Painted Desk {Praying for an A}

I don't lnow how some of you do it. I look at your blogs and you seem to have it all together. You all do so much and continue to put up posts everyday! I wish I could find the rythym to get in the groove. I think just keeping up with the voting on my craft room is enough!! ( by the way please vote here)

I have been painting till I can't see straight. Furniture is taking over my house like some monster blob from a science fiction movie. All this to get ready for the Bella Rustica Barn Sale Sept 28-30 in Pulaski, Tennessee. The problem is when I get a piece ready for the sale I sell something in the store or to a client and then I have to start all over again! SOMEONE HELP!! I need some pointers from you guys on how to keep this running smooth!

Here is one of those times....
This is a piece I just did for a little boys room. The client wanted a masculine, artsy look, combine with verses from the bible.

The color RED....

I started with the base color of blue. This helped darken the red a little bit and made it nice when sanding The color showed through.

The chair was done the dame way. I stenciled the numbers from a verse in the bible. The drawers where all verses also.

"Beat it up!" was what the client said. They wanted it distressed and I think that is what make this piece stand out. Since the drawer borders where a creamy white sanding the painted words and border gave it the worn out look.

I then went back and added some more blue in painted brush strokes. Then resanded.

Such a great statement to a room. And who doesn't need a little divine intervention when studying for that important test? We have all prayed for a little help in getting that "A"!

Thanks for reading! So glad you stopped by!

Ok back to getting ready for the sale....Let the countdown begin.

A Dream Begins {A Craft Room Makeover} Reveal

Where Women I Create!

Well it is finally here! My craft room makeover on a budget. I used things I had already to recreate a workable room. I changed my furniture arrangement to better suit me. This is my story!

When my last child left for college, the house was very quite. The empty nest syndrome set in. It took some time to adjust to the calm. I began sorting through pictures and past schoolwork in an office/bedroom with tears in my eyes. The room became a storeroom of memories. I missed my kids but knew it was time to make a change. I started and failed many times. Then right before Memorial Day I cleared the whole room out to start again. Everything went into the hall. Then I had people over and everything went back into the room!!!

I am an artist, a blogger, a wife and mom. Many hats are worn, like most women! I seldom had time for creating at home and now that the kids have gone I needed my own space. I really didn't have the extra money or the motivation to do a whole room. Then I went to the Haven Conference and met some amazing people. I came home pumped and knew I had to use that new found energy.

While I was there I met with Shaw Flooring.  They were doing a contest on redos. If you sent in your redo you got an area rug FREE! I knew that would give me the motivation to finish!

 All the years of volunteering for school, transporting children and making things for the kids had come to a close. It was time to finish what I had started. It was time to get organized. Create a craft room out of this office/bedroom. Somewhere I can work out of. Somewhere to create!

This is how it started....

What a disorganized mess!!!

I ran around the house looking for things to use in different areas of the room. I created different zones in my room. A table for my main workstation and my desk for blogging. I hung crates for storage and mementos. I added a wall of cubbies and shelving to hold jars and bins filled with small crafts. I want this room to express who I am.

 I painted my own canvas valances and hung it over the windows using things I had on hand to keep this redo cost efficient. I scattered around pieces of me by incorporating where I lived, toys I kept from childhood, family pictures, my painted works and more. I used color around the room and mixed contemporary and vintage styles. This room was me!

This was an old catering basket that I turned into a shelf by adding paint sticks across the bottom for my stamps to sit on. The pot lid holds my favorite Purdy brush! The bottom shelf holds my rulers. The basket for my clothspins is a gutter screen.

jars and cubbies

My blogging area!

I used old crates for shelving above my blog station. I made the memo board from an old blackboard.

My storage area for supplies!

Old drawers for storage.

My paintings/valances are titled The Dream Begins. It is so fitting for the room. This space became so much more to me than just a room to make things. By adding character and heart, I made it a space that feels like home! Let the creating begin!