Tuesday, May 11, 2010

19 You Asked: Controling Craft Chaos

I recently received a question regarding my current craft storage situation, when it comes to storing crafts for both myself and my little ones.  And this definitely wasn't the first time this question has popped up, so I thought that although I currently don't have my dream ideal craft storage situation/space {it totally needs help in the beautifying department}, it is extremely functional and organized.

We are currently fortunate enough to have an extra bedroom space that isn't used for much more than housing our overnight guests and providing a ton of extra closet space.  And half of that closet space is where I have been housing all of the fam's craft supplies.  And as I mentioned, it is nothing fancy, but it is functional.  I do dream someday of giving the closet a complete overhaul of a makeover adorned with decorative paper, fabric covered bulletin boards, oodles of baskets and bins complete with a cute little stool.... or adding an armoire to my personal office space, that would be used to store my wrapping and scrap supplies.... {enter sigh here}

Inside our guest room closet you will find this:


It packs a lot of storage punch, housing all of my wrapping goods, loads of kid's crafts and more loads of scrapbook crafts.  IHeart storage carts!

Our wrapping paper and decorative paper are stored in bins sized accordingly.  In fact, the decorative paper is just in a plastic waste basket and the wrapping paper is in a taller sized wrapping paper bin with the lid removed {since our paper is much taller than the bin allows for}


Ribbons and bows are stowed away in another bin perfectly fitting for the occasion, a two story compartment bin that holds bows on the bottom section and scissors, ribbon, tags and pens in the top section:


And as far as kid's crafts go, I have stacked a craft cart on top of a large storage drawer to create a massive amount of organized storage.

That white craft cart holds it all from coloring books, scissors, glues, markers and crayons, construction paper, dry erase boards, activity books, craft paint/brushes and other miscellaneous art project supplies!  And my favorite part is that the drawers slide in and out super easily {as compared to other plastic storage drawers}, and they are all lidded carrying cases that can be toted out to the table and put back with ease!


Out comes the drawer, and look at the oodles of things I was able to tuck inside:


Even the loads of paint supplies that we have acquired over the years, tuck away perfectly into what would seem to be a small drawer!


And as I mentioned, I have a much larger drawer at the bottom, which is where I keep larger items like paper plates, bags of foam stickers and mega amounts of crayons, plastic cups and paper bags, along with 4 gladware containers filled with markers and crayons specifically for each daycare kiddo, and a cup of designated unbreakable crayons for the really little daycare kiddos.




As you can see, those gladware containers couldn't work more perfectly for housing some mini markers and crayons, you could even throw in there a child size pair of scissors with a glue stick {which I did have in there until my 3 year old went a little too glue crazy one day...}, creating a mini craft bin for your little traveling artist.

As far as my scrapbook crafts go, I have a similar setup, only the cart that I sport, was made more specifically for scrap-booking than kid's crafts.


It contains a total of nine drawers of different purposes, the narrower top drawers are either divided or not, and the larger lower drawers actually have snapping lids to allow for portable paper storage.




And no, I don't scrap enough to have one of those super handy and amazing scrap bags on wheels, which also provides a ton of storage for on the go scrappers.  I use a handy tote to fill up with just what I need for a project day away, and then load my cart back up when I return.  That was the most budget friendly solution for myself.

As for the white bin on top of the scrapping cart, it holds all of my corded craft electronics, such as my laminator and hot glue gun.



And that's a wrap!  {pun intended}

Of course, if I go ahead and do any type of craft storage makeovers and updates {as I envisioned and dreamed about above}, I will make sure to keep all of you fabulous individuals in the loop via this blog!

And if you are looking to replicate some of my current storage ideas, this cart, was found at Target:


And this one was found at JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store, {currently on sale!}:
Your turn!  Anyone have an amazing craft zone they would be willing to share with us?  How about some inspiration for me to go by when I finally get to makeover my closet space?  Anyone crafting out of an armoire, amazing closet or have an entire room devoted to the hobby?  How about you talented scrap-bookers , how do you store the plethora of supplies that comes with the task?




19 comments:

  1. Jen....you're amazing! I'm not ready to reveal my craft storage but it's nowhere near as fabulous as yours!!

    -heather

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  2. Hi Jenn! Wow! That's incredible! I love the idea of using an old wastebasket for holding gift wrap rolls - a cheap and easy solution to store those. I definitely need to invest in some crafty storage drawers, too... sooner or later, that is. :) I have a "Studio" room upstairs that houses a flip-out couch (for the occasional guest overflow from the Guest Bedroom), my easel, Mel (our little rodent), and tons of craft/art supplies - mostly stored in the closet. Maybe one day it will be as organized as yours!

