Thursday, March 24, 2011

Sharing: My Studio

Since I had to set up my studio for "Creative Chaos 2011" (which is my annual Girls Weekend scrapping event--details to come), I thought I'd take some pics while it was clean!  In 2000 we built the house as our "weekend/retirement" home and I made sure that a future studio was built into the plans.  After just three years we decided we didn't want to wait until we retired to be able to live "up north" so we moved up here permanently.  The first thing we did was finish the studio!  Since Michigan can be gloomy, I went with bright colors for the walls and white cabinets.  I love how cheery it is but the colors are not digital camera friendly.
Let's start the tour at what I call "command central".  I have my TV, printer, light box, projector and Cricut in this area.  And you can see Millie's cubby hole.  On top of the ribbon organizer are some of my bulldog collectibles.  I often refer to this room as my "Studio/Bulldog Museum"!  In the left of the picture you'll see the lower desk area.  This is right in front of the window and where I sit to paint. 
Above is Millie, my faithful studio companion.  She'll hang out with me all day.  Louie prefers the family room to snooze but comes in every now and then to see if I'm handing out biscuits. 
Here's a further back shot .  To the left of my painting desk you can see the paint rack and a desk.  Above the desk is a bulletin board filled with....bulldog pictures!  Well those, and all my painting convention badges.  Above it is another shelf full of bulldog collectibles, as shown below.
Next to the desk I have a shelf set up for books and magazines.  On the top of the shelf....more bulldogs! 
Next to this shelf is the door to my sink area.  I also use this room to store my saws and drills.  They are stored to the right of the sink...but who wants to look at that?  I cropped them out!
Moving counter clockwise from the sink/storage room  is another row of cabinets and a counter.  A shelf above holds painting projects that I've cut out of magazines and put into sleeves then put into notebooks according to theme.  To the left of the counters you can see the rack I've had to buy for my scrapping papers and drawers for my clear stamps.  That's what happens when you pick up another hobby!
This is the back of the studio.  I have a HUGE closet (4 feet deep) that is filled!  A lot of it is displays from when I did craft shows, but I also have totes filled with surfaces to paint and racks of supplies.  I cleaned it out recently and realized that I am a craft hoarder.  Oh the shame!  Good thing that doesn't last once you close the doors... 
Below is a shot of the last area of the studio.  I set up embossing and cutting stations for Creative Chaos.  Normally in that area I have my treadmill.  No exercising during Girls Weekend though!  I also reconfigure the tables in the center of the room depending on how many people are coming.  Even though only four places are set up here, I can seat seven with plenty of room to work.
So there you have it...a tour of my Studio/Bulldog Museum.  I hope you enjoyed your visit!

18 comments:

Deborah Mahnken said...

I am so longing for a sink near my desk now!! :) Thanks for sharing!

CBW said...

Lovely Room :D

Anonymous said...

Your ARTHaven looks awesome!!!!

Stacy said...

Very nice! I want to come over and play!

Marjie Kemper said...

Beautiful space! I am also jealous of the sink.

Melissa said...

Love it Cindy! I will have to come scrap with you the next time I come visit my parents! Your house didn't happen to be built by Priest Builders did it?

Melissa
www.disneydreamerdesigns.blogspot.coim

Unknown said...

Beautiful, HUGE space! Wow! That yellow is bright! Looks like a great place to get creative! So nice that you have Millie keeping you company while you're working ... I, too, enjoy it when people are creating with me in my room.

Unknown said...

Looks like fun Cindy!!!!

Nancy said...

Great room, Cindy!! Love the yellow - bet that helps a lot with our midwestern gloom.

bcriminger said...

I think your scrap room is the size of my entire apartment! ... Maybe someday...

Sue in CT said...

Now there is a bright room. It is great and of course the best space in it is that of Millie! How wonderful she has her own little space there with her bed.

Shirley said...

What a GREAT studio!

inge said...

hello Cindy,

I like the bright sunny colors in your studio !! A lot of people are afraid of using bright colors in rooms, but I NEED colors in my house to feel happy. Glad to see I'm not the only one ;)

You have a huge room...and everything is so neatly organized : I think you have a lot of advantage of this !

enjoy your room and let others enjoy it too !

greetings from belgium
Inge

TothePointe said...

Great pictures but they still don't do your room justice! The colors in real life are perfect - not TOO bright, but certainly always cheerful :-) I saw "my" seat and smiled thinking of what a fun and productive weekend I had :-) You're just the best hostess!!!

jolandakor said...

Hello Cindy,

I like your studio very much. Bright and spacious

Greetings from Belgium

Jolanda

Walters_Dave said...

awesome room!! Isn't the sink handy and awesome to have close by??
thanks for sharing.
Love, Liz
Liz Walters
Prescott, AZ

http://rocknrollghost.com said...

Beautiful room!

scrapy1 said...

Really Great Craft Room!
Kathy