Posts Tagged ‘organization’

Sponsored: Learning How to Contain Calligraphy

12 Comments

2015_elfaSALE_Cover

This post is brought to you by The Container Store. It’s like meth. Or what I would assume meth would be like because I can’t seem to get enough. Now that we have a store nearby I seem to find myself there a few times a month picking up new shelving, boxes, organizers, gift cards, etc. Also, did I mention this is a calligrapher’s paradise?! There’s a container for everything. Basically.

Right now, The Container store is offering a 30% discount on all Elfa® shelving until February 11th.

We love to take advantage of this sale, and now that we don’t have to pay for shipping it’s hands-down my favorite sale of the year! Since we moved in over 2 1/2 years ago, we’ve been slowly working on transitioning all of our closets over to the Elfa® system. If you’re not familiar with it, you screw a top track into the wall near the ceiling, insert the hang standards and click everything in from there. You don’t have to mess up your walls in order to have amazing storage and you can change it up as your heart desires. No need to go into construction mode after hanging the top track. If you’re not sure where to start? Get in touch with a designer to help you plan your space!

If you’ve been in my house, it’s likely I’ve shown you my closet with my eyes glossed over with hearts. I’m that much in love with all things Elfa®.

melissaesplin-containerstore-organization-calligraphy-2

AAAAnyway. . . My studio has been a complete disaster. If you follow me on instagram, I gave you a sneak peek at how awful it’s been lately. I can’t be productive when my space is that disastrous.

When we first moved in, I spent a weekend transforming the yellow room into a blank white canvas. It was alright, but the furniture I used to store all of my supplies was bulky and I didn’t have nearly the desk space I needed, either. Oh, and I hated that wobbly old desk. Chris bought it in his bachelor days, so it had seen a fair amount of use. And it had been moved about 9 times.

Two Christmases ago, Chris bought me a new desk, with slightly smaller real-estate, but a much more stable surface. He got it on super-duper-uper sale at Copenhagen Furniture while visiting Phoenix. Mega win, but I was collecting more and more calligraphy supplies so the desk was feeling cramped and less than effective.

melissaesplin-containerstore-organization-calligraphy-7

Turns out Chris and I were both experiencing the same crowded ineffective space. So we upgraded in a major way with help from The container store!

The minimalist in me would have bought white opaque boxes to store everything, but I’ve learned that I need to see all of my supplies so I’ll be able to quickly find them and put them away. I went for a white and acrylic scheme here and it works amazingly.

melissaesplin-containerstore-organization-calligraphy-3

The utility board keeps the scissors at hand, but off the precious desktop. The acrylic drawers keep my glitter glue on hand and I can see the lovely rainbow collection from my chair. Without much effort I can grab for my favorite brush markers and switch up colors and keep tidy as I work.

The boxes on the pegboard hold extra tape, glitter, gum (an essential resource for late-night calligraphy work) and iphoneography equipment.

I have the pliers easily accessible so I can change out nibs quickly. My favorite inks are safe in their own shelf above so I won’t tip them over. And Felix won’t get tempted by them when he sits at my desk with me.

melissaesplin-containerstore-organization-calligraphy-5

I originally had a pegboard behind my computer screen (which is wall-mounted now, thus saving even more desktop space!), but it was wobbly and cluttered. I switched that out for a metal magnet strip. It was advertised to be mounted horizontally, but it fits perfectly in the space between my shelves and the door.

melissaesplin-containerstore-organization-calligraphy-1

Did you know that toothbrush holders make for amazing pen holders? Which reminds me, I could probably get rid of a few of those old plastic pens.

melissaesplin-containerstore-organization-calligraphy-6

Now the only things that stay on my desk top are my bare essentials (water jar, keyboard, mouse, graphics pen). My goal in 2015 is to maintain this level of cleanliness!

melissaesplin-containerstore-organization-calligraphy-8

Let’s keep it real: with all this vertical storage, I’ve opened up 8 square feet of space in my office (that’s a lot considering my room is 10×10). Which has opened the floor up to more ink stains. :( The one pictured below my desk happened last night. Still left on my things to do in this room:

  • Switch up the art
  • Tame those cables (aka: another trip to the container store)
  • Get new flooring

*This post is sponsored but all opinions and thoughts are my own. I love the container store this much!

