Craft Cupboard Organization!

I LOVE organizing.  Before I can figure out a system that works for me, I have to move things around several, lol.  Poor Hubby never knows where things are!

 

Here is my current organization system for craft cupboard #1 (of 2 at the moment... not counting the spare bedroom walk-in closet :) )

 

I store a large pot (strictly for dying fabric) on top, and sometime whatever current project I'm working on that there isn't space for inside the cupboard.

 

 Top shelf = Paint supplies & larger glue bottles/adhesives

 

 2nd shelf from top = Kids crafts (things are slightly out of order :) )

The blue box on the left is full of random things for making quiet books!

 

3rd shelf from top = Felt & Quiet book supplies!  (I LOVE making quiet book pages & have several duplicate pages ready to be put together in those containers)

 

 Bottom shelf = Scrap booking paper & books

My larger scrap booking papers are in a special carrying case that is tucked between this craft cupboard and the wall.  More of the delicate scrap booking supplies are in another cupboard.

Simple, inexpensive DIY key rack

10% off in my ETSY store for a limited time!  Coupon code:  HappyFall

 

We've needed a key rack for a LONG time now.  I just wanted something very simple and plain but never found what I was looking for in the stores (at least not for a reasonable price).

 

After losing my keys for the 1000th time the other day, it was time to head to the hardware store!

 

 

We bought an unfinished strip of wood (it was 2" wide 36" long and 1" thick?) they had several dimensions to choose from.

 

DIY Key Rack in 7 steps:

1) Cut wood to desired length (ours is hanging below an 8X10 picture frame... so we made it the same width of the base of the frame)

 

2) Decide how many hooks you need, and mark their spacing on the wood

 

3) Drill holes (smaller than the screw on the hooks) where you marked your hook locations

 

4)  Sand the edges of the wood

 

5)  Stain the wood & let thoroughly dry

 

6) Add wall mounts (I just drilled 2 holes at an angle in the back of the wood)

 

7) Add hooks on front & hang on the wall!

 

 

The hardest part??  FINDING my keys... to put on the rack :)  hahaha.  Haven't lost them since though!

 

 

SIDE NOTE:  Price out the hooks when bought individually, or in a variety pack!  We saved about $6-8 by getting a variety pack of hooks (we did end up making a couple of key racks) rather than buying the hooks in smaller packs.  Now we have extra too for future projects!  

Also, we used squared off hooks rather than the classic rounded hook for a slightly different look.

organizing: sneak peek

I'm still organizing around my house (probably will be for quite awhile) and I've been painting and helping out at my parents lately too.

 

 

Here's a look at one of my craft cupboards (in progress)

 

Hmm... I don't remember putting a cat in there.... he's my little helper, I guess, lol.

Organizing sewing room - AFTER!!

I've been in a mega "home organization" mode for the past few months, and it finally came time to re-organize my cluttered sewing room (check out my BEFORE post).  It's been in order now for over a week (I had problems with my camera, hence my super delayed "after" post) and I have to say I LOVE IT.

This post is wordy.  If you're not interested in the details and reasons behind my organization methods, ignore the writing and just look at the pictures :) 

Short story long... Shortly after I moved into my new home, I posted this post showing how I organized my sewing things.  It worked alright, keeping fabric scraps on the top shelf, and full pieces of fabric and patterns on the bottom shelf of an armoire. 

But, I needed to give that armoire the boot when I got my new sewing/embroidery machines so they could be left out all the time.  So then all my fabrics were separated by type in clear plastic tubs... which then turned into a gigantic opaque tub... which quickly turned into complete chaos. 


Anyways, here are the before and after pictures of my current sewing room storage area:

The logic of this (the before) layout... all the full fabric was stored on the shelves, and the scraps were in the tub on the bottom right of the picture.

The tub of scraps was just NOT working... it was too deep so any order to the fabric was quickly lost whenever a piece from a lower layer was extracted.  Plus it was easy to forget what was inside of this.

 Now here come AFTER pictures and explanations. 

There are tons of ways to store sewing patterns and everyone has a little different method that works best for them. 

You've probably seen it before, because I think it's fairly common, but I take my patterns out of their original envelopes and put them in large clasped envelopes.  Each gets its own large envelope, which is labeled with the company, pattern number, size, style, and any other useful descriptors (just be sure to put the labels in the same order and location on the envelopes and in a place that's easy to see while flipping through them quickly).  Storing patterns in bigger envelopes works well because once you use a pattern, they just never seem to fit back into the original sleeve!

Next, to easily see what patterns you have, I take the original pattern envelopes and put them in clear page protectors which are then organized in a binder.  My binder is organized by style of pattern (ie tops, skirts, dresses, etc.) but there are lots of other great ways that also work.

I store my newly made pattern envelopes in clear plastic tubs, and separate them by pattern company.  Within each company, I order them numerically.  And, of course, I use my trusty label maker to label the outside of the tubs showing which pattern company is inside each tub.

Above you can see my solution for stray ribbon rolls.  I removed the clothes hanging pole from this part of the closet and put a thinner dowel in its place.  Then I strung the ribbon spools onto it and secured the cut ends of ribbon on each roll with tape (so they don't all unroll onto the floor!).

