From Garage To Craft Room- Makeover Complete!

Wanna Come Play?
I know what you are thinking, all of you who have been such wonderful, faithful readers of my blog:
"What do you know- she still exists!" Am I right? :)
Well, I could beat myself up over my prolonged disappearance or… I can just dive back in. I am choosing the latter.

So here we go. It's time to (finally) show off my new craft room!

Let me just remind you of what I left behind:

My former craft room- which I really did love, but had seriously outgrown!

And THIS garage (okay "catch-all storage space") is what I had to work with:

Wow…. looking at those photos now amazes me as to what an undertaking it was to transform our garage into my new space. It took a lot of throwing out, donating, re-organizing and just plain physical hard work- and the fabulous ideas and work of Rob- the BEST contractor ever :)

I gained a lot of space to be sure, but I need every single inch of it. This room is not just my craft room. It is also my office, my Etsy inventory storage space and my "packing shipping" area as well.

So, (drumroll please) let me introduce you to my awesome new "sanctuary"!

As we enter, there is a little area on the right where I have my mini refrigerator, little Keurig, most listened to CDs.

A bit further in and you come to the main crafting table in the center of the room, and the wall of wood mounted stamp sets

And how I LOVE my entertainment center!

A long wall of open cabinet space and my computer area

and the view of the other side opposite the entertainment center

There are SO many really great details incorporated into this space. I have many more pics to show you and lots to tell you about. There is so much to share that many of you may want to think about if you are creating a new crafting space or making changes to an existing space. 

The lighting was among my biggest concerns and I am afraid it did not allow for good photo light. I was worried about not having any natural light aside for some that comes in when I open the door. But it all worked out. Rob put in tons of under the counter lights and great overhead lighting. The lights in the ceiling fan over the table work better than I had expected, too. To be honest, I really had nothing to worry about. I LOVE working and creating in my new space. It truly is my new "Sanctuary". Thanks again to my dear friend Sue for making me this awesome framed art for my old room, and which now hangs over my NEW door :) 

So that's it for now. I will be back soon (yes- soon!) with more details. And I would love to answer any questions you post for me. 

I am also going to put together another blog candy package before long. I always love doing them and I think it will be a fun way to welcome you returning followers back, and give a warm hello to any new followers :)

Thanks so much for visiting. I am SO happy to be back here and  am really looking forward to catching up with you more!

Blessings Always~

Sarah

Room Makeovers: One Down... One To Go!

My daughter's room is finished! And... mine is very close to being finished as well :)
I just have a few things I need to have my contractor come back to do, and a couple things to get done myself as well. Then I'll be ready to christen the room with a stamp night get-together with my much adored group of stamping friends!

So, remember the pic from my last post where my dog was looking out the window of my old stamp room? Here's what that room looks like now!

Instead of a dog by the window, now one of Katie's precious kitties has decided this is her favorite place to sleep ;-)

And just to the right of the window is Katie's computer. She chose a nice shade of gray for that wall.

And this is where my antique quilt used to hang, with the love seat in front of it. Katie found this wonderful tapestry to hang... I just love it, don't you?

Hard to believe this is the same room! The wall straight ahead is where my desk used to be with my hanging paper rack. And the shelves of stamps were to the left where her head board now is.
She picked out an awesome color for that wall- it's a lovely shade of teal. As a matter of fact, when Rob painted it he said he thought that had become his favorite color he has ever painted. Yep... she's got a great eye ;) And the wall to the left where the headboard is is a fabulous color: kind of an eggplant purple. It's hard to see here, but looks awesome! She has a large pic hanging there that she took in San Francisco at sunset. It's beautiful!

So there you have it... one room down, and one to go.
I am excited to share my new studio with you- and the giveaway as well. But, to be honest, I want to make sure enough people know I am going to do a giveaway. So... if you have not already, as mentioned in my last post I'd love it if you would please give me an idea of what you would like me to include in the prize package!

Looking forward to reading your answers!!

Blessings ALways~
Sarah

Craft Room Progress And Giveaway Update

As I am putting finishing touches on my new studio, I am also thinking about the giveaway I told you I'd be having soon. I figured I'd update you a bit on both.

