Studio makeover: Mini pincushion

Today is my first post on making cheap and easy things

to make studios easier to manage,  more fun to play in,  

look better, and along the way to exercise our creative muscles regularly. 

I am going to kick of the year with a fun little project for the studio or travelling

A matchbox pin cushion and needle/pin container

This wee pincushion is made from a matchbox and scraps of fabric and paper.  It is so cute and practical to throw in you sewing bag or handbag as a mini sewing kit.

Tools needed

One matchbox.  It doesn't matter what size.  I have used a small one but any size will do.

And.......

1. Paper to cover the matchbox
2. A scrap of material the coordinates with the paper
3. A small piece of braiding to coordinate with the paper and material.
4. A little stuffing
5. A reel of thread that matches the fabric
6. A needle
7. A glue paintbrush
8. A white glue called P.V.A in NZ or Elmers in the U.S.A
9. A pencil
10. Scissors
11. A glue gun

Method

Take the little 'drawer' out of the box. Place the outside part of the matchbox on the edge of the paper and using a pencil draw a line using the edge of the box. Move the matchbox along until there is enough paper to cover the box all the way around and little more. 

Cut the rectangle/oblong out

Paper and matchbox

Glue the outside of the box

Place the paper on the box and fold around the box until it is attached.

Fold the little extra flap over and glue to the box.

This is the outside of the box done.

Take the inside of the matchbox and draw around the bottom of the box onto 

the wrong side of the paper.

Mark around the end, of the little drawer, onto the paper leaving a little extra paper around the markings.

Cut 1 cm wider than the pencil lines that have been drawn.

Fold along each line

Until it looks like this

Cut along the fold above to where the folds meet

Fold along lines at each end

Snip the corner off each side

Glue the little drawer

Place the little drawer on the wrong side of the paper.  Press the into the glue.

Snip off the extra corner of the paper then fold up onto the inside box until the paper is all attached to the little drawer. Fold the flap into the box and glue.

The finished little drawer

Sip the little drawer into the the first box that was covered.

The finished box with the 'drawer' open

Measure a piece of material, for the pincushion,

 that is twice the size of the top of the box both length and width.

Piece of fabric for the top.

Make a large running stitch around the edge of the material.  Pull up the threads until a little pouch is formed. Leave space for the stuffing to be put in.

Put the stuffing in.  When there is enough stuffing pull up the threads tight and sew off. 

Using a glue gun, glue the top of the box. Place the material pincushion on the box pressing firmly until the glue has cooled.

Cut a piece of braiding to fit around the bottom of the pincushion and attach with a glue gun.  

Add a small shell, rock, bead, button etc to cover the joins of the braiding.

a beautiful finished matchbox pincushion to utilize at home or while travelling.

A studio mini makeover part 2

I cannot work in a messy space.  

Clutter and chaos are the best robbers of  creative energy.  

The more mess, the worse the energy depletion. 

At the beginning of the year I like to do a clean out and a reorganisation.  I have been sorting, re containerising and moving around all the creative area of my house.  I started with the children's art room and my scrapbooking supplies (see below for posts)

http://catherineparkinson.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/post-christmas-organisation.html

http://catherineparkinson.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/making-your-space-your-own.html

Now I am working on my studio and my husbands office. 

 am so excited to have my studio ready for my new 

goal of being creative every day.  

Yesterday we started the APE process with Analyse the space.

Today we are going to Plan the space and Execute the plan.  

Planning the space saves time and energy. 

 The better the plan the more smoothly the new space will come together and work.

Plan the space

1.     Make a list of what the room needs to do for you.  Our list included an office for my husband,  an area for clients or staff to sit which has to double up as a bed for sick children,  a space for the air hockey table,  a hand sewing area,  a music area, storage for all the art/sewing needs, ironing station, cutting station, sewing station, wet area and an area to do book work and blogging.

