Scrap Room Tour Part 1: The Desk Area

Something hit me during the last weekend of my Christmas vacation. I don't know what it was, but I just felt like cleaning out every nook and cranny of my scrap room (which is also my office, which is also the guest bedroom). I've only been moved into it for about six months, so you'd think there wouldn't be many nooks and crannies to clean, but oh, no, it took me two whole mornings!

I had glorious sunlight streaming in through two huge windows the entire time, so the time spent cleaning was actually very enjoyable. It was freezing cold outside, which is so not my kind of weather, so it gave me a chance to enjoy the sunshine in comfort. The light also gave me the perfect opportunity to photograph and share the room like I've been wanting to for a while now. It was just a great, refreshing way to start off the new year. :)

Let me back up first and point you to this post and the photo below that kind of give an overview of what my space looks like. The only thing you can't see in the photos is the guest bed, which is now in the space where I stood to take those pictures. I've also moved some things around and put things away, but this gives you a general idea of the layout of the room

Before I move on to the actual photos from my scrap room, I want to warn you that I have a lot of stuff. Some of you will think it's nuts, and some of you who will think it's cool. And, no, I do not have a hoarding problem. The rest of my house is clean an organized, and not nearly as full as this room is (not by a long shot). I have been doing this hobby for almost 12 years now, and I've just acquired a lot.

You've been warned! Now, on with the tour!

I'm going to start with my desk and all the items in, under and around it. I have the Madison Trestle Desk from Target, and aside from the Pottery Barn Project Table it has to be the best work surface (that I've found, anyway) for scrapbooking or any type of crafting. The top of it is huge- so big that I have room for my iMac and a second 24" monitor, a few other items, and still have room left over to work on a double 12x12 layout at the same time.

It also has great storage on the left and right shelves, which are very deep and hold a lot more than it looks like at first glance.

So, on with the desk tour. :) I keep my Wishblade permanently on my desktop since there is space for it and because it makes it a lot easier to use when I don't have to pull power and USB cords to it every time I want to use it.

The vertical plastic organizer behind the Wishblade is where I keep papers that need my attention, layouts and projects in progress, and other miscellaneous papers. It easily holds 12x12 paper. I bought it at Staples several years ago- I think it was meant to hold brochures.

The shelves on the left hand side hold journaling spots, ephemera, and my alpha collection. The fabric totes are by Amy Butler- I found them on clearance at Michaels for $5 each! The basket came from Wal-Mart.

I just stick the journaling spots in the tote- loose ones go in baggies, booklets just get filed in with everything else.

Making Memories makes some of the cutest journaling books, don't you think? They could be little mini scrapbooks all on their own!

I have little journaling spots...

and booklets of a mix of small and big journaling spots. Basically, I think that journaling spots are one of the greatest scrapbooking inventions ever. I used to hate to write on my pages, but for some reason these make it easier for me.

Behind the journaling spot tote is another Amy Butler tote where I store miscellaneous stuff from everyday life- interesting receipts, clothing tags (only the cool ones), business cards, and ticket stubs. These sometimes find their way onto my pages. I don't keep a ton of stuff like this, but sometimes it comes in handy.

The lower shelf holds my huge basket of alpha stickers. Thanks to Big Lots and their $2 Thickers, I have tons and tons of these, and I find that I really do use them a lot.

I have them all stored by color. Oh, and alpha rub-on sheets are in the mix, too.

See, more Thickers- I told you I had a ton of them!

I keep the really tiny alpha sheets clustered together at one end of the basket. I often reach for them for sub-titles, so it's a good idea for me to have them separated from the larger letters. I find that I use these itty bitty Making Memories alphas the most.

The right hand side of the desk has an identical set of shelves. I keep punches, bling, and my most often-used and new embellishments on this side.

All my punches (except the holiday themed ones) are jumbled together in this basket. And, yes, it is heeeeeaaaaavy!

On the bottom shelf are two Amy Butler totes (they're not on the top shelf because some of the stuff in them is too tall to fit up there). One contains all my bling (except Stickles)...

Bling like Martha Stewart Tinsel Glitter...

And Prima Swirls...

And more Prima Swirls...

And probably my favorite, these little bitty adhesive backed rhinestones.

Behind the bling tote sits my tote of most often used or my newest treasures. When I'm scrapping I usually pull this out and make sure it is sitting very close to where I'm working.

My newest stuff goes in it, even if it will later be filed somewhere else. Like these journaling spots- they are new (and note the Big Lots tag!) and will sit in this tote for a while.

These are also new- the bright colors just make me happy!

And I use these Jenni Bowlin labels a lot, as you can probably tell by the half of the sheet that has been used already!

The last thing that sits in my desk area is my tool tote. It actually sits on the floor beside the desk where it is easily accessible. In it I have everything I need to scrap on a daily basis (not that I actually scrap on a daily basis). I can literally pick up this tote and a box of page kits and go off to a crop and not need anything else. Sooo much better than the days when I used to take everything and the kitchen sink with me!

That's the end of Part 1 of my scrap room tour. Congratulations if you made it this far!! Next up will be the tour of my paper and album storage, hopefully later this week or early next week.