Thursday, August 9, 2018

Cleaning, as Requested

Hi everyone.  Not sure I am glad it is Friday (or just about as I write this Thursday night)  as summer is going way too fast, but it is just about the weekend, and it is going to be a really nice day. Hurrah for that. I am ready for a little break from the heat and humidity.
So several of you readers asked for me to show you how my happy space cleaning is going. Sorry, I didn't take any pre-cleaning photos ( the mess was rather embarrassing-even just with my own family! Grin!) 
OK, I guess I lied. (Not on purpose really.) When I went to post my clean photos I found this photo of Maddie and Pete keeping my company while I made some art one day earlier this summer. You can only see some of the mess, but I am sure you can image it.
The door in the background is partially closed because there is so much behind it I can't even close it and all my projects are scattered in the floor between me in my seat and the dogs.
Now here's a few of the now, not fully finished project.
But first, a little background.
Last summer my daughter moved out and took all of those things she didn't want to take and stuffed them in her bedroom closet. Literally, you couldn't even open the door without something falling out. I asked her everytime she came home to go through her things, which of course, she never did. So project number one this summer was to clean out her closet and move my work clothes in there asmy bedroom closet is small and the hubby's clothes take up all of the hanging rack.
So what does this have to do with studio cleaning?
Well all my work clothes were hanging in the closet of the bedroom that I use as a studio. Now that I moved them out, I had a wall of space!
Now the second part to this story is that I had a cabinet in my upstairs  landing that stored some linens in (my house has only bedroom closets-no other). The shelves in this cabinet wouldn't stay in place as the pegs that held them were broken and the cabinet was a little too big for the space anyhow. So I decided to move a  different cabinet I had from another spot in the house to the landing, and then move the cabinet with the broken shelf pegs into my studio.
I bought a dowel to cut and make shelf pegs, which I did and it fixed my shelf problem perfectly. Now I had an area to put all my journals into, as well as the books I either plan on making into journals or that I use pages from in my art.
And in the other cabinet photo you might notice some plastic drawers and bins next to this cabinet. The drawers came out of my daughter's closet, and she so kindly donated them to the cause. They fit and work out perfectly  because in my daughter's room I had some bins of yarn, and now I could move that and some fabric I had into this. It is now easy to get those supplies when I want them.

On the top of my cabinet I can stack a bunch of plastic storage bins and also move a little mini IKEA desk storage unit where I keep my stickers. If you're having a hard time reading the edges of my bins, it's because I have used them before and I still need to make some new labels for them. 
And now I am working on cleaning up my stamps and doing a purge to get rid of those that I've had for almost 2 decades and which I haven't used in forever.
I'm getting close to finishing that.
And this floor was covered with all the things I took out of the closet that I wanted to rearrange, and now it's starting to look pretty good.
I'm getting there.
And here's a page that I created in that mess.
And I am linking up to Art Journal Journey and the latest challenge: Count Your Blessings. This month's host is the lovely Elizabeth and her handsome sidekick Bleubeard.
Not only are summer flowers a blessing but so is making art. I was lucky in Newfoundland that I could get some French printed materials. That's because (in case you don't know) Canada is a bilingual country. with 2 official languages-English and French. 
Guess I've said enough for today. Happy start to your weekend.
And as always, thanks for visiting.

17 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Thanks for sharing the photos of the mess, it somehow all looks very familiar....Glad you are tackling getting it sorted now. Love the page you made, so summery. I love how the dogs were keeping you company! Hugs, Valerie

Rita said...

Congrats on the cleaning and organizing! That's a lot of work. You'll be so glad when it's all done. Pretty flowers. :)

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I was thrilled to see the progress you have made in the clean-up of the room. It was certainly more than a one day affair. I was delighted to see how it has changed and what you have done to make it more YOU.

Your latest journal entry is fabulous. The use of French printing made it even more beautiful. Love the flowers and love your choice of blessings, too. Thanks so much for linking to my theme at Art Journal Journey, Erika.

craftytrog said...

