I do my knitting, crocheting, beading, etc. while watching TV. I usually had to get up many times to find tools or supplies. I brought in a weather beaten plastic table from the yard after I spray painted it burgundy. Then a friend came to lunch and brought me some fabric she didn't want. I knew immediately what to do with it.
I made this organizer in a couple of hours using her fabric, my spray painted table and odds and ends of bias tape I had accumulated. Just measure the top and add an inch. Then measure the sides, cut your fabric (I tore mine), add pockets to the sides, sew the sides to the top and store your crafting tools. I love mine.
Source: My very own idea
By Gailya Illsley from Lillington, NC
If you're in the process of making a lot of crafts, keep a lidded storage box nearby to drop things in when you're finishing them or if you have to stop for some reason, then your things can just be covered and set aside with no fear of losing anything.
Busy moms, this is a dream come true. I am a teacher and also a mother of a 5 year old who loves crafting. As I am a crafter as well, I am always looking for fun, fast, easy ways for us to do a craft or my students to do a craft without spending so much time setting up and cleaning up and having more time for fun.
The plastic zipper bags that bedding comes in are wonderful in the craft room!
I don't have a sewing/craft room, however I do sew and craft a lot so I have one of those plastic drawer organizers and use plastic zip lock bags to organize my stuff. It works great, I can see what's in the bags easily.
Put loose pins and needles in washed pill bottles or mint containers.
If you need more space and have no place to hang shelves you can hang open-backed shelves in front of your windows. In the kitchen, this is a great place to store colored glass ware (like depression or cobalt glass) because the sun looks great shining through the glass.
I am moving soon, and taking a lot of craft supplies with me. I wanted all my hooks in this handy clear eyeglass case and this one wouldn't fit.
When sewing or crafting, use your bird stand for a roll-around table, to hold your supplies. You can easily wheel it around from place to place where you are working, without having to transfer all your supplies from one place to the other.
I try to keep the clutter around my desk to a minimum, so I don't own a ruler. But, I do a lot of craft supply selling from there, so this helped me. I measured out a 6 inch piece of paper.
Use empty pill bottles to dispense elastic and similar items. Coil the item to fit into the bottle. Then cut a simple slit/opening in the lid to pull the item out as you need it, as much as you need.
I am an avid crocheter and I like to have my patterns, hooks, and different color yarns that I'm working with handy. I found the perfect caddy. I bought these clothes hampers at Ikea for around $4.00.
When I make something, I always save a pattern; whether it be hard copy or computer copy. I may want to reuse it later and it will be easily accessible filed away in a filing cabinet or on my hard drive.
Lids of jars work well to hold beads, straight pins, sequins, etc. I especially like the lids from peanut butter jars.
