Studio/Office
Ironing is Fun Again (& a product peek)
Ironing is fun again, thanks to City Chic Country Mouse, a mother/daughter sewing and blogging duo who aim to inject some joy into the otherwise world of mundane household tasks. They’re having a Spring Cleaning Sale over in their Etsy shop, and I couldn’t help but snag a cute new ironing board cover.
It arrived just a few days later, and it was wrapped so adorably that it felt like Christmas or my birthday all over again.
The item was wrapped in tissue, secured with a cute little mouse sticker, tied with a fabric strip (that coordinated with the product), and topped off with a hand-written “thank-you” note.
After I opened it I reassembled it so I could take a photo.
I peeled back the precious wrapping to find the ironing board cover neatly folded, and topped with a small envelope.
And what was inside that envelope? Their super cute business card, a mini-card with a coupon code, and a spare piece of fabric (which I can only assume is for patching the cover, etc, if need be). If you guys ask me, these ladies take the cake with product packaging.
As for the actual item I ordered? Well it fit my ironing board perfectly, thanks to its sturdy drawstring closure. I’m happy as a clam now that my ironing board has a new look. Did I mention that my old cover was stained, and so worn that the elastic no longer worked, and after I last washed it I had to hand-sew it in place to hold it on the ironing board? Goodbye, ugly!
Pardon the poor lighting, this shot was snapped at midnight.
Though you can’t see it here, the cover coordinates well with the colorful fabrics I used in my studio makeover. All the bright colors help to keep me energized when I’m working late at night.
Speaking of working in my studio, would you like a peek at a design I made last night? I love it! This pleated design will be for lumbar pillows, and I will have coordinating square pillows and cat purr pads to go with it.
This is an example of what I love most with sewing. The creation of designs and the piecing together of colors and fabrics and textures. Yum. Is it 5 o’clock yet? My fingers are itchin’ to get back to stitchin’.
Coloring Within the [Closet] Lines
We may be short on blog posts here at the borrowed abode, but it’s only because we’ve been working so hard on projects! Yesterday came to a close around 2 am for both me and Ryan, when we finally tumbled into “bed” on the living room floor. Yeah, you read that right.
We were both busy with drills, pliers, chisels, spackle, and paint. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you may have heard some grumblings as to why.
But for now I’ll spare you the sordid details, and give you a peek at Ryan’s project:
Update: In the comments, Ryan asks:
The color for my closet came out lighter than the burnt orange I was going for, but I think I like it.
So is it awesome, too awesome, or do I need a darker shade of awesome?
As well as mine:
That’s all you get to see right now, because that’s all we’ve done. You’d never believe me if I told you just how long it took. Hope to see you tomorrow with pics of the finished product(s).
Studio Makeover: Tiny Storage & Stuff
I just realized I never shared the rest of my completed studio/office makeover! So without further ado, let’s take a look at all the function and storage in the sewing corner of the room.
The two shelves above the sewing table hold most of my desk supplies and sewing bits. And any tiny odds and ends that didn’t have a place anywhere else. You’ve already gotten a peek at the custom dry-erase board and cork board in this space.
Yes, there's stuff on my sewing table - because I do real work at it!
As you can see, I also mixed in a few framed photos of loved ones, as well as my stash of journals and inspiration books.
Check out that crazy bright glow of the lamp. It helps me not feel like an old lady when trying to thread a needle now. After listening to all your opinions on the placement, I’m pretty sure I’m going to move it over a bit.
To corral all the different bits and pieces I use when sewing and crafting, I dug through my stash in the basement:
- My loose change, command adhesive products, and scissors are all corralled in some old tea boxes. Finally, my container hoarding has paid off!
- Clean glass jars store my scrapbook pens, fabric marking tools, and my sole charcoal drawing pencil is nestled in the random green coffee beans found in the jute sacks I’m sewing with.
- A large, square glass vase does double duty for now, holding not only my sewing scissors and rotary cutters but also the rocks that I’ve picked up on special trips. (I use a sharpie marker to write the date and location of each trip on the rock I save.) Eventually the rock collection will graduate to another container.
- Finally, my spools of thread and fabric trim found a cute home in the vintage glass canning jars that I showed you last month.
It’s quite the mish-mash of containers, huh? But I think I make it all work because they’re all arranged in groupings, and the colors tie into the other accessories on the shelf.
