I need help ladies!

[Rora]

Scrapbooking girls,
DFiance and I just recently moved from a small house into a very teeny tiny apartment (why did I decide to go back to school?? ). Sadly, I have no room for any scrapping or crafting materials in this apartment and I'm really at a loss for what to do.
I *love* scrapping but now can't do it as there is little space and now I am looking for suggestions as to how to cope laughing or on how to scrap in a dorm room like space. Any ideas? Organization tips? Etc?
Thanks ladies!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

have you purged yet? I would start there.

How is your stuff organized now?


You could always go digital too.

 

[rlovew]

One thing you could do is move into digital scrapbooking for the time being- that doesn't take up much more space than a computer- you may want an external hard drive to go with it and store things on.

Options for doing traditional scrapping without much space:
1- pair down any supplies you have to what you really use
2- find storage containers that completely close and blend in/fit with your furnature
3- use supplies as part of your decor- put beads/ribbons, ect into pretty bottles/conatiners and display them- you can use them as needed and they are part of your decor for other times
4- see about getting a thin board (heavy cardboard/school dosplay board) that is large enough to hold a 12 by 12 page and some additonal room. Scrap each page on this and find a place you can store it horizonatlly with some things on it (so you can puy up a page you are working on but still have it accessible/not have to divide everything back up
5- plan time for clean up into your scrap time- have a set amount of time to work and then leave yourself time to clean up

Rebecca

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

go vertical for storage, this is what I've had to do.

 

[ZeroToHero]

Do you have a living area with a coffee table/ottoman? Maybe set up a system of cubes/drawers under that? Or one of those storage ottomans would be good too....

You could always do a pull-out drawer system for under the bed too, if that's got the height for it.

 

[chrissi1]

I am totally biased, as a digital-scrap addict. But I would completely agree with Rebecca on going digital.
I have found it to be easier, less time consuming, less expensive and definitely less "space taking" than paper.

It takes a lot less time to boot up my computer and get a scrap program running that it was for me to lug out all of my supplies and try to get organized,and then actually have time to scrap before having to pack it all away again.
I love being able to do a bit of scrapping, save my project, then get back to it when I have time again. It also takes me a lot less time to finish a lo too.

Space -- all you need it a computer and space on it for your scrap supplies. I keep all of my supplies on a portable EHD. I use ACDsee Photo manager to keep everything organized so I can find papers/elements and photos quickly.

Expense- I LOVE being able to use papers and elements over and over. The avg price of a digital kit is less than $5 and you can recolor, resize,etc.each piece as much as you want. I am also fortunate to be on some creative teams and then I can get their designs for free.

Easy to do- I scrap with either ACDsee Photo Editor or CS2. Photo Editor is perfect for a beginner. It has lots of great features to help you get started, plus "room to grow"" as you get more advanced digital skills.

HTH!

 

[ILuvCrush]

Digital is a great option!

When we were in an apartment, (this was before digital was really even being used) I had a closet in the second bedroom that was 'just' deep enough to put one of those folding 4ftx2ft tables. I put some of those plastic boxes under it to store supplies. DH helped me hang a pegboard over the table to hook some other supplies, that I used a lot. I used the overhead shelf to store other stuff (like xmas decorations) not related to scrapping. The stuff I ussed most was in my regular storage bags that I took along for crops and just left it on top of the 'table'. When I crop, that's the stuff I used anyway, so I just took it off the table and sat it onthe floor/bed in easy reaching distance!

It worked pretty well for meat the time, and when I wasn't using it,i could shut the door LOL!! Be creative with what space you do have available, you may be suprised!

Good luck!!
Paula