Cutting Cafe Crafty Room Inspiration!

Welcome to some Cutting Cafe Inspiration!  I have to thank Regina for this assignment, which is to show our crafty spaces, because were it not for this, mine would still look (more) like a craft store exploded!...lol... but I spent a whole day cleaning and organizing and it feels really good.  I work in an accounting firm and we just finished tax season on the 18th and everything I've created for the last few months has just added to the mess I had... now when I go up in my space (it's located in our small loft space at the top of the stairs) I can breathe!  Um... you may have noticed my helper... he likes to clean up papers that drop on the floor... he also thinks it's helpful to throw his Kong around after it's empty and bounce it off of my shelves with jars... his name is Slim and he is very "helpful".

And whether the whole "helpful" part is true or not... the truth is he has my heart and I don't think there is anything he could do that would change that.  So... there's that... what I think is the best part of my crafty space.  And here's the rest!  Now the rest is not so handsome as this and it might be a long story, but if you stick with me there's a surprise at the end!

My space is full of craft supplies, but it's also full of some of my favorite memories... like that sign that my parents used to hang every weekend we would go camping.  My brother David wants it... I told him I'd only trade it for my grandfather's shadowbox he made.. so far no deal... and yes... I know my cubes are crooked... I need a base made to stack them on and then we'll work on fastening them so they aren't crooked... but for now, it works... it only bothers me a little that they are crooked.

Here's a closer look at my open cubes... they are filled with all kinds of memorabilia and supplies... my favorite inspiring magazines and my markers...This is right behind where I sit so it's easy to turn around in my swivel chair and grab the ones I want.   I've been using these trays for my Copics and I love them, but I got so tired of having to take them out of the trays for travel and then put them away again when I got back!  I was cropping with some friends and Melanie ... Melanie... I have to thank her so much... she walked in with her little clear travel bag that perfectly fit the trays... so I searched and found that Bee Creative makes a clear zippered carrier with a handle that fits 10 trays... so I just keep them in those carriers and when it comes time to travel I just grab one or both and go!  One is filled with Copics and the other has my Zig Watercolor markers and some glittery gel pens and a few other random markers and pens... another discovery that changed my crafty life... thank you Melanie!!

The curtains... I picked out that pretty fabric and my mom made me some curtains.  With all of the black furniture in the space, I knew I wanted to lighten it up with some bright colors and pretty florals.

The green cupboard... one of my kids made that in high school... it didn't look quite like that at first... it was not painted and it had a roughly drawn skull and Slip Knot (you may or may not know what that is) engraved in it...lol... but my brother fixed it up and the little shelves are perfect for some Starbucks Frappuccino bottles full of buttons and almost all of my glitter.  The bottles I have were gifted to me by my friend Susan... and you'll see some more below.

This is my cutting station.. I bought these dressers at Ikea and they hide all sorts of goodies... the top drawers on the ends hold Cricut supplies near my Cricut and some of my dies and embossing folders near my Big Shot.  And you can also buy these cool glass tops for them so it's a perfect surface for a craft space.

And on this end, some more Ikea kitchen hardware to hold more button filled Starbucks bottles, my re-inkers, my ribbon and more...oh... lots more..lol!

And my husband recently helped me glue some magnetic sheets (the kind you get at Lowe's that cover metal grates in your house) on the inside of this cupboard's doors.  I wasn't sure it was going to work out, but I really had nothing to lose.  The cupboard cost us $30 many many years ago at Ames in Hamburg, NY.. and if it didn't work out... well... the doors are mostly closed... but I can tell you it has made a huge difference.  It's right next to where I use my Big Shot and so convenient that I can see them all and just grab what I want... I just need to get more magnet sheets and fill in the empty spaces...

I get to stare at these a lot and they inspire me... those beautiful words and that beautiful Mexican sun... oh!  And that monkey ornament... he's all dressed up like he's sight seeing... my mom bought him for my husband and since he wasn't thrilled with it (sorry mom), I snagged it because I love him and he makes me giggle...

This half of my table is my embossing station.  My heat gun is actually in the bathroom just off of this only because there is no handy plug for me, so I do my stamping and powdering here and then take a few steps into the bathroom to heat it... it's handy and normally my drying paint brushes and stencils and other items that need washing are hanging out.  It's possible that my cause of death in the end may be electrocution by embossing... and I guess that would make a pretty cool obit... oh, and I keep my paper cutter here too so it's not in my way... it's just around the corner from where I sit and I'd rather get up to cut what I need than have to keep moving it out of my way... I always know where it is... This space does get cleared off if I have company to create with me.  

And now....drum roll... here it is... the place where all of the "magic" happens...lol!

This is the opposite side of my table... you may notice my favorite coffee mug.. some chocolate covered coffee beans to snack on... and a current project I'm working on.  I have to admit I'm a bit ashamed because as I was cleaning I found SO many things I've never used.. so my new mission is to use those things and also use up some of the piles of leftovers that I've saved so that's coming up...

I'll stop here with the tour... it's a small room with a lot of stuff... I hope you enjoyed the tour... and I couldn't post without some makes so ...

I made this one using some papers and cards that I got a while ago from The Cutting Cafe Shop but hadn't used yet...the Fabulous paper pad and Life Cards from Authentique... I got them because they were fun but I just hadn't gotten around to it yet!  And I also used up some of those extras laying around... 

And this one.. the papers and sentiment rectangle are from the Doodlebug Anchors Aweigh paper Pad and those cute little fishes are the Minnow Doodlebug Pops

You can get all of these products in the Cutting Cafe Shop along with a bunch of other stuff and boy did they make for some quick cards!  I made them while I was cleaning!  You know... clean a little and then reward myself with a little crafty time... you do that right?

Thanks for sticking with me and do take the time to check out my teamies' spaces... so many cool and different spaces!  And comment over at the Cutting Cafe Blog on today's post (if it's not up yet, then stop by later!) and you might win some files!