One Room At A Time-Getting There!

Hi Everyone!

I've been working though the house One Room At A Time during the month of January and things are starting to take shape!   This week I'm working in the Guest room where my daughter and baby Jackson will be staying for the next two months.

I've cleared out the extra furniture so there will be room for J's pack n play; the dressers have been emptied of knitting yarns and they have been stashed away.  The carpets have been professionally cleaned and now just a bit of sprucing up is in order.

Speaking of stashing yarns, does anyone else have this problem of where to put extra skeins of yarn?

I ran across a great solution on Pinterest the other day!  Use a closet organizer to hold the yarn.
Isn't that a fabulous idea?  
I think I'm going to Bed Bath & Beyond to find one today and organize all my yarn into a hanging canvas Sweater organizer!

Happily clearing the clutter and getting organized!
Suzy

INSIDE THE STUDIO: STORAGE SOLUTIONS

Hello Everyone! 

Here we are back in the studio again.  I apologize for falling off the blog-o-sphere last week with the studio post, just one of those weeks.

Well I’m back and ready to take you on another studio adventure …..this time we are venturing into the CLOSETS where there are semi-organizational skills at play. 

  That’s right, it might LOOK chaotic but believe me, there are LABELS!  Oh my, thanks to a Dymo labelmaker that is the coolest thing going….keeps me on track and able to FIND my stuff! 

A few years ago I took it upon myself to build shelves in the closets, note ladies: minimal skills required here thanks to the guys in Lowe’s that will make the big cuts of wood for you at a minimal price. Basically I measured the closet height and width and determined how many shelves I could get if I started with the large rubber tubs in the bottom of the closet. You can't see them but they are down below the canvas boxes. They contain large pieces of fabric and one is filled with fabric strips.  Crazy huh?  Also stored in the bottom of the closet are two sewing machines! 

 Taking into consideration the amount of projects to store, I found these cute canvasboxes and totes/baskets at Lowe’s.Love the canvas totes, they are so handy to pull out and put back! The heavy duty snaps allow a peek inside too! 

 The canvas boxes are great with lids to keep things neatly corralled and dust free. 

  I found these lovely graduated sizes of cardboard boxes at Tuesday Mornings to hold sewing projects.  The black and white checker pattern is really cute, right?

One of the best tips I know is to store sewing thread in a plastic Matchbox Car box! They are double-sided and clear enough to see the colored threads. Store your boxes on their sides to save space! You can find them HERE, they are now called Creative Options Thread Organizers.  

A variety of plastic shoe boxes also works well for storing threads and can be found at the Dollar Store. 

OK, let's venture over to the other side of the closet where the BEADS live! 

This is Bead-world. Don't ask. Another hobby.  The two gray storage units are actual found in the hardware section, used for nuts and bolts and whatnots in the realm of Hubby.  Mine are used for storing beads, all sorted by color and sizes. 

Recently I found these boxes at Hobby Lobby, called CraftMates Lockables, they stack and lock so beads can't escape. 

 And I found plastic bead storage with stacking jars at Joann's, they work great for smaller seed beads.

Trust me, there are beads in other places too, but for now, most of them live here.  The closet also has a filing cabinet which houses patterns.  There are bolts of fabric in here, and a collection of magazines and bags of stuffing and batting on the top shelf.  Yes, it is a mishmash of supplies just waiting their turn to come out and play! 

Please come back and join me as we continue to look around the studio, there's more to see....

Bee Creative

Suzy

Have Glue Stick, Will Travel

Hey Everyone! 


It is officially Summer when the temperature hits above the 90 degree mark in my book.  For some of you the official date begins sometime in June, here in south Florida summer has arrived. It's time to start thinking of vacation and travel plans.  We've been planning a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park for two years and this is the summer we are going!  I can't begin to tell you how excited hubby and I are to be going West, I've been to Yellowstone and Teton National Parks before but hubs hasn't and I can't wait to see his face when he gets the first glimpse of the Teton mountains outside our cabin and the first time we pull into Yellowstone.....priceless. If you've ever been there, then you know what I'm talking about! It is a stunningly beautiful and prehistoric, wild wilderness. Be still my heart! 

Water color palette, aqua crayons, paint tubes and brushes.

