I used to walk in my front door and see my "library". Which was a fancy way of saying a room we never used. Before that, it used to be the "living room", but we never used that either - all of our living is done in the family room or the kitchen or the rec room.
So, what to do with the space?
One of the things I love about my studio space and classroom in our basement is the fact that my hubby built it for me. It's a wonderful space full of built in storage and wall space for displaying artwork - and the stamping friends who grace that space make it a warm and friendly place to be.
But....
It's in the basement.
There's one basement window letting in light and when I am working on projects by myself, it isolates me from my family all tucked back in my corner.
Which is why the unused, unloved "library" space was the perfect place for my new personal studio space. I have the best of everything - a space to call my own for creating, blogging, writing - whatever creative thing sparks my interest on any given day AND I get to be with my family since I'm back in the middle of 'life' in my home.
So back in March, we began the process of personalizing the space. I finally have most of everything where I want it - even though I'm pretty sure things will get moved around as I change my mind. :)
Last week, I took a few photos so I could give you a little tour of my space.
I'll start with the chalkboard sign that Emma wrote a message on for me -
The chalkboard is a frame I found on clearance at a discount store and painted the glass with chalkboard paint.
It's sitting on a vintage 7-up wooden crate that I found at the Antiques Festival in Lucketts this past spring. My hubby added d-ring hangers to the back and hung it to hold my punches. Some of them - I have way too many to fit in here. LOL!
The two containers on the cabinet underneath are also vintage finds. The clear bread box is from a trip to Maine two summers ago and the metal bread box is from Lake Placid, NY last February.
The cabinet they are sitting on holds specialty paper, 12 x 12 paper, grid paper and cardstock scraps. I found it at Hobby Lobby.
The small glass front cabinet holds most of my ink pads and some refills, two of the color families are in vintage sewing machine drawers sitting on top that I found at a local auction.
Sitting to the right of the cabinet is an old half-hoosier with an enamel top that I also found at the Lucketts Store. We painted it and added chalkboard paint to the door fronts. It's perfect for my embossing station, cutting station and Big Shot station.
The ribbon rack is a reproduction French Bottle drying rack that I purchased at Lucketts. The embossing powder rack is a K-cup lazy susan. There is a wide mouth glass jar that holds ribbon scraps and a wrought iron stand for my embossing gun. The lamp is sitting on a vintage wooden spool that still has the original wrapped copper wire on it. I found it in my parents garage this summer along with the orange metal counter bell that sits behind it. The bell sat on the counter at my parents picture frame shop for as long as I can remember. Makes me feel like a part of their history is there with me.
The wood shutters on the wall above the cabinet came from a salvage yard in Maine and I found that awesome canvas at Kohls - yes, really!
The cabinet drawers and doors hold punches, Big Shot Dies, paper cutters, adhesives, envelopes - lots of supplies in different storage containers.
The photo above is looking into my space from the open hallway. You can see the library shelves that hold my stamps and other supplies along with a few other vintage pieces and memories.
The next photo is of the amazing work table that Mark built for me from an antique door. He built the base from scratch and mounted the door to it and we topped it with a piece of tempered glass after it was painted. It's one of the most treasured pieces of furniture in my home now and I made Emma promise me that she will never get rid of it! LOL!
The rolling iron garden cart was a find at Home Goods and sits under the left end of the table holding my markers, blocks and other supplies. The wire basket rack between the windows holds all my 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock and is also from Home Goods. We found the hanging lamp at Habitat for Humanity Re-store and Mark re-wired and hung it over my work table.
There are a few
treasures on my work table too.
A vintage kitchen caddy with metal topped jars that I found in Maine and a vintage rubber stamp holder from Lucketts. An antique sugar shaker holds my glitter and a vintage jelly glass holds pens, bone folders, etc.
The two Heisey glass goblets belonged to Mark's Granny and they hold my Antique buttons and Brads.
The way I have my bookshelves organized with open wire baskets allows me to easily see inside. I'd started out with canvas bins but they didn't really fit the look I wanted and I couldn't see in them either.
The top shelf of both bookcases holds photos and memories along with a few vintage finds. The bottom shelves still have books on them as well as a few more special photos.
The wire basket on the floor holds my Designer Paper separated by cardboard dividers.
Here's a closer look at the right side bookshelf.
The two wire baskets on the upper shelf hold products from the new Occasions/Spring catalog and from the upcoming Sale-A-Bration Brochure.
The left side shelf is mostly memories and family photos along with some of my artwork on display.
I love being in this space, surrounded by photos and memories of people I love and places I've experienced. They inspire my art and creations every day and it brings me joy to know they are part of my creative process.
I hope you've enjoyed the tour, thanks for stopping by to take a peek into my world today.
Happy Stamping!
~~Robin
