Tuesday, November 30, 2010

WOYWW: Cleaning up the mess

Julia at Stamping Ground, keeper of the links, had nothing on me this week. My craft room was a mess. After a week of running, swapping, throwing, but NOT being on the computer, this is what the room looked like. I know I didn't visit many of you last week, and for that I apologize, since you were all SO GOOD TO ME, but frankly, life, and other events simply got in the way, along with that (&^%&#Y&#&T^(^F*^%R Error 503.


So here I was on Sunday morning,


and by Sunday night I still had no clear path to the bath (loo to my British friends).


By this morning, I could get in the bath,


and even vacuumed (Hoovered to my British friends) the floor. Didn't clean off the paint, but at least it was clean.


While in this corner, I thought I would show you how I store my eyelets and brads. Of course, a rocking horse had to jump into the shot, which I hadn't noticed when I took the picture!


I use a small shoe container with 8 pockets. It holds everything except my crop-a-dile which I store in my basement studio. Sorry for the blurry pictures and my arm in the way, but it was a tight squeeze trying to get the shot.


Next, I tried a new storage solution for my ribbon, but I see I'm going to need a whole bunch more of these hangers.


I finally have a clear path,


something I didn't have on Sunday.


Boy does this feel better!


I marked boxes with things I want to be handy when I am sewing my journals,


and found this rolling cart to keep the various bits and bobs I need to make them. It may look like a mess, but it's so much better than it was before. Now I have flashcards separated from postcard, and backgrounds separated from tags and stickers. It took nearly three days, but I'm delighted.


You can see the journal pages and covers that are ready to be assembled.


In case you can't read the clock, it was 4:07 pm when I felt it was finished.


Then it was time to decorate the house. When I tried to get busy with Christmas decorations, these rocking horses decided to come out and play. They had so much fun, they wouldn't let me finish decorating the tree. I ended up chasing them all over the house!!

Today I'm featuring Helen at Stamping by H. Helen has more stash than most of us. I'm always amazed at her ability to work on the floor, but I'm even more amazed at her stash of goodies. I would love to come play in her living room where she creates just once. It would be a joy and I'd have so many things to play with, it wouldn't be funny. Helen is another WOYWWer who always drops by my place. So, please drop by her place, Stamping by H, today. And I promise to get to you wonderful participants as soon as my house is decorated.

64 thoughtful remarks:

voodoo vixen said...

My goodness Elizabeth... you have been busy and I am overwhelmingly pleased that you can now get to the loo and bath tub... was imagining all sorts of weird stuff... tin bath in the yard, balancing acts over the kitchen sink... LOL Have fun decorating... I'm thinking maybe next week for that.... ;)

jude said...

My Elizabeth that is some tidy craft room hunni!Well you should be proud of yourself .I also had a clean up only cause couldnt find anything on my desk!So just had to clear away.
Have fun wednesday
hugs jude~4xx

Scrapcollectr said...

Before I go to bed....just thought I'd stop in. Congrats on the cleanup....it looks ready for the next project....*smile* Have fun chasing those horses around!

A Hovel to Home said...

WOW busy bee. It looks fab and organised now. Just need to keep it like that, which is a whole new challenge.

Hugs

Kay (#14)

voodoo vixen said...

You are a daft twit... didn't even recognise yourself from my description and the initials??? B as in Bleubeard and E as in Elizabeth??? LOL The book is yours dear friend....

oneoff said...

Wow, you've been busy. I am stealing those ideas of the trouser hanger for the ribbons and shoe pockets for what I would call bitsa (bits of this, bits of that). Regards to the beautiful B.

Bernie #9

Rhonda said...

Good job!!! Don't you feel better now??? Thanks for sharing your evolution. Happy WOYWW. #11

Unknown said...

well a swear word came to mind - but i'll not say it.

I bet you feel so liberated now - do you find it inspiring to create when you've had a good clear out? I do until i find something else to sort out - I procrastinate by sorting!!!! Well done on what looks like a really big effort.. you may now relax!

Paula x x x

Serendipity Stamping said...

You have been busy, busy!! Hope it has made you feel somewhat creative. I hate looking for things, especially when I have just seen it a day or two before, but cannot for the life of me remember where! #15 Thanks for sharing all your hard work.

peggy aplSEEDS said...

how satisfying to start out the way you did and end with such order! i did my own cleaning as well and who knows, maybe one day i will get the attic clean enough to convert it into a studio!

Sue said...

Hi ya hun
so we get to see the tree next week?? wow you look very tidy now im very impressed, the horses are waiting for their Christmas decs? have good day, happy WOYWW, sue,x

Suzanne B aka brookfies said...

