New Year, New Ideas

I'm still here, for anyone that was wondering.  I customarily use January as my month to assess what worked or did not work in the previous year.  I like to re-organize things and get a fresh start.  

My specialty has always been organization, and my work with the rich and famous gave me endless ways to help people keep track of what they owned.  My designs were always what I liked to call 'living organization'- a true reflection of the person and how they lived.  I had women tell me that they would just sit in the awesome closets I designed and eat lunch, or watch TV.  Or spend hours in Butler's pantries and kitchens marveling at how it all just 'worked so perfectly'.  There were private prayer rooms, secret hidden offices, beauty salons, magnificent libraries.  So, people would always comment how my home must be so perfectly organized. Hmmm.....the cobbler's children have no shoes.

Honestly, it really is not all that bad.  However, I always see room for improvement, and when things really just blow up all around me, I realize it is time to take stock once again.

So, don't hate me for having an awesome husband and son who work hard to make my visions a reality, but let me show you my newest little "me" place in my home:

I was at a bead, button and fiber store in McKinney when I saw the antique wooden spools used to organize the trims, as well as lots of little jars.  I knew right away that it was what I wanted!  So, since last April I have been collecting different sizes of wooden spools as I see a good deal, and hoarding little jars of all shapes and sizes.

This isn't all of them, but you get the gist of it.   I painted wooden lids black, and used black & white scrapbook paper to cover metal lids.  The best thing is- I can see what I have!!  I still have a little way to go with the final design on this- I would like to add a fabric covered tackboard under the upper cabinet, and some art on the wall, but all in all, I am very proud of what I have accomplished so far! 

So, that is some of the work that has gone on behind the scenes.  I have bought some great books with projects that involve spray paint (one of my favorites), and easy methods to dye fabrics.  So, there will be a lot of new fun projects this year- I promise.  

I also wanted to share a couple of things I have for sale up at Artizan's Alley right now.  They are ideas you can easily copy, or change to reflect your own tastes.  The 'Texting Gloves' are certainly not a new idea, but since I only text with my thumbs, I kept the other fingers of the gloves intact.  Why should all of the fingertips get cold??  

I used a little fray check around the edge of the cut off thumb, but if you did this project with polar fleece gloves fraying would not be an issue.

This pair is simply a silk mum disassembled, and 2-3 layers of petals held in place with a button.  A little hot pink trim just adds pizzazz!

I am still working on a way to make the file sharing easy for the embroidery fonts.  I think I have it....just bear with me a little bit longer on that.  

I would love to hear how you have eeked out crafting room in your home.  With space at a premium in so many areas, I would love to see how y'all have overcome challenges.  If you email me a photo of your space, and permission to post it, I would love to be able to share these ideas with everyone!