Welcome to my blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I believe that everyone can have a beautiful home without spending a fortune! One of my favorite things to do is find creative ways to re-purpose things I already have on hand, or have picked up at yard sales and thrift stores. Join me as I share with you some of my favorite ideas for crafting and decorating, as well as travel adventures, and fun things that I pick up on my treasure hunts! Much of my work is influenced by my love all things French, nature, and of course shabby chic! I have gotten so many creative ideas from you very talented bloggers out there, and I hope that I can be an inspiration to you as well!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Sneak Peek of My Redecorated Craft Room!

Hello everyone!
Today I wanted to give you a little sneak peek at my craft room, which I've been busy redecorating.  I still have some finishing touches to complete, then I'll be sure to show you the entire room.  I must admit that I never gave much thought to actually decorating the room where I create (or should I say "play"?!).  Of course I always wanted it to be functional and look nice.  But once saw so many of your gorgeous crafting rooms, I was inspired to pretty up mine as well!

 Ok, I know that I am missing a handle on this desk (which I am looking for a replacement for!), but I am so excited about this new area in my craft room, that I just couldn't wait to share it with you!  Anyway, I had been wanting to add a new piece to my room that not only would allow for more storage of my supplies, but would provide an attractive display area for things that I've made for my Etsy shop, as well as treasures and mementos of mine.  The catch was, I challenged myself to do it on a teeny tiny budget! You see, our cross country move back to Michigan was very costly. And if you've been following me for awhile, you know that our "lovely" renter that was leasing our home while we lived in Washington caused thousands and thousands of dollars in damage to our home.  Which we have been left to pay.
So, I had a brainstorm!  The desk, hutch and chair that you see here actually was mine when I was a young girl!  My mom still had it in storage in her home! Like so many little girls "back then" (and I won't even tell you how many years ago that was!), I had a bedroom set of white French Provincial furniture, that I loved! 

 So, I brought it home, and guess what I did to it?  I spray painted it Heirloom White!  I know, that may have been cheating a bit, but I've been doing so much painting since we've moved home, that I thought a short cut was in order!  And with hubby's help, I reupholstered the chair, which I am so happy with!  I just so happened to have the blue & white toile, which I think goes perfect with the Shabby French look that I was going for!  So, total cost for my redo, including 1 can of primer, 2 cans of spray paint, and new foam for the chair:  a whopping $15!!!  Now I just need to find a new handle for the bottom drawer, and I'll be all set!

 Another redo that I am super excited about is this gorgeous pair of antique sconces, which I've placed on either side of the desk/hutch.  A sweet blogging friend sent me a photo of them, asking if I might be interested in them.  No pressure to accept them, she said.  What?  No Pressure?:)  I couldn't say "yes" fast enough!  They are cast iron, and originally were wired for electricity, which had since been removed.  They needed a bit of tlc, so I painted them Heirloom White (of course!), and distressed them a bit.  I'm cheating a little here, as I "stole" the crystal bobeches from the chandelier in our bedroom for this photo shoot.  I've been looking for some affordable ones for the sconces, which I have yet to find (but I know they are out there somewhere!).
 Aren't they gorgeous?  I thought that was so thoughtful of my friend to share them with me!! Love them!
 Ok, back to my desk/hutch.  I am having so much fun with it!  I've placed two baskets on the top to neatly store things.
 And I've added a wooden organizer that I found at a garage sale a few years ago, and finally got around to painting.  Love all of the little cubbies!
 I added a new green glass knob from Hobby Lobby.  And I love my vintage books, one a French textbook, and another a children's dictionary. In my favorite color, blue, of course!
 The cubbies are perfect for stashing my handcrafted tags and other miscellaneous supplies.
 I found this lovely vintage print of the Virgin Mary a few weeks ago at the thrift store. Isn't she beautiful?  The frame was originally brown and cream, and a bit dingy looking.  So some HW was in order!  I had intended on putting her in my Etsy shop, but I love her so much that I decided to keep her for myself! (Whoops, I just noticed a reflection of my arm to the left of Mary!)
 I really love looking for interesting baskets and containers to store supplies in. Right now I'm keeping some of my handcrafted notecards in this pretty fleur de lis cream tin.
 Wire baskets are another love of mine.  Thought Pinky and Blue Boy looked so pretty displayed here!
 A vintage paperweight and vintage French vocabulary card.
 I made this sweet birdie plaque a few years ago, using a graphic from the Graphics Fairy.  Here I've displayed it on a pretty little cream easel.
 A basket which I spray painted HW holds my stash of vintage sheet music that I love to use for crafting. Isn't the cover of this book charming?


And here is a glimpse at where I spend lots of my time!  My crafting cubby!  I've had this for a few years, and just love it! I found it at a moving sale (for a mere $15), and hubby added the pegboard to the side, as well as to the wall.  I've painted the pegboard my favorite shade of green.  There are 12 cubbies on each side, and they hold a ton of my crafting supplies!
I've got lots more to show you, which I will share in future posts!  Thanks so much for coming along on my little tour!

I'm linking up with the following fun parties:
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday 
Courtney at French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday 
Shabby Art Boutique Shabbilicious Friday 
Faded Charm White Wednesday

14 comments:

Karen said...

Hi Donna..... You have a very pretty place to play/work and it looks very efficient! Love everything about it.

Everything that I just now saw, which I assume is recent work looks wonderful.

Take care...

Love, Karen

The Bear's Blog said...

Hi Miss Donna, Hi Miss Emily;

Bee-u-tee-ful. But I don't see a doggy blankie for you, Miss Emily. REVOLT, I say - REVOLT.

Hugs ♥
Prudence

Tina@WhatWeKeep said...

Beautiful, Donna! I need pegboard in my sewing room when I reach that point. Great job- who wouldn't want to spend lots of time in there?
xxx, Tina

NanaDiana said...

Donna- I love your crafting area. It looks great-clean, neat and organized. You would not believe how bad mine looks. xo Diana

Musings from Kim K. said...

Squeal! It's perfectly YOU! I'm so glad you shared your special room with us. It's just lovely.

Michelle said...

Just found your blog tonight. It's lovely :) I have just redone my "craft room" with a very similar desk, that I also got from my Mum's house that I too had when I was a little girl. Yours looks beautiful, I especially love the Virgin Mary picture and the little containers you use.
luv Michelle

ShabbyESP said...

Donna,
I love your crafting room!!! You have many nice things to display. Love the table you snagged for a mere $15....what a great find!!
Hope your weekend is fun!!!
Suzann ~xoxo~

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

What a beautiful creative space, Donna! The sconces are so lovely, too!

Debbie said...

Wow! What a great creative space you have Donna. Your desk/hutch turned out great. Those sconces are gorgeous!!!! I LOVE them!
I wish I had a room to craft in.
Hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend.
xxoo

Kerryanne @ Shabby Art Boutique said...

It is all looking so lovely Donna and those wall sconces are divine.
Thanks for sharing at Shabbilicious Friday.

Anonymous said...

Great job! love the wall sconces, and the cubby desk!

Anonymous said...

Great job! love the wall sconces, and the cubby desk!

cindy-stitches-n-stuff.blogspot.com said...

I need to visit you more often. My granddaughter loves French and I love my granddaughter, so I love to make things for her.

thank you
hugs
cindy@stitches

Unknown said...

Beautiful table -all the beautiful details - is the perfect candelabra and the image of Madonna also- wonderful!!!
xoxo...by Vicky