Creative Storage Solutions

After recently moving Miss A's room to the loft 

that had contained 

the Craft Room; it became necessary to find storage space

for all those craft items.

Tweak It Tuesday - Bracelet Organizer

Good Morning everyone....

It's Tweak It Tuesday.

Craft Tool Organization

Written by: Cathy Carroll

I don't know about you but, when I am working on a project 

I have to run all over the house searching through drawers, closets, boxes, etc.

to find my craft tools I use.

I finally decided it was time to organize these "go-to" craft tools in one place

so I didn't get so frustrated trying to gather them together.

So, I put together a craft tool organizer to help me 

with this little problem.

DIY Decorative Box Storage

Written by: Cathy Carroll, Vintage, Paint and more...

I love decorative storage boxes.

You know those pretty ones that just make you drool when you see them.

I would need a truckload to get all my stuff organized into them
and
I just can't see spending that much money on something I can make myself. 

So, I decided to make my own decorative storage boxes.

Ribbon Storage

Good morning friends...

I have been on a quest to get all my crafting supplies under control and organized.  It seems this "stuff" we use can just get out of hand so easily and finding methods that work for me specifically isn't always easy...  My space is limited and I need things that don't take up too much room.  I also have to have it esthetically pleasing to me -in other words good ole "eye candy"...

So with that in mind I am going to show you what I just recently added to my craft room.

Twine Wrapped Box

Good day friends,

Today I am still working on storage

for

the craft room....

Will I ever get this finished???

Probably not...

I am always looking for cute, unique, pretty, vintage ways

to make more storage

for all the crap stuff

I have accumulated over the years for my

crafting....

I saw these really cute twine boxes at the store

but, really

the price they are asking for them is crazy

so

what's a girl to do?

Make her own, of course,

and

so I did.....

and

I am loving it....

It turned out so darn cute and holds a lot of stuff....

This was a very simple project

(almost all of mine are - I craft with grandchildren most the time).

I forgot to take a picture of the box before I started...

how inefficient was that?

Anyway, you can see it was an old fabric covered box

we had lying around here

that had become a little dingy and not pretty anymore.

So, I decided to use it for my new idea...

And here are the instructions....

You will need;

an old box

hot glue gun

glue sticks

pencil

toothpick

twine

(I used a ball of hemp that I bought at Wal-Mart

in the jewelry department for $5 - but it goes a long way...)

OK not too many supplies needed but this is

time consuming.

I usually work while watching my

recorded shows on TV.

I started by putting the lid on the box and drawing a line

with the pencil ...

this was my starting line...

(The lid will not fit on the box if the twine is in the way)

Then I put a line of glue down and began gluing the hemp

around the box.

I left a small tail at the beginning that I folded down

and

glued the hemp over with each additional row

to make sure it did not come undone or show....

You can see that here....

The process is easy now but does take time.

I used the toothpick to sometimes push the hemp rows

closer together as I glued them...

(remember, this is hot glue and it burns...)

I found it was easier to work on the desk and turn the box

to each side as I was gluing - for some reason it gave

me more leverage than sitting

the box on its bottom....

Now, you just keep wrapping and gluing,

wrapping and gluing,

wrapping and gluing....

The top is done the same way

Begin by gluing the hemp on the very edge of the top

so no white will show....

Then I went around the edges the same as I did on the box ...

Then I moved to the very top of the box

and went

round

and

round

and

round

and

this is the design that it made...

It really looks kinda neat

and

I love it a lot...

                                               I embellished mine with a strip of burlap

I had cut and frayed

and

a small crochet flower and old button I had.

I love it...

It is so darn cute....

I have fallen in love with these twine wrapped pieces

and

have been wrapping everything in site...

You will probably see more pieces appear at a later date.

The wrapping is actually a great destressor

and

I actually enjoy doing it...

So, what do you think?

Think you would like to wrap a few things...

boxes, cans, bottles, jars...

the sky is the limit...

Until next time...

get out there and create something you love...

I would love it if you would follow me on Bloglovin'

or

Facebook...

I also love when you leave a comment -

I will answer it...

My Creative Space

Hi there Blog Friends,

Hoping this day finds you well

and

living in the sunshine

as we are here at the beach today....

I want to share my new space I have been working on

for a couple + months....

I actually started this somewhere around

February...

But with all the setbacks I had this winter it took me awhile....

This is my new go to space-

my creative space.

I am so loving this space -

I practically live here 24/7 now.

It is so pretty, peaceful and inspiring.....

That wasn't always so-

it used to look like this....

Which was a really nice room also

but...

