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The "A.B." in ABCreations stands for Anmarie Bowden, that's me! My favorite ice cream is Mississippi Mud from Baskin Robbins, altho I'm partial to Oreos crumbled on top of Vanilla Bean ice cream too! I was born on Super Bowl Sunday. I have been digiscraping since 2000. I live in beautiful sunny California. I am married to my soul mate and we have two gorgeous children. My favorite saying is, “If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart!”

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Friday, July 17, 2015

Paper Scrapbooking: how to organize scrapbooking tools and supplies

Every time I read an article about how to organize my scrapbooking tools and supplies using scrapbooking storage, I get really inspired, then really frustrated. I simply don't have the room or money to make the tiny area next to my bed look like a dream crafting spot. I wish I did, but I don’t. The tiny area I have, has to have my desk and computer and printer. I have to work, pay bills, print recipes, make charts for the kids, and a thousand other things including scrapbooking. So, in this article you are not going to see pictures that look like they came out of a retailer magazine, nope, you are going to see my little scrapbooking storage boxes, labeled with sticky-notes, and you are going to read about how my desk chair is a hand-me-down, but that the space works for me and truly, that’s all that matters.

When our second child was born, I turned my office into a nursery. All of my office paraphernalia suddenly had to fit into a tiny spot in our bedroom. As you can imagine, my beautifully and articulately organized office became a giant cluttered mess. I realized I needed scrapbooking storage solutions and fast! (I got the scrapbooking storage fast, the organizing went a bit more slowly, lol!) I went to the nearest craft store and got a few 12x12 inch in-boxes for current pages or papers and embellishments I am excited to use, a 12x12 inch page holder with lid so I have all the elements for my page in one spot and can store memorabilia that needs photographing, and a set of 12x12 inch storage boxes on wheels for left over paper organization. The other scrapbooking storage items, I already had in my office and they didn't need to be 12x12 inch because they would hold things like stamps, punches, stickers, tools, and etc. I was also able to utilize some of my desk drawers; so I keep adhesive in one drawer, templates and design notes in another drawer, two drawers house embellishments of every kind, and the last drawer is for work stuff and bill paying.




After getting all my scrapbooking storage organized, I needed to organize my albums. I decided my completed albums should go on a bookshelf in my living-room so everyone can enjoy them. It’s also nice to walk by and see them there, they make me smile. My uncompleted albums go on a bookshelf in my bedroom, that way I have easy access to them.

Next I wanted to concentrate on my work space. Since my desk faces a wall, I put up a bulletin board to hold random items of inspiration, pictures of my family, and a calendar. All my photos are in acid free photo boxes in the closet, except for the pictures I am currently scrapping, and those go in an acid free photo envelope that sits on my desk. All my inspirational scrapbooking magazines go under my desk next to the recycle bin and garbage can so they are easy to reach but out of the way. On top of my desk is my favorite mug which holds my favorite pens.

Now that everything is organized, I'd like to say it just stays that way, but that’s simply not the case. I USE my things and they get everywhere. I have 2 kids in diapers so I have constant distractions (which is fine, that’s why I chose to work from home, so I could be with my little angels) and little fingers who like to unorganized things, lol. So, the organization is great, but even with all of the scrapbooking storage solutions, sometimes my office/crafting area looks “lived in,” lol!

I'd love to hear about your storage and organizational tools! Do you have a big or small space? How do you make your space work for you?

2 comments:

TLI74 said...

I have all types of sizes, types places for storage. I have stamping stuff separate. I keep my direct sales stuff separate from the regular stuff. regular crafts stuff is separate too. I have too many bags and carts but yet seems like I don't have enough haha. I am a containers hoarder I hate but I never know when I need something. I sort of wish I had a industrial makeover for storage but then I would worry where things were :)

SleepingBeautie said...

you sound really organized! i like that you keep everything seperate like that!