The Shop: Totally Thrifty Storage Solutions

Trust me on this one, it's fine to hold on to various items knowing they'll be perfect for crafting with, but to toss them into one giant plastic tote labeled "Good Stuff for Crafting"...nope... that doesn't work.  I had a bin like that for a number of years and in that time, the need for drink umbrellas did come up twice that I remember. I either forgot I had them, or I simply did not have the desire to remove from the bottom of a stack of totes the giant one labeled "Good Stuff" only to have to then, dig through the contents of the container to get to the paper parasols, which may or may not be in there somewhere.

I am now the QUEEN of re-using any plastic container.  Peanut butter, mayonnaise, hot cocoa, rice, even deli counter containers... I love 'em all.  Their various sizes offer me the perfect storage solution for vintage star-burst Christmas tree light covers, fuzzy peeps, Styrofoam golf balls, wicker angels, paper parasols, wayward game pieces, bottle corks, colored vintage tulip Christmas tree light covers, double sided foam tape, wood craft sticks, and suction cups.  The next time I discover the need for a drink umbrella, I'll know exactly where to find it.  As for the Styrofoam golf balls???? My niece and crafting partner told me to hang on to those.  I don't know why but I know exactly where they're at should we discover the need for them.

So now, instead of the imposing and utterly useless tote of "Good Stuff for Crafting", I have drawers like these which hold my former rice container of paper umbrellas and peanut butter jar of wooden craft sticks.  Every thing is neat and easy to get reach.

I have many preferred plastic containers.  One of them is the powdered coffee creamer bottles.  They are just right for decorative yarn that gets used as trim on various denim projects.

I slip an end through the hole in the top, drop the ball of yarn into the container and...

...like magic, I have trim that doesn't tangle, ready for any project.

Remember to give the containers a thorough bath before use... that hot pink yarn has the faint scent of vanilla caramel. 

Clear containers top my list of favorites so I don't have to label them... although... I do love to label things.  Prescription bottles are great for beads while those little cookie sprinkle containers are excellent for pins. Peanut butter jars are a top pick at this house for everything including house paint.  Currently, I'm a huge fan of the Crystal Light containers that contain six packets of drink mix.  I can't drink that stuff but my husband does and he knows to save the container for me.  The absolute BEST part about these wonderful containers is the cost.  THEY ARE FREE!!!

A note here, glass jars are fine but I've broken a few and that's not a fun mess in the craft space. 

All kinds of containers are fair game in this house.  Bins that have long ago lost their lids can easily hold dolls who need hair and bags that are no longer needed contain tattered tents awaiting a new use.

Even the cardboard boxes the baby wipes came in are useful.  These are great because they have handles and are completely disposable should the contents spring a leak. 

Shoe boxes, gift boxes, even old metal strainers previously used to clean fish tank pebbles will work.  Need vintage plastic clothesline pins?  They're in the NIKE box.  (I really should label that.)

All of these previously purposed containers are good to have ready.  Mine sit waiting on the top shelf in my craft storage space.  I don't save EVERY container that comes into my house.  

At this point, I feel as if I have enough coffee cans, small prescription bottles, and creamer containers, but peanut butter jars????

I'll make room for peanut butter jars.

The Shop: My Crafty Storage

I came across this blog, Crafty Storage, last month and I have to say, there are some LOVELY shops out there.  Unfortunately, mine is not one of them.  BUT, I still love it! It's all mine, my stuff, my space, my creative zone.

I've had a space in every house I've owned.  Our first home was a ranch with a finished basement.  That was a great space.  I looked for pictures of the space but came up empty.  Let's just say, it was perfect for my needs at the time.  Carpeted floor, drywall on the walls, plenty of light, and a huge walk in storage closet with shelves for all of my various boxes of fabric.  (I worked for JoAnn Fabrics through high school and college. Lot's of fabric.)  I also had a big work table, a comfy recliner, and a book shelf for all of my craft books.  It was a great space.  Then we moved, moved, and moved again and my creative spaces became smaller and smaller.  I used a dining room with the first move (so uninviting to have that mess at the front door), shared a small walk out basement space with a toddler (who had figured out quick how to turn the computer off) with the second move, and finally with the apartment we lived in while building I was reduced to carving out space in our bedroom with an unused bathroom as storage.  That first house was the last good space I had until now.

Since before we were married, we planned for the day we would build our dream home.  As we lived in or visited various homes through the years, the layout of the dream home changed but the craft space was always there.  One change was the total elimination of a formal dining room and the other was to get the craft/creative space away from the kitchen.  Thank goodness 14 years went into the planning because this place is awesome!

