A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place

Some of you may know that when I moved from UT to VA our new house had a nice sunny downstairs room - and I immediately claimed it for my Stamp Studio. This certainly isn't my dream studio, but it's so much more than I've ever had that I feel awfully blessed to have it.

I'm not finished yet; I still have some organizing and decorating to do, but I've been working on it so long that I just had to post some pictures. I'll keep you updated with the decorating projects as I finish them.

Here is how my room looked in March:

Bleh! See my cluttered desk? How is a girl supposed to create amazing things in a space like this?


And now, drum roll please....here is my finished workspace! I have a desk for my stamps and one for my computer - it's so nice to keep them separated! When we moved, we inherited some furniture from a co-worker of Chris's. I can't wait to get rid of the less than stylish office chairs, but for now I'm grateful that I at least have something to sit on!

Here are my paper shelves which, oddly enough, aren't holding any paper. One shelf is even missing the backside - very ghetto.



Now, here is what a little organization looks like:

In the bottom drawer of my file cabinet I've organized all my paper scraps. I have a hanging file folder for each color in each family. It's super easy to keep myself organized this way. When I need a color, I always check my scrap drawer first. When I'm finished cutting, the scraps go into the appropriate file everything stays clean! Some of you may remember the basket that I tossed all my scraps into. It was terrible - I couldn't find anything, and in frustration I'd just grab a new piece of card stock. Suffice it to say, I was spending an awful lot of money on card stock.

I also keep hostess packets and brochures here. It makes it easy to give information to a customer when they ask for it. I don't have to dig around, wondering where I put everything - much more professional. I have the packets pre-made so I can just reach in and grab what I need.

I found this dresser at Deseret Industries a few years ago and at the time, I thought it would be perfect for storing stamp sets - all I needed to do was fix it up a bit! Well, it sat in my garage for I don't even know how long and then when we were moving and I was about to throw it in the trash, my Dad offered to help me fix the drawers and add some stylish hardware (it didn't have any to begin with). Well...it couldn't hurt right? He took it home that night and had it back the next day so we could pack it in the trailer. Amazing!

Even after my Dad fixed the problems I hadn't been able to, the dresser still sat in my basement for a few months. My mom came out to visit in March and she helped me clean it up and spray paint it.

In the end I decided it would make the perfect cutting station and the drawers are perfect for 12 x 12 paper and several of my stamping tools.



Here I have a spot for my inks, my aprons and my adorable Stampin' Up! Build-a-Bear! The cabinet underneath houses all of my wood mount stamps.

The fireplace is the perfect place for me to display finished projects - can't wait to fill it up!

The cabinet over my desk is actually meant for DVDs, but it works perfectly for my supplies. I can adjust the shelves to accommodate the jars and containers I have. I also added some lighting underneath the shelves that I use night and day - it's awesome!

My new clear mount stamps fit perfectly :)

My Ikea jars are great for storing loose items such as ribbon scraps, embellishments and even my SNAIL adhesive.

My baskets and rods (also from Ikea) keep my clear blocks, embossing powders and punches within reach. As soon as I'm done I can put it right back - organization never felt so good!

Above my computer desk I've added these white boards. I'm using them to display small projects or to make lists - to keep me organized, of course :)

For the spaces in between the white boards I'm going to use the new chalkboard Decor Elements that are pictured here on the front of the catalog.

And there you have it - my new Stamp Studio! I still have big plans for the perfect finishing touches, but it's a far cry from the disaster that was down here a few months ago. Now it's so nice that I wake up every morning excited to go stamp - and I've been doing exactly that. It's heaven!


I'll be out of town visiting family and friends for a few weeks, but I'll make sure to have some scheduled posts ready while I'm gone :) Hope you like my new studio - make sure to leave a comment and tell me what you think!