welcome to my craft room!

Upstairs, the room across from our bedroom is what I dearly call my craft room. My mission for today is organization--it might look clean, but don't let my mad-dash-wanna-post-about-this-cleaning skills fool you!

A small tour:

Above my sewing desk is my small library of knitting, sewing, and writing references. I love these shelves--they cost $20 for both at Home Depot, a reasonable amount for book space! My jar collection lines the top shelf. (Glass is such a multi-functional container, and cost-effective too--save those peach, pepper, and pickle jars.)

I just recently purchased this ironesque basket for display on my craft table. I saw the idea for something similar in a magazine, and I thought it was a fun way to display favorite stamps!

Now, here's my problem area. My closet. This is mainly what I will be sorting through today. (Raul helped me build this apple green shelf a couple of summers ago--we kept it in our tiny closet in the apartment, and somehow it held most everything that is in this room! A Mr. Cart is behind the other closet door, and holds extra supplies like tape, glue, etc.)

Now where's the yarn, you ask? In an old chest of drawers, next to my sewing desk. I'm trying to think of fun ways to display my knitting needles and notions... Jars, perhaps?

A few other fun photos... A bulletin board, where I post photos and favorite cards... A rug, kindly crocheted for me by my dear friend Jennie (see how perfectly it matches the paint? Thanks Jennie!)...

And of course, a reminder to live simply. This is above my bulletin board, & will be at the forefront of my mind as I purge and organize today. I'm sure to find some fun supplies to pass onto a friend or younger crafter.

Thanks for visiting. Off I go to clean...Live well, be well, friends!

decor on the walls

Last weekend, I visited an antique show at one of our local parks. There were all these little booths with anything and everything set up--old metal wash bins, artwork, jars, yard accessories, you name it. I ended up taking this little piece home:

It is a 5x7 embroidered cloth--I thought it would be an adorable addition to our bedroom. Really, we haven't hung very much art at all in our house yet--we still have pictures leaning against walls of where we might like them to go. Whoops. Maybe this will jumpstart the decorating of the walls.

After I bought this piece, I found several other cool frames at Hobby Lobby (1/2 off!) to create a montage with this embroidered one. Sometimes all you need is a little inspiration. Now for the decorating!

Be well!

slowly but surely

A quick update on the bag...

After my initial fiasco, all is well--I've finished the main sides and am now working on adding the bottom.

I discovered a helpful solution to containing the random bits of thread that get snipped here and there and usually end up on the carpet, or me: A 3 x 3" piece of felt. Worked like a charm!

See?

Onward and upward!

follow the garter stitch road

This past April, I posted about an orange scarf I began earlier in the year. I am excited to say that it is finally finished! I love the variation of colors, and how fine the stitch is (size 5 needles).

Despite being bummed at my sewing project yesterday, I was encouraged because I finished this scarf later on in the same day. Sometimes all you need is to switch projects and take a breather!

These are not great pictures, but they give you an idea of its length/what it will look like! I am excited to wear it this fall. All I gotta do now is weave in the ends. Voila!

D'oh!

What's wrong with this picture?

Yeah, that's right. I sewed the pocket inside OUT! You should've seen my face when I flipped the fabric right-side out, fresh from the sewing machine... and saw this. Argh.

It's so nicely stitched up, too... Well, now I have the honor of unstitching every.single.stitch, on both sides.

The stay-stitches should be really fun to un-do. (A stay-stitch when you sew back and forth at the beginning and end of the fabric so it "stays" securely, i.e., lots of extra thread!)

This purse might be awesome, or it might just be sad. So far, I'm on the sad track. :)

my little corner of the world

Here's a quick glance at my first-ever garden. {I feel myself saying "garden" tentatively, because I don't think I will feel like it's REALLY a garden until I see that it's growing and actually producing veggies!}


So here is the southern part of our house, where we have a raised bed with pumpkin, zucchini, and summer squash, with marigolds inbetween. To the right we have our big mama lavender plant, beneath the water spout, and in front of that we have three dianthus plants (a carnation-like flower), and nina lavender plants, near the cement step.

I also planted three tomato plants--from left to right: Yellow Pear, Big Boy, and Golden Jubilee. The third is quite small, but I guess I'm hoping that it will bloom and burst with tomatoes as the other two are winding down for the season. The soil here was less than ideal; I tried to compensate by adding lots of compost and mulching. My fingers are crossed for these guys!

I really enjoy reading about plants and gardening, and I found an interesting blog yesterday that I look forward to visiting regularly... Leez, this is what your garden is going to look like someday. :) Click here to check it out.

bargains and lists

You know how I a.dore jars and containers... I loved the large bubble-knob on the left one, and the tapering of the neck on the right one. How is it possible to be so thrilled by something so simple and basic?

Oh yeah. Because it only cost me 75 cents. I'm hoping to use these for buttons, ribbon, maybe a candy jar... Something colorful and tempting. Maybe I can put some of my old paper scraps in them and will actually be enticed to use them... that'll be the day. :) Scraps are a good thing, but they never cease!

Okay, that was the bargain, now for the list: Small, practical ways to decrease stress day-to-day. I found this on Real Simple's website.

Enjoy!

Keep stamps in the house.

Keep extra cash in the house.

Have a good book to read.

Bring a hat and umbrella.

Don't wear tight pants or uncomfortable shoes.

Don't let yourself get too hungry.

Make a list.

Always keep your passport in the same place.

Always put your keys away in the same place--and keep an extra set of keys.

Keep a Band-Aid and a small bottle of pain reliever in your purse.

Make your bed.

Never let your car's gas level fall into the "empty" zone.

Have at least one friend who lives in your neighborhood.

Go to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual.

Get up 20 minutes earlier than usual.

Laugh at yourself.

bag lady

And so it goes. Here and there, I am getting a little further on the bag I'm attempting to sew. Here's what it will look like in the end--it's the one in the lower righthand corner:

I love the shape of it and the little pocket in the front; I think it will make a terrific summer book bag. Really, can you ever have too many? That's like asking if you can have too many books. No sir. But I digress.

So now I have all the pieces cut out. It took about two hours for this part! I was jonesin' bad for one of those rotary cutters, maan...I actually saw some today at Walmart, reasonably priced ($10-$14), but decided I have to actually DO some sewing and see if I like it before I can justify the purchase. Sigh. Motivation is a good thing, girls.

Now I have a large pile of patterned fabric, interfacing, and lining ready to be put together. Dum dum dummm...