Craft Room Unpacking - Organization

I'm super lazy. And I just now (three weeks after moving) started emptying boxes. Well, that's a slight lie... when I was in a frenzy looking for something that I hadn't seen since before we moved, then I would open a box (or three) and throw junk to the side. So if that counts as "emptying" then I guess I'm not that damn lazy.

Anyhow...

My first big project is my craft room... craft space. A little back story; I used to have a whole craft room to myself, but in this new house we decided to use one of three bedrooms as a guest room (just in case). So the other spare room will be split in half... my craft space on the left and my husband's office space on the right. Let this prove that I am nice and I can share!

So... only having space and not a whole room adds some challenges to my project. You don't know how much stuff I have, but you will soon see!!

This is post No. 1... I will probably post one more final look, but this one will focus mainly on organizing solutions I've come up with. 

So, without further ado... the BEFORE shot!

BEFORE! A damn mess in my craft space!

First and formost, I put two shelves above the sewing table. I mainly do sewing, so I want those bits & baubles to be very close!

I put the top shelf VERY high up (where I'll put things I won't access as much) and the one below will hold zippers, trims and machine cleaning tools. The bottom shelf will also hold a wooden dowel that I thread ribbon spools on to it.

Two basic shelves... I noticed later that one of my brackets was a little off.

Shopping time! I bought the shelves at Lowe's a long time ago. The plastic jars are wonderful! They hold my various zipper sizes (6", 9" and 12") and fit at least 20 at a time. I purchased them super-cheap at Oriental Trading (set of 3).

The next item was a little DIY project. You need the following:

Steel Sheet 8"x24" (bought at Lowe's)

Neodymium Magnets - 48

E-6000 Glue - Small Tube

Short Jars - 12 (Plastic 4.5")

Four Screws to Hang It!

Total should be less than $35 (I already had the glue and magnets, so at the time I just needed to buy the jars and the steel).

I had friends in high places, so I took my sheet of steel to a sign shop and had them round the corners and poke holes in each corner. This shouldn't cost you anything at most shops, but at the least prepare to pay a few dollars for their work (which took my shop 5 minutes).

Steel sheet with rounded corners & holes!

Next... you need to take the E-600 and carefully glue four magnets on the bottom of the plastic jars. I have a few tips to make this successful for you!

1. The magnets are very, very, very strong!! So carefully separate one from the stack at a time. See this website for more info. I'm not kidding on the strength... if you're not careful you can hurt yourself! But trust me, you need these magnets and not the usual black ones you see in the world. These need to me strong to hold the weight of what is going in the jars.

2. Make sure you put four per jar! Again, this helps hold the weight of the jar's contents.

3. Just a small pea-sized dab of glue will do per magnet.

4. Let the glue dry for 24-hours.

5. Do all of this in a well-ventilated area... the glue has a very strong smell.

Four magnets per jar... no more, no less. Love my decals?

After you glued the magnets and let dry for a day, attach the sheet to the wall (vertical or horizontal, I've done both) and attach the magnetic jars. I've put some very heavy magnetic snaps in the jars and it holds perfectly!

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All done! And looking fine!!

I prefer putting this near where I seat, so I can grab button and snaps easily! 

Okay... what's next? Oh! Yes, more holes in the wall!

Poor wall.

Next, under the steel sheet, I put up a very tiny shelf with hooks. 

The shelf is only 5"x16" and really can't hold much EXCEPT these little plastic jars (about 3" tall) I got from Oriental Trading. They are perfect for small things like key rings & hooks. 

I will use the hooks underneath for something later (check back).

So small, yet so useful!

Doesn't it look great so far! Except for my crappy labels... I'm gonna redo those!

A big thumbs up for getting these level!

Okay! Two last things.

The item on the left is a plain ol' peg board that I spray painted purple. I use this to hang tall/long things (like yard sticks) and sort tools I don't use too often.

The item on the right is a thread rack. It's meant to sit on a table, but because I'm a rebel, I drilled two holes through the wood and screwed it to the wall. BAM!

Don't worry... I've got plenty of stuff to fill these up!

Alright... I'm done for now. This is the organizing part of my craft space. 

