How I Organize By Zones in My Polymer Clay Studio
Video #621: Today is a general tour. But if there’s interest, I can do future videos on the individual zones. Let me know...
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IN THIS POST: — polymer clay studio tour — craft studios — workspace — craft space — craft room — crafting — supplies — storage — organization — organizing — organized — zones — bins — drawers — slot board — peg board — cabinets — cupboards — shelves — storing — tools — materials — bins — drawers — shelves — jewelry making — paints — inks — stamps — polymer clay — baking — toaster over — rock tumbler — jooltool — polishing — metal working — wire — scrapbooking — sewing — mixed media — polymer clay studio — studio tour — walkthrough — (Topics marked with an asterisk* are discussed in the Comments Section below).
Topics Covered In This Video:
- Today, I’m going to give you a tour of my Studio and talk a little bit about organizing your craft space into zones.
- It doesn’t really matter whether you have a tiny little workspace, like your Kitchen table… or you have a super giant one, like a whole separate building.
- If you have a lot of craft supplies, you need to organize them in a way that you can get access to them, and also be able to put them away properly when you’re done.
- Otherwise, you run into problems like buying the same product over and over because you didn’t realize that you already had it.
- So, I wanted to show you how I organize my studio.
- A lot of you have been requesting a studio tour… and I did show you when it was crazy messy a while back.
- But I have done some clean up and organizing since then.
- Still not perfect yet, but it is good enough to show you how it is all set up.
- I have my space allocated into the following zones…
- Workspace – where I have all the supplies, clay, tools and findings within arm's reach for making polymer clay jewelry.
- Paints – all (or most) of my paints, finishes and liquid clays are stored on a shelf above my workspace.
- Publishing – Laptop for writing posts, web research and communicating with students.
- Office Cabinet – Cabinet with manuals, paper and other supplies needed for the office.
- Inks and stamps – alcohol inks, stamp pads, spray inks, stencils and rubber stamps stored in drawers and trays, in one area.
- Craft Bins – miscellaneous craft supplies stored in a wall of plastic drawers. Each drawer has a different supply, such a small ribbon bits in one drawer and feathers in another.
- Office Supplies – Drawers with pencils, pens, rulers, scissors, glue sticks, etc., in one skinny tower of drawers.
- CD Player and CD’s next to it.
- Baking Area – Top of metal cabinet has my convection oven and all the baking supplies such as oven thermometer, baking trays, bead racks, tins of cornstarch, etc.
- Rock Tumbling Area – Rock Tumbler and containers of sanding substrate stored together. There is an electrical plug close by so the tumbler can run, right where it is stored.
- Metal Card Cabinet – Metal drawers are filled with overflow clay, tools, color recipe chips and other supplies. I would love to paint this cabinet a bright color and reorganize the drawers some more.
- Dress form – Vintage dress form of my Grandma Edna’s, is a great place to store my lab coat for the PcT Test Lab videos. I didn’t mention it, but it is also a great place to test out necklace lengths and to see how the piece will drape on the body.
- New Products for Demo Bins – In this rolling drawer unit I keep all the new products that I plan to create demo videos for, as well as the product test samples for the test lab videos.
- Book Case – Stores all my books, magazines and a variety of knickknacks, including my vintage treadle sewing machine that was my Grandma Hanna’s.
- Cord and Chain Storage – A slot wall units with hooks and rods store all my cording, beading wire, beading thread, needles and similar items.
- Peg Board – A painted wood peg board, on the back of my door, stores miscellaneous supplies that are better off seen than forgotten.
- Storage Cupboards – Two tall storage cupboards store items that are used in the studio but don’t need to be seen such as cans of acetone, solvents, buttons, paper, Scrapbooking supplies, die cutting machine and dies, etc.
- Another shelf unit holds 12" x 12" Scrapbooking papers, and there is also a set of drawers for cutters, molds, and texture items.
- Center Island – A short bookcase and sewing cabinet are pushed back to back in the center of the room to create an island. The bookcase holds plastic bins normally used for storing scrapbook paper, but I store all my different jewelry making wire in them. Each bin stores a different type/quality of wire. Precious metals in one, copper and bronze in another, craft wire in another.
- Sewing Station – Sewing machine cabinet can open up, and the machine pops up. The drawers are filled with sewing supplies such as thread, needles and notions.
- Metal working – on the sewing machine side of the island I have a metal working station with a heatproof marble tile, soldering board, dapping blocks, disk cutters etc.
- Polishing Station – On the side of the island there is a lower unit that holds my JoolTool and all the accessories needed for sanding and finishing my pieces. It is easily used by just spinning my chair while sitting at my work station.
