c is for....

create

I'm just finishing up some of those pesky little details so that I can call my creative space finished. Or mostly so for now. I'm sure along the way I'll may a few changes but there were a few things let undone that were driving me crazy.


You may have noticed my C the other day and wondered what it was for. None of my initials start with C.

I found this C vinyl wall decor in Home Sense a couple months ago. I think Home Sense is the Canadian equivalent to Home Goods but am not quite sure. It had been marked down to $5 and I loved the big square shape. I do have a Silhouette Craft Cutter that I'm having fun cutting vinyl with but it just doesn't cut that wide. I decided to bring it home and mix the two.

This is the original vinyl tranfer...



And here it is with a little diy love added to it.



NOW it makes sense in my craft room and added some very inexpensive decoration. I didn't even worry that the two black vinyls were a little different. One is glossy, the other matte. Unless you stand at a very strange angle...you just can't tell.


So now if I can just get the last door handle installed...I'll be a happy girl!

Do you like vinyl wall decor? Have you ever altered it?

my creative space

welcome...

...to my new creative space.

I'm super excited to finally be able to share it with you. Two and a half years in the making since hubby and I were standing in a hole beside the house under where our porch used to be. We were pacing it off and planning the bedroom that we'd need to get baby #5 out of our bedroom and over top would be our new back hall and eating area. It went a little something like this...

She said: Hmmmm.... looks like a pretty big bedroom to me. Does child #3 really need a bedroom this large? It's larger than our master bedroom.

He said: No...we could make it two rooms. One nice sized bedroom and a smaller room...for studying, maybe?

She said: We have a study that we already have the computer in and the older kids all have desks in there rooms. (she hesitates a little and gingerly suggests) What about a craft room? It's not as large a space as I'd like but I think I could make it work.

He thinks.

She holds her breath.

She said: It would get all my stuff out of the family room....

He said: OK We can do that.

She said: (scream) I'm so excited! I love you! You are the best hubby ever...blah, blah, blah, blah.....

(she jumps up and down, runs over, big hug and kisses etc.)

You get the idea.

In the meantime we've been busy with more crucial parts of the addition/renovation.... whole story here.... and while we worked away, I planned out my little creative space eking out the most use from an 8x8 foot room. Here's my plan...






And finally welcome to my space...


It turned out just as I designed on paper and I couldn't be more thrilled. I think what makes my room so workable for me is that I really considered how I design, exactly what my needs were for workspace and storage and how best to squeeze it into my creative space. Hubby agrees with me that the photos actually make my room look larger than it actually is. Two people would have difficulty working in this space together. It could be done but as I usually create alone, this works for me. I can turn around in my chair and reach into the drawers behind me, pull things out of the storage carts to the side or quickly stand up and grab my cardstock from its shelves.



My desk is the place were I spend most of my time. It usually doesn't look like this. I usually have some stamps, ink, a paper cutter, scraps and a project in progress. I have everything I use most within reach. My desk isn't terribly pretty but it was a gift from a friend who no longer needed it. The drawers are great and it has a great large worksurface. I'm thinking it may get a makeover down the road but for now...it works for me.


One of my favorite storage solutions for crafting is this Making Memories Storage Carousel. It's amazing how much it fits into one space, I can see and find my most used items and I think it still looks pretty. Love how it smoothly spins around. I picked mine up at Michael's with a 50% off coupon and liked it so much, I bought another next time it was on sale.


Above my desk within easy reach is my ink pads. Ink pad storage has been a bit of a trial for me since I started stamping about 7 years ago. They can be difficult to store and if you stamp a lot, you'll want easy access. I tried a few different solutions but this one is the winner for me. I have three ink pad organizers that each hold 48 ink pads. I know, I know...that's a lot of ink but I do use them all. I still have a few empty spaces but they are great for holding various acrylic blocks, twine and I have a row saved for some new Distress Ink colors being released soon. Organize More is a fabulous solution for me. They also sell ribbon organizers and other craft storage solutions.



When hubby installed my ink storage for me, I got him to make a nice little shelf to go over the top. I have some pretty frames, my clock and some crafting items up there. Things that make me smile. One of them is this stamp I've saved from an old Stampin Up set. For me it's the perfect decoration... inspirational, unique and using what I have.



Here's my magnet boards where I keep receipts, work in progress and sometimes a layout I like.


In the corner of my craft room, just behind the entry door, I have a little cupboard to store extra things. I have magazines, alterable items and other misc. craft things in there.


If you come back to my desk and turn left this time, you'll find two of my favorite craft storage pieces. I am totally amazed at how much these hold in one area. So much better than drawers and iris carts. The drawer units are from Best Craft Organizer and the shallow drawers are fabulous. I keep embossing powder, paint, rub-ons and just about anything small in these drawers. If you pull them out, they will also stack if you want to bring them to another area to work on. The area is a little tight and the area really only works because the carts are on castors. I knew this on my original plan but with my smooth hard floor, they easily move closer to my desk if I need better access into the cupboard on the left.

