Studio Calico

workspace wednesday | Stephanie Bryan

Today, we're sharing a workspace tour from our June guest designer, Stephanie Bryan. Come see where she made her beautiful projects! I love the photo grouping over her desk, and she has a few great storage ideas to share as well :

Hi everyone!  I'm so excited to share my craft space with you all today.  This room is my favorite place in the whole world and you can often find me in here.  It doubles as our guest room, but luckily, most of our family and friends live close by so I don't have to share this space too often!  I do have two little kiddos who like to think that this room is "theirs", but we all know the truth!!  :)

This is my desk area.  The table is actually an old kitchen table that I repainted.  I love how much room it has and how I can really spread everything out.  I'm kind of a neat freak, so the table top actually looks like this most of the time unless I am in the middle of a project.  I find that I work better in a clean space so I usually try to put everything back in it's right spot after I finish a project or layout and before moving onto my next project. 

I keep the "essentials" out and easily accessible on the table top.  The "THINGS" container is from Land of Nod and is perfect for holding my pens, tiny attacher, scissors, tags and some journaling cards.

I keep a small container of my favorite stamps (and most recent stamps) out on my desk as well.  I find that I'm more likely to use them if they are in my eyesight rather than in a drawer.

This little tin holds my journaling cards and filler cards for Project Life.  I use the tags to help keep them organized by theme.  When I work on my PL album, I'll usually just pull out a handful and see what fits with my spread on that particular week.  The 4x6 cards are kept at the back of this tin, along with a few notebooks and journals (you never know when you will get inspiration!!).

This little "lazy susan" holds all of my current silhouette cuts, tags, circles and labels.  It's perfect because it spins around AND each of the ceramic dishes is removable.  It definitely comes in handy when looking for the final touches for a project!  

This little basket sits under my table top and holds all of my 6x6 paper pads.  I find that I use these A LOT for Project Life, as well as for my traditional layouts.

On the other side of the room is a dresser that is perfect for storage.  I keep most of my embellishments and small items in these drawers.  I also keep my Project Life album out and open so I can work on it throughout the week if I have some free time.

Here's a peek into the top drawer of the dresser.  These little bowls from Anthropologie are perfect for keeping my odds and ends in sight.  I love being able to open these drawers up, look and see what might work with a project, grab it and go.  It definitely makes my life a little easier.  (And if you haven't noticed….everything has a place.  I'm a little weird like that….just ask my husband!!)

Other than embellishments, clips and what not, I also use these drawers to store my extra stamps, stamp pads, heat gun, glue gun, tags and stickers.

This is my craft closet.  Sorry for the poor quality photo…this closet doesn't get much light.  Here's where I keep all of my albums, mini books, and design team products.  The baskets at the top of the closet hold things I like to keep handy, but don't necessarily use everyday (think fabric, felt, iron).

And that's about it!  Thanks so much for letting me share my craft space with you today.  And a super big thanks to Studio Calico for allowing me to be the guest designer this month.  It's been pretty awesome!!  xoxo

-Stephanie Bryan

Workspace Wednesday | Dana Fleckenstein

Hello everyone! Dana here to show you some pictures of my crafty corner(s). I don't have a dedicated space just for scrapbooking, so my workspace and supplies are in different places. First, let me show you where I keep my supplies, photography equipment and finished projects.

I try to keep most of my supplies in this IKEA Bestå shelf unit. My 12x12" patterned papers (apart from Creative Team paper) are all stored by color in a multi-compartment folder from an artist supply store. 

The dies and embossing folders for my manual die-cutting machine all sit in an old container originally used for vocabulary training.

In another room, I've set up an old kitchen table with basic supplies and things I reach out the most. This is the place where I get to craft.

You can see, most of the storage solutions are simple IKEA containers. This one holds different types of adhesive, washi tapes, embellishments e.g. from previous SC kits, stamps and tags. Just things that I frequently use or plan to use up.

Another clear container is on the right of the table. It holds a small amount of letter size cardstock, PL/journaling cards, pre-scored card bases, and scraps on the one side, as well as alphabet/word stickers and thickers on the opposing side.

The big white box on the left holds my stash of current Studio Calico wholesale collections as well as my 6x6" pads (SC wholesale and kit leftovers, as well as from other manufacturers). 

Also, I have a misting box and container with all of my spray mists nearby. The colors are sorted by color groups (left to right) and saturation (brighter in front, darker in the back). For easy reference, I misted the back of old business cards with my spray mist colors and wrote the color names on the cards. That way, I know how the spray looks when dried and can see which is the right shade to go with a current project.

Well, and that is basically where I craft and how I organize my supplies. Thanks for joining me on the workspace tour! 