00:00:03 –> 00:00:08 Hi guys, its Cindy Lietz, your Polymer Clay Tutor, and today I’m gonna give you a tour
00:00:08 –> 00:00:16 of my studio and talk a little bit about organizing your craft space into zones.
00:00:16 –> 00:00:21 Now it doesn’t really matter whether you have a tiny little work space, like your kitchen
00:00:21 –> 00:00:27 table, or you have a super-giant one like a whole separate building, if you have a lot
00:00:27 –> 00:00:34 of craft supplies, you need to organize them and keep them in a way that you can get access
00:00:34 –> 00:00:41 to them, and then also you can get them put away properly after you’re done, otherwise
00:00:41 –> 00:00:45 you run into issues like buying the same product over and over because you didn’t realize you
00:00:45 –> 00:00:48 had it and that kind of thing.
00:00:48 –> 00:00:53 So what I wanted to do is…a bunch of you have been requesting to see my whole studio,
00:00:53 –> 00:00:58 and a while ago I showed you when it was crazy messy, but I have done a little bit of organizing,
00:00:58 –> 00:01:04 it’s still not absolutely perfect yet, but it’s good enough to show you how it’s setup…and
00:01:04 –> 00:01:08 I mean I’m functioning in it, so it must be set up well enough for me.
00:01:08 –> 00:01:16 So what I like to do is set it up…an area up into different zones…now you wouldn’t
00:01:16 –> 00:01:23 store your blender in your bedroom, and you wouldn’t have your house coat in the kitchen,
00:01:23 –> 00:01:29 and so you need to think that way when you’ve got your craft supplies and your studio set
00:01:29 –> 00:01:33 up, so separate your areas into usable zones.
00:01:33 –> 00:01:38 So my first zone that I use the absolute most, is the one that you guys see regularly and
00:01:38 –> 00:01:46 this is my work zone, here within…just sitting at my table, I’ve got my surface I can work
00:01:46 –> 00:01:54 on, my pasta machine, my polymer clay tools are right within reach, my jewelry making
00:01:54 –> 00:01:59 tools are right close by, and then this wall of drawers…which I absolutely love and couldn’t
00:01:59 –> 00:02:03 live without, have the things that I use the most in them.
00:02:03 –> 00:02:08 So I’ve got my Premo! clay in little drawers and every single color is there, I got my
00:02:08 –> 00:02:16 Studio… no its not Studio it’s the Soufflé clay is here, I’ve got canes, all my polymer
00:02:16 –> 00:02:21 clay canes here, I’ve got few extra drawers that I can add more as I build those up.
00:02:21 –> 00:02:26 There’s beads, there’s findings, all kinds of other gemstone beads and that kind of stuff,
00:02:26 –> 00:02:31 so when I’m working on a piece of jewelry I really don’t have to go far I’ve got everything
00:02:31 –> 00:02:33 within reach.
00:02:33 –> 00:02:40 Now just a little bit out of reach, but close by, is all of my paints, so up here I’ve got
00:02:40 –> 00:02:52 my different paints and finishes, so they’re all sitting up here, my Liquid Sculpey and
00:02:52 –> 00:02:57 that is the Bake & Bond, and the Kato Poly Paste and all that kind of stuff is up here.
00:02:57 –> 00:03:03 There’s also you know I’ve got jars of marbles and they look kind of pretty, so I’ve just
00:03:03 –> 00:03:09 got them sitting there in the same kind of area and stuff like that, there’s also always
00:03:09 –> 00:03:13 some little knick- knacks here or there in baskets and bins and things.
00:03:13 –> 00:03:20 Now right around the corner here… another area I spend most of my time in is my publishing
00:03:20 –> 00:03:27 area, so I’ve got my computer here, this is where I write my blogs, do web research, communicate
00:03:27 –> 00:03:31 with you guys, answer questions and that kind of stuff is all happening right here, so if
00:03:31 –> 00:03:35 I’m actually working on something, I can just sort of spin around and go back to the computer,
00:03:35 –> 00:03:39 it’s all just within arm’s reach.
00:03:39 –> 00:03:42 Also, in this area…in this cabinet…
00:03:42 –> 00:03:47 I’m not gonna go into any of the cabinets or drawers too much today, but in this one
00:03:47 –> 00:03:53 here I have office supplies, books and…you know, manuals and that kind of stuff is in
00:03:53 –> 00:03:54 there.
00:03:54 –> 00:04:00 I have a bunch of knick- knacks and kinda neat old funky antique-y things up here with…there’s
00:04:00 –> 00:04:04 a typewriter and a bin of ribbon and that kind of stuff is all there.
