Organized Office and Craft Room Archives - Blue i Style

Home Office Ideas for Small Spaces

blueistyle — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 19:55:00 +0000

I dream of turning our basement bedroom into a dedicated office, but for now it’s just a gathering spot for all the stuff cast out of other spaces in our home – in other words, it’s a mess!

Eventually I’ll make time to tackle that major project and create my dream office space, but in the meantime, I’ve been doing most of my work sitting at the kitchen table or on the couch, which isn’t the best for my productivity. I needed a better place to focus on my work, so I recently decided to claim the desk in our guest room as my own mini-office. I was able to pack tons of function into this small space bedroom office.

A DOUBLE DUTY NIGHTSTAND DESK

When we picked the furniture for our guest room years ago, rather than matching nightstands on each side of the bed, we opted instead for one nightstand and one small desk. I wanted our guests to have a comfortable place to write or set up their computer.

Instead of a chair, I chose a {surprisingly comfortable} bamboo stool in place of a chair because it can be easily tucked out of the way under the desk. I originally styled the desk with a small lamp, a few boxes filled with notepads, pens and pencils, and a couple of candles. Many guests have used this mini-desk over the years, but until recently, I had never used it myself.

How to Create a Home Office in a Small Space: Nightstand Desk Bedroom Office Ideas

I’m so thankful for the ability to work from home and for the flexibility it gives me to balance my business and family life… but sometimes that balancing act results in things getting a bit mixed up. I really needed a solution to prevent my blog and client paperwork from getting mixed in with all of our family mail and papers, and to keep my business deadlines separate from our family calendar. And I really needed to get my butt off the couch so that I could get my work done more efficiently in the limited hours I have to myself.

Since guests only visit once in a while, I realized there was no reason I couldn’t claim the desk in the guest room as my own the rest of the time. I partnered with my friends at The Container Store to create a super stylish and functional command center for my business, complete with ample space for all my files, notebooks, office supplies, and even a dry erase calendar. Best of all, it looks stylish enough that when guests visit, they won’t feel like they are staying in an office!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. If you purchase something I recommend, you’ll pay the same price, but I may receive a small commission.

This little desk only has one small, shallow drawer, so I needed to add more storage on the desktop while still leaving enough room for my laptop and work. I found a great stacking system that allowed me to get a drawer, letter trays, and a desk organizer all in less than one square foot of space. And if I need more space in the future, I can easily add more drawers or letter trays to this stack.

Currently, I’m using the drawer for all of my business tax receipts, but, in the future, I may get the drawer dividers that are made for this drawer if I decide to use it for other supplies. The letter trays I used for files, planners, and notebooks.

The desk organizer, which sits securely on top of the letter trays, holds my most frequently used office supplies, including my favorite pens, highlighter, scissors, thank you notes, and washi tape, which I use for sealing envelopes and creating tabs on notebook pages.

A pretty, acrylic and gold tape dispenser does double duty as a bookend that keeps my blog and client binders in place. And I’m using a pretty blue and white porcelain bowl as a non-traditional business card holder.

I have to pause for a moment to gush about how much I love these mini three-ring binders that I use for my blog business and client projects! I use the lined paper inserts for notes and the graph paper inserts to sketch out organizing and design plans. The size is perfect for tossing in my purse when I’m headed to a meeting or a conference, and there are tons of other options to customize these binders with dividers, calendar pages, index tabs, address book pages, pockets, to do lists, and more!

I used damage-free picture hanging strips to hang a dry erase calendar on the wall above the desk. I primarily use an online calendar system to keep track of all the things, but I like having this visual calendar hanging above my desk where I can see a quick overview of my editorial calendar and client meetings at a glance. The calendar is also magnetic, so I can hang up notes or business cards as reminders of things that need follow-up.

I still want to create my dream craft room and home office in the spare bedroom in our basement, but that’s not in the budget right now. In the meantime, this mini-desk is such an improvement! My business papers are now organized rather than mixed in with our family paperwork in the kitchen, and I’m much more productive at the desk than sitting on the couch!

I’ve often heard that you should avoid creating a home office in your bedroom because it doesn’t allow you to separate your work from your rest and relaxation, but I also know that not everyone has the luxury of extra space and a dedicated home office. Whether you need to create a functional work space in your bedroom or in a guest room, like I did, I hope that these home office ideas for small spaces are helpful!

ORGANIZE YOUR OWN SMALL SPACE HOME OFFICE

Below are links to all the products I used to organize my files, notebooks, and office supplies in a small space. I love that these components are stackable, so you can add more drawers or more letter trays to fit your specific needs. The drawers and letter trays also come in both landscape and portrait configurations, so you can change the orientation to best fit your desktop space.

