Skip to main content

Props to IKEA

A while back I completed a closet conversion for my scrapbook addiction. I was so proud of the workability in such a small space that I wrote a blog post on it (you can see it here). Well, since then I was honored to be asked to do it for someone else. So again, with the same sense of awe with what you can really do in such a small space... here is MY SECOND closet conversion done for Ms. Betty! And while my own closet was strictly for scrapbooking (yes, I installed lighting and even a table top), this new closet conversion was for general craft storage. I also want to say, and I've said it before, IKEA rocks! Most everything came from IKEA. It took me three days to complete and cost about $300 start to finish, INCLUDING the mobile, expandable sewing cart (look familiar?), shelving and storage tubs. The sewing cart runs about $125. The only storage items that were pre-existing were the black four drawer chest and a couple of tubs that you see on the upper shelves.

Because of Ms. Betty's various unfinished craft projects located in various parts of her craft room and throughout her house (usually buried), I shortened and reversed the direction of the hanger rail to accommodate two vinyl drawer centers (IKEA). One is large for larger projects and one is smaller for smaller ones. That way, when she wants to complete a project, all she has to do is pull a drawer and everything for that one project is at her fingertips. And returning the drawer to the organizer (when the project is not being worked on) is super easy. Because the drawers are vinyl, sticker labels can be used to label each drawer and then removed when the project is completed.
Being that the back corner of the closet is generally unusable, I put three tubs with angled, hinged lids (IKEA) for easy access to stored items in the tubs without having to pull everything out of the closet to access.
Labelled tubs (IKEA and Fry's Marketplace) keep all the different craft tools separate and easy
to find. Sewing tools have one box, embroidery tools in another, knitting tools in another... you see where I'm going with this. And the different size tubs accommodate it all.
Vertical storage is my favorite storage of all. Anything that you can put up on a wall means it's easy to find and out of the way. I hung (hangers from Ace Hardware) the yardsticks up on the wall. Since they don't get used often, they had a tendency to get buried. Now they are in plain sight, out of the way and located next to the sewing machine where they will get used when needed.

Because serious crafters (like Ms. Betty) have a plethora of ity bity, teeny tiny items to store, this hardware organizer from Ace Hardware was perfect! Simple labels on the exterior of each mini drawer makes even the smallest items easy to find. And again, utilizes vertical space.

Well, this closet was an easy one and Ms. Betty expressed her amazement that now all of her crafting items are so easily located. She went through a couple of days of some serious organization and purging, but I know that she feels it was all worth it. There's a certain kind of Feng Shui happening in that craft room now, comfy and cozy!

Comments

Coffee@3 said…
Hi it was nice meeting you tonight. Your blog is now on my list of ones to follow. Love the conversion. The conference April 7-9 is www.creativeestates.blogspot.com and our blog is www.coffeeatthree.blogspot.com we're brand new and have been on hiatus for a bit due to illness but we're getting our mojo back :)

Lauren

Past 7 Days....

Gorgous Leaves Bundle Revisited

Yestday's Freebie Friday on a Monday projects were so fun and this set is SO BEAUTIFUL in it's simplicity!  It reminds me of a long-retired stamp set from Stampin Up!.  I was inspired to re-create the projects that I made with it once upon a time.  So here we go.... SIMPLE projects when you need a quick "hello" or an even quicker heartfelt sympathy card: I was DEFINITELY on a Bumblebee and Cajun Craze kick yesterday!  I can't stop/won't stop!  LOL!  To be fair... I had extra leaves die cut and didn't want anything to go to waste!  A quick speckle backdrop in Bumblebee then a quick "hello" greeting from the Biggest Wish in Cajun Craze with the Cajun Craze leaf popped up on a Basic White cardbase.  PERFECTION! Okay, as with yesterday's projects, the sentiment is from the recently retired SAB Delicate Dahlia's set, but you could use ANY sympathy sentiment you have in your stash.  Unlike in the past when I had to mask off the center rectangle...

Burton-weenie Release Day 2

Today is day 2 of the Burton-weenie release for Simply Betty Stamps.  I'm kind of slackin today as I didn't create a card to show, but you DON'T want to miss the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G work the rest of the Dolls made!!!  I'm serious!  This stuff on day two blew me away!!!! So head over to The Burtonesque Dolls and show some love.... you'll be glad you did!  They ROCKED day 2.  Tune in tomorrow for day 3 of the Burton-weenie release, that one's pretty good too.  Psssst... I made a really cute one!  LOL!  ;) **As I said yesterday, all of the images from this line will be available for sale at Simply Betty Stamps on Friday, but feel free to check out all the other COOL stuff by clicking HERE .

There's No Place Like Home

 Graphic 45's Magic of Oz arrived at Paper Vineyard last week and this week the design team had a BLAST playing with all the goodies!!!  I took a cue from my new blog friend Barb and used a scrapbook layout she completed as inspiration for my project.  The simplicity of using up those mini-scraps is just BEYOND brilliant.  She is the newest of the MANY talented blog friends I have, so don't be surprised if you see me saying her name A LOT!!!  Her talent is out of this world and TOTALLY up my alley [thanx for the card Barb, it is WONDERFUL]!!! So, of course, I used Copics for this project.  LOTS of E40's and R20's and finished up with YG20's... with a little Y18 and Y00 thrown in to make the cat tails and the shiny doorknob.  For some reason, my shadowing lightened A LOT on this pic, so I'm going to try and take another pic in better lighting and re-post.  Hopefully I can show this a little better.  For some reason, I've been sucking with m...