studio — Page 13

Defending the Small House #1

November 15, 2011 at 8:00 am by Claudia

{Living Big in 1200 Square Feet.}

Week 1: Frugal Storage for Crafts

Brenda and I are starting our new series, Defending the Small House, today. We’re really excited to share our ideas with you and to hear your ideas. We are starting the series with craft storage. Brenda recently moved and has fixed up her office/craft space and I have found my own solutions to the problem of storage. Here goes!

As many of you know, there are two of us living here. My husband needs his studio space, which is in the guest room/studio/office. I need my space, as well. So I made the upstairs landing and hallway my creative space. Why not? The hallway was pretty boring as it was and now it is fun, filled with creative energy and both my husband and I love it.

This is the view at the top of the stairs (you can see the newel post in the lower left hand corner.) There is a little niche under the slanted ceiling and that is where I tucked my sewing machine table. It fit perfectly, which I took as a sign from the heavens to go ahead with my wacky idea. I made that skirt out of an old Shabby Chic shower curtain. I pulled it from my fabric stash so the cost was $0. Storage tip #1: Go under. That skirt looks sweet, but it also hides a lot of things that I need but don’t necessarily want out on display. If something is unsightly, mask it with a skirt and then use that area for storage.

The white shelf unit behind the sewing table was something I found in our shed and repainted. Now it functions as a handy place to store sewing notions.

I collect pottery, so I have a lot of it scattered around the house, which leads me to Storage Tip #2: Use what you have on hand. Shop your house. Pottery and china are not only attractive but can provide valuable storage space. You may not have lots of storage space, but some cheerful pieces of pottery that hold buttons or beads or paint brushes may just do the trick. This piece holds fabric for whatever project I’m working on at the moment.

This little creamer with my initials on it (that was a find!) holds fabric markers, paintbrushes, and seam rippers.

This mug holds my measuring tapes.

This piece of Roseville pottery holds vintage seam binding.

My craft and decorating books are in this bookcase that I bought for $30. Frugal. That vintage sewing basket also stores supplies.

Here’s the view as you turn the corner in the hallway. I bought this cabinet for $75 through an ad on Craig’s List. Storage Tip #3: Buy vintage, buy used. Not only will you get a great deal, you’ll often find something with much more personality than anything you would buy new. This cabinet, with its sort of deco-looking handles is wonderfully funky and I certainly wouldn’t have found anything like it in a furniture store.

Back to that bookshelf: I tried and tried to find a used bookshelf that would fit in my tiny space. It was a fruitless search. When I found this new one, I could justify it because it was so inexpensive.

The cabinet is not too deep, has shelves behind glass (for display,) shelves behind cupboard doors and a drawer. I don’t know what I did without it. It provides valuable storage for this tiny space.

None of these jars cost more than a few dollars and they hold trims, thread, ribbons, buttons and embroidery floss. Storage Tip #4: Use Glass Jars for Storage. You can see what you have and they’re pretty to look at.

When it’s time to embroider, for example, I just pull out this jar and take it with me to my chair.

I already had the vintage glove boxes, which also provide storage.

Back to ‘Use what you have’ – this set of vintage Chinese nesting baskets is something I’ve had hanging around for years. I spray painted it white and now it’s in the studio holding fat quarters, trims and patterns. Because the baskets nest, I can get a lot into a tiny area.

Storage Tip #5 – Think Up. I use the top of the cabinet to display things. One of those things is a wire basket that holds trims. I also use the wall space next to the cabinet.

Hanging on the wall is this vintage feedsack shoe bag. Each pocket holds lots of supplies. It’s pretty and useful. Next to the feedsack is my mini design wall.

See? There it is, to the right. Before I got the cabinet, this whole wall was a design wall. When the cabinet came into the studio, I decided to get rid of most of it, but this one section has remained. It reaches the ceiling, so there’s a lot of design space available. Right now, since I’m not working on a quilt, it displays my embroidery projects and my mom’s baby dress. But the minute I need it, it will be available for design work.

Storage Tip #6: Have fun – add something whimsical (but useful) to your space. I treated myself to Letitia last year. She was found on eBay for $75. Since it was birthday money, the cost to me was $0. Her presence adds a lot to the studio and she also serves as a display for all sorts of things. Last year, she modeled some of my crocheted scarves for my readers. Beautifully, I might add.