HOME OFFICE DESKS FOR SMALL SPACES

Whether your are looking for a desk that doubles as a nightstand to create a bedside office, or you just need an office desk for a small space in another corner of your home, here are some great options to consider:

The post Home Office Ideas for Small Spaces appeared first on Blue i Style.

Budget Friendly Sewing Room Organization Ideas

blueistyle — Wed, 02 May 2018 01:16:00 +0000

I got a sewing machine for my birthday a few years ago, and I have big plans to create my own mini “sewing room” inside an armoire. This project hasn’t made it to the top of my to do list just yet, but in the meantime, I’m excited to share the most adorable space packed with tons of smart sewing room organization ideas to inspire us all! This space proves that you truly don’t need a large space or big budget to create a stylish and organized sewing room.

I love social media because it allows you to connect with the coolest people from around the world… and sometimes they turn out to be right in your own backyard. About a year ago, I came across an Instagram photo of some really cute hoodies. The style and the colorful fabrics initially caught my eye, but then I noticed the name – Platt Park Hoodie. That stopped me in my tracks because I live in the Platt Park neighborhood of Denver. I clicked over to the profile, and sure enough, these hoodies are handmade by one of my neighbors – Stacie, of Sew4the1.

I reached out to Stacie via Instagram, then met up with her at our neighborhood farmer’s market. I’ve loved getting to know her and learning more about her business. I bought one of her hoodies and it’s seriously one of my favorite pieces of clothing. Then I caught a glimpse of her adorable sewing space, I knew I had to share her budget friendly sewing room ideas with all of you!

Let me introduce you to Stacie, my neighbor and the seamstress-extraordinaire behind Sew4the1.

Stacie makes the Platt Park Hoodies from her home, and I recently interviewed her to learn more about how she created her functional and affordable sewing room. Whether you’re a hobby sewer or a professional maker, Stacie has some genius sewing room organization tips that will help you get your supplies organized on a budget.

This post contains some affiliate links. Read my full disclosure statement here.

ME: How long have you been sewing and who taught you to sew? What do you love about it?

STACIE: I started sewing about seven years ago. At the time, it was my birthday and I had just had my third child so the line up of my kids was 3, 2, and new! My mom gifted me a sewing machine for my birthday, and I was a little disappointed when I received the machine. I was looking forward to a massage, manicure, pedicure etc and instead I got this huge bulky machine and I had no clue how to turn it on or what I was supposed to do with it.

But it soon became an amazing outlet for me, spending late nights watching YouTube videos and learning how to sew. My life was a crazy mama mess, but being able to start and finish a project in the evenings gave me a creative and encouraging outlet.

ME: Do you have a dedicated sewing room, or is it a multi-functional space?

STACIE: This question makes me laugh as it comes up in conversation around our house probably monthly. We live in a small bungalow built in 1908 here in Denver. When someone mentions the word bungalow first you think a cute brick home, but you should also be thinking smallest bedrooms and closets you’ve ever experienced. LOL!Our house is a four bedroom two bath and if you do the math we have three kids and one bedroom is solely my sewing space. I’ve justify this room for many years and I don’t know how much longer I can justify having my own sewing space, but I plan to use this room as long as possible. My husband uses the closet, but the room is mine.

ME: How has this space changed over time?

STACIE: The room has changed a lot since first buying the home. It was dark green and I painted it white soon after moving in. It’s quite small, so I am intentional about what I need and don’t need in there. Most importantly, I try to make this room functional for my business, including having all of my materials and fabrics needed for the Platt Park Hoodies accessible.

ME: Let’s start with your desk and pegboard, since that’s what first caught my eye on Instagram. Tell me about your sewing machine desk.

STACE: The desk drawers are from IKEA and the desktop is repurposed from my old desk, which my father made.

ME: I love the pegboard above your sewing desk! I’ve notice from your Instagram photos that how your sewing pegboard accessories and how you organize the pegboard has changed over time. Tell me what’s there now, and how your decide what to keep here.

STACIE: The pegboard is a phenomenal idea that I found on Pinterest. It’s extremely practical and I love that I can switch it up and change it around. Overtime, my materials and needs change based on the business, so the practicality is so helpful.

Recently, I found myself needing tissue paper, ribbon, tape, bags, and string, as well as business cards when I’m finalizing each product, so I switched up the pegboard so that I have everything within arms reach.

