But I think you will understand–and even jump on my green bandwagon–when you see the unbelievable craft room at Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn. I do believe she can make anything in there. And she already has the supplies!

Unbelievable Craft Room by Stephanie Lynn

I’ve been working on my Laundry/Craft room and have “borrowed” many ideas from folks like Stephanie Lynn. I’ll give you a couple of peeks, but until I turn a little less green, I’m not ready to share the whole thing.

Sewing Center in Craft Room

Why do projects take so much longer than I think they will? (This is a question my husband just smiles about…After almost 22 years, he knows that when I say, “It will only take us a couple of hours,” he is in for a two-day adventure that involves at least four trips to Lowe’s or Home Depot.)

I used pegboard in my room, and I love how versatile it is! Functional, yes, but you can also use it for artful display. (Artful display is where you hang up something you like and think is pretty to look at.:))

I’ve been working on other fun stuff in my Craft/Laundry Room, too. Check out my retro telephone project for something a little quirky. Hopefully, there will be more to come. With a final look–when I figure it all out.

Here are some other envy-inspiring rooms. It isn’t easy being green!

Making This Home

Stamping for Sanity

Lucky Lola’s sewing room

House on Hill Road sewing room

My Seewing Room–The big windows with the view are inspiring!

Hope your weekend is full of creativity!

Here’s the inspiration from Pottery Barn:

from Pottery Barn Teen

Oh…I had forgotten how cool it was!

Here is our version–now much-used (and it looks like it needs a clean-up, sweet daughter!):

PBT--Reinvented...Don't ask me why there is a wire coat hanger or old candy canes on here. She marches to her own drummer, and I love that about her!

First, we built a structure to mount the individual squares onto. We built it out of 1 x 2s that were left over from something. (1 x 2s are cheap, even if you do have to buy them.)  Nothing fancy (It doesn’t show.) Simply a square with three verticals.

Detailed blueprint for memo board skeleton

View from the side of the framework

The vertical boards are 12 inches apart.

Next, my sweet husband (OK. He might have sighed at this request, but he did it anyway, thereby making him sweet.) cut pegboard into 12 inch squares. We used the pegboard as a base for the cork tiles–even the ones with fabric on top. The pegboard was what I had on hand, but I have to tell you that it made the piece quite heavy. Heavy enough that it is hung on studs. If I were doing this again, I might use foam core as the base for the fabric and cork squares.

My daughter picked fabrics and decided the layout of the 3 x 3 grid, though because we used Velcro (keep reading), they layout can be changed. She opted to leave two squares as pegboard, which we spray painted silver. The rest we hot glued cork on top of and wrapped five of those with the various fabrics. She wanted a white board but I couldn’t find the materials. Also, a piece of metal would have been great (for magnets), but none was readily available that didn’t have to be cut. Did I mention that I am deathly (I tend to exaggerate) afraid of cut metal? I hear it hurts.

You could even paint a square of plywood or luan with chalkboard paint. The point is that the possibilities are endless!

To adhere the squares to the framing, we stapled strips of velcro onto the verticals and the edges of the squares. Believe it or not, placing the squares on the velcro perfectly is harder than it looks! In fact, we decided not to worry about perfection. It ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Not perfect, but good enough!

Slight improvement though still not perfect!

We prepared it for hanging with eye screws and wire. Wire seems to be a bit more forgiving when it comes to leveling. Just watch out for the cut ends. Lethal! (Again, exaggeration. But cut wire really can cut you.)

Other views:

Looking at these pictures makes me want to go back and make a frame to finish it off. (I think it could use one.) But for now, my daughter loves how it all came together! It was a good project for us to do together. And just think, if she didn’t have a place for all of these treasures, they would be in a stack or box somewhere. Oh, who am I kidding? They’d be on the floor.

Organization is good. Making it happen with your teen aged daughter is even better.

Need a weekend, finish-in-an-hour project? One that will help with organization? Try this pretty, but functional, bulletin board…

Fabric-covered bulletin board made with stuff I already had (except the frame!)

Supplies:

• cork (either a roll or tiles)
• frame (Please do not buy at full price! Hobby Lobby sells nice ones at 50% off every other week. Or hit a garage sale and ditch the “art”. Or don’t bother with the frame! You can finish the edges with trim.)
• backer board cut to fit inside frame (Use what you have on hand. I had some left-over pegboard. Thin plywood or luan would work fine.)
• pretty fabric that fits your room and is about 2 inches wider and longer than your frame
• hot glue gun
• staple gun or duct tape

Steps:

1. Hot glue cork or cork tiles onto backer board. You don’t need to overdo this–perimeter and a cross or X will hold it snugly.
2. Place the cork side on top of the pretty fabric (back side of fabric.)
3. Staple fabric edges to the backer board. Put one staple in the middle of the top, first. Then, pull fabric at the bottom, gently but firmly. Staple middle of the bottom. Do the same on the sides. Then, staple freely around the rest of the perimeter. The staples are on the back side of the bulletin board and should not show. Fabric should be smooth.
4. Place frame face down on flat surface.
5. Place bulletin board face down into frame. If your board was cut to fit, the bulletin board should fit fairly snuggly into the frame.
   

