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| My work space! This photo is a big reminder that I need to put an actual photo in my picture frame. :D |
While I had plenty of fun office supplies in my possession, my work area was a complete mess. I hardly ever worked in there, because it felt stressful to be in the room. Wires and paper everywhere! Last month, I decided to make my office a happier place to work. The above picture is the result. I love my office now and I enjoy working in there.
One of my favorite additions to my happier office took less than 30 minutes of my time. I made a simple mouse pad, using the tips at More Misadventures. This mouse pad is definitely an upgrade over my previous "generic sunset" mouse pad and it puts me in a good mood every time I look at it. Small things can make a big difference!
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| Mousepad Front & Back |
Blog Hop Schedule
Mon., March 11 -- Blog Hop Launch @ Fabric Mutt (Craftsy giveaway: free class)Mon., March 18 -- Blog Hop Promo @ From Pixels to Patchwork (Pink Chalk Fabrics giveaway: $25 certificate)
Mon., March 25 -- Blog Hop Promo with Tutorial @ Fabric Mutt
Mon., April 1 -- Heidi Staples @ Fabric Mutt
Tue., April 2 -- Kristy @ Quiet Play (Pink Chalk Fabrics giveaway: $25 certificate)
Wed., April 3 -- Becca Bryan @ Bryan House Quilts
Thur., April 4 -- Amanda Woodruff @ A Crafty Fox (Westwood Acres giveaway)
Fri., April 5 -- Lee Heinrich @ Freshly Pieced
Mon., April 8 -- Svetlana Sotak @ SOTAK Handmade
Tue., April 9 -- Beth @ Plum and June (Sew Me a Song giveaway: fabric bundle)
Wed., April 10 -- Taryn @ From Pixels to Patchwork
Thur., April 11 -- Lori Hartman @ Lori H. Designs (Fabricworm giveaway: Robotic fabric bundle)
Fri., April 12 -- Leanne @ She Can Quilt
Mon., April 15 -- Blog Hop Recap at Fabric Mutt
There is a Flickr group to share projects completed with the blog hop. If you would like to help spread the word, here is the code to add a button to your website:
The generous sponsors of this blog hop are Craftsy, Fabricworm, Pink Chalk Fabrics, Sew Me a Song, and Westwood Acres (see above for giveaway schedule). I have purchased from all these shops numerous times and I only have great things to say about each of them.
Now for the giveaway:
They are also very generous! Pink Chalk Fabrics is offering one lucky winner a $25 Gift Certificate to their store!
[GIVEAWAY CLOSED]
The winner is comment #43, Gabriela. Congratulations Gabriela and thank you to everyone who entered! You all shared some great tips!
My Answer to the Question- A couple of tips: (1) Command Cord Organization hooks changed my life! You can barely see any wires under my desk. (2) One of my big realizations while looking through office inspiration pictures, is that other people don't have less clutter than I do...they are just better at hiding it! Part of my office rejuvenation involved making sure everything had a place. Small or infrequently used objects are in boxes by category (mailing, banking, etc) and frequently used supplies (cameras, wires, etc.) are in fabric baskets. I got rid of my tiny little boxes full of paper clips, staples, etc. and put them all in a wooden box with dividers (Hobby Lobby). It looks better, everything is easier to find and it cleared a little bit of space on my drawer-less desk!
Good luck! Thanks to Heidi for hosting this fun blog hop! I hope you will follow along on the hop and be sure to check back here on April 10th to check out my tutorial!
I'm Linking up at Plum and June's Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link Up which is hosted by Busy Bee Quilts this week!
44 comments so far. What are your thoughts?
I sew in my hallway so every time I want to sew I have to unpack and then re-pack my workspace. I have a great little box with lots of little recycled plastic pots (some with lids) in it that I use to keep all my essentials in one place and because they're all in this open box I can just pick them all up at once and move them when its time to close up my sewing cabinet. Makes life so much easier and quicker. Can't wait to have an actual permanent sewing space one day!
