My New Happy Space

Hey, everyone! I am so excited to be participating in 

Karen Valentine's Annual "Where Bloggers Create 2016."  I had so much fun visiting the party participants last year and made some sweet, lasting friendships.  Even if you don't craft or sew, you might still enjoy seeing some of these spaces.  I can't wait to start visiting!

This is my second year to join in the fun, and I'm especially excited because The Man and I just recently completed some major changes to this room.  If you know me at all, then you know how much I love my "Happy Space" and how often I have moved things around.  I cannot even express how much I am loving this latest redo and how over-the-moon I am to share it with all of you.

Just a warning to those who may be "faint of heart" regarding color or visual stimulation,  "Back away now, and you won't be harmed in any way!"  This room is 9.5'x11.5', so not big, but it is packed with tons of created fun and loads of color.  Grab a beverage, this is VERY picture-heavy!

This metal piece on my door is covered with photos of my sweet family and makes me smile every time I see it.  Sooo...are you ready?  Well, come on in!

TA-DA!

This is kind of an over-view of the room.  As I will explain in more detail, I have divided my room into zones....sewing, computer-desk, scrap booking/card-making, & crafts in general....I love trying lots of things!

          

We literally stripped this room down to the concrete after we got everything moved out.  I helped as much as I could, but I am still recovering from cancer, chemo and radiation, and my stamina is pretty low.  So I give full credit to The Man who laid the wood flooring and added the tall baseboards and crown molding....yep, he's definitely a "keeper!"  My work came in putting it all back together!

The wall color is Olympic "By the Sea," and the flooring is Pearisburg Barn Board.

My Sewing Zone

Everything I need is practically within arm's reach.  That's a Bernina 1130 from about 1985... it's built like a tank, super-heavy and has served me well over the past 30+ years!

       

I have discovered that I love to crochet, and I'm self-taught via YouTube.....I've made quite a few of these baskets in various sizes to use for all kinds of "stuff."  Before the room redo, I stored most of my paints on this little shelf unit.  The Man made it for me many years ago to hold my meager collection of wooden stamps.  Now it's a fun place to display some mementos and a few other things.

The view at night.

The Computer-Desk Zone

I opened a few drawers for you; and yes, bottom right is my mani-pedi drawer....I've browsed many a blog while taking care of my fingers and toes!  I also have a cute little "photo bomber," and her name is Abby.  I'm kind of new to the "Happy Planner" and would like to do a post all about my latest craze....soon, hopefully.

I've used a lot of IKEA furniture and accessories, plus cube storage by Recollections from Michael's.

Another new-found activity for me is adult coloring.  I have my supplies in the tool tote above and can simply take it with me wherever.

This is my "Visual To-Do List," and I was a total copycat when Erin at "The Sunny Side Up" Blog shared this idea.  If you haven't met Erin, you need to do that right away....well, after you rest and recover from this post!  Erin has a beautiful home and sweet family in sunny San Diego, and she has wonderful organizing ideas.  Go visit, you won't regret it!

Tools and Storage Zone

The IKEA Expedit that is holding the Sizzex, Cuddlebug, etc., use to hang on this wall.  At 5'1.5", it was getting difficult for me to reach things.  Spoiler Alert....apparently shrinking coincides with aging!  Well, isn't that special?  Sorry, I just needed to get that off my chest....moving on now!  I am thrilled to have the Expedit on the floor, providing lots of flat surface for my tools, and exposing this wonderful wall-space for additional visual storage.

I've been using the IKEA storage boxes for years, but decided I wanted to dress them up a bit with just some ruffled fabric.  I also have a few of IKEA's plastic storage boxes....love these because they completely fill the opening.

Scrapbooking-Cardmaking Zone

If you haven't caught on by now, I am a very "visual" person and need that to get my creative juices flowing.  The 4x4 Expedit is the first piece of IKEA furniture I bought when I first laid claim to this bedroom when we moved here 5 years ago.  Over the years, I have added 4 sets of drawers...love these!

I thought you might like to see what I have in these drawers.  The little plastic containers in some of the drawers are the Iris photo holders.  I do use them for photos, but I also find them perfect for seasonal or event-specific embellishments and many other things here in my room.

This was an old frame that I  decided to paint black, added some linen-type fabric, some baker's twine and now have a cute place to display special cards

These little drawer units are from Walmart and have served so many uses around our home and in my craft spaces over the years.  Now they are the perfect home to my Alphas.

The Island & Raskgog Cart

The island is a desk-top from IKEA that is 5' long & 30" wide.  It rests on 2 sets of Alex drawer units....where else, IKEA!  It makes for such a wonderful place to work.

                                                                   

I think just about every scrapbooker-crafter either has or wants or would have if they had room, one of these IKEA Raskgog carts.  I cannot lie, I was first drawn to the color of this little cutie and later fell for how truly useful it can be.  In the photo above left, you can see I have the perfect little parking spot for my cart.  That was not by accident.  I had planned, measured and re-measured the floor space of this room and made a detailed "to-scale" drawing of how everything was going to fit. The rolling mechanism on this cart is very good, so it just glides from around the corner and sits right next to my island.  I use mine for Project Life and scrapbooking.

