*A Craft Room of One's Own

After many sessions on Pinterest and Google Images, I finally envisioned the way to set up my craft room.  It was a hodge podge of folding tables with materials stuffed in an overpacked closet.  Finding what I needed when I needed it had become tricky.

I was not willing to spend thousands on quality furniture.  Mine was an Ikea-sized budget.  Luckily, inexpensive, cubby-inspired pieces are even on Martha Stewart's radar.  A few trips to Lowe's and Home Depot yielded just the materials I needed to make my space much more manageable.  I love how it turned out!

The best part is the fabric bins, which hide the chaos of spontaneous crafting.  Plus, it frees up my desk so I actually have space to work with my polymer clay or string together a necklace.

I also discovered Harbor Freight, a store for usually known for it's inexpensive tools.  I discovered that the $40 organizer I'd admired at the craft store could be purchased for just $14.  The only difference is that it's construction-worker yellow.  It's the perfect place for crucial findings, like jump rings, clasps, and chain.

I keep it on the floor next to my desk for easy access.  Plus, it's portable so I can just grab it and go when I need to teach a jewelry class at Michaels.



*Virginia Woolf elevated women's role in writing by suggesting that women need the space and material with which to craft their art.

Get Organized: Favorite jewelry wire/thread organizing tool.

For a spastic jewelry maker like me who loves trying all sorts of new media and techniques, I find I spend a lot of my beading time just organizing my stuff, especially after a big clearance sale.  One of my biggest obstacles was keeping wire and thread untangled in my drawer.  It was a constant irritation.

One day, while shopping in a discount retailer, I saw a tiered pants hanger and thought, EUREKA!  That's the solution!  I only paid a couple bucks since it was being cleared out.  Not only is my wire and thread contained easily, but it's easy to see what I have in stock and what I need to purchase.  Plus, it hangs in the closet, so it doesn't have to look gorgeous.