   Back side of bulletin board. If you are paying attention, you will see that I apparently wrapped the fabric around the cork before applying it to the backer board. This is not a good idea, and I'm not sure why I did it. Do as I say; don't do as I did.

6. Secure the board to the frame. I used the staple gun, but duct tape will also work…Just use it freely around all edges.
7. Attach hanging hardware. I used eye screws and wire since I already had those, but the jagged edge hangers will work, too.
8. You could be finished here. Or you can use some sort of tassel fringe, gimp, rope, or ribbon to go around the front of the bulletin board, just inside the frame. I was feeling sassy this day, so I used some extra tassel fringe that I had leftover from a sewing project.
9. Hang in just the perfect spot, and use to display important stuff.


The Perfect Spot for Me

***I used a looser weave fabric so pushpin holes would not show. Most cottons should work well but test it out before you go crazy with your staple gun.

***They also make pretty pushpins now, if you want a more decorated look. For my mudroom, the old-fashioned kind works just fine.

***Periodically, clean up your bulletin board. I found coupons from 2008 on mine!

The linen closet is on its way–though not complete. I have not had time to shop for bins, and I need them. (I know this from personal experience. ) Here are some accountability pictures–you know, to keep me honest!

Linen Closet--Starting from Scratch

All the Sorted (also, Sordid) Goods

I vow that these items will not be returned to the shelves until they are properly placed in labeled bins.

[sigh] EVERY project ends up taking a wee bit more time than I expected. This is a running joke with my husband. I tend to say to him, on his vacation days, of course, “This will only take us a couple of hours.” Now, after 21 years, he just sort of looks at me and smiles a sideways smile…Nothing has ever taken only a couple of hours.

p.s. No visitors until my mission is accomplished. Just kidding. There is always a couch or two available!

What is your current project, and what is the status?

I know a statement like that has “NERD” written all over it, but it’s OK. I am embracing my inner nerd and confessing to all that I love paper calendars, notebooks, school supplies, and everything else nerdy that you can think of.

You know what else? I’ll bet you’re like that too. I know there are a few members of my family that confess to this trait, as well. Even if they don’t say it aloud, they show it by their actions.

You know who you are.

I’ve tried many different kinds and styles but haven’t found the perfect, keep-me-on-track and keep-my-counter-clean system yet. So, the quest for the perfect calendar continues. I’m so optimistic that I think my new one might be it! I’ll let you know. It is called The BusyBodyBook, and I ordered it from www.busybodybook.com. It looks pretty groovy on the outside, but I really like the setup on the pages. Take a look.

Embrace your inner nerd. It’s a beautiful thing!

(This is only a partial picture…I’m still learning this website stuff, and apparently I have a lot to learn.)

So, you have stacks of pictures, articles, and decorating ideas sitting in the corner or under the coffee table. And every time you get the itch to begin a decorating project, you head to this jumbled mess for your inspiration. The problem is that by the time you sift through a tenth of the stuff, you’ve forgotten what project you had been thinking about. Instead of bedroom ideas, you get lost in updating your kitchen cabinets. Before you know it, the weekend is over, and that bedroom is still dreary.

You need a plan. But first, you need to get organized. The thought of that can be almost overwhelming. I have a simple system for organizing my decorating ideas and dreams–and the best part is that it’s inexpensive and quick.

Supplies you will need:  accordion-style file folder, two pieces of cardboard the size of the folder, fabric to cover the cardboard, sticky labels, a yard of ribbon that coordinates with the fabric, hot glue, a stapler, and your immense stack of ideas, pictures, and articles.

First, sort your stacks. Make piles to fit whatever categories would work best for you. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Bedrooms
• Kitchens
• Bathrooms/Laundry Rooms
• Dining/Living Rooms
• Objects
• Style (when you love a room but can’t quite put your finger on why)
• Colors
• Fabrics
• Projects
• Exteriors
• Christmas

***Tip–It’s much better to actually clip from magazines rather than to save the whole thing–unless you really love every single page. Just remember that collecting magazines can quickly become a sickness requiring therapy…When you start getting rid of your kids’ educational toys so that you can have room for your 15 years worth of Southern Living, then you know you have a problem.

Next, cut the fabric an inch bigger than the cardboard. Wrap each piece neatly, securing fabric to the back with hot glue. Cut the ribbon in half, and staple to the the front and back of the file. (I put a loop in the ribbon, stapling a few times for strength.) Now, hot glue the pretty, fabric-covered cardboard to the file front and back of the file. Use plenty of glue. Your staples should not show, and the ribbon should look nice coming from the top of the fabric. Last, print labels to match your categories and stick to the file.

Finally, load your file. Enjoy your organized ideas and know that the next time you need inspiration, you’ll still have time to get your project started!