Nothing in this space cost more than $75. (I’m not counting the sewing machine which I’ve had for years.) Most of it I already had on hand. By the way, my supplies are not all neatly contained in the studio. I have a closet in the guest room where I store fabric, yarn, and my ‘real job’ work supplies. I work on my dollhouse in a corner of the den. I sometimes need more space and spread things out on the kitchen table. But everything has a place and when I’m finished for the day, it all goes back.

Maybe these ideas will serve as a bit of inspiration. You can create a space for crafts and craft storage in a tiny space.

We’re hoping you’ll give us ideas for future posts. Share your thoughts and your solutions with us.

Stop by and visit Brenda, who lives with her 2 little dogs in 1010 square feet in Tulsa. She has some wonderful ideas to share with you.

Over the Weekend

October 3, 2011 at 4:56 pm by Claudia

Over the weekend:

I added some lace to the edge of the upper shelf in the studio cabinet. It will do for now, but I think it is too close to the color of the shelf – not enough contrast. Hello brides and grooms!

I found a place to hang the pretty embroidered guest towel from Jill:

I won that rustic hanger a while back from Jennifer at The Old Painted Cottage. Unable to decide where to hang it, I put it away until inspiration struck. It struck over the weekend. As long as Don doesn’t sleep walk out of the bathroom, which is just to the left of the cabinet, and dry his hands, it should be safe.

I looked at this and thought there must be a more attractive way to store my crocheted-throw-in-progress:

You were thinking I would follow with a photo of some beautiful container? Nope. Haven’t found one yet. Though it won’t make any design magazine spread, the box is right by my chair in the den and holds everything I need to work on this mammoth throw. Can’t use a basket – the yarn will snag. Any ideas?

I received a phone call from Don on Friday saying we were going on a ‘Mystery Date’ that night. He gave not a hint of where we were going. We ended up driving to a town that is right next to the wee hamlet we used to live in. I still had no idea what the heck was going on until we turned a corner and I saw the marquee: “Gordon Lightfoot tonight.” I was totally surprised and delighted.

I’ve been a fan for years – I saw him in concert at least 3 times when I was much younger and somehow wrangled my way backstage and got his autograph. Don saw him more recently when I was away working in California. This time we got to experience his artistry together. It was a magical evening and just what I needed.

Gordon Lightfoot and my mother were both born in the same town of Orillia, Ontario. I feel that makes him a sort of cousin. Gordon might not feel the same way.

Another scary photo of Scout. This one cracks me up.

The call of the wild.

Where I Create

July 14, 2011 at 7:00 pm by Claudia

Welcome! I’ve participated in Where Bloggers Create for the past two years and almost didn’t participate this year. Then I realized that there are a few new things in the studio, so here I am! For those of you who haven’t been here before, my studio is located on our upstairs landing and hallway. Our cottage is so tiny that, at first, I thought I would have to forego having a separate space until one day my husband and I stood in the hallway and had a ‘eureka’ moment. We rolled my sewing machine table into the little niche at the top of the stairs and suddenly we had an extra room. It has evolved over the past 3 years into a sweet and lovely getaway in which to create. Here’s the view as you come up the stairs:

How fortunate to have a skylight above my sewing table! Now a view from the hallway:

As you turn the corner to your right you will see this:

And a view from the stairway:

Now for some details!

This wall is to the left of the sewing machine. The shelf is an old mantel that I repainted in a pretty shade of aqua. It’s full of some of my favorite things. I also hang strips of fabric from a hook attached to the mantel – making them very handy to grab when sewing.

I had this bulletin board sitting around, so I painted and antiqued it, covered it in sheet music and added some decorative trim. It’s my ‘Pretty Board for Pretties’ and it makes me smile.

This lovely old spice shelf hangs on the same wall. That’s a vintage putz sheep I bought in California wearing a party hat that I made, along with some wooden doll clothespins, a Scottie match holder and a pretty pink bottle from Elyse.

The sewing machine is covered in a vintage doily roll. I had the doily roll for a while before I realized it would be the perfect dust cover for the machine. A new addition to the studio is the white shelf on the wall. I rediscovered it when cleaning out our shed. A couple of coats of paint and it now works beautifully in the sewing space. The colorful pin cushions were made by Betty and the little dress painting is by Lara.

