No Idle Hands or Mind Around Here

Hey everyone!  I told you I’d be back soon with another post and let you know what I’ve been doing to keep busy and out of trouble...HAHA!   Well, I've spent quite a lot of time over the last couple of weeks, purging and reorganizing some closets....don't tell me you're surprised!  One of those closets is my craft room closet.  It wasn't really bad but did need some tidying up.  I would love to take off the doors, but there just isn't a good place to store them safely, and some day they would need to go back on the closet.  That being said, I tried to create my storage accordingly.

                         

Left side of closet is all things fabric-related....sewing/quilting, patterns, trims, etc.

Right side is paper-related...seasonal scrapbook/cardmaking supplies, plus the printer and

all of its related items.  Yes, of course everything is labeled!

 
   

I picked up some new cloth-covered boxes at IKEA to replace the old file boxes with lids (also from IKEA), because they were looking rather tattered and didn't completely fill the cubies like these do.  These come in several colors, but I liked the white and the polka dot the best.

       

I am thoroughly enjoying my little seasonal tree!  It's dressed in vintage-mode for now....birds,

fabric yoyos, garlands, etc.

Do you know about travelers' journals?  I'm guessing these journals were intended for just what the name implies, but I use them for daily journaling.  I've been having fun making my own since last Fall.  I prefer one per month, each with about forty pages to write or create on.  There are so many 

fun tutorials on YouTube and Pinterest, showing how to make these from scratch or even with recycled materials.  You can also find them all ready made up in a plain Kraft paper....these are super simple to cover with scrapbook paper you've been hoarding collecting.

                           

You can be just as creative as you want, or keep them simple and filled with your daily thoughts.

I like buying these faux leather binders that come with 2 or 3 of the plain Kraft paper journals inside. This way I can store 3 of my finished journals in each one....I still need to add some tags with the month and year.

 

I saw this cute printable and idea from Bev at Flamingo Toes and just had to make one!  I haven't embroidered in eons, but these stitches are easy.  This is going somewhere in my craft room, but I just haven't decided where....isn't it cute?

    

Finally decided to dedicate this Raskgog cart to my Project Life card sets, with the second basket down, holding my photos and any collected ephemera I want to put in a scrapbook.  The bottom

basket is up for grabs...right now it's holding a crocheted basket full of homemade pompoms, because why wouldn't you want a delicious little supply of those fuzzy cuties?  Just sayin'!

I adore decorating the top of my Kallax, but it seldom remains the same for very long!

I have a little crush going on with flamingos right now!

I just recently changed this little shelving unit to hold a few wood stamps, some jars of paper flowers, and some other cute little jars filled with "stuff!"  Anything that makes me smile is a good fit in my

"Crafty Happy Place!"

Catching up on my scrapbook albums can be time-consuming, but it's something I absolutely love doing.  These pages were from last Thanksgiving when our son and family were with us.  I'm almost

completely caught up!

I haven't changed too many things decor-wise since Spring, but I did put together a fun

vignette for the kitchen island.

So what are you all doing to keep busy right now?  I know many of you have finally started having Spring-Summer weather and are probably moving your activities outdoors.  Here in the AZ desert, we've already had some triple-digit temps and moving most activities (unless they are water-related) to the indoors.  Early morning and evening temps are still feeling good, but that won't last for long!  Well, it is what it is!  Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Hugs,

Carol

I hope to be joining some of these lovely ladies this week:

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

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life  for Inspire Me Tuesday
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for WOW Us Wednesdays

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Carol at The Red Painted Cottage for Share Your Style Party

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home

Enjoying My Happy Crafty Space

Hey everyone!  I cannot believe it has been a month since my last post, but that definitely doesn't mean I haven't had anything to post about....just haven't had the "blog mojo" to do it!  I actually have several things I want to post about over the summer, but today's post is all about my "Happy Crafty Space."  For those of you who find no interest in crafty-creative spaces, please turn away now and hurry on to the next blogger.  I won't be offended, and you will probably save yourself a "sensory overload meltdown.  If you are staying around, I thank you; but I do encourage you to grab a beverage....this could be a "photo-bumpy ride!"

You may remember that The Man and I completely overhauled my craft room a year ago.  You can find that post HERE.  The basic layout has not changed, but the organization of my "stash hoard" has changed several times.  I just consider that I'm fine-tuning my organization skills....HAHA!

I am still 100% happy with this layout and adore having this island work station.  It seldom looks this tidy, but my goal each day is to leave it like this at the end of the day....okay, that rarely happens😼.

