Friday Finds--Personal Space

Wow!  Has it really been a MONTH since I last posted on this blog?
 Yep.
In a word, we have been busy.
 Doing what?  I'm not sure.

The last few weeks have felt a little like "Groundhog Day", if you know what I mean--Get up, get ready for work, pack lunches, hustle children out the door, go to work, sit in meetings, work in a training run (marathon/half update soon!), pick up kids, cook dinner, give kids baths, collapse in front of bad reality TV, wash. . . rinse. . . repeat. . . everyday.  Honestly, that kind of monotony wears me out.  You would think that I could get into a groove, get on a schedule, whatever . . .  When every minute is packed with the same old same old, I get bored.
And unmotivated.
And my creative juices dry right up.

Creativity has been sadly lacking around here lately.  Our current schedule hasn't left much time for fun extras (knitting, sewing, etc. . .)

But that is all about to change.  Not only is Spring Break right around the corner (4.5 days with kids and a much-needed teacher workday--it's not like I'm not counting or anything), but I have a fantastic new space to create in!  Well, not quite yet. . . but it is coming along quite nicely, and I can't wait to share it with you!

As I have mentioned countless times before, we live in an old house that was started in 1948 and then built in chunks and modified when things needed a change.  Bigger bathroom?  Bump out this wall!  Need another bedroom?  Attach it to this one!  Not enough closet space?  Add one to the living room!  Yep. That's right.  We have a closet in our "formal" living room.  Not a "coat closet" as you walk in the door.  No, a full-fledged closet with sliding doors, tucked away in the corner.

Doors closed. . .
(Please ignore the crooked picture and glare-filled photography)

When we moved into the house, I laid claim on this little corner and declared it "mine".  In our first house (pre-baby), I had a "craft room"--a place for my sewing machine, a bookcase, my cutting table, gift wrapping supplies, etc. . .  it also became a catch-all for things without a home.  Our cat loved to go in and climb around the room and it affectionately became known as "cat's junkyard".  As we transitioned from a home with 2 adults and 2 pets into a home with a small child, my craft room suddenly became a nursery and all of my supplies (junk) were forced into a small hall closet. When we moved to our current home in 2005, I decided that this odd living room closet would be a perfect space to house my craft supplies.  However, I never had a great storage system in place.  Things often got tossed in and set aside.  Projects went unfinished because I had no real "workspace" besides the breakfast table--and cleaning that baby off for every summertime meal is a real pain.  Alas, works in progress stayed "in progress" and buried in the abyss. . .

Prepare yourself. . .

It was bad.  Very bad.  

I am not proud, but this was the reality of my craft closet. 

A few months ago, I got the wild idea (was inspired by a few blogs found via pinterest) to turn this closet into a workstation--a sewing nook, a creation station, whatever you want to call it, I was craving organization and a fresh look.  

So, here are FIVE Friday Finds that inspired me (and my wonderful hubby) to gut the old "craft closet" and create a little personal space for myself!

This was my first find.  It is from Gwenny Penny and it reminded me the most of my own space.

Yellow Song Bird created this gorgeous space. LOVE the bunting!

Seven Pretty converted her closet, too!

Lovely design created this beauty.

Ana-white is an incredible craftswoman who designed this space.

I had NO idea that there were so many closet crafters out there!  (Pun intended)  I grabbed the inspiration and ran with it. . . straight to the hubby.  

You can imagine his excitement when I said, "Hey, I have an idea. . ."

Wanna see what happened to the abyss, the crap  craft-closet?  Well, you will just have to stay tuned. . .  and I promise it won't be an entire month before I post again!  I am super excited to share our project with you and the finished sewing nook!

Time to apply another coat of paint. . .