First- a few more pics of how my new space has been evolving:

See? Here the walls from my former studio are ready to be painted a new color. All the cabinets are out, the countertops removed and all the stamping and crafting supplies gone. Haha- even my dog seems to be wondering where they are! It seemed so weird having that room empty!

And where could I put everything? All that crafting stuff had to be put somewhere while the new room was being made!

O. M. G.

Yep... looks like a scene from (crafter) hoarders, doesn't it?! I thought we were all going to lose our minds having all this stuff in the living room! Weekends were the worst. At least during the week most of the family would come and go and weren't around to see it all day. And although I was here, I was also hearing the sound of sawing, hammering, etc. and was knowing that a future space for all this stuff was being constructed!

I could also peak out and see things coming along:

 

Ahhh.... hope.

And soon, more progression:

Yes. Walls. And soon there would be flooring. I was definitely getting excited at this point!

So as Rob kept working, I went off to IKEA to see what else might go with the cabinets from my old room that were about to be moved into the new room. 

Here I am in one of Ikea's "showrooms" with my youngest daughter. We had so much fun :)

Across from where we were sitting, was THIS!

Isn't it great? I immediately loved it and thought it would be an awesome addition for my new room. I did some measuring and when I got home I tried to figure out how (and if) it could work. I showed the pic and measurements to Rob and he thought it seemed like a good possibility. So, we decided to go to Ikea together since there were other things I had in mind as well. 

I did end up getting it, but the great thing about Ikea (or shall I say among many great things about Ikea!) is that you can customize! I ended up getting all solid doors instead of some glass, and changing the hardware. Also, Rob added more shelving inside and even another shelf under the t.v. so there is no wasted space. I am absolutely thrilled with it! I can hardly wait for you to see the end result.

Okay... that's all for now, as far as the room progression goes. I will post more soon, though. I didn't actually take any more "in progress" pics, so the next ones will be of the finished room!

As for the giveaway: I would love YOUR help with this! I want to put together a package of several things for a winner... maybe even a couple of packages so I can have more than one winner?

I am thinking of what to include. I'm planning on giving away the types of items I sell in my Etsy shop ... along with crafting items to go in your own craft space, of course ;-)

So, would you please leave a comment and tell me what your three top choices are from this list for what you would like in a prize box? I have so many choices and would love to put together gifts that you will most enjoy!

Here are some of my ideas:

For crafting:

Rubber stamps

Embellishments

Vintage buttons

Lace on textile spools

Patterned scrapbooking papers

Vintage/ retro items:

Handbag

Fashion accessories (scarf, hankies, etc.)

Jewelry

Perfume Bottle

Vanity and boudoir items

Home decor (framed art, candlesticks, vase, figurine, etc.)

Antique book

China teacup

I'll look forward to your answers and soon put a prize together!

Until next time, I wish you blessings~

Sarah

Blogging? What's That?

Wow. Feeling a bit ashamed. I can hardly believe how long it has been since I have blogged.
Well, there's only one way to change that and that is to get started again, right? So here I am.

I've missed blogging. I've missed my readers and all your lovely your comments. But as often happens, life, as they say, "get's in the way". Things have been a bit crazy and unsettled but all is falling into place now. I'd love to share with you what iI've been up to. There will be lots of pics and even a contest for some crafting goodies coming up, too :-)

But for my main "news" I'll start with this:
Remember my studio?

And do you remember this post about how I reorganized my room?
I loved my room. It was so wonderful finally having a space of my own to create in. No more having to use the dining room table or wonder which box held my embellishments or designer papers. My stamping obsession had gotten out of control and I really needed a room. When my daughter got married and moved out, I grabbed the opportunity her empty bedroom offered and had my wonderful contractor get to work!

It was a special place not only for creating, but I always felt a connection between this room and my Mom. Not long after my daughter married, my Mom passed and since she had so hoped I'd be able to have a studio some day I paid for the project with my inheritance from her and always felt it was like a gift from her to me. Maybe that's silly, but I always felt that she somehow knew she gave me my wish and was close to me when I was creating in there.