We live in the woods where visits by deer are common.

And this is my wintertime view to the outside.

The space is not finished yet but I'm not really bothered by that as I will gladly take plenty of well-lit space over nicely finished any day.

Yes, it is a walk out and I admit, that is very nice.  Great for crafting especially when the need for spray paint comes up.

The Crafty Storage blog that I mentioned at the beginning of this post has plenty of drool-worthy scrap supply storage solutions.  All of them are so pretty but what if you don't have that kind of money for brand new and matchy-matchy storage products?  (Or simply have too much as my husband will tell you.) Well you end up with something like I have going on here in my shop. 

Garage sale crates, a Craig's list bookshelf, displaced baskets, and some corrugated cardboard magazine holders for the 22 years worth of craft books.

Bulk ware-house metal shelving with a collection of plastic storage totes that spans 19 years.

Former toy bins slipped into wire mesh storage racks and second hand school tables.

It isn't perfect, I do have to deal with a bit of tubing and work around pipe in the floor not to mention the furnace.  The master plan for this house calls for a possible apartment in the basement if the need ever came up.  That master plan also means, I could EASILY have a utility sink in this space.  I would be MORE than HAPPY to work around a utility sink. 

The slat board and metal brackets were purchased three moves ago and are working out perfectly.

Honestly, whether your storage solution is magazine cover worthy or hodge-podge like mine, what it comes down to is organization and being able to easily get to what you've got.  My space may not be pretty but to me, it sure is inviting.  I have plenty of space to work, lots of good light, and I can find any thing I need quickly.

I can't even remember when I picked up these little bins.  They are FABULOUS for storing everything from my glue gun to jingle-bells.  And one drawer just for little bits of possibilities because who knows when an old suitcase lock might be needed for some craft.

Here is the hub of my space; my link to the outside world. Where Mickey Mouse stands ready and the internet offers up endless ideas.

Yes, the basement is where you'll find me.  It's a wee little chilly down here today but I promise, once the creativity kicks in, it's not an issue.

Yes, Another Sleigh Bell Harness

Today's craft includes a second sparkly gold sleigh bell harness I purchased at JoAnn's, a few findings from my stash, and more of my mother-in-law's decorating items.  (JoAnn Fabric & Crafts is one of my favorite places to shop.)

I put together this particular flower arrangement several years back with the intent that it would be attached to the front cover of a scrapbook I wanted to put together for my in-laws. I had hoped that the album would become sort of a coffee table book to be enjoyed by all. Well it turns out I'm horrible scrapbooker, especially when it comes to paper scrapping. It also took several more years to get the information needed to tell the story of each picture. Maybe one of these days I will finally get around to telling their story in digital form.  So this floral arrangement was really without a true purpose.  So sad.

So the first thing I'd did was take it apart.

There's a lot of good stuff there but not all of it is right for this particular craft.

First, I needed to make up a base. A few years back I got a heck of a deal on some Christmas tree garland. I think these were sold in 9 or 10 foot lengths. Each length of Garland can make three bases for these sleigh bell arrangements. Using wire cutters I cut each Garland into three somewhat equal lengths. This is crafting so we don't have to be precise.  Only one section is needed per arrangement.  The rest will be used for more sleigh bell arrangements.

With the (approximately) 3 foot section of garland, I formed a loop and connected the ends to each other. I stretched it out flat as shown in the photograph of the base. Since the harness will go down the center of the arrangement, all of the little evergreen branches should be bent to go towards the outside. However a few need to be bent towards the inside forming a ladder effect as shown in the base picture.  This maintains the shape of the base and gives the sleigh bell harness something to rest on.

Here's the rest of the materials I used for this arrangement. Notice in the picture that I've already placed the sleigh bell as well as a few gold sparkly twigs with berries that were in my stash of goodies. I'm certain those came from my mother-in-law as well.

The gold pick containing a nice assortment of sparkly stars, gold lame leaves, gold painted sticks and  festive balls was probably in the bottom of a clearance bin at JoAnn's after Christmas one year. Yes I am a faithful clearance bin shopper. Unfortunately I only had one of these picks so I took it apart.

I knew it would look good at the top of the sleigh bell harness. Matching pairs of wired items, I went about re-creating this pack to better suit my needs.

When all that remained were unmatched single items, I simply worked them in to where they look nice.

The wire stems make this super easy to twist together for this project.

