Recently I shot the opening introduction of one of my product reviews using my webcam in my craft room (I call it “the Studio.”) I got some *ahem* comments about how messy my space is, how it looks familiar, and yes, one lady even asked me “How do you work in such a messy space?”
So I thought I’d open a dialogue and maybe even start a new bi-monthly series of videos.
I made another little webcam vid and I share a quickie 360-tour of my room. And now I’m open for questions!
So I’m open for questions about crafting, storage, organization, and tips! I’ll leave this open for 2 weeks or so we can get some good comments and questions, and then I’ll post another video.
Fire away!!
- Spooky Spider Halloween Bookmark Craft - October 24, 2018
- Review and Demo of LDRS Hybrid Ink Pads - October 15, 2018
- Review and Demo of Nuvo Hybrid Inks - October 1, 2018
- Craft Studio Tour and Organization Ideas - September 20, 2018
- Wax Paper Resist Background Technique - March 20, 2018
- Comparison of Liquid Watercolor Markers/Pens - March 16, 2018
- SAI Japanese Traditional Watercolor Brush Markers- Review & Demo - February 23, 2018
- Rinea Metallic Foil Paper & Ghost Ink Review - February 21, 2018
- Jane Davenport debuts at Creativation 2018 & Watercolor Card - February 13, 2018
- Creativation 2018: New Product Showcase - January 20, 2018
Diane says
Not so very different from my upstairs workspace but I bet you actually create a lot more stuff in there than I do in mine! Right now I have a young dog who is not yet allowed free range of the house (he’s a paper snatcher) and so I mostly stay downstairs and weave safely behind a baby gate. He likes strings, too. 🙂
Thanks for being comfortable in your messiness.
Diane
Patricia says
My craft room is messy like that, too, but I can’t work in it, there is no open space, so I have taken over my kitchen table. This is not ideal because all the stuff is upstairs, when I need it!
I would love some ideas as to better organization of a small space. In fact, I have been pondering moving my studio to the master bedroom and sleeping in the smaller room. After all, I spend more time creating!!
Lynn kubic says
Can you share ideas for marker storage please
Darlene S says
Hi Jenny! It’s your cruise and craft buddy from Dec/Jan! um, we need to see the photo studio too! My craftroom is kinda jekyll and hyde. One side is neat and organized and the other side is crammed full and stacked high. That side has become the catchall for the rest of the house.
What do you keep in the card catalog?
I am planning a new room, but cant seem to find any real life examples of rooms where people use their Silhouette/Cricut. I find plenty of stamping, ssewing rooms, etc. But no true die cut rooms. In all the pics, I guess their machines are packed away in a cabinet!
Cris says
SO?? A clean desk is a sign of a sick/ non-creative mind IMO – LOL! So long you can find what you want/need who cares if it’s DISORGANIZED. It’s not messy, just your way of trying to store SOOOOO much stuff! and oh i’m on your side that there is just too much wonderful stuff out there and not enough really useful storage solutions that don’t cost an arm & a leg.
Stay calm and craft on!! 🙂
Traci says
LOVE your studio! You have even more treasures than I do…and that’s saying something. Where did you find that wonderful card catalog…and what do you keep in there? I see a tape gun there…what brand and which do you prefer? Thanks so much for your reviews! I can’t tell you how much grief you have saved me by posting them.
If a neat studio is the sign of a boring woman, then we are approaching magnificent!
Jenie says
My boyfriend and I go rounds about this all the time; it’s not a mess it’s art in the process!
My craft room unfortunately is our office too so he has to go in there sometimes. Any tips on how to keep it comfortable for both a creative and non creative mind.
Georgia Browne says
You perform an amazing service to us and I can see that with all your supplies, it might become overwhelming. I think that floor to ceiling open shelving might be helpful to you. Label them of course but you might be able to see things more easily/quickly. I did that in my studios both in Cold Spring Harbor, NY and my other home in Boynton Beach, Fl and now I can find things that I need in a second. Upright standards fastened to the wall and then movable shelving (get them at Home Depot has saved me from becoming crazy with all my ‘stuff’. As your dog to help.
Susan Shrader says
I believe it has been said that a messy desk is the sign of a creative mind. I feel it must be correct, because you are amazing and creative. You also give the best reviews. Love your site. My desk is also messy, so I like to believe I am also creative. As said earlier, if you can find what you need (sometimes it takes a little rummaging around) it doesn’t matter how messy it is! Keep up the great work. Looking forward to the next update. Storage ideas would be good.
g says
If it works for you, keel it up. I personally discribe my studio sts as “a thrift store exploded”
Susan Lang says
With your blog, I am sure reviewing products just makes it hard to keep your desk organized. You have many products and we all know as crafty people we all have lots of supplies. But I think creativity if stifled when you cannot find things and I am sure you waste time looking for things. Visit Jennifer McGuire’s blog since I think she is the expert on organization of all these stamps, dies, inks and papers we seem to have collected. I must say your disorganization does not show up in your videos on reviewing product so neatness is a concern of yours. Love your blog, always interesting information to think about.
Sara Ross says
Mine looks about like that. What do you store in the card catalog? I’m still trying to get organized so I can find what I have — magically acquired stuff much more quickly than I made decisions about how to organize! Embellishments are a big problem for me still — perhaps I just have too many (and I save everything I think I might use). Your room obviously works for you and I say that’s the most important thing! I admire organization but it can get to the point of 90 percent organizing and only 10 percent creating. I speak as someone who once thought keeping my home in perfect order was more important than smelling the roses! Keep up the good work — you are GREATELY appreciated!
