Katie's Craft Room

Come behind the scenes at Running with a Glue Gun and tour Katie's toy-filled craft room.

My favorite thing about my space, is my two shelves that are covered with antique finds and craft supplies. When you walk into my craft room it's the first thing you see and really grabs your attention. I've always loved it when a friend or family member has walk into my craft room and has just gotten lost in the ''sight seeing'' of it all. The shelves and there contents, really describe my personality (in a nutshell) and just makes me happy to look at every time I craft.

Tell us about your space

Since I am currently a college student living at home, my craft space is actually located inside my (small) walk-in closet. If you were to walk into my closet, you would see a small paint covered desk pushed into one corner, a paper plate chalkboard wall and two huge shelves which hold bright colored antiques along with a ton of craft supplies. Then if you were to turn to your left, you would see my small rack of clothes (since my ''craft room'' has taken over my closet). My craft room is a space that I use all the time to work on DIY projects for my blog, wrap gifts for the holidays or just sit and read a few craft magazines. I'm really blessed to have this space and kind of love that its in a cute little closet (since I can close the door anytime if I've made a huge craft mess)!

What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?

To make my craft space more cosy and inspiring, I've surrounded myself with items that I love. For example, the two big shelves that line my closet walls are full of vintage, antique finds. Antique shopping, is something I love doing and anything I buy usually ends up going in my craft room. This is because I love being surrounded by my favorite items and those items bring me inspiration. Like recently, I was working on a project and needed a few colors that went together. I couldn't think of any combination I liked, so I looked on my shelf and saw a vintage tea cup a friend had gotten me with a color combination I never really thought of. Moments like that, are the reason why I surround myself with little vintage finds. Also I think personalizing your space is so important because it can relax you and make you feel so happy.

How do you keep organized?

I stay organized by creating a place for each craft item I own. By doing this, I find that its easier to stay organize and I end up having a better idea of what craft supplies I really own. For example, I store all my glues on a bookshelf, my acrylic paints in a vintage suit case and my stamps in a clear bin.

Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?

My biggest tip for staying organized is to put items back when your done with them. This seems like such a no brainier but it really makes the world of difference when it comes to finding those items the next day. My other tip would be to use those vintage items you love to not only decorate your space but for storage. For example an old plant holder that is in the shape of a poodle, can act as paintbrush holder and be darn cute to look at. So think about if you have an old suit cases, decorate bowls or tea cups that can be used to organize some of your craft supplies. On a side note, I do have a vintage plant holder that is in the shape of a poodle.

Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?

My whole craft room, is filled with my favorite possessions! However, a few of my favorite, favorite possessions are my 1970's teal Easy Bake Oven, a vintage children's tea cup and a book call The Three Bears. Besides decorative possessions, my favorite crafty possessions would definitely be my hot glue gun, my Black & Decker mini pink drill and my grandmother's sewing box. In my craft room, I also have displayed a few of my own DIY projects. Usually these DIY projects were designed for my blog and designed for some purpose like lighting, organizing etc. Some of the projects I have displayed are my Moon Light, Dreamcatcher, Mini Moon Banner, Paper Plate Chalkboard Wall Art and my Chain Canvases.

How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?

I organize my inspiration and ideas for future projects by using a cork board. On my cork board I will pin magazine clippings, inspiration quotes and pictures of other DIY projects I want to re-make. Using a cork board is really a big help for me because it keeps all my ideas organized and reminds me of ideas or projects I really want to make. Also re-organizing a cork board (like taking down old pictures and placing up new ones) is a great way to beat a ''creative block'' by finding new inspiration.

Where do you look for inspiration?

When finding inspiration for new ideas, I love to read blogs and craft magazines. I'm kind of a craft nerd (if that's even a phrase) when it comes to reading. I love reading craft books, articles about handmade shop owners and I'm always rereading my old craft magazines. To me reading about other peoples ideas and point of views on craft topics, is a great way to gain more insight about your own design aesthetic.

If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?

If I had three wishes for my craft space they would be more storage for my craft supplies, a large chalkboard wall to write down all my ideas and a popcorn machine. Personally, I'm a huge fan of popcorn and think that having some sort of snack machine in your craft space should be a must!