New Office Craft Room Tour | Behind the Scenes

Well I officially ran out of room in my home office / craft room and therefore we've expanded...into a new space. 

It's an office / craft room / studio combo and it has SO much space for me to grow. I know lots of you have been kind of curious about the new "walls" so I recorded a little behind the scenes office craft room tour for you! 

Moving Update...'Cause the Questions Keep on Coming (and the Emotions are High)!

Today I'm taking a break from what I normally do here on Silhouette School - teaching you how to use your Silhouette cutting machines and the software - to take you on a little behind the scenes detour.

This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own.

I've made it no secret we're moving...in fact we're making a huge move from the East Coast to the West Coast. It's been months...literally MONTHS of planning, organizing, logistics, even some tears, frustrations, a lot of excitement and a million and one questions. So...prepare yourselves because emotional ol' me is having trouble not rambling as I reminisce.

Oracal Vinyl Heaven: Behind the Scenes at Orafol

If you guys thought you loved Oracal vinyl before... you're going to be obsessed now! Last week Orafol the parent company that manufactures Oracal vinyl - known to most Silhouette crafters as Oracal 651 and 631 vinyl- along with other adhesive films and tapes invited me down to their USA headquarters and factory for a development meeting and tour. Mind blown.

You guys I had no idea there was so much that goes into manufacturing adhesive craft vinyl...and there's so much more of where that came from! There's so much that the craft world hasn't even seen yet and I'm so excited for you guys to see some of the possibilities and things that will soon be hitting the market....and don't worry - I went armed with your vinyl wish lists!

Best Vinyl Storage Idea (5 Reasons This $1.99 Solution is the Best)

I've used a lot of different vinyl storage solutions in my days as a vinyl hoarder Silhouette crafter...but nothing has been as space saving and cheap as this!

As my vinyl collection has grown so has my need for better storage for vinyl rolls and sheets. I started off small...

The Ultimate Silhouette Guide eBook - 15 Page Free Update Now Available

UPDATE: If you purchased the ebook version and have not received a link to download it in your email, please email me to request it! - Melissa

Tomorrow I'm headed to Salt Lake City for the three day blogging conference, Snap!.  I'll not only be attending sessions on everything from winning the social media game to being an organized, efficient blogger to how use a scroll saw (with Silhouette!) (gotta love Virgina Fynes of Fynes Designs)...but also speaking as a presenter.   Myself, alongside Abby from Just a Girl and her Blog and Dawn Nicole from By Dawn Nicole will be speaking to a large group of bloggers and influencers on writing and marketing ebooks.

Apparently they think I have something insightful to say about writing ebooks, despite the fact that I only put my first one out about a year ago.  In that year a lot has happened in the Silhouette world...there've been a few updates in the Silhouette software and a new mobile app has launched.  Those changes have lead me to write a 15 page free update to my original ebook The Ultimate Silhouette Guide.

Silhouette School Office/Craft Room Makeover: Behind the Scenes

I get a whole lotta questions about my office...none more than about my lamp (which I picked up from a neighbor at a yard sale and spray painted). But today I'm not talking about the lamp or the chair, I'm talking about how I finally got my home office/craft room/blogging headquarters organized!!

As you can imagine when you have a blog like Silhouette School you have a lot of...stuff. I'm talking five Silhouette machines (Portrait, CAMEO, CAMEO 2, Curio, and Mint), a heat press, lamintor, Xyron, printer, computer, enough vinyl to make my husband cringe every time another tube mailer shows up in the mail, endless stacks of papers, supplies, tools and gadgets to demo, review, and use.

The problem is I only have so much room.

Behind the Scenes at Silhouette School...eBooks, Vacations, Conferences, Growth, Oh MY!

Every few months I like to do a Silhouette School Behind the Scenes post just so you all know I'm not a robot pumping out tuts, but instead a working mom who's attempting to balance it all (some times better than others) and knows the struggle is real, but the rewards are amazing.

In past BTS posts, I've shared a day-in-the-life of this full time blogger/mom/chef/chauffeur/cheerleader/booboo kisser, I've warned you all to shield your eyes before taking you into the deep dark hole known as my home office and I've even opened up about some pretty personal stuff for why the ebook (The Ultimate Silhouette Guide) was delayed.

Today I'm back with another peek behind the scenes of Silhouette School.  This time I'm interrupting the daily tutorials to share some exciting news and happenings both on the personal and professional levels.

Silhouette School's Messy Office...Reveal

As a blogger, behind the scenes posts are one of those things that make you feel vulnerable. You're opening up your home..your life...your craft room...your mess to pretty much anyone that has an Internet connection. 

As a blogger you also form relationships with other bloggers to bounce ideas off of and help support each other with technical bloggy questions and such.  So I have this tight little group of blogging friends....some of us are moms, some of use are not. All of us are home owners and all of us like to show what nice little neat homes we have that serve as a sort of showroom for our crafts, creations, and DIYs on our blogs. (Bhahahahhaha)

Except it's not all like that. And so the idea of sharing what our homes really look like...beyond the lens of a camera focused on some perfectly staged recipes, DIY or project was born.  And I'm not just saying that because my house looks like what you're about to see...seven of my blogger friends are opening up their REAL homes and lives too to show you the day-to-day happenings, and the less-than-magazine-worthy-pictures. We're busy ... far, far from perfect, and wear many hats (just like most moms). So, grab your coffee, wine, or other beverage of choice, and join us for our 'Real Life' home tours (and feel good about your own home at the same time).

I'll start with my home since so many times I hear "How do you do it all? You have two little kids, a husband, a successful blog, a growing social media following, an Etsy store, and a local customization business. " Truth is - I also have an assistant, a book keeper, a house cleaner, five to six hours a day when my kids are in school or napping, and an amazing husband who often grocery shops on the weekend....oh and pile of laundry that has been moved from the bed to the chair and back again, a sink full of dirty dishes and an embarrassingly over-full trash can.  And, perhaps most importantly, a few tricks up my sleeve.