I thought you might like to see what I keep in these two Alex drawer units.

I love, love, love having all this space to spread out when I'm working on a project.

These little things on the corners that look like hands are also from IKEA in the children's area.  They were designed to protect little noggins from corner head bumps.  I use them to prevent hip bumps and bruises on this aging & shrinking body! 

The Closet

I have my closet very well organized, which makes it much more useful than it would be otherwise.  While we had everything out, I asked The Man if he would put an outlet in the closet, so we could hide away the printer.....love this!  And again, the photo-bomber is back!

I truly hope you have enjoyed this tour and maybe even feel a bit inspired.  I hope to make lots of new friends this year at this blog party, as well as visit with some some old dear ones.  If you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask.

Take care and enjoy your Summer!

Carol

 I often party with these lovely bloggers:

Monday
Dee at Meatloaf and Melodrama for Merry Monday

Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday
Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home

Tuesday

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life  for Inspire Me Tuesday

Wednesday

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Thursday
Jemma at  At Home With Jemma for Thoughts of Home on Thursday
Pamela at From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home

A Vacay Gallery Wall

Good morning, friends!  Have you missed me...shhh, you don't have to answer that!  I have missed all of you, but my bloggy break has been truly therapeutic and beneficial.  I only blog for fun, no schedules to keep, but sometimes feel that my posts begin to seem a bit stale.  Anyway, I'm back and have a few new DIY projects to share.

Do you ever get fixated on one particular room or wall in your home that you want to change or redo, but you just can't come up with a solution?  Okay, silly question.  We've all been there I am sure.  The wall that was giving me grief, is this one in our family room.

The print above the sofa is one we had in our previous home, inexpensive from Kirkland's, but one The Man and I really liked.  The problem was that it seemed too alone on that wall with the high ceiling.  We could have added sconces on either side, but that's kind of what everyone does.....not that there is anything wrong with that, but we just wanted something more unique.  Imagine my delight, when one day I was browsing around Cassie's blog at "Hi Sugarplum", and the lightbulb came on.  I've been following Cassie for awhile now and find her to be so much fun and wonderfully inspiring.  You really should go check out her blog, if you haven't already.  She is definitely not afraid of color in her home and in her fashion style....to say she is quite the "Fashionista," would be putting it mildly.  Anyway, this is what Cassie did in her family room......

Source: Hi Sugarplum

And this is what we did in ours.

I cannot even tell you how much The Man and I like this gallery wall of vacay photos!

Some prep-work first.  Have I ever shared that The Man worked for a dry-wall company to put himself through college?  That being said, he cannot stand for mishaps on walls or ceilings....there were some places on this wall that did not pass his scrutiny, so out came the drywall mud!

The picture ledges are from IKEA, and we had to combine two lengths for each level to get the length we needed.  Once the ledges were in place, the patched places on the wall got touched up with paint.

This is such a great way to remember Spain, Peru and Europe...wonderful memories!

I thought I'd share just a few glimpses of my lighter, brighter and more simple summer-look

for this room.  Oops, there's my little photo-bomber!

You really don't have to live close to the ocean to enjoy seashells, nor do you have to live in a more tepid climate to enjoy peonies....okay, the peonies are faux but still look lovely!

Simple and clean.  Oh, by-the-way, that's Abby heated pad in front of the fireplace.  She thinks if she stares at the firebox long enough, the fire might come on....not gonna happen when it's 115 degrees outside!

Cannot get more simple than this.

Since I'm kind of on a wall-gallery roll, I thought I'd share this one, too.

This is the most-traveled hallway in our home, leading from The Man's workshop and Man-cave, the guest room, guest bath, my Momma-cave and opening into our kitchen and family room.  So it seemed like the best place to create a gallery wall of our family.

It's super-hard to get a good pic, but I tried.

Since The Man and I have shared our 47 years together, we have lived in Washington,

Oregon and now Arizona....this Home Sweet Home was easy and fun to put together.

I always plan to simply replace the photos with newer ones as the kiddos get older, but I cannot bring myself to do that....I just keep adding.  Thank goodness for IKEA and their frame selections!

Need I say more?

This is my very favorite collage...Nana in her glory surrounded by my sweeties!

I am so blessed.

I think that should about do it with photo-overload for now.  The Man and I worked on a few other DIY's during my bloggy break, and I will be sharing those over the next several weeks.  I hope you all have a wonderful and safe 4th of July!

Carol

I often party with these lovely bloggers:

Monday
Dee at Meatloaf and Melodrama for Merry Monday

Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday
Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home

Tuesday

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life  for Inspire Me Tuesday

Wednesday

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Thursday
Jemma at  At Home With Jemma for Thoughts of Home on Thursday

Pamela at From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home