August 8 - "Old School" Bean Bags

I cut out and stitched 6 rainbow colored bean bags today.  These are the "old school" bean bags that I played with as a child.  I filled them with beans that had been stitched into a white muslin bag and then inserted into the pretty rainbow colored print outer bag.

August 6 - Hen Party (and more bean bags)

Here are some shots of recently finished bean bags that I have made.  I am still refining the chicken/hen pattern.

August 6 - Bobby and Noah

Dan picked up Emily, Robert, Bobby, and Noah this afternoon at the Charlotte airport.  They are returning home after 6 weeks in London.  Robert's job took them there while he was working on the London 2012 Olympics.  Here are some cute shots I got of Bobby and Noah today.  We have missed them!

August 5 - More Bean Bag Production

I spent some time today sewing on my bean bag project.  Here are some shots I took in my creative space today.

August 4 - Good Fortune and Tomato Pasta

The subjects for my photographs today are the fortune from my Friday lunch cookie and some of the ingredients for our tomato pasta dinner.  Both were good!

August 3 - Play-Doh with Emma

I picked Emma up from school today.  We stopped for a frozen yogurt (our favorite TCBY Pineapple and Pink Lemonade flavors) on the way to our home for play time and dinner.  The dogs had been to day camp during the day, so were sleeping most of the time.  Emma decided that she wanted to play with our Play-Doh collection.  Here are some shots I took during our play time.

August 2 - A Chicken and a Turtle

I designed and made up a new chicken bean bag in a white and black polka dot cotton.  On my cutting table are one in brown and one in orange with a few design modifications.

I also finished a little brown and aqua blue turtle bean bag to add to the mounting bean bag pile. 

August 1 - Bean Bag Pile (it's growing)

July 31 - Ideas for Large Crafting in a Small Area

Welcome to a tour of my creative space!  I am sharing some ideas I used in my home for crafting LARGE in a small space.

We converted a small 10x10 foot room plus closet to become my office/sewing/crafting room.  The previous owners of our home had used it for a nursery.  It is off our back hallway and adjacent to our kitchen and dining rooms. 

I wanted a room that matched the rest of our home's decor and was high functioning.  I do all kinds of arts and crafts - photography, sewing, quilting, drawing, painting, and more.  I also needed lots of storage for my craft supplies, as I do tend to get an idea and want to start on it immediately - many times in the late night or early morning hours.  I like to have supplies at hand when I need them.

We pulled up the wall to wall carpeting and had a ceramic tile floor put in.  Then came the painting, wall paper, hanging 27 antique botanical flower prints, and the furniture.  We added a floral wool rug to warm up the room.

My files came from the Container Store http://www.containerstore.com/shop/storage/drawers?productId=10009264&green=DBB07DB2-05A3-50F9-0E7B-989E1EBA8EC8, the counter high desk from Pottery Barn http://www.potterybarn.com/products/bedford-project-table-set/ , my work table/desk was an unfinished table that I painted black to match the rest of the furniture. 

Then came the closet built-ins.....

We used a combination of shelves and drawers.  I covered the interior of one closet door with cork tiles to have a bulletin board and hung a clear plastic storage bag on the inside of the other door.  I have 2 of these clear plastic over-the-door storage units.  One is on the inside of the closet door and the other is hiding on the back side of the door to my office.  I use them to store supplies for projects that I am currently working and it is great to be able to see everything at a glance!  I purchased these at Homegoods and the brand is Simply Stashed models "The Original" 52"x19" 20 identical pockets and "The Details" 52"x19" with 23 various sized pockets.

I stocked the closet with plastic shoe boxes, magazine holders, and boxes from the Container Store to hold craft supplies.  I like the translucent and clear plastic ones so I can see what is inside. 

The closet also contains binders that store inspirational clippings I have collected over the years.  I bought presentation binders from Staples and inserted scrapbook paper and labels to coordinate them with the room's decor. 

My wireless photo printer is on one of the shelves.  The first drawer holds small items in plastic boxes that are recycled (they used to hold computer tapes).  As you can see, I rely heavily on my label maker to help me keep organized!

The remainder of the drawers hold the larger cuts of my fabric stash.  I also keep fat quarters and small cuts of fabric out in a couple of wire baskets organized by color for easy access.  My wool felt is rolled and ready stored in a couple of glass vases.  Buttons I am using in a current project are in a glass jar.

In one corner I use a floor standing photo carousel purchased from Pottery Barn to hold patterns, photos, and note cards http://www.potterybarn.com/products/floor-standing-photo-carousel/ .  The corner also holds a large basket to hold wrapping paper, fabric rolls, and mailing tubes containing freezer paper and Heat'n Bond.

I also repurposed a natural wicker hamper as a trash can.  It is attractive and holds a lot of fabric scraps and trash.

I use an antique tool caddy to hold my collection of drawing pencils and other tools.  I like to keep them at arms reach.  I am utilizing antique jars to hold buttons and a canister to hold beans that I am using in a current project.  These supplies are rotated from my closet to counter top depending on what I am working on at the time.

I store all my markers horizontally in a small filing cabinet purchased at the Container Store - love the orange!

As you can see, I have a lot of crafting resources packed into 100 square feet + the closet area.  I don't like clutter, so most is hidden when the closet doors are shut and the door is open to my office.  I love my space and it suits me.  I hope you enjoyed this post and some of the ideas I have used in my creative space.  I have to admit, this space does not always look this great....just view my previous blog post http://lauri-nananews.blogspot.com/2012/08/july-30-mess-in-my-sewing-room-another.html to see it in a mess!

July 30 - A mess in my sewing room + another owl bean bag

I have been in what my family refers to as a "creative frenzy" lately.  My latest project is making animal bean bags.  Here is today's view of my sewing area (a huge mess) along with today's addition to the bean bag pile.

July 29 - New frog design + more bean bags

After making a cute frog bean bag using a pattern I ordered, I decided to design my own pattern based on a drawing I made for an applique pattern a while ago.  I am pleased with the way he turned out.

New frog bean bag design

Digital drawing I did for an applique

Frog bean bag friends

I finished a few more bean bags to add to the ever growing pile.  Here they are.

July 28 - Fabric Jelly Roll + More Bean Bags

I purchased a much coveted fabric jelly roll at my favorite quilt shop yesterday.  Here is a shot of it along with the latest additions to my growing pile of animal bean bags.  I plan to let my grandchildren pick the ones they want, let a friend pick some for a new baby, and use the rest to seed some inventory for an Etsy shop.

July 27 - Crocodile Bean Bag

I designed a new animal bean bag pattern today - a crocodile.  He has rick rack embellishments along his spine and for teeth.  I like the way he turned out!  He is made from 100% cotton, stuffed with poly-pellets, and has a wool felt heart applique.  I especially like the polka dot tummy!

July 26 - Unwinding at the end of the day

My photo of the day today is of a chilled glass of Pinot Grigio and a couple of Snyder's pretzels (my favorites) that I enjoyed at the close of a busy day.

July 25 - Bean Bags!

I have been spending the last few days making bean bags for my grandchildren using up colorful fabric, buttons, and wool felt scraps from my extensive stash.  I filled them with polyester beads instead of beans so that they would not be ruined if they get wet.  Here are the results.  I've included a pattern for the Owl Bean Bag in case you want to make one for yourself!  Enjoy!

If you liked this pattern, you may also enjoy my tutorial and pattern template to make a little fish bean bag or soft toy - http://lauri-nananews.blogspot.com/2012/08/august-16-little-fishy-pattern-and.html .  Here is a photo of the finished fish.