How to Organize Sewing Patterns

14 Comments

The silence over here has been killing me! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks around our house. Chris got the renovation bug not too long ago and we’ve been working our tails off on completing the last unfinished bedroom in our house (pics soon!) and updating all closets. The new closets are heavenly!

melissaesplin-istillloveyou-organizing-sewing-patterns-1

While in spring cleaning/nesting mode, I’ve taken the opportunity to re-organize my sewing patterns. They’re out of control. I’ve drafted about as many patterns as I’ve bought, so coming up with a good system for easy storage was necessary.

In the past, I’ve bought envelopes the same size as as standard pattern envelopes and tried to stuff drafted patterns into those. It’s not terribly effective for me, since most of my pattern envelopes end up sitting on my desk for weeks simply because I’m too annoyed with the thought of putting them away.

melissaesplin-istillloveyou-organizing-sewing-patterns-3

A few fellow sewers mentioned to me how they organize patterns in clear sleeves in three-ring binders. Genius. Wanting them to look polished in my new closets, I went for leather binders*. They’re gorgeous. So far I’ve only separated out tops and bottoms. I’m filling these binders fast, so I’ll likely need to branch out to more categories. Here’s how I’ve done it (and you can too):

Supplies:

  • binders, either 8 1/2 x 11 or 12 x 12
  • clear sheet protectors
  • large labels
  • fun marker or pen

Step 1:

I never cut into store bought patterns. They always remain intact, I simply trace the appropriate size on tracing paper and make adjustments there. I bought a giant roll of 36″ wide x 50 yard tracing paper at a local art supply store for somewhere around $20. If you sew, it’s a worthwhile investment. Store bought patterns stay in their envelopes and those envelopes get stored in a box. Pattern tracings, PDF patterns and self-drafted patterns get stored in binders for easy-access.

Step 2:

Pack the sheet protectors with your pattern (one pattern per protector).

Step 3:

Label the protector. I labeled it with the pattern maker (i.e. Megan Nielsen, Hey June, Self-drafted), pattern name or description and traced size or estimated draft size at the bottom.

Step 4:

Sort. Alphabetical order, style, preferred fabric type, etc. Figure out a system to easily find your patterns and your done!

melissaesplin-istillloveyou-organizing-sewing-patterns-2

I had a lot of fun busting out my brush markers and washi tapes to fancy-up the labels for each pattern. The lettering is far from perfect, but it was great practice.

melissaesplin-istillloveyou-organizing-sewing-patterns-4

Let’s end on a keeping-it-real note. This is how awesome my studio looks at the moment. I’ve got a lot of organizing ahead of me, but with binders, cute boxes and new shelving I feel unstoppable!! WEEEEE!!

How do you organize your sewing patterns? Do share in the comments below!

*Binders and sheet protectors provided by Lifestyle Crafts.

Dismantling + Organizing

11 Comments

We’re moving. Again.

This time it’s into a house that we will own. I can’t be more excited about the new adventure that lies ahead. We’ll be out of our current place in two weeks, so we’re already starting our plan of attack on what should get packed and when.

I’m pretty sure my studio and the kids’ room will be the last to get packed, but my productivity is waning just thinking about all of the stuff I have to move. While I was blankly staring at my studio (as I often do – what a time suck) I thought I’d share this organizational discovery that I made not too long ago.

I’ve been on the hunt for a good storage method for my rolled papers, but I couldn’t seem to find anything that fit. Either the dimensions were off or the price was ridiculous for something so simple. While passing the bathroom section at Ikea, I had a brain wave and snatched up a cheap laundry bin for my solution. It was $10 and fits more than all of my rolled papers. And it’s plain, boxy and white. Does Ikea house all of the solutions to my life’s problems? Perhaps.

mobile site