My Crafty Room!

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Well after a lot of hard work (mostly on Jeff's part) my craft room is done! I am so, so, happy with my new space. It is like a 'man cave' for a Crafty Girl.

In case you don't remember, here is what we started with.... yellow. In the other corner of this room was an old thrift store find- a brown wood desk. Also a small upholstered bench, covered in yellow fabric. (Can you tell I had thing for red and yellow??)

But now I am all about neutrals, whites, and pops of color. So drum roll please.........
 

 Lots of storage- no more plastic bags and random bins stuffed under the bed and in the closet.

Jeff built me this amazing ribbon holder and just to be extra sweet, painted it pink!

 I found these baskets at Lowe's- I was so excited that they had little chalk boards attached :)

 This was the random brown desk that I bought a few years ago from Thrift Town. Jeff painted it black and then I used 'Rub and Buff' to turn the handles an antique silver.

Instead of having a cork board, I "built"this. I used a frame we already had and then stapled chicken wire to the back. It is perfect for holding my hair accessories and new ideas.

I found the table and chair at Graceful Good Buys in Grapevine. Each one was $14. Jeff painted them white and I recovered the chair cushion.

 I love the shape of the table legs.

 The table is topped with four cork squares from Staples. They are perfect for protecting the table from hot glue and scratches. Best part is, when I am done with a project, I just pick up the square and shake off thread, fabric, and flower bits into the garbage. Easy clean-up.

This bench is usually covered with bags of clothing that are awaiting bows. Afton also likes to sit there when she in comes in and 'visits' me.

 When we bought the house, the previous owner had added this room on to use for exercise equipment. Luckily for me, he installed these beautiful tin tiles. They add so much to  the room.

The sky light provides nice natural light.

Having my own space to work is a dream come true. Thank you Jeff for all your help!

And a special 'shout-out' to my blog friend Amy. Her craft room inspired me to get going on mine. (I borrowed her chicken-wire idea!) Visit her at Playing Sublimely for beautiful decor and more.

***UPDATE: Since re-doing my craft room, I added a little spot for my sweet Afton to work alongside me. I found a fabulous old school desk at our local thrift store. With a little paint and love, it was made new again. You can read all about the school desk here.

 I really like having a little spot for my girls to join me while I craft. And honestly where else can you put a pink school desk? :)

PS- It doesn't always look that neat anymore, but isn't a messy desk a sign of a creative mind?

Linking up here:Family Brings Joy, Thrifty Decor Chick, The Lettered Cottage

How to Recover a Chair (the Crafty way)

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Well for months I have been looking for the 'perfect' chair. I recently redecorated and now I have a lovely antique white desk for my computer. But I had to yet find the chair. I was wanting something with curvy legs and a little detail. I spent time in Goodwill, Thrift Town, and just looking on the side of the road, searching for that chair.

Then I went to The Vineyards Antique Mall- and there she was- the 'perfect' chair. For only $22 I took home this beauty.  Sure she had brown stains, a loose arm, and couldn't quite stand straight- but for $22, I knew I had to give her a chance.

Lucikly my hubby likes a good project. So he got us started. He took her into the garage, mended the loose and wobbly parts. Then ripped out all the fabric and staples with needle nose pliers. The staple removing takes a while and it not so much fun.  Finally he painted her black.

If you choose to take on this project too- remember to keep all the fabric you tear off, it serves as a good pattern later on. We were also able to use the foam from the back of the chair. Don't throw away anything but the staples you remove.

I then went to Cutting Corners and bought upholstery fabric and trim to use as the cording. The fabric was a remnant, $5.99 a yard- I needed about 2 yards for this project. The trim was on sale for $1.95 a yard- I bought 2 yards.

Next he brought "Sophia" back inside and I used my 'pattern' to cut the new fabric. I went about one inch outside of the fabric to give myself something to grab and staple down. (When using stripes, be mindful of which direction they go when you are cutting. )

First I stapled the back piece on. Lots of staples, keep the fabric straight and tight.

Any excess can be cut away afterwards.

I then covered the seat cushion. (No photos -sorry!) But I basically removed the cushion, wrapped fabric over it, and stapled it down on the bottom. Then Jeff screwed the seat cushion back in place.

Now I added the foam piece back in and topped it with more fabric. (The back of the chair was like an oreo- fabric, soft foam middle, more fabric.) Jeff had to help me hold and staple at this point. Everything had to be pulled tight and kept very straight.

This is why matching up the stripes during the pattern cutting is so important- looks best when they line up!

Cut away any excess using tiny/sharp embroidery sciscors or an exacto knife. Then simply hot glue your trim around the chair- to cover up all those staples! I would start gluing at the bottom of the chair, so the beginning/ending of the trim is hidden.

I had to remove the edge of my trim so that only the twisted rope part was seen. Looks like this...

Now when you hot glue the trim down, go easy on the hot glue so it doesn't squish out of the sides. Hold it in place for 10 seconds. Oh and make sure you like where you put it- it's not coming off until you decide to re-cover the chair again!

And here is the finished project. Not so hard when done with a handy guy and a really good glue gun!

Have you ever given your furniture a 'make-over'?

 Nothing is as satisfying as take an ugly duckling and turning her into something pretty!

 

Made to Match- "Matilda Jane"

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Do you know about Matilda Jane? If not, click here.

If you are familiar with those adorable clothes, I bet you can imagine how well they will coordinate with these hair accessories.

My craft room is done! Stay tuned this week for pictures and details. Become a 'follower' or 'subscribe' to Crafty Texas Girls so you won't miss the post :)

Custom Orders and a Craft Room

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So excited to have so many custom orders lately. I've had several people drop off bags off clothing so that I can make bows to match their daugther's fall wardrobe.

These first four are a new line- Giant Royal Bows. Same concept as the regular Royal bows but bigger. They measure 6 inches across. They cost $12 each.  Gotta love a big bow! 

I made the regular Royal bow size (5 inches across) for the sister. These are the regular price of $10 each.

Next up, something else new, a hard headband. I covered it in coordinating fabric. Love how it turned out. This is for a Saints fan, but I think it would go well with just about anything. I think the idea of a chic hair accessory is so cute for a football game.

And an adorable football tutu for an Oregon Ducks fan...

Finally, one of my favorites- a black tutu with hot pink flower and bow. So sassy!

I have been working like crazy on finishing up orders while getting my craft room done. After years of sitting on the floor in the guest room making tutus and bows, I decided I needed a proper space to work.

And since we've had 'guests' stay in that bed maybe twice a year, I (please note, when I say "I" am redoing this room- I actually mean I making color decisions and bringing home thrift store furniture. Jeff is doing all the labor of course!)  decided to take out the bed and make it into a comfortable working space for me!

Here is the only before shot I have- yellow is the word that comes to mind. Stay tuned- I am super excited about the make-over this room is getting!