If you don't have a spare room, just dedicate a corner to creativity. This compact cupboard keeps all your supplies in one spot, so you won't have to search for paper or paint when a crafty mood strikes. Start with a plain bookcase; install a curtain to keep everything under wraps. We mounted a shelf high on the wall for extra storage and display space, and added a strip of cork just underneath for mounting artwork.
Crafts Cupboard How-To
1. Outfit a bookcase to hold supplies: glass jars for markers and pencils; a three-tier cooling rack for paper; baking pans for crayons, ribbons, scissors, and pastels; a lazy Susan for easy access to glues and paints; paper-covered shoe boxes for photos; and clear-plastic toolboxes for sewing notions.
2. Sew curtains from two panels of patterned cotton, or shorten a store-bought set to fit your bookcase. We hung our curtains from buttons, but Velcro tabs would work just as well.
Display Space How-To
1. Cut a sheet of cork to fit between an existing shelf's brackets.
2. Paint cork white and affix beneath shelf with wood glue.
3. Suspend wooden dowels from grosgrain ribbon to hold sheets of paper.