-Dana Fleckenstein

Workspace Wednesday | Julie Campbell

Need ideas for organizing in a small space? Julie Campbell is sharing a video tour of her attic workspace : 

 

workspace wednesday

Hi everyone!  Amanda here sharing some pictures of my workspace that hopefully will help you in organizing your workspace.  My workspace is a shared toy/computer/project room that fortunately gets plenty of light and has a good amount of space for me to work with.  Here's how I organize my supplies:


I use this container to house my current kits or any journal cards, pens, envelopes, or alphas that I know that I want to use in the layout I am working on.  I also store my scissors, my piercer, and my bone folder here.


The small kraft drawers hold paper die cuts, organized largely by shape as well as a drawer full of labels.  The acrylic organizers on top hold miscellaneous embellishments.

These acrylic organizers are great for storing sequins, veneer, clips, clothespins, and other small embellishments.


I use this basket to hold my thickers and other large-scale alphas.  


And this basket holds my washi tape collection which seems to grow by leaps and bounds as the days go on.  Who doesn't love washi tape?


I use these wood containers to hold miscellaneous envelopes, tags, and baggies.  They containers came with some silverware I purchased a few years back.  They work out well to hold small things in plain site.  Plus, they were essentially free. Can't beat that.

This tower holds stamps in the basket up top and the plastic drawers contain more die cuts, paper scraps, and chipboard embellishments.


I got the acrylic organizer to the left in the housewares aisle at Publix. It works great to separate enamel dots, journal cards, and other tags and ephemera.   The wooden box holds more labels, smaller alphas, and smaller sticker sheets.

When I am working with a kit or a specific line of products, I separate the embellishments into smaller containers so that I can access them easily.

And what would a scrapbook room be without an Ikea Raskog cart?  I stalked Ikea for weeks before I finally found one available for purchase online.


I use the top shelf to hold envelopes, tags, labels, miscellaneous embellishments, twine, ribbon, flair, and buttons.


The middle shelf holds stamp pads, Mr. Hueys, and miscellaneous tools including punches, adhesives, and staplers. Not pictured is the bottom shelf which I use to hold 6x6 paper pads.

Thanks for taking a peek at my craft space. I hope that you found some great ideas to incorporate into your space!

-Amanda Caves

workspace wednesday

This month's guest designer, Lexi Bridges, is letting us take a peek into her scrap space : 

Until 1.5 months ago I was scrapping on a concrete floor in the world's messiest scrap/storage room. "Hoarders" would not be proud. Or maybe they would. Anyway, it wasn't pretty. We turned our john deere room (an extra room in your basement to drive in your lawnmower for anyone not in the midwest) into a new space for me to scrap and teach. (I homeschool part of the week.) The room had concrete floors, part concrete walls/part unfinished walls, no light to the outside world and an unfinished ceiling. Not pretty. I've only been in this space about 6 weeks, but the remodel was well worth it. 

The desk is Ikea. That might be the theme of this room: Ikea. An orange vintage Herman Miller chair might have been the best birthday surprise ever. 

This clear container came from Target, bathroom section. It has some current favorites and project life stuff. My much used selphy printer sits right beside. 

I made a few simple shelves with just pine boards and Ikea brackets. They serve a decorating and practical purpose: a place to put books I never have time to read...

a spot for my instax camera so I remember to use it, gold dinosaurs (because every room needs a gold dino or two, right?)...

and my ever growing collection of wood veneers. Jars are from Hobby Lobby. Lego robot from my son :)

My top two desk drawers might be my favorite. They hold my newest product. I also have a drawer that has a secret candy/snack stash. Shhh... (It's the fourth drawer on the left in case you ever come over.)

To the right of my desk is my cameo and paper. Yep, the paper you see there is seriously it. Shocked? I was purging paper into piles on my floor, it rained, flooded my new room and all the paper was wet & ruined. Hey--it's a quick way to decide what to get rid of.

To the left of my desk is the cart of the moment. I use mine for stamping: small stamps in the top, bigger ones in bins below, and ink at the bottom. If I don't see my stuff I tend not to use it, especially stamps, so having a station like this I can wheel it over and actually use them. Thickers, small alpha and label stickers are in a wire basket that I still need to hang. 

Behind my desk is the ever popular expedit unit. Mine is filled with vintage wire baskets.

I think my favorite basket is B88.

 

At the back of the room is one of my favorite pieces ever and it was free, so that's a huge bonus. I was told it was an old mailer sorter. 208 cubbies to fill. Currently ribbon rolls and punches reside here. 

