Hello!  Hello!  Welcome to another installment of
Tuesday Tips
{for your creative space!}

I'm excited today because I have my dear sister {Cassie} here to share some organizational tips from her creative space!  She is a writer, a crafter, the most beautiful bookmark you've ever seen maker, an amazing mommy, a fabulous wife, a vintage finds huntress, a baker, a photographer and an all around amazing little sister.  She shares these talents (and others) on her blog,
A Serenade for Solitude.

Cassie also owns one crafty Etsy shop called, Between the Lines
where she sells all things that have to do with books and their lovers (bookmarks and home decor and such). 
Check out what makes this creative girl tick...

♥ ♥ ♥ 

It is so fun to be part of this series and share with you my creative space tips! 

What came to mind when Amber asked me to do a post for her series of Tuesday's Tips, and what I feel is key in one's creative space is:

There are a whole ton of things that inspire me--pictures, words, color and a sprinkling of rustic and vintage are a handful of things that make my heart happy, so I've done my best to incorporate aspects of these things into my studio space.

Inspirational words keep my purpose in mind.

I also have one of my favorite books by Sabrina Ward Harrison on display, that to me is the epitome of creativity in both writing and art.

I find it especially fun to decorate with items from my shop!

Pennant banners, chalkboards and chalk board erasers are

here on this armoire.

I also have an inspiration board to gather bits of inspiration for future projects

or to display pretty pictures.  You can see it below.  It still needs lots of love.

My husband helped me make this stand for my most recent craft show.

The antlers and whitewashed wood is just my style, and it is so fun

having pretty creations on display.  I'm a firm believer in enjoying what you create!  Do you display what you love in your space?

Organization:

I think it should be functional and display pretty, too.

I love to thrift. 

Using old trunks and vintage tool and tackle boxes is one of my favorite ways to store and display items craft items.

This rustic and industrial drawer system is one of my favorite thrift finds!

It has since been turned into my sewing caddy.

This rusty old toolbox is where I keep some of my order supplies.

One of my greatest investments as someone who works with beads and charms was this:

A sectioned tray to store my charms, pendants and beads.  Again, having it stored pretty makes such a difference when I'm trying to get inspired. 

However, once I get going, my table goes from tidy to this:

Thankfully, the mess is still beautiful. These vintage trays help me keep organized and focused on projects as well:

Since one of the main mediums I use in my work is ribbon, I have a slight obsession with ribbon shopping, and have come to love growing my collection.

Lastly, I definitely have a notepad nearby, always.

You never know when inspiration is going to meet you.

What inspires you and have you incorporated it into your space?

♥ ♥ ♥

You can visit Cassie

on her blog HERE

or check out her shop

HERE 

I hope you enjoyed Cassie's rendition of Tuesday Tips! 

Can't you relate (as quilters) to so much of what she said? 

Feel free to leave a comment below. 

We'd love to hear about what inspires you!

Tuesday Tips {Thimbleanna}

Welcome to Tuesday Tips! 

 Today we have a special post from a special friend of mine ~

Anna, from the blog, Thimbleanna.  I've been following Anna's blog for a long time now and I am so happy she agreed to share a little bit of her creative space with us.  She's got some great organizational tips and I know many of you will be able to relate to Anna's room ~ so check it out!

♥ ♥ ♥ 

 

Hi Everyone!

I'm Anna from the blog, Thimbleanna and I'm very excited to be posting here on Amber's blog for Tuesday's Tips.  I had the honor of meeting Amber at quilt market in Salt Lake City last spring -- and she's just as sweet and talented as you'd imagine from her blog (which I stalk, btw!).  I really had to laugh though, when Amber asked me to post for Tuesday's Tips. My sewing room is anything but glamorous, but then I thought that my ugly might be beneficial?!?

Tip #1: Work With What You Have!

There are so many beautiful, inspirational sewing rooms on the internet and it's easy to become discouraged if your room isn't drool-worthy. I love seeing those gorgeous rooms and I often get some great ideas from them, but that's not my reality. My sewing room is in the basement of our home and my sewing companions are the furnace and water heater. I've often debated about turning one of my now-grown-boys' rooms into my sewing room -- it would be much prettier and I could have a window, but I wouldn't have enough room to store all of my supplies. So, I'm working with what I have and staying in the basement. I lovingly refer to it as the dungeon and I try to put a positive spin on it. My fabrics and threads won't be damaged by sunlight, right? The reality is, I don't need a beautiful room to create pretty things. I just need some supplies, my sewing machine, a few notions, and a little organization to be able to find things. When we moved into our home, the mechanicals were all on one side of an unfinished storage room, so I blocked them off with a few old hutches so that I can't see the ugly stuff. That left me with three walls -- two walls were unfinished but lined with shelving (perfect!) and a third wall was unfinished studs. The first thing we did was put pegboard up on the stud wall. I love this wall for holding notions. Someday, when I have time to frou-frou-up my sewing room, I'll put some cute stuff on this wall.

