In My Studio - Desk space

Hello CTK friends!  This month the Pocket Life Team are sharing some photo's and details about the most important area when we create - our desk space! :)

My office area is definitely my happy place, and while it is rarely as clean as it is in these photos, I do try to stay as organized as possible so I can find everything I need when I'm working on projects.  The desk on the right is one that I've had for around 6 years and while it did a great job serving as my only crafting work surface for many years I did find myself shuffling everything around a lot, which was a bit frustrating at times. Earlier this year I took the plunge and got myself a second desk from Ikea, which is a bit larger than the first.  My favorite thing about this desk is that it can be adjusted in height.  While I prefer to craft while sitting, sometimes its easier to film videos while standing.  Now I can do both!

On my desk I like to keep some containers with my essential tools like scissors, tiny attacher, paper trimmer, adhesive, rulers, stamping blocks, pens and pencils, etc.  Keeping these things within reach is super helpful when I'm working on a project.  I also like to keep a small basket with kits that I'm currently working with on my desk so I use these products first.  I try to use up as much product as I can from these kits before moving the leftovers over to my stash.

I also have a little extension to my desk in this rolling cart that I picked up from Michaels.  This cart holds most of my embellishments, and I love that I can roll it from one desk to the other when I need to.  On top of this cart I keep other essentials that I'm constantly grabbing for, like my inks and project life cards.

I'm one of those people whose desk needs to be clean at all time, otherwise I can't seem to function! I have a lot of little cups, bowls and dishes so I can tidy everything away after I finish working on each project (although there is always an empty coffee cup or two lying around! I've got my computer, printer and Silhouette Cameo all set up and ready to go whenever the mood strikes me. The shelves above my desk store all my most used alphas and embellishments, my DIY camera set up for process videos, as well as all my notebooks, planners and finished Traveler's Notebooks!

As you can see, my Desk isn't very big. I love it when it's cleaned. I can't work if there's a lot of extra stuff on the table. All tools and embellishments are stored in the drawers of the table.

My family recently moved and this new space has been so fun to arrange! I make sure my desk has lots of available space to begin projects and so I can get messy and spread out when needed. 

Something that's super helpful in all of my desk spaces has been having my favorite supplies and embellishments out so I can see them. If things are tucked away, I just won't use them. I use a large muffin tin for small paper embellishments and it's so handy to be able to dig through to find what I need. 

I also recently began keeping a dish of my most used stamps on my desktop because I was constantly reaching for the same 4x6 stamp over and over but only using that one. I'm not sure if I will like the messiness of this forever but it sure is fun for now. 

Thanks for hanging out in my new space. I hope to create inspiring projects here!

Welcome to my desk space!  We recently moved so I am still organizing all my fun goodies, but I am already in love with the bright space.  I love the light grey walls and the bright light that comes through my window.  Having a clean, organized space helps me create stress free.  I love the huge vintage bankers desk with lots of drawers, pockets and storage compartments.  I like that everything is close at hand so I can create without even getting up.  I even have a Diet Coke close at hand, (a crafty must have)!

What does your desk space look like? We would love to see/hear (just share a post on the Facebook Fanpage!).

Is there anything you would like to see from our "In My Studio" posts? Please leave a comment below and we'll be sure to include it in the future!

In My Studio - Album Storage

Hi CTK friends!  This month the Scrapbook Team are sharing some ideas on how they store one of our most important items - all our albums :)

Hi sweet friends!

I keep my albums along with some other scrappy stuff as cardstock and other goodies in my IKEA Kallax shelf unit which is placed in front of my desk. Since I haven't got enough albums for ALLLLL of my layouts I also store some of my pages with page protectors in boxes that fits in my Kallax shelf.

I actually store all my albums in an old kitchen hutch that we painted white.  My little 6x8 albums are the perfect size for the shelves.  The hutch is just tucked behind the door as you enter my room (also holds my mini-albums and alpha baskets).

