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August 13, 2013

My Creative Space

My boys went to camp last week.  They were gone Monday - Friday from 9 AM to 4 PM.  What is a scrapbooker to do???  You might think that I would have taken this time to scrapbook, but what I did instead was finish my scrappy space so that once school starts, I'll be ready to roll.


 
This is my storage center behind my table.  It is currently a fold-up plastic table.  I am on the hunt for a buffet or a console table to place there.  Nothing to inspiring here, but it does hold my goodies within reach and not requiring me to stand, which I don't like to do once I start a page.

Next to the table is a rack I found at a flea market for $10.  It was love at first site.  It has about 100 clips on it and it spins for easy access.  It's made of heavy duty metal, so it's really stable since some embellies can get quite heavy!



This is one of my latest garage sale finds.  A corner shelf for all my mists and inks.  This may end up getting painted, but for now it does its job well.

The curtain to the left is my inspiration for the room.  I found this at Pier One in the clearance about a year ago.  Unfortunately, it has been the only one I've been able to find.  So, my window is a bit lopsided at this point.  I continue to hunt for another, but if not, I'll have to come up with an alternate plan...  maybe a valance.


 
I found this table on Craigslist when we still lived in Kentucky and I thought is would be a great table to refinish and use in my new room!  I've been using it since we moved to Michigan, over a year ago, and it just did not inspire me.  So, I stripped it down, darkened the top to a warmer tone and painted the legs yellow, my new favorite!

My jar of washi in the upper left corner of my desk is my latest addition, along with my desk organizer (thanks to a 50% off Michaels coupon).

 

 
Here is a better look at my legs, well, not MY legs, but the table.  Isn't that a yummy yellow!!!  The tin buckets hold all my paint.  You can find these buckets at Home Depot for cheap!  My next little project will be adding burlap around them and stencil something on them.  It sure beats paying over $10 per bucket already done!
 
 
This is another storage shelf I have.  This shelf was made by my good friend Curt.  It was inspired by those VERY expensive shelves in Pottery Barn for like $300.  I thought, there is NO WAY I'm spending that much, so $80 and a home cooked meal later, I have these!
 

 
I am fortunate enough to have a walk-in closet in my space.  It has not been tackled yet, but this is what I have so far.  At least it has a door so I can hide it if need arises! 

 

 
This is my grandmother's sewing machine.  When I was a baby, over 40 years ago, she used to make my clothes.  She was a seamstress and I had the cutest clothes around.  My mother-in-law had the sewing machine gone through quite a few years back and it works as good as new!  I'm not sure what my grandmother would say if she knew I was sewing paper together rather than material.  As I was typing this, I just had the most wonderful thought...  I actually have a dress that she made that is yellow and would look quite beautiful framed and hung above the sewing machine.  Pictures to come later on that!


 
Now this, is an old window from my maternal grandmother's house where she grew up.  The farm house is or was falling down and at a family reunion, we had an auction to raise money.  Either way, my mom won and it now hangs on my wall.
 
As you can tell, I am not afraid of color.  It is one of the simplest things to change in a room.  I also don't like to spend money on new items when I KNOW I can find something or make something very similar for much less.  Call me fragile, cheap, thrifty, or whatever, but the joy of creating far outweighs the joy of spending.
 
I hope you have enjoyed the tour of my space.  Feel free to leave some comments.  I'd love to know what you think of my space.
 

August 01, 2013

Pretty as a Picture - CMS #43

So, for those that don't know, I'm training for a marathon.  Yup, you heard me... a full 26.2 miles.  I know, I'm crazy, but it is on my bucket list and I figured I should get it marked off before I get any older.  My husband and I are running 4 days a week with our long run on Saturday mornings.  Last Saturday, we officially made it half way.  I've run a 1/2 marathon before, so it really wasn't a big milestone for me, and this Saturday, we fall back to 10 miles... but now, the week after that, we jump it up to 15 miles.  It will be the furthest I've ever run.

So, my point being, with all this running, I've had very little time to scrapbook this summer.  I'm hoping that with the kids going back to school, I'll be able to pick a day of the week (a non run day) and scrap until my hearts content!

Moving onto the August 1 reveal for Color Me Scrappy...


 
The twist, as it always is with the first of the month, is a sketch.  This sketch is my design.  I've really only done 3 or 4 sketches.  What do you think?
 
And the result...

 
These pictures are a year old, but these are my nephews and my niece.



This is one of the first times I've used the Tim Holtz Distress Inks.  I love how they blend together so effortlessly.
 

 
Thanks so much for stopping by.  Please enjoy the rest of your day!