Hi Everyone! Here is a collection of photos of my freshly reorganized "Scraproom." I also added a few
TIPS in red! 1. Welcome!
I am very blessed to have an 8x10' bedroom to create [and write] in! This room serves as my office & my creating area. I'll take you on a little tour from the sign on my doorway all the way around, if that's OK. Have a cup of good ole' maritime King Cole Tea... do you take sugar and milk?
Thanks for joining me!
2. This is the area where I write and do the journaling for my scrappy pages. 
Under the desk, I also have a Brother 3-in-one printer, which you can see a wee bit. I use that mainly as my fax and copier. I have my little HP Photosmart 516 photo printer under there too. It is SO HANDY for printing pix- Peter and I love it. Next to my desk is an HP printer, my sketch binders and a binder full of SB class info. Photoboxes seen here contain older photos (2001-2002) removed from sticky albums (EEK!) and the blue one is Kate's. Inside the brown cabinet are old photo albums waiting for dismantling, my collection of CK mags- those being sorted through and ideas clipped from.
Above my desk are a calendar, framed Mother's Day drawing from Daniel; inspirational quotes on a fun floral canvas and a Father's Day drawing from Daniel. None of this matches, but it is stuff I love. The calendar, I just plain need! It is all photos of the Annapolis Valley! Love that too.
3. Next you see a very tall tower of paper trays. These are the ones from Scrapbook.com. I got the "lipless" ones and they are great to use. They snap together for stability. My inlaws gave me a gift of cash and so I was able to order a few. YAY: 10!! Then, I was able to purchase some more a few yrs later when a beloved craft store 's owner retired and the store closed.
This "tray tower" contains my Bazzill Cardstock and "manufacturer paper" such as Cosmo Cricket, Cactus Pink, 3 Bugs in a Rug, Paper Trunk, Scenic Route, etc...There are some collections, like Salem (S.Route) & Playtime (3Bugs). No BasicGrey here... THAT COMES LATER.
You can also see my Bulletin Board, which I decorated to match the wallpaper border in here, LOL.
Next is my 5ft table. One word: Staples! I have 2 of them. Here is one. Here is the other. The reason they are different is that they were on special @ different times.
Then we have the Plano organizer Pete bought me a year ago for my birthday. :0) We got an awesome deal on it- a sale at Cndn Tire! Handy little rig! :o) In it I keep my heat gun, emb. powders, Grungeboard, brads and some of my collection of buttons- just the clear ones.
Eventually I will use some fabric scraps that match my wallpaper and sew a dust cover for the Plano organizer. It will be hard to dust as it is so compartmentalized, even on top! I will just hem the edges of some fabric and use it to cover the box, like I covered my Crop in Style XXL (you will see that later...Mom hemmed the fabric for me while visiting one time!). :o)
Under the Plano are my 3 boxes of photos and one that contains handmade gift tags & cards. The box I am currently working from (ie: scrapping photos from) has a little tag stuck in the label that says "Current." You can see it in the photo. That's there so I don't grab the wrong box! Easy little trick~!
Then I have 2 white cubes from Wal Mart... I turned them so they're open on one side: right in front of where I sit to scrap. I use those to store my most often used items... Zig pens, paper clips, adhesives, Xyron, post-its, labeller etc...
Do you see the "neck brush" sticking up? That is one I bought thru my hairstylist, Sheri, who purchased it for me at a beauty supply shop. I use it to whisk bits of paper and dust off my desk as I am working. I clean it up from the floor afterward! Good tip, I think...
4. 
On top of the white cubes I lined up square glass (metal lidded) containers from the Dollar Store. You can see that I have stored foam stamps, buttons (1 bin for black, one for white) and paper flowers in them. Tip: Square containers are better than round for storage! They stack, sit tight against one another and just generally save space. They have these at the $ store for 1.25 for tall, and 1.00 for short varieties.
A Button Fanatic Tip: it is easier to use your buttons when you have them sorted into colour families. I am getting to this point, slowly but surely! Metal buttons: I sort by "goldtone" and "silvertone." Clear buttons go in a separate jar as well.
Above my white cubes are tilt-bins I bought with birthday money at Staples one year. They are GREAT: Peter attached them to the wall this weekend! (Let me tell you, they are very secure.) In those I store punches, circle templates, SMALL scraps of trim and ribbon, corner rounders and shapers, Stickles, date stamps, paddle punches and regular punches. Each bin is labelled. On the top of the 2 tiers of Tilt Bins I store my 7Gypsies stamps, small Primas, and a few other things like Glimmer Mist.
The light source I use when I scrap is an Ott Light (daylight). I can't scrap without it. You can see it in the photo.
Just in front of the TV, I have a turning caddy (some people call it a tool carousel) in which to store my scissors, bone folder, ribbon glue, tracing wheel, Slick Writers, gel pens, multi-purpose tool, side cutters, & pencils close at hand. Love that thing!
TIP alert! I also store a set of flat tipped tweezers in my caddy. They were purchased at Canada Post (locally) where they were under $5.00 and I think were intended for handling stamps. They are GREAT for picking up small things or moving things around on a page in tight quarters!
I also have two white, 6-shelf wire paper racks where I keep non-Bazzill cardstock.
5. 
Here are the three open-topped seagrass baskets from Cndn Tire that I got on special a few years ago.