All my layouts are filed away in albums by year (of photo) and I've just typed up some very plain looking labels for the spines.  I'd say that 90% of my layouts are about my son or niece so I just mix them together (rather than split them up per person) and I've stuck with black cloth albums for consistency.  While I wait for more albums to arrive (they are so hard to get over here!) I just pop them into the plastic sleeves and sit them in a clear tray in my shelving unit.  So they are still easy to flip through if anyone wants to look at what I've created! :)

I love the IKEA Kallax cubes for most scrapbooking storage. I have some knock-off Target brand cubes too, which is where I store the albums I have. I’m going to let you in on a little secret though...the majority of the scrapbook layouts don’t hold residence in my albums. See that stack of Citrus Twist Kits boxes next to my albums? Yep, that’s where most of my layouts live. Maybe one day I’ll buy more albums and be able to empty those boxes. But for now, that’s where they’ll stay. 

I am keeping my larger albums, mostly 12x12 or 6x8 in an Ikea  shelf.

My smaller, handmade minis are put away in Boxes, which fit in the Ikea shelves perfectly. I can grab them out whenever I feel like looking at them.

Since I’ve started making Traveler’s Notebooks this year, I bought some covers to fit them in and they look so pretty on the shelf.

Hi there!  Living in an apartment and having to share my workspace with the family means that everything has to have a place at all times.   We opted to transform our sofa table (Kallax Unit from Ikea) to storage/display furniture, so I use empty cabinet space to store my most recent filled scrapbook albums, layouts (in their plastic sleeves) and TN inserts.  Once the album gets filled, it moves to the bookcase in the office/den space of our apartment, so that anyone can access them at all times.

Hello lovelies, Neftali with you, and welcome back to another happy section of my crafty space! Today I am sharing how I store my albums. And well, I can’t say that I’ve got it all completely figured out for all of my albums, but here is what I’ve got so far. At the moment I keep all of my 6x8 mini albums, planners, notebooks, Travelers Notebooks, and Mini Albums in this 3x3 cubbie shelf unit. On top of it sits our television, since my scrappy space is shared in our tiny living room space. I like to keep my albums separated by size for the most part, but I also store them by type: TN’s together, Mini Albums together (in a wire basket), 6x8’s together, as well as planners and notebooks together. It’s pretty simple! 

But where are my 12x12 albums?? You might be asking yourself that question and, well, I have a simple answer. I don’t have any 12x12 albums! As crazy as that might sound, I have opted to keep my 12x12 and 8 1/2 x 11 layouts in plastic Iris containers until we move to a bigger home where I can buy a beautiful display storage system for those larger books. So, yes, I do have a nice growing stack of filled up iris boxes under my desk, but I’m happy with that at the moment. As far as album storage goes, this is how I opt to store mine considering the space limitations in my home. I hope you find some of these ideas useful for your small spaces. Thanks for visiting today! 

Please welcome Andrea Gray to our Creative Team!

Please joins us in welcoming  Andrea Gray to our Creative Team!  We are such a fan of her crafty creations and cannot wait to see what magic she creates with her Citrus Twist Kits each month!

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Hello Friends! To say I'm excited to be joining the Citrus Twist Creative Team is a major understatement! If I could use all the adjectives to convey my happiness, I would!  Instead I'm going to introduce myself and do a little Q&A!

My name is Andrea and I'm also known as Retrohipmama. I recently started a crafty & lifestyle magazine as a way to inspire makers to keep on making! I love memory keeping and all sorts of crafty things. Making stuff has just been a way of life for as long as I can remember. 

When did you start scrapbooking? I've been crafty since the 80s! But scrapbooking came into my life in 1998 and I have never given it up. I've seen all the trends and styles come and go and along the way have reinvented my own style. I love the memory keeping aspect but I would be lying if I didn't admit to how much I adore the products. Playing with color and images is my jam!

What is something most people would not know about you? I have some weird food quirks. Snacks especially need to be eaten in pairs, either by color or size. There's something about the symmetry that just makes me need to snack like this! 

What are the 3 scrapbooking products you can’t live without? I definitely need labels, tags and clips to create almost any project! Everything else is just a bonus!

Now that you know a little bit about me, I'll share my go-to format for memory keeping using the October kits!

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6x8 is my main format and I love to do one side with pockets and a full layout on the opposite side. It gives me an opportunity to play in pockets as well as practice my new favorite full page style.

Lately I've been loving working die cuts and ephemera into a puzzle-like style. It's kinda like a collage and a grid design and I love making odd shaped supplies fit together! This is definitely my jam!

