And remember, no matter where you go, there you are.
                    ~ Earl Mac Rauch

After almost a month, the Crop Crib (my craft studio) is finally unpacked.

Here's the before.

The during . . .

and, drum roll, the after . . .  (you can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them).

Yep, that pale green had to go, so my Tom and I painted it this glorious gold to match the living/dining room.

Dad's roll-top desk is my workstation. Its drawers and cubbyholes are perfect for tucking in my adhesives, tools and play things. My Dad made the bookshelf to the left when I was a little girl just out of some scrap pieces of wood. It's been painted about every color imaginable and holds my tape/CD/LP player, an old tray full of embellishments, favorite scrapping magazines, etc.

To the right of Dad's roll-top is this great built-in student desk. It will be my cutting/embossing/tool station. Punches, Big Shot dies and paper trimmers are in the drawers and that fun old Samsonite suitcase holds my embossing folders and Nestabilities. My Dad made the steeple clock on the right for my Mom years ago – love it's gentle chimes. My sewing machine is tucked under the desk behind a big jar my mother-in-law used to keep flour in; I've re-purposed the jar to hold some of my scrap ribbon.

To the left of Dad's roll-top is this wall of cabinets. The two white cabinets are from Ikea and the sewing machine between them belonged to my Grandma on my Dad's side. Her feet went a hundred miles an hour pushing the pedals to make me clothes when I was little. Dad lovingly restored it.and it still works! The turquoise basket on Grandma's sewing machine was my Mom's sewing basket – we always reached for when we needed to hem some pants or fix a button. I found the white baskets inside the cabinets at World Market to hold my ribbons. If you click on the picture, you'll see that between the shelves is a display board of some of my favorite projects.

Across from Dad's roll-top desk and to the right as you enter the room is one of my favorite places to sit and read, cruise all your blogs, play on Facebook, etc. Sometimes my Tom will sit here and keep me company (or else, he complains, he's a craft widow). The portrait of the boy in the straw hat is one of my favorite art pieces. The portrait and the fern table beside the chair came from my Grandma on my Mom's side.

This closet is where most of the things went from those gazillion boxes. Saturday, when I unloaded the boxes, I filled up the original shelves in the closet so full, they came tumbling down. So, I tore out what was left of all the original shelving, trucked over to Home Depot and bought and assembled the strongest set of industrial shelves I could find. It was a perfect fit. If you click on it you'll see I used my trusty label maker on all the different containers. The clock to the left of the closet was a gift from my in-laws, hand-painted by a neighbor of theirs.

So, that's the nickle tour. As you can see, except for the boxes in the closet where I truly try to maximize storage, I like to find creative and vintage ways of storing my supplies. I love this room, not so much for is decor, but for the joy it gives me with all the treasures and sweet memories from Mom, Dad, my Grandmas, my mother- and father-in-law . . .  So, no matter where I go, there I am, and I bring my precious family treasures with me.