Welcome to my very 1st Guest Desk post.

I love looking at the places art is created, some spaces are organised, some messy, others completely colour coordinated and a few totally minimalist!  I'll bet you all enjoy having a look inside people's craft spaces as well, which is why I have asked a few of my very favourite artists to share their work spaces with us!   I have a 'thing' for seeing the space which leads to such beautiful art.

So without further rambling I have to say a BIG thank you to the incredibly talented Kate Crane for being my very first Guest Desk.  Kate is an amazing artist working and teaching in the UK, she designs for Craft Stamper magazine and Stampotique Originals, has been published extensively and teaches at Art From the Heart.

I have admired Kate's work since I saw my first issue of Craft Stamper magazine, and it was this talented artist who convinced me that Dylusions were a Must-Have item (I get the feeling they might be one of her favourite products).  Kate's style is bright, grungy, quirky and heaps of fun - her art makes me smile! 

She has 2 DVD's currently available about Art Journaling available through Traplet publications - though the techniques could be used on almost anything (I own and can highly recommend both).  I also heard a rumour that there may be more on the horizon and though not yet confirmed, my fingers are crossed.  I love the fact the Kate has a style all of her own and that she mixes fine art mediums with stamps and craft supplies to create her amazing art work.

Kate says 'The top 10 things that I like to have nearby when I am creating are:

1. A water pot, baby wipes and kitchen roll. Even a messy worker has to clean up at some point!
2. My favourite Dylusions (Ranger) ink sprays in a basket so I can just reach for them because I use these all the time.
3. A collection of Ranger Archival inkpads in various colours.
4. An assortment of pots containing my paintbrushes, and various pens for art journaling.
5. A basket containing various acrylic paints ... the now sadly discontinued Dylusions, and lots of Golden Fluids. I also have many Ranger dabbers in a shelf unit on the wall.
6. Stencils! Can't get enough stencils!
7. Various mediums including gesso, matte medium, fluid matte medium.
8. A small craft tote bag containing my scissors, various tapes, pencils etc, you know, the not-very-interesting-but-essential stuff!
9. Distress ink pads - I love these for colouring images as well as creating backgrounds.
10. My trusty, paint spattered, glue damaged sewing machine!'

Kate was kind enough to share a little info about her work space as well as some photos, so read on...

Last year I moved into the box room of our house and claimed it as my own!  It's tiny, but it's all mine and I love it. I feel privileged to have a room all to myself and feel thankful that I don't have to clean my mess up all the time; I can leave things out and come back to them at any time.  Moving into this small room forced me to have a major clear out of all my arty crafty stuff and anything that I hadn't used in the previous year I got rid of.  Actually it felt good!

I work on a large, cheap dining table from IKEA. It's big enough for all my clutter and it was cheap enough for me not to worry about covering it with paint.

Underneath there is room for me to store some of my bulky items such as my sewing machine, and my Big Shot. On the top of the desk I like to keep my most often used items within my reach and keep all my favourite pens in old or chipped mugs so it has a kind of eclectic look!

Along one wall is an IKEA expedit unit which houses all of my other craft stuff - some of it is in baskets but a lot of it is open shelving. I'm a very impatient crafter - if I can't lay my hands on it straight away without rummaging through drawers then I lose interest! I like the fact that I can sit at my work desk and just turn around on my stool and reach for whatever I want without actually getting up! The shelves may look a bit disorganised but I know where everything is!

You can see more of Kate's art on her totally amazing blog The Kathryn Wheel.  I'd just like to say a BIG THANK YOU to Kate who took time out of her schedule even though she was flying overseas this week to go to Ranger U in NYC.  Sending big sparkly hugs of gratitude your way and I have loved the peek into your craft space!