Workspace Wednesday | Nicole Harper

This room began as an extra bedroom that my husband and I shared as an office...me on one half, him on the other. As time went on, he gave in and moved to another room in the house, lol. This room is right on our main floor, and over the years has kind of become where we all gather at one time or another. It is where I retreat to to work + play, it is where all of my albums are stored and it is where I've caught my daughter in here many times flipping through the pages and smiling. I'm only sharing my 'craft space' here...what you won't see is the Ikea Expedit 5x5 shelf filled with locker baskets & albums, the computer desk with my Silhouette Cameo perched atop my all-in-one $80 printer/scanner/copier or the pile of scrap products I have set aside for my travel later this year.

Exciting, yes? ;)

All furniture/shelving/carts are from Ikea. The 18x24" mat on my desk i from Archiver's...a steal at $14 (with a coupon). I love that it has a grid on it so that I can line things up. Trusty Making Memories trimmer on the right hand side of the desk, and an Ikea Antonius cart (with 4 baskets in each) on either side of the desk. Let's zoom in...

The heart of my space...all of my most used tools out in the open and ready to be used. Carousel with metal ruler, spare photos I've printed, pencil cup with pens/scissors/tiny attacher/corner rounder. Sewing machine out in the open, plugged in and ready to use. Storage bins picked up for a steal at the Pottery Barn outlet a few years back...each drawer with a specific item. Zooming in further...

Little yellow ramekin (picked up for $2 at World Market a few months ago) to hold the little tidbits from whichever kit I'm working on at the time. Glass jar of favorite veneer. Most used spray mists + embossing powders right in front of me. Brilliance metallic inks + VersaFine Black Onyx + VersaMark ink to the right of the pencil cup. Next, proof of practicing what I preach ;)


This is my bucket of enamel dots + favorite roller stamps + my entire washi collection. You read that right...my ENTIRE washi tape collection.

Whenever members on the message board ask about how not to be overwhelmed by all of the product they have, I always tell them: 'you have to learn to be extremely picky about what you keep in your stash, otherwise you get overwhelmed'. So I have trained myself to be brutally honest when deciding what to keep...this little drawer of washi tape is my proof. When it gets full and I can't fit a new one in, something has to go. The exception here would be product that I keep separate for DT work...those are kept with the lines they are part of.

This container makes me happy :) Most of these were found at a local bead shop and are vintage... I love them. Couldn't resist throwing my fave acrylic alphabets in the box as well.

Above my desk is kind of a catch-all shelf. An old pin cushion filled with stick pins, jars of old buttons, business cards, receipts, and my personal favorite: the old vase holding as many tubes of my favorite ChapStick that I could find (since it is seasonal...peppermint) + a few old glass Christmas ornaments. Random, but hey...that's me. ;)


On the left side of the shelf, old floral frogs hold favorite photos...punched confetti in an old tin kept handy...and a foam brain that a friend picked up for me at a medical conference. More randomness :)

These are the top 2 drawers in the cart to the right of my desk. Top one holds Prima chalk inks, all my adhesives and bobbins of thread for my sewing machine. Again, I pared my thread stash waaaaaaaaaaaay down...keeping only the 6-7 colors I use the most. The second drawer is full of my favorite punches, and hanging off the edge (you can't see it in the pic) is my heat gun...plugged in and ready to use. I can't stress this enough...the sewing machine, the heat gun, the typewriter...you are 10x more likely to use them if they are ready to go!!

This is the cart to the left of my desk...same as the one on the right, different contents. Plus, I store my picked-it-up-for-$5-at-an-auction typewriter in front of this cart. (love the original box it came in!)


Vellum, glitter cardstock and extra bits go in the chevron box on the top.

The potholders + doilies + old notes are things I found last year while cleaning out my grandparents house...not sure what I'll do with them yet, but check out my handwriting on the top note, lol!

Over the years, I've gathered lots of vintage trims & paper items...these are my favorites. I am a sucker for foil stars, as evidenced by the multiple packs seen in the center of this photo. :)

That's a quick tour of my work space. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have, and I will check back :)