Bobbin Storage Solution - Keep Them Neat

 

I was starting to get so frustrated when choosing my bobbins because of all the loose threads. I don't remember where I saw this idea but I thought I'd try it and it works beautifully.

I went to a home store (Menards, Lowes, Home Depot) and picked up some vinyl tubing. I picked up a whole lot of it (more than enough to share) for under $10. What you need to get is the following:

1/2" I.D. X 5/8" O.D. Clear Vinyl Tubing

The I.D. means inner diameter and the O.D. means outer diameter. 

I found that the easiest way to cut them is to cut off about an 8-inch length. Cut a slit lengthwise then open up one of the ends and cut it into thin (under 1/4") strips. I didn't measure, I just judged by eye. They just need to fit in the bobbin to cover the thread.

Then you just wrap the plastic piece around the thread. That's it, you're done!

Operation Wheelbarrow Restoration

My husband loves to restore old things back to their original glory. This wheelbarrow has been in his family for over 60 years. He loves working in the yard and he uses this wheelbarrow all the time.

As you can see in the lower photo, this thing was in seriously bad condition. Instead of buying a new one, he knew that he could fix this one up. He has a friend who owned a powder coating business so he took care of the steel parts. Brian purchased new handles, nuts, and bolts, and then rebuilt it. Can you believe it's the same wheelbarrow? I saw those old handles, and quite honestly, I'm surprised they didn't fall apart they were so rotted!

Images in page from "Thoughts of Summer" Clipart kit available at my Etsy Shop.

No Snowman Toy For Bubba!

I made the little snowman decoration somewhere around twelve years ago. The kids were still in middle school. So I've had him for many years. I woke up to Brian asking me this morning if I made a snowman toy for Bubba. Since this snowman was made about five years before Bubba was born, I have to say no.

Will he ever be able to tell the difference between his toys and mine?

From Craft & Sewing Room to Guest Room

Many of you have already seen my new craft and sewing room. If you didn't, you can see that post here. I was amazed at how quickly it turned from my work space to the guest room in less than ten minutes. This week my daughter has been visiting from Delaware and we got to try out the new room. It couldn't be easier. I just took down the craft table, placed it flat on the floor and pulled the bed down from the wall. I put on some clean bedding, added pillows and Voila! Guest room!!!

Once I took my sewing machine off the sewing table, it gave them a nice desk area to place their laptops. The baskets on the bottom shelves of the wall where the bed is are always kept empty so that my guests can use them to stash things inside. The kids slipped them under the shelves and they have little bedside tables now. Perfect!

If anyone is trying to think of a way to to make a room do double duty, I highly suggest a Murphy bed. It does require tools and a knowledge of woodworking, but it makes for a cozy space, and is quite comfy.

Images in scrap page are from my Fun in the Tub & Crafting Fun which are available at my Etsy Shop, Clipart Shop, and my Website.

My New Sewing Room

The moment has arrived! It's time to show you my new sewing and craft room. The only thing left to do is to build a new work table but that will have to wait until after summer projects that Brian plans to get done around the house. For now this table suits my purpose. The big cabinet behind the table is actually a Murphy bed. When I have overnight guests, I simply fold up the table and pull down the bed. I hope you like a lot of pictures!

Here it is from another angle. Yes, I do use that file organizer (long thing on the wall) that I sell the pattern for. It comes in quite handy. You might also notice the portable ironing board that I made for my room. If you click on my "Tutorials" tab at the top, you can see how to make your own. After I buy new bed linens, I'll show you the room when it is turned into a guest room.

If you follow my blog regularly, you've already seen this awesome wall of shelves that hubby built for me. The top shelves are covered because it hides the ugly stuff.

On to the details... I have photos throughout the room of those most near and dear to me. I even have one shelf dedicated to display a few of them. I also have a great spot to hang my favorite aprons. It's my new souvenir collection. It's a fun thing to collect while on vacations.

You see the baskets on the bottom shelves of the units next to the Murphy bed (top picture). Those are empty for now, but I thought they'd be handy when the room turns into a guest room. My guests will have little "drawers" to stash things in. The sewing machine table will become a writing desk or a place for my kids to use their laptops when they are visiting from Delaware. Right now you see a blanket next to the sewing machine. That is Punkie's favorite place to lay.

I found these bed risers laying around. They lift my table up to a comfy level for crafting. And these great storage containers have been on sale at Michael's. I'm going to get two more. They are perfect for storing the tiny scraps.

I actually have 4 areas for storing fabric. Here is where you'll find my 100% cottons which I use mostly. I also have a cabinet along the wall by the sewing machine where I store my smaller fabric piles (3/4 yard and under), I also have those storage containers (photo above this one) where I store the tiny scraps, and I use the top shelves of the new shelves to store felt and decorating fabrics.

