Gettin' Crafty with Cork!

If any of you read my Repurposed Cosmetic Organizer post {link}, you may remember seeing this gorgeous guy...

You may also remember me discussing how much I really don't like this set of canvas drawers. Or at least don't like them for an office setting. They are super deep and flimsy and just not ideal for storing paperwork and office supplies. Oh, and did I mention he has a brother? Yes, we have two, one on each side of the couch. We have been on the hunt for some reasonably priced replacements for ages, and when I say we, I mean I have been searching the internet and thrift shops...and Brit has barely noticed they exist. Nonetheless, thanks to Ikea and their fair pricing, we finally purchased a replacement. 

We picked up two Billy bookshelves, about 3.5 high, for $49.99. Although it's still more than I typically like to spend, they are stupidly less expensive than the alternative. It's really difficult to find narrow shelves that are under 6 feet high. 

Ikea Billy Bookcase

Room & Board Bookcase

Spending $449 on shelves kinda grosses me out. So here are our Billys...

 Don't judge the green walls. Green is my favorite color. Never be afraid to paint with a little color.

Ok, now let me explain all that action going on on the right {that's what this post is actually about, not the search and purchase of some bookcases}. I like to use up all available spaces when I'm organizing, and if that means using a wall, back of a door, or in this case, the side of a bookshelf, so be it! I actually couldn't be more excited about this little project as well. 

Using 4 squares of cork I was able to create this easily accessible crafting...shelf?? side?? thing. I doubled up the cork, placing one on top of the other and then taping them together using the double-sided adhesive squares the cork comes with. I added some washi tape for the boarder to give it a clean, finished look. 

I used a drawer organizer set I found at Home Goods for ridiculously cheap {here are some kind of like them online}, to organize some of my little crafty supplies. I just couldn't pass up some good organizing tools on super sale. While I'm not one for spending money on things when they don't have a purpose yet, I had a feeling this set would come in handy for something {who knew I'd hang them from the side of a bookshelf?!}

 I wrapped some twine around those bad boys and pinned them up with pushpins. 

The trays of pens are simply hung on pushpins. The side of the trays have a perfect curve to fit a pushpin. It's almost as if they were made to be hung! {or to interlock with each other nicely in a drawer}

Down on the bottom, I used two command hooks and two jars to hang up all the sharpies.  

My favorite thing about this is that everything is able to be removed and replaced. Each item simply lifts off the hook/pin and can be set back just as easily. 

Some of you may recognize the pens and paperclips from when I stored them in my "desk organizer", but not to fear, the organizer is still being used just for other supplies now. It's a little less stuffed now, too!

And now that all the office and craft supplies are in place, I can get to work! 

don't be fooled, the notebook is full of blank pages... for now...

Cost: For the cork and trays, $20. 

Time: After staring at the cork, trays, and the side of the bookshelf for about 30 minutes trying to figure out what to do with it all, it took about 1 hour to put the whole thing together with twine and hooks. 

A really simple project for increasing storage space in your office or room. So what do you think? Have you done anything creative with cork lately? 

Thanks for visiting!