2.     Have your analysis list  (from yesterday http://catherineparkinson.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/how-to-do-mini-studio-makeover.html ) next to you to make sure all the needs that got listed get met on your new plan. Consider using furniture for multiple uses to save room.

3.     Draw a plan including areas that you have identified from above. Be prepared to make more than one plan.  Try making moveable pieces to move around on a floor plan to scale. This can save a lot of time and energy.

4.     Sit down with someone else to get them to check over your plan with new eyes to make sure it will work.  Remember to check where all the power sockets are and how the ventilation works in your space.

       TIP:  You need 600mms as the minimum space to walk through.

Now that the plan is done the room is ready to put into order.

Execute the plan

1.     Put the loose lying items in a big box,  back where they belong  or make a pile somewhere in the room.  Doing this creates space to start to move furniture and it stops anything from being broken.

2.     Put key furniture into place. I find doing this in 2 steps works better for me.  I move one half of the room sort that out and then do the other half.  This gives place to store things that don’t belong and also keeps my interest up:)

3.     Put everything that belongs to that station or area in that area.  Putting a box in each area to place supplies in really helps contain the mess and gives structure to the chaos.

4.     Sort the belongings in each area.  Using the SPACE theory (utilised my many professional organisers through the world)

Sort-Where does it go? Where will it be used best?

Purge-What do you want to keep? What is broken?  Sort into 3 piles keep, give away and throw out.

Assign- Assign an area for the object.

Containerise- Put into a container.

Evaluate-Is your storage and areas working for you? 

Although analysing and planning takes time it is well worth it.  The space always works better and does more of what you want it to do.  

After photos

The office

View into the garage of the setting area for my husband's office (which will also be the sick bed if needed) and the covered air hockey table.   

My husbands new desk.  This is behind the door that goes into the garage from the house.

Another view of the desk. The studio bookshelf has been slipped on the edge of the desk to be close to my rocking chair.  I am going to get a small basket to put on top for all his techno bits and pieces.

The couch/bedsette

The view from the studio end.  The rocking chair can be used in the studio for hand work

The studio

The view from the office area.  To the right is my CD player on top a unit that house all my fat 1/4 and scraps of fabric.

From left to right the cutting station which I have put on the filing cabinet and the ironing station

The sewing station and work station

The work station and storage for beads and buttons.

The sewing station.  I chose this side of the room because of the natural light and the closeness to the one and only power socket I have.

Hand sewing area

Storage for material, wet materials (ie Paint), stamps, stencils, fibres and quilts finished and quilts in progress.  The cupboard on the right edge of the photos holds fat 1/4 and scraps of material.

Painting table,  art journalling bookshelf and storage wall.

Art journalling shelf.  I have placed this next to my art table so I can work and reach as I need things. Next to the bookshelf I have put all the long storage.  

The space is working really well.  The only thing I would like to do is have a screen to place in the thorough fare from the office to the studio for added privacy when I need no interruptions. 

This is only a mini makeover just to tie us over until the big work begins..  Before winter we are hoping to do a a major makeover.  We want to re line the garage and put in French doors where the garage doors are and grind and polish the concrete floors.

The space does not have to be flash to work.  It just has to be well organised and work for you.  People spend a lot of money on space, storage and furniture for studios but realistically many people cannot afford to do that.  

Over the next few months on a Wednesday I am going to show you some cheap ways of creating a studio and storage for a studio whether it is small or large. Come and join me for some creative, cheap and fun ways to create a space to play in.

How to do a mini studio makeover

Last week I sorted out our children’s art area and moved my husband’s office out to the garage.  It has been a very successful move around.  It took 2 days to sort out the inside rooms but it was worth every bit of effort.  The children are using their new space every day and my new scrapbook area has been used 4 times.  This is more than it has been used in the last 4 months. I really agree with the theory the less we have and the more organised it is the more we utilize what we have. 