On the sewing side I have on my scissors, rotary cutters, and rulers, among other things. The Platt Park Hoodie comes in lots of different colors, so I need to have all my thread organizer here, as well. I also have a hanging file organizer to try and stay organized with paperwork.

ME: Did you DIY leather strap hanging shelf on your pegboard?

STACIE: Yes, this little DIY pegboard shelf started with just a random piece of wood. I cut two strips of fake leather and two smaller sized peg board hooks and there you have it!

ME: Tell me about the shelves you use to organize your fabric stash. How did you decide to use the cinder blocks?

STACIE: The fabric storage idea, as you probably already guessed, is from Pinterest. I needed something that was not too deep because the room is so small, and I also did not need that much room depth wise to store the fabric.

I went to Home Depot and got a bunch of cinder blocks and some wood (I recommend securing the wood shelves to the wall with an L bracket). I love that it gets the shelves off the ground. I think that when you’re designing a room, lifting things off the ground gives the effect of the room being bigger.

ME: What is your fabric on the bookshelves wrapped around?

STACIE: I got this fabric storage idea from my girlfriend’s YouTube tutorial. She wrapped her fabric around comic book boards, but I just ended up using Styrofoam boards from the dollar store (the ones you use for school projects!). I cut them into four equal squares, folding and wrapping my cotton fabrics around. It’s organized and practical!

Wrapping fabric around comic book boards or Styrofoam boards is a great solution because it allows the fabric to be filed vertically, providing more storage space while keeping all the colors and patterns on display, just like at a fabric store.

ME: What do you keep in the black and white baskets below your fabric shelves?

STACIE: I love these baskets! The baskets hold more of my knit/apparel fabrics like flannel, mink, rayon, etc. These fabrics don’t show wrinkles as much as cotton so that is why I can simply toss them in the baskets. These black and white baskets are from Daiso, a store that I often go to when I am visiting California. You can find similar black and white fabric baskets on Amazon, like these, these, and these.

ME: What is your favorite thing about your sewing space?

STACIE: My favorite thing about my sewing space is how it is organized, with everything having a home. For example, this is how I now store the thread for my hoodies in the openings of the cinder blocks.

In this sewing room, no space goes unused… even the back of the door is used to store Stacie’s ironing board.

ME: Tell me about the other tall storage cabinet in your sewing room. What do you keep in there?

STACIE: I happened to get this tall cabinet in the “as is section” of IKEA. This is where I store the fabric for the lining of the hoodies in bins. I also wanted a cabinet with door so that not everything was on display! I needed a place that I can put things and still look clean to the eye. I do have a vision of an antique mod hutch here someday but this space is super narrow so I’m still on the hunt!

ME: I love your little shelf with the clothing rod and black and white stripes below it. Tell me about this space. Do you use it as a backdrop for photos?

STACIE: The vision for the spot was a backdrop to take my photos. I bought these large, patterned poster boards thinking it would be fun to have different backgrounds for pictures. I hole punched the top corners of the poster board and placed two nails just under the shelf to hold up the poster boards.

ME: It looks like the clothing rod is hung with leather loops. Was this another DIY? If so, how did you attach the leather loops to the shelf?

STACIE: Everything around my room is very DIY. My husband hung the industrial shelf for me with the raw wood and brackets. I loved having a place for knickknacks but needed a place to hang my finished products and patterns. I loved how the leather straps were working on on my peg board so I tried to incorporate the same look. I made the loops out of the leather {approximately 1” W x 5” L} and screwed the ends underneath the wood shelf. I had an extra piece of PVC pipe in the garage and I cut it down to be the length of the shelf and slid it in the loops of the leather straps.

ME: I know you’ve been working on creating your new heavy duty patterns pieces. Can you tell me more about that and give us your best tips for how to organize and store sewing patterns?

STACIE: Yes! Previously all of my kid sized patterns were organized in size order and stored in Ziplock bags that hung on the wall next to my pegboard with a simple nail. My adult size patterns were on dotted pattern paper and I kept the sizes together with binder clips.

Recently, I’ve been working on transferring all of my paper patterns over to a new system using special manila pattern paper that is thick and sturdy quality. The reason why you want your pattern pieces on this thick sturdy paper is because you will jeopardize the shape of you pattern pieces as you use, cutting and tracing over and over.

Transferring my pattern pieces to this manila pattern paper has been a very long process. It is approximately a 4-step process per piece. My hoodies have 8 pattern pieces each, and I have 12 different sizes. Eight pieces times twelves sizes is 96 pieces, times 4 for the 4-step process is 384…whew! That makes my new pattern pieces hanging from the DIY hanging rod as precious as gold!

