My new creative hub

Hello! Long time no blog!! I have spent the last month painting, cleaning carpets and decluttering. Oh and doing uni assignments. But now I am in a place where I can take a breath and have the time and space to begin creating once again.

Remember how my craft room was in chaos and basically all I had in here was my computer so I could do my uni work? Well the painting has been done and I have begun to put everything back into the room... but all in different places!

Welcome to my updated creative hub!

I can't stop looking at these shelves! They have on display my gorgeous fabric stash and my yarn. There are baskets of projects I am working on, and my patterns are all in folders and magazine boxes all organised and neat. I could stare at this all day!

This is my little nook. I sit here to do my hand work. It is glorious sitting here in the afternoon and the light from the window is amazing! I can see myself enjoying many quiet afternoons here. A cuppa on my right and my quilt or crochet in my lap. See that set of drawers? The bottom drawer?? In that is my "Use it or ditch it" drawer. Basically I put some supplies in there that I want to use but just haven't - and I've had them for a ridiculously long time. So if I don't use them in 4 months, they are going to be passed on to someone who will use them. If I am not using them, the project obviously isn't that important to me. Then I will find some more things to put in there. 

This is my cupboard. I don't have lots of money to buy all sorts of storage and I just make do with what I have. Three out of the four crates were donated. I reuse shoe boxes and other cute boxes I find. I culled so much stuff from this cupboard and have managed to fill it with stuff that previously didn't have a home. 

*Excuse the dim lighting in the last photo - but we are about to be hammered with storms. 

And here it is all together - with my rug, my desk where I sit and type out my assignments and blog posts. I'm so pleased with it. Yeah it's filled with mish-mash furniture but it's my space and not many are lucky enough to have their own space to craft from. 

Now!! Time to start messing it all up!!! Let's get crafty!!

Living in a shamozzle

You know when you have those bright ideas to do something, and you totally underestimate what it actually means for you, your home or your family?

For ages I have wanted to repaint my house. The walls in my house are a livid yellow - a decision I made when heavily pregnant and nesting. I painted those walls while heavily pregnant - and after delivery. I loved those walls for 9 years.

My lounge, my bedrooms, my craft room, my bathrooms have not been painted since the house was built. The paint job is looking tired, flaking and not good.

So we empty out the lounge and set up a temporary lounge in the toy room so we have somewhere to relax in the evenings. And then we began to empty out my craft room.

1. I realised I have so much stuff in my craft room that needs to be either used or rehomed
2. I realised that this job is going to be massive!!

The window frames need sanding and staining
The cornices need painting
The ceiling needs painting
The walls need prepping and cleaned
The walls need painting
The carpets need cleaning

And then once that's done - we empty our bedroom out into our freshly painted lounge so that we can paint the bedroom and ensuite.

This is going to be a LONG process - I'm predicting months....

And this pile... is my craft room.

So I am going to have to get creative!! I'm going to have to find things to do and make that do not require a craft room. 

Let's see what I can come up with.

*cough* *choke*

Is it a cloud? No! Is it a dust storm? NO! Is it a mushroom cloud from an atomic bomb explosion?? NO!!

IT'S SKIP DUSTING HER CRAFT ROOM!

Honestly! I can't get over how dusty it gets in here! Do you find that? I dust fairly regularly - especially when I clear my desk. I just find thick layers of dust in every corner! SO GROSS!!

This is my duster after I cleaned the back corner of my craft desk!!!

I guess this is a result of using mainly textiles in my craft room. Yarn, fabric etc leave fibers everywhere!!

Oh well.. I will carry on.

Spring Cleaning my craft room

I've made it no secret that I have been swamped with uni work and life in general, leaving precious little time to work on projects or have good chunks of creative time. Term 3 school holidays are coming up, which means I get a two week break from lectures and assignments and get to hang out with the kids. I am also planning on making the most of that break by getting some projects done.

So in anticipation and preparation, I have started spring cleaning in my craft room to create an ordered space to work in. I wish I had taken a before photo of this desk - but I might be a bit too embarrassed to put it up. I was drowning in stuff! SO. MUCH. STUFF! Mainly paperwork and rubbish like that. But today I cleared it off and now have a nice clear space for getting my craft on!

This week a lovely friend decluttered her own craft room to create space for a home office as she launched a new career. She sent me 3 huge huge huge bags of quilting fabric. So I spent a few hours yesterday sorting out my existing stash and then adding Kayscha's stash to it. This box was 1/4 full before.... now it's chockas! Motivation to get some more quilting projects done!

I also discovered that I am the bag lady. I emptied out at least 8 bags of finished project materials! Now I have lots and lots of empty bags to fill with new projects! Go me!!

