Good Morning Fellow Stampers !
How is everyone this fine Hump Day? Been a somewhat stressful week for me here at DDS Studios. It will culminate in a "not-so-fun" finale but we'll talk about that later . . .
In the meantime, one of the questions I get asked a lot these days is "how is the studio makeover coming along?" Well, I decided that maybe it was time to finally give you another "view" into the Studio Makover that was started in earnest in December; and to show you how things are indeed coming along. Much progress has been made and lot of wonderful "organizational" products have arrived and been put into use. I am so happy with the results, and the remaining plans (yes, we're not finished, and there will be more . . .).
But First ~~ Do you remember where we started ?? LOL Oh My Goodness . . . So Much Has Changed!!
Be sure to check out my first posting about the Studio Makeover . . .
And then the second . . .
I've been keeping things pretty much under wraps since then . . . .
What do you think now?? LOL :-)
I cannot tell you how over the moon I am!
I had waited a long time to do this; and it's everything I dreamed of, and becoming more!
I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to have everything organized, in its assigned place, right at my fingertips.
I can sit down at my work table, and pretty much everything I need to design and work is within reach. I don't have to get up constantly, go searching, digging, etc., etc.
It is so nice!!!
I know I talked a great deal about my wonderful Recollections centerpiece work table with all its storage in earlier postings.
But really ~~ the collection against the wall "behind" my work table is the ultimate! This is a collection of Kallax shelving, Recollections pieces (from Michael's), and . . . of course . . . the most important part of this whole puzzle, the Stamp-n-Storage units that I had dreamed of, planned around, and really are the focal point of my whole organization plan.
I cannot tell you what a difference these pieces have made in my life!
I specifically chose the Kallax shelving units from IKEA, and the pieces from Stamp-n-Storage that fit in them!
I did not want storage units "sitting out" on top of shelves, tables, etc. I wanted them to literally be a "part" of the organization unit.
My paper storage is truly a dream come true! These units fit both my 12"x12" sheets, as well as the 8 1/2" x 11", which means I can designate each slot to its own color and put both sizes away together.
That way, if I want Real Red for example, I have both sizes available at my fingertips right in the assigned slot.
This too was a dream come true for me. Instead of punches stacked on top of each other and all willy nilly in a drawer that was too heavy to open,
I now have all my punches organized and lined up and within easy reach! I'm loving this!! It is so wonderful!!
And, now I can clean out the retired, and make room for the incoming new with just an easy sort and flick of the wrist -- LOL
I put in this unit at the bottom of the column to hold my retired In-Color ink pads, my miscellaneous ink pads like the gold and silver metallics, Versamark, our chalk inks from last year's Spring Occasions, and my very precious Tim Holtz Distress Inks. This was a very important unit to me, in terms of getting the "extras" of my ink pads into an easily accessible and organized spot.
But I think this was truly the "pièce de résistance"!!
I had my inks in a plastic drawer unit in the closet previously, and it was driving me nuts!!!
This is truly a dream come true!!
And it sits right behind me when I'm at my work table. So I just turn around, grab the colors I want, and off I go! It is so wonderful!
You can see how the whole thing just kind of came together and is just perfect for me!
Even the lighting has worked out so beautifully! I've never had so much light in this room, and it's wonderful!
You'll notice that I painted all the Stamp-n-Storage units the bright fresh green "pop" accent color I chose for the room. I absolutely love how this looks against the white shelving. It's a little bit of extra work, but well worth the trouble.
I used a Behr Premium Plus, Paint & Primer in one paint, and hand-painted with a small size roller as well as a paint brush for the edges and angles. I did not experience any of the problems Rachel Tessman experienced when she initially had her units painted, as I did not "spray paint" the units and so did not have any warping or cracking of any kind (I felt so horrible for her when that happened). These are solid wood units, well made, and when painted with the proper paint, come out beautifully!
I have some details left ~~ namely finding some little decorative shelves for the wall and then getting my "DDS" letters and the shelves hung up, the knick knacks in place, and a couple of other small items, and then really, this particular area is finished.
I will then be turning my focus to the closet, in which I have picked out several other Stamp-n-Storage units that I want for organization and cleaning things up;
and then the other side of the room.
This is the most recent addition to the room. I have waited for this unit for over 3 years!
And then, after I ordered it, it was another really long nearly six weeks until it arrived from the East Coast (North Carolina), fresh out of the factory, and fresh off the truck!
I could hardly wait to get it home; and OMG! it is incredibly heavy!!
But wonderful! It has an extendable table in the back to lay my quilts on as I'm working and sewing, the hydraulic "lift" table I've dreamed of having for my wonderful sewing machine,
and the drawers are so wonderful. I finally have a place right at my finger tips for all my doo-dads, threads, etc., right at hand while I'm sewing. It's wonderful!
This is the other side of the room. It's neat and organized, but certainly not the way I want it!
I have debated for some months about what it is I want to do. It has to work organizationally for my fabrics and quilting supplies (and some paper overflow), as well as fit with the rest of the room at the same time.
So after some thought, and really looking at a couple of options more than once, I believe I have settled on the Alex Drawers from IKEA, and most likely the Alex Drawer Tower eventually for further down the wall.
This will be the first unit I will replace in the next month. The drawers should allow me to reorganize everything in these drawers, and also accommodate some 12" x 12" paper overflow that is sitting the plastic holders there to the right.
[Don't be thrown -- the stamp sets in the wire mesh holder are the few I have chosen to "keep" from the retiring stamps and will be put away shortly in my Retired Stamp Sets storage box in my storage room downstairs; and the other plastic box of stamp sets are all brand new sets (mostly Sale-A-Bration), that are give-aways for lucky recipients. Neither of those will be there much longer.]
The one part I've left out of all of this is my new desk area and computer setup. Something else I've dreamed about for a long time. My new desk area actually sits out in my main living area, and so I'll cover that when I do the full tour later this year. I picked out another wonderful piece from IKEA for that setup, and it is absolutely perfect and fits my room and my needs splendidly! I could not be happier to finally have a work space where I can sit down and work on the computer, and write to all of you in comfort :-)
So, as you can see, things have come a very long way since the first week of January; and plans are in place to finish off the job over the next couple of months. I'm hoping to get the closet re-organized and several pieces in from Stamp-n-Storage that I have picked out for that; and then the re-work of the north wall which will begin in June with the first Alex Drawer unit. I also still need to get the new blind for the window; and I have that picked out as well! When it is all complete, by this Fall or close to it I hope, I plan on doing a full video and showing you all the little details, and giving you a full complete tour of the room! So hang in there, you're going to get to see it all :-)
One thing I can tell you without a doubt, the Stamp-n-Storage units are everything they advertise to be and then some! I knew I would love them, and I do. The organization is phenomenal. They are incredibly well-built; you can leave them natural if you so wish, and they would be just as beautiful as they are painted. They afford so much organizational opportunities, and truly when you are as heavily into this craft as I am, you need this type of organization. You can check out everything Stamp-n-Storage has to offer by clicking on the icon to the right-hand side of the blog, and if you purchase under my icon, I get a little bit of an incentive, so that's fabulous too ;-)
So, there you are! I hope you have enjoyed! We'll revisit the DDS Studio again soon; and hopefully I'll get you a full video tour later this year! That will be so much fun!
Have a great day everyone!
Until Next Time . . .
