The Stamp Cave & Fabulous Blog Candy links ~

WARNING: This post contains A LOT of pictures.  I, personally, like to get a good feel of others crafty spaces, so I took a lot of pictures of mine!

To begin, I'll show you a picture of my stamp cave that I took a few months ago and part of the reason why my husband was at his wits end.

We decided to knock a chunk of this back wall out to see what was going on under the landing of the stairs.  We assumed it would be empty and could be a great space for either toy storage for Zane or me.  ME!!!  Yes, I won...mainly b/c my hubby was sick of me pulling everything out into the kitchen to stamp b/c I didn't want to clean this up.  :o)

Here are the before's:

You can click on these to see them bigger if you so desire. We have an electrician friend that came over and put in an outlet so I didn't have to run extension cords out of the closet door anymore - WooHoo! We drywalled and I painted - knowing that this was really just going to be a stamp/storage cave that wouldn't be seen a lot.

This is the cave entry now...you can see how short my cave is.  It measures about 4' high by 6' long and a little over 3.5' wide.  I'm short (5'4"), so it doesn't affect me too much. I have a cute little mechanic's chair that I can sit comfortably on and zoom around my little space...love it!!

Before you duck into the cave, you can see the storage inside the closet.  This is where I have all of my ribbon (hate that ribbon spool thingy), some of the designer papers and all my PTI stamps (it is an addiction!).  There are also a couple of chalkboards lined up along the floor that need to be hung so the little guy has something to do while mommy is playing!  :o)

The back wall is two pieces of 3' melamine board - a nice smooth surface for stamping.  We hung 3 under cabinet fluorescent lights under a 6" top shelf for ample lighting.  I replaced the bulbs  with daylight bulbs.  I have them turned off b/c they gave too much shadow to the upper cubbies - I wanted you to see how I used every available area to organize things - see all the Stickles and chalk inks, etc.

Doesn't that row of PTI buttons just make you happy?!  I love it.  Notice my little tiara?  A sweet friend sent that for my bday last year as a bit of a gag, but I'll tell you, when I'm having a hard time with a card, sometimes I put it on and end up making something I totally love!!  Plus, the kiddo gets a kick out of making me wear it.  LOL 

I have to say that I was apprehensive at first about this little space, but once you're in there and everything is at your fingertips, it's so cozy!  Leading you on in a clockwise direction...

This is the wall to the right.  I was able to utilize some of the handy dandy plastic drawer cubbies that I already had that hold SO.MUCH.CRAP.CRAFTY GOODIES.  My Cuttlebug has a permanent place out right at the end of the desk - so handy!  All my nesties are up in a My Timeless Templates Filed with Flair - I need to redo it b/c I didn't use any kind of strong tape and it's falling apart.  Cuttlebug folders are also up on the desk wall top shelf in a recipe card box, all together and easy to get to.    

Now to your right is the back wall that is under the first part of the stairs...not a ton of space and we had to leave the supporting 2x4's in place.  I made this my permanent photo set up - now to just find a good light...Zane broke the Ott light I bought.  Damn kids!  

 You can see all my border punches are in the top cubbies - again, out where I will remember that I have them and use them more often!!  I have to have a fan in there b/c it gets a little stuffy, but it isn't in the way so it's all good.  Scissors are also hanging within reach!  The cheapo photo set up is resting on a file cabinet that holds all my PTI cardstock and some SU cardstock.  I wasn't able to get everything in there but am trying to thin out some of the old SU stuff anyway.

 Last is the wall to your left if you've just entered the cave.  I didn't want to hang anything on it that I might knock with my noggin or shoulder every time I came in.  I have those removable plastic hangers all over the place to keep embellishments and such right at my fingertips.  The board is a magnetic dry erase board that I can keep current projects or inspiration or whatever close by. 

That's it!  My little cave!  Hope you enjoyed the tour!  Before you go, I have a few really great blog candy offers to tell you about. 

Kadie at In My Mind's Eye is giving away a ton of paper and stamps...but only today.  I guess it's been on her blog for a while now, but I just ran across it today, so you should jump on over and enter yourself in for the goodies!!

My good and extremely talented friend Jen is having a blog candy celebration for her 3 year Blogoversary.  Lots of her favorite goodies are going into this as well as a few of her own adorable digi stamps from Wildflower Kids.  Bop on over, say hello and get your name in the basket for that one!

Last, but certainly not least, is Motivet.  They are having a blog candy to celebrate their daughter turning one month old!  So give that one a go too!

Ok, if you stuck around this long, you are a trooper, or you're greedy and just wanted the blog candy links! LOL  Just Kidding!!  Thanks for sharing in my new crafty space excitement!  Have a super day and cross your fingers that my PTI order gets here today...I'm getting antsy already! Jeez!  :o) lyss