Organizing the Craft Room

Truth be told, I've been avoiding the craft room because it is so cluttered and disorganized. Adding the purchases from the Atlanta mini show was the last straw. It is a small bedroom, but has lovely bright light from a window as well as overhead and task lighting. My sister came over to brainstorm with me and pointed out that there is a nice wall just begging for some shelving. Here are some before photos.

This photo shows the doorway to the hall, the blank wall, and the doorway to the closet.

The worktable (an old desk) is in the foreground. There is a drafting table under the wall-mounted tv, with a couple of kit boxes on it. Not sure what is in the boxes under the table. 

Moving counterclockwise around the room, this shows more clutter. Actually, this picture makes it look nearly organized. It doesn't reflect the cluttered feel of standing there in real life. 

Inside the closet. Lots of nice drawers for storage, some of them labeled but not necessarily containing what its label promises, some empty. This will be a challenge in itself. Some items, like the beginning stash of egg cartons on the shelf and some large tools, can go out to the garage as soon as I get the last two sets of shelves assembled out there.

The first order of business was going to Home Depot for the components for the new shelves -- two wall brackets, four 4-foot shelves, eight shelf brackets, and some toggle bolts. Came home, moved the table and boxes away from the wall. Grabbed the wall brackets to check placement of the holes and realized I'd accidentally picked up two different brands, one Rubbermaid, one Closetmaid. Same length, different configuration. I blame the general messiness of Home Depot's bins. Anyway, back to the store to exchange one. 

Back home, measured the wall for placement of the top toggle bolt, and went out to the garage to get the power drill. After in intense search, the drill was not to be found. I have a feeling I know where it went. In preparing for the move last summer, I donated several tool boxes filled with art supplies to a local school. I think the tool box with the drill in it was inadvertently included. I ordered a hand drill and assorted bits from Amazon, but then borrowed a cordless power drill from my sister, who reminded me that I can shop their well supplied garage any time I need a tool.

Without a level, I relied on the Laws of Gravity to help hang the wall brackets. I fastened the top hole with a toggle bolt but did not pull it up snug. I let it hang down, perfectly vertical, and marked the other holes. Voila! The wall brackets were in place. The rest of the project went quickly. The shelves don't need to be very far apart, so I could add a fifth one at the bottom. The two mini drawer units are for tiny accessories, one for the Beacon Hill and one for the Pierce. That's landscaping items on the second shelf. They may be moved to the top shelf, as there is quite a long way to go before either of those buildings needs landscaping.

The goal for the shelves is display of furniture and accessories for houses in progress. If they are easily seen, I won't be as likely to buy duplicates. Walmart has some roughly shoebox sized storage containers made of clear plastic, which will be a good way to organize by room while mitigating dust. The organizing continues!

Reorganized Workshop/Office & Museum

As some of you may know, my dear husband Lloyd passed away the beginning of February. I miss him. Looking through the rich body of work he left behind keeps him close and brings me comfort. I've been sorting through his art and art supplies and reorganizing the studio space we shared into one dedicated to my own interests, miniatures and genealogy. Thanks to the unwavering support of dear friend and fellow miniaturist NJ from Missouri, the new workspace is looking good. There's still a lot of sorting and sifting going on behind the scenes, but there is a lovely clean space to get the jobs done.

Two miniatures moved from our storage unit to the studio, so all of my houses are currently under one roof. Marie Laveau's Cottage, the Halloween House and the Christmas House are in other rooms one each in the living room, dining room and bedroom, with the remainder in the studio. (Click on the photos to see a larger version.)

This is the view into the studio from the hallway that leads to the rest of the condo. I love being able to see the Hemmerling print of the baptism from a distance.

The houseboat sits on a table with storage beneath. The houseboat came over from the storage unit. I was pleased to see that after its move from Missouri and a year in storage, the lights went on at the first click of the switch. I like that it is possible to see both sides of the boat, since it was bashed from a 1:12 kit to a 1:24 boat and has rooms opening on both sides. The orchids are perched on the end of the file cabinet in the south-facing window. From my desk chair, I can easily see out of the windows on either side and also out to the "back forty."

The next photo shows the view out the back door, where Lloyd enjoyed growing plants on the little patio space that he dubbed the "back forty" -- forty square feet, that is, not forty acres.  The Beacon Hill is close to the worktable. The skirt on its table hides dollhouse supplies. The quilt shop is beside it. The boxes by the door are on their way to the dumpster; they didn't get the clean-up-for-picture-time message. 

The corner opposite the desk holds the TV and bookshelves. They are the cheap chipboard shelf units that I sprayed dark brown. Cloth "drawers" hold office supplies and other items. To the right is a TV table on a dolly with rollers that supports the pottery shop. To its right is the beginnings of the Greenleaf Pierce/Bohemian Inn that came over from storage. Almost hidden in the bright blur by the window is Lloyd's most recent papiér maché sculpture, one of the Yoruba gods. The ceramic panel mounted on wood that is leaning under the pottery shop is a memorial made by one of Lloyd's former students and signed by several of them. They presented it to me recently. It will hang as soon as I get a sturdy wire attached; it is heavy!

In this long view of the room you can see the mix of artwork on the wall -- some of Lloyd's, some of mine, and a few other artists. The Pierce/Bohemian Inn is also handy to the worktable.

The worktable has a couple of lights, along with a couple of small roller carts that hold often used items. 

Then there is the adjacent storeroom, where most of the behind-the-scenes, yet-to-be-tackled challenges lie. Lloyd was never happier than when "organizing" his notebooks. Each one needs to be vetted for important papers, artwork, photos, and who knows what else. One day at a time, I'm telling myself. 

The new shelf unit below the notebooks holds a dozen tool boxes in addition to my own. They are labeled, but after opening a few, I realized that the label doesn't necessarily identify the contents. More one day at a time activity here. The boxes within the orange box hold more papers and photos, all of which needs to be handled one piece at a time. 

Across from the notebook shelves are some rolling arts and more boxes on shelves. The black bag hold empty boxes, primarily candy boxes, that Lloyd saved because "they are a good size for storing stuff." To tell the truth, I've been mining the bags as I reorganize, but I do believe most of those left will be heading for the dumpster.

The wall between the notebooks and the roll-arounds has some build-in shelves that hold miscellaneous items as well as a set of books that I published years ago, when I organized and ran Rockbridge Publishing Company as a desktop book publisher. The seasonal front door wreaths are also stored here. 

Now that the studio is reorganized, I'm looking forward to getting back to work on minis. The residents of the Beacon Hill and Pierce are all clamoring for attention!