Using floral wire, I attached my new gold sparkly "double-pick" as well as the harness to the top of my base. This is the only place I attached the harness to my base. I utilize the loop of the harness where the ring is attached mostly because I only have green florist wire and it would look really tacky if it showed.

The next step is placing the various items on the arrangement. I started with the bigger items. These pine cones were easy to secure because they came with their own wire already.  I like pre-wired items.

The cream flowers went on next. That soft cream color looks lovely next to the gold of the harness and the brown of the pine cones.

This soft cream color was working so well I decided to slip in those smaller flowers which were saved from the original arrangement.  The stems of these flowers have no wire in them at all making them difficult to arrange in just the right spot. Without wire, the flowers tended to bunch together thus creating a larger visual effect than desired. 

Wrapping wire around the individual stems allows for more flexibility in the arrangement.

I did this with the leaves that came off of the original arrangement as well. The gold tone of these leaves is a pleasing subtle accent in this arrangement. (To achieve this look on leaves take gold metallic spray paint, spray it directly to a paper towel, and work it into just the bristle tips of a dry brush. Give the leaves a couple of soft and quick swipes with the brush.)

Here's a close-up of a single group of the small flowers attached  using florist wire. Of course after this picture is taken I went back and added wire to each of those stems so I could spread the flowers out.

Here's the finished arrangement on the wall. I utilized the loops of ribbon from the original arrangement as well, even fashioning a bowl out of three of them to give this arrangement a final bit of dressy flair. One of the nice things about this style of arrangement is that it can be attached to existing wall art. In this case the arrangement is attached to all wrought iron cross that was purchased from Hobby Lobby and permanently adorns in my great room.  I'm a huge fan of not having to undo a room just to decorate it for Christmas.

The unused dusty pink rose as well as the three sparkly gold tone pairs wait their turn in the bin of wonderful treasures.  Back on the shelf it goes until the next wave of inspiration hits.

There are more sleigh bells to come so watch for yet another sleigh bell post.

Recycled Christmas Decorations- Sleigh Bells

I am all for recycling and reusing. Two years ago, my stash of craft crap swelled to include many holiday decorations  which once belonged to my in-laws.  After my father-in-law's passing, my husband and two of his siblings had the daunting task of cleaning out a condo. The spouses helped and thankfully the job was completed in only a couple of weeks. That is how I came to own a bunch of bows, silk flowers, various evergreens, Christmas lights, and plenty of craft crap to keep my creativity buzzing for a long time.

Some days it seems as though my mother-in-law is visiting. She like to decorate and she loved bows and flowers. So when I find myself with the sudden urge to create a floral arrangement, I know my mother-in-law is visiting for the day.

For this arrangement, in addition to the gold sleigh bells that I purchased this year,  I gathered up three pieces of plastic spruce or whatever it is. It looks quite real but I can't remember what she used to use it for. I also grabbed some of her poinsettias and holly leaves as well as a giant ribbon bow. I remember making this bow for her for the top of small tree that was set up in her bedroom just before she passed away. We all knew she wouldn't make it to Christmas that year so without letting her know, we moved Christmas up about three weeks. Oh how she loved Christmas and what a treat it was to give her one final Christmas.

I started this project by arranging the three evergreen pieces like this. This will form the base of this arrangement.

I secured them together with floral wire.

Then I laid the sleigh bell harness on top .

I attached the belt from the sleigh bell harness to the stems of the evergreens with floral wire. The picture below shows the back side of the arrangement.

Next, I start to place the holly leaves...

and the flowers...

I use more floral wire to secure their stems to the arrangement.

There's no set way to arrange the various flowers and leaves, just move them around until they look good.

Once the flowers and greens are  secured into place it's time for the ribbon.

This particular ribbon had its own gold wire already to go. I just had to twist it into place.

Now there are times when I get to the end of a project and I notice that it's not quite right.

As perfectly matched as that cream and gold bow may be to the sleigh bell harness, It is simply way too big for the arrangement. That's okay. We'll just put it back with the supplies and find a use for it later.

I think part of the problem with that bow was that the ribbon was too wide. Fortunately there is never a shortage of ribbon in my craft zone. I found this printed sheer gold and new it would be perfect.

a brand-new bow and we had a new Christmas decoration.

I can almost hear my mother-in-law say, "that's beautiful."

Oh, I should add this arrangement is attached to an old wood crate that's tipped up on its side. I love to decorate my house with odds and ends such as this crate.  It's absolutely perfect as a lamp stand tucked into a corner next to a chair.