Below is my favorite part, the 9 cubby shelf Hubby assembled for me.  It works perfectly for my fabric collection.  The right hand column of the unit currently holds all my scraps, separated by size and type, I love that they are all visible.

The other cubbies are full pieces of fabric, sorted by color.  Except for the top center cubby, which is dedicated to items for embroidering.

I used plastic shoe box containers to keep my sewing accessories in order and stacked them on top of the shelf.  I have boxes for things like zippers, Velcro, and enclosures.  Plus boxes for felt, scraps from curtains and other home decor, interfacing, and my favorite: a box for my current sewing project.  It keeps all the little pieces in order (extra thread, zipper, buttons, etc.) and all in one place if you have to put the project on hold for awhile.

To keep my sewing machine manuals and books in order I set a plastic magazine holder on the top left of the shelf too. 

Now that I can see and find things, I'm excited to sew some more clothes!

Whew, that was a long post.  If you have other helpful ideas for sewing room organization, let me know :)

Organizing sewing room - BEFORE

I have organized and reorganized my sewing room too many times to recall.  For whatever reason, I just couldn't find the method that worked for me.

Usually things stay looking alright for a week or so, then they turn into a mess.

I think I finally have a system down that will work (we'll see) but, here are the BEFORE pictures of my most recent organizing project.

Large, unused pieces of fabric (above)

Fabric scraps stored in a tub piled layers thick... you couldn't see anything deeper than the top layer and it just wouldn't stay orderly when searching for items.

The main fix to my problems... multi-sectioned shelves.  Hubby so kindly assembled them for me :)  Stay tuned for the AFTER pictures of my sewing room organization.

Check out the AFTER pictures and post!

Cases for glasses in 4 steps!

Things have been a bit crazy around here, but I finally got a project done that has been bugging me for awhile.  Making cases for our 3D glasses.

I love the basket they're in (it held tissues in handmade cases at our wedding) but storing them this way makes them more susceptible to scratches and fingerprints.

To protect these babies, I made glasses sleeves for each pair.  Super simple, and quick.

4 simple steps to make cases for glasses

1) Size up the glasses & cut 2 rectangles (leaving a seam allowance)

Make sure you cut enough fabric for each pair of glasses!

2) Fold the top (short edge) under and stitch, to form a nice finished edge.  Do this to both pieces before sewing the rectangles together.  * I used decorative stitches to do this, so the cases look a little different *

3) Sew the fabric together (right sides together) by sewing the 3 remaining edges (leaving the top part open)

4) Trim seams, flip right side out, and repeat for all additional glasses cases

I used snaps to keep the glasses from sliding out of their cases, which is optional.

Some of the cases are in zebra print, that's to tell the 2D glasses from the 3D sets.  (the 2D glasses convert a 3D movie back into the regular style, so those who don't do 3D can still enjoy watching.  The 2D glasses were easy to make and way cheaper than buying pre-made)

I may need to make some more of these... my sunglasses sure taking a beating in my purse next to keys and spare change.

Velcro cord ties in 4 simple steps!

If there is one thing that bothers me in my house... it is all of the tangled electronic cords laying around! Hubby and I have been working hard to put an end to the cord mess.

For all of the cords that can be tucked behind a TV stand, color coated (and labeled) zip ties are nice to keep things straight. (yes, we're a little nerdy)

But, that doesn't work as great for cords that are used more often, like video game controllers. I used to use rubber bands or twist ties but now have switched to Velcro ties.



Here's how to make cord ties out of Velcro in about 10 seconds and for ridiculously cheap:

1) Wrap Velcro once around the cord bundle to determine the length needed and cut it (fastener & hook sides) to this size.

2) Peel the Velcro apart and lay the pieces side by side with the short sides together.

(the pictures below show 2 cord ties being made)

3) Place the Velcro so that the fastener side is up and the hook side is down (or vice-versa) and overlap the short ends slightly.

4) Zig-zag stitch the Velcro pieces together on the short sides.


That's it! Now you just have to bundle your cords and wrap them with your Velcro ties.

Organizing plastic bags

Plastic grocery bags generally take over our pantry closet, and I've finally gotten around to doing something about it!

Here is how they are usually kept (this actually looks better than normal)

(Hubby uses them as lunch bags, that's why we keep them)

And here's how to make a plastic bag organizer for those annoying grocery bags that pile up so quickly:

1) Recruit some help (only kidding, I had no choice... )

2) Cut 2 rectangles of fabric (mine were roughly 22" long by 7" wide)

3) Sew the two rectangles together lengthwise. (put the fabric right side together and stitch along both long sides, leaving the short sides open)

4) Sew casings on both the top and bottom edges

5) Thread a piece of elastic (mine was roughly 4") through the bottom casing and sew shut.

6) Thread a piece of ribbon through the top casing (the ribbon should be large enough that the top can open entirely up)

7) Flip the bag organizer right side out

8) Fill the bag organizer with those annoying plastic bags

9) Hang the bag organizer somewhere accessible yet out of the way.

A bakers dozen worth of bags fit nicely into this size of bag organizer. We're doing a trial run to see if this is big enough for Hubby's lunch bag collection. If it is... the extra bags that didn't fit in here can finally be recycled :)

This post is linked to:
The DIY Show Off
The Creative Girl