My new craft work area

Hiya! Hope you're all having a nice week-end. Hubby put the finishing touches on my computer workstation. He added some 1/4" thick pegboard to the back of it. And. . . . . we were able to get it for only 75 cents at our local Rona store. How cool is that, eh? A whole sheet is around $19.00, which we didn't at all need, so we checked the "leftovers" bin and there it was --- just calling out our name. :-)

I'm very happy w/ the end result. As you can see, my revolving rack fits very nicely in its spot beside the desk. You'll see some vacant space to the left of the desk. That's so the corner cabinet door is able to open fully. I can still store some things on the floor beside the desk, as the door is only the top half of the corner cabinet. Maybe sweet li'l "Ann Estelle" (Mary Engelbreit doll) can perch there. You can see her backside in the pic below. :-)

Don't forget that you can enlarge the pix, by clicking on them. :-)

So, here's the computer station which is now going to be my "Card Creating Station". I can pull out the keyboard tray and use that as extra creating space. I'm using the CD holder area to store my "Nestabilities". (I only have 4 sets, which are stored in CD cases.) I'm also going to store some clear stamp sets that I've also got in CD cases.

I still have a shelf that needs to go into the left-hand bottom area but I haven't quite decided what I'm going to store in there yet. So that will have to wait.

And. . . . . here's my revolving rack in all of its glory. (LOL) I made a sign topper for it. I've also made/created a new WORD:- "paraphernali". I know it should have an "a" on the end, being "paraphernalia" but that doesn't rhyme w/ "miscellany". LOL

Here's a closer view of it. . . . .

You can see that I've got some chipboard boxes in the racks. And. . . .thanks to all of you who provided me w/ other suggestions, I'm sure it will be filled in no time. :-)

So, if you have a small room like I do, you can still juggle things around so that things will fit.

Craftroom Clean-up, Chapter 2, Day 2

Hiya! Well, I managed to clean out underneath and in front of the table. You can see markings on the carpet where some boxes had previously been. :-) So now hubby can fold down the table and put it in the basement or garage, where it used to be. :-)

I should be getting my computer station tomorrow. Yeah!!! But hubby can't put it together for me until the week-end. This will give me some time to go thru the "stuff" that had accumulated underneath. It's mainly OLD craft supplies. I'll probably donate some of it to a Senior's Centre.

That plastic "white thingie" underneath some craft binders is a garbage can that I had grandioso plans of jazzing up w/ rub-ons, but I never got around to it. :-) Probably don't even know where those rub-ons ended up. LOL



As an added treat, I thought I would show you what's been hiding in my corner cabinet. I don't think I've ever shown that on my blog before. It's mainly dedicated to my "sewing" paraphernalia.

Can't wait until everything is in its place. Wish I could be like the "Bewitched" gal and wiggle my nose for it to happen. LOL But, seeing as that's not a "happenin' thing", I'll have to do it all myself. Each day I'll do a li'l bit and, before you know it, it will look like a half decent craft/sewing room. Hey, I managed to do it last year so this should be no different. Right???!!! LOL I'm just still very thankful that I actually have a craft/sewing room. For years, I didn't

And. . . . here's the moral to the story:- If "I" can do it ---- YOU can, too. Keep in mind that this is a verrrrrrry teeney tiny room and I've managed to jam a lot of stuff in there. I'll see if I can update my room layout picture. Here's the kicker, tho:- I can't remember what program I used to create it, in the first place. Good one, eh? LOL

Here's the old picture:-


It's changed quite a bit. Since then, I've added my Cricut Work Station and Cricut Revolving Rack.

Does this "room layout" picture look familiar to you? Would you happen to know where I might've found it on the Net? I wish I would've bookmarked it, but I didn't. :-(

No computer desk!!

Well, hubby didn't come home w/ the computer desk I wanted. BooooHoooo! He felt that, when he took it apart, he wouldn't be able to put it back together again because of the screws that had been used on it --- that they would rip the areas. He also thought it didn't have a very good stabilizer on the bottom. The gal that had it actually had to buy another unit because of this issue --- her printer and/or CPU station wouldn't sit properly on it. I didn't want to use the bottom for a printer/CPU, but just to store some plastic shoebox storage units. But hubby knows best and decided against it. Of course I was pretty upset. But. . . . . . he said that I could buy a new one!! And. . . . . Staples has a "clearance" on this item so, for $50.00 more, I'm getting a brand spankin' new one, which has a better bottom to it. Yippppeeeee!!! Awesome hubby, eh? :-)



Here's a pic of it:

The one I almost got didn't have the partition areas, which also act as a stabilizer. It just had a narrow slat going across at the back; hence, not much stabilization.

