Where The Paper Princess Creates

Welcome to the Where Bloggers Create II party at Create With Joy! Thanks to the vision of Karen Valentine, I am joining 450+ bloggers in an event where creative folk from all genres open the doors to their creative spaces and invite you in for a peek! Now, when I first signed up for this event, I admit - my creative space left much to be desired! It was bursting at the seams from "stuff". I'd long run out of shelf space and was quickly running out of floor space too! So, I decided to use this event as motivation to get my studio in order.

I set four goals. Declutter. Create some open space. Organize in zones - that is, keep similar items together and frequently used items nearby. And, beautify my space by displaying my favorite items.

My crafty Maine Coon, Legend, loves the new look - he personally inspected each nook and cranny along the way! Curious? Well, I have plenty to show and plenty to tell, so, without further adieu, come inside - let's begin the tour!

My studio is centrally located in our home. I love bells, so on the door, I have a pillow with bells that indicates whether I am "at work" or "at play". Guess what I'm up to today?

This is the view when you walk in the room. As you can see, I am blessed with a large desk! It is rarely this clear, however - usually, it is filled with cats and my current projects!

When I am not blogging, I am frequently paper crafting. I am inspired by color, and motivated by visual and functional accessibility, so I like to keep as many of my tools nearby as possible. I love having instant access to all of my ink pads and markers, as well as a few of my cutting tools and adhesives.

Oh my word! When is the last time a lady let you peek inside of her drawers? Well, just this once... I wanted to show you the drawer organizer I made for my Stickles, Just Rite Stampers, and a few crafty odds and ends.

Behind my desk is a row of cabinets my husband designed for me when we moved here. At one point in time, all of the cubbyholes and the entire top of the shelves were filled with magazines and stuff. When I got my cats, I decided I wanted to keep the cabinet tops clear so that they could perch and enjoy the window.

I recently "planted" the flower and embellishment garden in the cubbyholes - I love having my flowers nearby and I love looking at them on a daily basis! This new arrangement is so much nicer than the boxes that were previously stuffed in the holes. Here are some close-ups of the pretties in each of the compartments:

Now I bet you're wondering what's behind those cabinet doors... paper, what else! My husband converted a few of these cabinets from 4 shelves to 2 shelves to maximize the space, and I spent the past few days tracking down all of the 12 x 12 paper I could find to fit into that space so that I can continue to organize it all as I have the time! I'll tell you more about those efforts in a future post...

Now, if you turn left, you'll see my newly reorganized wall of bookshelves that houses, among other things, stamps, embellishments, punches, chipboard, paint, adhesives, ribbons, and fibers.

Here's the view from my desk:

We're almost done with our tour but perhaps you're wondering where all of the books are? As you head towards the door, you'll notice bookshelves in the hallway that house my creative library - here's a peek at a few of the shelves!

Don't forget to turn the lights out on your way out...

Thank you so much for stopping by! While you're here, I invite you to explore my blog - I've highlighted some organizational posts on my sidebar!

If this is your first introduction to the Where Bloggers Create II Party, be sure to visit the other participants when you can! I've been to a number of sites already and am amazed by the diversity in the beautiful spaces I have seen!

And thanks to Karen Valentine, Jo Packman, and the staff of Where Women Create Magazine for making this event possible!