The new pattern pieces on the manila pattern paper hang from the rod from metal durable pattern hooks. I bought all of my products locally at a sewing work space call Denver Design Incubator (DDI). I first bought my products here because I never used them before and was worried about ordering online, but now that I have used these products I feel confident purchasing them online going forward.

You can watch Stacie’s two-part Instagram video where she explains more about her new, more durable patterns and how she is organizing and storing them. She also recommends this website as a great resource for learning more about the pattern creation process.

Stacie admits that her other patterns (the ones she uses to sew for herself and her kids, rather than for her business) used to be “an exploding mess” before she organized them using manila envelopes. She tapes pictures on the outside and tucks all the loose pattern pieces safely inside, pinned closed.

She has transferred the pattern envelopes from the metal crate to this simple wood box next to her sewing desk, but thanks to the photos on the front, she can still simply flip through to quickly find what she’s looking for.

Thank you so much, Stacie, for sharing all of your budget friendly, space-saving, sewing room organization ideas with us! Your pegboard had me at hello, but it’s your rainbow ordered thread and fabric organization that really make heart go pitter patter!

More about the Platt Park Hoodie (and why you might want one, or three)…

Stacie has been making Platt Park Hoodies since 2016 and they are as adorable as they are comfortable and practical.

As a mom of three, Stacie’s goal was to create a design that was durable and long lasting, and the Platt Park Hoodie fits the bill perfectly. They are made from Polartec fabric, which is lightweight material that wicks away moisture, and is soft, elastic, breathable, UV protective, odor and stain resistant, and machine washable. What more could you ask for right?! As Stacie puts it, “This fabric just screams mom’s choice!” You can fold up to fit in your purse, backpack, or diaper bag where it takes up almost no space, and it comes out with no wrinkles. It’s the perfect layering piece for all seasons.

The Platt Park Hoodie started as a kids-only line, but fortunately for me, she now offers adult sizes as well. You can order online, choosing from Stacie’s recommended fabric pairings, or you can customize your own by choosing your favorite shell color and lining.It probably comes as no surprise that I picked a navy blue shell for my Platt Park Hoodie! For the lining, I chose fun floral with some teal and pink. I love that my hoodie is soft, comfy and warm, but it’s also so much more stylish than any other hoodie I own. It’s my go to for morning soccer games, weekends in the mountains, and running errands. It’s perfect with jeans, but I’ve also been dressing it up a bit this spring with my new favorite pink pants.

I love following Stacie’s Instagram feed to see her latest styles and fabric combos, and you can also keep up with Sew4the1 on Facebook.

The post Budget Friendly Sewing Room Organization Ideas appeared first on Blue i Style.

How to Organize Cricut Supplies

blueistyle — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 05:55:00 +0000

Did anyone manage to snag a Cricut during the crazy Amazon Prime Day sale on Tuesday?! They sold out so fast, and I can see why. The Cricut electronic cutter is my favorite crafting, decor, and organizing tool for a reason – it can do ANYTHING! Ok, maybe not anything… but darn close!

I use my Cricut all the time, and the more I use it the more supplies I acquire to go with it, and the more supplies I have, the more I have to store… I think you see where this is going. An organizing challenge with lots of potential creative solutions!

My office/craft room is in desperate need of an overhaul. Add to that the fact that I do many of my crafty projects in the kitchen in order to be more central to keep an eye on the kids. I not only need to get my craft supplies better organized, I also need a system to make it easy to move my supplies around the house.

*This post contains some affiliate links

I’ve been scouting out Cricut organizing ideas for while now, and then Cricut approached me with the perfect solution for my needs – a Cricut machine tote, rolling craft tote, and matching tweed shoulder bag. They offered to send me totes to test out, and I jumped at the chance. I’ll tell you more about how fabulous this set is in a minute {and give you a chance to win a set of your own!}, but I also want to share some of the other super smart organizing ideas that I discovered along the way.

Ok, so let’s start by talking about this uber stylish set of tweed Cricut and craft totes… seriously, I wish my luggage was half this nice!

The long thin case on top is the machine tote, and it’s serious business! There’s no chance of my machine getting damaged inside of this bad boy! It’s padded on all sides, and there’s a handy cut out in the bottom padding perfect for tucking away all of your cords and cables.

Then there’s the rolling craft tote … otherwise known as an organizers dream!