The two walls with shelving hold all of my supplies. Over the years I've picked up plastic storage bins on sale (this is the perfect time of year to buy them!). This group of bins hold my fabric scraps. (See those unfinished walls back there -- I hardly even notice them anymore.)

Below the bins are some of my fabrics.

Tip #2: Fold Your Fabrics Nice and Tidy!

When I first started blogging I stumbled upon Monica's fabric folding technique. It took me 3 days to fold all of my fabrics, but it changed my life!;-) Since my shelves are all open it's really nice to have neat fabric stacks instead of the unsightly mess that I used to have.

I'd love to have some of those really cool ribbon shelves but I don't have anywhere to hang or set them. So, I improvised. I took a dowel rod and suspended it from one of my shelves with some wires. It works great to hold a lot of my ribbon spools.

I do have one really cool Pottery Barn organizer that my sister gave me a few years ago for Christmas. I helps cover up some of the unfinished walls -- you can see how the ribbon looks hanging above it.

Now, one last tip -- my favorite.

Tip #3: Add a Little Whimsy to Your Sewing Room!

It will make you happy. Here's my favorite embellishment to my unfinished room -- Shandi the Chandelier.

A few weeks ago I had a few of my work friends over and they begged to see my sewing room. I was very hesitant to let them see it -- I know all of you crafty types would understand, but none of them are obsessed like we are and I worried that they might think I need psychological help when they saw all of my fabric and doodads. I finally gave in -- I'm not sure what they were thinking, but I do know that when they saw Shandi hanging from the floor-joist-ceiling, they all laughed and ooohed and aaahed. It was a fun moment for Shandi and me!

So, that's it! Thank You So Much Amber for letting me share a little of your space here today! XOXO, Anna

♥ ♥ ♥

Some great ideas Anna!  I definitely want to check out that link to Monica's fabric folding technique and I love how you've displayed all the loveliness that allows you to create the beautiful things that you do.

Please leave Anna some comment love below.  She's so sweet to have shared her creative space and some great tips with us today.

Tuesday Tips {Gigi's Thimble}

Hello and welcome to another installment of

Tuesday Tips!

I'd like to invite you into my studio today...

You've seen bits and pieces here and there.  But today I will show it to you in it's entirety.  I really wanted to do a walk through video with you, but this will have to do :)  I hope you'll enjoy the pictures!

This little shelf is a place to display things I love; wooden spools (in the apothecary jar) that belonged to my husband's grandmother, a little collection of antique irons, and some fabric.  The magnetic board was a gift from my sister and is great for keeping notes and keepsakes on.

What quilter doesn't love color? 

My Moda Bella Solids color chart is a great reference and fun to look at.

The damask boxes add a pretty visual, while storing specialty threads that I don't use very often.  It also doesn't hurt to display fabric that you love in a sewing room.  The fat quarter bundles inspire me and remind me about future projects I want to do.  Below the shelf, I have two curtain rods.  I found them at Ross for $3.99 each!  Yay!  I wanted Freezer Paper at an arms length since I use it so much for applique.  And polka dot wrapping paper is another necessity (perfect for every occasion!)

The newest addition to my studio makeover is my peg board.  I love having my rulers accessible, yet out of the way.  Before, they were precariously piled on a shelf in my closet just waiting to fall off  (which can lead to breakage). 

I also hung a few patterns on my peg board that are either too big to fit in my pattern binder or that I just think are pretty.  A red and white quilt is on my quilting bucket list and I think Petit Fleurs by Fig Tree is just the one I want to make.

I keep all of my small scraps (1/8 yard or smaller) in these jars. I have 6 jars (three on this dresser and three on the floor next to the dresser).  I divide the scraps into different colors groups.  For example, the large jar in the back left holds red and pink scraps.  The other large jar holds blue, green and purple scraps.  The small jar holds oranges and yellows.  I also have a jar for light colored neutrals, a jar for grays and blacks, and a jar for browns.

I keep my threads near my sewing machine (right behind it, actually).  I like having them in this little cupboard that I bought for about $4.  They're kind of hidden behind the doors, but not entirely.  I can easily see what colors I have or do not have.

This large, double-wide dresser allows for everything to have a specific place.  The small drawers at the top hold my gadgets, pens, lint roller (gotta have one!) my scissors and rotary blades and my embroidery floss.  All the other drawers hold my fabric and a few random projects.  I like that it's all hidden away, but easily accessible.  I keep every thing folded in color order and it makes me want to keep it that way :)  You can see more pictures and details of this dresser (and what's inside) HERE.

