How I Organize Art Journal Supplies

Last week,  I spent some time organizing my art journaling and scrapbooking supplies.  Everything was getting so chaotic, I could not find things when I wanted them.  Have you ever had that feeling?

Would you like to see how I organize my supplies?  I will give you a peak into my "art studio."

Keep in mind that I have been making art (and teaching art) for years and years and have collected a lot of supplies.  I pick up supplies when I see them cheap (Black Friday!), go to art supply swaps, garage sales and thrift stores.  If you are starting out with art, do NOT feel like you need to go out and buy a bunch of stuff.  A set of watercolors, some markers, pens and craft paint will get you started.

My "art studio" is really just a corner we set up in our basement.   The left half is my art table and the right half is a workdesk for whatever (my husband ships out his Ebay sales, I use the computer to watch shows on Hulu.) 

This is the supply shelf next to my desk.  My in-laws brought over this utility shelf they weren't using last week and it fits perfectly in my corner.  It's not pretty, but it gets the job done.

I bought this nice white shelf from Target.  It was a shoe organizer, but fit nicely on my desk.  The supplies I use often are in the tubs within easy reach.  The little white boxes were also bought from Target in the kitchen drawer organizer section.

This box has spray inks.  Some I made by filling up cosmetic spray bottles with liquid watercolor.

Box for patterned tapes

A box for inks

A box for Pan Pastels and tools

Scissors and tape

Assorted tools and adhesives

Random "embellishments" and stencil tools

My marker storage box (from the 31 Bags company).  I think you're actually supposed to store

the pens flat, but I haven't had too much of a problem storing them like this.

These drawers hold paper.  The bottom drawer is paper pads for scrapbooking.

A shelf of old books to cut pictures from for collages.

Stamps and stamp pads

I have a rolling storage cart for paper ephemera.  The top drawer holds any images and photos I might use in an art journal or collage.  I have another plastic tub of unorganized papers that I need to sort.

The middle drawer holds painted papers that I have made.

The bottom drawer has scraps of patterned paper.

On the metal utility shelves I put other supplies all in separate boxes or totes to keep them organized.

I have a box for my stencils.

A box for rub-on letters (all of these I've gotten for free!)

Stickers

A plastic basket for cut out words or 

other small paper embellishments I don't want to get lost in the shuffle.

A plastic shoe box for postage stamps (I use to collect these when I was little)

And a plastic box of acrylic paints

Phew!  That was a long post.  I hope this may have given you some ideas for organizing your art supplies!

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