I have no space that is my own apart from a shelf in a cupboard. At the moment I keep things in zip-lock bags - threads, different projects etc. So I am in definite need of this blog hop!
What about organizationally challenged people? Can we still enter?
Ok...my organizational tip for organizationally challenged people? Confess and ask organized friends to come help, or hire someone with the skills. It will be well worth it! I truly do believe we need more organizational professionals out there to help us organizationally challenged quilters!
Next tip - buy Snapware/Artbin to store projects in. They also work great for totes to take your project with you when you go to a sew-cial/retreat and they keep everything together until you finish your projec. And, they stack very well together.
SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com
I purchased a 4 drawer plastic chest of drawers to hold my threads, zips, bag hardware, interfacing , ribbon, selavages etc so all those little things are all togerther in one spot and they no longer hang out on the floor or on the table or on the ironing board - you get the idea!!
Keep a little rubbish container next to your sewing machine to dump all the threads and snippings into - having to regularly empty it into the big household bin in the kitchen, keeps the sewing space clear of rubbish!
I have a big office filing cabinet which i spray painted a lovely bright blue last year for all of my fabric organisation, but I have way too much to go into it, so i wouldn't dare to suggest i was any kind of example of organisation for work and sewing spaces! I try, but my inate messiness always breaks out!!! Fab competition :o)
I sew on the dining room table, under it I have 2 plastic toy storage towers on wheels these are pulled out when I want to sew. 1 has needles, pins,scissors rulers, templates and so on , the other has fabric and patterns. My threads are stored on plastic knitting needles, with wound bobbins, in fabric boxes and are pretty so they live in full view on the dresser. My only bugbear is my big cutting board, it is so big that the only flat space it fits into is under my bed.
We've recently moved, twice in half a year, actually, so my office isn't organised at all at the moment. But I love pretty stationary and notebooks and all kinds of gorgeous things, really. :)
I just kind of took over the 2nd bedroom in our apartment to sew in. Visiting guests, be aware.
rmk815 at gmail dot com
I have made sure to put some of my children's pretty artwork in my sewing space. It makes me happy! Thanks for the giveaway. wonderlandbyalyce at gmail dot com
I LOVE your desk! That is wonderful! I love paper and office supplies almost as much as I love fabric. I never thought of making a mouse pad! I need to do that, ASAP! Thanks for the inspiration.
I just moved into a new house last week. The house is pretty small and hubby and I decided to take the unconventional route of turning the master bedroom into the office/sewing room. Right now it is boxes stacked over 6 feet high in places. I spent last week getting the rest of the house organized, and this week I'll be getting everything together in here. My favorite thing in in the office part of our room is a cabinet made from IKEA components. It holds all the office supplies and we put the printer behind a roll door. It protects it from dust and our cats who are totally fascinated by it.
Thanks for the giveaway! I have a collage exercise I did almost ten years ago that personalizes my space. Every time I look at it, I'm surprised and delighted at how it's still as relevant today as it was 10 years ago. :)
I personalized my space by adding a bunch of colorful art on the walls. Color makes me happy and a happy me means more production. I also have a design board with lots of inspirational images.
I got a great shelf from Ikea that is supposed to be for the kitchen. I store all my notions on top and then hang all my rulers and embroidery hoops from s hooks. I love it! It really frees up desk space.
One thing I have made is a lazy susan that holds all my pens, pencils, brushes, rippers, small rulers,etc. I used an inexpensive plastic turntable. Then I took empty cans and bottles that I had saved and covered them with contact paper. Then I arranged them on the turntable and glued them down. This gives me many storage compartments of different heights to keep the clutter down on my worktable.
Since my son is an artist with Tagging ( spray) paintes, I have it on my walls in my studio, I also for organization use project tubs from the dollar store.
