Inexpensive Craft Room Storage

Just a quick post to share a couple of ideas for inexpensive craft room storage.

I wanted to rescue my wrapping paper and rolls of leftover wallpaper from the awkward back corner of the closet, but I did not want to pay big bucks for specialized storage boxes. I discovered a much less expensive solution in these $2 plastic bag dispensers from Ikea. They are perfect for rolls of paper. I attached four to a scrap of wood and then screwed the wood into the wall studs so it can hold some weight.

For storing craft paints and glues, spice racks are a great solution. They're readily available at thrift stores for just a few dollars. I have two that I painted and decoupaged with Halloween papers just for fun.

Bean Sidhe Loves Carrots

My last post probably gave the impression that my dog's life is spent anxiously trying to stay close to me. The reality is that she is usually lying next to me or in my lap, snoozing in her comfy bed next to my desk, or gleefully asking for her favorite treat -- baby carrots. She absolutely loves carrots. I wish I liked healthy snacks as much as she does! :) 



Last video of my dog. Promise!

The Dog Underfoot

What have I been doing lately? Lots of planning and not much else. I have a long list of projects I want to work on, but my beloved dog Bean Sidhe is making that difficult.

She's elderly (16) and has been deaf for a while. Her eyesight began to fade recently, and now she is nearly blind. She still gets around amazingly well, probably at least partially by memory.

As for me... I'm not getting around very well. In fact, it's rather difficult to move around the house at all because of the dog. She can't hear me, and now that she can barely see me, she has to be very close to me to know where I am. That means if I'm walking, she is right under my feet.

The inconvenience of this is exacerbated by the layout of my house, which has a long, narrow hall with three doors. Bean Sidhe stands in the middle of the doorway to ensure I don't slip past her when I leave the room. There's also a laundry closet with bifold doors, which she inevitably stands in front of. Of course, she can't see or hear the door opening toward her.

I now open all doors verrrry slowly, or sometimes even carry her through doorways so she doesn't hit herself on the door. I always look down when I am walking, and I never wear shoes in the house for fear of accidentally stepping on her.

Here's a little video showing a minute and 44 seconds of what my life is now like.


It's much easier to just be still.  So for the last few weeks, Bean Sidhe and I have been spending a lot of time sitting on the sofa or surfing the web gathering project ideas.

Bark Bat and the Apples

There are three trees in my back yard. One is a boring pine tree. The second is an apple tree which functions as a good marker of time as it goes through seasonal changes.

It's especially pretty when it flowers.  Here is it on May 4.

Shortly after, on May 12, enduring a late spring snowstorm.

And a few days ago, September 6, weighed down with apples.

LOTS of apples, thanks to the frequent rain we had this summer. So far, I've picked up about six bucketfuls off the ground. Many of them had been feasted upon by the bunnies.  :)  And there are still approximately a gazillion left on the tree.

The third tree is a maple which I am sad to say has died. :(  The bark has been peeling off it... creating the Bark Bat. 

Doesn't that piece of bark look just like a fruit bat hanging in the tree!? Even zoomed in, it looks like a bat. :D

Visual Reference to GIY Projects

Because it can be time-consuming to wade through loads of blog posts to find projects of interest, I wanted to create a visual reference to GIY projects. Blogger's tools are somewhat limited, so I decided that Pinterest might be a better solution.

My Pinterest is here. I created boards for four categories of GIY projects:

• Crafts
• Furniture
• Sewing
• Home Improvement

It's a little weird to link the blog to Pinterest, which will then link back to the blog, but maybe it will be useful.

Does It Come in Black?

Hey, what do you know, toilets come in black.

I came across this while looking for ideas for redoing my bathroom. Hmm... Intriguing. Would I want a black toilet? Certainly the color would go well with the bathroom's color scheme of black, grey and purple. But shiny black would probably show every tiny piece of dust and lint, which would drive my neat freak self crazy.

A Google Images search seems to indicate black toilets are found mostly in contemporary or modern style bathrooms.

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Would a black toilet work with the sort-of-Victorian, kind-of-gothish, not-sure-how-to-describe-it style I'm going for in my bathroom? I am not sure...

What do you think of the idea? Anyone have a black toilet?