Monday, February 14, 2022

T Stands for the BIG Project continued

 Hi everyone. I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day if you celebrate. I know some people always seem to do dinner or something for this day, and others, like my husband and I, don't really do anything much. We never have, even though we've been a couple for around 40 years now.

Since it is Tuesday it is time for T day again over at Bleubeard's and Elizabeth's blog . Today's post is a bit long. Just warning you. Smile.

Last week I mentioned we are redoing one of our spare bedrooms. It's where I keep my art supplies, and where I  spend a lot of time. Here's what's been happening with  my big house project in the past week.

 I did lots sorting (not really cleaning) and  packing up of supplies last week.  Luckily lots of my supplies were already stored in organized bins as you can see in the photo of my mess below.  

Then this past Saturday is what I called Moving Day. First my husband and I moved the Christmas decorations up into the attic, and then  most of my supplies got moved out of my art room. Luckily for my stuff, not so lucky for me, we have an unfinished addition on the side of our house, something my husband decided 22 years ago we needed. We did get a garage  and some great attic storage space out of it, but we have a downstairs room and an upstairs room which have just become storage space.  

(The outside of this addition is finished off and makes my house look a lot larger than we actually live in. My husband decided this was his project, and he was not paying for a contractor to do the project. We did pay people to come and do particular items, like framing, and it was moving along nicely until we could not get an electrician to wire it, so my husband took that on. He got it almost completely wired himself, and then life got in the way. We started putting things out there, and now it needs a big purging of "stuff", especially things my daughter didn't take with her when she moved but that she says can't be thrown away as she wants them when she finally gets into a house. Once the addition gets purged, then we can move forward. I'm guessing one of these days we might finish it off.)

Here's about half of the supplies out in our addition.

Because there is no heat in our addition, some things can't be put out there. I did clean out a lot of the mess in my daughter's old bedroom, but somethings are just going to have to be stored there so they don't freeze. Plus, I refused to pack up a too big stash of paper, (much of it old and back from my scrapbooking days, but still good), so I moved some storage cubes off to the side and put all my paper there.

But before any of this occurred, I realized I wasn't as excited about the project as I should be. Yes it's a lot of work that didn't excite me, but also, I was feeling like I had no place to be creative. It actually made me quite sad one morning, until I realized what I needed to accomplish first was to get a table set up where I could work. When I mentioned this to my my husband he suggested I should pick up my sewing table in the dining room and work there. It's mind over matter, isn't it? That's the first thing I did, and I will say it made all the difference moving forward with this project.

This past Sunday was what I call Demo Day #1. It started with me doing some more packing and moving boxes. If you compare this next photo to the first one in the post, you can see what I spent my morning doing.


It was time to take the sheetrock down, starting with the outside wall of the closet. First we pulled off the old IKEA CD shelves, which fit some big steel ruled Sizzix dies perfectly. Those went out into the addition also.


One side of the closet wall's sheetrock comes down.

Then we're breaking through to the other side, in the actual closet.



Sheetrock's all down. I carried 7 trash bags of the scraps down 2 floors to the basement for next weekend's trip to the dump. Boy those bags were heavy.
Then it was time to pull out the studs.

My husband was having a lot of fun by the way. I think he could take out some of life's frustrations as he demo the wall. Smile. If it hadn't been so close to Superbowl time I think he would have kept working.


 Now there isn't much of that wall left. We do have to still take down the front of the closet, where the door is.  That may be next weekend's project.

This week I can pull some more carpet and pack up some of the other half of my supplies. 

Oh yes, and my T day drink reference.  Sunday night, after packing and studio deconstruction, a shower to clean off the dust and a little Superbowl football. a cup of Strawberry and Black tea is just the ticket.


This is my drink for this week's T day. 

Thanks for getting this far in my post. I hope you have a wonderful T day and week ahead also.





25 comments:

Carola Bartz said...

Wow, you are certainly busy in a big way! You will be so proud when this big project will be done. I can understand that you felt a bit sad when there wasn't a place for you to create and I'm glad that you have one again. You have a lot of supplies, wow! Happy T day to you and good luck with the onging project.

Sharon Madson said...

What a huge project! I am tired just reading about it. And it looks difficult, also! I am glad you are making progress. I hope you can get it done soon, so you can start crafting, doing the fun things. Happy Valentine's Day.

kathyinozarks said...