To the right of the sewing machine is an inspiration/memory board, chock full of every little thing I want to hold on to and remember.

One of my favorite things is this beautiful chair. It was in my friend Heidi’s shop when I first saw it last fall. Since my birthday was coming up, Heidi told my husband that I really wanted it. Isn’t it beautiful? I love the soft shades of pink used in the chair itself and in the upholstery. I found the pansy print in a little shop in Owensboro, Kentucky.

To the right of the sewing table is my bookshelf – full of decorating and crafting books. (I had to assemble the bookshelf and found out too late that it came with two left sides. That was a day I would rather not repeat. Lots of cursing.) The photos are of my late brother and me visiting Santa. And Lambchop, my muse, watches over all studio activity:

She’s sitting on her new perch – a vintage sewing basket in the perfect shade of pink that I just brought back from Wisconsin. I was working there for seven weeks on a coaching job. Isn’t it pretty?

The cupboard is new to the studio since the last WBC. I bought it from a local lady through Craig’s List. It’s full of all sorts of tools and supplies and the shelves are full of beautiful (to me) things. Some of them I have collected or discovered; some of these treasures have been given to me by my dear blogging friends. The clothespins are from Elyse, the plates are the Claudia pattern by Spode and were given to me by Donna, the sugar bowl is from Sue.

Nestled in with my cake toppers, the photo on the right is of my mom on her wedding day.

The beautiful pink shoe was made by Sandy of Quill Cottage. The detail is incredible.

My friend Lori, the owner of my favorite store – Vignettes in San Diego – gave me this beautiful putz sheep that I had been eyeing. She had Karen Lampard of Cafe Paperie dress her up in beautiful style. I really love her – her name is Sophie – and she lives on top of the cupboard. (I miss Vignettes so much!) The black and white photo of a rose was taken by my late brother, Dave.

On the right side of the cupboard I have a mini-design wall and my vintage feedsack shoe bag. The shoe bag holds all sorts of special things. The design wall currently displays some of my embroidery and a dress my mom wore when she was a toddler. The lovely white bag was made by Monica. That’s a silk parasol from Japan given to me when I was a young girl by my cousin who was a soldier serving in Japan. Oh, and the photos are of my husband and me when we were about the same age.

To the right of the design wall, I’ve hung a chalkboard:

I have a Chinese nesting basket next to the cupboard. It holds a lot of fabric.

The other new addition? Letitia, my vintage dress form. She was my birthday gift to myself last year. Isn’t she lovely? She’s named after my Aunt Lettie. I used to be an actress and she’s wearing bloomers that I once wore in a play. I kept them because they were so wonderful and were designed by a dear friend of mine. I think they look pretty spiffy on Letitia. And her beautiful flower was made by Debi. To the left of Letitia on the carpet is a vintage display sign I found some months back. It says, in a wonderful Art Deco font right out of a Fred Astaire movie, “Lady Duff, Gowns and Slips.” The banner was made by Maryjane.

So there you have it. I’ve packed quite a lot into this small, light-filled space. Trust me, you can create your own little space just about anywhere. This would just be a bland hallway if we hadn’t discovered that it could hold my sewing machine. After that, there was no stopping me. Now it has become another room in our house. I also have a closet in the guest room full of supplies and a craft table that folds down and lives in our bedroom.

Can you tell that my favorite colors are pink and aqua?

I’m proud to say that my studio space was published in the Spring 2011 issue of Studios magazine.

I was honored and thrilled that Studios wanted to showcase my use of a small space. I wrote the piece and there’s even a floor plan of this strangely shaped space on the next page!

Thank you to Karen of My Desert Cottage who is the mastermind behind this wonderful event. Click on her link to visit everyone taking part. You’ll see some amazing creative spaces.

Thank you so much for coming by. I can’t wait to visit everyone. And I will. I visited every participant last year and I will this year, as well. Happy creating!

I’m also linking to Pink Saturday, since my studio has lots of wonderful pink everywhere. Thank you to Beverly for featuring me this week! And a warm welcome to everyone visiting from Pink Saturday.

Defending the Small House #1

Over the Weekend

Where I Create

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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