HEHE.. I repurposed an entire LIVING room... as my studio. I painted it my signature color (a pale sky aqua).
For storage, in keeping with my 1890s farmhouse, I'm using lots and LOTS of mason jars. Buttons, thread spools. zippers. It all goes in jars. Then they're grouped on shelves. I LOVE how pretty everything looks so neatly organized in the jars. thread and buttons and beads are beautiful on their own....
for fabric, my husband cut me mini bolts sized to fit my shelving. So my fabrics are lined up in color groups in neat tidy rows. I can see exactly what I have. I love it!
melle@featheredruffles.com
Over the door hooks from IKEA are great for clearing clutter from my desk. I have a bag of ribbons and another of trimmings hanging from mine.
Have just invested in Comic Boards so gradually taming my fabric stash too (well in theory anyway!)
Oh I do love a good bit of stationery :oD For my work area, I bought a shelf from Ikea that has a rail with hooks on underneath, so I can hang things off the hooks, while putting smaller things on the shelves
I have a former sports locker to house most of my fabric stash by color/type (much easier to shop or admire my stash) with 12 totes on top for scraps, and little trashcans by my sewing machines and by the cutting station, AND, I have a medium size tin with lid to hold all my scraps as I go, until I'm ready to sort them into the Stash totes!
Both my office space at home and my sewing space are in need of a few new storage places. I'm usually super organized but I have recently really decreased my desk space and found that I'm missing a couple of "hold" areas. I have a couple of ideas but nothing implemented yet. Also my stash is overgrowing what I storage I currently have. I have a couple of ideas but still need to implement them. Thanks for the giveaway.
This isn't an organization tip, really, but your mouse pad made me think of it. I use a pretty little saucer to hold pins, some vintage pyrex to hold my basting pins, and a depression glass candy dish as a thread catch. They make my sewing space prettier and happier.
I sew and have my computer in our spare bedroom - I have photos of my children pinned in front of my desk!
HI! I'm using an upstairs loft with lots of windows for my sewing space+just love it! Other homes I've had to drag out the machine from a closet and use the dining room table>not good. I've used an oak stain on almost everything but my charm square cabinet. It has sixteen 6x6 cubicles>so charming! My husband made this for me so it is really special! I painted it an old barn red shade. Now I'm using similar shades of that red all about my cabinet+work table,like red pin cushions,red book ends,red fabric covered work baskets,etc. Looks so neat!
Thanks for your Blog+Inspiration+Giveaway!
msstitcher1948@yahoo.com
Being a teacher, I thrive on organization. I like everything to have it's own special place. Something that I can't live without in my office space are my office supply organizers and my desk organizers. I love having little sewn projects around to spruce things up a bit!
I have a special Harry Potter embroidery, and my favorite painting from Prague, hanging right over my desk. They always make me happy!
I sew in our dining room, so things have to be packed away but after seeing the jars of coloured scraps last year in the bottled rainbow QAL I have repurposed some clear tennis ball tubes for colour coding my scraps and they are now starting to fill up and look nice on the shelf! My dog gets through alot of tennis balls... :o)
I too am a sucker for all things office/school related. Can't pass up all the cute planners, notebooks and accessories. Loved your project sheet printables and had to print them ASAP and find a rue folder to store them in! :). Thanks so much!
Materialmoments (at) yahoo (dot) com
I am in the process of organizing our house. I have been working in my craft room. My quilting fabric is now sitting out in av wooden bookcase that my husband built. I just love having my fabric out where I can see exactly what I have instead of it being in drawers or totes!!! Thanks for a great giveaway.
I have all my sewing things that I must remember posted on the wall over my computer
I have all my sewing things that I must remember posted on the wall over my computer
I love back to school catalog use and stationery too! You know how at shows and fairs they have show bags, usually with lollies or toys and stuff? I always used to pick the stationery bag!! I find an ice cube tray is a really good thing to store bobbins in. That's my tip!
