Craft Room Update - November 2021

Hello, Friends! It has been three months since my last post letting you know how the move is progressing! I am happy to say we are all moved into the new house, and we are 95% settled! (This is a long post, with a lot of photos, so grab a snack and put your feet up!)
We made the move from north coastal San Diego County to western Riverside County without much of a hitch! Things went as smoothly as you can expect with a big downsize, a big move, and a whole new climate and ecology! Everything is different here from the weather to the temperature to the bugs! (And that landscaping needs work!)Plus, we are empty nesters now! Our youngest son moved to Orange County and into his own apartment two weeks after we moved into the new house! A whole new phase of life! Oh yeah! {giggle}

I know most of you are eagerly awaiting photos (and a video) of the NEW craft room! It is pretty much set up, but I have not had the time to make a video. Honestly, I was just learning a new video editing software before taking an 18 month break! I need to relearn everything!

I am going to wait until I "live" in the room a little while before I do a video. I also have some finishing touches to add. I figured I would do a blog post with photos for now. Later I will do an in-depth video and show you how the space is working for me.

This is how the space started out! I moved from my huge loft in the old house to this spare bedroom in the new house! The room is slightly smaller than 11x13 feet. One wall is taken up by the closet and another wall by the large set of windows, which overlook the front yard. The upside is that the paint color is nice (a soft gray) and the windows let in a lot of natural light.  

But, we wanted to replace the carpet. It was stained and...well....carpet! But, due to some supply chain issues, I did not get to set up my space for almost two months because the new floors were delayed! And seriously, except for all my craft carts and bins, the photo above shows all I have for furniture from the old house! A card table, my old chair, and a floor mat! 

We ended up selling, giving away, or donating all the office furniture we had used for homeschooling, which I had repurposed it for the craft room. I really want to start over in the new space. Plus I need to find things that maximize the storage in this smaller space. Because...

While I did downsize...I still have a lot of stuff. This about one third of the boxes, stacked in the hallway! This house has 9-foot ceilings, just so you know!

Another third of the boxes is stacked in the guest room. We only have one guest room in the new house, and it WILL function as a place for guests to sleep, eventually. And...

The last third, in the form of all my paper carts and storage carts, is sitting around in the craft room! Still wrapped in plastic! Oh, and see how the shutters are CLOSED in this photo. It was about 106 degrees the day I took this photo, and the sun floods into this room making it VERY HOT! 

The first thing we did, was to attach all the 12x12 paper carts to the wall. I stacked them three high, and these are HEAVY, so my husband attached them to the wall studs so nothing will fall on my head! I have 17 of these paper carts, but only 12 would fit here due to other space considerations. Just wait....it works out in the end! 

These are about six feet high, which is perfect since I am tall. In a small room using the vertical height is the way to go! My daughter said if I get a rolling ladder I can stack the carts to the ceiling! Matt (my husband) said no! {party pooper}

This is also a good view of the NEW flooring! We went with LVP (Luxury Vinyl Plank) in a rustic grayish-brown. I love it and it seems durable, plus it is NOT shiny. Which means it hides dirt more easily! Unfortunately, my husband made me put the chair mats down, which ARE shiny and I really grumbled! I need to see if they make transparent chair mats that are not so shiny! 

I also had Matt attach the 6 feet x 6 feet cube storage shelves to the wall. These are not from Ikea as those guys were out of stock on EVERYTHING, so I got a different version. They are the same exact size as the Ikea ones, with each cube being 13x13x15 inches. They are pretty sturdy, but with all the stuff I plan to load into it, I wanted to make sure it would never tip over! Thankfully Matt is very handy and willing to help a girl out!

I decided to remove the doors from the closet to make it easier to use it for storage. I really want to do a "build out" in the closet eventually, but for now I am going to use it "as is." Removing the clothing bar and adding another shelf would be excellent, but we have enough projects going that this one can wait. It looks ridiculous, but whatever. {grin} But it sure fits a lot of my cardstock, ribbon, and other items!

The next purchase was desks, since I cannot spend my time crafting on an old, rickety card table! I ordered three library tables, because they were on sale, very very on sale! They did not have any storage or drawers, but for the price, I compromised. Plus they fit the space perfectly. Well...when the desks came, it was three different (larger) desks! They sent the desks which had a keyboard drawer and a cabinet! 

I called the company to see what had happened and was told they went out of stock on what I had ordered and they sent these desks as a replacement at no extra charge! These desks are almost 4x the cost! WHAT?! I was told I could do a return and pay for shipping if I did not like the replacement desks. I decided I liked them very well! (Sometimes supply chain issues are a blessing!) 

I had to rearrange a few things to make them fit, but now I have three desks arranged in an "L" formation. I have space for my computer station, a work station, and a die cutting station! With extra storage! 