Amazing...be proud of yourself achieving the mammoth task you set yourself. I am liking the very chunky rocking horses on your table...

Terry said...

Already decorating for Christmas? You're way ahead of me! Thanks for sharing all the great photos.

Terry (24)

Jennie -The Artistic Stamper said...

Great views of your stash and mess!! love that you have showed it :))
Happy Woywwing!
Jennie #5

Neet said...

oh Boy - that was some clean up - I am exhausted now after reading it.

BTW: Sorry to read about your friend - how terrible to have someone taken so quickly - must have been a shock to you but what lovely memories/keepsakes you have.
Love the dresses - the December one is perfect!

Nikki said...

WoW you've cleaned alot and it shows off really well :) looks great
hugs Nikki #31

Minxy said...

Well done you.. but whats the betting now you wont be able to find anything lol

Helen said...

What a fabulous tour of your space! I love your ribbon hanger - what a neat idea. If my ribbons were all on spools I could adopt that idea! And thank you so much for featuring me this week! You are always first to get to me on a Wednesday morning, and I appreciate your comments. If I had room for you, you'd be welcome any time!

Chrissie said...

Wow what a lot of pictures, I really enjoyed this snoop. I was beginning to think that glimpse the rocker of the large horse was going to be all we were to see this week, but there were the two little treasures near the end. Just love those rocking horses.
Have a great day,
Chrissie

Annie said...

Wow Elizabeth. That is one serious tidy up you've had. Bet you're thrilled with the results. Go and have fun getting messy again now :-)
A x

Anonymous said...

I love that you "cleared a path". My brother and I used to do that when we were little: the only bit of floor you could see in our bedrooms was a path from the door to the bed!

I am very impressed with all that tidying. But don't do it too often, it's probably unhealthy.

cheers, rachel #54

Carol D said...

Very tidy, now don't let it get in a mess again, as if eh!

At least you can start December in a nice tidy room.

Hugs Carol#48

Debs said...

Oh please can you and Bluebeard come and sort out my stash?! lol

Julia Dunnit said...

Oh it is a total freedom when things are cleared and in a working order I can't agree more! Love your shots, gets your studio in context between desk and window for me. It'll be another week or so before this house is fit to decorate; I will enjoy yours meantime!

sandra de said...

What a wonderful feeling being able to get to the loo and feel organised. Love the rocking horses.
Sandra #70

Lizzybobs said...

I love it when my desk and house are tidy it is so much nicer and you can find things!!!! well done Hun - thanks for sharing with us your lovely tidy desk have a great day :o) and keep warm ((HUGS))

Lothian Crafts said...

Wow you have done a great job tiding up. I like the hangers and shelves with your papers.
Elaine

Bluefairy4U said...

My Elizabeth, that was one tidy up I had a good chuckle, kept me quite warm. Love your rocking horses, hope they were not too naughty ! Well I hate to ask, when will it get messed up again. Looks too tidy, when its too tidy I cannot find anything. Big Hugs JO,xxx *71*

Twiglet said...

A great sort out there - now have fun crafting and don't worry about making a mess!!!!

Zue said...

I like the idea of your rolling cart. You seem very organised, much more than me. How is it we collect so much stuff?

Have a good day.
Sue xx

P.S.....thanks or the translations into 'English'

airing cupboard crafts said...

Wow you have been busy. I love how you store your ribbons I might have to use that one. Laura (83)

Ciara said...

Holy cow! You were in a bit of a mess! Looks a tonne better now

Great idea for the ribbon storage

Ciara
xx

nnalorac said...

My you do need a helping hand from the Fairy cleaner!! So much going on here, thanks for the snoop. Carolxx......67

Sarah said...

Congrats on the clean up, something I too was doing at the weekend in my case the result of doing anything but what I was supposed to be doing

Angie said...

yeah ...clear floor ...there is something satisfing about it ...but I rarely manage it lol
Is that a trouser hanger you used for your ribbon ...great idea.

minnie_mac said...

Well done. It looks great. What a good idea for ribbon storage. I think I may have one of these hangers languishing somewhere in the loft.

Marilyn

Marfi-topia said...

congratulations on getting everything tidy..it looks so nice....bet you feel great.
your horses are so cute.

Morti said...

Afternoon Elizabeth (and Bleubeard, as usual!) - excellent work on the room!

Healing Woman said...

What a joy it was for me to finally see a mess coming from you! You are the most organized blogger I've seen. I knew it wouldn't last long.

Liverpool Lou (Anne) said...

Hi Elizabeth, nice to see that you can get messy like us mere mortals LOL. BTW it's vacuuming for me, not that I'm pedantic or anything hehe
Anne xx

Theresa Plas said...