But...let's be real. This is a serious illusion. My room is never, EVER this clean. Ever. On a good day it looks like this :

....and usually it looks much, much worse. And that's with the floor covered in junk, too. Just thought you should know ;)

Thanks for looking around my room today! If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them. -Lexi Bridges

workspace wednesday

Hi! I'm very happy to show you all my little craft space today!

I do NOT have very much space to spare in my home, so I craft in the corner of my bedroom. Over the years, my space has grown and grown from that corner and you have NO idea how much I would love a space of my own! Haha! But for now, it's my little, happy corner of the house!

The first thing you'll notice is my bed in the bottom left corner and my husband's dresser to the right. This is very much my bedroom... you can craft from anywhere, people! :)

You'll also notice the lovely phone and headset sitting on my desk- I use this area for my day job, too. I'm currently working part time as a call center agent from home while I finish school- I spend A LOT of time at this desk.

Since my space is fairly small, I am really strict with myself about what I keep- if I don't have an immediate use for an item, it gets donated! My son's art teacher LOVES me.

I LOVE these wall shelves that I found at Michael's a couple of years back. They aren't exactly the same (the shelves are different), but they are just right for what I use them for. On the one to the left of my desk, I store ribbon, twine, washi, buttons, and some other miscellaneous things. Love how colorful and pretty everything is on the wall, and it makes it super easy to find things!

 

Ribbon makes me happy....

I also love the little wooden spools that I store extra twine and ribbon on- they were really inexpensive (I think I got them from Ribbon Carousel) and they are perfect for those little bunches of twine you can get!

I got the idea to store my buttons in these little jars from Dawn McVey. The jars are PERFECT for small embellishments like buttons and the lids are wide enough that you can easily dig through to find just what you want.

 
On top of the shelves to the left of my desk I have a carousel caddy that I keep markers, pens, scissors, and ribbon scraps in and an organizer for my "TO USE" products! This is the really fun stuff, folks! This is where I keep all the current kits for the month and any other products that I blog with for the month. It's the happiest spot in the room.... sigh.... makes me smile. Ha! Gotta love new stuff!

To the right of my desk is a shelf that is literally FULL of ink and markers... lol! I have *a little bit* of a problem when it comes to ink pads- gotta have them all! I also have my Copic markers, Distress markers, Distress Stains, Mister Huey's, and embossing powders up there. I reach for this shelf OFTEN!

I created these very helpful little color labels for my ink pads with coordinating cardstock- love the way they look all lined up in a row...

I keep all of my Project Life supplies in a basket that tucks in nicely under my desk. I very rarely work on Project Life at my desk because my desk is pretty small. Keeping the stuff in a basket makes it easy for me to tote out to the kitchen or living room to work on it.

I keep all of my page protectors in clear envelopes that are labelled with which design it is and a small sketch of what the page looks like. This has really helped me to use the pages that I don't reach for as often.

And above my desk I have a board where I display all of my projects for that month along with some family photos and notes from friends. I love looking up to see what I've made for the last release- so much fun!

I hope you all enjoyed the tour of my bedroom/office! Thanks for stopping by! :) 

-Stephanie Washburn

workspace wednesday

Hello there everyone!

Welcome to my little space in our little cottage...

A few years ago, Darryl, my wonderful partner, allowed me to take ownership of one of the bedrooms we have in our cottage and set up a craft space.  Darryl has been slowly building all the furniture in my room and I cannot tell you how well made it is, he is so talented and has the patience of a saint LOL.


This first photo that you see is where I sit to craft, this is a large table that is able to house a wood stamp storage, that has a tired system and allows me to view all those wonderful stamps.  Darryl built this storage system to not just house the wood block stamps, but also has draws that pull out to house my Mr Huey's Mists, Distress Stains, Ink pads (my most used ones), Zing Embossing Powders, Perfect Pearls, H2O's, Crackle Paint, Stickles, Liquid Pearls and so much more.  It really is a fab little storage centre and I love how everything is at hands reach. 

I also have my Copics, pencils off to me on the left and to the right is my Making Memories Carrousel...

Here is a few close up photos of the pull out draws and my Copic storage unit..





Off to the left of the table where I sit to craft, I have a hook that I have a heat gun on and I also found these Crop Bags that Studio Calico stocks, this I find is a fabulous way to store my latest Kits that I am currently working with and also the latest products that arrive from Studio Calico.




Also off to the left of me when crafting is a card stock storage centre.  Darryl, was able to build this so that one side was all uncut card stock and to the other side I am able to store my scraps of card stock, I also house any pattern paper down the side in Cropper Hopper's and have my main Embossing Powders that I work with.



On top of the card stock storage centre, I have 3 boxes that house all my clear and cling stamps, and yes I do own a lot of stamps LOL, I am slowly moving some of these stamps into my new storage centre, this one that you see below.



