More is More

I’ve been telling everyone for months that I was having a magic cabinet made that would solve ALL my problems. Of course that was said in partially in jest and partially because I was a little worried that my expectations were a tad too high.

And WooHoo!!!  We finally got my new  cabinet moved into my stamp room last night!  I’m in heaven!  This has been many months in the making.  Like most of you I’m sure, I have limited storage space.  I’m very fortunate to be able to claim our second bedroom as my stamp room, but I do share that room with 2 very large macaw cages.  (We alternate between calling it the “bird room” and my “stamp room”.)  And since we only have 2 modest size closets in the house including the one in that room, the closet is filled with clothes with minimal room for any crafting supplies.  All this to say that I need to make the most of every bit of space.  The cabinet I had just wasn’t using the space to it’s potential and stamp sets were stored in Iris carts and plastic bins and often on the floor.

So I dreamed up this cabinet and went out shopping.  Ummm….that’s rarely a good idea, but something I do often.  When I’m shopping for something it’s common for Curt to ask me “Honey does this thing actually exist?” and I answer “well of course it does…it’s right up here in my head!”  After several frustrating shopping trips Curt insisted I call John the cabinet maker to get an estimate.  He built a banquette and a little desk in our kitchen several years ago and he does awesome work.  Before I called him I measured and pondered and sketched and came up with what I thought would be perfect.  John came out and measured and looked at my drawing and gave us a price.  Of course it was much more than I had hoped, but Curt – wonderful husband that he is – without hesitation said we should get it made!  And now something that only existed in my mind six months ago is a real piece of furniture in my stamp room and it looks exactly as I envisioned it.  WooHoo I’m a furniture designer now!

It was hard to get good photos of it last night in the room because I could only get so far away from it.  Here it is empty.

Isn’t it gorgeous?  It’s 44″ wide, 22″ deep, and 85″ high – made just to fit in that spot.  (Guess I should have taken a pic of me standing next to it so you could really see how big it is.)  The top section is for stamp sets and I wanted the bottom 1/3 of those upper doors to be solid so you can’t see the plastic drawer units I wanted to put there housing loose and misc. stamps.

I will need to play with stuff a lot more to figure out the best way to store everything, but this pic was taken after just stacking up all my stamp sets.  I’ve decided to add one more shelf and try the stamp sets on their sides before I decide which way I like best.  The cabinet is quite tall and that works fine for me since I’m 5’9″.

My 12×12 designer papers are in vertical Cropper Hopper holders and they will sit on the open shelf with room behind them for photo storage boxes full of cards.  Half of those Cropper Hoppers had been on the floor under my desk.

The drawers are very sturdy and deep enough for even my Giga Marvy punches.  I moved all my punches to the drawers today (forgot to take a picture before the birds went to bed) and I still have about a half a drawer for all the new punches in the January SU catty.  *wink*  I have a lot more organizing to do before I completely decide what will go in the bottom section, but at the moment I’m thinking/hoping ot get a lot of alterables down there.  It’s taking some time because really it involves re-organizing most of my room.  It’s like one of those little tile puzzles we did as kids – where you have to move the tiles around in a frame where there is just one empty space – you have to move a bunch of stuff to get one thing in the right spot!  It’s funny, even though this cabinet is much bigger than the old one, the room feels more open because the old cabinet had solid wood doors in a natural finish.  I love the look of the crisp white!  Oh and I think we’re going to try etching the glass panels at some point.

Anyway I am beyond thrilled and wanted to share with y’all!  🙂 Now I just need to get everything I pulled out into the living room back into the stamp room before it’s time to get our Christmas tree!  Just have to work that puzzle one piece at a time.  LOL!

 While I’m here I might as well share a card I made for the Sketch Challenge at SCS – started it yesterday and finished it today.

The stamp is by Stampendous – Tier of Treats – and it’s available at eclectic Paperie.  The sentiment is from a retired SU set.  I colored the image with Prisma pencils and blended with Gamsol and stumps, then added some stickles.  The stitching are rub-ons by Doodlebug.  I realize the embellishment treatment at the top of the card is really too heavy for the look of the card overall, but it was a fun new thing to try.  My friend Lisa inspired me to try putting rhinestone brads inside jumbo eyelets.  It’s a really fun look, I just wish they had been at the bottom instead of the top.  Cardstock used is So Saffron, Basic Black, White, SU Designer Prints Rose Red and Basic Grey Perhaps.

Thanks for stopping by.  I’m off to organize in my dreams.  Good night.