My Scrapbook Room.

I’m often asked, “Mary (that’s what my friends call me is Mary), where do you create all these artistic masterpieces?”  So I thought I would share some pictures of my scrapbook room.  Perhaps you can use some of my organizational ideas.

First, is my pegboard that is approximately 1/3 the size of one wall.  I’m sure you will all understand the genius behind my simple embellishment organization system.  Now you will hear some “experts” such as CD Mukosky, Lisa Bearnson, and others suggest that you should organize your embellishments by color and/or manufacturer.  They are out to lunch.  My way is so much simpler and makes so much more sense.  When I get home from the scrapbook store, I take each package of embellishments and hang them on the first peg I see with enough room to accomodate them.  It’s far simpler than all that sorting nonsense.

I also have a microwave cart that my husband gave me for Christmas one year.  The middle shelf is where I put all the embellishments that I bought when I didn’t have any pegs with enough room to accomodate them.  They are neatly stored in a box.  That same shelf holds my school box of pens that sometimes closes and sometimes doesn’t.  On top of the cart is where I put all my paints and everything else that does not hang room on the pegboard or that I don’t want to put in my box.  The bottom shelf holds a stack of fishing tackle boxes full of eyelets and a basket from Wal-Mart holds all my chipboard.  Please do not trip over my cart as the eyelet stack is a true engineering marvel and the structural integrity could be compromised if its environment were to be disrupted.  And who wants to pick up millions of tiny eyelets off the floor just because he or she can’t watch where they are going?

 

Now for the paper stack.  I got some cube thingies (that’s the technical term for them) at Costco and I put them together with fancy colored zip ties.  Paper is roughly sorted by theme with the largest stack being “Miscellaneous”.  Again, some of the so-called “experts” will tell you that paper should be organized by color and manufacturer.  I say to them, “Pish posh.”  My cardstock scraps are stored in photo sleeves in a 3 ring binder – they are organized by color.  My motto has always been, “Scraps should be meticulously organized by color.”  I store my patterned paper scraps in a 12×12 project sleeve.  My paper trimmer is balanced on top of the trash can for easy access.  My scissors hand on a magnetic knife holder strip thingie (another technical term) that I got at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

 

My ribbon holder really is cool.  My dad made it for me for Christmas one year.  I used to sort my ribbon with much the same theory as my paper, but a couple weeks ago, I decided to sort it by color. 

And last, is my closet.  My husband made me some built in shelves.  I think he felt sorry for me because I had morning sickness 24/7.  I’m showing only half the closet because the other half is so meticulously organized that I don’t want to make anyone green with envy.  I store all my foam stamps, Sizzix dies, items to be altered, cutters, etc. on this half of the closet.

I fully expect Creating Keepsakes magazine to call me up in the next week or two to do an article on my scrap room.  Now go create something wonderful!