Messy Jessie Checking In!

After reaching a seldom-seen level of tidiness during my parents' weekend visit, my craft room has already started on the downward spiral toward messiness and disarray. This is nothing unusual as my creative process and organization tend to be mutually exclusive :)

The head of the guest bed in the room is usually pushed up against the window, but I moved the bed a few days back so I could set up to take photos in the afternoon sun (natural light always gives me the best results for photos.) As you can see, I don't need much room for photo shoot--I just use a few pieces of my craft show display to put my props and tripod at the right height and I'm ready to go.

I've been tempted for awhile now to rearrange the furniture in the room to relocate the bed for easier access to the natural light from the window, but my kitty Cleo loves lying on the bed to watch the world outside the window which has prevented me from acting on the idea. I think a compromise is in order--maybe we can move the bed so only half of the window is covered :)

Messy Jessie: Progress! (at least on one wall)

As promised, here is the latest update on my craft room organization series (aka "Messy Jessie"). The photo above is from a different angle than the last photos, and shows the section of the room that looks the best :) I've actually gone through all of the drawers in the rolling organizer on the left, which now hold my SmuTopia paperwork and tag-making materials as well as overflow jewelry supplies still in their original packaging. The end table in the middle was actually my childhood nightstand, which came out of storage when I was a kid and is who-knows-how-old. The organizer on top of the end table is one of my favorite creations--a gigantic pencil/marker/etc holder made out of old tin cans attached to a 2x4 :)

I have a day off tomorrow (Friday 7/3) and hope to have more photos showing additional progress.......wish me luck!

Messy Jessie: My Never-Ending Quest for Craft Room Organization

As I start to prepare for my next appearance at the Designers' Downtown Market on July 11th and gather inventory and display pieces for the show, I have (out of necessity) begun to dig through the mess my craft room/studio/guest bedroom has become. The picture on the left is the room on Friday, and the one on the right is from this morning. You'd never know I spent the whole weekend in there cleaning! Granted, there is a lot you can't see from this angle, including my beading table and bead storage shelves which received a good deal of attention. The hardest part of organization for me is not getting sucked into half-finished projects as I discover them in the mess :)

My grand vision for this round of organization is to clean up the room enough to be able to move the bed to a different location to allow me to take photos closer to the natural light coming from the window (currently located a the head of the bed). I also have considered abducting my hubby's old desk from it's current location in the dining room to use for extra workspace, providing I can arrange the room to make it fit :) I'll be following up with additional photos as I continue the deep-clean and (hopefully) re-organize the furniture in the room. Please feel free to comment with any of your own organizational tips!

Friday Organization Tip #1

Since cleaning up my craft room on Christmas day, I have been striving to maintain a higher standard of organization. One of my gifts from my Mom has been a huge help: my Dymo labelmaker. There are lots of brands available, but I like this one because it is simple to use, and easy to find replacement label tape at lots of stores (you won't need to make a special trip to the office store or search online just to find the right model). My first use of my new toy was to label all of my holiday decoration containers before putting them back into storage (I'll thank myself for this next December.)

Tune in next Friday for another Organization Tip from Jess Smutek!

My Craft Room is Clean--a Christmas Miracle!

As i have mentioned in previous posts, my craft room goes through cycles of messiness--it barely ever reaches a state I would call "clean". Well, my Christmas present to myself was to spent a good deal of time cleaning and organizing over the holiday break :) My husband was shocked at how good things look now. He actually asked me if I had thrown away half of my stuff (I did recycle and discard a few things, but the appearance of extra space in the room now is really the result of organization.) Hopefully I can sustain the new level of organization in the room!

Make room for the Tree!

My husband and I finally went shopping for our Christmas Tree, which means all of the furniture from the dining room is now (temporarily) in my craft room, making it a bit difficult to get anything done in there. On the other hand, I am very lucky to have a whole room devoted to crafting! Looking at the room right now, I feel like I could use a whole lot more in the way of storage and organizational containers :) Do you live and craft in a constantly fluxing mess like I do? Have you found any great solutions for bead storage or organization? Please share your wisdom!

Lifecycle of a Custom Order--Part 6; Finished! Photo Time!

I've just completed crafting the custom lilac pearl set I've been working on for 'motherofthegroom'! I'm so excited, I need to post a picture of the earrings right now while I'm editing the remainder of tonight's photos :-)

Ta Da! SmuTopia Debuts at the Designers Downtown Market

Yesterday, 3/22, I set up a booth at the Designer's Downtown Market in Raleigh, NC--SmuTopia's craft show debut! I'm so happy with the way my displays looked--it was so cool to see everything come together the way I had envisioned :) The show was a success, and I'm even more motivated to find more craft shows to apply for now that I have one under my belt!

The next thing I plan to add to the SmuTopia traveling set-up is a white tent-top (and some weights to keep it from flying away on a windy day!)

Hurry Up.......and Wait! DDM Rescheduled for 3/22

So, I have a little more time to prep for my first craft show appearance at the Designers Downtown Market in Raleigh since it was postponed due to nasty weather! The show will go on this Saturday, 3/22. I was disappointed, but I can always use more prep time :-) Pictured above is the main part of my display for bracelets and necklaces. It's looking better and better.....I can't wait to get photos of the booth as a whole when I set up this Saturday!

Countdown to Saturday 3/15....Displays in Progress

We're in the homestretch now....only a few more days to prepare for my first show, the Designers Downtown Market in Raleigh this Saturday, 3/15! I've been hard at work on my displays. The photo above shows my earring display board, now covered with fuzzy green fabric :-) It's coming together, but there is still so much to do.......

3/15 Designers' Downtown Market--Prep Time!

I will be setting up a booth at the Designer's Downtown Market outside Ornamentia in Raleigh, NC on Saturday, March 15th! Although I have sold my jewelry online and at the NC State Fairgrounds flea market, this will be SmuTopia's first appearance at a real craft show!!! I've been hard at work on both my inventory and my displays--visit soon for more updates....

Lifecycle of a Custom Order--Part 4; Gathering Supplies

Now that we've decided on the basic design of the necklace, bracelet and earrings in this custom set, I have gathered the supplies and tools I will need. I'm excited to start creating!

Messy Jessie--Are Creativity and Organization Mutually Exclusive?

I have never been what you might call an 'organized' person. My craft room is a perfect example of this. I goes through cycles............When it gets too messy to function and I can no longer navigate to all the corners of the room I start cleaning. I barely ever get the room to a state I would call 'clean' or 'organized' before getting side-tracked. I'll either unbury some half-finished project I had forgotten, or inspiration will strike while I'm re-organizing supplies. I like to think that it's all part of my personal creative process ;)