00:04:04 –> 00:04:12 Now over here, I’ve got… this isn’t ideal because I still could do some more sorting,
00:04:12 –> 00:04:17 but at least the things are in zones, so in this zone I have a lot of inks…I’ve got
00:04:17 –> 00:04:26 inks along in these little trays here, I’ve got all my Adirondack Inks, my Vintaj Inks
00:04:26 –> 00:04:34 are here, all in these little bins, I’ve got spray inks and stencils in those trays, glitters,
00:04:34 –> 00:04:44 that kind of stuff, in here I’ve got some more inks, I’ve got little ink pads and Gilders
00:04:44 –> 00:04:50 Paste and Inka Gold, that kind of stuff is all in this drawer.
00:04:50 –> 00:04:54 This drawer here has some rubber stamps… this is where I could use some more organizing
00:04:54 –> 00:04:58 ‘cause I have rubber stamps here, some rubber stamps over there and another spot, so I need
00:04:58 –> 00:05:01 to redo this tower a bit.
00:05:01 –> 00:05:08 In the drawers below it are a bunch of junk jewelry, broken antique jewelry, things that
00:05:08 –> 00:05:13 I can use for jewelry making, that’s also something I should probably work a little
00:05:13 –> 00:05:18 better into some zones, but at least it’s in a general contained area, and when I’m
00:05:18 –> 00:05:24 looking for inks or jewelry, I know exactly where to come.
00:05:24 –> 00:05:31 Now this wall of bins here… Doug and I picked up these bins quite a few years ago at Walmart,
00:05:31 –> 00:05:36 they were the three drawer bins with wheels on the bottom, so what we did was we took
00:05:36 –> 00:05:42 the wheels off and stacked them so now they’re 6 deep, and just made a whole wall of a them,
00:05:42 –> 00:05:49 and in here are craft supplies that… they’re sort of on the random side, you don’t wanna
00:05:49 –> 00:05:55 throw them out if you’re a mixed media person or if you have kids, but you don’t really
00:05:55 –> 00:05:59 want them hidden away either, otherwise you’re never gonna find them again or ever use them,
00:05:59 –> 00:06:05 so they’re things like… in this drawer there’s just like little short pieces of ribbon, this
00:06:05 –> 00:06:10 drawer has feathers in it…so you know if I’m looking for a feather, this drawer has
00:06:10 –> 00:06:16 the feathers in it, if I find a feather, I put it in that drawer, and it just keeps it
00:06:16 –> 00:06:22 pretty contained, there’s a drawer of corks and there’s a drawer of crayons and there’s
00:06:22 –> 00:06:28 a drawer of…you know, yarn and that kind of stuff, so the craft supplies are there.
00:06:28 –> 00:06:36 The more office-y type craft supplies are here, so I’ve got pens in here, you know,
00:06:36 –> 00:06:41 rulers in there, scissors in there, you know that kind of stuff, so I have those sort of
00:06:41 –> 00:06:42 zoned out.
00:06:42 –> 00:06:48 I have my music stuff here, I have this cute little shopping cart, I don’t know where it
00:06:48 –> 00:06:55 came from but it’s filled with CD’s, I really should switch over to put my phone on and
00:06:55 –> 00:06:58 do… use mp4’s, but I haven’t done that yet.
00:06:58 –> 00:07:05 Now here is my oven baking zone, I used to have this closer and on my work surface, but
00:07:05 –> 00:07:10 when I bought this new oven, it’s a lot bigger, it was blowing…it’s a convection oven, so
00:07:10 –> 00:07:14 it was blowing the smell into my face and it was a bit of an issue, so now I have it
00:07:14 –> 00:07:19 way over here and it’s a good spot ‘cause it’s on top of a metal cabinet and it is out
00:07:19 –> 00:07:20 of the way.
00:07:20 –> 00:07:27 But all my baking tools that I need are here, so I have a bead rack here…this is a new
00:07:27 –> 00:07:30 bead rack I’m testing, so I haven’t talked about that yet, and we’ll talk about that
00:07:30 –> 00:07:35 later, it’s from the Lucy Clay people, this is…
00:07:35 –> 00:07:43 I’ve got my oven thermometer, my little trays of baking soda and cornstarch that I like
00:07:43 –> 00:07:50 to bake in, I just keep my oven baking rack inside here with the lid, oh and this little
00:07:50 –> 00:07:54 Red strip, it’s just a Silicone strip oven guard and it’s gonna keep me from burning
00:07:54 –> 00:08:01 myself ‘cause I’ve been burning myself lately in the oven…so getting too hasty, burning
00:08:01 –> 00:08:05 myself, so that’s what that Red strip is if you’re curious.