My cutting tools, pencils, rotary cutters, and decorative edge scissors are so handy in these little mugs and flower pot.

I love the pretty glass jars for storing the colorful stuff! The photo in the left picture is of my grandmother who actually gave me the creative gene. I can remember hours of crafting when I would visit her. This picture was taken in the 1920's but you can tell that by her hairstyle.

And it all started with the plans above! I hope you have enjoyed my tour. I love my new room and I love the man that made it possible for me. A big thank you to my awesome husband!!!

Busy, Sick, Life

My poor blog! For the past few weeks I've been neglecting my blog, my Etsy shop, my website, and pretty much anything involving the Internet or computer. Between working on my sewing room, being sick, and life in general, I've been pre-occupied. So much to do and so little time. This stupid sinus infection has lasted forever and has had me in slow motion for weeks.

Today I got a huge energy bug and made the curtains for my sewing room. I'm so happy with the way they turned out and they look so much better than the boring blue ones that were there before. I thought it would be cute to "button" the valance to the curtain. How perfect for a sewing room.

I also got a good start on wrapping my fabric today but I'll save that for another post. But let me say that I love the comic book backing boards! My fabric never looked so neat and tidy. I plan to wait at least a couple of weeks before putting it on my new shelves (being built now) because I want them to have time to cure. In the meantime though, I can at least see what I have and can even throw together a few little things.

And did I mention the view from my sewing room? This picture was taken last spring. These guys live in the woods behind my house. I can't wait to see this year's babies!

Organizing Craft Supplies

As I've said before, I've been bit by the crafting bug. But now I can't stop! I got started on a project tonight but before I started I thought I should get my fabric into some sort of organized manner. So that is what I did. And the fabric above is just a small representation of my stash. it doesn't even show all my home dec fabric, fleece, corduroy, satins, silks, and broadcloths. Remember that I worked at JoAnn Fabrics off and on for 10 years, you can just imagine how much I've accumulated over the years with my discount. To think that when I went through a divorce 6 years ago I had about 5 times as much but I donated most of it because I had no room for it when I had to move into an apartment. Now 6 years later I'm happily married, down to working only 30 hours a week, have lots more room, and am ready to craft!
I have a pretty big walk-in closet in the guest room where I store many of my craft supplies. I also store all my beading and jewelry making supplies under the bed in that room in a super big, under the bed storage bin. I keep everything in Ziploc bags (various sizes) so I can see everything at a glance. It works for me. I like to make the most of my space. Unfortunately I don't have a room to call my own for crafting. Does anyone have any great storage ideas? I do find that plastic bags, big Rubbermaid storage bins, and the smaller, clear clothing and shoe bins are very helpful. I'm looking for all the advice I can get!

Below you will see a picture of the project I am starting now. Do you see a pet theme happening here?

Labor Day Weekend

It was a wonderful three day weekend but as usual, it always goes too fast. I didn't have many plans this weekend but I was in the creative mode in a very BIG way as you can probably tell. I've also been working on a big project but I'm not telling what it is yet. You'll find out soon enough.

We did go to the neighbor girl's Sweet 16 party today. It was nice and they sure do have a lot of friends! We are so lucky to have great neighbors. Well, there is one neighbor that is the Evil SheDevil, but doesn't every neighborhood have at least one?

On another note, where else but in the great Midwest does it go from 95 degrees and humid to 60 degrees in little over a 24 hour time frame? Well that's what happened this weekend. We had to face the fact that it was time to close the pool. Hard to believe that the falling leaves were already filling up the pool. I sure am seeing a lot of early signs of fall this year. Yes, it's a sad, sad day when we have to get out the big pool covers and shut down the mechanics.

How was your weekend? I hope you were able to do something fun, productive, or some well needed slugging.

Before & After Simple Project

When we remodeled the kitchen there was one small space that we never quite finished because we didn't know what we wanted to do. We actually bought a couple different trims to put there but nothing looked quite right. So for a year we left it as the ugly eyesore that it was. Well, that was until our trip to Florida and I saw how my Dad made a cute little bulletin board out of the side of his cabinets. So yes, I stole his idea.

His though is different. He cut a piece of cork board down to fit perfectly, then trimmed it out with a nice trim. We were going to do the same thing but Brian found an entire framed cork board that had the perfect dimensions and it had a black trim which is the perfect color to match our kitchen. He had to cut a strip of wood and attach it so that it would lay flat. He attached it and we now have a cute place to stick photos, coupons, recipes, whatever.

The only thing my board is missing are the cute little tacks my step mom uses for hers. Think I'll stop on the way home from work and pick some up. Or...maybe I'll pick up some plain push pins and raid my button jar!

For those of you who haven't met Howard yet, scroll down to the bottom of my blog and watch his little video.