Features
Come behind the scenes at Jen-uinely Inspired and explore Jenny's lovely and organized craft room in Occidental, California.
I love so many things about my space, mostly all my stuff! But my favorite thing is probably the large L shaped desk that I got for free from a previous job. I also got the tall bookcase, the smaller bookcases on the desk, and the drawers on each end of the desk for FREE.
Tell us about your space
My craft room used to actually be the guest bedroom. Until one day I realized the guest bedroom was larger than the room I was in, and I promptly swapped both rooms out over one weekend. My craft room is located upstairs across from my daughter's bedroom and used to double as our "home office", but now that our family is strictly on laptops and smart phones, we got rid of our ancient desktop computer and all that remains of our home office is the black filing cabinet in the corner. I work a 40 hour a week office job, so this is solely my place of play. Ever since I had my daughter in December 2011, I of course have not had much free time to spend in my craft room. But when I do find some free time, I like to work on cards or my Project Life album. I also dabble in beading, stamping, paper mache, and most paper crafts. When my daughter is a little older I would like to get back into traditional scrapbooking, which is how I started out.
What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
I love to surround myself with pretty things while also hiding clutter. The white covered drawers on the tall bookcase are those ugly clear drawers you can buy at the office store. I spray painted them white and then covered the drawer fronts with fabric. Now you don't see all the clutter inside! And the curtain that hangs beneath my desk hides baskets and bins of more stuff. I also recently repainted the walls in my craft room from all pink to one pink wall and the rest white, and then I covered one of the white walls in those gold polka dots that you see all over Pinterest. I LOVE them!
How do you keep organized?
I often think I like organizing my stuff more than I actually like to use it! I try to stay organized with bins and baskets and by putting my supplies away when I'm done, which I must confess I don't always do. Stamps are organized in bins by theme. Scrapbook paper is organized by manufacturer or theme. The antique tool bin is probably my most favorite recent find. It sits on the bookcase across from my desk and holds my stamp pads perfectly, along with a few of my punches and other goodies.
Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?
Bins, bins and more bins! I also love to display things in jars, pretty glass bowls and tiered baskets or trays. Antique stores are a great place to find fun and unique pieces to display and organize your stuff. I also hit up the dollar spot at Target for cheap but cute finds.
Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?
My most favorite possession right now is the antique tool bin. I found it while out antique shopping with some girlfriends. I also love my IKEA Raskog cart that holds all my Project Life supplies. I can just grab it and pack it in my car when I go to crops. Other favorite possessions is the large gold frame that I backed with a burlap coffee sack, and my vintage type writer (I'm on the hunt for a pink one that doesn't cost an arm and leg!). Stuff that I have made is displayed throughout my room - from banners, to a favorite circle journal, cards, etc. I also display stuff that my crafty friends have made for me.
How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?
I used to tear out ideas from magazines or print ideas from the internet and put them into binders, but now I almost solely store my inspiration on Pinterest. One thing that I do still keep up with and use is my sketch book for scrapbook layouts and cards.
Where do you look for inspiration?
I find inspiration everywhere I go! Stores (especially Target), antique stores, magazines, and most of all Pinterest.
If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?
1) To finish off our huge unfinished attic that has windows in all four corners with the most gorgeous views, and move my craft room up there, where I could add a giant table to craft with friends on, a cool vintage couch to lounge on, and a TV.
2) More free time to play in my craft room.
3) An endless budget to spend on craft supplies and cool vintage finds to display them in.
Whose craft room would you love to explore? Send us a message!
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