Organised ! Things I have been sorting out . Studio , house and Filofax .

Its feeling springlike ! It seems we have completely skipped winter in Kent and I have been opening the doors , letting fresh air in and starting that spring clean early . As i'm doing that I have been organising problem areas as I go . 

This is the drop zone . The magazine rack I got at a bargain price at IKEA and I love it . School letters go here . It is just inside the porch  and front door . the Calendar has all the school dates and appointments on it and school letters , medical letters and things that need doing go in here . 

The other side of the house , this is the backdoor drop zone . Here all my gardening supplies , seeds , gloves , magazines etc used to be  just stuffed onto shelves . The storage boxes I got from store 21 and a lot of them were on sale . Only a few pounds each .  Scrap booking papers and supplies are also tucked away on here since I use the dining/garden room as a craft room as well . Its right next to my studio  The kids can create right next to me .

Through the door and in my art studio . I found a cheap kitchen rail and pots at IkEA perfect for getting my paintbrushes off the table surface  . The table I rescued from my brothers garage and cleaned and varnished it up . It is paint splattered again now but I can see the fab grain of the wood through it and it is a studio right ?

The only place I could find for the wrapping paper supplies was in the studio doorway . Not ideal but at least its neat . IKEA carrier bag holders did the trick for this . The CD rack is from IKEA too . Perfect for my small rolls of tape  and other artist stuff .

Canvas storage ! finally . Now i know , this still looks a bit messy but it has freed up a LOAD of florspace which I desperately need in the studio and it stores my canvas safely out of my way . Paint does fly . This was made from old bed slats , wardrobe wood  and bits of old furniture we had stored in the shed . We never throw wood away it is far too useful .

The CD rack storage again closer . The paint chart Is not an artist paint one , i picked it up at Homebase and loved the colours . I will use it for reference when I am looking for a shade to mix .

I covered old coffee white tins with some Swiss srapping paper I picked up last time I was over there . I love the humming bird design .

Another rail and pots from IKEA on the canvas storage .

Then I moved onto the airing cupboard /closet . The fabric boxes are yet again IKEA and super cheap , much cheaper than all the other storage they have and a great size and colour too . I labelled them and organised them into bedding sets /sheets/towels etc to make it easy to find what I want and anything I didn't need got recycled .

My wardrobe ! The top shelf used to be stuffed (I do mean that ) with jumpers and piles of unorganised tshirts so I used what boxes and baskets I had and labelled them . Easy peasy to find my fave jumper now .

After all that hard work I just HAD to reward myself . I finally got the Martha Stewart stickers from staples that I have wanted ever since I saw them  . The colours are just perfect and as an artist colour is very important to me . So . had to have .

Thanks for joining me again :-)
Have fun and I would love to read your comments ,
 Sev :-)

Hi all :-) Since the weather is so nuts outside I have been brightening things up making fun dividers for my filofax retro bloom personal . We are all on a tight budget this year and I love to use what I have anyway so I dug out some free samples of craft paper I kept from a paper craft magazine and used those instead of buying new and I really like these designs . I drew round the original dividers for the template,excluding the tag and cut them out . I then created a tab on top using some post it sticky tabs that I got from a stationary store . Possibly paperchase . I have a personal size filofax hole punch that is really easy to use and can attach to the rings in the filofax so you can carry it around with you if you feel the need . These papers had the benefit of being double sided designs , each one different so I get twice as much colour  for each divider . 

These were really easy to do and I can change them in and out for different designs if and when I feel like it .

My studio kit has been sneaking out onto my desk whilst  it has a refit and my Caran D'ache Swiss colour artists pencils are perfect for adding some illustrations to my diary pages . More to show on that in later posts .
I am also loving my washi tape storage , which is a storage box for sewing threads and craft bits . It fits the tape perfectly and allows me to see instantly what I have . I did show my husband and explain to him that it was woefully understocked and he actually agreed !  Amazed but happy that I might in the near future get some more :-D

New stationary

I have new stationary . How cute are these ! Ebay is a great place to find washi tape Kawaii stationary . I love Rilakkuma (sleepy bear) and I have my eyes on a pink and cream pen , also a brown and cream one some day . My watch list is huge . I also have an Amazon list and a staples list..... :-) 

Receiving something nice in the post gives me a great lift in my day and using it keeps me happy and organised . Yes , so far the organising is working ! its great to see things ticked off and have a visual mark of achievement . 

Here is my new stationary and stickers being used in next weeks page setup . The highlighters are from Paperchase and I couldnt resist them . 

I will end up with a million highlighters if I keep finding ones as cute as these . My girls have started looking at my desk with  sparkly eyes and edging closer .  These are really easy to use and feel great in my hand , not fiddly at all .

I decided to store my small collection of washi tapes in a glass storm lantern because I don't have enough (yet) for bespoke storage for them  but I have plans in that direction for sure . I love to be able to see them and I want them all lined up in colour order looking gorgeous one day .

Hi my name is Sev and I am an unorganised mum of three mad but amazing children,at least  one with ADHD and Aspergers .
I am also a triple international award winning wildlife and landscape artist . I get to play in the Mall galleries and support the David Shepherd wildlife foundation and sell my work .
This blog is all about how to manage the crafty side of me , the professional (but untidy) part of me , the mum/wife/sister/daughter part of me and make 2014 an organised ,clean,tidy productive and most of all happy year .

My house has been in desperate need of some TLC for some time , my artist studio I couldn't get in to do work , my kids wore me out , my dad passed away and my mum got ill . I felt the pressure .  I realised life would be  whole lot nicer if I got ORGANISED . Thats when I discovered Pinterest and had a cascade of AAHHH's .  Whilst getting myself impossibly addicted I found myself falling in love with filofax's (you know where this is going ) and now I am also a stationary addict . I am not sorry !

This blog is about my life , my work , my studio and my filofax and how I plan to turn things around . get organised , productive , inspired and in control . I have learned to appreciate the beautiful things in life . The special moments  the hot cup of coffee or tea , a perfect bath , and studio time where I can let my inner chaos out onto the canvas .

I started with my studio .
I had baskets full of paint that were heavy to move and I could never find the colours I wanted , nor could I see if i ran out . My studio is only tiny so I needed  floor space urgently , it is approximately 9ft x 10ft . My canvas is often large so bespoke storage will be made for that .
I was walking past a second hand furniture shop and saw in the window the perfect white slim shelving unit for my pots of paint . I repainted that again for a better finish and added some hanging paint tube storage next to it . Instant happiness !

This is the start of my journey into being an organised artist . I will keep posting my progress and hope you will enjoy following along with me . Comments are welcome , I would love to get to know you and what you think :-)
If you are curious about my artwork please check my website www.sevinayates.com
I also have two Etsy shops that I will link to in later blog posts , they need organising too !
My next post will be about my new ( and totally gorgeous) filofax , just because I cant resist sharing ! Have a great start to your new year .
Sev :-)