00:08:05 –> 00:08:12 Also on the top here is my rock tumbler that I use for polishing larger batches of round
00:08:12 –> 00:08:18 beads and that kind of thing, and all the little…I have little containers of the substrate
00:08:18 –> 00:08:23 in the back there that I use in the tumbler, so it’s all right there and I don’t have to
00:08:23 –> 00:08:28 look for it, it’s right with the tumbler and I can leave this tumbler running in this area,
00:08:28 –> 00:08:31 and it’s a good spot for it.
00:08:31 –> 00:08:38 In this…this metal thing…drawers are great, I’d love to paint it a wonderful Turquoise
00:08:38 –> 00:08:44 or something some time, but that is a project for another day, but these drawers are really
00:08:44 –> 00:08:49 sturdy, and can take a lot of weight, I’ve got kind of random things…it’s another thing
00:08:49 –> 00:08:58 I would like to re-sort at some point, but I’ve got clays like my Kato clay, I don’t
00:08:58 –> 00:09:04 use it as much, it’s right in this area but I do need it, so it’s not in my everyday right
00:09:04 –> 00:09:12 at the counter there, I’ve got extra Premo! clay in the 2 ounce bricks all lined up in
00:09:12 –> 00:09:18 here, I also have my 1 pound bricks in here because they don’t fit in my tiny plastic
00:09:18 –> 00:09:25 drawer, so I just hunk…chop a hunk off and put it in my drawer, I keep things like…where
00:09:25 –> 00:09:33 are they, all my color recipe sample chips in bags here and you can tell I have done
00:09:33 –> 00:09:41 hundreds and hundreds of color recipes, they’re all in little bags, hung on a little shower
00:09:41 –> 00:09:49 hook and I keep each volume together… or each tens of volumes, put them together, so
00:09:49 –> 00:09:52 that’s what those drawers are full… there’s some tools, different things, there’s even
00:09:52 –> 00:09:58 a drawer full of hinges and stuff, so that’s all contained there.
00:09:58 –> 00:10:04 I think at one point, Doug and I were counting, I think I have over 500 drawers in this 10
00:10:04 –> 00:10:09 by 10 foot studio, so drawers are really handy.
00:10:09 –> 00:10:15 Another thing I have here is my… this old dress form, it’s a vintage one, it’s Pink,
00:10:15 –> 00:10:22 it was my grandmother’s and I have my lab coat sitting on it and so that I have it ready
00:10:22 –> 00:10:27 for the PcT Test Lab videos, ready to go.
00:10:27 –> 00:10:33 Now this rack, it’s kinda tucked in the corner…or this bin thing, it’s a new addition because
00:10:33 –> 00:10:39 I was starting to run out of space, with all the new products that I test on a regular
00:10:39 –> 00:10:47 basis, I’m running into space issues where I can’t…I don’t want to go put it in its
00:10:47 –> 00:10:54 proper location yet because I haven’t tested it, or I haven’t tried it yet or demoed it
00:10:54 –> 00:11:00 yet, so I’ve got on the top here some stuff I’m demoing or testing, some little test strips
00:11:00 –> 00:11:05 and they’re waiting out their time to make sure that everything’s going to be fine with
00:11:05 –> 00:11:06 it.
00:11:06 –> 00:11:10 And then in these drawers are the products of… that I’m going to be demoing soon, and
00:11:10 –> 00:11:14 it takes me some time you know, I have to get to know the product, so sometimes I’ll
00:11:14 –> 00:11:19 have a product for, you know several weeks before it actually gets filmed and sent out
00:11:19 –> 00:11:25 to you guys to see what I’ve done, so there’s…that’s what that tower’s all about.
00:11:25 –> 00:11:33 Now in this zone is my books, and I’ve got magazines and knick- knacks and all kinds
00:11:33 –> 00:11:42 of neat stuff in this thing, it’s a little unruly at this point, I really could use some
00:11:42 –> 00:11:48 more space, so when Willow moves out, I’m stealing her room, it’s bigger and the walls
00:11:48 –> 00:11:53 are straight and I will be able to get a lot more stuff, more organized in it, but it is
00:11:53 –> 00:11:55 still functioning quite well.
00:11:55 –> 00:12:02 I have a rack up here that I have… it’s a ornament holder, looks like a tree and I’ve
00:12:02 –> 00:12:06 just got it loaded up with all my jewelry that I’ve kept for myself, you know I should
00:12:06 –> 00:12:12 be wearing some of the stuff I make, so I keep at least one piece of all the different
00:12:12 –> 00:12:13 tutorials.
00:12:13 –> 00:12:19 I have some antiques in here, this is an old sewing machine of my grandmother’s, an old
00:12:19 –> 00:12:26 treadle, and you know it just sort of lends well to the crafting theme and all that.