You may wonder why I'm showing you a picture of a trash can...

Well, I often find that I'm walking across the room to dump scraps and clippings into my trash can.  Now, I have two trash cans.  One right by my machine (because I'm always clipping dog ears and threads there).  Another (bigger) one is at the other end of my cutting table so I can discard of unusable scraps after cutting.  With two trash cans around, I have no reason to not have a clean and clear cutting area.

My design wall.

The tutorial for it is one I got from Heather at the blog, {House} of A La Mode.  I actually have two but I only keep one in my sewing room.  The other one is in our basement.  The reason I have two is because when I take photographs of my quilts for my pattern covers I like to lean the two design walls against my house (I always take the photographs outside).  Then I stick my quilts on them (they just stick right up because the design walls are wrapped in batting).  Then I smooth out any wrinkles and make them nice and straight. The design walls are only 4 ft. wide and my quilts are often times wider than that.  I like the walls though because they are big, lightweight and portable.

My sewing room, is actually an extra bedroom in our house, so I'm lucky to have a walk-in closet with a few built-ins.  In here is where I keep some of my quilts, patterns and a big Rubbermaid box full of random pieces of batting.  I've also got a few boxes and baskets that hold ric rac and my 30's prints.  I keep my works in progress in clear boxes on a shelf so I can easily see what I've got going.  The brand of these boxes is called Protect 'N Store and the two sizes I use range from $4 - $6 dollars each.  I like keeping all of the fabric for each project in its own separate box with the pattern inside on the top so I have everything ready to go. 

So that's it.  That's how I roll :)

I'd say this room is a sewing room on a budget.  There are no high-end cabinets, just my little dresser that I picked up for $40 at a thrift sore.  There is no fancy cutting table.  I got mine for $50 at an antique store.  My cutting mat is relatively small, but it works.  I like to look for deals and find things that are pretty but don't cost a lot of money.  

I hope I've encouraged you to get organized and display the things you love. 

After my little sewing room makeover, I feel more inclined to keep it clean and put things back in their places when I'm done with them.  I like the way it looks and I feel that my creative juices can flow more freely!

Thanks for stopping by!  And remember, a room can be functional and pretty without spending a fortune.

Have a wonderful day.

~ Amber

Tuesday Tips {Mary's Cottage Quilts}

Hello and welcome to Tuesday Tips!

 

If you're new to this blog, Tuesday Tips is a new series where I invite well-known quilt designers and crafty bloggers to share some tips and ideas from their own creative spaces.  Tips that will help us be more organized and efficient in our sewing endeavours!  And, if we can glean some ideas on how to make it all pretty, as well, then ~ BONUS!

Today we have Mary from Mary's Cottage Quilts here to share with us.  She's a local Utah quilt designer.  I met Mary about 2 or 3 years ago when I first started designing quilt patterns.  She came into the fabric store that I had just started working at.  She was more than willing to answer questions for me about the business side of things.  Mary is the sweetest and most down to earth gal!  I consider her my mentor and a friend.  Her patterns are fantastic and I'm really excited to see where she creates!

♥ ♥ ♥

Hello all of you out there in Blogland!!

I am Mary Cowan of Mary’s Cottage Quilts and I am so excited to be a part of Tuesday Tips!! Amber asked me to do this quite awhile ago so I have had A LOT of time to think about what I wanted to say... I think, for me, the most important thing is to have organization! If things are cluttered and messy it makes me crazy (my husband would say “hmmm, that explains a lot”).  

I used to have all of my fabric in giant Rubbermaid totes in my closet.  It was a nice way to have every color in its own little space. But the problem was that I couldn't really see what I had without hauling everything out of the closet. For instance, if I wanted the reds I had to drag the “red tote” out and dig through all the reds to find the perfect few.

 

A couple of years ago all of that dragging around got very old and, using my best salesperson-ship (is that even a word??)  I talked my husband into buying me some super awesome IKEA shelves.  I think it’s actually called the Expedit bookcase.  It comes in many different colors and configurations. The one that works best for my space is the 8 shelf design.  I also have the 4 shelf design that holds more fabric (imagine that) and some of my favorite quilting books.  I totally LOVE having all of my fabrics neatly folded and out in plain view so I can see what I have. I am really trying to use my stash when designing/starting a new project and this is the perfect solution for me to be able to see what I have and then to add to it as necessary. It sure beats dragging out my totes every time I want to start a new project.

 

I loved the Expedit bookcase so much I even used one in my booth at Spring Market in Salt Lake City.  I also have a cool set up with my counter where I can sit and design/write patterns, surf the web, feed my addiction to pinterest or just keep up to date with all my facebook friends.

