Craftroom Progress?

My craft room has been under construction and nearly finished. I hired a closet company to do this with hopes that the results would be the same as we had when we lived in Seattle. Not sure if it's this particular franchise, economy or location (or both) but I don't think I'd hire them again for the following reasons:

Obviously the workers were not told to clean as you go.

Uummm - huge mistake so they thought I wasn't going to see this extra hole to nowhere.

It's a good thing these units weren't going in a carpeted room! Ok - I'll give them that...we were in the middle of a rain storm.

They only brought 1 filthy, padded blanket to protect my floors. I had to supply those paint tarps, which does nothing to keep the floors from being scratched.

Despite the general untidiness the workers left behind (and 57 nails/screws scattered all over my driveway), I'm going to make the most of it. Here is the almost final result (still missing the countertops):

See my previous post for the "before" photo.
My camera memory card is full so didn't get to take photos of the rest of the room and also my daughter's completed room. I also just got a flu shot so my arm feels like I slammed it shut on a door. Oww......

Another Pillow

Here's the next one - the yarn colors and fabric look better together in real life.

Cramming to get all these done as I'm getting my craftsroom overhauled next Tuesday! Yep, what you see

here

will hopefully become an organized haven for lots of future creativity. Stay tuned......

Crocheted Flower Pillow

Crocheted and sewn beauty!

Didn't get a picture of the back but it's covered with Paula Young/Michael Miller fabric. Pillow case is tissue-cover style where you just insert the pillow form through the opening. No zipper, no slip stitching or buttons! Easy to do, perfect for a beginner like me!

Now working on the other 3 pillows that will go on my daughter's bed.

"Sewing Projects"

I'm learning how to sew. But the process is very sllllooooow. My machine does not like me yet so I started out by just taking the cover off of her and letting her get used to her new surroundings.

The first "sewing" project is this memo board I've been wanting to complete. It took 2 friends to help me get it finished. The big buttons are actually customizable brads, by way of the fun I-Top doodad. These brads are the 28mm size - the largest; and I used real fabric to cover them (Paula Young fabric). After covering 12 brads, we all decided that you really don't need that awkward tool - just use your thumbs to push the 2 parts together. Of course, it took $18 to figure that out! (double click photo for more detailed look).


The 2nd "sewing" project was inspired by my need to use up yarn. My wonderful sister-in-law (Hi Holly!) gave me a bunch of beautiful yarns and this particular skein was going to be a crocheted hat but by the time I finished it, it was too tight to wear! I unravelled it and decided to cover this straw wreath instead. The felt flowers were handmade - great way to use up extra felt and the dried flowers were from Michael's.


Now I actually did sew after these projects. But my camera ran out of batteries so couldn't take a picture. Will get those on the blog this weekend. Hint: crochet + pillows, as inspired by this talented blogger.

Lots of time

Ahhhh....school for my children started last week.

I hear absolutely nothing. Just peace and quiet and the occasional honking of Canada geese flying by.



Now that I have all day to myself, am left contemplating as to what am I supposed to accomplish first?

I could do something about this room:


or I can just sit out on our gorgeous balcony, enjoy the view and have another cup of coffee.

Repurpose and recycle

What's inside this can? (this can previously held spice rub)


A cupcake with chocolate jimmies! (that's what we called chocolate sprinkles when we were growing up back East)


The very talented lady at Inking Idaho did it again - I copied these from here. They are mini composition notebooks! You cut the corners of the notebooks (tedious but worth it) then re-cover with your favorite designer paper and dress it up to look like a mini purse!


Remember this from previous post?

Look what I made with it - a little gift box large enough to put a little trinket inside.


Materials used:
cupcake canister - Quickutz cake die (cut on fun foam), Marvy scallop punch, SU cardstock, ribbons from Michael's, patterned paper from paperpack from Target, cherry punch from dollar bin at Michael's, dimensional paint (for chocolate sprinkles)
purse notepads - notepads from dollar store, cupcake cardstock from K&Company, all ribbons used from Michael's, jeweled brads from Making Memories, assorted buttons from JoAnn's
Xmas tree box - EK Success punch, cardstock from an old pack of Making Memories, ribbon from Michael's

Zero-calorie Donuts!

Who wouldn't like these?!

They're life size (except for the giant cupcake next to them, which is more like the super-sized shape of a gigantic muffin from Costco) and even have swirled frosting over them! I was making these for my kids' school craft fair. Except. They cancelled it so now I'm thinking of posting them in my neglected Etsy shop so I can make a few $$ to buy my latest obsession: FABRIC! If you're at all interested, I hope to have them posted in my shop by this weekend. Have a fabulous day!