If any of you have seen photos of how I work, or been to my former studio, or gone on a craft weekend with me, you know I need a lot of space to work! I spread out and use all the toys and tools...at once!

The other positive thing about these desks is I have a similar desk from the same company in my bedroom that I use for Bible study and such. I know the height is perfect for me. Win-win-win!

The next thing I purchased was this standing workstation! I have wanted a standing workspace for ages and decided to splurge on this one! It has three drawers that are accessible from both sides, three storage cubes that are also accessible from both sides, and six that are accessible from only one side (three per side). So much storage!

I am able to sit on either end if I have a counter height stool, or I can hide my manky trashcan under there! The top of the workstation is 60" x 30"! Most excellent! 

After I had purchased all the furniture, I started to load things into the space. I soon found out that I needed to update a few of my storage solutions to work better with the space. I did not want to replace everything, but some things I did need to change. Especially making the cube shelving work the way I wanted.

I really do need to make this smaller space work, as I only have a small linen closet for the overflow! As it is I had to put the gift wrapping paper and all the boxes of (unscrapped) photos in one side of the guest closet. Plus, my traveling, wheeled craft carts are hiding in the master closet, pretending they are suitcases! {Let's not bring that up again, okay?!) I promised Matt I would not let craft world take over the whole house! 

The space behind the door is usually wasted space. Not in my world! I added a rack for all my paints and other bottles of potions. I also added an over-the-door storage solution, which is supposed to be for shoes. As if.  

As you can see, I vastly under estimated the amount of bottles of "stuff" I have! I added the carts and some tote boxes, too! I wish I had purchased a bigger set of shelves! I plan to go through all of that and downsize, again! The over-the-door thingie holds all my adhesives. (Well, most of my adhesives!) I am calling it my wall o' adhesives. 

Here is a view from the doorway. You can see there is a lot in the room, but it is easy to move around and everything is accessible. I have to live in it for a while to see what needs to be rearranged.

I am still not 100% happy with the closet, but it works for now. I also have two little rolling carts in the space. I like that I can roll them up to my workspace. One contains all my 6x6 paper pads (don't judge) and one contains my colored pencil cases. 

I really like the cube shelves. All of my most used 12x12 paper fits there, plus all my coloring books and supplies. I also have lots of stamps and dies and other goodies tucked away! And, yes I have used the top for more storage. I am happy to be tall with long arms! {giggle}

Since I have expanded my coloring supplies and colored pencil sets, I am super happy to have space for it all at my finger tips! 

I downsized a lot of the craft supplies because I just don't craft they way I used to. I am not on any design teams (except Power Poppy Stamps) right now, and felt it was fine to get rid of a lot of stuff that is not my style or that I just never use. People, the amount of things I gave away or donated is unbelievable! 

I like that I still have a desk to work at that is NOT where my computer is also sitting. I am used to having that separation. I can roll my chair back and forth all day long. {grin} Matt also put up a shelf for my wet wipes, paper towels, etc. It is so handy! And it keeps a lot of stuff off the desk! He still needs to put up my display shelves, but I am trying not to nag. {giggle}

I love this corner! Matt hung my little embellishment drawers on the wall, which saved a lot of desk space for my ink storage and my Big Shot Plus. I also converted my button storage into little jars, which stack nicely on top of the drawer bins. I really worked hard to maximize the vertical space! With Matt's help and tools, of course!

I love having one desk that is just for computer work. I don't want to have messy craft stuff near the computer, nor do I want to have to move my projects out of the way in order to use the computer!

I also love having my wall of 12x12 paper nearby. It is my happy place! However, I am on a "no buying paper" season because, honestly...look at it! Twelve carts of 12x12 decorative paper and five more carts of cardstock! Plus 8 1/2 x 11, 8x8, and 6x6 paper. I need to get busy making stuff, not buying stuff! {then she laughed and laughed and laughed}

Here is another view of the standing workstation and the cube shelves. I am super impressed at how much I was able to fit into the space! It is really cozy and fresh. So far, I love it!

I am looking forward to getting back into my crafting and blogging groove. I am sure after the New Year, I will be back into some sort of new rhythm. With the holidays coming, the kids will be visiting, messing up my groove. {smile} 

And yes, if they are all home at once, someone will have to sleep on an air mattress in the craft room! We only have one dedicated guest room. The kids are used to having their old (private) rooms available, but here there will be sharing and bunking where there is space! Downsizing means....smaller.

We still have some home projects to complete, including adding a pool to the backyard. We are hopeful that the digging can begin in February! We love the views of "our" butte, and out in the distance we even see snow capped mountains on clear days. This is a new adventure, and getting used to the different climate has been just part of that!

My first project already! Making tags for my pencil cases. After 18 months off, I am a bit rusty! But, I will get back into it quickly, I am sure!  

Thanks for coming to visit! I really hope to get busy with some new projects, blog posts, and even some videos to share! Stop and leave a comment because I love to hear from you!