'Ello Lovies,
The Christmas countdown is almost over, the big day is just around the corner, are ya ready? I'm surprised to find that I'm very close, just a bit of finishing up on a couple small projects. Usually I'm still sewing late into the night on Christmas Eve, this by contrast feels ahead of schedule, ha!
I really enjoy making (nearly) all of my Christmas gifts, but it means that I spend a lot of hours in November & December in my crafty space. This year, I thought it would be nice to decorate that room too, since that's where I'm at so much of the holiday season. I already had some bright & pretty Christmassy things (from back in my single-girl days) that don't really match the Christmas decoration used in the rest of the house, so the bonus was I didn't purchase a single thing. That's always nice, especially this time of year when you really need to s-t-r-e-t-c-h those dollars.
I always love to see where other people do their creative work, and I thought you guys might like to see where I do mine. So howza bout a little tour? Yes? Well then let's get on with it! Without further adieu, welcome to my craft room...
Whoa, there's a lot got on here... let's go clockwise shall we?
(Click any of these pictures to enbiggen)
Just inside my room is a big ugly file cabinet. Ugly, but functional, it holds a lot if important junk so I don't think I could do away with it, but I am thinking about painting it, or Modge Podging it, something. Also, yes that is a Barbie on a scooter. That's what Sean got me for my birthday this year, so awesome!
Eventually, I'd like to have this little tree covered in handmade ornaments.
This is my favorite corner... my comfy chair, a cuppa, a lamp and my stitchin' or some good books. Call me granny if you want, this sounds like a good night to me. My
first quilt lives on this chair along with the very first bit of stitching I ever did. I made a pillow out of it.
My wee side table, holds lots of books, crafty and otherwise. I picked this up at the Roseville Flea with Jill last spring, I hinted about it
here, and always meant to show you guys but never got around to it. Twenty bucks! I'm nothing, if not thrifty.
Yup, this is my favorite corner. Eventually, the wall(s) behind my chair will be filled with embroidery pieces. Made by me, my friends, my niece, and my embroidery crushes. I have several more embroideries that need to be hooped up, I just haven't gotten them done yet. Shame on me!
What's that, you want to see that stitchy a little closer?
I also won this book, the cover art is hand stitched, it's so pretty. The artists original work can be seen
here.
Continuing on to the next corner, here's my sewing desk... it's not really a desk, it's a cheapo folding table, but it works for me. (Note the awesome Harry Potter poster, Potter rules!!)
The shelf over my "desk" holds all my ribbon spools and lots of my small sewing stash items. This shelf was a freebie when one of my friends redid her daughters room and thought it was too "little girlish" to keep... heh... I'm 37 and I LOVE it!
Need a hoop? This person is obviously obsessed with embroidery.
Next to my sewing table is the great big shelf. I LOVE this piece, another freebie from a different friend who was moving cross country and couldn't take it with her. Yay for me! It was dark brown when I acquired it, lovely, but not how I envisioned it, so I painted the entire thing a pretty light blue, same as the shelf; {Valspar, Sea Air from Lowes if anyone is interested}.
The shelf holds all my fabric, sewing tools, scrap basket, etc., and it gives me a little space on top to put pretty things.
I made this tiny pipe cleaner tree a few days ago, cute yeah? Tutorial
here.
A little bit of Christmas goodness...
Here's a better look at what's on the shelf. Oh my, I should have stacked my fabric a little neater like a good blogger. Ah well... Just so you know nothing in this room is staged. Tidied, yes, staged, no. I cleaned up the room to take pictures because I've been in here working every single night after work (my day job, I work full time) all month, but in between projects, it pretty much always looks like this. I made myself a promise to try and keep the room neat when I'm not in the middle of a project, and so far so good. It's hard to be productive in a mess, so keeping it picked up helps the creativity flow because I can just go right in and start something, not have to spend and hour making space to make something. Clean as you go, that's my motto. Muuuch easier.
A bit of shiny garland swagged over the closet (a closet that's also organized by the way, woo!)
And here we are again, back at the beginning... it's night time now, all shut in nice & cozy.
I've
already told you about the island in the middle of the room. It was in the kitchen of our last house for years and it was such a perfect fit in this room. It's the work horse in this room. No, wait.
I'm the work horse in this room, hehe...
So yeah! That's my room, whad'ya think?
I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have a whole room for my crafty adventures, I feel like such a lucky duck. I never though I'd have a room like this. When we rented this house, we decided (or rather, I decided) that I'd get more use out of a craft room than an office or guest room, so I ran with it. Now, I don't think I could live without this place. It's my retreat, my harbor, my happy space. A room of my very own to create and do things that make me happy. I don't like shopping, I'm not into flashy clothes, cars, expensive handbags or jewelry. We lead a pretty modest life. But what I do care about is having a happy home, someplace comfortable where we feel safe and warm and content. That's how my space makes me feel, that, and like I said, lucky. It may not be the biggest, or prettiest crafty space in the world, but it is mine and I think it's pretty darn great.
Anyhooo, I hope you've enjoyed my little tour! It was fun to finally show you, I've been meaning to do a post like this forever. Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions about anything pictured above. I love that kind of thing!
I'll be back tomorrow with another pre-Christmas post, so pop back in if you have a chance!
oxo,
Lisa