Finally I sorted out my yarn. Got rid of the small bits and bobs that were too small to do anything with and put away yarn that I could use. I put away the masses of yarn I purchased at my local Spotty car park sale. 40 balls for $40. :) Can't complain there!! Everything is in order ready to Christmas crochet!

I've got plans! Lots and lots of plans to craft and create for the two weeks while I can. Then I will have 6 weeks of cracking on with work and assignments and then I will get a very LONG break afterwards. I love uni!! Especially their mega long holidays! Hahah!!

Cleaning up after the Apocalypse (Advent Blog-Along # 14}

Yesterday I finished off Milly's quilt and then I looked up and was stunned to see this:

WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED IN HERE?
Did a bomb go off and I didn't know it? Probably a Christmas craft bomb. This is only 5 days worth of mess too I might add. So this morning I set about cleaning it up.

MUCH BETTER!
So I cleaned up after the Christmas craft Apocalypse. Christmas crafting is over. Now I can sit and relax and probably make another huge mess! LOL

Moving out and moving in again

For a while now, my craft room has been in the main part of the house, next to the kitchen and toy room so I could be with the kids while they played and I created. Now that I am home alone most days, there is no need for me to be out in the main area. So we decided to ditch the formal dining room since we use it as an everyday dining room - and moved that into the main area next to the kitchen and moved me into the old dining room.





This has been excellent.

The light is much better in here - I actually have a window!!! And because I have so much more room in here, I can do my newborn photo shoots so much more conveniently and without yellow walls making everyone look jaundiced!

Here... I'll prove it!



The move was not as drawn out as I would have thought. I culled a load of stuff, found lots of projects that are unfinished and have been put into two crates for me to get to and found a few things I had forgotten I had. I also found projects that I started in my early days of learning to sew and quilt and ditched them. There was no way I was going to finish them!

Now all I need is some lovely family photos on canvas for the wall in front of my computer and I reckon it is perfect. :)

I have a new creative space!

Well.... not brand spanking new... DH and I decided to consolidate the home office with my office and craft room. We reorganised the furniture (which I think is almost as good as redecorating!) We did a huge cull of old stuff and have created a functional and organised work space! We moved the computer desk in to make extra storage, which makes a big difference. I still need to sort out my fabric cupboard, but other than that, it's all very clean and tidy. I can't wait to use the space to create amazing masterpieces. One day I might be able to afford matching and modern furniture, but today this is what I have and love. I'm so grateful that I can have a permanent space right in the middle of the house.

(Excuse the dodgy mobile phone pic - but I can't be bothered getting out the camera, uploading etc!) You get the general idea anyway!

Starting with a clean slate... so to speak.

For my birthday, as part of my present, Mum gave me three medium sized storage tubs to put my crafty bits in. Today I decided that as part of Penny Pinching in 2010, I was going to need to know exactly what I have, and what I can use, and what projects I had stashed away that I had forgotten about.

So I sorted out my craft room. Rearranged it, tidied it, decluttered, tossed out crappy bits of fabric that I held on to for Justin.. (Just in case) I did a cull of things that I am not sure why I had them in the first place. I now have all my fabric neatly folded and in my craft cuboard. All my crafty bits are now in boxes and on my shelves.

I'm pleased with today's efforts. I may not have created much - except a workable and organised work-space, but I am happy with it.


PS: Isn't it rather ironic that every single area of my house is neat and orderly.... except my craft room... which seems to be chaotic at the best of times!!


Now... I reckon I'll be making myself a little quilted sign for my door... just need to think of a name for this zone. :)

I have a creative space!!

Ok for ages I have been wanting a place to store my fabric and other creative stuff. I was sick of my baby girl getting into my quilting basket and EATING my pins. :S
Then in a pre-menstural fit I made the executive decision to get rid of our formal dining room, which is barely used for dining, and it's just for show really - and I made it into a creative space.

My dear husband moved in a cuboard, shelves and a desk from the shed for storage. In the future, when we can afford to, we will Ikea the room out and paint it etc. But for now, it's mismatched and I am using shoe boxes for storage etc.... but it's all mine and I am so pleased!!



I covered some tins to store pens and scissors etc


I covered this shoe box in some fabric. I plan to cover all my cardboard boxes with this fabric.


This is where I sit and sew.


I made this sewing machine cover. I kinda winged it, thinking it would be a good experience to try and work out how to make it myself. It's not perfect but I am pleased with it.



This is just the start of my creative space. I plan to do ALOT more to this room as time goes on. It's a blank canvas. I can't wait to make this space beautiful!