Fabric and Craft Storage

I was thinking and thinking and thinking...how to store my fabric. I don't have a lot, but what I do have I wanted very easy access to. You know flat folding in piles gets messy and can be difficult to pull, say the bottom piece out. So this plan works beautifully for me. The flat fold on the top left shelf is larger home decor fabric, and that worked better folded and storing flat, but it still works because there are just a few pieces. 

 

I moved my antique baby scale from the craft table to the shelf and I like it here. Well, I will be working on organizing the rest of these shelves until they work just right for me.

It is such a treat to be in this little room. With the pretty colors of fabric cheerfully displayed. Creativity is such a blessing. :)

Craft Room Shelving...The quest for all things organized!

After a long time I finally have my shelving installed. I designed how I wanted it to look and it came out fairly close to what I had envisioned. Here it is from the doorway looking in, actually the paint on the door is white (a darker white), I'm not sure why it is looking like a wood tone.

My husband had to take this view with his "power camera" with the wide angle lens to get it all in. You can see the smoke detector hanging from the ceiling. He had to cut through the ceiling and move it over so when the unit was installed it would clear the detector. There is more work to be done. The ceiling has to be painted where it was cut in to, and the detector put back in place. The molding still needs to be painted and of course the sewing and craft supplies will need to be organized on the shelves. At the bottom is just the sunshine hitting the wall below the last shelves.

I love the corbels, they came pretty close to making them how I wanted, except the top portion was  suppose to be as deep as the shelf depths, (which are 2 different sizes). Oh well--what to do?

STENCILS and QUOTES

A Little quote that I love...

 

I wanted to use Celtic lettering from the book of Kells Script for my quote, so I researched and ordered a book called "Celtic Art, the methods of construction" 

I enlarged the font I wanted and then with a light box I traced the letters on stock paper and I had very homemade, rough looking stencils.  I wanted it to be a little "off" I wasn't real particular about leveling etc.  I used my left over Venetian Plaster paint to paint on the words.  It bumps up off the wall a little and in person gives it a nice cozy feel.  Just what I was looking for.

For some reason the picture is showing a bluish hazy area around some of the words, which in actuality isn't there.  Hmmm...I need lessons in photography.

I'm happy with it and when the candles are lit, it feels like a storybook---just like I wanted:)

Linen Closet turned Cozy Reading Nook

This used to be my linen closet. It is now my little reading nook. It isn't quite finished yet, there is a little more to do. 

I knew just what I wanted it to look like. I have a fetish about knocking holes in the walls, you know, things tucked away in little nooks and crannies. It brings me great satisfaction. Some adjustments still need to be made, like the light, it is way too stark and we have not yet added the stained glass window in the opening that we created through the wall that opens up onto the stair rail side. I also have some paint touch ups to do and the baskets will be different.

For the blue arched area I just took paper and traced around different sized plates and cut it out and traced it on the wall and then painted it (you can't see the ceiling but it is also painted blue). For the pillow I used 3 napkins from the second hand store. The one for the front of the pillow I traced on letters and then filled them in with embroidery stitches, ( the initials stand for Mr. Humpty Dumpty--because it's his picture on the wall). Then I cut two other napkins to make an overlap on the back and I turned under the cut sides and used fabric tape that's washable to connect it all together and then I put in a pillow form. This was the first pillow I have ever made, it was fun.

The hedgehog I bought a year or so ago in a kit at a yarn shop in Seattle, I attempted to knit it but wasn't very successful. So when I went up to my sisters in Washington she told me to bring it with me and she would knit it, and she did--isn't he the cutest thing? The cushion was made by a man who lives down the street from me.

My husband wired in the light, and he also built the bench to sit on. Another neighbor built the wall insert that will hold the stain glass window. The window will actually open all the way up and lay against the stair wall when fully opened. It will have a latch on the outside of the window so it can be locked and not opened by any "little people".

All in all I love it :) I especially like to light the candles on the other wall and sit quietly while  watching the flames flicker. 

Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Swing

Doesn't this picture just make you smile : )

This print by Scott Gustafson, is titled "Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Swing."
My husband and I were at a gallery and we saw this picture on canvas, framed. It instantly made me think of a picture of my son "little MorgyMan" when he was a baby, the laugh on Humpty Dumpty was just like my sons. It was love at first sight for me but alas it was priced at $600.00 which was not in my budget. My husband saw sitting on a table the book "Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose, Illustrated by Scott Gustafson. We looked through the book and lo and behold in its pages was the above print. Tony said, "lets buy the book and you can cut out the picture and frame it. " So that's exactly what we did. I've hung it temporarily in my family room until my "nursery hall" area walls are ready to hang pictures on, then it will be transferred to the stair hallway.

When our boys were younger all of us would put puzzles together. Some of the puzzles we had were of art work from Scott Gustafson. I love his children illustations. Some of my favorite are "Pat-a-Cake", "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater", "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears".

I also received a signed copy of "Classic Fairy Tales" Illustrated by Scott Gustafson in 2008 for a Christmas present from Tony. Sadly, Jack and the Beanstalk didn't make it into this book because of time constraints on the Illustrator. So I am researching on where and if I can purchase a print to frame. We used to have Jack and the Beanstalk in puzzle form, but that has disappeared over the years and can not be found.

But in the meantime I had some fun with this picture using "picnik". And here is what I turned it into just for fun........

that smile is so contagious....

:-) : } :-) : } :-) Have a Happy Day!