A month or so ago Cheryl Sleboda of Muppin.com and Sew Much Cosplay put out a call for bloggers to take part in the yearly Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop. We were asked to take a photo (or seven) of our studio as it was and then clean it up and share the difference.

Due to being very sick with numerous chronic illnesses, I haven’t really sewn in my studio since last November, so it was a complete and utter disaster. It had turned in to a dumping ground for all my sewing and craft supplies, as well as my daughters supplies (I didn’t know about that part until I started cleaning). I am also redoing my fabric, craft and product storage in my workroom (I know it sounds weird that there are two rooms, but they are rather small and one just couldn’t contain everything) and I was storing a lot of the bins holding my fabric in my studio.

It was ridiculous.

When ever I needed to sew something real quick, I’d just use my machine that I had stashed away in the dining room. Again, ridiculous.

So I jumped on the chance to force myself to clean my studio up. I NEEDED the push so badly.

If you are curious about how bad it was, and then what it looked like afterwards, then keep reading…

So here is the before…

I couldn’t even walk in there!! I had started storing my everyday sewing supplies permanently in my travel sewing box.

Ridiculous.

Are you ready for the reveal?

Eh? Eh?

Well, here you go…

I can see the actual floor now! I can even walk on it. Crazy, right?

I even had room to bring in a ladder and have my husband finally help me hang this metal sign I’ve been hoarding for almost 7 years.

I had bought it when PA Fabrics was going out of business in Lemoyne, PA. My mom would always take me to the Baltimore location and it was a staple in my creative life. So I am beyond happy that I get to have a piece of the shop hanging in my studio.

I also like how much contrast it adds to the kind of hectic wall.

I also finally hung all the acrylic peg hooks I had designed and laser cut for myself. They hold my tools very nicely as well as dowels to hold my washi tape.

My husband and I also took this time to switch out some bookshelves. I had a skinnier dark grey bookshelf under my TV originally, but I switched it out with a wider white one we had in our bedroom. It added storage AND blends in with the wall a bit more.

I also added a shelf in my closet storage to hold my paper cutter.

I’m still trying to decide what to do with the storage on the top shelf in the closet. Do I add another shelf? Do I add a curtain to hide everything? Its just my zipper, Velcro and other bulk item storage, nothing special.

I kind of organized my thread in rainbow order as well. Not all my thread, but my mostly used thread. The rest of it is either stored with my longarm or in storage containers under the pegboard desks.

Do you like my thread storage? I made it using clear nail polish racks attached to patchwork wood.

This is my ironing corner! I couldn’t find an ironing board that I liked, so I made one.

This is a 2′x4′ piece of plywood covered in cotton batting, ironing board fabric and quilting cotton. I then attached it to a rolling metal cart. It has been perfect with my gravity fed iron. Plus being on wheels means I can move it away from the door for the rare chance I may want to use the patio out there (we don’t use it much because it’s long, skinny and uncovered)

Since we are on the subject of things I made because I am picky, here is my design wall!

It is made from two large pieces of 1/2′ thick Homasote (paper board) that I covered in flannel and attached to the wall. It kind of does double duty in the room. The flannel allows for me to use it like a normal everyday design wall, and the Homasote makes it like a cork board. So I can attached finished pieces, papers, inspiration and EPP pieces that wouldn’t normally stick to a design wall.

OK, well that is it for now! Maybe I’ll feel good about this room again and maybe share more photos? OR maybe I’ll share some photos of the other room being redone? Would you like to see that?

If you enjoyed my CLEAN studio and would like to tour other creative’s studio then you should check out the rest of the Studio Spring Clean Blog Hop…

I explain what type of design files I used, the dimensions of these exact drawers and more. If you’d like to read more check out the post!

Where else would you use one?

I especially love amusement park plates, like the one shown above. Enchanted forest holds a special place in my art. I have a bunch of memories (and photos around here somewhere) of that place both from my childhood, and then as a stupid teenager who would sneak into it after it was abandoned and all run down. I think we paid the most for this piece, a whole $10, because my husband is also from the area and remembers it.

I am up to almost 80 plates total. I pick up most of antique malls, or thrift shops, but I also receive some as gifts because my friends and family know I love them. I have this grand plan to hang them all going up my stairs to the top level. It’s a huge wall that is about 6 feet wide and 14-18 feet tall depending on where on the steps you are. I figured I could finish it all in about a week or so.

Yeah, I was SO wrong! First I forgot that about half of the plates need plate hangers or new hooks. 40 or so plate hangers starts to add up in cost, so I’ve had to slowly pick them up when I see them on sale. Then the second thing I didn’t think about is the fact that I am 5’2″ and I don’t have a ladder that can go on stairs. It’s funny that the second problem didn’t occur to me until I hit my limit height wise! I was just so excited about hanging them all.

For now I have a good chunk of them up, give or take I believe it’s about 30. I am on the lookout for a good ladder to buy, because I know I’ll have more plans that require one. For now I get to come downstairs every morning and see just part of my collection displayed, and I’m cool with that.

Oh and as always, I’ll share more photo’s when I actually finish this project.

