Setting up my new craft room

One of the (many) challenges of moving is setting up the craft room all over again.  At least I'm lucky enough to have a room to do my crafts in (although I do have to share it with Miss Kitty- LOL).   I'm still missing several boxes of my stuff (the moving company located them, but still hasn't delivered them), but I think I've got the majority of my craft stuff.  The new room is about the same size as my old craft room, so everything seems to fit okay.  I've got plastic dressers for all my beads, tools, and miscellaneous "stuff" related to sculpting.   Eventually I'd like to put up some sort of shelves for all my books, but for the moment I have them organized on top of the dressers.  I've got a few round tool caddies for my various sculpting tools and so far I've been moving those around as I need the tools.  I also use plastic utensil trays for some of my other tools and supplies.

  I don't have everything unpacked yet, but I do have all the things I use on a regular basis (mainly my sculpting supplies) unpacked.  This room is also being used as temporary storage for a few items, so eventually I will have more room and be able to organize it a bit better.
  For the moment most of my fabric is in bags in the closet, along with my yarn and other knitting supplies.  I got rid of my somewhat bulky (and not totally efficient) crafting table and downsized to a simple card table.  It takes up less room and actually doesn't seem to get quite as cluttered. 
One thing I do like is the way I have my pasta machine set up now.  It's much easier to use like this.  I put a ceramic tile on top of a small dresser (which is just the right height for me to stand at) and clamped the pasta machine to the top of the dresser and the tile.  I used non slip shelf liner under the tile to keep it from sliding around as I use the pasta machine.  It's easy to keep the area clean, and since this is exclusively for conditioning clay there's nothing else getting in the way and cluttering the area up.  I've already completed several custom order sculptures in the new craft room and am continuing to move and adjust things as needed.  I know it will take a while to get everything "just right", but at least the room feels fairly comfortable and conducive to creating.  I love that there's a nice big window with a beautiful view to see while I'm working.  And it lets in lots of natural light during the day, which makes it much easier to see what I'm doing.  I've noticed that it's much brighter here in Arizona than it ever was back in Ohio.  It will be really interesting to see what winter is like here.  It has to be better that those long, cold, dark Ohio winters!  So that's my craft room for now, although I'm sure it will continue to evolve and improve over the next several months.  Miss Kitty certainly seems to approve though.  She's even trying to learn how to sculpt birds ;-)

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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Check out my new craft room!

My new craft room in the spare bedroom is really starting to take shape.  That used to be my brother's bedroom and had been used for storage for quite a few years, so there was a lot of cleaning to be done before I could even start bringing in my craft stuff.  For my clay area I used a desk that I got at a garage sale for a few dollars.  This one has more storage than my old craft table.  I'm able to fit most of the supplies I need on the desk, and I have a three drawer plastic cart next to it for things that won't fit, or that I don't use as often.

I'm hoping to be able to keep things more organized.  I'll have more storage space in the new area, so that should help.  I should be able to keep the clay things separate from the fabric and yarn things as well.  Although many projects do contain clay, fabric, yarn, and more, it's easier to keep them separate.  Of course I had plenty of help organizing my supplies!  Calcifer was with me every step of the way, poking his little nose into every box, and stealing the occasional tool or jingle bell (which I let him keep because he enjoyed it so much- LOL).  He's taken on Ozzy's role as chief supervisor in everything I do.  I even had to put another chair next to mine so he watch while I sculpt!


I've nearly filled the bookshelf that was in the bedroom already.  I haven't moved ALL my craft books yet, but I managed to get the bulk of them set up, and am in the process of organizing them on the shelves.  I have books on everything from polymer clay sculptures, to jewelry, to knitting, sewing, doll making, stuffed animals, anatomy, fantasy artwork, and more.  I have many interests, and as I've found books that cover those interests, I've added to my collection.

This room has a really good feel to it.  I love the color, and it's the brightest room in the house. I even moved Gramma's plant (which has been around since before I was born) into the room. Plants always make a room happier.  After spending the last several years working in the basement, I really appreciate a bright and airy work space.  I feel good in this room.  I've already created my first piece in my new space.  My mask for the Polymer Clay Smooshers guild Masquerade Clay Ball was a lot of fun to make, and I enjoyed working in a much more organized space.  My work area will never be completely uncluttered, but I hope to keep things a bit more organized this time around.

I like that I can now go into my own craft room and shut out the rest of the world for a while.  Before I was sort of in the middle of everything, and was constantly being distracted.  I was actually able to complete this mask in two sittings, which would have been done in many short sessions between interruptions before.  I'd be a happy lady if I could create all I wanted (which is pretty much all the time)!  Stay tuned to see what other creations come out of my new studio! Thanks for spending a little time in the world of CreativeCritters!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters