Thank you for all your kind compliments on my 4 doll “dolly stand.” I really needed to do something fun yesterday and it really helped me get back to business today.
Want to see what else happened in my sewing room? I really like it!
That space up above the built in bookshelves was kind of a waste of space unless I put big tubs up there, and that wasn’t what I wanted. They were always a pain to get into and being so large, they were very heavy. I wanted something different. I found a picture of what it looked like most of the time… Yarn and fibers for making Skinny Scarves were stored in big tubs.
I decided to make another shelf board and divide the space in half. I found a board in the garage along with some skinny pieces of wood to use on the sides. My hubby cut the big board and I cut the 3 side pieces.
After I primed and painted them, I marked where I wanted them to go. My hubby screwed the narrow pieces up and I placed the board across, giving me plenty more shelf space.
If I ever need to store something taller up there, since the big board is just laying across, I just have to remove it. Perfect!!
I finished painting my baskets and they fit wonderfully up there. I had them in mind for up there from the time I bought them.
I like how they look uniform and neat! Now they can easily be retrieved because each one is fairly lightweight.
I have little girls and ladies patterns in one. Snap tape for babies wear, fingertip towels, zippy looms for scarves, my Cropodile for making eyelets, some heart shaped tins I use occasionally and a few other things filling up 4 of the 6 baskets.
I also worked on finding a place for a few more containers and baskets and boxes. This time around, I wanted to place things so I can get to everything very easily.
On the bottom, starting on the left, I have my scraps of white fabric and Christmas fabrics in the 2 white boxes. My glue gun is on top of the boxes.
I put my little girls tights and socks used to make doll thigh highs in a clear zippered tote. In the decorative gold box on the bottom I have my fabric and acrylic paints, and in the basket, I have those zip lock bags of my bigger sized scraps sorted by color.
My Saucy Walker doll head is on the shelf “keeping an eye” on things. :o)
Actually, I just needed a safe place to keep the head for now.
Well, that’s what I’ve been up to!
Hope you have a great 4th of July weekend!
See you Monday,
Blessings, Jeanne
Dear Jeanne, it looks wonderful. I love how you have used the bins.
Happy 4th to you and to all of the folks sitting on the sofa.
Everything does look wonderful, Jeanne. We have also divided a closet shelf space that way–my husband put another shelf halfway between the existing one, and also added depth to the existing one by adding another board across the front. So the shelf above the rod is deeper, and the one above that is narrower, so it’s easier to get at things up there. Of course, these are in closets, which have sliding doors, so you don’t have to see them all the time! LOL It does make a difference in storage space, though!!
I love that your shelves turned out just the right depth and height for those baskets! I’ll bet the last two will get filled up before you know it!!
Your fabric storage looks great, too–so neat, and so pretty!
I am amazed at how everything you seem to touch turns out so perfectly, Jeanne! You could not ask for a better setup with those baskets! The color is just the perfect one, and it the colors look so serene and restful! Wonderful job!
Why is your Saucy walker doll separated from her body? Does she have one? I swear, that cabinet with your different colored fabrics looks like a watercolor montage!
Have a happy and safe Fourth of July Jeanne, and everyone!
Your tidying up is just superior, Jeanne. Enjoy your space, enjoy your weekend, enjoy your family.
Blessings.
Have a peaceful 4th and good food, everyone.
The Penzy’s spice people wrote to remind their customers that this is a 4th like no other — fewer fireworks but a time of moving toward the racial and economic equality values that we have always supported as a nation. We are a little like the sewing room — upheaval and change, but the work will pay off. You are making such beautiful, smart changes, Jeanne, that you are an inspiration.
I know I’ve been nagging about putting the dolls up there on the end wall, but with the repaint, the baskets are no longer a focal point like they were when they were the darker teal so now it looks more cohesive. And the new shelf is so much better than stacked plastic boxes. Way to go.
Hope you can take a break and have some fun on the fourth.
WOW! Looks so clutter free. A clutter free sewing zone!! I love it. You’re going to hate to mess it up with sewing again. LOL
Did Rebecca ever finish her room? Did she pick a color theme?
Happy 4th to all.
I love your built-in bookshelf arrangement. Often shelves are so far apart that you lose a lot of space or have to stack things which can be annoying when you are trying to retrieve things. Your solution from top to bottom (love the curtain) is better than perfect and the color of the baskets is perfect. They are there but not in-you-face there. I never thought about painting plastic baskets. Great solution, especially when you can’t find enough of what you need in one color.
When my hubby was building my sewing room cabinets I bought some of those canvas storage bins and the shelves were done to accommodate their size. That left me with one shelf per cabinet that was shorter and that has been great for things like bow makers, etc. My bins are pink and purple. Usually the doors are closed but even when they are open it looks nice. I’ll take a picture some time.
As for adding shelves, when my kids were small we lived in a house where their bedrooms were too small to allow a lot of storage units. My sons were collecting the Huddles stuffed NFL mascots and between the two of them they were getting a bunch and finding a place to put them was becoming a pain. In my daughter’s room she had stuffed animals galore that were getting in the way. There was no good place for a pet net and if she wanted one of the animals you would have to dig through all of them to find the one she wanted. So we went out and bought some of those diy bookshelf pieces and put shelves along the top of two of the walls in each room. It didn’t make the room feel crowded at all which surprised me. The boys never played with their Huddles, so they were fine with having them on the shelves to look at. If Andrea wanted a certain stuffed animal, David could just reach up and take it down for her and then put it back. And the lower half of the room, which is the part I notice most because I’m not very tall, did not have that cluttered look it had previously.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful 4th of July. I went online last night to see the Mt. Rushmore fireworks. They were pretty amazing.
Barbara, I love high shelves! I have oak window valances in my guest rooms that hold colored glass pieces to match the room decor without cluttering up the furniture. When my daughters lived at home, they used those high shelves for collectible items.
Jeanne, I love how clean and calm your shelves look with the bins and curtain—I am definitely going to use that idea!
Jeanne maybe you should have a sideline in re-organising sewing rooms for others, I’d love to be a client. The room is starting to look great. I have to get into sorting mine out, and the garage, as my daughter is leaving her husband and coming here (long story, he doesn’t know it yet. So far of the people who know everyone has said “about time”). The only place for her eldest to go is in my workroom! The idea is to either build two sleepouts and extend the house or sell this house and buy a new one but in the meantime I lose my sewing space. I have no idea where everything will go. I am watching your posts with great interest.
Better stop looking at the computer and get ready for church, have to go out to Kaiapoi which is about 20 kms from here to pick up my friend who is in a rest home there. She unfortunately has dementia (only 70, younger than me) but I like to keep her in the loop, we took her to patchwork yesterday. Sam has the use of the electric car on the weekend so she takes that, a lot cheaper than using gas which is very expensive here by your standards. It is wonderful to be able to go to church again and do all those other things that we missed in lockdown. Apparently the immigration department have been swamped by inquiries about moving here mainly from US lol. Borders are still closed though, except for returning residents and citizens so nobody will be coming for quite a while yet.
Everything is looking neatly organized. It will be a breeze to locate what you want.
I hope everyone has a wonderful July 4th!! I hope you enjoy your fireworks, Barbara. Ours are cancelled, as well as the parade and concert that come before Another reason, this will be a year to remember.