My Crafting Room

Would you like to see the craft room I hung around in today instead of shopping?  One of the reasons it looks so neat is that my sewing area just got finished today (no mess to clean up yet!).  So, come on in!

I don’t take lightly the blessing of having my own room to create and leave a mess in, knowing that I can leave stuff out for as long as I need to.  I remember making due when all I had was our kitchen table; and if that’s all you’ve got, you can still create!  In fact, just having a small shared table forces the “get organized” goal to come into fruition, so it’s not altogether a bad thing.

Having my own room is not a bad thing, either.  When we moved bedrooms around, the “guest room” (that we only partially used every year) went away, and suddenly I got to have my own room (that I use every day!).  Here is a short tour of my little room:

My husband found this old table in our attic.  I have no idea where it came from, but it ends up being the perfect size for sewing.  This will be the first time I can lay out fabric and cut it off of the floor!  My chair was hand-caned by my husband’s grandmother.

Around my craft room, I have objects that I love and inspire me.  All of these jars hold wooden spools of thread (from the same grandmother).  Wooden spools are so sweet; I like them so much better than our current obsession with everything plastic.

Speaking of vintage (were we?), here’s my latest addition: a featherweight Singer that a friend of mine sold to me, in near perfect condition.  I find even the sound of it so satisfying, and it sews like a dream.  As another friend once said, “there’s nothing like metal parts.”  I agree!

On a second wall, I have a farm house table I recently found in an antique store, along with a cool metal red cart.  This is where I like to draw, paint, stamp, or otherwise work with paper crafts.  Currently I am working on repairing and updating our Advent calendar.  On my corkboard are mostly clips I’ve cut from magazines that I love to look at:  quotes, artwork, flowers, etc.   And a picture of Tasha Tudor, too, just one of many artists that inspire me.

I like to keep my colored pencils out, again just because they’re pretty.  I like to keep the eye candy nearby.

On the third wall is my girlhood desk.  I wrote many, many letters and poems and did tons of homework on it growing up.  I have another corkboard with photos of loved ones and also business cards and websites of artists, writers, and online shops I appreciate.  In my bookcase are craft books and patterns and such, and on the top are (once again) things I love to look at:  paintings and artwork I love, and even a Paddington Bear I made when I was nine.  He reminds me to be nice to the little girl I still have inside of me (despite the wrinkles).  The bit of rug you see was hand-done by that very same grandmother.  I really appreciate the love and time women put into things like this (and still do!); it is like they are giving of themselves, which is a precious gift no one could ever buy.

I like to work on the computer here, and our copier is here too, on a little bench I picked up from somewhere.  This desk is my “Pooh corner”, my “thinking spot”.  And if you’re a snail mail pen pal of mine, that bottom lefthand drawer is full of notecards and stationery I use for you!

In keeping with things I love, here is a basket (love baskets) of seashells (love the ocean….rivers and lakes too!) against my window showing our woods (love love love the cedar/pine smells too!).

So where is all my other stuff?  In the closet!  Here you’ll find all of my stamping supplies, papers, calligraphy inks, fabric, wool felts, ribbons, acrylics, etc, etc, and etc.  I can take out what I want to use, and when it’s all finished, put it back and close the door.  I just work better having a more open space, but I love and appreciate craft rooms that have beautiful wire shelves of supplies out in the open, too.

Things I still want to do in my room:  put up some felt on the wall so my quilt squares can get off the floor while I’m working, add a light table (and more lighting for that matter), and I’m definitely going to buy a strand or two of mini-Christmas lights to drape around and keep up all year, because it’s just one of those things I love.  Lastly, I have artwork my children have done, and plan to pin them up on a clothesline along a wall in a rotating manner.  In all honesty, they inspire me, too.

I was going to put in a chair for handsewing or knitting in, but I find that when I am doing that I’d much rather be in the living room with everyone else, or watching a movie with my husband at the same time.  One of my friends has a TV in her room to watch movies while she works!  I think the point of creating a space is to really make it *yours*, whether you get a whole room or just a small corner.

That’s it!  On your way out, you can move over the old iron doorstop and let the door close.  I’m going to play either some music or hear a sermon and get to work on my homemade gifts.  Thanks for visiting!

Blessings,