Only a few steps away from my dream craft room, yippee!

Hello me Lovelies!

It is with great pleasure and utmost excitement I announce that the craft room of my dreams is ready, well a.l.m.o.s.t :-) Just adding a few bits 'n' pieces and some finishing touches, but other than that, it's already such a happy little place! I won't show you pictures just yet, 'cos I still need to set up a little crafty nook for Sia, my 2.5 year old missy, and then a comfy little play area for my little man (who's almost 8 months! Wow! Time flies or what?) Even Hubby is beaming ear to ear - he's got his own shiny new table and we had an electrician put in some much-needed extra power points. That means no more snake-like cables running all over the floor and no more of those bulky white extension cord thingies. So, yeah, lots of good things; but not quite there yet, nearly there :-)

But I thought I'd get started off with sharing what I (we) did - right from, "Alright, let's do this!", up until now. I'll pick one area, for example - paper and card stock, and share my ideas and solutions for storage. So, eventually, I'll share everything in there, but a topic a post. I'll try and cover as much as I can and if you have any specific questions, please ask. Actually, I might even make a video tour. But let's not get too ambitious, ahem!

Here are some handy tips for the 'Getting started' phase -

• Get in there! Seriously, I was scared of that room, like really, LOL! It was overwhelming. But once we took the first big step of getting in there, rolling up our sleeves and starting off, everything simply followed!
• Have large boxes/garbage bags set up, preferably in 3 main categories (or maybe 4) -

1. Chuck
2. Keep
3. Donate
4. Hmm...not sure! (be careful about this category though. It's good to have someone else with you who can help you decide. I know I can easily end up putting everything in this category, ha! A stern 'No!' from someone else really helps when you're indecisive.)

• Move everything out of the room. This was L & S's great idea and it made so much sense. It's like having a blank canvas, which is very exciting. Plus it helps to measure the room, plan layouts, etc.
• Decide on a colour scheme/theme. Actually, it's not a must, you don't have to play by the rules. You could pretty much just go for a practical space that works for you - theme or not. But having said that, a colour scheme does add an element of fun and makes everything look oh-so-pretty. Not to forget how much fun you can have shopping, looking for just the right things to put in there :-) On an important note, this could actually help you decide the colour of furniture you want to buy, assuming you're buying new stuff. If you're working with what you already have, skip this bit.
• Plan, plan, plan! Plan for every single bit, every craft supply, every item you have in there. Without a plan you'll be running around like a headless chicken, believe me. My point is, think of where and how you'd want to store your paper, stamps, tools, etc. 'A place for everything and everything in its place' - couldn't be simpler! This makes maintaining your craft room that much easier. You really don't want to end up with clutter, again. Heck, no! Also, plan a layout that works best for you and take note of important measurements/dimensions.
• Go shopping. Based on your planning, your shopping trip can turn out to be a fun and pleasant experience or a nightmare. So, you decide :-) Another important bit here is to have a budget in mind. And keep all those receipts/dockets in a safe place until you're all set and done, just in case you want to return/exchange something.
• Don't stop, keep going! This is it. Don't fall prey to old habits again. Keep up the momentum and get on with it. I've had one too many unfortunate instances of leaving things half way in. So unpack, assemble, arrange, organise - get busy! Go get the room you always dreamt of! I've almost got mine :-)

Hope I've encouraged someone today just like our friends did to us!

I'll be back again, starting a series of posts on organising and storage solutions I've used in my craft room. Until then, happy crafting!