It looks like you're working hard and getting organised Erika! Our daughter, not long back from her travels, is now sorting out her clothes and stuff ready to move out. No doubt my hubby will fill her room with his junk when she is gone though!
Have a great weekend,
Alison xxx

CJ Kennedy said...

I love the glimpse into your studio. I'm not alone! isn't it amazing how much of a mess you make when cleaning! Your bouquet of flowers page makes a bright and cheery addition to your roomy studio. Enjoy the cooler weather this weekend!

froebelsternchen said...

Wow - I am impressed with your organized space and all the hard work you did. You nearly - ( with an emphasis on NEARLY) inspire me to clean up the room where my daughter always puts all the things in she doesn't like anymore. It's up to me to get rid of them or use them for me. Nice of her but much hard work for me...lol!
I love how the dogs are always there where we "dogmums" are ... isn't that LOVE?!
You have done an amazing job and you have even created a fantastic page in the artsy mess! And you made Elizabeth and me happy for yet another time with this lovely page. The flowers are just so beautiful on this amazing background. And great to have french texts!!
Enjoy the weekend at whatever you are going to do my friend!
Big hugs and thank you for joining AJJ again! You are a wonderful DT member !
Lots of LOVE

Susi

Jeanie said...

I bow down to you. That was some project you had on your hands. Maybe have, but not nearly so much as before. And it's looking terrific! I love the fixed-up cabinet, which is both beautiful and now functional. What a great space to store things. There's something about doors that make it neater, even if they are glass! Nice work -- can't wait to see the last bit. Maybe a photo from the doorway?

Let's Art Journal said...

Such a colourful and happy page! I love the background texture and your pretty flowers, we have indeed been blessed with beautiful summer flowers this year 😁. Glad you got so much work done in your studio! Have a great day and a very happy weekend! J 😊 x

Divers and Sundry said...

I'm impressed with how you fixed your cabinet and organized your space. It's easy for me to have things out to work on that just stay out. It looks like you've solved that problem. Congratulations!

Astrid Maclean said...

Wow, impressive work on your studio space, (I always love to see how and where fellow artists work).... It will feel so good when it is all done! Your summery page is fabulous, love those bits of French text and the flowers look super!

Meggymay said...

I can so relate to your craft room happy place, not mess. You have it all tidy and ordered and have wonderful storage cupboards. Time well spent when you are happy with the results.
I love the flower blooms on the journal page and beautiful happy colours.
Have a good weekend Erika.
Yvonne xx

kathyinozarks said...

wow I know this is such a big job-I have lots to do in my space too. I love your cabinet swap-for your journals and books-thats really nice.
Happy weekend Kathy

Jeannette said...

loved your beautiful flowers page,dear erika,thanks for the photos of your studio.
happy weekend.

hugs jenny

Caty said...

Ohh Erika, you have done a lot of cleaning !! that´s great, I think I have to do some too, jiji.... I always think that I need more space for my starge, but..... hope soon.
Your Art journal page is so gorgeous !! I love it, the colours are very bright and the flowers fabulous.it ´s just adorable !!
I wish you a very nice afternoon, very hot here, big hugss, Caty

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Bravo to you, Erika, for showing us all your creative space and then the results of the cleanoput. Whether or not we like to admit it, most people have similar places where they happily enjoy the things they love doing, so you are definitely not alone! And now I see that I too need to get busy when we return home and clear out a bit of my "happy" place too, which is all around my computer desk and bookcase. Thanks too for all your recent comments on my cross country blog posts; we appreciate and read all of them!

Gibby Frogett said...

Oh it was fabulous to see where you do your art and see your clean up - you really made me smile Erika - as my floor is just like that. When you run out of table/desk surface area to put things on when you are creating a masterpiece you just have to make use of the floor space as well - don't you ha ha :)
Love your journal cabinet - thats really cool!
Gill xx

Gibby Frogett said...

oh and I forget to say - I adore the page you made xx