Where Bloggers Create 2016

I'm really happy to be participating in the Where Bloggers Create event for 2016. Thank you to Karen at My Desert Cottage for organizing this event.

Among the creative things I do are cross stitch, jewelry making, beadwork, sewing, and all kinds of miscellaneous crafting. I consider myself very lucky to have a designated space in my home that's just for working on projects and storing supplies. A small extra bedroom became my craft room as soon as we moved into this house seven years ago. It has evolved over the years, when I move things around and added things here and there.

This is what you see when you walk in.

I've worked on making my creative space as comfortable and organized as possible. Fun second-hand finds make up most of the furniture in here. Below is a bookcase that we bought for our son's room when he was young. Now it houses craft books, cross stitch charts and magazines, jars of important crafty items, and odds and ends.

Jars are recycled to hold buttons, wine corks, scrabble tiles, and other stuff. And that is indeed Mr. Peanut holding a lot of orts (cross stitch term for thread ends), which you might be wondering why I keep. I don't really know.

On the right in the picture below, you can see my armoire. This used to be a TV cabinet that I got a great deal on. Getting it home and into the craft room was another story. My husband and brother in law say that the only way it's leaving the room is through the window in pieces. I don't want to think about that. I like it too much!

Here's a look on the inside. Thanks to my husband, Mark, it now has extra shelves and a closed back. And it really does hold a lot. I keep cross stitch threads, miscellaneous craft supplies, and even a little tool kit in here.

On to the closet. This room has a standard bedroom closet in it, so we got rid of the hanging space and added extra shelving. Perfect for bins with ribbon, yarn, fabric, more cross stitch thread and fabric, paints, pine cones, and more. That thread holder makes me so happy. And I'm filling up a second one!

This bead cabinet is one of my few "new" purchases. It just is the best use of space for organizing beads and jewelry supplies. The little table to the right of it is an auction win and is my first chalk paint project.

This is what an organized bead drawer looks like. You should have seen how I used to "organize" them.

Let's go to my craft table. It's one of my favorite things in the room. I found a local furniture maker who makes rustic furniture and he made this simple piece. I like that it has two drawers that go almost the width of the table. You can see it in my first photo waaaaay at the top of this post.

Antique store metal three tiered display shelf.

Metal parts bin from a hardware store spray painted a copper color. Great for misc. items.

Also on my craft table are a couple of items that Mark made for me. He does lathe wood working and created this lamp and pencil holder.

Below is an old ladder display shelf that has seen better days, but it does a wonderful job of holding sewing baskets and boxes.

It's not wonky. That's just my photo taking.

There's a little seating area in the craft room. I'd wanted a comfy chair to sit in and stitch or do some beadwork and watch TV. Yes, there's a TV in the room. Don't laugh. Sometimes a little mindless television watching does wonders for the creative process. Anyway, the chair issue. The problem is that the doorway to this room is so narrow that many really comfy chairs are impossible to get in! This is the second one I've tried. It's ok, and it's cute, but not a chair you just want to sink into. Still on the lookout.

See that cushion? It's from a 1970's Avon kit and I embroidered it in, well, the 70's!

Here's one of my favorite projects from a while back - my fabric bulletin board! You can barely see it with all of the stuff on it, but take a look anyway.

Thank you so much for visiting my crafty space today. I appreciate it and welcome any comments, feedback, or suggestions you'd like to give. Please come back to visit my blog sometime and consider becoming a follower of CraftyCat! Now, I can't wait to see all of the fun creative spaces when I start my own visits to "Where Bloggers Create 2016".