For this page about my dad, I wanted to remember that when he texts me, even though I know it's from him, he still always ends his texts with "Love Dad". I used the love die cut and the alpha stickers for the title and then added the floral elements and of course, hearts! 

Thank you so much for joining me for my first ever CTK blog post! I hope you gain some inspiration to use on your own projects!

See you soon!

In My Studio with the GraceBox Team

Welcome back for another installment of "In My Studio" and this month the GraceBox Team are sharing how they share their die-cuts/ephemera in their creative spaces!

Hello everyone! It's so good to be back to share a little tip on how I store my die-cuts. Each month after going through at the GraceBox kit I received, I will try to arrange all the products in one corner so I can keep grabbing them when I'm doing my projects. I enjoy having all the products I will be working for that particular month right in front of me. 

It is true that when I look at them, not only inspiration will pour but I'll actually use them on my project. Once that month is done, I'll put all aside and prepare for the new kit to arrive.

I love die cuts so much - I even have some collections I have been hoarding that I'm finally putting to use! I interchange using the word "ephemera" and "die cuts" since they fall into the same category for me. I like to have all of my die cuts in one place so they are easily accessible. I use a small container to house plastic CD sleeves I purchased online. To keep them organized, I cut off the back part of the packaging and place it in the sleeve to help me quickly see what pieces are in the collection. 

I love this system because it limits how many die cuts I can store at a time (although I do have one more of these containers but it doesn't have anything in it yet!). I also love that I can grab one or even a few of the CD sleeves to pack up with me if I want to craft on the go.

Xxo, Tara

Hey This is Jennie! My Die Cut Storage system is pretty simple. For my Citrus Twist Kits Die Cuts I use a plastic organizer I got at Dollar Tree. Every month I get my kit and divide the die cuts into labels, words and phrases, little sprinkle shapes like hearts or stars, tags and other not so common shapes. This way I can find the die cut I want easily! 

Once I am done with my kit that month I move my leftovers to a bigger organizer. In that box, I have more specific categories. I have 3 spaces for words: fancier words, single words or small phrases and regular size phrases. I also have 3 spaces for labels: CTK style label, small labels and long labels. In that bigger box I have tags, script words, circles, stars and other shapes. For collection die cuts I use CD plastic sleeves. I have some random die cuts that go into my embellishments drawers that are divided by colors. I hope this helps you get organized! 

When it comes to die cut or ephemera storage my approach is a bit scattered! Typically I like to keep sets together—not organize them by design, theme or color.  Most time die cuts come in nice resealable baggies that I can just label, if not, I just put them in one. 

I tend to have a paper kit or collection that I am working with for the week. I leave that out on my desk so I can find everything easily. I love putting the ephemera in trays so I can see what I have. For example, the Grace Box kit for June is bursting with bright colors, florals and the cutest flamingos! 

I have a few ceramic containers in different sizes. I love using the colored trays as props for photos too. The pink tray is a cupcake pan  that I found at a garage sale for .25 cents and spray painted it pink!  The heart tin is vintage from my antique kitchen collection. Finding fun pieces at thrift stores & auctions is one of my things to do!  

Many times I have one or two pieces left from a collection or set and they don’t have a home—they end up in here. A little box that I can quickly pull something out random and use. If I write a little thank you note or need to make a card quick– I look here. You never know what treasures are still hiding. My crafty five year old also loves to dig through it. She knows not to touch any other supplies, but the box is fair game! 

I used to keep the sets of ephemera in a binder but it was too full and hard to pull out. I have recently switched to putting them in this 2 foot tall organizer from Hobby Lobby. It has 12 sections that I can stack packets of die cuts and have some loose too. I love it. I just spin it around and find what I need. It is helpful to have the pieces out so you don’t forget what you have. I do need to purge it soon, I have tooooo many!

I recently saw a sign that said, “I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies.”  I love that! My goal this summer should be to be better organized and start using more of my beautiful papers & pieces. I hope this has given you an idea or two that you could use. Try different things and find the perfect thing for you space & your style of crafting!

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It's always so fun setting how the Design Team stores all their goodies!  How do your store your die-cuts? We would love to see/hear (leave a post on the Facebook Fanpage!).

Is there anything in particular you would like to see from our "In My Studio" posts? Please leave a comment below and we'll make sure to include it in future!