And, yeh, I know --- it's not "white" like most of my other craft/sewing furniture. But, I have a maple colored flip-top desk and small cart that I use for my Cricut Station. And. . . beggars can't be choosers! LOL This unit doesn't come in "white"; otherwise, I would've grabbed it. :-)

Soooo, I get to continue re-arranging, purging today. But it's a gorgeous day (have been few and far between) so Bailey and I will definitely be taking advantage of it. Cleaning goes on the "back burner". LOL

Have a great day!!! :-)

Craftroom Clean-Up, Chapter 2, Day 1

If some of you will recall, I had a major craftroom clean-up "work in progess" project. You can check it out here: http://ladybuglair.blogspot.com/search/label/craft%20room%20clean-up

NOTE: I just realized that it's been almost a year, since I'm reliving this fun time. :-)

To see it from the “start” --- you’ll have to scroll down to the very bottom and click on “older post”. Then scroll down to the very bottom of that screen and you’ll see the 1st day; then just move up the page to see each following day. :-)

You guys, w/ all of your wonderful support/comments, gave me the motivation I needed to accomplish this clean-up. Thank you sooooo much again, for that!! :-)

Well, as time went on and I was completing various projects, my craft/sewing room kinda/sorta got back to the mess it originally was. I know. Not very good but the reality of it is that it did. :-(

Now, flash forward to today --- when I mentioned that I hopefully would be getting a new workstation, so I’d be able to fit my revolving rack beside it. But, as prev. mentioned, that entailed completely cleaning up that area. Hence, Chapter 2 of my craftroom clean-up!!! :-)

Well, here are some “before pix”. Close your eyes, so you won’t be completely disgusted by the hot mess. LOL I’m even surprised that I’m willing to share such a mess but. . . . it actually helps me in knowing that, because my mess is “out there in cyberspace”, I can’t hide it and that I have to clean it up. . . . yet again!!!!! LOL

Don't forget --- you can click on the pix to enlarge them! :-)

Top of table:-



Underneath the table:


Top, underneath and beside the table:


So I’ve been working on this for over a hour and this is what the top of the table now looks like. Pretty neat, eh? So are you still w/ me??? I haven’t completely scared you away???? LOL

However, I’m going to be totally honest as to where that “top mess” ended up. Here, on my other desk. . . . .

Please keep in mind that it’s just a temporary storage place. Definitely not permanent!! Now I have to tackle underneath, in front of and beside the table. That’s not going to be an easy task, for sure. But, before I can get my “newer desk” (new to me, but it’s 2nd hand), I need to create a space for it and a CLEAN space. That’s the tricky part!!! LOL

Please wish me luck. Toss some “fairy dust” my way and hopefully I can accomplish all of this. But, please remember that it’s definitely going to be a “work in progress”. :-)

Better Pic of new storage unit

Hiya! I realized that the first pic I showed you didn't really do it justice; hence, here's a pic of my new storage unit in all its glory!!! :-) This li'l gem is taller than I first thought it was. I guessed about 5', but I'm 5' 2 1/4" (that 1/4" counts, you know! LOL). Anyway, it's about 6 ins. taller than me --- so about 5' 8 ". Pretty neat, eh? :-)

I'm still workin' on where exactly to put the li'l critter. I have a 48" fold-out table by the window that I snagged from DH's stash. So he's gonna get that one back! LOL And. . . .I'm hoping to get a 30" computer table (one w/ a li'l hutch) to replace it. Hubby's checkin' it out today for me to see if its what would fit my needs (garage sale item!). Hopefully, he'll be bringing that li'l baby home w/ him. :-)

But. . . . .I have a whole LOT of WORK ahead of me --- to be able to get both of those li'l gems in my teeney tiny craft/sewing room. It's going to be a real challenge as I have a whole bunch of "stuff" that's been stored underneath that 48" table. Sooooooo, where to put that in the meantime???!!!! But. . . . along w/ challenges comes excitement and just plain ol' fun! :-)