    ~Chelsea

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  3. I would love to see other peoples craft rooms as I am having a dedicated study/scrapbooking room in our new house. Thanks for sharing your craft cupboard.

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  4. Hey Jen,

    Ahh finally catching up to your blogs. Thanks so much for posting this LOVE IT. I actually have the same exact storage cart from Target, which I LOVE. I also have the same wrapping paper holder with out the lid too :-) I am working on where to put all my bags (ie birthday, baby, holiday misc bags tissue paper) I had them are grouped in a 70 quart bin, which was ok but not practical (controlled chaos) as I called it. So I bought some sterlite draws and puting each catergory in a bin...have 2 out of the 6 I need. Work in progress.

    Thanks so much for posting this...

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  5. I LOVE,love, love that kids' craft bin. It is genius that each drawer has a snap top...that could save us a LOT of cleaning up spills and would make it so much easier for the kids to bring the drawer back and put it away. Another fabulous item from your blog for me to put on my wish list!

    I also really like the bin you have your bows & ribbons in, I've never seen one like that before. Do you remember where you got it or the brand name?

    Thanks!

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  6. HI Tamie!

    I found it at Target around the holidays. However, I think that specialty stores like The Container Store carry them year round.

    Thanks!

    xoxo,
    Jen

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  7. hi i like your ideas for the craft room.i have a problem i don't know if you have encountered.i spin wool and have bagsful of it in the closet.i would like to stack it better,but i think the boxes would be too big to fit on top closet shelf.the botton part of the closet holds varous bins for crafts and supplies and a filing cabinet.this room is also the computer room/plant room/grandkids'room so there is not much room to put anything.thank you for any ideas you might have.

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  8. @anonymous:

    What about using ziploc bags to hold each color and then tossing them into cheapo media bins like these {http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00115464} with labeled fronts indicated the colors inside?

    xoxo,
    Jen

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  9. hi thank you for your suggestion.i like this idea,except i have huge black garbage bags of different colors and it would tones of ziplock bags!any other ideas?

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  10. I really like your craft bin for the kiddos. I am trying to find it on line but am having a hard time. Do you know what brand it is? I saw a sterilite one with 6 drawers but nothing with seven.

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  11. hi! i just found your blog, due to pintrest! i, too, have a daycare and have tons of craft supplies!!!! i have 1 HUGE utility shelf, w/ 3 shelves. i tend to just throw the crafts on the shelves. any inexpensive ideas?

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  12. Seems like the 7 drawer cart is unavailable now, just the 6 drawer is. Its been a while you posted this , Jen. This was very informative and gives lots of ideas for people looking to organize their craft area. Some how I have a feeling , now that this post is 2 years old you probably have made many more modifications to this. If so , please do share the link. As always, your blog is like a fairy tale movie ...... love to float around the different projects.
    Thank you very much.

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  13. I love these storage solutions. They really keep your sanity checked, hehe! I have a cabinet full of craft materials with old boxes segregating contents.

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  14. Hi everyone, any chance you'd know where I can get some of these storage units in Australia??? Can't find them anywhere :(

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  15. I LOVE your blog! I have a center for children with autism and other special needs and have sooooo many craft supplies to organize and store! Thanks for the tips! I will definitely put them to use! :) Alix

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  16. Hi Jen,
    I'm an unorganized person and always into de-cluttering. I love all the ideas in your blog, and learned a lot from you too.
    I have a question, I'm a jewelry maker so I have heaps of beads and findings to sort out. Can you give me some idea? Thx!

    Re: Alicia
    I saw some similar one with 7 or 10 drawers at Bunnings Warehouse and some of the Spotlights might have it. Hope that's help :)

    Angie

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    Replies
    1. Hi Angie!

      How about a tackle box or those little plastic boxes that are meant for sorting small tools/hardware with interchangeable dividers?

      xo,
      Jen

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  17. Not sure how many people are still searching for your awesome kid craft storage bin, but I found this one on Amazon that looks pretty close to the same. Wasn't able to find it anywhere else (target, container store, etc.) http://www.amazon.com/Iris-6-Drawer-Cart/dp/B000KJXLAC/ref=pd_sim_ac_1

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  18. Can't find the cart ANYWHERE :( It's out of stock on amazon.

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