A Few Organizing Ideas from the Whimsie Dots Studio...

The space that I work in is always in flux, it seems. Since the materials I work with are ever changing, coming up with storage solutions needs to be as well. I thought I would share just a few ideas of how I store the materials I work with. Getting to this point has been a gradual process over the years. Acquiring the right shelving and containers has not happened overnight. A lot of the time, it has been trial and error to see if something works. But I have given the area of storage some of my energy because if it is done right, it does in fact save me time when designing new items as well as aiding in the clean up. "The hunt" for the right colors or textures for projects is not so daunting but in fact has become a joy. The area I will show today is strictly recycled wool that is used in the making of mittens, hats, pillows, brooches etc that I sell. I have winded down the "winter" creations for awhile, but have been able to get prepared for when it arrives again.

These shelves originally were used in our playroom, but as the kiddos have been growing older, so have their toys-and I have now inherited these shelves. They were just simple shelf kits we purchased at menards for $20. The open shelving, I have found to be much more productive than crates-having everything at eye level helps in the choosing. And for those of you who have not been following me long-I should share-my "studio" is simply in part of our unfinished basement. These shelves are lining my laundry room area-nothing fancy:) But like I have mentioned before-the fact that the basement is unfinished means that I am never buried in a room working- I have the blessing of being around the kids while I work. So while I may be "distracted" sometimes I am never "unavailable" :).

As a matter of fact, at this moment, my wee ones are sitting at the cutting table with me working on "colors" for the 3 yr old and on "letter sounds and penmanship" for my kindergartener.

For the wool scraps I use for embellishment on my hats and mittens as well as for making brooches, I have finally seperated them out by color. I used to have them all in a big bin and was finding it extremely difficult and time consuming to gather the pieces I needed for projects. Over Christmas when we were all couped up with the flu, I took some of that time to sort(which was awful!!) but how incredibly wonderful the result has been. I have each color in a little laundry basket under my shelves.

And here is one more little organizing or storage idea that I am using right now. I took some regular old clothes pins and hot glued them to my shelves. The are wonderful for clipping my finished mittens and brooches to.

Just a Peek...

I was able to make some wonderful changes to my Whimsie Dots work space a few weeks ago and thought it would be fun to share. When Matt and I put the new bed in our room, some things had to go so there was room. So we did a bit of furniture juggling in the house to make everything work out and I ended up with a very big dresser and bookshelf down in my work room. The dresser and bookshelf were in sad shape, I had always put them last on my list of things to rehab but instead of loading them up with things and having to unload them later, I figured I should bite the bullet and just get it done right away. I was so happy with the result and the chance to also have what i have made for the shop be out on display. The hutch we were given from a friend at church years ago and again, the potential was there but I just did not have the inspiration. When I painted the dresser I decided to do the hutch to match since they are in the same space. The hutch is a bit of a muse in my work room AKA the laundry room.
The drawers have worked out so wonderfully for all my made to order items like the totes, coffee cozies, clutches, etc that I do more than one of. The boxes do the same as the drawers and have helped me to stay organized.
The funny thing about the hutch is that I have put it stategically in front of the ugly concrete laundry sink. The sink is still accessible but I do not have to look at it when I am working:)! My mom laughed at me and said, "it is a laundry room, you know!" Yes, it is, but I sure like doing laundry now! It is helpful for storing my shipping supplies too so they are easily accessible as well.

I have learned that some of my supplies are some of the most beautiful items to decorate with as well. They not only serve as tools to make things but they also are an inspiration throughout the creative process. The antique laces, vintage doilies andmisc peices of linens are what I use when I make wedding gifts for friends and family.
And last but not least, not so pretty, but extremely functional. These are my store shelves for the fabrics in the shop. They are safely tucked away on a back wall in my basement. This was one of the most helpful things my husband has done for me was to build these shelves when the shop began to grow and I was struggling to store everything but also be able to get to it quickly when they were purchased. I have turned the ackward spaces in our basement into work areas for me. The spaces just never really worked for family functions but have allowed me to be right there where the kids are playing or working on school. This past year, I moved my main sewing machine upstairs though for sunlight and the need to get out of the basement more often. While I am so thankful for the space, I really needed balance and the chance to get out of the "dungeon".

So there is a quick peek into some of my "Whimsie Dots" life. It is ever changing and ever stretching me.