I made a craft board to help organize and store ribbons and cotton. this gives me more desk space.
If my work space isn't neat and organised I can't work well and waste time looking for things ... Everything is organised in baskets, boxes or clear containers and clearly marked for quick hands on access. Of course everything is pretty and co-ordinated :-)I am visiting you through the "link-up" and am so pleased to have found your blog. I am now a follower!
I make fabric baskets and use command hooks on the walls
susie
legato1958@aol.com
I sew in my breakfast area, but I finally did put some pushpins in the wall and hung all my rulers on them. Not typical decor for the kitchen, but it works for me!
At the moment I dont have a sewing room, but as soon as my daughter moves out this summer...I will have one so I am looking at everything, collecting ideas so I can get started ASAP! But I think a bulletin board of some kind is a good thing..keep pictures for ideas, inspiration and a to do list and things like that. I plan on having a large one!
Cheri
My office area and sewing area are roommates. One thing I really love that helps with organization are over the door hooks and organizers, I have one on the closet door that holds WHIPs and one day projects. One of the pockets right now has a purse pattern, the fabric, buttons and interfacing all ready to go. Another has some fall place mats I did not finish and will work on again late summer.
I love the mouse pad!! Great idea.
This makes me feel old because it is my daughters who totally look forward to getting that magazine every month (or whenever it comes out!) You have such a great space and I totally love that mouse pad!
im in rth emidst of organizing but i love to use see through bins for fabric makes it easier to find what your looking for
cbrocious1984 AT gmail dot com
I have a desk from Ikea with a broad top that's attached to a bookcase that has 8 square compartments that I can put stuff in, or put one of those boxes in and dump stuff in it. I keep all my books and magazines and patterns on the top shelf. I keep my office supplies level with the desk in the bookcase. I keep my sewing machine on my desk or under the desk. I have two 3 foot long picture frame shelves that are about 16" apart from the level of the desk (then the top one being level with the top of the bookcase). I LOVE LOVE LOVE these shelves because I keep my rulers, panda container filled with colored pencils, binding and a Serenity picture frame on them. I even bought a light that you usually install in the kitchen, under a cupboard and attached it under the bottom of the lowest shelf so I get more lighting. Of course I have my teal Ottlight on my desk as well, with my thread holder. My ironing board has a cute teal/green flower pattern cover that matches my teal walls. All the Ikea furniture is black. I have my sewing area in my bedroom, so I have another 8 square bookcase on it's side (longways) that I keep more sewing stuff in. I have a plasma on the wall so I watch TV when I sew. I keep my rotary cutters, scissors, and quilting pens in a container on the desk. And all extra notions are either in a 3 level plastic container that snaps together so nothing can fall out (pins/needles/thimbles/binding clips, ect.). Anything else fits in a giant plastic container under my desk (fat quarters/rotary blades, ect.). I have a tupperware full of scraps under the TV. I am SO lucky to have such a nice set up. All my extra batting, flannel, quilting cotton is in my closet so my kitty doesn't get white hair all over it. I also bought this wire thing from Ikea that was displayed to hang paper from or pictures. I use it to hang up the quilt I'm working on.
I wish I could just add a bunch of pics!
Some Pink Castle Fabric would look really nice on my desk, since I don't have a big fabric stash :) Thanks for the chance to win. That's how I organize everything. Oh! I also have a wooden board we used to use for puzzles, to put my cutting mat on, so I can cut my fabric on the floor easily. (I'm short)
One of my favorite ways of organizing my wips is in 12x12 see-thru boxes made for scrapbook paper.
Very cute and functional!:) thanks for the chance:D
I never pass up a cute paper clip or writing pad! So its so fun to see this blog hop! i recently reorganized my fabric stash into mini bolts using Cut to pieces comic book tutorial and I love it. Very inspirational to see all the pretty fabric on display! Thanks for the chance to win!
Gcastillomail at yahoo.com
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