To read about this go to......

http://catherineparkinson.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/post-christmas-organisation.html

 http://catherineparkinson.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/making-your-space-your-own.html

The outcome of sorting these 2 areas out was a very cluttered and untidy studio (which is in the garage)  because it goes without saying that the excess has to go somewhere for sorting.  I find that sorting out a house is like a disaster zone until the whole process is finished and if you do it with kids in tow it is doubly difficult because while you are doing one room the rest of the house is getting ‘used’ and needs to be done again when you are finished.  So the process to sort out the studio and my husband’s new office work area took 3 days.

Before

Every thing had just spun out of control

Piles of art work and quilting supplies were everywhere

 Even Paperwork was out of control

Projects half finished lay everywhere

Books lay in the floor ready to be shelved

Materials spilling out

Fallen stencils out of the shelf

A broken set of drawers still waiting to be fixed

Objects form the house with no where else to go

Everything was such a mess out there.  There were a couple of old beds, the Christmas time pile of ‘we’re having visitors so where shall I put the…….’, and piles of tools and fabrics not put away after making gifts.  The room was not a pleasure to work in and it zapped me of my creative energy.  This year is all about being creative and I knew that if I didn’t do a clean-up and a sort out, I wasn’t going to be achieving anything this year.

So how do you begin such an overwhelming task?  Use the APE method. (my own method)

Analyse, Plan the space and Execute the plan.

First..

Analyse the space

• ·        What do you want this space to do for you?
• ·        What is working for you?
• ·        What is not working for you?
• ·        What large pieces of furniture do you need to keep in this space?
• ·        Is there anything in you space that you cannot do without?
• ·        Are there any problems with the space you have?
• ·        Do you have positive features that need accentuating?
• ·        Is there anything/ or anyone sabotaging your space? What steps can be made to sort this out?

My analyse looked like this

•   What do you want this space to do for you? I needed an office space for my husband and a studio for me and a bed/couch that could work for a bed for sickies and a meeting place for clients and staff of my husband.
•   What is working for you? It is a great large space with a concrete floor which is so easy to clean up.  I love my design/photography wall and art table
• What is not working for you? no heating, clutter,  people in family using the area as a dumping ground.  No desk for paper work and blogging
• What large pieces of furniture do you need to keep in this space?Art desk,  sewing table, couch, air hockey table, desk for my husband, storage units and one set of drawers
•  Is there anything in you space that you cannot do without? my design wall and sewing and art table
• Are there any problems with the space you have? Daily clean up time,  can be cold, 
•  Do you have positive features that need accentuating? No
• Is there anything/ or anyone sabotaging your space? What steps can be made         to sort this out? Children coming in and using my art area and not tidying up afterwards, that the garage is used as a dumping ground. Setting firmer guidelines for the studio and sorting out as I go so that I don't end up with additional objects in the studio.

Tomorrow:  Plan the space and execute the plan 

and some photos of the finished room

Thought for today

'Start the new year off with a new positive attitude to life 

and live in the moment and be present. 

This is the best gift you can ever give yourself or your family.'

Catherine Parkinson

Live today, live in the moment, live now.

Making your space your own

Many people need to set goals at the beginning of the year.  I do set goals but I often have an urge to re organise everything. Yesterday I re organised the kids art area and my scrapbook area.  It is looking wonderful.  The boys have both been in there this morning making origami creations and they cleaned up after themselves. Miracles can happen :) You can read about my organisation below

http://catherineparkinson.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/post-christmas-organisation.html

I am really excited to have an area separate from my art studio to put all my photographs and family history.  I might actually complete a album this year. 

It is a neat and tidy space, but the space didn't really feel like it belonged to me.  It was bare and could have belonged to any one.  So how can a space be made to feel more personal?

First choose an couple of accent colours.  I chose medium brown and navy blue to go with my grey walls. Then find things you love that fit into that scheme that make you smile, inspire you and things you love.

Add a piece of art work that you love.  This piece I made a few years ago.  The colours worked perfectly and the subject really inspire me.  I love baskets so a basket for my latest project was perfect.

