Evolution of a Scrap Room

Like most of us, I began scrapbooking with only a few essential tools, a couple sheets of stickers, and some cardstock strips. My treasures were kept neatly in a plastic bin underneath the desk in the "office area" of our basement. Our basement is mostly a big open area with Keith's big screen on one end and the desk and computer on the other. It was to be Keith's special "man place," one of big screens and Dolby surround sound, poker games and car posters. Late at night Keith would watch TV, and I would scrap at my desk and still be a part of whatever was going on. When I was done, back into the bin it all went, and you'd never even know I'd been there. Boy, has that changed.

It didn't happen overnight, but eventually I took over the area. I add to it every few months with new shelves and pretty glass jars, each time thinking I've finally figured out just the right storage solution that is going to keep me organized and mess-free. The area now looks almost like a little scrapbook store, not at all the place Keith had thought it would be.

I graduated from the plastic bin to a big tool box I found on clearance at Target. I commandeered the entire desk around the same time. Its great "U" shape allows me to face either the computer or the TV. I also found a rolling Sterilite cart with three drawers in it. I comfortably stored all my loot for some time with this arrangement. I still use the Sterilite cart, mostly for scraps and things I have no other place for.

Then, it happened. I became fully scrap-obsessed. Messes spilled out of every container I had. Lucky for me, Keith was tired of it. We took off for IKEA one afternoon and a proper scrap area began to take shape. The large shelving unit was perhaps my best purchase--twenty-five "cubbies" just big enough to hold 12" x 12" paper trays and 12" x 12" albums. These shelves hold most of my eye candy:

- glass jars full of ribbons and rubber stamps, magic mesh, and flowers;

- metal canisters to hold eyelets and brads;

- photo boxes full of old photos, more ribbon, wire, and embossing tools;

- a lunchbox kit which holds extra vacation photos (I've been meaning to alter this);

- little boxes holding "doodads" and "what-nots" that had no other home.

I also found magnetic boards much like the ones Making Memories had begun to sell, except these were a bargain at under $7 each. A matching magazine rack to display and store the most current magazines and idea books and a few hooks on the wall would finish the room off nicely ... or so I thought.

Soon after, the store-in-style cubes were too much for me to resist, and I bought two a few months later. Unfortunately, I have nowhere to display these beauties, so they sit under my desk and house tools, adhesives, punches, and sticker sheets. On top of the cubes, I keep an old printer and my scanner. Keith bought me a wide-format printer for Christmas that year which I keep on top of two file cabinets that hold personal records, nothing scrap-related.

The most recent additions came a few months ago when, sadly, our local scrapbook store went out of business. I bought a tall paper rack and spinner rack during their liquidation. I used to organize paper and embellishments by manufacturer, but with so many manufacturers now I try to separate them by the "feeling" of the pattern, such as geometric, romantic, girly, distressed, etc. This is not the best system, I know, but it's likely to change eventually.

I've added magnets to the back of foam stamps so I can store them in plain view on my magnetic boards. I recently added the small white shelves from IKEA to hold paints, ribbons and things I use often. I altered letters to spell out "crop" on the same wall. I wanted "scrap," but the clearance was out of "A"s so, not one to pass up a deal, I chose "crop" instead. I have piles of finished layouts not yet in albums, and a coffee can for dirty foam stamps that need cleaning which unfortunately is always full. I guess I'm still not organized and mess-free yet, but I'm evolving.

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