Creative Spaces
10 Tricks To Make Your Studio Inspiring On The Cheap
©2008-2009 The O’Neil Sisters, All Rights Reserved
As seen in
Crafts 'n Things
magazine
©The O’Neil Sisters 2009
Click each picture to see amazing ways to organize your studio without breaking the bank!
Flip Your Lids Put papercrafting embellishments in little containers like recycled baby food jars. They’re not only the perfect size for rhinestones, sequins, and watch faces, but they’re also free! Label the tops with circle-punched paper and drop them in a drawer for easy access. Foxy Boxes If you’re the kind of crafter who dabbles in everything, try photo storage boxes to get your interests in order. Buy boxes with a pattern that’s pleasing, or decorate plain ones with a rubberstamp design. Neatly label each bin on the end, and add a number system so each box will have a peRibbon Round-Up If rolls of ribbon have you unraveled, rein them in with a ribbon crate. Drill two holes big enough for a dowel in the sides of a wine crate, then skewer your organdy and grosgrain. Attach a ruler and a pair of scissors, and you’ll always be ribbon-ready! Through The Looking Glass Colorful balls of yarn are too pretty to keep in a cabinet, so showcase their beauty in glass containers. Stash skeins in apothecary canisters and classic candy jars. You’ll be able to see your yarn at a glance and keep the kittens out! Budding Artist Cultivate ideas by setting up your studio as a creativity garden. Start by bringing in a potting bench to use as a counter-height worktable complete with shelves. Then plant your art supplies in terra cotta pots with scientific-sounding labels, like "paintus acrylicana” and “colorica Memory Baker Cook up a scrapboooking station with some handy kitchen helpers. Make a paper sorter by stacking cookie sheets on 1½-inch hex nuts and securing them with Amazing Goop. Sort brads and die-cuts into a mini-muffin pan and store Soufflé pens in kitchen canisters. You’ll be ready to cook up Moodboard Masterpiece Turn sewing-table clutter into a fancy mood board with a gilded flea market frame. Hang notions and trims from ornate hooks on a velvet-covered board. Use it to display your prettiest buttons and a rainbow of thread. Sew chic! The Quicker Clipper-Upper Don’t save magazine clippings in a folder where you can’t see them! Clip them up in your studio to make idea streamers. Use clothespins to attach pictures and swatches onto strands of ribbon. Then hang them all over your studio until it’s overflowing with inspiration! Space Case Even if you live in a tiny apartment, no artist should be without a studio. So carve out a creative nook with the help of a thrift-store suitcase. Open it up and arrange your bead bins, tools, and findings in the bottom. Then display finished pieces and works-in-progress inside the lid. TCrafting-A-Go-Go Make projects portable by stowing them in crafty carriers. Look for paperboard boxes in funky shapes like a tubular wine box. Dress it up with scrapbook paper and add a loop of ribbon for a handle. Then tuck the materials you need inside, and you can craft anywhere!