I dug through my craft room and gathered up all of my Cricut tools, mats, and vinyl. There was still extra room in this tote. So then I thought I’d see if my Cuttlebug would fit too… Yep! And there was still extra room. Then I added my paper cutter, and stacks of scrapbook paper. Still extra room.

Let me point out a few of my favorite details…

There’s a strap that velcros around the pull-out handle to hold the lid of this tote open
Detachable zipper compartments that securely velcro to the lid
Tall enough inside for rolls of vinyl
Front unzips to tilt forward for easier access to everything inside
Inside pocket large enough to hold a laptop computer {I filled this pocket with paper for now because I put my laptop in the separate shoulder bag}
Space for additional tools like the Cuttlebug
Multi-direction wheels make it smoothly roll in any direction
Pockets, pockets, and more pockets

And I haven’t even started filling up the large pockets on sides and back of the tote!

The machine case stacks perfectly on top of the craft tote. There’s even a loop on the back of the machine tote to secure it the pull handle of the craft tote {although I didn’t have it secured in this photo}.

The one and only Cricut supply I have that won’t fit in these cases is my large, 12 x 24 cutting mat. I wish there was a thin space behind the internal dividers to allow this oversized mat to slide in.

Now that my Cricut supplies are all organized in these pretty totes, let’s talk about organizing your Cricut supplies. At the end of this post, I’ve got a chance for your to win all three Cricut cases – a machine tote, a rolling craft tote, and a shoulder bag – worth $280!

As much as I love these Cricut totes, I know that different solutions fit different needs, so I’ve also rounded up a whole bunch more organizing ideas for you…

Earlier this year, I wrote a post about 20 ways to organize with a shoe cabinet, including storing scrapbooking and Cricut supplies. You can read more about it here, but you can see from the photo that this provides space for vinyl, paper, tools, and extra large cutting mats.

Cori, from Hey, Let’s Make Stuff uses a similar tilt-out solution to organize her paper – but her version mounts to the wall. Get the details in her post here.

Cori also uses a pretty basket to store her vinyl, which is so smart because it’s easy to see and find what you need, and it ends up looking like decor. She has tons of other tips for organizing craft supplies in her full craft room tour!

I love double-duty furniture that provides storage, and the desk in the craft room of Laura’s Crafty Life is a perfect example. The end of the desk has shelves and drawers that provide room for tons of paper, vinyl, and other supplies. And how cute is the case on her Cricut on top of the desk?!

Laura also has a simple but genius solution for storing her cutting mats! Take her full craft room tour for all the details and lots more organizing tips!

A love a pretty rolling cart, and White House Black Shutter’s found the a stylish cart to hold both her printer and her Cricut, as well as a bunch of other craft supplies! Her entire home office is a must see!

Pegboards are so versatile, and ideal for keeping everything in easy reach – including Cricut tools! As cute as it is, this pegboard doesn’t even hint at the colorful, gorgeousness that is Something Turquoise‘s craft room!

If you’re a Cricut crafter, then you’re sure to have a lot of vinyl. So let’s conclude with two simple vinyl storage solutions. A crafter by the name of Holly shared this with Expressions Vinyl, who shared it on Instagram, and it’s pretty much genius! Those are IKEA plastic bag holders that can be purchased for about $2 each.

Last, but certainly not least, this inexpensive shoe rack in the craft room of Craftaholics Anonymous provides storage for SO. MUCH. VINYL! This is another swoon worthy craft-room tour that you really must see to believe!

And now… THE GIVEAWAY!This giveaway is valid for US residents only, 18 & up.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If for some reason the giveaway widget doesn’t appear, click here to enter.

The post How to Organize Cricut Supplies appeared first on Blue i Style.

A Glam Gold File Box & Desktop Organization

blueistyle — Fri, 22 May 2015 15:50:00 +0000

Happy Friday, friends! I’m popping in with today’s quick five minute project, brought to you today by the fabulous Ursula at Home Made by Carmona!

If I had to use one word to describe Ursuala it would be stylish – so it’s no surprise that she’s even found a way to make her desktop files look good without spending a lot of time or a lot of money!

You won’t believe how quick and easy it is to give a simple file box a glam, gold makeover! Ursula has the quick five-minute tutorial over on her blog, and she also shares some great tips for taming your piles and paper by adding both organization and style!

If you’d like to pin this project – please be sure to pin the original at Home Made by Carmona!

Looking for more 5 minute projects? You’re in luck! Check out my full list of 5 minute decorating, organizing, DIY, and entertaining projects here!

Let’s get social!

The post A Glam Gold File Box & Desktop Organization appeared first on Blue i Style.