Snaining

On the way home from dropping Noah off at school the little brothers had the following conversation:

Miles:  It's snowing!
Toby:  No, it's raining! Oh! It's snowing and raining.  It's snaining.
Miles:  I want make snowman.
Toby:  You can't make a snowman with rain and snow.
Miles:  Yes, I do!
Toby:  There's no such thing as a rainman.  It would just be a puddle.  A puddle with a carrot floating in it.

A Truly Evil Curse

Miles and Toby were supposed to be cleaning up their bedroom.  Toby was focused on his work and Miles was focused on pestering his brother.  Toby must have reached the end of his rope because I suddenly heard a lot of screaming and what sounded like toys being thrown.  By the time I got to their room they were in opposite corners, both red faced and angry looking.  Toby glared at Miles and growled, "Miles...I hope you step on some Legos!"

Craft Room

I have been in "purge the house" mode for several weeks now (hence the lack of blogging) and yesterday I had time to tackle my craft room.  It's still not complete but I thought it was about time I added these photos to our house tour. This room started out as the guest room and then it became Miles' nursery.  It was used for a few months as the master bedroom and for many months it was "The Room Where We Throw Everything That Doesn't Have a Real Home."  But not anymore!  Now it's the room where all the magic happens, also known as Headquarters. 

Here's what you see when you first walk through the door.  My Craigslist crafting table and some open shelves.  Most of the items in this area are sewing supplies.  And we'll just call the decorating style Thrift Store Chic.

I love having my Sharpies in a vintage canister where I can see them.  The tin below is my button box.  Those red suitcases are from my friend Katy's etsy shop  and they hold zippers, trims, and other sewing embellishments.  The nesting doll is a singleton that I found at Goodwill with my friend Molly.  I'm going to turn it into a pin cushion.  The red J is a  marquee letter from a torn down movie theater in Portland which I found at SCRAP with my friend Lora.  I think the tall floral box (thrifted) was supposed to be wine bottle carrier but now it holds craft supplies.

On the desk top I've got my friend Molly's serger (thanks, Mols!), a vintage green organizer which holds notions, a blank spot where my sewing machine used to live (my beloved sewing machine sewed its last stitch last week.  I am still grieving), and the Tower of Flowers.  You may have noticed that I don't have a desk chair.  This is because I haven't found one that I really love yet.  I thought I had found "the one" at Ikea and my dad even gave me money to buy it (thanks, Dad!) but when I tested it out, it just wasn't very comfortable.  So I'm still looking.

Under the desk is an Antonius system from Ikea.  I love these things!  And the plastic dividers that Ikea has for the wire baskets are perfect for organizing little things like thread and other sewing essentials.

When you turn right you see this set up.  I found the cabinet on Craigslist (it was actually two blocks away from my house) and the yellow counter top at the ReStore.  My friend Jeff cut the counter to the right size with his mad skill saw skills (try saying that three times fast).  Wrapping paper and cutting mats are on the far left.  Another Antonius system holds cutting supplies, works in progress, and finished projects.  And all the red bins hold fabric, mending, stuffing and batting.

My current inventory of earrings is displayed on a bulletin board above the desk.  This is so helpful for etsy orders or for people who just want to stop by and see what I have.  Plus it helps me know much more I need to make for craft shows and bazaars.

This little area is for Noah.   He does his homework here and also likes to work on his own art projects.  Sometimes Toby or Miles will color here while I'm working on stuff, too.  I love that my kids want to be creative with me and it's fun to have their company while we work on our separate projects.

I found this spinning caddy at a thrift store and I see them at thrift stores all the time.  It is perfect for keeping art supplies together and organized.   Of course, having Yoda keep watch over them probably helps, too.

Turn right again and you'll see the closet and my jewelry supply area.

The closet is semi-organized but I still have more work to do in there.  It's mostly extra supplies and things we don't use as often.  Plus some random storage for other stuff that still doesn't have it's own home.

I painted the dresser that used to be in the boys' room.  It's now Bright Raspberry and I glued wrapping paper to the front of each drawer.  I love how girly it is and how it contrasts with the masculine tool boxes on top.

 I found all of these tool boxes at different thrift stores and they are perfect for storing jewelry findings and beads.  My tools are in a little bucket that I probably found at a thrift store or yard sale, as well.   The dresser drawers hold more beads, packaging supplies, labels, and more of the business/office supplies that I use for Ruby Willow.

 

 And turning right again, we pass the door to the room and see my working bulletin board which holds all the info I need for the current jewelry orders I'm working on.  The blue shutters peeking out from behind the door are part of my craft show display.

 One more right turn and we're back where we started.  I am very blessed to have an entire room to do my work in.  My family has definitely made sacrifices so that I can do this.  All our boys share the master bedroom and Geary and I sleep in the other tiny bedroom so that this room can be my craft haven.  Other families might choose to use the space differently but this works for my family and I'm extremely thankful for it.

Thanks for taking the tour!  I hope you enjoyed it.

Laundry Helper

While I was folding laundry, Miles was putting it on.  We counted and he was wearing three of his shirts, one of Toby's, one of mine, and two of Noah's.  Plus my hat and a pair of mismatched "hands."  Don't you just want to squeeze him?  Also, doesn't he kind of  remind you of the bird feeding lady in Mary Poppins?