DIY Scrapbooking Desk & Storage

Desk

• 1

  Scour through your home and the secondhand market for any furniture piece that you can repurpose as your scrapbook desk. A dining room hutch, secretary's desk, old buffet, or a dining room table all provide the base for your new scrapbooking desk.

• 2

  Gather supplies if you are making your own desk. You need a piece of medium-density fiberboard for the desktop that is six-feet long. An old kitchen countertop also works. Obtain two solid pieces of furniture to support the desktop, such as file cabinets, short bookshelves, or two storage units.

• 3

  Paint the items as desired. Paint the desktop to match the color of the filing cabinets or bookshelves. Paint the bookshelves in a coordinating color to the desktop, if desired.

• 4

  Place the two filing cabinets five feet apart. The distance should be the length of the
  6-foot desktop minus the length of the two filing cabinets. Screw L-brackets into the wall and the desktop every three feet to anchor the desktop in place and stable.

• 5

  Add trim to the side of the desktop to form a clean line. Paint the trim to match the desktop's new color, if necessary. Nail the trim to the desktop's side every one inch with a nail gun.

Storage

• 6

  Attach horizontal shelving to the wall behind or adjacent to the desk. The shelves should be large enough to store four photo containers for each shelf.

• 7

  Place small bookshelves or modular storage cubes under your desk area. The storage cubes should be less wide than the desktop, so you do not bump them with your knees as you sit at the desk. Plastic storage units are also useful as under-desk storage. Fill these shelves with containers of stickers, adhesives, diecuts, embossing powders, writing utensils, and punches.

• 8

  Add paper storage. Several options are available for paper storage including stackable trays, wooden divided slots, and mobile totes, or place card stock in hanging folders inside the filing cabinets.

• 9

  Make a hanging station to place your scrapbooking tools and items within easy access. Paint a large piece of six-foot by four-foot scrap wood. Drill a small hole into two small wooden blocks that are two-inch by three-inch in size. Screw the blocks into the sides of your scrap wood with half-inch wood screws at a depth of 7/16 of an inch so that you can place dowel rods in the holes to store your ribbon holders. Attach two-inch strips of trim along the wooden base and screw hooks to the trim. Suspend small hanging containers, such as galvanized tins or metal office supply containers, from the hooks to store various items, such as scissors, pencils, markers, paint, and glitter.

• 10

  Line any remaining open shelves with practical containers. Multicompartment containers organize beads, brads, stamps, and eyelets. Photo container boxes house photos, small tools, and diecut collections. Tackle and sewing boxes keep hundreds of often-used items in one convenient location. Binders full of page protectors separate stickers, embellishments, and letters.