Soooooo, looks like there's going to be another chapter to the "craftroom clean-up". Please cross your fingers for me that:-

• hubby comes home w/ the computer table w/ hutch
• that it will fit in that space, along w/ the revolving rack

Thanks for all of your support/comments. :-)

Clean-Up --- Day 11

I was REALLY busy in my craft room today. . . . . . . . . . . .not! LOL

Ya see, I needed some flowers, that resembled Japanese cherry blossoms, for a special project I was working on. I found this stem of flowers at the $ store and proceeded to do the daunting task of pulling all of them off their stems. That was my verrrrrrry BUSY day. LOL LOL
Voila:-

Have you noticed that I’m been taking pix of items on my STILL very CLEAN sewing cabinet? I know. . . .hard to believe that I haven’t been putting any junk back on top of it. LOL Kudos to me!!!

Hope you're all having a great day and. . . . . . . . . . thanks so much for stopping by!! :-)

Clean-Up --- Day 10

Decided to do a switcheroo of storage for my PaperGater and my Slice Machine/accessories. Originally, I had my Slice in this li’l storage unit. Now, my PaperGater has taken its place very snugly/perfectly.



When I added a tool kit, it worked better to have the Slice in this storage unit. It’s called “Generations” and was purchased at a $ store for $7.00. Can’t beat that price, either. The other unit was around that price, too.

Clean-Up --- Day 9

Sorry I’ve been MIA for awhile but “life got in the way” and I wasn’t doing “anything” (cleaning/sorting/creating) in my craftroom. :-( I’m back at it now, tho. :-)

I found this li’l storage container that I’ve had for quite some time, but completely forgot about. It was a surprise to find, in the top, my Cricut green electric scissors that DH got me for a stocking stuffer one year. It felt like Christmas all over again. LOL I started filling it w/ a bunch of embellishments.




The li’l containers hold a mish/mash of “this and that”. For this one (on the right):- the “eyes have it”. Get it?? lol



About a year ago, I had made a start, on cleaning my room, by piling a bunch of stuff into a humongous box. I dug it out and combined the items into 3 smaller boxes. Two of them are in the hall and here is one of them….



I’ve been sorting thru it, a li’l bit at a time, placing the items where their new home will be. I’m discovering what the trick is:- that if I work w/ a li’l section at a time, it’s not sooooo overwhelming. Bailey is even enjoying it, cuz there’s actually a spot for one of his li’l beds on the floor, beside me. :-)

The greatest thing about going thru the box is I’m finding things I forgot I had. Again…just like Christmas!

Clean-Up --- Day 8

Wellll, production of "clean-up" ceased today. LOL We knew it was going to happen sooner or later, right?? LOL Actually, we celebrated Mother's Day today and were gone all day in doing so. :-)

Thought I would share w/ you another "Thrift Store" find:- it's actually a bath salts/lotion set. I'm using it to store beads.

When I got this li'l item (for $2.00), some of the containers were missing their lids and some of them were soooooo yucky that I had to throw them out. Sooooo, I had these bead containers already, and thought:- hmmmmmmm, I'll just put them in the front row and keep the "best" containers for the row behind. Works pretty good!

Clean-Up --- Day 7

Well, I found this day a bit discouraging. First off, I have a virus on my computer which my Virus Protector Service is deleting; however, every time I log onto the computer, I get the same message that I have this virus --- but not to worry because my Virus Protector is deleting it. Why, then, do I continuously get it?? Very frustrating. :-(

Then my craftroom is another story. The section I tackled today was the table by the window. I had no problem in cleaning off the top of the table but it was underneath that was the problem. It’s mainly all of my old-style crafting supplies. Hubby doesn’t want me to get rid of any of it because he said it was like “throwing money out the window” and, who knows, maybe I might want to do those crafts again some day. So, there they sit. I just stared at my wallhanging:- “Life is just a chair of bowlies!” Sooooooooo true!!! LOL

Before.......

After......

