my art studio | home

My art studio. My scrapbook room. My sewing room. My office. My room has many functions. I have a 9×10 room off the living room. The trim work’s not done (the ceiling either) but I love it! It also has no door, and being right off the living had to look like part of the house.
Here’s a little peek into my creative space.
(be warned… lots of talking and pictures ahead).

note: I posted this on the MSS blog as well, but because it’s part of my home I wanted to archive it here as well.

My counter.
I LOVE this counter. It used to be in the store on the video side. When we had to rearrange the shop (because I moved to the front) we stored it my house till I’d be able to use it. It was going to go in our addition… but that’s taking too long… so I moved it in my room!

I store my empty mini books (in baskets and containers) in there as well as my ribbon, misc. stickers, etc.


The one piece of glass in the front had a crack, so I actually bust both sides out so I could access my stuff from the front (it sits in front of the bump-out, so I couldn’t get at that one side from the back anyhow).

On the side of my counter I hung a wire basket I picked up at an antique place. It’s the perfect size. Here I toss my newest products.

On top of my counter I keep my Making Memories Carosel, a little bowl of buttons, a blue colinder (where I keep my treading water punch, corner rounder and the cropodile) and an antique bowl for little odds and ends. From where I stand I look into the living room.

When I’m scrapping my trimmer and photos are beside me on a bump-out that is on top of the basement stairwell.

Behind me is the “closet” which is mostly relegated to work stuff. My computer lives in here, as well as my sewing machine.


I store my cardstock in the Cropper Hopper vertical storage at the bottom of the closet. Above that is a basket for extra tools, Red Star Studio stamps and other misc. stuff.
On the shelves I have boxes and/or baskets for extra adhesive, cards, frames, my Bind-it-all, idea books, photos, canvases, memorabilia etc. Our house was built in 1890 and without closets… so this closet in my room tends to hold all that kind of stuff.

Beside me is a window looking into the back.

On that window sill I have some jars holding more “antique-y” supplies.

To the left of the window I have a 25-slot paper rack (the same kind as in the shoppe). I store my favorite patterned papers on here by manufacturer. KI, October Afternoon, etc. I use sheets of chipboard with labels on them to remind me what’s where.


Underneath the window is an old bench I picked up. There’s a basket for scraps and another for misc. manufacturers. These are sorted in those 12×12 plastic envelopes and also labeled. I keep my 12×12 sticker sheets and die-cuts in here as well.

Beside that I have a black Expedit from IKEA.
There’s a lot of decorative items on there, as well as supplies.

Jenni Bowlin products are in one basket.

Miscellaneous items in another.

Brads all loose in a square tin (it’s so much fun to dig in there!).

Scenic Route chipboard in one glass jar. American Crafts felt and chipboard in another.

Stamps in the bottom shelves (in baskets and the Making Memories Stamp Binder) And so on and so on. All tagged and labeled.

What made the most difference for me, scrapbooking-wise, was when I recently took all my journaling supplies and put them in a basket (no longer organized by manufacturer). Now I actually journal! Before I’d never leave room for it.

The wall across from me when I work is the work-horse. Three pieces of furniture that hold the bulk of my stuff.

First there’s a wood tool box from Costco (painted white). The drawers are nice and shallow. The bottom drawer holds my punchs. One draw stores page protectors, another projects I’ve made, etc. My little (old) TV sits on top.

Beside the toolbox is a large dresser (also painted white).

I removed the drawers (which were super heavy and didn’t open nicely anyway) and put in baskets.

These baskets hold products from my favorite manufacturers. KI, Heidi Swapp, Making Memories. One basket holds flowers. Another alterable items (tins, etc.). And two hold photography supplies (envelopes, tins, etc. for my business).
The top two small “drawers” on the dresser hold my DVD player and a basket for label stickers.

On top of the dresser I have a large glass jar for buttons, a wooden toolbox for wooden stamps, misc. jars (holding photo corners, bulldog clips, Making Memories flowers, binder rings) and a large canister for chipboard (that I scored for $2 and saw at an antique place for $28! Ha!)

Above the toolbox and dresser I hung a door that I took out of the old house on our property (the house I see when I look out that window). It was the perfect shade of green/blue. And man are those old doors heavy! I use this door as my inspiration board… or at least that’s the intent.

And, the last section of my room (if you’re still with me) I have a little wooden cabinet I picked up (and painted white! Are you surprised?? LOL). It was used in an office I think.


I love the little slots and use them to sort Thickers (3 slots), Scenic Route stickers, Doodlebug stickers, Basic Grey rub-ons and chipboard, and so on.
I also have wire baskets for ephemera and found papers, one for envelopes, one for cardmaking supplies, one for unfinished projects and one for old books.
I store my fabric on top.

Above this cabinet I have a small shelf I found at the thrift store and…. can you guess?… painted white.

I keep all my little embellishments in jars on here. Little clips, Making Memories buttons, Heidi Swapp tags, little spooled ribbons… anything little that would look good out of it’s packaging!

So, this is where I am for now (one day when our addition is started/finished I’ll be moving my space up into the loft).