And speaking of those shelves, here’s how I mounted my custom dry-erase board below them. I initially planned to hang it from hooks on the wall, so that I could grab it easily to carry it around and write on it. Instead I screwed tiny little cup hooks into the bottom shelf and hung it from there, so that I wouldn’t have to put anything on the wall to suspend it. I love how it worked out!
I also found a clever way to store both my small and large cutting rulers so that they were right in reach but not cluttering up my sewing table. The small ruler rests on two tiny little Command hooks on the wall below the dry-erase board:
And the huge ruler hangs on the other wall in that corner. I am so pleased that I thought of this storage method, because it walks the fine line of being super easy-to-grab, while staying out of my way when I’m not using it!
At first I wasn’t sure if my idea would work, because the tiny clear hooks are so small, but it totally does!
That’s a wrap of what’s going on in that corner. I’m not sure the space could handle any more function than that! By next week I’ll show you the final touches in the other areas, and then we’ll finish it off with Ye Olde Studio Makeover Video Tour.
Oh, and if you’re done here, be sure to visit Jenn at Peas and Crayons, who has started up a “What I Ate Wednesday” link party that happens every week over at her fabulous food and nutrition blog.
But don’t forget to come back and visit me again tomorrow!
Cheers,
~Jane ~
(who would like to insert a cute custom signature here)
Studio Makeover, Continued
When I last showed you my sewing corner of my studio, I had shelves hung but nothing on them. 
Well, now I have photos to show you of the filled shelves, with the vintage jars full of thread, etc. But right now I want to ask you about the lamp hanging over the desk:
I did the usual – found a plain lampshade and a hanging cord set (both from Ikea) and then used ModPodge to cover the shade with some fabric and a ribbon liner. Then I hung it over the sewing desk, because that area was seriously lacking focused light. My eyes were getting tired from squinting. I felt like an old lady.
So I let there be light, and there was light. And the light was glorious. But the placement of the lamp . . . well, I’m not so sure about that. I think it needs to come away from the corner some.
Does it look too squished in to you?
P.S: Thanks so much to all of you who weighed in with comments (and emails) of advice and encouragement for my friend who’s struggling with some big decisions right now. I can’t wait to share all your kindness with her!
P.S.S: New to the blog? You can check out the beginning of my studio makeover, find details on the patterned dry erase board and cork board, and see how I used vintage jars to store my thread.
And if you want some free help with a rental decorating (or other small space) challenge, drop me a line!
Hat Storage: Repurposed Take-Out Containers
This weekend I used some Command Adhesive strips to stick round plastic Chinese food take-out containers to the wall.
It worked perfectly.
You’re thinking I’ve really lost it now. And maybe I have . . . My studio was starting to look pretty good, but then I had to go and stick trash on the wall.
Here’s another peek: can you guess where I’m going with this?
Why, I was creating hat storage, of course!
Please allow me to explain the thinking that got me to this point.
In the past I hung my hats on little hooks, but was never pleased with that solution. The hats always fell off the hooks. Upon closer examination of the problem, I determined that a hat really needed a larger round object to sit upon. Something that they wouldn’t slip off of. So on Saturday I took a birthday trip to Home Depot, where I found some great round wooden thingies in the section where they sell wooden corners and finials and other bits to finish off stair rails and moldings. However, the round wooden thingies were about $8 each.
At that point I thought of what I had at home . . . and realized that those round [un-recyclable] containers that my Hot and Sour soup comes in would be perfect. And FREE! And they came with the bonus of saying to Ryan “See, I told you I’d find a use for my stockpile of plastic!”
Sure enough, it worked like a charm. I cut each Command strip in half, length-wise, and stuck each half on the bottom of a container, then pressed the container to the wall.
Total cost? about $5 in Command strips. I don’t think hat displays get any cheaper than that!
PS: For this, like any other project, a glass of wine is optional, but recommended. Especially if it’s a Saturday that happens to be your birthday!
Seriously Awesome Jewelry Storage
Happy Friday, y’all! This week has been all about my sewing studio/office/dressing room makeover, and I’m finishing off the week with a project that I’ve been dying to spill the beans on for months now!
That’s right, months. This baby was the result of my first ever trash-on-curb-rescue, and as a matter of fact – it was the inspiration behind Ryan’s “What the Hell” posts.
What’s that on the wall? If you’re thinking it’s an old wooden window-turned-jewelry-display, you’re right! Oh, the day I proudly lugged not one, but two of those peeling, rotting windows across the street and into my condo, Ryan’s eyes rolled back in his head and he groaned in disbelief. And despite Ryan’s . . . um. . . “encouragement,” I’ve finally made it into a fabulous piece of decorative jewelry storage.