Judy says
Thank You so much for all the helpful reviews. Always learning and it is wonderful to be able to see products in action. Your personal space should be what you feel comfortable with and most importantly where you can find what you need. You do a great service to all crafters and give suppliers an opportunity to showcase their products which likely some of we would never be aware of if it weren’t for your reviews. Thanks again !!
Melodie Fairburn says
I love you video..,you are beautiful, fun and full of knowledge. Not to mention you are a Red Head too, like me.
I am constantly changing my organization systems. Things grow in size or I don’t use items much anymore, so I am shuffling things around and reorganizing.
Keep up the great work giving us amazing information.
A huge fan, Melodie
Cindy says
A cluttered craft room means that your are busy producing. However, I find that eventually my table gets full and I have a tiny area to work in and stuff falls off on the floor etc. I heard a simple idea. As you are working and are done with a product (ink, tools, etc.) put them in a “I’m done with you basket.” After the project is done, sort the basket. This might keep the work surface clean. Now I haven’t tried this yet as I saw it on another blog (sorry, can’t remember who). I work in a very small space and it is challenging. I really think you have to work in your space and change it and change it again until it works for you. Thanks for your blog – I enjoy it.
Joan says
My husband is always teasing me about the hoard in my craft room. I showed him your room and he walked back in mine, looked around, and said, “Hmmm, yours is looking pretty good!” No more complaints from him, I guess!
Seriously, can you find things in there? Even the dog wanted out! I tend to have only a little stuff coming in once in awhile and I immediately secrete it away in storage, and you are probably flooded with incoming products for testing. I can see how the onslaught would be difficult to store. I love just about any kind of storage (file drawer, deep drawers, shelves, shallow drawers, pockets, boxes, and on and on), but my suggestion would be to fill wall space as high as you can reach with a variety of storage solutions. But first, weed out the excess and invite us all to your garage sale.
Kris says
Thanks, Jenny, for all you do for us! I’ve learned a lot and appreciate your succint and easily understandable tutorials and reviews!
We all are comfortable in our own style of tidiness or not, as it were. I’ve been trying to organize my space for at least a year and have too much of everything. I have “zones of chaos”, but know where everything is. Well, almost everything! I always enjoy those times wher I come upon something I had completely forgotten I’d purchased! 🙂
Do you do a regular purge and do you know of organizations that can use our perfectly good craft supplies and tools that we’ve moved on from? I have 6 diecutting machines, for corn’s sakes, and I would love to donate some of them.
How do you store your punches?
Do you have a defined “shelf life” for your adhesives and paints?
Thanks for the dialogue!
Laurie Hunt says
Hi jenny! This isn’t really a question but a comment and my own experience. Thank you for being real! My TWO craft rooms in the house is just moved out of both looked like that. I have now moved and was scared to try to get everything I had in two rooms stored and able to be found in one room of the new house. What I found was that I had hodge lodged everything in to my old rooms as I gathered more and more good stuff. Since taking everything out and being forced to put it all away with som semblance of order, I have. I’ve done just that. It is all in one room (still putting the finishing touches on things but it is mostly all put away. I canny imagine having done it in the old house, but it has worked like a charm in this house without buying any new furnishings or storage. Yay. It looks pretty tidy today, but give me a week or two and I’ll have it feeling lived in.
Carol Lewellen says
I love it! We creative folks often jump from project to project, so it is not a surprize that it looks like a bomb hit it. When it gets so tight that I can’t move around ( it is also my office too) I start to clean it up, but often I just move stuff from one pile or box to another. I have laid down the law that I have to finish at least two projects before I can start another! It works in theory, but sometimes life gets in the way. Can’t wait to see how to solve all these problems
Connie says
Sure glad to see I’m not the only one who has too much stuff for her place! I, too, would like to know how you do your computer, silhouette and other embossing machines, etc. Thanks for sharing so willingly.
Kathy says
After seeing your craft room I”m convinced that the two of us could open our own craft store. Lucky for me I have a daughter to pass along all of my unused goodies. She may not always want them but she gets them anyways! Thanks for sharing.
Dale Rose Stream says
I agree that a messy craft space is a sign of creativity and being busy being crafty!!!! Koodos to you for showing your entire space AND opening it up to comments and questions! We can never seem to get enough of this, can we? My immediate thought was: Do you organize your paper &/or products by MANUFACTURER or THEME????? I do BOTH, because that’s how I scrap. IE 3B product is separate from my Anna Griffin product, each subdivided by theme AND/OR COLOR as well! My basic embts such as buttons, flowers, etc are in color bins unless I look at them and I immediately think “Christmas, baby girl, travel..” etc. Thanks again, Tweet, tweet, tweet, and SCRAP ON!
Cynthia F says
I think it’s difficult if you do more than one craft — like I can’t figure out how to balance my scrapbook/card making with my jewelry. And you do SOOO much more! At least you can safely escape in case of a fire and there’s room for your dog to lie down. I’m not sure I can currently say the same about my room. My only suggestion: Add a bed/cushion for Ginger.
TerryAnn says
Your craft room gave me wonderful memories of my former craft room. I really, really miss it, BUT!, my husband and I adopted an 11 year old girl and she got “the room”. I moved all of my stuff into our bedroom and have made it workable. She was definitely worth it all, but I still do miss my craft cave a lot.