Craft Supply Wall Storage and Room Tour

My craft room is starting to look like a real studio!

I painted the craft room/guest room last summer. Then I lost steam on this room and let DIY fear take over when it came to making  over the current furniture. That fear stalled the project until I got a little help from a friend.

 Pin these craft room storage ideas on your Pinterest boards for later!

$500 Spring Cash Giveaway! *closeed*

This weekend I spent quality time at my home away from home - the home improvement store. I needed supplies to start the projects I planned to do when it was warm to get me through the Cabin Fever Winter of  Our Discontent.

Besides supplies, time, and warm weather to work outside, you do know what else helps when you want to start a project?

MONEY.

And I hope to give it TO YOU.

11 Painted Desk Makeovers

 I’m finally on a roll when it comes to decorating the craft room guest room. The general color scheme is falling into place. The decorating style is gelling into Whimsy Retro Fun.

I don’t know if Whimsy Retro Fun is a real world legitimate design style but it is in LisaLand and that’s what counts.

A friend gave me her childhood student desk when she moved. I took it to use as a sewing table until I was ready to buy a real sewing machine cabinet. One of the surprising of being pint size, is I later realized that the student desk fits me better than a big girl sewing table. Instead of replacing the desk, I put that money towards bigger and better and not sewing machine table things.

Years later the desk doesn’t need replacing but it could use a redo. I poked around for furniture makeover inspiration and found a bunch. Do you want to take a look? Of course you do!

Wraparound Recycled Fence Wall Shelves

I don’t have the floor space in the craft room/guest room to add storage shelves for my mountain of craft, art, and DIY supplies. What is a girl to do?

If you can’t build out build up.

Instead of adding artwork to the wall above my craft and sewing tables, I put that wall to work with a set of shelves that wrap around the walls.

Pin this wall storage idea to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!

What Happens When Any Home Improvement May Over Improve Your Home?

A few years after we bought our condo, the value went up. You know, just like it is supposed to do when you invest your money in buying a home. I'm sure my half bathroom remodel with its granite counter top helped.

Then the economy went south taking property values with it - including ours. The only consolation is that all of our friends who bought homes around the same time are under water too.

Since we are living here and will be for the foreseeable future, I wasn't shy about improving our house with basic cosmetic changes like painting the walls or DIY projects that would benefit us in some way like insulating the garage and insulating the garage door. You have to differentiate a bit if you live in a neighborhood of similar houses, right?

Decoupage Bed Makeover

I’m decorating and making over the Room Where Old Furniture Goes to Die. Some people call it the guest/craft room but not many.

I made over an old bed frame with Mod Page and paint!

The guest bed frame was a freebie from my old boss. It needed a little DIY love. Scratch that. The bed needed A LOT of DIY love. I knew the stain was chipped and scratched but I didn’t realize there were small cracks in the head and foot boards. The side rails were pretty beat up too.

How to Make Bone Meal from Turkey Bones

The soil in my yard is so bad it makes me sing the Condo Blues. The builder sold the lovely topsoil that should be surrounding my house before they built the neighborhood.

The thing is, they didn’t put it back after building our condo. We are stuck with thick clay soil that kills almost everything I try to grow in it.

Cue up the blues. Whoomp. whoomp. Sad trombone.

We added compost and new top soil to the front yard. Our soil can use some bone meal too. Bone meal is an excellent source of phosphorous and helps plants grow a healthy root system.

 This also keeps poultry bones from stinking up the kitchen trash. 

Would You Paint a Room With Scented Wall Paint?

If there is one thing blogging has taught me about people, it is that smells and scents are an individual and highly opinionated thing.  It makes sense (har!) Scientists proved smell is the most powerful mnemonic trigger there is.

Trust me I get this. There are smells that I love such as lavender. There are other smells that make me gag. Wall paint is one of them. The scent of conventional paint reminds me of my parents in progress fixer upper house that I swore was such a pit when I first saw it I wasn't going to live there. Of course since I was a kid I had no choice and my parents and grandparents worked their butts off to transform the house into something I was proud to call home.

