A Glimpse Into My Studio

     This week I've been working on tablets, journals, and jotters (oh my!), and I thought I'd let you take a peek at my work desk.  First off, I'll admit things look messy.  I'm not fond of a cluttered desk, buuuut sometimes, things just...happen...  Underneath my projects are some magazines and catalogues--these aren't helping my desk look any more organized, are they!  Even though they add to the visual clutter, they're actually very helpful.  As I work with my glue, I have to be careful because it ends up everywhere before I know it.  That's where the catalogues come in:  I brush glue on the paper, place it on my journal, and then, I flip the page of the catalogue!  New, glue-free work surface!  Hooray!  I just started working this way in the past two months and it's changed my life (no wonder I'm using a million exclamation points!!).
      And now for a giggle.  In the lower photo you can see my container of glue, and if you look real close, you can see the diamond warning message in the top left corner.  It reads something to the effect of:  "Warning!  Contents extremely flammable.  Keep out of reach of fire or flame."  (Aren't "fire or flame" kind of the same thing?  I digress...)  What my photo leaves out is the fact that my fireplace is about 4 feet to the left of the glue container.  Now that its gotten colder and I actually operate the fireplace, I have to pay particular attention to where my glue is.  I know, I know, probably not the best arrangement, but that's how it is for now.  And every time I see that warning, I giggle!
    I realize that with all that glory on my desk, it's probably hard to sort out what's what.  So here's the breakdown of items that live on the surface 75% of the time:
-Scissors just for paper cutting.  And string cutting.  And...no, that's it for the things that pair is allowed to touch!
-Binder clips, for when I need to clamp a pad of paper before spreading padding compound across an edge.
-A pen, pencil, or marker.  Mainly used for marking spines of journal pages so I know where to punch holes before stitching the journal together.  But occasionally they're used to jot a note from a podcast I'm listening to.
-100% of the time my paper cutter is on top of my desk.  I use it daily, and I love it.  Too bad you can't actually see it...
-And my tool kit that has my needles, awl, tweezers, hammer, and grommet setter is a major player.  Granted, I mainly used the needles and awl, but the case is metal and has a good weight, so often it gets placed on top of a freshly glued project to make sure everything is held in place.  Gotta love how multi-purpose it is!

      If I can get this batch of projects completed, I may spruce up my workspace.  Since the clutter is starting to make me twitch, organizing is a strong possibility.  Soon.  Probably not this morning.  But when it happens, I'll try to shoot a photo so you can see, and join me in appreciating it!