It was originally done for the grand kids for

when they came to visit....

However, they moved here

and

it was not getting used like we had intended.

In fact,

I would dare say it went for weeks with no one

even entering it

except to dust.

So, I made an executive decision

and

came up with a brilliant idea.

Why not use this for a craft, creative space

for me

instead of the dining room table.

So, it became this

I love it.....

I painted several pieces of furniture

we had on hand to use in this space

and I love how they turned out.

If you look at the original pic

the walls were contractor beige

but,

I painted them a nice subtle

blue.

Valspar's Ghost Ship.

I really like the way it brightens up this space.

This is the chifferobe that you see painted

a bright blue green in the original space.

I kept the blackboard on the door

just haven't found a quote to write on it yet.

I repainted the drawers

Valspar's Seashore Fog

which is actually a grey blue.

( I had some left over from our bedroom

and

made it into homemade chalk paint  -  recipe found )

The rest of the piece I painted

Valspar's Anthem White

also made into homemade chalk paint.

This piece is intended to hold all my fabrics and sewing supplies.

This is a small pantry that we have had for years.

It has been used in so many areas for so many different things

that I think it probably doesn't know

what it is actually supposed to be.....

I also painted it with the home made chalk paints

Valspar's Anthem White and Seashore Fog.

As you can see it has tons of space

and

at the moment I am working on the organization of it.

This is sure to change as I incorporate

all the pieces I want in this space.

This is another piece that has been around for years.

This was originally dark mahogany

however,

I painted it white and papered it with blue toille paper.

Well, it took me forever to strip that paper

off of all the drawers.

Then I painted it the homemade chalk paint

Anthem White and Seashore Fog.

I put the glass knobs back on but,

want to change them to brushed nickel to

match the chifferobe.

In due time....

This little piece actually is four different drawer units that stack.

I have only three of them here

because......

I have the top one here next to my desk.

It hold my most used items -

near and convenient.

My desk is an old farmhouse kitchen table

that I picked up

at a thrift store for $25.

It is in perfect condition

and

exactly what I wanted.

Next to my desk are a set of cubbie shelf units

that you cannot see very well

at this time.

I will get better pics and show you when I have the

organization done for them.

The desk chair is going to be

slip covered but that is a future project.

In the meantime,

I am so enjoying this space and getting so much done here. 

I will be sharing some of my storage ideas

with you soon......

I don't know what I did without this space for so long.

How bout you - do you have a dedicated creative space?

Cathy....

Click here to see the parties I am linking to this week.

Please visit them and see all the great projects and inspiration found there....

Hat Boxes and More

Good afternoon my friends.

How is your day going?

Mine has been busy as my last week.

Love the 4th of July

but

am definitely glad it's over.

We spent the day at the ocean....

As you can see it was quite windy

and the waves were rolling in

but,

the kids had a blast

and

the fireworks were awesome.

There simply is nothing

like watching fireworks over the ocean waves.

Since it has been so hectic around here

I

thought I would share

a little more

office storage I have done.

Hat boxes....

There are all kinds of things out there

that can be used to

prettify and make into beautiful

office/craft room storage.

I picked these up at thrift stores for

$1.00 each.

Then I decorated them with

bits and pieces found in my craft room.

First, I painted them with

DIY white chalk paint

(my go to paint for everything).

Then

I used brown craft paper, raffia, burlap

lace, flowers and buttons

to embellish them.

You can use whatever you have on hand....

ribbon, rope, markers, stickers...

anything will work...

They are so simple to do and

so pretty when you are done.

And...

the storage is unreal....

These hold my home decor trims

and

all my sewing trims

and

bits and pieces of lace.

That's a lot of stuff in there....

I love the way they look in my new craft room

so vintage....

Now I am going to leave you with

this

My next project....

Gonna keep you guessing on this one....

Have a great day

get out there and create something....

                                    

Click here to see the parties I am linking to this week.

Please visit them and see all the great projects and inspiration found there....

Tin Can Therapy Revisited....

Good afternoon friends,

Hope this day is going as well for you

as it is for me....

Remember, this post about how I transformed

some old tin cans into some

much needed

office storage?

( you can find it here )

This post has been featured at the

Celebrations website

in their

"Outstanding Office Decor Ideas" post.

You can find the entire post

here.

They have featured some

very creative ways to spruce up that office space

and

still be able to personalize it

with your own touches.

Go on over and check it out...

I am definitely going to try a couple of these in my own

office/craft space....

And while you're there check out the rest of their site

they have some

truly inspirational ideas

for all sorts of things.

Have fun

and

get out there and create.....

                                    Cathy