Ribbon Organizer

At last! A perfectly easy way to store ribbon spools! I found this inexpensive ribbon organizer tutorial at Spunky Junky via Pinterest. Are you on Pinterest yet? Who isn't. Join the pinning party! 

All you need is a slotted plastic bin like this with holes running down all sides. This one is about 14 inches by 11 inches from Wal-mart. I already had a few of these in my garage, so as soon as I saw this idea, I literally ran the the garage to find one. 


You will also need a 1/4 inch dowel rod. I got one at Lowes for about .63 cents. My husband cut it into three 16-inch sections (I only needed two). 

Slide two dowels through the sides of the basket and add your ribbon spools. The ends of the ribbon stay put in each hole - up to 24 rolls! How smart and convenient is that? I'm so glad I found this ribbon organizing idea. Sure beats having to untangle them all in a box!

Office/Craft Room Furniture Rearranging

Last Saturday, I got the itch to organize my office/craft room and rearrange the furniture. It's pretty much been the same set-up since we moved in 4 years ago. Unfortunately, the L-shaped desk is a non-movable piece, because it's so large, it has to be in a corner, and that's where all the outlets, cords and internet connection are located. Plan B. Let's see if I can trade spaces with the bed and the sewing desk.  

Success! There was JUST enough room to fit the bed on the wall where the sewing desk used to be. It was a tight fit between the closet door and entrance to the room.

BEFORE - This is where the sewing desk used to be. 

BEFORE - And this is where the bed used to be. 

AFTER - After switching the two, I had room to bring out a tall narrow bookcase that used to be in the closet. Just the storage I need for my craft supplies and sewing goodies. 

I have 6 white photo boxes labeled with various supplies - velcro, brushes, clothespins, glue, etc. Everything is stashed away but easy to access. My organizer cans fit up there too, with pens, pencils, markers and paint brushes. Learn how you can make some handy can organizers here.

 

I removed the "fake wood" cardboard backing from the back of the bookcase. What a difference! I like being able to see the wall color through the shelves.

It now holds my button jar and milk glass storage vessels.

The room actually feels bigger now. I like the way my workspace looks. It's a little more unified and inviting. It also forced me to clean out the craft closet but there's more work to be done in there. Thankfully it's behind closed doors! 

Doesn't organizing feel good? I like having a place for everything. Especially when it looks nice too.

Before & After Home: Office/Craft/Guest Room

This is where the designing, crafting, blogging and sewing happens. In my home office/craft/guest room. I'm sitting in that green swivel chair right now, typing on my beloved imac. Kinda strange to be talking about the very place I'm sitting at the moment. Now you know where I make things. And make a mess.

When we first moved into our house, this room made us wonder what to do with it. Our initial thought was to get rid of the wood panel accent wall immediately. Boy, am I glad we didn't. It adds character and has a "woodsy study" feel. We decided to make the room into an office, a.k.a. the "computer room."

Here's a look at the BEFORE. I think it was primarily a kids' play room. That would explain the carpet stains and crayon on the walls. What's up with the red blinds? These are the only two photos I have of what it used to look like. Not too pretty.

The white walls and window treatments had to go. We chose a dark teal blue which worked with the existing carpet. I'm trying to remember my thought process at the time. I liked the idea of a deep color against the lighter wood paneling, with black and brown furniture. Sounds a little odd, but it worked once it was all together. It went from being a "what do we do with it" room, to one of my favorite rooms in the house.

This is the guest bed. I got a bed in a bag comforter set at Bed Bath and Beyond for something like $25. I love it. The colors match perfectly. At one point, we had a bunk bed in here with a futon underneath. Then just the futon, until it broke. Now, it's just the bed, with a soft fluffy white rug in front of it. 

Here is my work station. I looked for a simple corner desk with storage, and found this one at Office Max. I really liked the silver pull handles. Details. The khaki roman shades are from The Christmas Tree Shops. So is the large square black framed wall art. They really do have it all. The series of flower pictures and glass frames are from Target.

On the other side of the room is a walk in closet where I keep craft supplies, wrapping paper, Christmas decorations, DVD's, books, the vacuum, junk. Anything I want out of sight. It's very handy. It's also a walk through closet, which means there is another door on the other side that leads into another room. I'll save that intriguing tidbit for another day.

My sewing machine sits on the desk that my husband and I refinished, plugged in and ready to go at a moments notice. You never know when you'll need to fix a pair of pants. Or sew a pillow. You have to be ready at all times.

The black shelf, which houses my organizational cans, was a junk-swap gift from Morgan, one of my favorite crafty ladies. Thank you Morgan for making me take it! It looks perfect above the sewing desk.

That's where it all goes down. And by "down" I mean sometimes it ends up looking like this. A complete disaster. The result of creativity at work. I used to have a fold down craft table, until it became the cutting-bathroom-tiles-with-a-wet-saw table in the garage. It never made it back after that.

What do you think of the transformation? Here's a side by side of the before and after.

There's no giant duck float anymore or red blinds, but I think the space looks much better!