My Messy Corner of the Living Room

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I live in a one bedroom apartment. My husband and I sleep on the futon in our small dining room area while our son has the bedroom. David's bookcases and his comic book shelving unit take up most of the living room wall space. The photo that you see above is my (very messy at the moment but I'm too hard at work on my latest online class to clean it) corner of the living room. What you need to understand right off the bat is that if I didn't teach art classes, with the exception of the book shelves, I wouldn't have (or need) most of this stuff. I've shown you my journal bag several times before here in various forms and that, quite honestly, is what I work from (if you could only see the floor below in this picture! Lol! It looks like my journal bag exploded!) On the walls, are tiny, wooden shelves that contain a small portion of my toys, collectibles, treasures Tristan made when he was younger, etc... I've always had a heart for small, pocket sized toys since I was little. I have toys from my childhood, Dunny figures and much, much more. The Rubber Stampede shelving unit was given to me (free) years ago. I usually rotate out all of my rubber stamps every now and then for classes. Most of the stamps here though are my personal collection and some of my most favorites. The bottom two shelves have a wire basket filled with my double (or in some cases more) rolls of my washi and deco tape. This is where I keep my most favorite tapes that I tend to load up on and use repeatedly. Next to the wire basket is my (sadly) little used sewing machine and matboard for classes. The bottom two shelves are full of more matboard for classes. I am honestly thinking of trying to swap out my sewing machine (it's brand new. I've used it maybe three times tops) for an old fashioned typewriter. I have been looking for an old script typewriter so we'll see what happens! Hanging on a pant hanger rack you'll see four rows of my deco tape. This is all of the deco tape that I have that's mine and not for classes. The space between the stamp cabinet and the bookshelf is an odd size. I would love to buy or build a shelving unit that would fit there. For now, I have my journal books (not journals but books on journal writing) in ziploc bags there. The messy bag on top is filled with some of my collectible toy boxes. The bookshelf you've seen before. It has some of my favorite titles on its shelves as well as some more toys and gifties from friends. At the top of the shelf (which you can't see) are tax receipts, magazines and old notebooks. In front of the bookshelf is my Grandmother's table. Right now it has some books, receipts and other crap that I need to put away piled upon it. Underneath has my XL Crop in Style case that I bought years ago and use for my classes. I also have a few rolls of handmade/decorative paper (for classes) also stashed near there. Usually when I buy handmade paper for *me*, I fold it into quarters and tear off a quarter immediately. I will put 1/4th of the paper in my "now" journal bag and the rest goes into my "for later" stash. I also do this with scrapbooking paper as well as transparencies. I cut them in half and have half for now and half for later. I also have some pillows on the floor in case I want to get comfy over in the corner with my journal stuff. A couple of years ago, we went to the Container Store and bought the massive black metal shelving unit. While not pretty, it is functional. I tend to hang artsy stuff on there for inspiration. Most of the stuff stored on it is for classes. The very top row has various decorated cigar boxes and other goodies that friends have given me over the years. The next shelf has: -2 Iris cases of my washi tape -a clear case of rub-ons (I always try to keep my rub-ons separate from anything heavy and away from heat so they last.) -a couple of various containers of pens, pencils, markers (I have a complete set of Caran d'ache Neo Art Watersoluble Wax Pastels, a case of their watercolor pencils and a small toiletry bag full of extra pens and markers.) -Burlap bags with fabric scraps, ribbon and stickers. The third shelf is a total mess right now but it has: -some 8 1/2 x 11" cases with scrapbook paper and transparencies in them. -a small case or two of my unmounted stamps (I prefer wood mounted but if I can only buy them unmounted, I will.) -my alphabet and number stamp sets -books I'm reading The fourth shelf has: -12 x 12" plastic cases with scrapbooking paper -small Iris photo cases with photographs, favorite travel rubber stamps and a few odd doo dads in them. -a wooden box full of collage stuff -more books I'm reading -my Paumes books that I collect The fifth shelf has books, books and more books. Mostly books for collage that I need to go through and tear up. The sixth shelf has two large containers full of collage ephemera. This is my stash that I rotate out of for me as well as classes. When I get bored, I sort through and swap stuff out. There are also more books for classes. I also have my Fiskars rotary paper cutter stashed there. On the floor (below) the shelving unit, are magazines in zilpoc plastic bags. When we open the windows, L.A. air can be dirty and grimy so we tend to put our books and magazines in plastic comic book bags to protect them. Not shown: -I also have a pink suitcase that's filled with more collage stuff. -In the kitchen, I have one cabinet devoted exclusively to acrylic paints and mediums. They are sealed tight, kept away from heat and I only ever take out what I need and never put anything back into the containers (to prevent mold growth.) -I have a very small pantry (small enough for a 4' person to fit in rather uncomfortably) that also holds extra class stuff (rubber stamps, class pens, etc...) -In the trunk of my car is a large collage bag that I need to desperately downsize! I learned a long time ago that I don't need everything out there to be creative. I tend to work from my journal bag and rotate stuff out need be when I get bored. If I have to downsize, I would keep my books, my journals (stashed in Tristan's bedroom on a bookshelf), a bag of my favorite pens, my washi tape, a few rolls of transparent deco tape, a few sets of alphabet and number rubber stamps, a box (or two) of collage ephemera, my coccoina glue sticks, a favorite pair of scisssors, a black staz-on ink pad, a metal ruler and a few favorite rubber stamps. Once I have some free time and the space is cleaned up, I will show you some more detailed photos. So, for whomever asked about how I store my stuff on formspring, I hope this helped. I would think hard about whatever supplies you love, need and actually use. Even with little space, there are always nooks and crannies and various possible ways to store your stash! If anyone has a blog post on what their studio/art area looks like, please link below! I'd love to see!