I am going to get started this evening on my week 1 background papers.  I will post pics as soon as I can!

Have a blessed day!

Susan