Vintage Storage Ideas

I am lucky enough to have a studio.

It is my garage.

It is my space and I love it.

I love utilizing vintage finds for studio storage.

I thought I would share some of my favorite vintage storage from my work spaces.

Each works hard in its own way.

I store most little items for mixed media, jewelry and such in vintage mason jars.

I collect them whenever possible along with zinc lids for on them.

My cupboards are filled with them.

My husband found, bought, loaded and helped me clean this vintage card catalog.

It holds a ton of essentials. 

I love that I can change the contents and the tags in a minute.

  I can send my daughter to the studio to find something and she can quickly locate it.

Yay!

You have to love a piece that hard working.

I have been thinking maybe some day I will paint it...

I have always love little divided shadow boxes.

This one had some splits in some of the dividers so I did not want to use it for shows.

It makes the perfect home for my hand crafted polymer clay beads.

As I use them and make more, it looks different all the time.

Just seeing the beads inspires me to use them.

These fun little tins were thrifted finds.

I use and buy some tins to use in jewelry designs but these are perfect as is.

They are such a pretty way to store things.

Printer's trays are my kryptonite.

I have to buy them if they are reasonable and in good shape.

My daughter has pointed out more than once that I do not NEED any more.

She is right, of course.

They are so handy though.

I usually use them for booth displays but now I use them in the studio.

Bits and baubles are right there...

This little green drawer unit was last spring's splurge from Lucketts.

It also holds tons of essentials.

It helps me find things.

And it looks cool.

Old luggage makes great storage.

I love that these suitcases hold my yarn supply out of the way and keep it dust free.

These cases are also full of yarns and fibers.

They are missing their handles so this is the perfect use for them.

Last summer my daughter spray painted a vintage ceiling tile to use as a memo board.

This fun color really makes it pop.

My neighbor dropped off this rusty cart one day.

I transformed it into a great little storage piece.

I use this ceiling tin in my green house as a magnetic memo board.

This vintage box is the perfect booth display for bangle bracelets.

Wooden crates are both storage and booth display.

Is your studio space sleek and sophisticated or full of vintage storage pieces?

Thanks for stopping by....

Linking up with these great blogs.

First Fall Show

I had my first fall show last weekend.

It's the biggest I do anymore.

Thought I would show you a little bit of the booth.

It was super busy right away Saturday so these photos were actually taken Sunday morning.

I love the sheer curtains.

  I feel like they look a little different than other  booths.

My trunk of pumpkins up front is one of my favorite display pieces. 

 This is the only show I use it for.

It is quite large.

There are all kinds of pumpkins in it...

Sweater pumpkins, burlap pumpkins, fancy pumpkins...

My favorites right now are the fairy tale pumpkins...

So frilly and lacy and fun.

Some have sweet tags added.

Some have a touch of mica glitter for frost on the pumpkin...

There was lots of jewelry.

I love this long wooden tray I found. 

 It looks great with bracelets in it.

I set it on top of the open trunk lid.

fabric, clay, beads, leather...

This wooden tray is filled with washi tape bracelets and rose bangles.

Stamped heart charms  fill a silver pedestal.

I used to have old shutters along the back of the booth side and I hung necklaces on those.

Things got tangled and occasionally the shutters fell or blew over even though they were clamped to the table.

So I changed it up this year.

Necklaces were put individually or in sets on old book covers that were discarded after a book sale.

Then I nestled them in old suitcases.

Trays and other displays held key chains and necklace charms.

In the center of the booth, I tried a couple spinning racks I bought from a fellow crafter last year.

They were perfect for snowmen, jars and such.

The other side of the booth is the primitive country side.

There is some jewelry and such mixed in.

The crates are from a local orchard.

I always have too much stuff to do perfect vignettes in the crates...  

Someday...

 This spinning card rack was a freebie from a local shop that is no longer open.

It perfectly holds my handmade cards.

I did another show this weekend but it was so cold and windy I did not take any photos.

Luckily, the next two shows are inside.

Thanks for stopping by...

Studio Reorganization...Making Headway....

So last week I showed you the top of my cupboards. 

They were overflowing with yarn.

  

I know, scary.

So over the weekend, I got the top of the cupboards looking better.

First, I got all of it down.

I cleaned out a bunch of neat containers...inside and out.

I put a couple dryer sheets in each to make sure they did not start to smell funky.

I sorted the yarn and stuffed those containers full.

Pinks and Purples.

Neutrals...

Heavy, thick wool yarn.

Blues....

Pure wool yarn.

How does someone who does not knit have so much yarn?!

Then I reorganized the tops of the cupboards with the new storage.

These cool suitcases without handles came from a junking trip last week.  

They have a couple small cracks but up there no one will see the damaged parts.

I rolled some burlap bags up and put them on top so I didn't waste any space.

Next I took the mason jars of buttons and gave them a new base.

I used an antique tin tray to corral them in one area.

Underneath I gave the tray support with some scrap wood blocks.

 I had to make sure the next suitcase did not stick out because of the ceiling fan.

This cool old cardboard suitcase was hidden under the dry sink in another part of the studio.

  I like it better here.

More burlap sacks, some dyed burlap and some cool rolls of corrugated paper.

   

Next is another tray of mason jars.

  There are some zippers and other goodies in these as well as buttons.

Last, but not least is an old blue round suitcase with a tin of buttons on top, an old typewriter case, and a basket I got junking a couple weekends ago.

They are all full of yarn.

Whew.

Looks better. 

Just another couple photos so you can see the change.

You can see my fair ribbons on the cupboard doors.

Every summer we enter lots of goodies in the county fair....

mostly flowers and herbs...

flower arrangements....

sewing projects....

crafts...

and art pieces....

It is a ton of fun.

I love my ribbons.

The premiums check usually goes for some sort of fun new supplies.

At one point while I was working on this, my daughter came out and gave me the look that says,

"Why, with this whole mess, are you doing that?"

Easy.

Because this is a small area that I can see an improvement quickly.

I can also see if from everywhere in the studio so when I feel overwhelmed, it is a glimmer of hope.

See....you only see what I show you....

Here is what she sees......

Yup!

I have some work to do.

  I will show you more later.

Thanks for stopping by.....