Getting ready for a trip in my world, means what art supplies do I take with me.  Most people think about what to pack, like clothing and other essentials but for me it is about the art supplies and the journal. I'm a bit obsessive about it too! We'll be doing some daily hiking, using a back pack and changing hotels frequently. That means packing and re-packing and schlepping stuff around.   Most times, I look like a Sherpa with all the stuff I am carting along. It takes me days to figure out what I need to take with me, especially if I must pare down the supplies, like this year. The least amount of weight I have to carry the better! Take a look at what I'm planning  to take and keep in mind, all supplies, except journal must fit into a small zippered pencil pouch.

Journal and zippered pencil pouch carrying art supplies. 

Here's the list:

• Cutter Bees (scissors)
• Glue Stick
• Dot Glue Runner (for the heavy stuff)
• Water pen/brush
• Water Color pencils
• Pitt, Micron & Sharpie pens
• Pencil
• Eraser
• Pencil Sharpener
• Bone Folder
• Journal

Here we go, all pared down to the essentials.

 I opted for the watercolor pencils instead of palette (above) or w/c crayons. This will reduce the need for water container, brushes,extra tubes of paint, sponge and paper towels. The pencils are lightweight and will fit into the zippered pouch nicely.  

And now that the supplies are ready I started preparing a few journal pages to get me started.  I like to spray colored inks or water color the background of the pages before the trip, stick in a few stickers  and add random stamps. Later I'll add journal notes or other memorabilia to each page. 

Map of Grand Teton National Park and Park Safety 

 The more preparation done before hand means less prep time at night and more time to cut, glue and journal each days activities. I've glued in several envelope pockets (used glue dot runner to secure) and stashed small pieces of paper ready for notes or quick sketches, etc.   

Notes on the fly. 

Decorative punched edge envelope for more notes. 

Ohh, I'm seeing a pattern here....the final envelope is attached to the back flap of the journal cover; it will provide a place for maps.  I also stashed some stickers in here to use later...go ahead, you can call me a bit crazy obsessed.  But before you do, please tell me what's your destination this summer? What you do to prepare for a trip? Do you take art supplies? How do you decide what to take with and what to leave at home? 

Let Summer Begin! 

I look forward to your comments and sharing the pages of our trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks with you soon! 

Adventurer at heart,

Suzy

Basket Make Over

Hello Everyone!

I'm pretty excited today to reveal the Basket Make Over I posted about finding at the thrift store. Originally the basket was pink and cream on the outside and blue gingham check on the inside. The lining was pretty stained and beat up but the price was good so I figured it could be revamped with a new lining and be put to use as storage in the studio.  So without further ado, here is the newly re-made basket! 

And with a little new fabric from Swell by Urban Chicks for Moda, we have a new look!  I sewed the lining and added a pleated ruffle and used red binding tape to finish the edges. There was a slight error on my measurements so I just came back in with some more dotted fabric above the red binding. Everything was hot glued into place.  

This is the lid area where I used red craft felt and a piece of snap tape to finish off the edges. The corners are faux mitered due to the challenges of using a HOT glue gun in a tight space. To faux miter the corners I laid down strips of tape on each short side corner to corner, on the long sides I folded the corners to make a mock miter. 

I rather liked the outside of the basket in its cream and pink and so I chose to just enhance the pink a bit with a my dressmakers chalk. I found it by accident in my sewing drawer when I was looking for something to mark the felt. Who knew it was almost a match for the pink already on the basket! I rub it on the ridges and then sprayed a light coat of clear spray over it to keep the chalk from rubbing off.  


Keep your eyes peeled for old baskets at thrift stores and garage sales, they are easily transformed into great storage pieces!  


Happy Crafting! 


Linking to Sew Many Ways http://www.sewmanyways.blogspot.com, http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Found Basket...Now what?

Hello Everyone! 

Found this basket at Goodwill, $1.99. Now that is a bargain anyone would have trouble passing up, right?  Love that it has a blush of pink on the outside.  

The blue and white gingham check lining was filthy. I ripped it out, but kept the pieces to make another pattern. 

Now what? Still waiting on an idea to come to me. 

Yes, it definitely needs to be relined with a more feminine fabric to go with the pink, perhaps even something as simple as muslin would look lovely?  Eventually this basket will find a home on a shelf in the studio and be designated for storing craft items. I'll keep you posted.....meanwhile if you have any ideas, send them my way!  

Hope you are having a wonderful day today! 

Linked to: http://www.freckledlaundry.com & http://www.sewmanyways.blogspot.com