Thursday, April 25, 2013

Small Stamps storage

After I created the storage for my bigger stamp collections, I wanted a similar solution for the smaller stamps that you usually get for 99 cents.


I found this mini filing cabinet for $3.00 at Big lots stores and thought it was the perfect solution.  It has a gray color, which I painted black and distressed it to match my other stamp storage crates.


I changed the color by making a patina. I used different inks from the metallic ink collection from Martha Stewart.


You can see the difference from the original. I love it more this way because it now matches my bigger stamps storage crates.


For the inside I followed the same technique I used for my bigger stamp storage. But this time I used baseball card holder sheets (99 cents a pack in Dollar tree stores).


I cut the sheets carefully with my scissors, getting 9 pieces per sheet. Then I inserted a piece of cardstock to be able to use either side.


I used black cardstock to make dividers for different categories.


It gives me more storage and facility to see all of my little stamps.


 The cabinet will be easily stackable if you  own a great amount of stamps. I was really pleased after I set up my stamp section with all the space that I have to store  my future stamps.



Thanks for reading and your comments!

Monday, April 22, 2013

My Craft Room Updated

This weekend I started sketching ideas and decided to upgrade my crafting area. Something that makes me happy is crafting and to me spending time in my craft room is more a necessity.


We began the new craft room redo by taking everything out, repainting and reorganizing all my furniture to be more productive. We created an island with two Ikea expedite bookshelves that I already owned, plus part of an old bedroom set for the top. This is the perfect working area for all projects.

  It also holds some decorative items and my mounted wood stamps.


 An old dresser serves the purpose of storage for all my daughter's painting supplies. We added a little shelving unit from Goodwill to display all of her prized possessions.


The inside drawers holds all of her painting supplies.


My mini store remained with the same setup. The only new thing is the stamp storage cubes and the mini filing cabinet.


On top of my Mini store are two painted art canvas. They are a gift from my daughter, and are my pride and joy.


The most changes have been made on my desk with items that have been bought on clearance or at thrift stores and reconditioned.


My paint station mini cabinet holds all my watercolor trays, gelatos, glimmer mists, stamps blocks and other items. It cost me $7.99 in Goodwill stores.


My distress inks tower that I made out of a cassette holder from Goodwill. Costing only $2.68


The most recent addition to my craft room is my new sewing area.


And finally my pegboard had a mini makeover by adding a wood frame around it.


For more information on how I purchased or created some of this storage items please visit my YouTube channel for videos or read past blog posts:


Thank you for reading and your kind comments!

Saturday, April 20, 2013

DIY sewing station

This weekend I tackled a neglected area of my craft room: my sewing supplies.With my scrapbook collection growing, I had to push my sewing supplies into a little corner. But with the limited space I had, I could not find a table or any other solution to fit my needs. So I decided to make my own.


Measurements in hand, there I go to another Home depot trip. I used inexpensive wood (total cost was about $16.00), black paint and screws to get my sewing table done.


 Putting the table together was a little difficult. I had to enroll the help of an assistant (my daughter) to hold the pieces together while I drilled them in place.


 After that went a coat of black paint, just to make it match my craft room furniture.


 I left the top of my table in a natural wood color. It had this rustic feel that I liked. I just used a coat of clear sealer to protect it.


On the top, my sewing accessories finally found a home.


 This wire tower holds my most used sewing tools. I bought it at Ross stores for $4.99. It is meant for the kitchen to hold eggs!


 Glass jars that I had from Ikea hold lace, ribbons and threads.


 I placed my thread organizer above the table. I found it in the Salvation army store a couple weeks ago. It only cost me $1.99 to organize all my threads.


At the bottom of my table I embellished two plastic rolling carts to hold my fabric and the rest of my supplies. I just used scrapbook paper and labels to make them look more glamorous.



Thank you for reading and your kind comments!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

DIY jewelry cabinet storage

Like any woman I love jewelry accessories. One good piece can bring any boring outfit to a fashion statement. But here's the problem: how do you store all your pieces so they don't get tangled and damaged? Or worse, you don't see them because they are all covered in boxes or drawers?


After looking for options, some of them really expensive, I decided to create my own using wood, plywood, push pins, acrylic paint and foam core.


I wanted my cabinet to fit in an empty wall on my closet, so my first step was to take measurements.Then I went to Lowe's and had all my pieces cut. I purchased inexpensive 2 x 2 wood pieces for the sides and thin plywood for the inside. The total cost of the project was about $15.00.


At home I just put all my pieces together using nails and wood glue. Everything was painted black with just regular acrylic paint. After that I used my drill to attach the cabinet to the wall.



I used a piece of black foam core fitting the inside. I did this to make my cabinet repositionable using push pins.


 I can rearrange all the pieces by just moving the push pins.


 Now I have all my pieces displayed and it so easy to pick one because I can see everything I have to coordinate with my outfit.


And  I especially love that my bracelets have a home now.



Thanks for reading and your kind comments!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

My DIY smash book

I have been wanting one of those smash books that everybody is crazy about now, but found them to be a little girly for me, so I decided to make my own version using a binder method in which I can change the pages as I go along.
   

After creating my binder (see my previous post) I continued with the fun part: the inside pages,
I did not use a paper collection in particular but an assortment of my favorite papers, those that I have been hoarding and didn't muster the courage to use before.



I divided my book in sections: inspirational, creativity, bliss, beauty, fashion, travel and home with dividers that I made using file folders and paper.



In the inspirational section I used different journaling tags with my favorite  quotes.



Creativity is an important part for me. I intend to put here pictures of my completed projects.



The bliss section is about all the things that I love.



This section is for all things beauty.



Fashion section of my book.



The travel section.



And finally my home section.



Now my pages are ready for all my ideas, thoughts, pictures or collages.  That's what smash books are about: a place to freely express yourself. At the end the to be continued sign tell me there's always more to come.



Thanks for reading!