Art… Kitchen?

Hi everyone, JJ here.  Today I’m going to share a few pictures of my workspace.

I have my printer, tool caddy and basket of stamps and odds & ends within easy reach.  A cutting mat is always under my work.  I pull out my misting mat when I’m getting ready to make a mess.

Who am I kidding?  This is how it usually looks.  I tend to clean it up when I discover I’m trying to work on a 12×12 project in an 8×8 space.

I don’t have an art studio, or room of my own to create in – I work in my kitchen.  The downside is that I don’t have a door I can close on my mess.  The upside is that I have a sink handy, because I do get messy.  I would love to have a beautiful studio, but it would probably look like a hurricane hit it anyway – I have a hard time keeping a creative space neat & tidy.  (A perfectly kept house is the sign of a misspent life).

Fortunately, our kitchen is the largest room in the house, and there is a counter/cupboard that is apart from the main cooking area (which was never practical, and was wasted space).  I took it over for my scrapbooking when I realized I could get away with it.  🙂  Working in the kitchen allows me to be right in the centre of all the household happenings, and I can keep an eye on dinner at the same time, ha ha!

My storage solutions are not beautiful, but they are practical, and work well for the way I work. Baskets and trays from Ikea are inexpensive, and fit my cupboard well.  I love these trays for my Tattered Angels mists and paints (I often have stamps and glimmer screens sitting on top of the tray):

To make it a little quicker when I’m looking for a perfect match, I keep colour swatches of all my mists. Just 2×2 pieces of cardstock; I add a new one every time I get a new mist. So much faster to pull out swatches than to start hauling out a dozen bottles. 🙂

I have another tray for ink pads, gesso & texture mediums, alcohol inks, etc.:

I also use a tray like this for all my adhesives and whatever tools don’t fit in my tool caddy.  I have an additional tray for my son’s craft supplies – that way he knows where all his stuff is, and can use them without rummaging through mommy’s things.

The basket holds my punches – it’s strong and can handle the weight better than a plastic tray:

Much of my things are stored in portable containers (such as embellishments, alphabets, rub-ons), as I like to crop with friends on a regular basis.  Many of these are permanently stored in my rolling tote – it just makes sense for me.  Some of the larger embellishments, favorite papers, kits, and computer peripherals are in the second side of the cupboard:

We bought a second table for the kitchen for when I need extra workspace.  The sides fold down so that the whole unit is less than a foot wide when I’m not using it.  I slide it to wherever I need it at the time.  (It’s also handy when doing art with the kids, or when friends come over to crop).

Each end has drawers, which are the perfect place to store items like my work rags.  I use these a lot when misting, then throw them in the wash with any dark clothes like jeans or my concert tees.  Saves me a ton on paper towels.  🙂

Of course, I can’t leave without sharing a project.  Glimmer Mists were perfect for the watery theme of this layout:

I used a texture medium with one of the Fanciful stencils, which gave a lot of dimension to the page.

Before my glimmer mist dried, I spritzed on water to make the colours run, creating a lot of ‘drippage’.  (Mists used: Coffee Shop, Moonlight, Indian Corn, Jack O’Lantern,  and Oil Slick Glimmer Glaze)

Thanks for stopping by today – I hope my ‘studio’ tour gave you a few ideas on how you can work in just about any space, even if you can’t close the door.  🙂

JJ Sobey

http://1-goodthing.blogspot.com

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