Friday Feature - Karin's Craft Space

Hi Everyone! Karin, here. As you probably know by now we are doing a series of Friday posts where we Lawnscaping designers are sharing our crafty spaces and today it is my turn. At first I hesitated because as you can see my space is very tiny (this is also where I sew and paint ) and not fancy at all but then I thought - why not???   I'm probably not the only one with very limited space -so this could hopefully be a post where we  "Crafters in the City (?) Girls" could share some compact crafting ideas. We have a three-room- apartment in the center of Gothenburg and we LOVE  it here but of course I wouldn't mind an extra room or two!

 This room used to be our office till we had Ted 4 years ago. It is now his room but I've kept my crafty desk in one corner and I guess I'll find out how long Ted will let me keep it there (-:
 
My crafting budget isn't very large so I have no specially designed furniture for my tools and supplies but have made use of things we already had at home; winebottle crates,  shoeboxes, cd-boxes, old bathroom cupboards and drawers. I like that I have almost everything I need within reach when I sit working at my desk - just wish I was a more tidy and organized crafter, because unfortunately my desk turns into a bombshell disater within minutes after starting a project and then the quickest solution is often to move down to the floor and suddenly things aren't that easy to reach anymore (-;  
 
Above my desk I have an old IKEA pin board where I keep some of my favorite embellishments so I don't forget to use them - but  also because I find it very inspiring to have them there! The stamps I use the most are also always within reach either in their packages or stored in cd-boxes on IKEA shelves . I have a large IKEA box under my IKEA desk ( and - yes, I am Swedish (-: ),  which I think is perfect for keeping my 12x12 patterned papers and cardstock.

I've printed pictures of all the stamps and stampsets I have and put into a photo album so I can easily  flip through that to find the perfect image or sentiment I for a card I'm working on. It is also great for when I'm writing my blogposts and need to know the name of a certain set.

I keep my dies like this in a cd sleeve book. It is easy to find the dies and it doesn't take up a lot of space.

 Other ideas for compact crafting:

1. As soon as you know your not going to use an old product or tool any more,  give it away or sell it on ebay.

2. Before you rush to buy a new cool product or tool make sure you don't already have something very similar or have a product that can be used in different way with the same result.

3. Label all your boxes and folders carefully so you know exactly where to find what - searching for things have a strange way of eating up a lot of space!!!

4. Organize your desk so that the tools and supplies you use the most are closest to you - biggest chance of putting them right back where they belong after you've used them - I use my inkblenders and distress inks (-; and 6x6 patterned papers on almost all my projects!

5. I sort my markers by  putting a rubberband around colors that have the same tone, that way I don't need one box for greens and one box for blues etc.

It would be awesome if you would continue this list and share your ideas for compact/budget storage and crafting in the comments section below!

 
Have a great day!, Hugs Karin