Note how it's ALL on the wall! That's important because floor space is sacred here. 

Yes, there are a ton of holes in the wall now, but those are patchable. I've even considered putting more shelves up above the peg board if the closet sorting doesn't go well (and I need space).

After... for now!! It already looks better.

Next up on the menu, is finding all my damn stuff. I'm not sure where my thread is... or my scissors. So once I find all my stuff I'll show you what this looks like filled up. 

Also, I'm gonna organize the closet in the room for the other craft stuff (I don't just sew, you know). I'll post more details then!

Open for Business

It's been a long, long time... but my m. ranae designs etsy shop is back open!

I reposted some old stuff and plan to put more up tomorrow. Also... as soon as I'm done typing this, I'm gonna sew.

I also officially closed my business in North Carolina. I still need to get the official stuff done in Florida, but sadly it takes more paperwork & money than it did in NC. So I hope I can sell a bag here & there to pay for my license. Then I can register my name and file for state tax.

For now... I'm at least open.

Today I'm Gonna Sew

Today I'm gonna sew... because I finally have my craft room setup!

Yay!

So far, this is the third room that's fully functional. The others are just gonna have to freakin' wait... I've got some sewing to do.

LET'S TALK ABOUT :: m. ranae designs

I'd like to talk about my home business.

I design & sew bags, wallets and other accessories. Other stuff includes pouches, makeup bags, purses, lunch bags and other weird stuff that doesn't fall under the "accessories" title.

I've been working from home (not exclusively yet) since 2008. I sell on Etsy and in person (sometimes at a craft show).

Even though business has been slow this year (mainly because my production has been slow), I still love it and hope I'm making bags well into my 200th year.

I have an m. ranae blog you can visit, but I'm gonna stop posting there and post here exclusively. But you can still find me in a few other places on the web. Follow Me, Like Me and be my friend (even if you're not buying).

My Main Website

My Etsy Shop

Facebook

Twitter

Soon-to-be-former Blog

When I Grow Up

ca·reer [kuh-reer]  – noun
a person's progress or general course of action through life or through a phase of life, as in some profession or undertaking.


When we are children we are often asked what we want to be when we grow up. As children, there are so many basic answers (we don’t yet know that there are thousands of choices); fireman, teacher, astronaut, nurse, doctor... maybe even tattoo artist.
Then as we get older and a little more realistic, our answers become more like paleontologist, lawyer, math teacher, computer programer... and maybe still, tattoo artist.

When I was young I wanted to be an actress. I don’t remember anything other than wanting to be an actress... up until I was in high school.  This is quite laughable now because I have no desire to act AT ALL! Part of me would like to be a singer-songwriter (and honestly, I was once), but acting is not really me. Now my friend, DeeDee... she’s a real actress. She’s in plays all the time and she even went to New York to try and make it big. She’s back in North Carolina now, but she is still a real-life actress.

As a teenager, I really couldn’t make up my mind what I wanted to be. But I knew how the system worked; Must. Go. To. College. Almost everyone in my senior class was planning on going to college and I wasn’t gonna miss out on the fun. I eventually decided that I wanted to do special effects makeup for movies. After some research, I learned that it helps to have a degree in cosmetology (especially in the skin care field). So I decided to first go to cosmetology school then move to California and attend a special effects school.
This plan did not work out... life happened and I ended up in a community college studying music education. And I only lasted one semester (I dropped out).

After that I worked at a bakery and eventually as a writer for a newspaper. A few more jobs later and I’m now in customer service. And despite, I’m not at all interested in going back to college. Most people are working in a field other than their college degree. And many people are working superb jobs with no degree. Of course, there are those jobs where you need a degree; teacher, nurse, doctor, astronaut.

I’m not sure what I’m getting at with all this... it could really be just late-night ramblings (it’s almost 2 in the morning).
But I look back sometimes, wondering if the right choices were made and these days, I have no regrets. I’m not an actress. I never mastered the beautiful art of special effects (or a prom up-do). I no longer write art & entertainment articles. I don’t frost doughnuts. I don’t flip burgers.
I’m simply a customer service representative... oh! and I sew bags from my own patterns.

That’s it. And that’s okay with me.