I was scrapping this weekend and decided to take a photo of the project/mess on my craft table and turn it into a layout. I’ll admit that I was nudged into doing this because of Kristina Werner’s cute post a while back, 90% of real crafters make real messes, where she challenged crafters to “own” the messes we make. (My layout is based on one of Shimelle’s recent sketches.)
I make a pretty big mess when I scrap, as do most of us I think. But I’ve realized that I don’t have much of a pattern about clean-up. When I read others’ blogs about this subject they seem to fall into one or the other category:
- The crafter who makes a mess and then cleans everything up before starting on the next project OR
- The crafter who makes a mess and keeps on working until there are so many scraps and tossed aside tools in the way that she can’t see her layout or card any more
I’m a little different (big news, I know). I certainly don’t clean after each project. Sounds nice but takes too much time away from my creative flow. I also never let things get so bad (on my desk) that I clean only because I can’t work any more. No, I spread out…a lot. Matt calls me a “stacker.” I have little stacks everywhere. My craft desk came with a chair, but I hardly ever use it; it’s too convenient a place to stash the things I want out of the way but within reach. My craft room doubles as our guest bedroom, which is awesome because the bed is just to the right of my desk and a perfect place to stack more crap. It’s the perfect setup…for a while.
I eventually get overwhelmed by this stack-heavy environment and realize that it’s affecting my creative mojo. That’s the perfect time to clean! It means I’m motivated, which is the best we can ever ask for when it comes to cleaning, right?
Here are a few more photos of my creative space, in the interest of full disclosure. 😉 Why don’t you tell me a little about how/when you clean your scrap dominion?
Carol Anne says
I love the title and subtitle of your blog. Nice workspace, too. It looks so clean, especially compared to my space. ;^)
Janice Daquila-Pardo says
Thanks Carol Anne. I think these photos might be a bit deceiving; my plan was to show how messy I can be when I scrap. 😉 Perhaps I should go snap a shot of that same table right now because yikes! Thanks for visiting!
Katie says
I love your organized closet! I think I need to do that for myself 🙂
Janice Daquila-Pardo says
Hey Katie. 🙂 That closet took a good bit of work to set up, but I’ve been so happy with it ever since I put in the time. I love peg board and hooks! Do yourself the favor; you won’t regret it.