My two Clip-It-Ups fit perfectly on top of the craft organizers and are invaluable. One of them I ordered from the US and the other, I purchased at my local scrapbook store with a store credit I had. They are a little expensive but worth it for me. I can see what I have and use it rather than it getting creased or dated in a drawer. One of my Clip-it-Ups holds my unmounted stamps and the other, embellishments.




I like to keep my counter space as clear as possible so that I can have additional space to work. This end I use for die cutting.


This side holds various craft supplies and a circle cutting system.


My counter is 8 feet long and just barely squeezed into my space. I had originally planned on a different counter top but one Saturday after installing the counters, hubby told me I could order one and wait for it to come in or go to Home Depot and pick one from stock. He would install it that night. Hmmm.... I rushed off and this counter was quite similar to my original plan. I love the subtle color variation and texture. I did splurge a little on the hardware and I'm glad I did.

You can see where I did cut some corners in this photo...I've reused my old kitchen fluorescent light fixture. My flooring is also pretty much non-existent. It's just the concrete floor painted with epoxy paint designed for garage floors. We decided this was the best solution for me as I've been known to drop permanent ink pads onto flooring and drop adhesive glue dots on it too. This is so easy for me to clean up by sweeping up scraps, my chair slides easily and if I stain it...I can just repaint. My floor is also super warm as it has infloor heating. With the bright south-facing window, I hardly feel like I'm in the basement at all.




One of my biggest problems in my old corner was paper storage. I love patterned paper and like to store it in these Iris cases from Michael's. They work great and I can pull down the case I need and then put it right back. I designed this shelf system to hold them and hubby did a great job of giving me exactly what I needed. It's not the prettiest storage (hubby wanted to put doors on it) but making things easy access is key to me putting things away and finding exactly what I want. It's only functional if it works for you.


And now we're full circle at the door and you can see my last storage area. This space backs onto the basement stairs and we were able to carve out a little space to hold my cardstock. I'm thrilled with how easy it is to find what I need. Each shelf will hold a 12x12 stack of paper and an 8.5x11 stack as well.

That's my space and I hope you've enjoyed the tour. I'm thrilled to finally share it with you and I hope you've found a few ides for your own space.

Do you like my space? Was it worth the wait?

Thanks for visiting!


This post links up with the Twice Remembered Cottage's Make Your Monday.

Metamorphasis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts

First Big Project of the New Year at Sanctuary Arts

DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land

progress

Remember this?



And this?


It's done! It's been a long process with many side trips but I can now sit in my room and just love it. My very own creative space. I couldn't have asked for a better gift. Seriously...I even get a little sappy and get tears in my eyes.

So I now have it all tidied up and photographed and I'm just working on getting a very long post ready for tomorrow.

In the meantime...here's a sweet little frame I created for my room. It's made from Craft-a-Board...a chipboard like product and some scrapbooking supplies. I think I'm going to have to make some more as I love this one so much. Grandma would love one for a gift I know.


Tutorial and step outs for this project can be found in the CLASSroom.

See you tomorrow!

Nine Nifty Magnets

I've been collecting for my creative space for a very long time. A few years ago I had a store credit at my local scrapbooking store and invested in this great Making Memories Magnetic Boards for my room. They've been patiently waiting in a closet and are so glad to be out in the sunlight. I've hung them on my craft room wall right beside my desk to help me stay organized.

My little boys had taken them over but I cleaned all the lovely crayon drawings off the other day and reclaimed them for myself. I didn't have any magnets so I picked up a package of blank magnets and set out to make my own. Now if you're worrying about the prolific artwork pile and some hurt feelings...it's all good. Mommy has a plan for them that they are excited about. I just need to find a little more time to work on that next.

So here's how to make nine nifty magnets....

Flowers: simply hot glue them on the magnet. Isn't this Prima flower stunning? What more could you need?

Buttons: For this sweet and easy magnet I wanted a vintage look. This darling little chipboard button was tied and then adhered over a white blossom. Simple and sweet.




Stickers: Add some letter stickers to personalize a purchased magnet. I picked two of these up at Michaels. (Note to self: ceramic magnets don't do well when dropped on concrete floors.) I did rescue it and turn the magnet into the stamped magnet variation.



Printed Chipboard: I have a lot of beautiful chipboard pieces. Glue together, add a little heart and you're done.



This and That: Mix it all up. I found all these sweet little pieces in a box of loose embellishments. Layer, layer, layer and use it up.

Stamped Magnet: Stamp and ink up a piece of chipboard, cardboard or whatever and add some goodies.



Fabric: Now I think this one is my favorite. A piece of Prima canvas fabric is adhered to the back of the acrylic piece. (I used Ranger Glossy Accents but any clear liquid adhesive should work). Allow to dry and then adhere a few found items from your drawer.





Felt: I love these colors! Stack the felt, add a button and you're done.



Ribbon: I love ribbon! Here it's mixed up with a flower and some sweet Maya Road scrapbooking product



So here they are all together...