Add a few candles.  Candles always make a room feel more inviting and warm.  Even if they are unlit.  Display objects in groups of 3,5,7 and they will be nicely balanced. 

Chose candles of 3 different heights for interest.

Hang up a quote that inspires you.  I have printed off a quote that I will change regularly to keep it fresh and new.

Add something to hang finished projects on or an area to work out layouts.  I have chosen 2 woven mats to attach photos and layouts on.

Photographs make a lovely addition to a room.  I can change the picture each week with this lovely mini photo album.  

Another inspirational quote.  This particular piece is made by my sister,  It even glows in the dark.

Just a few special objects can make a space really feel special.  You don't have to spend a lot of money to make an area look nice.

The next job is to set up my husbands office out in the garage where my studio is.  Then the studio will need fully reorganising to accommodate the work office.  Watch this space for more progress in the next couple of days .

Post Christmas organisation

We have had such a wonderful week away.  The weather was wonderful.  It rained only twice which was such a wonderful blessing.  We stayed in a real NZ Bach in Kawhia, NZ.  It was tongue and groove cottage and it was really quaint and cute.  There was no TV which also was so wonderful.  We Kayaked, swam, went on walks and even found some natural hot pools to soak in.

I have come back so refreshed and revitalised.  It was just what I needed to get the creativity flowing again.  I have started by coming home and sorted out the children's art room.  Their wee room was in a room we lovingly call the 'coffice'.  It is too big for a cupboard and too small for a office.  It wasn't working very well and kept being left in a large mess.  This was becoming particularly difficult for me as I also have all my scrapbooking and card making supplies in there too.  

This room just wasn't working.

My husband had decided to relocate his office from a computer cupboard to our garage.  So I decided to move all the children's art equipment to his the computer cupboard in the family area and to leave all my supplies in the 'coffice'.

It is a perfect size.  We found this great cupboard on a second hand site in NZ for $27. 

After a bit of work and some new containers we have a brand new space to use

We just need to get a new computer screen.  Ours blew up in a storm a few weeks ago thankfully the computer hard drive was fine.

These baskets were Christmas stock that had green liners in them.  I took the green liners out so they didn't look chrismassy.  $3 each 75% off the original price :) not a a bad find.

The children are really excited to start using their new space.  I really feel it is so good to be able to have a space for them all of their own.  No matter what the size area, children need to be able to have a place to create and play with different mediums from an early age.  Play really helps children's brains to develop and also helps them to learn at school better. It's going to be exciting to see how the 2 boys use this space.

My newly organised scrapbook/family history and paper craft room.  I organised a little differently today.  I took everything out of the room and then took back into the room what I wanted in the space.  This worked so well.  I could see the space more clearly.  I also didn't feel so overwhelmed as I often do.

Shelving for the albums,  books and embellishments.  

Paper storage on an old T.V stand.  I can even wheel it out if I need it elsewhere.

The view from the window.

It feels so good to have the areas separate and easier to use. I now just need to give it a personal touch of a few pretty trimmings to make it my own space.  I'll post up some photos tomorrow.   

Happy New year

Happy New Year to you all!!!

Have a wonderful celebration with those you love.  

We have spent a pleasant evening with friends followed by a rowdy games night with the kids. 

 It's been lots of fun.

Keep safe and happy.

I am off for a week with my family to beautiful Kawhia, a coastal village on the west coast of New Zealand, for a week of well needed rest.  So I will be having a week off posting on my blog.  

 I am looking forward to a phone free, internet free and T.V free week :) and some time to finish setting my goals and doing planning for the upcoming year.

Remember

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

C. S. Lewis

One of my goals for 2014 is to be creative every day. 

 I am dreaming of new projects to start and finish and of new experiments and play. 

What is being creative?  It is making something new that wasn't there before.  It is thinking in a new way and  seeing new possibilities with different eyes.  

Have a wonderful week

Love Catherine xx