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Post by dungeonmistress on Oct 4, 2014 21:31:54 GMT
This thread is for those of us who could use some good craft organizing ideas or who have good organizing ideas. So no matter what size space you have, if you have a need or an idea, post it here! You never know what can happen, what you may learn or who you may help.
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Post by adamantinedragon on Oct 4, 2014 21:35:29 GMT
The more I think about this, the more I think my next "project" should be fixing up and organizing my crafting space. And done as cheaply as possible.
I think I'll post a photo of my new crafting room as it is after I haul all my stuff up from the basement (stuff just stacked all over the place) as a "before" pic, and then as I get it organized, post pics showing what I've done to get it organized.
Heh, maybe that sort of pressure will make me GET it organized....
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Post by dungeonmistress on Oct 4, 2014 22:05:19 GMT
I think I will do the same...after tomorrows game!  |
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Post by ReliantLion on Oct 4, 2014 22:53:19 GMT
3M Command Strip Hooks (Wire Ones) - Excellent for hanging things on the wall, especially measuring devices, which all seem to have holes in the end of them for just this purpose. Even my 24" T-Ruler has a hole in it already. Wooden Wall Square Thingies! - I have just one square that is similar to this. Whichever works for you, you can usually find these pretty cheap. They're meant to be for decoration, but I use mine to hold a few odd shaped tools I use. Sentry Fire Box - I only use this because I have small children. I put stuff like X-Acto knives, and my cloth cutter (looks like a pizza cutter but WAYYY sharper) in it to keep the kids safe. Keep the key hot-glued to a 'woodsie' and a magnet, under my table. One of my favorite things I have is a pseudo drying rack. It's actually a box that they ship clocks in, so there is a large cube box, with a bunch of cardboard dividers for the clocks. Turn it sideways, add a ton of hot-glue, and you have shelves. My wife made some small bins for stuff that doesn't make a huge mess out of juice bottles. Just whack off the top half, and now you have a small bin to use for stuff. Of course, old jars for stuff like sand and flocking. My sister-in-law has a 1 year old, and we get a lot of her baby food jars, which are good for flocking or beads. Sterilite Drawers - I have one of these on wheels that I use for general storage. It's becoming over-filled and may need to get another. They're still great though. Sorry for the Amazon links. It's just the easiest way to show what I'm talking about. I don't work for them...
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Post by dungeonmistress on Oct 4, 2014 23:54:22 GMT
All great ideas. I use the drawers, have 6 of them in different sizes. But, due to large windows, I don't have the wall space to hang much of anything. Though, I'm sure these tips will work for others. Thank you ReliantLion! |
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Post by DnDPaladin on Oct 5, 2014 2:49:16 GMT
If only you aw my crafting desk...
you'D be like, thats no crafting desk. wheres the space to do things. wheres the space for Tools...
and i'd answer you... its hard to find space in a basement that is has cement bases cutting off the house in half and that in the end i have my TV room. and bed and thats pretty much all the space i have. i'm kinda living in a larger 1 and a half.
so all i have is a small 2 step desk. i use the top floor to do stuff. and the two bottom floor for putting my paints and and Tools. the rest goes somewhere on the cement bases where there are no boxes or anything... seriously its crowded with stuff down there.
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Post by dungeonmistress on Oct 5, 2014 3:01:09 GMT
Each of us that has a challenging space to craft in should post pics of said space and see if any one can come up with helpful, hints that are cheap, or even better, free to implement. I already plan on posting pics of mine on Monday.
Those of you who have lovely, well organized spaces should post pics, too, they will give inspiration to us and give us ideas for our own spaces.
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Post by curufin on Oct 5, 2014 3:12:29 GMT
I built a crafting cart for all my stuff. I will try to get photos up tomorrow.
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Post by adamantinedragon on Oct 5, 2014 3:52:37 GMT
It took me two days to get stuff moved from my basement. Just over a year ago we moved from a big country home into a smaller suburban house and I had to figure out how to get all my stuff from the bigger room into the smaller basement. Since then I've added more stuff and just crammed it into corners or under stairs or wherever I could cram it. Now it's all in the smaller room, and there's barely even room for me to get in and sit in my chair.
Now that it's all in the new room though, I'll start weeding things down and organizing them. It will probably take weeks unless I just devote entire days to the task. Looking at it is certainly intimidating. But at least I have my work at home desk clear. Sort of. But it's going to take a lot of work just to clear out my craft table enough to do any crafting at all.
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Post by adamantinedragon on Oct 5, 2014 6:11:19 GMT
Two photos of my room after hauling all the junk into it and stacking it in as best I can. You can see how much work I have to do to get this mess organized, reduced and efficient.   |
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Post by Erasmas on Oct 5, 2014 6:41:13 GMT
Luckily I have my D&D Room to do my crafting in. It's a dedicated bedroom in my house that my wife lets me use for gaming. We have a dining table and chairs in there, along with a massive entertainment unit with a lot of shelving space... and a couple of bookcases. The closet in the room is filled with shoeboxes and storage bins of crafting-related materials.
