Welcome to Part 4 of a 10-part series called Where We Scrap, where our bloggers share their scrap space with you. This week, Connie Nichol is sharing her space.
I don’t have a fancy place to scrap but I am grateful to have my own little corner of the house to make a creative mess. When I started to scrapbook about 11 years ago after baby #2 was born, the only available spot in the house was in the basement next to the chest freezer. So, I put a table next to the freezer and worked on that. Of course over time the table filled up with ‘stuff’, so I used it more for storage and did my actual scrapbooking on top of the freezer. I vastly prefer to scrap standing up, especially when I am stamping, so this works perfectly except when somebody wants something from the freezer (“Mom, can you move your stuff so I can get some ice cream???”).
I would love to have big windows and natural light to work in some day but I’m stuck in the basement so my lighting is an overhead fluorescent and 2 Ott lights. I bought these ‘daylight’ lamps at Costco and they make all the difference. I usually work directly on top of an old desk calendar. One can pick these up pretty cheap a few months after the New Year or sometimes you can get lucky and even find them for free in the recycle bin. I love working on this calendar paper pad, because not only can I just pick it up and move the majority of the mess off of the freezer to allow interior access, but it is the perfect spot to ‘stamp off’, test a stamp to make sure I have it right side up, dab excess glue or paint, etc. Then, once this top layer of paper gets yucky, I just rip it off and start fresh on the next month.
Over time, my scrapbook stuff multiplied and I filled the little freezer room completely. And kind of oozed out into the neighboring laundry area and furnace room. Oops. I blame the rubber stamping. A rubber stamp collection can take up a lot of room, especially with a big collection of inks, embossing powders and so on. I store most of my wood-mounted stamps on shelves so I can see what I’ve got and remember to use it. The little door that you see in this picture is into my cold room, but my family often has to navigate through a maze of paper piles on the floor to get to it. The floor comes in handy when I am in a creative frenzy. 😉
I am very visual. I like to see as much as I can, otherwise I forget I have it. So, over the years, I have added more and more shelves to the wall (most are from Ikea) and hung up a few bulletin boards. I pin embellishments and stamps I want to use, inspiring quotes and sample strips from all the border punches I have acquired over the years. I have a weakness for border punches.
I also have a magnetic board that I purchased at Ikea to hold things that I don’t want to prick holes in. The bottom layout is from a class I took from Ingvold Bolme – I love it but it is too dimensional to fit into my scrapbooks.
On the other side of my little room, I have a tiny table that holds my sewing machine. I find that if my sewing machine is not out and ready to go, it does not get used. The same is true for my Cricut. The hotel key holder is from Jenni Bowlin and it is great for storing washi tape on.
For the most part, I store most of my paper vertically in Cropper Hopper paper holders. It works for me, especially for cardstock. I store seasonal papers or specific paper lines in jumbo ziplock storage bags from Zellers or pizza boxes.
I have two cats and they both love to scrapbook. Rusty is an especially good helper, because he sneaks up behind me with no notice and launches himself onto the top of the freezer, often landing in a puddle of paint, a pile of embossing powder or a glob of glue. Oh well. It just adds to the fun.
Thanks for joining me in this look at my scrap space in the moment of time that it was actually clean!
To view more of Connie’s work, visit her blog, Every Day’s An Adventure.
Comments
I love your space! It is so functional and real-I like that it isn’t just “pretty” but that you have things out so you can access easily! I have a room but wish I had a freezer like yours to work on! thanks for sharing-I am definitely going to use some of your ideas-btw I have 5 kitties that like to scrap with me too!
Love the tip about working off a desk calendar – great idea!!
Well, now I need to go buy a chest freezer for my studio! It’s the perfect height to stand and scrap! I’m so impressed with your organization in this space Connie. wow. Love the border punch visuals and that hotel key holder for washi….really cool idea. And I adore those pics of your kitties 🙂
I love that you have so much out where you can see it and get to it without having to go through everything. The idea of the desk calendar is brilliant!
LOVE your space connie!!!
What a cool place!!!!
So nice and clean ! Everything is visibly accessable and still uncluttered. Love the pizza box idea !
I love that your space looks more like an everyday scrappers’s space. I love to see all the fancy studios out there but the sad reality for me is that I can’t afford them, and if I could I’d never scrap in them. Out of site = out of mind. If I can’t see it I must not have it.
I especially love the pictures of your cats helping. :)Rusty really reminds me of Bouncer. But Bouncer used to do that with crossword puzzles. 🙂
Wonderful “real” space. Love how you have worked with the space you have and made it work. Great storage ideas.
Connie, thanks for sharing your space with us. Before reading, I was wondering if you used the chest freezer for storage….LOL!! I need to get some shelves and get my stuff more visable. Love the key holder for storing washi tape.
Love how you’ve made your space work for you and set it up to use what you have! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Ah Connie…a woman after my own heart… I too am a border punch addict …:) ! Fabulous job fitting sooooo much in your space… I crafted in my laundry room for years and my dear mother was HORRIFIED at all the paint , ink and glue all over my washer and dryer …and made me promise to not do that to my new appliances lol.
My cat sadly does not share my love of scrapping { all though she does love to spread her lovely white fur all over my scrap chair when she can sneak into it..and secretly sniggers at my fur covered butt ] but I am kept company by my dog Jasper…who loves to lie under my scraptable . 🙂
Thanks for sharing your space Connie! I love it! The visual border punch sample is a brilliant idea!
Loved seeing your work space and all of your organization ideas! Love the punch examples on the bulletin board. I usually only work with what is out in the open too, I need to be able to see it or else it is too much trouble to find it. Wonderful job organizing! Thanks for sharing!
Katie B.
You have a great scrap space and managed to organize it wonderfully.
Love the kitty cats!!! 😉
This is such a great scrap room in REAL LIFE too! What’s neat is seeing things in pictures, that I didn’t see while standing in there! LOL! Connie ALWAYS has great ideas to share!
🙂
Hi Connie! Thanks so much for sharing your creative space. I live in a 1 bedroom, 3rd floor apt. with one and a half closets for storage. I have several storage cupboards bought from Canadian Tire and the same plastic tower drawers that you have. My scrapbooking supplies are in two opposite corners of the living room…giggle…and it gets a little cramped, to say the least. I love your storage and organization ideas…they will come in handy. I have one kitty…Mittens and she says “meow” to your kitties. 😉 Happy Scrappin’!
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