My husband totally SPOILS me and bought me this tv so I can watch college football on Saturdays while I sew.  It also doubles as a huge monitor so I can design and step back and really see what things look like.  There is a pretty big closet behind closed doors but that’s all I’m sayin’ about that – there will be no pictures of that nightmare.... It's a work in progress ;)

  

I am very visual so I love to have things up on the walls that inspire me. I try to make my studio a fun, comfortable, organized place where creativity can flow freely.  And if it’s a mess, I can simply close the door.  

So, there you go, thanks so much Amber for letting me yammer on and share my studio and a little tip or two with you all. Stop by my blog http://www.maryscottagequilts.blogspot.com/and you can see what I am up to next.

♥ ♥ ♥

OK, Mary IS spoiled if she gets to have a TV in her sewing studio! :)  What a dream!  I think it's cute that she likes to watch football while she sews.  Ha!  My husband would be in heaven if that's what I chose to watch in my free time.  Anyways, I love the idea of displaying what you love (especially in a sewing room).  What a great space, Mary.  Thank you for sharing it with us!

Please leave Mary some comment love below.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you're enjoying Tuesday Tips!

~Amber

Tuesday Tips {Quilt Story}

I am so thrilled to have Megan from Quilt Story here today

to share some Tuesday Tips with us! 

But first, a little introduction...

I met Megan and her sister, Heather, at the Spring Quilt Market earlier this year.  They write {darling} quilt patterns and host a fantastic blog together.  Quilt Story designs are fun and original so you definitely need to check these girls out!  They're hosting a Holiday Gift Tutorial series on their blog every Monday through the end of the month.  I LOVE the modern holiday wreath tutorial they designed recently.  Now, over to you Megan!

♥ ♥ ♥

We were very excited that Amber asked us to guest post on her great series, Tuesday Tips.  It couldn't have come at a better time as I was just moving my sewing room around.  It gave me a little motivation to get it done! Let me start by saying that my husband is in medical school, translation: extremely limited budget and space for my sewing hobby obsession!  So if any of that applies to you hopefully I can offer something insightful!

I have more of a sewing corner than a room.  It sits in the corner of my master bedroom!  I've learned to use my vertical space and as many storage pieces as I can find.  Here are some tips I've found helpful in my space:

1. Keep things at hand: Things I am constantly using I have at my fingertips. I keep my scissors and rotary cutters by my machine in cans/cups, my scrap bins are under the table, a trash can to my right, my WIPs in the next cupboard and a patterns/books/bulletin on the wall in front of me.

2. Work-In-Progress Spot: There needs to be a dedicated place for projects you're working on.  Whether it's a large tote in a closet or in a cupboard.  This way you can actually see how much you have going on at any given time.  They all need to be in one place.  For me it's a closed cabinet below my fabric.  See picture below.  I have at least four quilt tops in there, a messenger bag, some fun stuff! :)

3. The Little Things: I try to keep a designated spot for my notions.  I used to have them all in a few drawers, but then I would never realize when I was out of elastic or how many zippers I had on hand.  I got a great Pottery Barn cubby-thing at a garage sale for $5 years ago.  There are 24 open cubbies and 8 of them I filled with cans.  They are just large 28 oz tomato cans, cleaned and decoupaged.  Inside I have zippers, left-over bindings, marking pens/pencils, pins, etc..  See the next two pictures.

4. Fabric Organization: I have had a lot of thought and conversations on this topic, and this is what I've decided to do.  First I organize by size into three spots. I have scraps bins for pieces a few inches to around 1/8 yard.  In my PB cubby-thing I keep pieces around the size of a fat quarter to half yard.  Pieces half yard and larger I keep in my hutch (also a great pottery barn find for $25).  Second I organize by line/color.  For large lines I keep it all together, and if I have a lone print that matches I put it with that whole line.  For all the leftovers, say 3 fabrics or less that go together, then I organize them by color.  Hopefully that made sense!  See the pictures below. (There's a great tutorial on how to fold your fabrics using comic book boards on That Girl That Quilt that I used on my larger fabric pieces, love it!)

5. Keep Inspired: Keep things in your sewing room that inspire you and make you happy!  I decided to use pinks/purples in my corner because I am the only girl in my family :)  Every room in my house is green or blue so I took advantage and used those girly colors!  I also added the mini buntings because they make me happy!

Hopefully you've found something useful!!  Thanks to Amber for giving us a spot to blabber :)  And make sure to stop by Quilt Story :)

Thanks so much Megan!!!  I love the ideas for working with a small space and I LOVE the sewing machine area!  So cute!!  Please leave Megan some comment love below!  She's so sweet to share her creative space with us ♥ ♥ ♥