I can see that if I ever fill this stamp storage, then I am in trouble and really have a problem LOL, there is so much room for this to grow more stamps..the above photo shows how I store my stamps (thanks to Jennifer McGuire for the wonderful tip).

Moving past the card stock storage centre, I have what I call a cutting station, as you can just see I have my Cuttlebug sitting on top of this shelving, the shelving underneath, houses punches, dies, embossing folders, buttons and a few odd little bits and pieces.



To the left of the cutting station, I have my Original Silhouette Machine and Printer.



Keep going left and we now come to more bench space with a huge embellishment centre that has a lot of product in it..



Underneath the embellishment centre, I have a ink storage centre, here houses my Distress Inks, Jenni Bowlin Inks, Hero Arts Inks and a few odd stamp pads, each of these pull out to house more ink in the back.



Moving to the left again, we now find an island that Darryl built, this houses a lot of product in the draws, everything from paper pads, twine, pan pastels, glue, flowers, embellishment, washi tape and the list goes on.



Here is a close up of a couple of those draws.





This last shot if you are still hanging in there with me, is where I blend using Distress Inks, it is also another spot for someone to come on over to craft, not that it ever happens :)



So there is a look into where I craft and spend my spare time creating...I love the fact that I can come and go and shut the door if I have to when it is really messy...

Thank you for looking at my crafty space.
-Joy Taylor

workspace wednesday

Hello ladies! Welcome to my space! First of all, apologies for the bad photos, I don’t have good lighting in this room. So this is where it all happened and here’s my desk where I work on my pages. I have my favorite products that I use regularly on this desk, always within reach.

I found these small wooden racks that in a vintage goods store during my trip to Singapore. They fit perfectly on my desk and I store my life cards, a few clear stamps, mini alpha stickers, ink pads, and paper pads.

I use these stackable acrylic drawer box from Muji to store mounted rubber stamps, wood veneers, buttons, and other embellishments. I love that it’s transparent so I know what is inside each drawer and the size is perfect for embellishments. I like that they’re stackable too.

Everything else are in this shelf. I also like to use shoe boxes to organize them and label the box. They’re sturdy and it’s such a waste to throw them out. I’m also this close to using SC boxes to store some supplies :)

There’s not much but I hope you’ve found some new ideas for storage and organization :)

-Natalia Bun

workspace wednesday

Hi everyone! Last year, we built a little house in the woods of Maryland. Our goal was to build a home where we used every room, every day. Because of that, my office also doubles as our guest room. It's tucked in the back on the first floor of the house, which is perfect because when I work from home, I can hear the kids with a sitter, but they usually forget I am there! I also love the big window that looks out on to the backyard. 

My desk is "old school" Pottery Barn. It's got a shelf that slides out that I do most of my scrapbooking on, and the drawers hold some art storage cases for scrapbook supplies. The shelf below the desk has IKEA baskets on it that hold supplies, office stuff, etc. And under the table, I have SC boxes that hold my project life supplies and layouts waiting to be filed.

Here's the exciting-inside-the-drawer shot:

To the right of the desk, I have a storage cart with drawers that hold stamps, embossing powder, washi tape, thread, etc. The baskets hold patterned paper and folders that I have all my SC supplies filed in.

 
Then, to the right of the cart is my sweet, sweet storage closet. In case you can't tell, I like to have clutter stored away. Far, far away. Every bedroom in our house has a big walk-in closet. I had extra shelves installed in this closet, and that's where I store a whole lot of stuff, from scrapbooking supplies (stamps in CD cases, mini albums, etc.) to gift wrap supplies. I also have a cart in here that holds a lot of my sticker sheets, stamps, punches, and my printer. Then I have these big, huge baskets that hold all my scrapbooks.

Oh, and if you want to see what's in the other corner of the room, here's the guest bed, which also doubles as my second desk when I'm trying to get things organized!

Thanks for taking a look at my little room!

workspace wednesday

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today we get to peek into the workspace of Allison Waken, our December guest & new Project Life Creative Team member! Here's what Allison has to say about her space :

We moved recently so I haven't really felt "settled" into my crafty space yet. It's in an open room so I have to contain all my storage into a closet or drawers. I try to keep it simple so it doesn't compete with the rest of the house (my mess already does that!). I cleaned up after a big crafting session and snapped these photos so no real staging was done - this is it, right now, picked up. I love the drawers from IKEA they hold SO much. I stand when I scrap and go between that and the computer. I always have little boy craft supplies mixed in here and there so they can feel free to create when the "need" arises without getting in to my stash. I'd love more desk space but this is what is working for me now with what I've got!

Thanks for letting us visit your room, Allison!