00:12:26 –> 00:12:31 Right around the side here, I have this new kind of…Doug it is a little bit hard for
00:12:31 –> 00:12:37 you to see, but it’s a rack, it’s a slot wall rack and I got it at Michaels, I quite like
00:12:37 –> 00:12:47 it, but I can hold all my cording and chain, here I’ve got my wire and different… this
00:12:47 –> 00:12:51 is mostly just cording and that kind of thing, a few findings and stuff and a few seed beads.
00:12:51 –> 00:12:58 And then on the back of my door, I painted a piece of cork…or, what…I don’t know,
00:12:58 –> 00:13:03 the hole board…whatever those…that board is called…peg board, and I’ve got a few
00:13:03 –> 00:13:09 hooks, I want to redo this a little bit but I can’t put too much on it, ‘cause it bangs
00:13:09 –> 00:13:17 in to the cupboards and stuff, so that’s how I’ve worked that, and then inside these cupboards
00:13:17 –> 00:13:24 are things that I really don’t wanna look at like bottles of acetone and stuff like
00:13:24 –> 00:13:29 that, I don’t use them that often but they’re there…they should be in the studio ‘cause
00:13:29 –> 00:13:30 that’s where they get used.
00:13:30 –> 00:13:38 There’s some old antique suitcases and things that I’ve got, little boxes and things stored
00:13:38 –> 00:13:39 in.
00:13:39 –> 00:13:48 In a cupboard here, I’ve got all of my…a lot of scrapbooking stuff, paper and Sizzix
00:13:48 –> 00:13:53 die-cut stuff, someday I’ll go in there, I’ve got some different organizing things, and
00:13:53 –> 00:14:00 then this tower of paper and cutters and things that are close by to the table.
00:14:00 –> 00:14:06 So that is a good kind of…oh and I forgot this very important middle part, so let’s
00:14:06 –> 00:14:16 get Doug to move it around, racing around…this center island I use all the time, usually
00:14:16 –> 00:14:20 I like to keep the top of this clear so that I have a spot to bring in the new stuff as
00:14:20 –> 00:14:25 it comes in, but also to take stuff out of here when I need to.
00:14:25 –> 00:14:31 We film the tutorials… the paid tutorials, we film those downstairs in a film studio,
00:14:31 –> 00:14:38 and I have to fill up and get the stuff prepped for the tutorials and so I just put them in
00:14:38 –> 00:14:44 these bins, and just carry them down, I got a big stack of them, my Mom is a elementary
00:14:44 –> 00:14:47 school teacher and she had…I don’t know where she got them, but she had a whole bunch
00:14:47 –> 00:14:52 of these little bins and I use them for that, and I can just haul the stuff down to the
00:14:52 –> 00:14:56 studio and then bring it back, and then I can take it from here and put it back where
00:14:56 –> 00:14:58 it’s supposed to go.
00:14:58 –> 00:15:06 On this side of the table, this is a sewing table under there, so I can move this stuff
00:15:06 –> 00:15:11 off and open it up and sew there if I want to, so the drawers in that table are all sewing
00:15:11 –> 00:15:16 stuff, thread, needles, that kind of stuff, but the top surface…because I don’t sew
00:15:16 –> 00:15:28 that often, I have set it up as my metal working area, I’ve got a Granite…or a Marble tile
00:15:28 –> 00:15:34 here, so that its heat proof and I can do my soldering, I’ve got a soldering block and
00:15:34 –> 00:15:39 I can make head pins and that kind of thing here and I’m safe and I’m away from everything
00:15:39 –> 00:15:40 else.
00:15:40 –> 00:15:46 I can also, I’ve got my dapping tools here and my disk cutters and stuff and a bucket
00:15:46 –> 00:15:50 of tools that I use just in this area.
00:15:50 –> 00:15:55 And then down here, because it’s a proper height and there’s a perfect little corner
00:15:55 –> 00:16:00 for it and I can swing my chair around when I’m working, is my polishing station where
00:16:00 –> 00:16:07 my JoolTool is, normally I don’t have these items here or I can move them out of the way,
00:16:07 –> 00:16:14 but I have my JoolTool with all of its little accessories here, then I’ve got a vise that
00:16:14 –> 00:16:20 I can move out of the way and all of my JoolTool things are in this area and contained, and
00:16:20 –> 00:16:25 I can just polish right here, right next to my other surface.
00:16:25 –> 00:16:33 So I hope that was helpful and gave you a bunch of ideas.
00:16:33 –> 00:16:42 Really focus on finding zones for your particular needs, maybe you just have a small area, you
00:16:42 –> 00:16:48 don’t have this crazy amount of supplies and all you really need is just a rolling tower
00:16:48 –> 00:16:53 that you put tools in one drawer, clay in the next, you know, beads in the other one,
00:16:53 –> 00:16:59 or maybe you have a huge room that you have… need to have certain areas, but just… if
00:16:59 –> 00:17:04 you keep your stuff in certain zones, you’ll be able to find it, you’ll be able to use
00:17:04 –> 00:17:08 it, and you’ll be able to create and then clean up after.