It's always a JOB tidying up, but I have to agree it is quite satisfying. About to reorganize some shelves in the studio when I should be doing Christmas decor....Hope it doesn't take me 3 days...lol

Nicky said...

Congratulations on getting a clear path to to the loo - thought maybe you would need to get a commode! Looks great have fun decorating and I love your rocking horses ~30

karen said...

Great job on the cleanup! The before and after pictures are great to compare!
I love the Rocking Horses! I hope you got them corralled so that you can finish decorating your tree :)
xoxo karen

Halle said...

Good for you! I've still got a couple messes that really need to be dealt with. Having company on Saturday will help my motivation!!

Sherry said...

Wow Elizabeth, you HAVE been busy!! So glad you've got a clear path to your loo now! I love the hanger you're using for your ribbon storage - but like you, I'd need quite a few more of those to accomodate all the bits and pieces of ribbon I have. Thanks for a look around your craft area x

Sherry (95)

Elizabeth said...

You have been busy and what a great job you've done. Love your ribbon storage and the ribbon on the bottom rung looks really interesting. And so nice to see the rocking horses sneaking into the pics. Elizabeth #85

Carola Bartz said...

Wow Elizabeth, what a difference! I love how you organised all of your stuff. And those rocking horses - I envisioned how you "chased" them all over the house, and that gave me a good chuckle! (102)

Aisling said...

You sure did a lot of tidying up! Well done! #74

Caro said...

WoW! Well done you on the massive clean up...what a lovely lot of crafty stash and space you have...I am envious!

Julie M said...

Well done on making a path to the loo, Elizabeth. Very convenient!!! Love the US/UK translations!!! And now it's all tidy, you can start to mess it all up again!

Julie :O)

donnalouiserodgers said...

Elizabeth Darling I cried as I read and looked - I did a similar thing to the Shed after Sarah... is it that bereavement instills in us the need to put order into our chaos? I don't know...

but I am glad it is cathartic and you feel better,

Dx

Spyder said...

ohoo my goodiness you have been busy! I think I should give you a good star for messiness, I think you nearly beat me!
Happy WOYWW!!
((Lyn))#46

Pam said...

Well done! If you hadn't a had the befores then the afters wouldn't have been so impressive! I'm lovin' the pant hanger for ribbon. Thanks for the idea!

Oh, and AmberInk got lucky @#1!

Anne said...

Wow Elizabeth - just love your craft space -- tidy or not -- it would be fun and inspiring to play in !!
love the ribbon hanger too
Anne xxxx

Vicki B in OP NY said...

Loved the rocking horses! What a nice sewing room you have..plus a studio? Very nice, indeed. I can identify with making paths to get to the stash, heehee. Were it not for Wednesdays, I dare not imagine the results! rofl Vici #115

Penni said...

Great Job!!!

Hugs
Penni (117)
X

elle said...

Glad you posted this, Elizabeth. It settles something when we sort and organize. It also shows, if we are honest, that we all have versions of this messiness. But creativity IS messy. ;)

Scrapcollectr said...

I got a version of The Card done if you're interested... said the spider to the fly...hee hee...
Have a nice day, regardless!
#13

akilli melek said...

Hi Elizabeth

You must have been feeling quite ill with the lack of tidyness, lol.

I'm only over for a peek, not playing this week but couldnt resist a couple of snoops when i get a second or two.

Hope you are getting on ok with the journals.

caroline

Anonymous said...

hi elizabeth!

lots of working getting done huh? at least you can see floor! my place have been converted to a war zone! lol

have a great week!

Anonymous said...

What a lot of tidying you had to do! The truth will out I guess! I plan on doing the decorations this weekend, after going to see the new Harry Potter tonight! have a great weekend.

Hugs
Brenda 90

KanataNewf said...

oh my - I feel a little overwhelmed! It feels like I am looking at my own craft room! Quite often I have to precariously step over/around things as well.

Sheena #123

Create With Joy said...

OOOHHHH, is it wrong to revel in seeing your MESS? lol Makes me feel a little better at what I'm dealing with at my place. I spent a day cleaning up too cause I couldn't stand it anymore!

I really LOVE that novel hanger solution for storing your ribbon. I have so much ribbon in boxes I could probably line a whole wall with it! Wouldn't that be an interesting decorating theme, a ribbon wall... of course, then there really WOULD be cats climbing it!

I smiled at the thought of all of your rocking horses coming out to play! So delightful. I hope you and Bluebeard are feeling better and staying warm these days!

Ramona :-)
http://create-with-joy.blogspot.com

Kym's Crafty Cards said...

Another week seems to have around so quickly. You certainly have got a busy desk with lots and lots of things on it to play with. Thanks for sharing your workspace. Best wishes, Kym xxx (WOYWW No 40)