Craft Transformation
Littleton, CO
I LOVE a good craft organizing project!
I have a client I've been working with for a couple of years, and during the fall, she reached out to me and asked if I'd be interested in organizing her mother-in-law's craft supplies as a Christmas gift. Of course, I said yes, and was absolutely delighted to be a part of her special gift. Check out the transformation!
The Planning Process
For a project like this, where there are a lot of teeny tiny supplies, it's important to tackle the project in phases to ensure optimal organization. Here's how it went it down!
STEP 1 - Assess
The first step is to do a walk-through and assess the space, understand the client's goals, and chat through the budget, initial ideas, and options.
STEP 2 - Sort & Distill
From there, we sorted and distilled her belongings (with her help!) to develop a thorough inventory list of all her craft supplies. This ensures a successful organizing system!
Step 3 - Donate & Discard
We donated her organizing bins as well as the supplies she had an excess of (or no longer used) and discarded trash and recycling.
At the end of this phase, we packed up everything she wanted to keep into bins, sorted by category, until the planning process was complete and we were ready to organize!
Step 4 - Plan
Now that I had a solid understanding of her craft supplies, I proposed organizing products and furniture that would best maximize space and systemize her belongings. Here's a screenshot of one of the slides from the proposed plan.
Step 5 - Implement!
We replaced her existing organizing system entirely with six IKEA Brimnes Cabinets. The cabinets were delivered directly to her house, and her son (my client's husband) put them together for us (what a guy!).
With good distillation and some space-saving organizing solutions, we were able to considerably shrink the amount of space her supplies were taking up and drastically change the aesthetic of her space.
Inside each of the cabinets, we organized her supplies in zones, keeping all like items together.
The Organizing Details
Choosing the right products is key to maximizing space and keeping craft supplies organized and accessible! Here are some of the highlights of the specific products used for the different types of craft supplies.
Embellishment Organizing Products
Bins with adjustable dividers are great for organizing tiny embellishments, like brads, buttons, bling, and more! I like the ArtBin 5004AB, which you can find at several retailers. You can remove the dividers to create compartments of any size!
Ribbon Organizing Products
Ribbon supplies are best sorted by color (or pattern), making it easy to find what you need in the moment of creation. I like these Deflecto Ribbon Dispenser Boxes from The Container Store. Each clear box features a removable dowel that allows you to load spools of ribbon (or yarn). And thanks to the nifty snap-close lid, the contents stay in place as you unwind, measure, and cut desired lengths. Plus, they're stackable - double win!
Paper Organizing Products
I love these paper storage units from Stamp n Storage. They come in different colors and sizes, including sizes specifically for IKEA cube systems.
Ink Pads & Hole Punch Organizing Products
Stamp n Storage also makes great products for stamp ink pads and punches. I used this ink pad unit and this lock-down punch unit to organize her supplies.
Before, her supplies were piled into bins, making it hard to see what she had, which resulted in a lot of duplicates that took up a ton of space.
Now, her supplies are all visible and easy to grab. This not only makes the creation process easy but enables her to see what she has so that she doesn't overbuy.
Stamp & Die Organizing Products
I searched high and low for a solution for her rubber stamps that would allow organization by category while also maximizing space. These Iris Plastic Storage Cases were PERFECT!
The sleek slim case keeps her stamps flat and neatly organized so that she can see her design options at a quick glance.
Being able to store the stamp cases vertically like books made my heart so happy. Major space saver! Plus, the category labels allow her to see what she has. I organized her categories alphabetically.
Die Organizing Products
If you're familiar with crafting, dies tend to come in bulky cases (they remind me of DVD cases from back in the day), which isn't a big deal if you only have a few. However, if you have a large collection, they can take up a ton of space.
Insert the Avery Elle Storage Pockets! GAME CHANGER.
You can put the entire contents of each case into one of these little sleeves, enabling you to fit your entire die collection into storage bins for easy access (and major space savings!).
Craft Kit Organizing Products
Craft kits are another category that can take up a TON of space because they usually come in large bulky boxes that are hard to store.
If you have a lot of them, transfer each kit into its own mesh zipper pouch. You can reuse them as you finish each kit, but best of all - they save a TON of space. If we would have kept all the kits in their respective boxes, they would have taken up two entire cabinets (maybe three!) instead of two shelves within one cabinet.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Nothing is more satisfying than finishing an organizing project! It is the BEST feeling for everyone involved. For this client, her space went from underutilized and overpowering to useful and inspiring, which was life-changing for her craft business.
A month or so after we finished this project, I was absolutely tickled to receive her handcrafted Christmas card in the mail because I know how peaceful she felt and how excited she was to utilize her new space and share her creations with others. What a gift!
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Need help getting your crafts organized? Reach out!