How to Hang a Floating Shelf

In a small house, you have to be creative when it comes to storage and display space. This goes double for my craft room/guest room. I built a wall of wrap around shelves to go with the new decor and had to use every bit of it to hold my craft and sewing supplies. I don't have room on them to display some of the creations that inspire my DIY madness.

The wall space over doors is often forgotten although you can make it work for you with a simple shelf or by hanging artwork. Making an over the door fence board shelf works well in the guest bathroom, why not hang a floating shelf over the door in the guest bedroom and use it to display my doodads?

This is project sounds harder than it really is, I promise.

13 Things to Have in Your Car for Winter Snow and Ice Emergencies

Growing up on the Ohio North Coast, stocking a car and being prepared for winter driving is engrained in you from an early age. It is right up there with knowing your name, address, and telephone number. Even little kids know you are supposed to have jumper cables and a blanket in the trunk of your car. You also know you are supposed to hang your head in shame when you don’t.

After I moved from the Cleveland area I thought it was weird this stuff isn't common knowledge. In fact, I still kind do.

I realized why when I saw the weather people completely freak out about the first winter snow and for every snow thereafter. They didn’t offer any of the winter driving tips I grew up expecting to hear on the news. No wonder folks panic around here and forget to how drive in snow every. single. year.

Guys, we did the same thing last year, remember?

Sigh. Guess not.

Last week, I wrote about the basic things you should carry in your car for winter snow emergencies. Most of the items in that post 14 Basic Things to Have in Your Car in Winter Part 1 live in our car full time because they are useful to have for summer too.





Part 2 of my winter snow emergency prep kit goes beyond the basic list (you can review the basic snow emergency car checklist here.) Again, this is not a list supplies to get you through any type of doomsday scenario. This list is to help you in a winter driving or snow emergency and especially if you drive long distances or frequent country roads where it might be awhile before help will reach you. (Been there. Done that. On Christmas Day no less. Not fun.)

13 Things to Carry in Your Car for Snow Emergencies if You Travel Long Distances or Country Roads

7 Tips for Shoveling Snow

This winter there’s no business! Like snow business! Like snow business I know!

Hey, I’m just trying to lighten the mood since we we broke snow and cold records this winter. It is warmer in Alaska than it is in the Lower 48 right now. Crazy!

Tonight they predicted we will get more snow. You know what that means.

Shoveling.

And lots of it.

If you can't find a kid wanting to make a quick buck on a snow day, you’ll have to shovel it yourself. If that’s the case, here are some snow removal tips to keep in mind and to prepare you for what lies ahead. 

14 Basic Things to Have in Your Car in Winter

Growing up near the Cleveland snow belt on Lake Erie has its advantages. Starting with the first snowfall of the year, the local weather people constantly remind you what emergency items to carry in your car for winter in case you got stuck in the snow (or more likely, get stuck in the mud after the snow melts.)

Prompted by the latest snow storm and my car accident last week, I’m spreading the word on what to have your car during winter snow emergencies.

 Pin this list of ideas to your Pinterest boards! Share it with your friends!

You probably already have most of the items on the list. The basic items don’t cost a ton of money and are things you can use year round. I’ll do a Part 2 later this week with the more advanced/prepared items for winter driving. If I don’t this post will be way too long!

14 Things to Carry in Your Car for Snow Emergencies

Wine Cork Coat Hooks

Just when I think my kitchen is organized, I find out it is not.

 Pin this idea to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!

I’m making progress on ant proofing and reorganizing my kitchen and pantry. It looks organized, right?
Not so fast.

Do You Have a Thermostat War?

Do you have a winter thermostat war in your home?

I recently read a BlogHer post about a woman asking for advice on what to do because her husband keeps the thermostat set at 69 degrees. Here's a partial quote (You can read the entire article here.)

 "He says 69 degrees is warm enough and that I should just put on a sweater and stop complaining. It's making me really resent him and wonder why he's not concerned about my comfort. What can I do?"

Apparently this is a thing.

Especially when it came to the comments. They range from suck it up Buttercup to go behind this back and jack the heat to that's abusive! The comprise it to let the wife have her way.