TIP: Here is my system for storing and using my scraps:
*I use the top one for patterned paper scraps.
*The middle basket contains scraps of Bazzill and Die Cuts with a View (DCWV) cardstock.
*The bottom basket contains all other scraps.
Tip: Take your basket[s] along to ANY event where kids are scrappin'! Those scraps go FAST! I took my bottom basket along to a Pony Club event last month and whoosh! The scraps went down to half! A great way to have them sifted thru, too, so u can see what's on the bottom!
Another tip: Try to periodically sift thru those scrap baskets to see what is hiding in the middle and on the bottom!
My non-alcohol baby wipes are right there in the white bin; for stamp clean-up: this is a quick and easy way to do it!
Next is the zipped up, sturdy navy blue "Travel Pack" that I rec'd as a bonus with my ScrapRack. I use it to store all my BasicGrey alphas & big monograms in. They are in Scraprack 12x12" page protectors.
6. The ScrapRack itself is next...
Here's my ScrapRack, covered.
(I made that moroccan style box with Daisy d's patt paper a few years back. I store old costume jewellery in it, for scrappin' of course!) Tip: Old jewellery can make great embellies for scrappin'!!!
7. And here it is, uncovered. You can see a bit of the "floral" section. Between the Scraprack and the Travel pack is a Cropper Hopper paper holder with labelled dividers . It contains a variety of handmade, "Slab" and " Dollar Store" pp's.
TIP: Dollar store papers can be VERY pretty! Be sure to check them out when you're in! I have found some LOVELY ones at different times. 
8. Below is the other half of my ScrapRack.
Beside it is another Cropper Hopper Paper Holder containing LOs' that need to be stowed in albums. Tip: Always store your LOs standing up. Same goes for your albums!
Next to that is my pink sewing box and a plastic incline sorter containing file folders of info like DT calls, page calls, articles I am working on, etc....
Those pretty file-folders came from a Norcard elementary school fundraiser 3 yrs ago. LOVE them!
The carts contain things like my mini iron, mini ironing board, Circle Scissor, Shape Cutter, 8.5x11" cardstock, "brights" for kids' projects, misc patt papers waiting to be sorted, pigment inks, sandpaper, photo CDs, envelopes for cardmaking, etc...
Scrappy Tip: Be sure to label your cart drawers with the contents, etc.... This way you can be sure supplies are put way properly if you have a buddy working with you! I use a Brother "p-touch" Home and Hobby labeller. (*Thanks to my sister Mary- this was the most perfect birthday gift!*) I LOVE this thing. TIP: Be sure you've spelled your words correctly before you print. Who wants to waste? And, the tape refills are astronomically priced!
Scrappy Tip: A tiny iron is awesome for fixing up any creases in ribbon before you apply it to a page! I think Heidi Swapp makes one, but mine came from Regal. Try it- small and handy!
Scrappy Tip: I made a mini ironing-board as well by covering a scrap slab of hardwood with some padded fabric from a handmade high chair cover I had made, but that we no longer needed. Worked like a CHARM. It is v. small- fits in a drawer of my cart along w/ the iron.
Scrappy Tip for Cardmakers: Many stores are happy to give you their extra envelopes. They ALWAYS seem to have tonnes of them left over! I got a huge supply from a store that went out of business. They were so kind! Just ask. I told the owner what I'd be using them for. He was very happy since he had owned a craft store for years and appreciated all sorts of crafts.
9. Shelves above my carts hold mini albums, old fashioned biscuit tin (holds floss), chalks, BIG Heidi Swapp & Prima flowers, my spare journaling box and idea generator "jar."
TIP: Use a small recipe file box from the Dollar Store as a journaling box. Make a section for each member of the family and jot down things - never assume you will not forget- 'cause you WILL! Be sure to include a section for pets, vacations, quotes and song titles. Here is an article I wrote for SBCH on this very topic.
10. Scrappy Spacemaker Tip: We took off the folding closet door to allow for better access to the 4ft squ. space inside that closet!
You can see the hanging wire rack my friend Kristie brought to me. I use it to store all my Basic Grey collections in. It held calendars at the hardware store where K. works. They were going to discard it and told her she could take it home. Thanks Kristie!
On both sides of closet, facing the centre: "cube"wire racks like these.
Bottom of closet: Yellow plastic basket containing ALL pp and supplies for yearly school photo mini-album-pages for MIL/FIL.
10. Exercise bike also goes in here! I just pull it out when needed!
11. A view of handmade cards from friends on my b. board...plus my wood-mounted stamps. The stamps are on top of an armoire set up on the steps of a 3-tiered plastic spice storage stand which allows me to see them. I have the sentiment stamps all in an oval slatted wooden basket that I bought at Frenchy's for .50 cents LOL!
12. My pride and joy: my ribbon drawer!!! LOL! WOW!
13. I have used the space beneath my table as storage for:
1) Crop in Style XXL (with dust cover made of hemmed fabric that matches room- thanx Mom.)
2) Seagrass baskets: 1 for chipboard letters, 1 for fabric; stacked
3) My "White" sewing machine
4) A pink combo of gabage can/paper recycler bin
5) My lightweight portable heater (just pull to centre of room and switch on.) Toasty warm!
Thanks for stopping by! Hope that tea was good!
Come again soon... I loved having you with me!
~
Have a GREAT day!!