And here they are beside my desk.


The best things about this project, they used up scraps of stuff I had on hand, they personalize my space, keep me organized and it was a super quick project. I'm pretty tickled with how cute they look.

Which one do you like the best?
Have a great weekend!

This post links up with Funky Junky Interior's Saturday Night Special

Simple Custom Photo Frames

I'm busy trying to get over the flu, get caught up around the house and squeezing in a few minutes here and there to finish up my creative space. I'm so excited...it's almost done! The other day I came up with this super simple project to customize one of the photo frames that I purchased for my room.

I bought it on sale, of course, and loved the clean lines and great look. I have this thing for square photos. Now this frame is not square but the photo opening are and I just love it. I brought it home and sat it on the shelf. It looked great but then I got the idea to give it a finishing touch.

Rub-on transfers look beautiful on glass. Did you know that? I've used them on frames before and thought that I'd show you just how easy it is. Rub-on transfers have been a bit part of the scrapbooking/crafting market over the past few years and I've amassed quite a collection. I love how clean and easy they are to work with and they can be rubbed onto a lot of different sufaces. Glass, ceramic, paper, cardboard, plastic, wood. Fun huh?

This particular rub-on was found in my drawer. I love the sentiment...Life is Good and the very pretty ornate border. While the style does contrast with the clean lines of the frame, the shape coordinates well and I love mixing up past with present. You won't be able to find this particular rub-on transfer any longer as Daisy D's has gone out of business but a visit to your local scrapbooking store should give lots of options.



May sure your glass surface is very clean and dry. No fingerprints, dust or oils as they will interfere with the adhesion.



Trim out desired rub-on from sheet. Remove backing and carefully apply where desired.



Use a popsicle stick (most packages come with one) or a rub-on transfer tool to rub firmly onto glass. Be careful not to shift the rub-on.



Keep rubbing until all of the design is transferred. You will see the image become lighter. Remove film carefully.



Turn film over and lay over your rub-on. Lightly burnish to make sure you have a good bond.



And that's it!

Enjoy your pretty frame.

Happy creating!


This post links up with Kimba's DIY Day at a Soft Place to Land

Comfort Food & Some Storage Details

I've been busy getting moved into my craft room and getting some paper crafting projects caught up. There's also been a myriad of Christmas details to take care of and the days just seem to be sliding by faster than I can imagine. I wish I could find the time to do everything!

You may have seen the quote in my sidebar. I came across weeks ago on the bulletin board at the massage therapists. I believe it was a clipping from a Canadian Living magazine... I forgive myself for all the things I don't have time to do. While this is important all the time, I can't imagine a time of year that is busier than the holiday season. There are SO many things I want to do and just not enough time. I'm learning to let go and just do what I can and forgive myself for the rest.

One thing I have been doing is cooking some comfort food for my family. As the days get colder and the nights longer, it seems to satisfy the hungry appetites of my large family. Chicken Bruschetta is one of our favorites so I thought I'd share with you. I double the recipe to get some lunches out of it as well. This recipe originally came from the Kraft.com website. I like to use the seasoned Petite cut tomatoes to add to the flavor.


Chicken Bruschetta

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1/2 cup water

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic together in bowl. Set aside.

Dice chicken and spread into 9x13" pan. Sprinkle with basil and cheese.

Top with stuffing mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until done.

Fast and easy and just enough time to cook some rice to go with it.

I've also had a few inquiries over my storage solutions in my new craft room. The inquiries were about the carousel storage I have. Actually two of the organizers spin so I thought I'd tell you about them both. The first is a tiered storage organizer called the Clip It Up. The tiers are sold separately, I have the Clip it Up and the Upper Tier together here. It is fabulous for keeping all my embellishments in easy access so I can find them. While it might not be the most decorative organizer on the planet, function is key in my mind and you can store a LOT of product on it. I actually have two of these that sit side by side. My other one holds unmounted stamp sets.


My other little carousel organizer is the Making Memories Desktop Carousel as seen below. I actually have two of these as well as I love it so much. A few months ago I wrote an article for Craft Critique on this product and if interested, you can check out the review here.


Have a beautiful day!


Julia

Something Wonderful

Something wonderful this way comes.

Oh I'm sooo excited! I've worked like crazy the past few days getting into my new craft room. Mr. fb@h has been finishing cupboards, installing drawer pulls, the light fixture and generally just working hard to get me in there.



So today I pretty much finished moving in and actually found a few minutes to create. We still have to trim the window and finish some of the cupboards but it feels so good to finally have my own space I just couldn't wait to share.

Here's a few quick peeks and I'll be back with exactly what I've done once it's finished. Hopefully before Christmas but you know how life gets this time of year. I probably won't do much in the form of decorating it. This room has to be practical and functional and keep me super organized with all my paper crafting supplies in a very small space. There really isn't much unused wall space in the room at all.





Do you have a project you've waited a long time for?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Julia