The Barn: Craftroom

The Barn: Craft Room- Honoring our Past; Creating in the Present; and Preserving for the Future

I have always dreamed of having a place to do my crafts. If the project is D-I-Y, I'm in! I guess it's in my blood. My mother, and hers, were both ultimate crafters. Actually, my Grandmother was a seamstress for Neiman-Marcus, back in the day. My mother was also a seamstress, quilter, dollmaker. My sister is a certified "Floral Designer". And I just like to create!

For so many years any, and all, creativeness was done in a spare bedroom, or on the kitchen table. The door to the bedroom could be shut; the kitchen table cleared....This all changed when we built the new Barn. A brand spanking new space dedicated to creating! YAY!

The following pictures don't even do our space justice...but, it's a glimpse inside our perfect craft room, and some of the projects that have already been done:

The Beginning: the room is 10' x 15' with 10' tall walls. The walls are 1" x 4" pine, and the ceiling is corrugated tin. At one end of the room the "working space" was installed.

Now, I want you to keep something in mind as you read this...I did these shelves all by myself. I planned, measured, cut and screwed every single one of these BY MYSELF. That top shelf was a 2' x 10' x 1" solid piece of board. I had to climb the ladder and wedge that board into place, before screwing it into the supports. I did this twice...even though I measured everything accurately, the wall gave me fits. I would get the board up the ladder, and it wouldn't wedge into place. At one time, I really thought I was going to stand on that ladder until someone missed me, and came looking for me! These shelves were a real challenge; that I did manage to conquer. Will I do this again (by myself)...absolutely not! (Edited to add: Never say Never! Read the blog post on the "The Barn: Kitchen")

Everything is starting to take shape! BUT, those blue plastic totes just did not fit in with the whole rustic/Victorian theme...



The farmhouse table is the first table my husband, and I, ever bought. It was a perfect choice for the new craftroom. The top is small white tiles, and the trim is natural wood to match the walls. I bought "shoe-box" plastic organizers at the dollar store, and labeled them to hold all of our craft supplies.

Wooden "Bushel Baskets" took the places of the blue plastic totes. As well as, providing the perfect space for some of my grandmother's crocheted doilies; they also store fabrics and plenty of silk flowers for future projects.



Craft Room: Ribbon Caddy: Over the years, my sister and I have managed to collect quite a lot of ribbon. Over the years, we have managed to have that ribbon scattered everywhere...from plastic shopping bags to an obscure place in the closet...you name it, we've got ribbon. We really needed a place to keep all that ribbon! Here is one of the first "projects" I created for the new craftroom: A Ribbon Caddy!! I internet-researched a lot of ribbon caddies...nothing even came close to being big enough. We had a 2' x 2' space on the left-hand side of the farmhouse table to accomodate my ribbon caddy. I then proceeded to build the perfect place for all our ribbon:

I will include a more details on the ribbon caddy in another post.

Craft Room: Gift-Wrapping Station: On the other side of the farmhouse table, I wanted something to house all of our gift wrapping supplies.
I will put a more detailed tutorial on the re-purposed Gift Wrapping Cabinet in another post.



Craft Room: Drop-Cloth Curtains: We wanted some way to close off the "working end" of the room. While this is a space dedicated to crafting, I do have grandchildren and an occasional overnight guest that spend time in the room. I wanted to be able to hide all our "mess", if needed. And, I was also a little concerned about little fingers playing with the sewing machine, or exacto knife, or... The solution was to make curtains to close off the room. I used painter's drop-cloth, battenburg lace valances, and aluminum conduit for the rod. I will provide a more detailed explanation of the curtains in another post. But here is the "working end" of the room, hidden behind the curtains:


I didn't realize this post was going to be so long, or have so many pictures! I think I'm going to break this up. But, I'll include here the many "things" that make this room so special. As I mentioned, I'm not the only crafter of the family...it's a generational hobby. Over the years, as we've lost our beloved Mother, Grandmother, and several Great-Aunts, we have accumulated many of their sewing, quilting, crocheting, and decorative items. What better spot to pay homage to these special ladies, than to place their possessions in our craft room...

Next Post: The Barn: Craft Room - Trundle Bed Project.

Till next time...

My Crafty Side: Victorian Dress Ironing Board Cover

PRETTY and FUNCTIONAL

The inspiration: I found this perfect gown at the following website: Frocksofages.com The name of the dress: "Peach Victorian Bustle Ball Gown with Pearl Flowers". This dress was voted "2009 USA Best Ball Gown in the World" - 2nd Place Winner. It was the perfect gown for the Craft Room: Victorian and Peach.

My version: Keep in mind this was for an Ironing Board "Cover"...not a dress. And, it was made from a Thrift Store dress and hat...


I don't like the look of an ironing board standing in the corner. In the craft room, I wanted something creative to hide the board. Let's face it, we're talking about a "craft" room...So, this is the place to be crafty! To fit in with the decor of the room, I wanted something Victorian-esque with a peach color scheme.

I used a 1" x 4" board, cut slightly larger than the base of the legs. I drilled 4 holes in the board: 2 for the hook to hang on the wall, and 2 for hooks inside the "bag" to accomodate the leg of the board.

I covered the board with a natural cotton muslin fabric. I then measured the length of the ironing board, and cut a piece of the muslin fabric, as well as a satiny liner fabric. I sewed the 2 pieces of fabric together, trimmed my corners and turned inside-out. I then hot-glued it to the edges of the board. Thus, creating a 3-sided "bag" to cover the ironing board.

Now to creating the dress...I went to the local Goodwill store, and found the perfect dress, AND a hat! I bought them both for less than $10. The dress was originally some sort of party dress, with long sleeves that were puffed at the top, and tapered to fit at the wrist. The dress was knee-length, with 3 rows of ruffles at the bottom.

I had some 3" sheer, off-white lace, in my stash. Perfect! I also had some small seed pearls that have pieces of flexible wire attached. I think they use these in floral creations. I don't know why I had them...

I used large T-head pins to attach the dress to the top of the board, pinning it to the bag, I had previously made. Then, I created a wide waist band for the dress, and just slipped it over the skirt. I tucked a small pleat along the middle of the dress, and waist band. It was held in place with just a couple of whip-stitches. I then tucked seed pearls along the pleat, to look like small pearl buttons. Next, I brought the middle of the ruffled skirt to just below the waist band. I was going for a "bustled" look. I tucked pieces of the 3" lace in between the ruffles, to add some fullness, and detail. Finally, I made small armbands trimmed with lace. I was able to "poof" the sleeves through the bands, for an old-timey looking sleeve. The bottom of the "bag" serves as the skirt.

I then glued lace to the hat. And, finally, I created a small sheer-ribbon bow, with coordinating tiny silk flowers that was pinned to the hat.

Voila! A faux Victorian dress that hides my ironing board. I love this project! I'm very happy with the results.

Till Next Time...