So, with a dedicated table in the room, I just roll back my Battle Mat and get to work. Although, I do have a plastic workboard that was from a Crayola Learn to Draw set from when I was a kid... it basically keeps me from getting glue and paint and/or cutting my game table.
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Post by DungeonMasterRandom on Oct 5, 2014 6:59:00 GMT
Sortimos! They are amazing. I have 2 of them and they are perfect for organizing little bits and bobs. You can even build racks for them. Some of them are more expensive then others so it's about knowing when to buy.
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Post by beetlewing on Oct 5, 2014 7:51:13 GMT
My wife made some small bins for stuff that doesn't make a huge mess out of juice bottles. Just whack off the top half, and now you have a small bin to use for stuff. I made a cardboard tray for our kitchen junk drawer, then hot glued cut off plastic bottles and small boxes (like Mac & cheese) into it, so everything stays organized. Works great, no matter how hard you slam the drawer.  We've got a bottle for rubber bands, a box for twist ties, etc. In between the boxes and bottles, we can fit odd shaped or often used things like a measuring tape, scotch tape, scissors, a sharpie, a boxcutter, etc. The great thing about this system is it's free, and you can build it to fit exactly what you need. |
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Post by tauster on Oct 5, 2014 8:24:55 GMT
I got a bamboo cutlery tray for a reduced prize (10 --> 5 €) in a walmart which I use as a shelf for colors.  I like this one because it's expandable (you'll have to turn it 90° and arrest the arts somehow), but there are hundreds of different models out there. They're not expensive, but not exactly free. You might get a used one cheaper. |
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Post by sgtslag on Oct 5, 2014 14:23:22 GMT
Visit your local Salvation Army Store, and look for food tray racks, such as this unit: metal food tray rack. I found a pair of these types of units for $10 each. They were made of Bakelite plastic, and incredibly heavy. No caster wheels, either, with only about four trays in each unit, but with slots for 20 trays! I made the tragic mistake of only buying one: I thought I would never be able to fill even one, with my mini's... I need a 2nd unit, possibly a third. These tray holders are expensive, so look for them at thrift stores. Don't worry about trays! I had a friend cut up some outdoor grade plywood in the correct sizes needed -- dirt cheap, work perfectly; I got around six trays from a single 4x8 foot sheet of plywood, which cost me around $10. I also covered my plywood trays with black felt, stretched just taut, stapled underneath, to dress them up, and to show off the mini's against the black background. I also added heavy-duty caster wheels to make the unit mobile. The total cost was around $46 for everything (unit, caster wheels, and plywood plus felt). My unit will hold around 150 man-sized figures per tray, with about 20 trays, if the weapons are short (no spears, no pikes, nothing that sticks up more than 1.5 inches); with longer weapons, taller figures, cavalry, etc., I have to use half the trays, leaving every other slot open, so the figures' weapons/heads don't hit the tray above (this is why I need another unit, or two...) -- I have a lot of cavalry figures, with lances pointing straight up... Food tray holders are probably the best mini's storage unit you can find. A lightweight unit, made out of aluminum, would be ideal. If you find more than one, and you can afford them, buy at least two, if not three such units! Cheers! PS:Just did some searching on this subject, as I really would love to pick up some metal food tray racks: my crafting room is in the basement, where the Bakelite unit is parked, but my game room is two levels up, above my garage. I found these units, at $113 each, which are smaller (will hold around 9,000 figures with a 1-inch base, using all shelves combined), but very affordable compared to other units I've seen. Not cheap, but they're aluminum, with caster wheels, sturdy, and will last a lifetime, or five... Cheers x 2! |
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Post by DnDPaladin on Oct 5, 2014 14:55:03 GMT
I have done some cleaning up and rearranged my space a little. changed my craft desk from beside my couch to beside my bed. this improoved my overall space. finally got to clean up my old table. so i thought i'd add that to the desk to make a good working place. heres what i ended up with. the desk in this picture is all i had before...  heres what i ended up with once all in place...  i just bought the 3 compartment unit on the table at the dollar store. perfect to store away those crafts sticks, matches, beads, glue stick and keep em nearby ! |
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Post by curufin on Oct 5, 2014 21:21:02 GMT
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Post by Sleepy Hollow Mike on Oct 6, 2014 6:01:56 GMT
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Post by dungeonmistress on Oct 6, 2014 15:24:49 GMT
I'm showing this to my husband! "Honey, this is what I want for my birthday."
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Post by skunkape on Oct 6, 2014 18:15:50 GMT
Great crafting caddy that you made there curufin!
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Cheers!
Cheers!