00:17:08 –> 00:17:14 So I hope you liked that, and I hope you enjoyed my little studio here, now you know what I
00:17:14 –> 00:17:19 do and where I work, if you did like this video, do let us know.
00:17:19 –> 00:17:23 If you have suggestions or if there’s anywhere in here that you would like a closer look
00:17:23 –> 00:17:28 at in a future video, do leave those in the comment section below.
00:17:28 –> 00:17:34 And don’t forget, we have a great resource over at PolymerClayTutor.com where you can
00:17:34 –> 00:17:39 use the search box and find answers to all of your Polymer Clay questions.
00:17:39 –> 00:17:41 We’ll see you next time and bye for now.
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Resource Links:
- Related Video: My Messy Polymer Clay Studio Quickie Tour
- Related Article: Catalina’s Polymer Clay Studio
- Related Article: Sue F’s Studio Notes and Photos
- Related Video: Polymer Clay Tutor Studio Chit Chat
- Related Video: What’s In All Those Drawers Cindy
- Related Video: Cindy Lietz Polymer Clay Tutor Studio Tour
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Wow Cindy,
How cool is that.
Oh my!
I have a crafting area… And my dad is a jewellery so he has a lot of amazing tools and machinery.
Technically he is retired. But I think I am going to be asking him to teach me some of what he knows.
Just seeing your crafting area makes me appreciate what possibilities I am not taking advantage of.
My dad is 75 now and I just lost my mom after looking after her for 11 years post stroke. So am still missing her most terribly.
I have her organisation skills and so it would be fantastic if I can walk in my fathers footsteps too.
Thank you for the wonderful inspiration.
So many nooks of your studio are deemed exciting by my creative brain and so I shall happily devour your videos on your cool gadgets.
Thank you again
Monika
(London)
Hi Terry,
It depends on the type of plastic. The hard plastic cases which shatter easily are not compatible. Many tackle boxes are made of this type of plastic. “Sterlite” drawers, which are pretty much transparent, are fine with polymer. I have used them for years without any problems.
Maria
Cindy,
Thanx for the great video. I, too, organize in zones. Luckily, I have a sewing room & a studio. My studio houses my very large work desk with a pc/ printer/fax & general office supplies/equipment. The rest of my studio is similar to yours.
I have a question regarding the wall of polymer clay storage you have at your work area. Do you store your raw canes directly in the plastic drawers or do you need to wrap them in something first? I have found that polymer clay will fuse with or melt the plastic I want to store them in. Are your drawer organizers a special plastic? It’s hard to tell from this video. Anyway, thanx again for all your wonderful videos. I always learn something new.
Hugs,
Terry
Hi Terry, yes I store my raw clay and canes directly in these plastic drawers and yes it does have to be the right kind of plastic. Watch this video to learn about how to test your drawers to know whether the plastic is compatible or not.
Crafty Closet Buy Sell Trade Art Supplies
Another poly clay and craft resale site on Facebook.
Thanks Jocelyn I hope to be around more. A lot of new faces but so nice to see the familiar ones that are still posting.
Crafty Closet has been part of my hoarding problem lol no not really. I have bought from that site and need to get more organized so I can sell on it also. Haven’t checked out the other site will try to do that without buying anything. Please wish me luck.
Hee hee….part of our “addiction.”
Crafting And Jewelry Supplies Destash
Seems like a fast moving site. Good to see you back around Peggy! Happy Spring!
I enjoyed this so much. I am trying my best to do some spring cleaning not only inside my house but in my studio which is 1/2 of my garage. My husband built the room out there for me several years ago when I started to take over the dining room. I love my room and my grandkids love it even more. My problem is over the years I have dabbled in so many different crafts and have supplies for all them. I have my room sectioned off into table areas for polymer clay, painting, jewelry making, quilling, rubber stamping, woodworking, etc. etc.. My main goal is to increase the areas I use the most and combine the areas I use less often. You have given me some ideas. My biggest problem is letting go of some of the tools and craft items I haven’t used in several years. I tell myself I might need it someday. I know I need to downsize at least in the areas I haven’t worked for a long time.
I am the true definition of CRAFT HOARDER!! AKA CRAFT ADDICT!! AKA ME!!
I know I am not the only one but I do need to cut back. Any and all suggestions appreciated.
