I’ve had several requests to see just exactly where I do my “crafting”. And every time I wanted to show the pictures… I changed it. I moved the desk here, the bookcases there, built this, took this down, sold that, etc… But now, now I’m pretty sure that I have things right where I’d like them.

One small story before I get into this… the name. I always refer to my office as my “crafty closet” because of where it all began. When we first moved in, the office/guest room was mainly for B to do work from home if needed and for people to sleep in when they stayed with us. Since he had the whole room, I asked him if I could have the closet for my crafting. I bought a little desk, a little 3 tiered shelf, and shoved everything into it. And thus began the start of my “crafty closet”. Slowly but surely, I needed more room. I bought a larger shelf, and then another smaller shelf. And then baskets. And then I realized that there was no air conditioning in this little space. It would be 90+ degrees outside and feel like 120 in there. I needed out!

So without further ado (and my apologies for the bad lighting), I would like to welcome you to what started as my “crafty closet”. And then we’ll go on to what has become my office :)

That long piece of cardboard taped together is my tool for folding my yardage of fabric. I wrap the fabric around it, slip it off, and then fold in thirds. It’s 6″ wide which just so happens to be the perfect size for my shelves.

The very top shelves hold computer stuff, paints, stuffings, journals, pictures, wreaths, canvases, books…

The top shelf hosts my envelopes, shells/starfish, thank you cards, business cards, tags, hemp, jute, my chocolate stash :)

The next shelf carries my other job items (not pictured) my fusable interfacing, jar of selvages, fabrics to sell, my serger and the first sewing machine B got me.

The next shelf holds a box of vintage finds, notebooks/mouse pads to sell, a box for my receipts, my scraps of fabric, headbands and ropes. I bought these boxes at the Dollar Tree. Best choice for boxes!

The bottom shelf holds all my extra goodies. They include things like adhesives, ribbons, binder clips, thread for the serger, twine… The boxes cost $4 a piece and are from Walmart. Those white boxes on the shelf above it, $1. Dollar Tree baby, Dollar Tree!

And on the floor is the mishmash of things I had no idea where to put. B’s files, the paper shredder, my file folder, and a box for wrapping gifts/packages.

And remember… this closet… this is where my crafting took off!

And here is where it has all moved!

Welcome to my office!

There once was a bulletin board where the embroidery hoops are. I cut pieces of the bulletin board out to fit in the hoops, hot glued around the edges and ta-da! I love them. Inspiration, pictures, bible verses all grace their faces. The mason jars hold scraps of fabric that are anywhere from 2-4 inches wide. I’ll use them for soft color books and thank you cards. The milk glass holds vintage scraps that I can’t part with. The small tin holds vintage ropes/strings that I use to wrap packages and use with tags.

The “heart” of the room…

Vintage scrappy strand garland upon each of the windows. Oh how I love it!

The bottle of champagne… Very special to me, as well as the sterling silver glass next to it. My dad, J, passed away a little over a decade ago and that bottle is from the year he passed. The glass was given to him while he worked at his insurance company. They’d always give out cool things instead of plaques.

The W mug I found at Savers in Wisconsin. Same with the Bucky Badger glass that holds my fortunes. As much as I want to use them to drink from, they hold a much better purpose just like they are. I may be a beach girl, but I’ll never forget where my roots came from.

The sand in the vase is from our wedding. The magazines are crafty ones and house beautifuls. I have a stash of chocolate covered espresso beans that seem to disappear every other day ;) There are craft books on top and the binders having printed tutorials in them as well.

The lamp is a vintage find from the Salvation Army. It only cost me $1.50! The jewelry box is also a vintage find that I made into something amazing. I took out the ring holder and used some coordinating fabric to line the sides of the roll out. Instead of jewelry, it now holds my buttons, my post it notes, my bobbins, and my washi tape :)

The rest of the room looks a little something like this…

The pictures are of starfish, the beach, and inspiration. (As if the starfish and beach aren’t enough!) The painting has yet to be finished. I’ve had several thoughts of how I want to finish but just haven’t gotten to it. I have a feeling it will get finished reeeeally soon though! The ironing board was an ugly stained blue and this new cover is from an ikea pillowcase.

And yes. Those are hideous dog kennels. I just picture a nice loveseat in their place. It’s the only place in the house we can put them. So until I can build on a room just for them, they’ll stay put right here (meh.).

And there you have it.

The crafty closet turned office.

The place I love to escape to. Where I love to create.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’d love to answer them :)

Tags: craft room, sewing room, vintage garland

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 18th, 2011 and is filed under the house. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.