Carving out space

I read a lot of crafty blogs in my spare time (ha!). I love seeing what everyone's creating and finding inspiration to try my hand at a new project ('cause you can never have too many projects on the go). One of my favorite topics that craft bloggers seem to love to write about is their studios.

Now, I realize that some of these women make a living doing what they do and are therefore entitled to something more than a corner of the dinner table, but I can't help but envy their space.

My personal fave is lovelydesign. Sharilyn simply oozes good taste in everything she does. What I wouldn't give for a room like hers. I'm also very fond of the cozy space used by Amanda over at SouleMama. Hers is a room that looks as though it has seen many decades of crafting, though she herself is a young mother to four kids! Her very modern laptop and sewing machine look perfectly at home next to vintage fabrics, containers of thrifted bit and bobs and walls adorned with children's artwork. Seeing how others have carved out a little space for themselves by utilizing otherwise useless space as Mary Beth has done over at Salt and Chocolate is also inspiring. If she could find space, why can't I?

After months of drooling over everyone else's creative space and using my own lack of space as the primary reason I am an under-productive crafter, I finally carved out a place of my own.

It's not much, but it's perfect for me.

Since we aren't moving any time soon and I can't exactly take over the kitchen table on a permanent basis, I had to get creative in finding a space to call my own.

What I managed to find was the 1.25 metres beside my bed. I had to give up my bedside table, but in it's place I now have a beautiful vintage sewing table (bought on Craigslist) and brand new, super-comfy chair (from the as-is section of IKEA). I keep the sewing table open all of the time and have nestled my fabric storage bins underneath (previously they'd been stored in the middle of the living room...did I mention space is at a premium in our apartment?).

The artwork is not what I'd like it to be. For now, I am making due with some paintings TDSH brought home from Suriname (which I quite like) and a framed poster from IKEA (circa 1998). I'll have to keep my eyes open on Etsy for something better to replace it.

To improve the storage situation a little bit, I also picked up a $20 set of metal shelves from IKEA. I can't believe how perfectly they fit into an odd little corner next to my closet. I wasn't so sure about the metal shelves at first (most of our other furniture is wood), but I've fallen in love with these things. They are perfect to store my craft books, various notions, patterns and a small sampling of my fabric stash.

I actually set my space up a few weeks ago, but not a day has gone by that I don't look at what I've created and smile.