So what led to my latest re-do of this room, you might be wondering?  Well, in case you're in doubt, I'm a very visual person and being surrounded by all of my colorful supplies really gets the creative juices flowing.  At the same time, I am a very sentimental person with a big jolt of whimsy tucked in for good measure.  There is no lack of photos in my space, but I felt it was lacking in some displays to draw in more whimsical and cute things, as well as old and new things that speak to me of days gone by.

This shelf above my sewing table use to hold jars of zippers, velcro, etc., but decided to find better homes for those items in drawers.  Now this shelf is sweet, whimsical and never fails to make me smile.

This is a card my sister made me for my birthday this year.  This is a piece of very fine crochet that our sweet grandmother made many years ago.  I didn't even know it existed until this precious card arrived. My younger sister and I had been estranged for several years, and we were just starting to find our way back to each other....this could not have been a more fitting way to reconnect and forge a bond that will never again be broken.  Our sweet "Mawmaw Angel" made it all happen!

I have several apothecary jars in many shapes and sizes, so I decided to use them to display some fun and cute things here in my space rather than storing them empty in my decor closet.  What could be cuter than fabric yo-yos?  I think they will be adorable on cards or even scrapbook pages, and they are so much fun to make!  I also adore this cute little tea set inside a cheese dome.

This space is just to the left of my sewing machine and the perfect spot for a cute pressing board!

I had no idea what I was looking for at JoAnn's that day, but this fabric just leapt into my cart.  Isn't it just the cutest? 

 This little desk area is so perfect for me.  I love having the window right there next to me.  One thing new that has been added in the last several months is the TV.  I didn't really think I needed one, but the space between the bookshelf brackets was begging....absolutely perfect fit!

I changed quite a few things on top of my IKEA Expedit (now called Kallax).  I've discovered I have a love for cake pedestals....some new, some old, and look so pretty just stacked or for use as display stands.  I'm not in this room much at night, but I still like having little soft lights here and there.

Here's another apothecary jar filled with some colorful balls of yarn.  The angel has been watching over our home for many years and has been clad in many different colors.  This is her first time in this room and her first time at being white....she is destined to have more work done!

 I bought this cute shabby-chic box awhile back at HobLob....I won't lie, I loved the color and it just hopped in my cart!  It really wasn't serving any purpose until I discovered that some of my small paper pads fit perfectly.

I'm always switching things around on the IKEA picture ledges, but I'm still truly happy with how these ledges work for my wooden stamps and paints.

 I found this box at Michaels' (on sale, of course), and it was love at first sight....sweet reminder of how much we enjoyed our time in Paris and "shut the front door, just look at those colors!"  It's just basking in all its beauty and waiting for a purpose....sigh.😸

This is my new way of storing/organizing my dies and embossing folders.

I still love, love, love my IKEA Raskgog cart, and it has served so many different needs.  It seems I am always changing it up.  It fits perfectly between the two Expedits until I need it and then glides right up to my craft desk.  Abby is giving it a much needed inspection....she is such a cute little photo-bomber!

The top tray holds all of my planner supplies.

This is my "faith" section.  I have my Journaling Bible, creative gratitude journal, prayer journal and a few other faith-related items.

I keep the pens, stickers, clear stamps, etc. that I use for Faith Journaling, right here in a top drawer of my craft desk.

Well, it looks like the inspection continues....lol!  The bottom tray holds my Xyron and a few extra journals.  I usually keep my coloring tote down here, unless it's in the family room next to my chair.

Washi Tape....let me count the rolls!  I enjoy seeing how other crafters store their washi tape, and I have tried so many different ways.  This is how I'm currently stashing most of mine.....I do have a good supply of season-specific rolls located in my seasonal drawers.  I really should share how I have those drawers organized....good for another post! 

 I just recently painted this little stool...it had been on the front porch and was painted black.  Eeek, it was ugly.  I mixed some chalk paint and now I want to paint everything this color!  Have any of you who crochet or knit tried these Caron Cakes?

This is what they look like from the top....the colors are so vibrant!  Cannot wait to start something!

 Okay, here's another little project I finished just a short time ago.

I chalk-painted 3 tin pie plates from the $Store and a plastic turntable that I already had.  I created the tiers using candlesticks from the $Store....already had those, too.  I used E6000 glue just to be safe.

It holds a bunch of cute and useful things close at hand but doesn't take up much space on
my craft table!

Thanks so much for stopping by and allowing me to prattle on and on with pic after pic of my 

Crafty Happy Space.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Carol

I'm hope to be joining these lovely ladies this week:

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

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life  for Inspire Me Tuesday

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home