I forgot to take a true “before” photo, but here’s what it looked like after a ton of sanding.
The work was totally worth it. Every time I pick out what jewelry to wear with my outfit, I feel like I’m shopping! Gotta love storage that gives you that kind of a thrill. It’s much more cost-effective than hittin’ the mall.
I backed three of the window pane sections with coordinating Erin McMorris Wildwood fabric (you saw it earlier on my custom dry erase board) just for fun. Most of the necklaces dangle from little cup hooks, but a few are strung over the old knobs that I picked up at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore on the cheap.
Two of the bottom panes got a fresh piece of screen so that all my hook earrings would have a place to dangle.
And some simple wooden dowels added more chunky necklace and bracelet storage on the sides of the window.
So what was the cost of all this? Honestly it wasn’t much. The window itself was free, and I already had the sandpaper and polyurethane on hand. All in all, it came to about $15. For something that stores ALL your jewelry that well? I’d say that is one seriously awesome deal.
So that’s my big fancy-schmancy idea that I’ve been carrying around with me for almost a year. Next week I’ll share a step-by-step tutorial on how I made it. In the mean time, have a great weekend – and don’t forget, if you’d like some [free] advice on how to tackle a decorating challenge in your rented space, drop me a line!
PS: If you’ve ever wanted to be able to hang long curtains without putting holes in the walls, be sure to check back Monday! I’ve got a rental – friendly solution that I’m 99.5% sure is going to totally rock!
Update: You can find the tutorial here.
Mistake Solved: The Besta Solution
Happy 2011 All!
I’m happy to ring in a new year, but sad to have my one week of 100% decorating/organizing time come to an end. It’s been heavenly, even if I didn’t accomplish nearly as much as I’d hoped. I did, however, get about 90% of my studio makeover completed – but you don’t get to see the finished product until the end of the week. Yep, I’m going to make you wait, while I share one step each day.
Chapter 1: A new plan
So where were we? Oh right, I was freaking out because the cheap cube storage solution from Tar-jay left me completely unsatisfied.
I hadn’t thought through my storage needs thoroughly enough before hand – a lesson learned the hard way. So that morning, with a grouchiness slowly creeping into my head, I took myself to my local coffee shop and listed out all my options. So many times I’ve settled for a less-than-ideal solution, because of cost or impatience, and I didn’t want to make that mistake again.
- Use the cube storage, buy the fabric bins for the bottom row, and just deal with the pet hair that might get on stuff.
- Build custom solution from MDF or solid hardwood.
- Find an old buffet & hutch cabinet on Craigslist and refinish / customize it. Like this image, which I’ve always loved:
Credit: Allsorts Blog, Jenny B Harris
- Finally, I could go to Ikea and buy a customizable bookshelf solution.
So there were my options. When I say I was freaking out, I really was – because the storage was a huge piece of the puzzle. I couldn’t do much else before I had a space in which to stash my supplies. So I slowly listed the pros and cons of each option, which led me to the final solution.
- The cube storage was out, because I was very unhappy with it. Not only did it feel like a kids’ room storage option, it didn’t have the function I needed. The cubes limited the ways in which items could be stored.
- The custom-built solution was out simply because I didn’t have the luxury of time to design, cut, build, and paint it. Especially since I don’t have a saw, and would have to go to Home Depot every time I needed a board cut.
- The scavenged and refinished buffet/hutch idea was tempting, but I quickly realized that we’d need to rent a truck to get one home, and then that would also require time to sand and refinish it. Also, it wouldn’t be customizable to make the most of every inch of wall space.
- Finally, the Ikea option seemed to be the best. The Billy bookshelf system seemed to be modular and inexpensive (relatively), as well as perfectly customizable with doors and different size cabinets to fit the space.
Chapter 2: Doors, Drawers, and Shelves – Oh my!
Ryan and I headed to Ikea. As I looked at all sorts of cabinets and shelving options, I realized that my budget of $200 for the entire room makeover was going out the window. (Fortunately I had enough wiggle room in my finances to do this without reaching for a credit card or making any other financial mistakes.)
After seeing the BILLY shelves, I wanted something deeper, and with the option to add drawers. Then I spied the BESTA system, which offered both skinny (8″) and deep (16″) shelf options. With its customization options out the wazoo (doors, drawers, and shelves ) I realized it really was the “besta” option for me. So I grabbed my notebook and sketched out a plan, until I was fairly confident I knew what I needed.
