My Scrap Room is being Featured on Swirlydoos Blog!

Hello, Savages!

 Today I am excited to share my scrappy space, aka happy place, with you. If you've been popping into the Swirlydoos forums then you probably heard all about my fiasco with getting new bamboo flooring throughout the house. It was a major event but it was finally completed the day of a scrappy weekend I had planned! Anyway, the bamboo flooring was put in my scrap room as well. I really love it! So much easier to clean and almost impossible to ruin.  I have Glimmer Misted my carpet on more than one occasion and I even melted a spot with my embossing heat tool. Bamboo flooring is definitely the way to go for me!

Now, let me tell you, I ordered the ScrapBox last October but, due to all the FaceBook hype I did not actually get it until May when all the flooring was being installed. Imagine my impatience! I had to wait several weeks for the flooring to be finished so that we could set up my ScrapBox! Torture! Hubs did bring in all the boxes from the garage so I could at least peek at all the contents.

Alright, enough of that! Here's a few shots of the ScrapBox closed and looking pretty.

Now, here it is opened up and ready for some scrapping.

The majority of my loose paper is in here. As you can see, one door holds most of my Tim Holtz stains, alcohol inks, and Glimmer Mists.

Some day I may paint that shelf on the wall black to match the rest of my furniture.

The wall shelf holds ribbon, flowers sorted by color, paper leaves, and wooden embellishments.

Here's a cool piece that I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

I have all my stencils, chipboard, bling, embossing powder, and metal in the drawers. My photo paper and printer ink is stored here, too. Loose flowers are in this piece as well.

Ok, I upgraded to the new EZ View 2.0 desk when my ScrapBox was finally ready to ship. 

Justification? The Original Scrapbox knocked $180 off of the shipping because it was shipping at the same time as the Scrapbox.

I kept my old white scrap desk, too. Maybe it will get painted black at some point.

Here's a view of the top of the desk.

Well, I have to share my lake view with you!

Eventually the window seat will have pillows and cushions so I can read in here, too. That decorative box holds all my unopened flowers. Recent purchases are in the glass topped wooden piece. The tiered organizer from Harbor Freight holds other recent purchases that I want out so I remember to use them. (For me, out of sight, out of mind.)

There is a sun room attached to my scrap room. Right now it is where the dogs stay when we are not at home. Thus, the doggy gate. It's also nice that there is a door to the deck right here so I can step outside to photograph my layouts and let the dogs out without ever leaving my scrap room.

Just a view from the sun room here to show the bathroom right behind my scrap desk. This makes for easy clean up. The vinyl saying on the wall is a remnant from when my daughter used to have this room. It's her favorite saying. Don't worry, I didn't boot her out! She left for college so I finally got to take over the room.

Now, that I've shared my room with you, Kim has asked me some questions.

Q: When designing your room, did you have a theme in mind? Where did the inspiration for your overall design come from?

I really did not have a theme in mind. I just wanted to become more organized and get rid of all the 8 foot shelves I had lining all the walls of the room. I felt like I was being attacked by scrap supplies every time I entered! More space was important so my sister has a spot to scrap whenever she comes to visit.

Q: What's your favorite thing about having a dedicated space to scrap/craft?

My favorite thing about having my own room to scrap in is the ability to close the doors and know that it will be just like I left it. If I get a little messy no one will see it unless I open the doors and invite them in! I enjoy being able spread out in the entire room. I love to go in, turn on my favorite music, melt my favorite Scentsy and just scrap away. I love having the room to display my favorite layouts, mini albums or canvases, too.

Q: What's your favorite piece of furniture or organizational piece in your space?

My favorite piece so far as looks is the Hobby Lobby chest. My favorite organizational piece is the ScrapBox. So much scrap crap fits in that thing! And, it closes up and looks very tidy. I love the little table that folds out of the ScrapBox as it gives me another work surface. This is really cool when my sister comes over to scrap with me. We use it for stamping or setting up our punches. OOPS! I forgot to tell you, I store a lot of my punches in the drawer of the white desk. But, I have shelving inside the closet (built by my brother) that holds more punches, extra albums, and partial Swirly kits. And, I forgot to mention, I have an entire bookshelf in the guest room for all of my albums-38 of them at this point. And, they all match. I know-OCD.

Q: How is your room set up? By the way you craft, by color or by manufacturer?

So, I have my room set up to include all the most used items in my desk. My desk holds all my mixed media, my Big Shot and dies, inks, and washi tape. I have 2 bowls on my desk that I use to keep all the latest Swirly kit embellishments close at hand. The paper in my ScrapBox is organized by manufacturer. Flowers are sorted by color for all the non-Prima or Petaloo. The Prima and Petaloo stays in a decorative box on my window seat until the package is opened. Opened Prima and Petaloo goes in a drawer of the chest. I keep all my partial Swirly kits in a file cabinet in my closet. 

Q: Does your overall design work for you? If not, what would you change?

Yes, it works. I am still getting used to where everything is since my entire room was reorganized in May. I still have open totes in my ScrapBox so I may add more paper shelves at some point.

Q: What is your best design tip for someone just designing their space?

Figure out how you scrap and organize around that. Keep your most used items close at hand. Have a way to organize your new items so they are within sight. That way you can remember you have it and actually use it. Definitely purge periodically. Once a year for sure. If you haven't used it, then donate it or give it to a friend. Then, limit your spending to what you are actually going to use. If you are going to buy it then commit to using it right away.

Q: What else would you like to share about your scrap/craft space?

Probably the best decision was the flooring. I've already shared with you why I like the bamboo flooring and how hard I was on the carpet. I still need some kind of window treatment. I have been mooning over some of the Tim Holtz fabrics. Otherwise, I think we've covered it!

Happy scrapping!

If you want your scrappy (happy) space highlighted please email Kim at Kim@Swirlydoos.com. We would love to see where you create.

If you’re ready to start getting perfectly coordinated, top of the line scrapbook kits delivered to your door, please visit us at www.swirlydoos.com. Mention my name (Jan) when you subscribe and you’ll receive 10% off your first kit, AND a coupon good for 30% off your entire purchase in the Swirlydoos.com store!