My Favorite Place

If I had to name one room in my home that was my absolute favorite place to hang out, I would have to choose my scrapbook room! It is the one place in my home that is just mine. It is where I keep all of my favorite things – my craft supplies, my basket collection, my favorite CD’s, my books and magazines, my cameras, and on and on… It is the one room that is always clean, and it is the only place that hasn’t a trace of laundry in it (clean or dirty)! It is where I go to escape when my house gets a little crazy, and with a busy husband and three active children, my house is always crazy! It is where I can go, shut the door, light a candle, turn on my John Mayer CD, and do my favorite thing – scrap!

My scrap space has definitely evolved over the last few years. When I really started scrapbooking in 2002, I had very few supplies, and I kept them in a roll-around craft tote. I would scrapbook wherever I could: the floor, the kitchen table, my local scrapbook store, anywhere. Then, in 2003, we moved to a larger house, and I was able to set up a small place in the garage where I could work. It was my first taste of a real scrap space, and I loved it! I was able to put everything in a place and keep everything very organized.

Because of my new-found space, my stash of products drastically increased, making my cropping-on-the-go a thing of the past. The only drawback to this set-up was that the temperature of the garage was the same as the temperature outside--I froze to death during the winter and roasted in the summer! I found myself only scrapping in the fall and spring, and I was getting very little done. So, I was forced to make a change.

At the first of this year, we decided to turn one of our unused bedrooms into a scrapbook room for me, and I have been in heaven ever since! Now, I have so much space, and there is room for all of my supplies, and I can control the temperature!

Here is a tour of my new space:

I do all of my work on a desk that was given to me by my mother. The desk has six drawers on bottom, and a three-level bookshelf on top. I keep my most-used items in this desk.

• The top drawer of the desk holds my tools (scissors, rulers, dry adhesives, paper piercer, eyelet setters, stapler, etc…), all of those things that I use over and over.


• The left drawers hold stickers, stencils, pre-packaged die-cuts, and templates.


• The top right drawer holds ribbon and fibers on cards.


• The bottom drawer is a file holder, and I keep all of my paper scraps here, in files, separated according to color.

I use the top surface of the desk as my workspace, and you will always see my recently completed projects, as well as works in progress, displayed here.

The upper shelves above the desk hold my idea books. I also keep baskets there, full of commonly-used items such as photos, punches, and Dymo supplies. I keep my brads and eyelets here as well, in divided craft organizers, so that they are within close reach.

The shelf just above my workspace is where I keep my most commonly used items, such as my QuicKutz, Xyron, and my favorite ink pads. In baskets on this shelf are my journaling pens, paint brushes, and wet adhesives.

Beside my desk is a three-drawer storage cabinet. The top drawer holds my acrylic paints and small alphabet stamps. I store my card-making supplies in the middle drawer. And in the bottom drawer, I have more ink pads and pens. Atop this cabinet are two beautiful Longaberger baskets. The smaller one stores my ribbon spools, and the big basket is where I stash my foam stamps.

I found a really pretty and inexpensive cabinet from Target. I believe it was meant to be a mini-entertainment cabinet, but I am using it in my scrap space!

• The compartment meant for the television is the perfect size for my 12” x 12” albums, and I have plenty of space to store them vertically.


• The top two drawers hold items that I rarely use, such as small mat stacks, items to be altered, and old photo albums.


• The large drawer on the bottom is where I keep all of my wood-mounted stamp sets.


• I keep all of my scrapbook magazines on top of this cabinet, organized chronologically, in pretty, white magazine holders from Organized Living.

I also have three folding tables in my scrap room. The one adjacent to my desk on the left is really an extension of my desk. It provides extra workspace if I need it, and it serves as additional storage space. In fact, this is where I store my paper.

• I store my 12” x 12” paper in plastic desktop files from Organized Living. Each file has three compartments, and can be stacked for horizontal paper storage. I, however, store my paper vertically, and these files are perfect for this. The three compartments in each file are on different levels, maximizing the visibility of each compartment’s contents. Each file holds between 250 and 300 sheets of paper, and at under $20 each, they are a real bargain!


• Also on this folding table is my big, red tackle box, where I store small embellishments such as flowers, small alphas, photo corners, and everything metal.


• My television and radio are also on this table, all within easy reach!

The other two folding tables remain pretty empty most of the time, but are there in case I have friends over to crop. I can accommodate four or five other croppers in this room, and I keep extra paper trimmers and tools there for them, as well as a big basket of chocolate! Otherwise, I use these tables to spread out my new products or design projects so that I can see what I have.

So, if you are ever at my house, and you look around and think, “you know, I haven’t seen Shelley for a while,” just ask my husband – he knows exactly where to find me. I’m in my scrapbook room. I may be just sitting in my chair, watching Desperate Housewives, or reading a magazine. Or, I may actually be working on a layout. But, I’m in my scrapbook room – my favorite place.