Well, nothing lasts forever, but I must say I thought I'd have had my room for much longer than I did.

The room has all since been changed: all the cabinets and countertops and shelves were taken out, the walls repainted and it is now a bedroom again. For the same daughter that used to have it. What else can you do when your "child" (no matter how "old", she'll always be our "little girl") needs to come home? Sadly, she discovered (among other things) that her husband was unfaithful to her and her "marriage" was done. There was so much hurt and pain that he caused her;  the very least we could do was open our doors to her and bring her back home: home where she could once again know what it is to be living where she is unconditionally loved, supported, valued. And where she knows she can trust. This is where she needs to be. And although we wish the circumstances were different, we love having her back. All four of our kids under the same roof again. Life is good! :)

Okay, enough of that. My precious daughter is home with her family... and we are adjusting to more bodies in the house: our adult son also just moved back home, too. And, we have 3 precious kitties who have come with them- to live in our 2 dog household ;-)

But as for a creative space? Well, truth be told I really had run out of room. Despite loving my studio, I had become quite cramped in that room. It measures about 9 1/2 feet by 14 feet. And once I started my ETSY business things really got jam packed in there!

So... where to go? Well, having the most awesome husband ever, he came up with the idea of us turning the garage into a new studio for me! Goodbye to his hopes and dreams for a "man cave" and hello new studio! We have a 3 car garage, so we kept one side (the space for a single car) for storage, and converted the 2 car side into my new room.

I can hardly wait to show you how my new, larger (19 1/2 feet by 20 feet) space turned out!

Here's a couple of old pics of how it once looked:

Like pretty much everybody I know in Southern California, no one uses their garages for their cars, lol, we use them for storage- and pack them full of stuff!
So, we have been weeding out, donating, and throwing stuff out like crazy!

And my contractor has been kept quite busy! I love this shot:

Yep! Trips to Ikea are always fun... especially when they end up like mine did with my contractor filling his truck up with lots of materials for my new room :)

My next post will have more pics of how things have since developed. For now, here's a sneak peek:

I hope you'll visit me again soon to see how things developed. It is my hope that I will be able to inspire you with some ideas for your own creative space, too. I know how much I love looking at other people's pics of craft rooms; hopefully you'll enjoy mine as much :)

Please leave a comment if you care too- I always very much enjoy them! And don't forget, I'll have a giveaway coming soon as well.

Until then, I wish you many blessings~
Sarah

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like.....

CHRISTMAS! 

Yes, it's definitely that time of year again- a time when there are not enough hours in a day (well...that's always true, but even more so now!)

However, although I am not quite finished, at least I have made progress and it definitely is staring to look a lot like Christmas in my house!

When I logged onto FaceBook yesterday, I saw a post which had included the following picture:

Maybe I am crazy, but it definitely reminded me of my own house, and that is what has inspired me to share a little of my own personal Christmas decorating with you.
Here is how "decking my halls"is coming along (so far)

Okay- confession time: I've actually had a lot of help. My husband and one of my sons did all the lights (SO many not shown in the pics!). And my youngest daughter not only decorated the entire tree, but she did all of the unpacking of everything else as well. Wish some direction, she has pretty much done all of the decorating herself. 

Every year I make sure to pull out at least a few of my favorite Christmas books from my childhood. This little one may be my all time fave. It's a bit worn to be sure, but so well loved. To be honest I wouldn't want a new copy even if I could get one. So many memories of my mother reading this to me when I was younger... you just can't replace things like this!

And now the search is on: for phonograph needles! My husband and I recently bought this antique Victor "talking machine"- and lots of wonderful old records for it- including several Christmas albums. I can hardly wait to crank it up and play them on it!

I came home the other day to a surprise of many packages under the Christmas tree... all wrapped by my husband!!!

Yummm.... one nice thing about having a daughter who works at Disneyland: She brings us their awesome candy canes! We don't have to wait (and wait, and wait) in line for them :-)
Thank you, Katie!

