Craft Space Organization

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was in the mist of organizing my craft space. It HAD to be done. Ok, so I am not quite lucky enough to have an entire ROOM to craft in, but I do have an "area" in the guest room. There wasn't much of a budget for this organization project either, but I am still pretty psyched about how it turned out. It's a start! :)
SO! I have the majority of my supplies stocked under my table. I am planning to add a nice little curtain type cover that will go around the table to hid the underneath, but haven't gotten to that yet.

The bottom green container houses my felt scraps, and the top has smaller pieces of card stock as well as stickers. Right behind the green containers is a HUGE bin that has all my card stock, scrapbooking paper, and stencils divided by color. On the right of the green are two divider containers that hold a lot of little bits, and the pink baskets hold my ribbon. The ribbon is on wooden rods, and I can just pull ribbon out as I need it.

These two large bins contain fabric. The bottom one is filled with my felt stacked by color, and the top bin is full of fabric stacked by color and print.

More containers that hold my different types of scissors, buttons, flowers, and random stuff in the front file box.

I had this old wire shelf, and decided to keep it working. All my yarn is in the striped bag on the left.

I spray painted some cookie sheets with primer, then paint, and hung them up. There are canisters with magnets on the back holding more little bits. I also put up multiple cork boards, so I can pin loads of inspiration on.

It isn't totally awesome yet, but again...it's a start. Of course, it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy better than it use to be. Right now, I am mostly concerned with getting it organized rather than spending a lot on making it look straight out of Ikea. (which of course I hope to do one day.)

It's a relief, and now I can finally breath deep again. The clutter is gone which can only leave room for motivation to put it all to use!

Have a great week!-

Tracy

Renewed Lamp

Over the holiday break, I had a goal to get my craft space in order. After Chatty Crafty, my STUFF was -literally- EVERYWHERE. All over. Upstairs....downstairs...kitchen...bedroom... every nook and cranny had soooooooommmmmmething stuck in it.

So! I went to the store and purchased a bunch of bins, and went to it. The organization is now done, now I am on to the "making it pretty" stage. That's where this lamp comes in to play.

I saw a lamp like this on Pinterest, and it was made by The Pleated Poppy. (awesome blog, BTW)

There was an ugly old lamp in my craft space that I was using. It had a flecked gold and cream base, and a plain old shade. It seemed like the perfect way to begin this project. :)

What you need:

Primer

spray paint

lamp shade

bits of material

What you do:

lamp base-

-Spray the base with a couple of coats of primer.

Let primer dry between coats.

-Spray a couple of coats of spray paint.

Again, let paint dry between coats.

shade-

-Cut off the material of the shade revealing the metal skeleton

of the shade.

-Cut material strips about an 1 1/2 in. wide.

-Tie strips to the lamp shade.

There you go. Shabby Chic.

This pretty little lamp sits on my crafting table.

More on my organization annnnnd decor coming!

Classroom Projects

Here is another set of projects that I meant to post lllllllllllooooooooooonnnnng ago!

This year I moved to a new school, and a new classroom. It is always a process to get my room set up at the beginning, but it was doubly hard when I wanted to change EVERYTHING!

I picked a couple of coordinating fabrics/colors, and went to work.

This pic above is from a wall right by my desk. I use the small cork boards (bought at Wal-Mart) to keep all my little reminders on.

I saw some covered clipboards online that were like this, in a set of four, and I loved it. I never use four clipboards at one time, but they are fun....and CUTE! I cut the material out the same size as the clipboard, and used several coats of modpodge to adhere the material. Pretty easy, except aroun the clip. That part can get tricky, and you definitely need a craft knife.


I took a larger (old ) cork board, and made this memory board for my pics. Now I can look at all my loved ones when I am right at my desk!

OH! My last name starts with a C, so I guess I wanted to remind the kids. :)

These big cans were already in my room, left by the previous teacher, and they looked useful. Useful and UGLY! More fabric and modpodge....a little hot glue/ribbon....and so much cuter!

All my plants got a little snazzy piece of material, too. :)

Then.....my bulletin boards had to coordinate.....

These glass jars (use to hold salad dressing) are painted from the inside, and topped with a strip of material. In theory...they are suppose to hold fresh flowers, but...I have yet to bring any in. Opps. I should probably get some fake gerber daisies to put in them. One day.

Oh, and the little wooden crate was some nappy looking thing I found at the Goodwill. I painted and then sanded it a bit to make it look "vintage." It was finished off with a watery glaze.

Lampshade...yes...I attacked that, too. I am telling you, there was no stopping me and my material.

THIS IS MY FAVORITE.

A teacher I use to work with made me a name sign years ago, and I loved it. However, time past, and it started to look raggedy. I made this one to replace it. I love the chevron stripes, and the old typewriter font.

It's hard to tell in the pic, but the bunting flag says w-e-l-c-o-m-e. :)

Well, that's it folks. Is it overload? Too much? Luckily, my room is big with a wall of all windows. My curtains are white shears that are pulled together with...you guessed it...coordinating ribbon. Anyhoo- I get loads of light, and have a big space. It helps spread things out, so it doesn't all come off as "too much."

