I've had some people ask me how I've organized my creative space and specifically my Project Life supplies. Although I LOVE the components of my Project Life Core Kits, I have an absurd amount of other scrapbooking supplies I've accumulated over 11+ years of scrapbooking...and trust me when I say I've given A LOT away...boxes and boxes of stuff have been given away, but I've kept my favorite stuff and most of it works well in Project Life.
My office/creative space sits just off our dining room which flows into our living room and kitchen. We have french doors that keep it separated, unfortunately Karsten (our 16 month old) can push the doors open and thinks that getting into all of my goodies is great fun....he really has an affinity for washi tape. Lil stinker!!! It's a good thing he's cute....I say that on a daily basis :) Do you see the rock in his hand? Yep, he's obsessed with them. I don't mind that, however I do mind when he insists on putting them in his mouth. Girls may be more full of drama, but I believe boys are more full of shenanigans!
Sorry...I digressed!....moving on...
So here's the room with the doors closed
Doors open and looking straight in...it has great light during the day. The desk directly in front is my Grandmother's desk...I love it and treasure it. She was a teacher, writer, boutique owner, zany, confident, life of the party, and very creative. This is the desk where I keep my current Project Life album and my paper cutter. In the drawers you would find note cards, adhesive, metal embellishments such as brads, and office supplies. One of my long term projects is to change out the hardware on the desk...someday!
Looking Left-
Looking Right
Let's take a tour...
I took this white nightstand out our guest bedroom because I needed a home for my Project Life stuff in this new house (we've lived her less than a year). The black shelf is from Home Goods, the canvas is something I made, and the things hanging from the shelf are gifts from people. You will quickly see that I collect the letter A and place them in my office. Although Brian occasionally uses this room it is most definitely mine...he would agree!
On top of the dresser I have a few random organizers that I've picked up over the years...likely at Home Goods. On this table and in these organizers you will find the bulk of what I use in my PL album. Let's take a closer look.
In the red organizer you will find random tags, washi tape (although I've recently moved it because of a little someone), a jar with fabric tags from years ago, journaling cards, and enough October Afternoon stickers to last a lifetime. These sticker sheets are perfect for Project Life!! It also looks like I tossed some of the Oct. Afternoon tin pins in there as well, although these typically would be put somewhere else.
Behind the red basket you will find a blue box and a metal silverware caddy that I got from Southern Living at Home when they existed. In the blue box you'll find my corner rounder, some twine, stamps, and a bucket filled with randomness. In the silverware caddy you'll find a jar with little tags, PL days of the week and arrow stickers (which they don't carry right now), and pens. Don't ask why there's a ruler there...I've never used a ruler in PL. :)
On the same table you will also find my two current PL core kits, Cobalt and Clementine, as well as a container consisting of loads and loads of other journaling cards which I've collected over the years. I really need to clean these out and do a giveaway...next week maybe? Make sure to subscribe to my blog and check back! I'm going to hang on to the PL boxes because I really like them and may put next years Core Kit into them....but I'm very fickle and will likely change it around before then..so who knows!
hello cute little Ali Edward's journaling cards!
The shelf on the bottom of the table holds all of the different page protectors. I'd like to get a basket for them but finding a basket that holds these is challenging, so right now they're just stacked up.
Just to the right of my Project Life station you will find some more organizers. The bottom containers are filled with incomplete sb pages and projects and 12x12 page protectors....in case I might need one. Above that are drawers containing all of my letter stickers. Each drawer is a different color of sticker and yes, I realize I have a few too many! Maybe I'll throw some of those in the giveaway as well :) Above that you'll find pieces from the cherry and amber core kits as well as a black basket full of great stuff.
This basket contains everything from letter stickers to 12x12 sheets of stickers and other things.
like these adorable tags made my Creative Imaginations many moons ago. I love how simple they are!
So what you've seen so far is basically where I pull most of my Project Life stuff from. My method for putting a "layout" together is to choose my photos and order them from Walgreens. Then I choose a title card and a filler card (or I make my own filler card). Then I just pull journaling cards that hit me. There are journaling cards from both kits that I really don't like, so I don't use them. Each week I may use one or four non Core kit cards...it just depends. I don't overthink it...I just pull what feels right. Then once all of that is in place I'll decide if I want any extra stickers, words, or embellishments and I'll go through my stash to find what feels right. Like I said...I don't overthink it. This whole process takes me less than 30 minutes each week. Some weeks are more creative than others...that's life. On weeks where I have additional photos and page protectors it does take more time, but not much. I really do like to keep it simple. I very seldomly use the computer to put text on my photos. I love when people do that, but I just don't think about it. I also don't date my photos or put dates on my journaling cards...all that matters to me is that the photo was taken within that week give or take a few days. If a date is something I want to remember I will include it.
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Now for the remainder of my space. Hello beautiful Expedit shelf! I've had this shelf for a few years and it's held up so well...even through a move. I HIGHLY recommend it for any kind of organization. The baskets inside the shelf are Sterlite and I love them. They're durable, simple, and I can attach a label with some ribbon. On the top of the shelf you'll find photos of my dearest friends and Karsten. The big, red A was a gift from my super friend Kelly. The canvas is Kelly Rae Roberts and was a gift from my super friend Carrie Beth. In the top four cubbies you'll find 12x12 cardstock and patterned paper. I have my cardstock organized my color and my paper organized by company. I don't use 12x12 cardstock anymore, but I'm hanging on to it and I do use my 12x12 paper now and then. I purged over 600 sheets of patterned paper earlier this year and gave it to friends. I still have a 4 inch stack in my guest closet if anyone wants it. It's good paper, but I'm trying to simplify and only keep what I really, really like...let me know if you're interested.
I have an assortment of 6x6 pads of patterned paper that I go to frequently. I recently found a bunch of My Mind's Eye 6x6 paper pads at Marshall's/Home Goods for $2.99. I only bought one that was boyish, but I thought I'd share the info.
This basket is full of 8x8 paper...
8 1/2 X 11
and baskets of stickers: when I was a little girl I LOVED stickers...and now that I'm a big girl...I still LOVE stickers. It's just who I am. I may or may not go to the next couple of baskets for Project Life. I am using a lot of these on canvases I'm making (another blog post entirely) so they are being used.
Who remembers Chatterbox? To say that I hoard Chatterbox stickers and paper is an understatement. It's my favorite stuff in all of my scrapbooking life.
This basket is currently a "hot mess"...it contains random cards, brads, and chipboard embellishments.
This basket holds my 7 Gypsies stickers as well as my "theme" stickers like travel, baby, holidays, etc. I also like using the 7 Gypsies stickers in PL.
My Mom had this dresser since I was little and she never used it. I claimed it years ago for my scrapbook room. I had it painted and then added the bookplate drawer pulls, which you can see are not all labeled :) On the top you will find an antique Coca-Cola crate that holds all of my bottles of Prima flowers. Still one of my favorite supplies.
This smaller Expedit is to the right of my desk and holds notebooks and files.
Someday I hope to get rid of this computer desk, move my other desk in it's place, and then get a taller craft table for in front of the window. But for now, this works.
The larger expedit sits to the right of my desk...this holds red file boxes which hold creative books, labels, etc. my stamps, baby stuff for Karsten's album (once the Baby Kits are released) and boxes of stationery and envelopes.
I also have the remaining Kelly Rae Roberts canvases in my office as well
So that's my office...I'll be perfectly honest in saying that I often work at the dining room table, just out the french doors, because I can spread out and keep an eye on Karsten. Thanks for visiting and leave a comment or ask any questions. Also, check back next week for a giveaway!!!