Even with all the fun going on, I am managing to devote several hours a day to my Etsy shop. But that doesn't mean I can't add holiday touches to my work, right? I just purchased this gorgeous etched crystal bowl with sterling silver base at an estate sale. So to photograph it, I figured some Christmas candy would work well inside.

Now I am trying to decide if I even want to sell this, lol!
Just kidding... it's going to be listed soon. And in case you are interested in it, I am offering all of you- and only you, my dear blog followers- a special holiday discount to my Etsy store! From now until the end of this month, you can receive 15% off all purchases in my shop by using this coupon code: MLSBLOGFRIEND
I have listed lots of wonderful new things lately, and if you hurry I will ship them out a.s.a.p so that you can hopefully get them in time for Christmas gift giving! You might also give your own wish list out and the coupon code, too. Or maybe you just want to treat yourself ;-) In any event, I hope you'll check out my shop, and find something you love!

As always, I thank you so much for stopping by today. I wish you much, much happiness and special blessings during this season~
Sarah

So Much To Do.... So Little Time!

Isn't that always the way? Gosh we lead busy lives; I know I am not alone!!!
But don't get me wrong- I am not complaining. I like being busy. But then again I hate that I have not had time for two things in particular: blog posting and crafting. But I assure you, it's only temporary. I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Anyway my post today is just to show you a little of what I have been devoting much of my time to.
It's my new little business- my Etsy shop. It's funny, I planned on just using Etsy as a way and place to sell my handmade cards. But, it quickly took on a life of it's own.

If you've followed me here for a while I don't need to tell you how much I love antique stores, flea markets, garage sales and estate sales. I have been "on the hunt" for a lot of years (more than I care to admit, lol- it makes me feel old!). And it didn't take long for me to discover that the antiques-store- owner-wanna-be within me could satisfy that desire a little bit through Etsy :-)

So I will share with you some pics of recent shop additions (because I know everyone loves pics!) and just say that now that I have 110 items listed (told you I have been busy!) I am thinking I can slow down with that process a little and get out my ink pads and paper again :-) But I also will tell you I have only just begun... there is a TON of stuff I still need to list!

Oh how I love rhinestones. And jewelry...

And "girly things", like this vintage compact

And since I use SO much lace in my projects, I have decided to sell lots of it in my shop. Here is some gorgeous dusty rose lace wrapped around an old wooden spool and held together with a little stick pin I made.

Beautiful white lace wrapped onto vintage textile bobbins

More pretty collectibles: here is a blue and white demitasse cup and saucer. Don't you love the little butterfly handle?

And a great shabby chic find: this lovely white pitcher with pink and green flowers

Antique Bavarian china teapot with matching sugar bowl and creamer

And of course I have perfume bottles in my shop. Here's an awesome pink one with silver filigree and a frosted heart shaped stopper with love birds on top- in great vintage condition. Isn't it lovely?

And one more thing I couldn't have a shop without: antique buttons! These have great clear shiny rhinestones. Perfect embellishments for vintage style cards!

Well, thankfully it has not been all work and no play. My husband and I have managed to get a little time off for some fun in the California sun.  Just driving along the coast makes us feel as if we are on vacation- even when we are just minutes from home ;-)

And it's always good to remind ourselves how beautiful the beaches are and how much we love getting our feet in the ocean and sand. It's so easy to take for grated what is in your own "back yard" and so we try hard not to fall into that trap. God created such beauty and we should make sure we take time to stop and smell the roses- or the fresh salt air in this case!

 I even managed to get a pic of my better half.. not always easy to do ;-)

And just to prove that we do have "seasons" in Southern California, here's a little "Fall" shot for you!

So there you go- a little "tour" of the shop as well as how I choose to spend my leisure time.
But back to work I will soon be... there are some great estate sales I plan to hit later this week and crafting ideas whirling around in my head.
Yep, as I said: So much to do, so little time.

I will try not to let too much time pass before I post again, though. Thanks so much for your patience and thank you as always for visiting. I hope you'll pop on over to my Etsy shop too, and let me know what you think. I'd LOVE to get some feedback from you!!

Until my next post, I wish you many blessings.
And for those of you who live in the great country of ours, don't forget to vote tomorrow! :-)