We didn’t have any wiring where I wanted it to go above the morning room table, but we did have a hanging lamp a few feet away that I didn’t like anymore, so he just pulled the wiring to to the new spot and put a plate over the old spot. The only issue with the way we did this was the old lamp was on a switch in the kitchen, not the morning room. It’s on one of those plates with numerous switches. Those are confusing as it is, and having a lamp that’s in the next area over doesn’t help. Oh and it’s also the switch directly next to the disposal one, so that makes for some interesting reactions when you hit the wrong switch.

I’ve never switched the wrong one because I hate the sound the disposal makes, but other people have! It’s happened a few times when silverware had accidentally fallen in the disposal, and since they weren’t expecting to hit the disposal switch, no one checked first. My poor silverware.

My original idea was to just put a random sticker on the switch plate for my husband to know which one is which. Though I then figured that would still be confusing for others, and what if someone was getting something out of the disposal while someone else wanted to turn the light on?!?!

All of this led to a super simple solution…

A decal in the shape of the lamp. I cut it out using my Silhouette, but with patience and time it could have been cut out by hand! I used a vinyl sheet I found in the scrapbooking section of Joann’s that cost me $1.50 and since it was super tiny, I still have a load of vinyl leftover for other projects.

The disposal hasn’t accidentally go on since putting it up, and we had a bunch of people in our kitchen over the past few weeks. They all understood what the decal meant, plus they loved how clean it looked.

I have never really liked decals before, but now I have the urge to put them on everything!! For instance I now have a man/woman logo on the basement bathroom door, that way no one walks into the utility room or workroom accidentally. The bathroom is clearly marked!

The top photo is a full shot of the living room! I feel like it looks less packed when viewed this way. It’s my second favorite room in the house and I spend most mornings here waiting for CT to wake up.

Also please note that since taking these photos the coffee table has been over run by lalaloopsies and I don’t think I’ll be moving them anytime soon.

This room will be changing again very soon anyway. I have already bought all the supplies to make a sofa table for behind the couch in the middle. I’m going to attempt to make one using wood, stain and pipes. Kinda like you see all over pinterest. I’m hoping to start on it this weekend since all the holiday craziness is over. Though I do have CT’s birthday party in 8 days… Ugh. I have too many ideas and goals and not enough time.

I figured I had all of the extra photos from the “At Home With…” post, so why not share them? Most are up close shots, with a few, sorta, full views. I just like taking close up shots, I guess it’s because I take photos of little things ALL THE TIME!

Anyway, Enjoy!

 Haha, I didn’t even notice that my little Eiffel Tower was knocked over!!! I wonder what else is out of place? Also, these close up shots totally show imperfections. Like that gap between the corner bookcases.

That Coraline key is one of my favorite things I own. It was a promotional gift for people who saw the premiere of the movie. I found it on Ebay.

I have a few photos of the Living Room too. I’m planning on sharing those later next week, after all the crazy holiday stuff is over.

I’d also like to say thank you to all of my readers who commented on the original post! You guys were all too sweet and you totally made my day!

This past weekend our home was featured over on A Beautiful Mess! It was part of their series called “At Home With…” where they showcase different types of homes and styles. I was excited to be chosen!

I haven’t posted a nice house tour on here in awhile, so if you would like to see how my home has changed over the past year you should go check it out!

I wish I could say I finished the room, but if that was true, you would see more than close up pictures! I still have a lot of work to do. I need to install some more shelves in the closet for supplies that are only used every so often. I need a few more containers for scrap fabric (all the blue and green fabrics are just in piles until this happens). I need to get all my quilting fabric on bolts and out of the baskets to make room for more apparel fabric (I have plans). I need to transfer all my beading supplies to one area. I need some actual lighting and maybe a chair? Ha. yeah, that’s the state of things, I don’t even have a chair!

I’m also thinking of doing some cosmetic things in the room, just to make it pretty to me. I was thinking last night about maybe a chalkboard wall? I have one in my kitchen and love it, but I’m a bit worried about a mess. The one in the kitchen leaves chalk dust all over the baseboards and wood floors. It’s easy enough to clean up, but I don’t know how easy that would be on carpet. Has anyone else had experience with this? How about Chalk Pens? Maybe they wouldn’t have the dust? (I think I have one around here somewhere to try out)

Once this room is done, just like the kitchenette, I’ll share more photos!!

Oh and friendly reminder! make sure to check out yesterdays post where you can win a Blue Garden necklace, just by telling me your favorite color combo!

I know I haven’t really shared much of my house lately. Probably because it’s in a constant state of change lately. I can’t seem to make up my mind about certain things. Plus I’m all about the idea of slow decorating, where you are super picky about what you bring in the house and don’t rush to get it done all at once. It’s a very budget friendly way or doing things actually, because you can find vintage things or items on sale!

This slow way of decorating has made our kitchenette feel super unfinished and plain. Well, plain compared to the rest of the house. The walls are painted, the frames are hung, there’s even a bunch of furniture, but it still feels super unfinished! I’m not super fond of the rug and plan on replacing it with this rug whenever we can get to an Ikea. I also have this lamp (in wood) that needs to be hung (and a new switch, lots of wiring). Maybe the thought of these “missing pieces” makes me feel this way?

I hope that once I feel this room is presentable I can share more than just the walls (and a Hello Kitty in disguise)!!

Oh and on a kinda side note, what would YOU call the room in between the kitchen and the living room where you eat? Is it called a kitchenette? or is it called something else? I just assumed that’s what it was called.