Darcy Miller's Colorful Craft Room

December 16, 2012

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By Rory Evans

A passionate crafter, illustrator, and celebrations expert, Martha Stewart Weddings Editorial Director Darcy Miller has organized her home work space to maximize order, efficiency, and a sense of creative fun.

Cretacolor Aqua Monolith woodless watercolor pencils

, $2.20 each, dickblick.com.

Sharpie Fine Point

,

Extra Fine Point

, and

Ultra Fine Point

permanent markers, from $8.50 for 12;

Sakura Pigma Micron Set

, from $23.50 for 8 nibs;

Pilot Razor Point Extra Fine Point

pens, $18.50 for 12; staples.com.

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Tip 01: Table Storage

A stainless-steel table acts as an island of creativity in the middle of the room. The shelves underneath hold large cloth-covered boxes -- one for each of her three daughters -- that she uses to keep their larger (3-D) projects and keepsakes. Both the table and the desk are counter height -- since Darcy Miller likes to draw standing up.

Tip 02: Wall Art

"What looks like custom wallpaper is actually just photos I had printed on matte paper at my local copy shop," Darcy says. The wall was sheathed with cork panels, and Darcy used map pins to create the collage of enlarged family pictures that she converted to black-and-white for a uniform look.

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Tip 03: Touch the Rainbow

Darcy keeps paper and envelopes in stacking baskets on her desktop. Not only are they handy for use (and right near the printer), they bring a rainbow array of color to the room.

Mesh letter tray

, in Silver, $5 each, containerstore.com.

Assorted paper

, $2.50 for 10-sheet pack, paper-source.com.

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Tip 04: Cups Full of Color

Darcy likes to keep her favorite supplies easy to reach when inspiration strikes. "I knew it would be so much easier for me to find if I color-sorted them in clear cups and keep them out on the table," she says.

Acrylic double old-fashioned cups

, $3 each, cb2.com.

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Tip 05: Off the Shelf

The room is mostly furnished with workplace furniture by Bisley and Able Steel. Some units are file cabinets, others are drawers, others shelves -- resulting in a cohesive look, with plenty of hidden storage, but also with areas where she can showcase her collections and artwork in 3-D galleries.

Cloth 3-ring binders

, from $23 each for 1" capacity;

cloth boxes

, 9" by 12" by 2", $29 each, michaelroger.com.

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Tip 06: The Write Stuff

"The kids and I made their stationery using some of my drawings and some of theirs, which makes them so much more likely to write their thank-you notes," Darcy says. Plastic boxes are labeled and used as catchalls for party ephemera.

Our Clear Storage Boxes

, from $1.75 each, containerstore.com.

Brother Tze-151 P-Touch label tape

, 1" thick, in Black on Clear, $24 for 26', staples.com.

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Places, Everyone!

Supplies Darcy uses less frequently -- glitter and pastels, for instance -- are compartmentalized in drawers.

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Tip 07: Behind Closed Doors

Darcy doesn’t keep a mere inspiration board but an inspiration closet: She files away tear sheets and favorite ephemera in the room’s double-doored closet.

Shirt boxes

, by Bigso, from $13 each, containerstore.com.

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Organized Glitz

Various glitter multipacks

, by Martha Stewart Crafts, various multipacks; from $16 per pack, michaels.com.

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In Plain Sight

Since Darcy's always drawing, her pens and paper are out and within view.

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Treasure Hunt

"This room is always a flurry of activity, creativity, and projects. If it weren't organized, it would be a train wreck," Darcy says.

(in drawer, clockwise from top left) Small glue sticks, $3 for 3; dual-action fine-tip glue pens, $3 each; and glittering glue with brush, $4 each; by Martha Stewart Crafts; michaels.com. Paper clips

, regular and jumbo, from $4 for 100; and

Papercloops

, from $6 for 50; jampaper.com.

Colored metal binder clips

, assorted sizes, $5 for 30;

Rubberband ball

, $3.50 each;

Wite-Out Shake ’N Squeeze correction pens

, by Bic, $9 for 4; staples.com.

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Tip 08: Unified Front

An avid scrapbooker, Darcy has labeled cloth-covered boxes to keep an archive of photos. (Her friend Donna Newman, a photographer, has been documenting the girls’ lives since their births.)

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Tip 09: Building a History

"I always meant for the corkboard wall of photos to just be the background,” Darcy says. Now it serves as a growing testament to her family’s fun, busy life, and many get-togethers (including a peace birthday party for her daughter Daisy).

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