I love it, and it was a good change to start off at a new school!

Hope you are all having a great November 1st!

(28 days until my b-day!!)

Tracy

OH! I see that as of - right this second- I have 139 followers! Awesome! As soon as I hit 150, I am going to have a fantastic Paper Wings Studio

GIVEAWAY!!!!

(That's right, you want it.)

Another Summer Wreath!!

I finally got around to making a wreath for my own front door. I bought the yarn (at Big Lots for super cheap!) at the VERY VERY beginning of summer, but I am so very A.D.D. I ended up starting multiple projects, and this one ended up last on the list. Ahhh, like I always say...,"such is life."

It's pretty cute, and my ode to the ocean. :)
I used the same technique as I have for my other yarn wreaths to wrap it, but since it was a rectangular frame the corners were working out kind of weird. I ended up just leaving as you see, and I am ok with that.

The rosettes were made with left over fabric from all the stuff I have been making for my new classroom. (Will post that stuff later when it's ALL done.) I am totally in love with these prints and colors.
What's that? Want to know how to make the rosettes? Is that the murmur I hear from the crowd? Well, you are in luck. I posted a tutorial back in the spring, but plan on posting another one with pics later in the week. Stay tuned.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week! It's bitter sweet for me. I go back to work on Monday after being off for two months. I am trying to get every little drop out of this free time this week!


Summer lov'n ...had me a blast...-

Tracy

Linking to :

Happy Gift!

My dear friend, Corbett, (we go by last names at work) had a birthday...she turned...um...23, I think (cough cough35coughcough) :) She is a fantastic teammate, we taught 5th grade together this past year, and a super awesome friend. Anyhoo, I made her this cute little door accessory...can I call this a wreath? I love the summery colors, and almost kept it for our house since I am a Crosby....C would be fitting!

The Actual 4th of July

Cash, Luc, and I made these shirts for them to wear. We cut stars out of freezer paper. Cash used a spray bottle with red paint with a little water. Luc used a paint brush and went to it. :) They were both very proud.

The rockets I spoke of yesterday.

Some easy decor out by the pool...

A star platter I made out of a glass star (was clear), and candlestick (was clear) from the Dollar Tree. A little primer and spray paint go a long way, baby!

Hope everyone enjoyed the day!!

Tracy

Cute Little Upcycling

Who loves a little upcycling? ME! ME!

Yep, nothing better than repurposing...even the small things.

The Hubz and I love a good tin.
For example:
But seriously, how many crazy tins can a family have sitting in the cupboard?
Not super useful (at least this one...being tiny)
I came up with this fun way to be useful while showing off that quirky dancing man.

Attach magnets to the back using ...you know it...hot glue.


There ya go. Fun little pen holder for the fridge., your desk, locker....you name it.


Got some exciting stuff come this way...can't wait to share!

Tracy

Mantle Remade

Now that summer is hitting us full force, I figured it was time to change up the "spring" decor. Here's the new freshened up mantle. I wanted to hang the frames to have a better gallery wall, but we are in the process of selling our house. My hubz didn't want me to put any more holes in the walls. :)
I went through the attic and found any photo frames that weren't being used. A few of them I left black, and a few I painted with my new favorite blue color. I left a few of them empty, and put scrapbook paper behind two.
This one is hanging because there was already a nail in the wall from a previous hanging. It seemed kind of hollow, so I used a strip of material to run through the middle. On the material, two small frames are hung. Again, we are trying to sell our house, so most of our personal pics have been put away for house showings. I didn't want to leave these little frames empty, so I found some interesting images in a magazine for them. I also really like the POP of the only red frame.


As usual, I am completely obsessed with jars, and as of late...painted jars. Simply get yourself some spray paint, and get to it spraying the inside of the jar. Let dry. BAM! You're done! There was a chipboard embellishment that I thought would work great, so I slapped that on a jar with some twine. Some small candles have been placed inside the candles for a little evening ambiance.

I saw this idea for the doilie on Crafts by Amanda. For this painted jar, I used spray adhesive. Spray the doilie, then roll the jar on top of it. Soaking the doilie in paint dyed it the bluish color.

Old Chair Update

Look at my newly reupholstered chair! Isn't it beautiful? I L.O.V.E. it! Of course, I can't take credit for this DIY. My hubz did it for me! I bought this really great material, but of course, had a million things to get done. Andre was super sweet, and took care of it for me. YAY! One more thing I can scratch off my list.

Background on chair for those who care... :) The first year we were married, I found this chair at a yardsale, and it looked ROUGH! I brought it home anyway. Andre saw potential, as I did, so we sanded it down and varnished it. For some insane reason we bought the material shown below to cover it. WHAT WERE WE THINKING??

Before: UGLY!!


Now: SOPHISTICATED!!


It adds another little POP of blue to my living room.

Thanks, love, for helping me out!