My Craft Room

September 13, 2011 - a work in progress
(Scroll down to see finished product)

     Sometime in the  next week the new counter tops should arrive for  my room.  While Home Depot is happy to make and install them they need a base to place  them on when they arrive.  Since I don't have cabinet bases I had to get creative.  First, I spray painted two old file cabinets black and placed them on each wall.  Then I got the power tools out and built a frame in the corner with braces on each side to support the counter top with the file cabinets finishing off each end.  All of this was done with a cheap miter box and saw and my power drill and screwdriver........and a little muscle from me as well.  Whew, I am so happy to have it prepped and ready. Happy to say all ten fingers are still intact.  Soooo many things still in boxes waiting to be put away.  I am pleased to report that when the gentlemen came to install the counter tops they complimented me on my preparation....these things are very secure and sit level!!!

     Once the counter tops are in I need to build a small cabinet around the bins I store my stamps in to  to get them off the floor and secure them better - hmmm, then I need some more storage under the counter tops to have things close at hand, and then a better table than the white one there now.......these are all projects for next week....or maybe the week after!

September 27, 2011

   Woo Hoo - they installed my counter tops today!!  Unpacked some boxes that have been sitting in a corner for 8 weeks and am now organizing my space.  You 'think' you know where you want things to go until you start to put them out and then you begin to wonder - maybe there's a better way.  Very excited to have a place for my sewing machine as I have wanted to add stitching to my cards for quite some time.  In my old room there was literally no room left to plug anything in or a place put my machine. Plan to start stamping tomorrow - it won't all be the way I want it but at last I will be able to find everything. This is all still a work in progress after the first of the year I will seriously organize the closet and countertops as well as add some pieces to make my work space exactly what I want.  This is all still in the early stages of being put together, still more at hand storage.

October 17, 2011

     Counter tops are in, shelves have been put together and the organizing begins....well, actually a little organizing, a little stamping, a little organizing, a little stamping!  It is going to take a few months to decide where to put everything.  I no longer have the long shelves I used for storage in my old room, but I did gain a large storage closet.  Ideally I like to have everything within close reach as I work, so this is still a work in progress, and that's okay with me.....at least I can find what I need now to stamp.  

I am SOOO excited about my wall art!!  I was aware my former neighbor and friend, Laura, had a stencil business, but I was not aware that she had expanded to decals for the wall.  She saw a picture of my room and suggested I contact her if I wanted anymore wall art.  It is no surprise that I checked her out right away, I love having uplifting phrases on my wall, but have had trouble finding some that I want.  After contacting her for a special saying and seeing the fonts she offered I also inquired about my blog name as a decal.  She kicked it up a notch and sent me a proof that had a cowgirl hat with the words......of course I just loved it, and HAD to have it.  

     The decals were packaged better than any I have ever gotten in a store and the tool she includes for application is MUCH better than the ones you usually get.  My decals were rather large, yet very easy to apply.  She includes two small pieces you can use to practice - great for those who have never applied a decal.  You can see all that she has at Stencils4U.  She has fabulous fonts, several colors, and you choose the size....she was great to work with and I am thrilled with this new wall art. Now to do something with those white bins holding my stamps. 

January 2012

I store my stamps in these containers I purchased from Target. My older wood backed stamps, and unmounted ones fit in them perfectly for my purposes....the front of each drawer is labeled; Christmas, Birthday, Floral, Background, etc. to make finding them easier.  I knew when I first put these in the room that they couldn't stay on the carpet, they were unstable, and I wanted to use the top of them for storage as well. I decided to build a cabinet to store them in. All it took was some wood (cut to size for me at Home Depot), wood glue, L brackets, small feet, sandpaper, and paint.  They fit nice and snug in here and I can use the top to place things

                   

     Above are some pictures of the materials I used to build this cabinet.  One afternoon was spent putting it together and sanding it.  The next day I painted it, lightly sanded it after it dried, and then painted it again.  I am really pleased with this, and was really happy when my hubby commented on what a good job I did.   

Still not finished organizing but many things are in their place.

Still a few more things to tweek, but its a workable

space, and I took this picture while I had it reasonably cleaned up since

I am a pretty messy crafter LOL - I am a very lucky crafter to have this space!!!