Peggy how wonderful to hear from you!! I have missed you and think of you often. Hope you and your family is well. I personally don’t think there is much of a problem having supplies that you haven’t used in a while… as long as they can be organized in a way that you can find them, should you eventually need them and you aren’t tripping all over them… but then again I am a craft hoarder’s enabler… ;)
Thanks Cindy it is great to be posting again. I might of been absent in posts but everyone here have continuously remained in my thoughts and prayers. My health has kept me away but I am going to try my best to get back into my crafting as much and as often as I can.
So you are one of my enablers hehe for some reason I don’t remember you twisting my arm to buy all those supplies and tools and if you are one of my enablers than I am going to say that is a good thing. Believe me I will be giving it deep thought and consideration before getting rid of anything. My church youth group and the art department in my towns school district will be happy I have decided to let go of some of my hoarding materials.
Normally I dread spring cleaning but I am looking forward to it this year. I plan to clean some of those spider webs out of my head while I am at it.
I am looking forward to catching up on all the great advice I have missed out on during my absence. I hope I don’t drive you nuts with all my questions, comments and well meant opinions.
Like you Deb, it’s tough for me to get around, and I have to use my “living space” to work in, lol. It’s a challenge…I so envy you folks with finished basements.
Two things work for me…..first, buffet/bureaus that double as work surfaces. Hide stuff in the drawers when company comes for tea. Roadside tag sales and second hand furniture stores, especially the Habitat folks, make them easy to find and cheap. Local high school has a community service program (lots of boys with pickup trucks) and I do use them.
The second is the closed cabinets, have three units, just open the door, and all my stuff is sort of grouped in clear containers like Cindy’s. The closed door I treat like a wall and hang art work on them. The inside of the doors, I line with corkboard tiles so I have easy access to pin boards, color wheels, jewelry (most hangs fine with a regular needle or pin pushed in at an angle).
Another thing I have found to be great is folding tables. Using coffee cans, etc., I adjust the height for me. Hunt thrift and antique stores for fabric to drape and cover all, then I add tops of clear plastic/acrylic sheets or clear table cloths over the top. If I spill, easy clean up, and trust me, you can store a lot of stuff under those cloth covers. Plus it’s great to be able to display old time prints or tablecloths…and top them with crocheted lace toppers. The plastic covers all, and one a year, I wash and iron the fabrics.
Most folks, upon visiting, have no idea I am a sewer and/or crafter and/or polymer clay freak. And I like that, rofl…..though it is getting crowded in here.
Great sources for storage goodies, even if it’s just for ideas:
ContainerStore and Ikea
Good luck and all best….
Bleep! Sorry Doug. I do know better!!!!!
All fixed :-)
Thanks so much for the studio tour! I’m a little disabled and stairs are difficult for me–mt painting and jewelry studio was upstairs and my clay and clay-painting studio was the dining room table. My dear husband and step daughter just finished setting me up in my husbands unused ex-office so at least my everything is on the same floor. My husband and I both do big paintings as well and I have shelves of beads, a bench, and a giant easel in the “studio” now and he works on my canvas stretching table. Being able to clay on the same floor as all my wire and beads is going to be great so I can tell what to make by having a peek at my Czech beads, pearls, findings, etc and the best part is not having to run up and down stairs and lose stuff all day. We may even have a dinner party one of these days! Organization is essential to an artist, at least a female one!!
Thanks, Cindy–going to the dollar store for those buckets soon!
Capt Deb
Hi Chelsea, have you looked in at any Farm Stores? We have a Thiesons store here and thats where I found the 36 drawer cabinets. They also have 60 drawer ones too. Also sometimes you can find them in Walmart,
Dixie Ann,
I have not tried a store, but I know that my boyfriend knows of one in the area (or at least within 30 to 40 minutes from us.) I am still relatively new to this state so I am still learning where things are and what stores are what but I will check with him on that.
I may check Walmart, but I just have the worst time finding what I am looking for and their sales associates are so unfriendly (though, I realize it is from being overworked and underpaid.) But I may bite the bullet and check there if looking at a Farm Supply doesn’t pan out.
I also thought of checking ULine after I posted. They often have such great storage solutions at good prices and don’t require large orders either.
Thanks for your suggestions!
Hi Chelsea;
I ordered mine at Amazon. Search for Stack-On DS-60 60 Drawer Storage Cabinet. They have cabinets with different amounts of drawers. I think that Cindy had said in a post that she got hers up in Canada at Canadian Tires???
Good Luck.
Marianne
Thank you for another look into your studio organization. When you had done your original studio tour I had wondered then, and still wonder now – Where you were able to find your wall storage drawers. I have looked at multitudes of places (sears, Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, etc) but I seem to only be able to find sets of drawers that have like 8×8 drawers. I was hoping to find maybe a 16×16 and put them together myself.
What size drawer cabinets did you use?
Where did you find them (if you are able to share that?)
How many of the drawer units would you say you currently use on the wall there?