I wanted to showcase my “stand-by-me” craft table. It’s what I used when I didn’t have a craftroom. If you click on the pic, you can enlarge it and see what it can be used for – painting (w/ its li’l buckets); embroidery (w/ it’s li’l sections, under the flip-top lid). It even has a light. Very multi-purpose. I got it at Michael’s when they first opened up here. I would place it on either the dining room table or coffee table and then just pack it away for the next time.

Here's my Chair of Bowlies....

And my angel that looks out for me....

Here's the table again. For whatever reason, the other one wouldn't enlarge. I think it may have a LOT to do w/ the fact I switch around the pix on the post and somehow end up deleting/moving certain pertinent codes, or something. Hopefully, this one can be enlarged by clicking on it. :-) (It DOES. I just tested it) :-)

Clean-Up --- Day 6

My li'l Bailey Bud is at the groomer's today and I miss him soooooo much. :-( Soooo, I decided to tackle my craftroom whilst he was away.

You may not even be able to see what I did today but I spent 1 ½ hours doing it. :-) There was a pile of mish-mash in the corner, underneath my dress form and underneath ME’s Ann Estelle. I sorted thru all of it and got rid of most of it. I was even saving my Baby Bug box. Why? I have nooooo idea cuz I got her in 2006. Not like I could send her back in her box. LOL

Found some craft items I used to do – pre-Cricut:- embroidery, rug hooking, etc. Just packed ‘em up in a box, to decide later, if I want to keep ‘em or not.

Before..........

After......

All of the pix can be enlarged, by clicking on them. :-) Have noooooo idea why some of the others weren't working that way. :-(

Thought I would show you what was under that cover.......

This is how hubby presented it to me one Christmas. It was just after our daughter moved out and her room was completely emptied, w/ the exception of keeping her desk and corner cabinet. I thought it would be great for my craft room and it's been working out super. Hubby told me that I wasn't to go in there, under any circumstances ---- that he would be removing the wallpaper border and cleaning the carpet. I obliged, not thinking for a minute that he had gotten me this awesome sewing cabinet.

When my room is completely clean, I will show it off, w/ my sewing machine/serger. I feel its "debut" needs a clean room to do it. :-)

Here's my dress form, w/ what I call my "Cricut neckbrace" on it. We spotted it at an airport giftshop and just had to get it. Don't you think it resembles Mr. Cricut?? :-)

Clean-Up --- Day 5

Well, I was out most of the day and didn’t do toooo much in my room --- I cleaned off the chair. Yes, that was a chair underneath all of that stuff. LOL I placed my “EASY” button on it. LOL Got it at Staples and, when pushed, a guy’s deep voice says: “That was easy”! I thought it was apropos. :-)

Before........

Cropped pic to show just the chair piled high to the sky......


After.......

I found my Cricut inspiration holder. What that consists of are idea cards for the different carts I had at the beginning of my Cricut infatuation period. I only had 10 carts. If I keep this up, I’ll need to get another couple of containers. Still need to think about whether I want to go this route or not. It worked when I only had a handful of carts but not so sure it would work now. Anyway, on the index cards, are print-outs of card ideas that I got from the Cricut MB. On the back of the card is info as to what carts were used, etc.


My desk is STILL clean. Maxine is making sure it stays that way! If I put anything else on it, I have to “take it up w/ her first”. LOL


My Computer Station is still clean, too. I know……….amazing!!! LOL Oh, I just have my stamp holder on it.



So, for now, Ladybug…..out!

Clean-Up --- Day 4

My main objective today was to just clean off one of my desks but I ended up doing two, as well as the floor in front of one of the desks. The other desk still has boxes/stuff in front of it. It will all get sorted out in due time, tho. :-)

Here are some before/after pix:-

Before.......

After......
The green satchel holds my Baby Bug. I saw no point putting it out where it could've gotten dusty, etc.

Before.......

After.....

I even have the correct date showing. And.....my perpetual calendar saying for today is:-

"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures."

How apropos is that, eh? :-)

Before....

After.....

Still stuff in front of it, tho.......

My Cricut Station is STILL clean. I know......unbelievable! LOL

And......whilst I was accomplishing all of this, the "Ruler of the Roost" was watching over me. Actually, I had TWO supervisors:- Maxine.......

and Mr. Cricut, himself. :-)

See the cute stamp holder I discovered? I store some of my clear stamps in it. :-)