And Then the After Becomes the Before

Where do I begin? The closet is done. It turned out just the way I envisioned it when we first saw this house almost exactly one year ago.

I love seeing all of my things on those shelves. If I don't see it, I probably won't use it. I can also clearly tell from looking at all my stuff that I have really gotten to a point in my life where I know what I like and I try to honor that when I shop.

I wish I was sitting there right now.

Today was a dreary day for picture taking but I just couldn't wait. This post has a crazy number of pictures in it. I'd be embarrassed if I weren't so danged excited. I wanted to share all of the details of the closet with you. I assume you are like me and dig that kind of thing. I'm crazy excited with the amount of storage I packed into this 2x8 foot space. Crazy.excited. I'm a storage geek.

So...the details. We'll start on the ground and work our way up.

This is an old album table that I got cheap at a garage sale. It's great for holding scrapbook paper, canvases  and big bulky things I don't have any other place for. The basket that sits below it holds my stamps.

This old vintage bucket holds my wrapping paper and yardsticks.

I found this piece last month while visiting my friend Melissa. I didn't know what I was going to do with it at the time but for less than $20 I figured I would figure it out. It is some kind of handmade garden caddy. But I decided to use it like those Pottery Barn wall cubbies that I love but don't want to spend the money on.

This grey wire stand holds my vintage jars and some favorite embellishments.

These vintage jewelery boxes hold part of my sizeable collection of vintage jewelery and jewelery making supplies.

A little reminder to keep on doing what got me here.

Boxes full of treasures like crystals, paper bits, wood game pieces and more vintage jewelry. Who has a problem?

Part of my library of crafting books.

I could just stare at these colors all day. That pink and red bag holds my ever growing collection of Japanese masking tape. Like everything else on these shelves, it makes me smile.

A favorite hook with some favorite ribbons and trims.

I wanted to show you how I used that narrow upper shelf. I put things up there that I don't access much. I found that Anthropologie shopping bags were just the right size to corral some of those items.

My big paper cutter and laminating supplies are up there too.

More of my library of craft books. I'm always on the lookout for more inspiration!

It wouldn't be mine without the occasional outburst of glitter.

So there we have it, approximately 16 square feet of storage and studio wonder. How's that for making a small space live large?

I still have the rest of the room to share with you. I cannot even believe how it came together. Hopefully I will have a sunny day to take those pictures. I may not be back for a couple of days. I bet you can guess where I'll be.