My resolution this year is to reorg my craft space so that I can actually use it better and some of your ideas I think would really help me in my room. After all, one thing you said surely rang true for me – I know it is in there, but I keep buying duplicates because I have either lost it or I don’t remember where it is. (Or in some cases I just don’t remember buying it at all.)
Thanks again for this vid and for responding when you have time.
I would surely welcome anyone else’s sources for their drawers (lol – I mean cabinets) if they should have any!
Thanks so much for your studio tour. Half of my bedroom is my studio, stove and all…lol! I have rearranged quite a few times…helps me with the right inspirational feel :-). Your studio
is great and gives wonderful ideas.
The best thing about this Video was seeing you in your stocking feet! Now I know why your projects look so much better than mIne. I didn’t know iit’s okay to kick your shoes off! What a relief…..I expect to do better work now! In case you don’t realize it, this is my attempt at humor.
I wish I had the storage that you have!
Keep up the good work.
Hi Sara, how funny! I got a few comments about my socks over at YouTube too… In Canada, most people do not wear their shoes in the house. We take them off at the front door so we don’t track dirt into our houses. Our Asian friends often even keep the shoes outside the door if there is a protected porch. I noticed when we were traveling through the States, that most people keep their shoes on all the time, even in the house. And from the comments, seeing me in my socks was almost as if you had seen me in my housecoat or pajamas, which would be just a little too casual for us here! Every country and culture has a different way of doing things. I think it is cute… makes the world a more interesting place! :)
I noticed your socks, too! :) But, being from Ohio/Michigan area we usually take our shoes off when entering the house. (easier too keep the floors clean) but most importantly, sooooo much more comfortable! House shoes/slippers are very common.
My hubby and I are trying to reorganize my studio so when it is done I’ll have to share some pics. Best part is an electric heater fireplace!! Basement can get cold when outside temps are near zero!!
Thank you for sharing, I am looking at a move from work to Cincinnati and I will have to give up my many rooms and get all that I want to take with me in a spare room. I loved seeing how you put yours together !
thanks so much for this video
You are very welcome Debbie!
Great video Cindy. You do a lot with your space. Very inspiring!
Thanks Mags! You have been in this industry a long time… I bet you have some really cool supplies and tools in your stash!
Wow you are so much better organized in your 10×10 than I am in my 12x 24 space. Well one of my New Years Resolutions was to get it all organize and the video has really helped. I would never have thought of zones but it sure makes a lot of sense. Thanks Cindy for the tour. It really helped.
I find that, as long as I have the time for it, organizing your space it kind of fun! It lets you touch all those cool supplies you’ve got and makes you feel inspired and at peace when it all has a place to go. It’s a great time to put on some music and get lost in the supplies! It will make you feel better. Let us know how it goes and if you come up with some cool studio organizing tips of your own.
Great discovering more of your studio.
I envy your straight wall for all you clay. Do you use big format of clay or only the 2 pounds packs?
I prefer them because they don’t dry as much. How would you keep them?
My studio has slanted walls on both sides.So not as much space as you do.
I don’t have my oven in the studio because the smell gives me headakes. That is downstairs.
Thank you for the neat tricks I have found here today.
Yeah the angled ceilings look cool but they do limit the amount of storage you can get out of the space. When I move to Willow’s room, the walls are all straight and I’ll be able to get a ton more storage in there. As far as clay goes, I make sure I have 2 of the one pound packs of all the colors that they come in and 6 of the 2 oz packs of the rest, but I do go through a lot of clay. I know some Po’s have more and most hobbyists have less. I keep about 4 oz of each color in those drawers at the back of my work station, so they are right at hand. The rest, including the larger blocks are stored in that metal cabinet.
Thanks Cindy and Doug; that was great. The zones are a great idea and I’m getting those together now that I have a space (an actual room) to work in. I’ve still had to replace a few tools and supplies that I KNOW I have here somewhere. Work in progress…
Congrats on getting the new space to work in Dawn! Let us know how the Studio set up goes!
THANKS SO MUCH for this studio tour Cindy!!! It was very helpful to see how you store all the different items for mixed media creating!!!
You are very welcome Kelli! Happy to be of some help!
Thank you for the wonderful tour of your work area. I just reorganized my area and now I realize that I too created zones. I also love the pieces from your grandmother. I have several pieces from family members that make me smile.
You are very welcome Mary. The neat thing about those pieces are that they were from grandmothers from both sides of the family. The dress form was from my Dad’s Mom and the sewing machine was from my Mom’s Mom. I am luck to have had creative woman in my lineage. My Mom, Sister, my Aunts and my cousins are all very creative… I think they have had a great influence over my own creative life. It’s neat to see my children and my nieces and nephews doing creative things too. I hope that never gets lost!