How to Keep Ice from Forming Inside House Windows

On cold days like today (it is zero degrees outside with a 23 degrees below zero (F) windchill) I am glad I searched for sealed the air leaks in my home. We can tell the difference because our house was warmer and our heating bill was lower almost immediately.

Unfortunately, if your home is too air tight, it can be just as bad as having air leaks. Jen and Joey Go Green found this out the hard way. If you have ice building up inside of your windows,  her post  Stop Ice Build Up on Windows has some easy ways to fix the problem.

If you live in one of the Arctic Vortex zones, please take precautions against frostbite if you are unlucky enough to be outside.

One Small Green Change 2013 Resolution Wrap Up

Happy New Year 2014!

I find that I’m better at keeping my New Years Resolutions if I make them when I need them instead of making up a resolution on New Year’s Eve for the sake of making a New Year’s resolution.

During 2013, I made one small green change each month. My changes weren’t necessarily Earth shattering or big. I focused on the small stuff. The easy stuff. The hey-I-should-probably-do-that stuff.

This way, I can evaluate whether it works for me or not. I'm more likely to keep monthly resolutions because some green changes are seasonal where I live. If you look at all of those little changes that became permanent, it can make a big, huge difference.

Here's the 2012 One Small Green Change New Year’s Resolution wrap up.

January

No Sew Drop Cloth Placemats

I use tablecloths to hide the fact I need to refinish our dining room table and haven’t gotten around to it. Lacey likes my tablecloths because she figured out how to use them to pull things off the table and into her eager mouth. 

I guess I better get some placemats, huh?

I got my inspiration for this project from some of the little bits of supplies I wanted to use up while I was clearing a path through the crap meticulously cleaning and reorganizing my craft room. 

How to Make Drop Cloth Placemats

37 Doctor Who Crafts

I am a big, big, big Doctor Who fan. When I needed more USB ports on my computer I bought a Doctor Who TARDIS USB computer hub (if you need more USB ports on your computer you can learn more about it here.)

(Disclosure: I am also including affiliate links in this post for your convince)

I write notes at my desk with a Sonic Screwdriver Pen (check out all of the Doctor's sonics here!)

I bought a bought a Tom Baker Era TARDIS Key Keychain here shortly after I discovered the classic Doctor Who episodes playing on public television and carried it for years until it  wore out.

For those of you who don’t know your Who, Doctor Who is a British science fiction show about a Time Lord named The Doctor who travels through time and space in his ship the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) which looks like a police box and saves the universe from bug eyed monsters.

The show first aired from 1963 to 1989 and took a little break until they made a Doctor Who TV movie in 1996. The BBC brought Doctor Who back in 2005. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who. 

I put together a collection of Doctor Who DIYs and crafts to celebrate the geekiest week of the year. On November 22, 2013 the BBC will simulcast the Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special around the world and, if you are lucky, in 3D a local theater!

 Pin this list of ideas to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!

Allons-y!

Drop Cloth Patio Chair Covers

It only took me 8 years to realize I should do something to protect the chairs on my front porch from rain and winter snow unless I want to keep making my chairs over every two years or so.

That is not a difficult thing to do. But I’d rather spend that time working on a new project, like helping our girl Lacey become a balanced and confident dog. That project gives kisses!





My chair projects do not give me kisses.

Sad Lisa

Covered Kitchen Storage Boxes

My kitchen is shrinking.

Not really but it feels that way.

We have one cupboard we use to store food. The rest of the cupboards hold dishes, cups, and stuff we want  to keep but don’t use often. In my dream kitchen all of these special dishes and things would live on the tippy top shelves of cupboards that go all the way to the ceiling so they are accessible but not in the every day way.

A kitchen remodel isn’t in the plan this year. Moving to a bigger house is too much work. I need to find some space in the kitchen I have.

I found it!

I know I’m supposed to like having a decorating space on top of my kitchen cabinets. I tried hanging plates on the wall because that is what you are supposed to do in a kitchen, right? I didn’t like it. I tried groupings of doodads on top of the cabinets - meh. I just can’t make it work.