Ouch. The prices of all the parts started to add up more than I’d wanted: $340. That’s not a lot to pay compared to what other stores offer, but since we’re renting I didn’t want to sink that much dough into something that wouldn’t work well in our future home(s). But I decided to do it, thinking that it could be modified to suit our needs further down the road.
With our list in hand, Ryan and I grabbed one of those awful and ornery Ikea platform shopping carts and forced it down the right aisle. Holy cow, the boxes were heavy. I’m a strong girl, but this was seriously heavy. Ladies, be warned. Do not buy alone.
Chapter 3: Assembly
New Years Eve I assembled my Ikea furniture, Mojito in hand. Since Ryan had already suffered through an unexpected 3+ hour Ikea trip, I did this alone as to not punish him further. The cat desperately wanted to assist, but something told me he’d be no more adept with the screwdriver and brackets than I was. Well, except for having smaller paws, maybe.
Aside from the sheer weight of the boxes, the shelves were really easy to assemble. Totally single-girl-doable.
Finale: Before & After
And finally, what you’ve been waiting for – the before and after. Please note that the “after” does not include truly finished organization. At this point i was still figuring out where things went around the room.
The new Besta units allowed me to go up part of the wall, while leaving open space for the jewelry storage system I’m building. At the same time, if my fabric supplies outgrow the current shelving, I can add more height and width to the system. The shelves were the perfect size for stacks of fabrics and my clear plastic fabric sample bins.
There are 4 different heights for the units, and my system is actually made of three units – the tall one, and then a stack of a super short unit on top of a medium short unit.
- {1} I chose to use drawers on part of the bottom to hold my socks, PJs, etc.
- I put a glass door keeps pet hair off my stack of “old clothes to refashion” and my stack of winter weight flannel and felt fabrics.
- My heavier-weight fabrics will live in stacks on the tall skinny unit.
Also, my stash of shrunken wool sweaters (for sewing) got stashed on a shelf, and I used boot and shoe boxes to create some storage. Of course, those boxes have to get a good ole’ fabric makeover to really match the space.
In the end I’m loving how this worked out – although there were some moments when I really wished I didn’t have to let go of more than $300 bills. You know I love a good, thrifty, and creative fix, but I think the lesson learned here is that sometimes, if you really know what you want/need, it can be worth spending the money for it when you find just the right solution.
As for those white cube shelves from Tarjay? They were sold within an hour of posting them on Craigslist, and I only lost about $20 in the process. All in all, that’s not too expensive a lesson to learn. And since the budget has changed for this studio makeover project, I’ll just wait a few weeks before spending any dough on the guest room makeover.
Posted in Decorating Dilemmas, In Progress, Organize It!, Studio Makeover, Studio/Office | 
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I made a mistake.
Ugh. I made an $80 mistake in this studio makeover.
After painting my studio/dressing room, my next step was to bring in some good fabric & sewing storage. I’d looked into options for months and had wanted to build something, but the fact is that right now I just need to get storage, load it up, and get back to sewing. Building a custom unit would surely have involved at least a week of solid after-work labor. At least. Especially because we don’t actually have a saw yet – we’d have to get Home Depot to cut everything.
So yesterday Ryan and I went to Target to pick up two of the 3×3 cubicle bookshelves that were on sale. I planned to DIY some storage bins for them (to hold my socks and undies and whatever else doesn’t really store well in the closet) and then stack the fabric on the upper shelves. I assembled them (which was a snap), adding glue to each dowel before hammering it in. I thought the wood glue would help the particleboard construction hold up better over time.
As I started to fill the shelves I realized that they weren’t the right storage option for my space. The stacks of folded fabric would store just fine on the shelves, but there was no door or clear plastic bin to keep them hair-free. I looked online all over this morning and realized there were no clear plastic bins that would fit the cubicles well. Wah-wah.
So what to do? I think we’re headed to Ikea this afternoon. There’s no point in keeping the shelves if they don’t meet my needs. The Billy Bookshelves, while more expensive than my $80 solution, come with the option to add glass doors. As a bonus, I’ll be able to get them in a medium wood veneer, which I think will make this room look a bit more classy. Right now it’s a sea of bright color and plain white laminate everything.
As for the cube shelves? Well, I can’t return them because I used glue during assembly. So I guess they’re going up on Craigslist so that I can recoup at least part of the cost.
What a bummer!