Wow this a huge project-but the plus side of it looks like you already had bins and things that have been used already to store your art supplies and crafts-that must have saved you allot of time.
Taking down sheetrock and walls is a big and heavy job for sure-but feels good to see progress being made.
Love your coffee cup-Happy T wishes hugs Kathy

Angie's Recipes said...

That doesn't look too much fun, Erika. I certainly wouldn't look forward to a huge project like this. All the BEST with yours though!!

Iris Flavia said...

What a fun post! Thank you, I sure smile big and wish you a very happy T-Day!

nwilliams6 said...

Ambitious project but it will be fun when it is done. Moving stuff like this gives you a chance to thin it out as well. So cool your hubby has these building skills too. Lovely mug, Erika. The tea sounds fabulous. Happy T-day and hugz

Mae Travels said...

You really are surrounded by chaos, but you seem so upbeat and confident that it will all work out! Good luck. You didn’t tell us your final goal — how will the new arrangement look and where will you have a crafting space?

best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Divers and Sundry said...

It must've been quite frustrating not to be able to get an electrician :(

Your project seems to be moving right along but would be far beyond my limited capabilities. It must be nice to be handy :)

I love that mug. Perfect for February. Happy T Tuesday!

Linda Kunsman said...

This is one BIG project but it's nice you and hubby are doing it together. It's going to be grand once it's completed! And having even a fold out TV tray is a way to have space for a bit of creativity in between:). Love that mug. happy T day!

Let's Art Journal said...

Wow, your craft space will be amazing and I'm glad your renovations are going well, you are certainly making lots of progress 😀. We watched Superbowl too, it was such a great game this year - both defensive teams played amazingly! Loving your striped much too, just gorgeous. Happy T Day! Hugs Jo x

craftytrog said...

You have been busy! We could do with an 'Addition' to our house, although it might be dangerous as my husband is such a hoarder! I hope you get your art space sorted soon Erika.
Hugs,
Alison

Jeanie said...

Wow. Just wow. You are amazing. I would be completely mentally ill and dazed and confused by all this. You are both motivating me and overwhelming me. But when it is done, this will be fantastic!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I bet when you started this project, you had no idea it would encompass the majority your home. You have taken on a massive project and one that you surely will be happy with in the end. I was nearly blown away with how much stash you have and how many containers you own.

That is a beautiful mug. Strawberry black tea sounds great. Thanks for sharing your progress in your new craft room (and beyond) with us for T this Tuesday. BTW, I got an error when I tried to leave a comment earlier.

Valerie-Jael said...

Oh my, that is really a HUGE project, but I am sure it will be wonderful when it's done, take it slowly! Love the pretty much with your tea, so pretty. Happy T Day, take care, hugs, Valerie

David M. Gascoigne, said...

After all of that, Erika, if your drink was only tea, you deserve a lot of credit! This is the kind of project that has the potential to affect everything else you do in the house. However, I am quite sure when it is all done, and you are standing back and admiring it, you will turn to each other and say, "We should have done this sooner!' Better late than never! Hugs, David

CJ Kennedy said...

that is a huge project. You could open up an art supply shop in the addition! Just think how nice that room will be once the wall is completely taken down. Strawberry tea sounds so Summery in your cute mug. Did you get several inches of "just a dusting" from the weekend storm? Happy T Day

DVArtist said...

Yes, we must keep some place to be creative. You two are doing a lot of work but it will be so nice when it is done. I love your cup.

The Padre said...

The Hand - The Horror Of The Mysterious Hand - Nightmares - Too Funny - Congrats On The Functional Space

Cheers

Lisca said...

Oh boy, what a job! Yes, it's so important to have a little creative space. You will be pleased though when it's all done.
Your mug is beautiful!
Happy belated T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca

Aimeslee Winans said...

The Adventures of Erika in Remoland - great first chapter! We will need to keep receiving those episodes, so keep 'em coming! Work for US, dangit, haha. Looks good! xoxo

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Since we have been traveling, I am a bit late in catching up with blog reading, Erika, but did get through this post and you and Dave do have a project to complete. We did a lot of our own renovations in the VA house as well. And, we also had difficulty in finding contractors for the projects we couldn’t handle.

pearshapedcrafting said...

This looks like a big job but so exciting that you will have a much bigger craft space! I hope I never have to move out of my craft room - I have nowhere to stack everything! I love your mug, belated Happy T Day, Chrisx

Sue said...

What a fabulous page Erika, beautifully put together! Thanks so much for joining in with our challenge at Country View Crafts and have a very happy weekend, Sue xx

Spyder said...

Just think what it will be like when its all finiahed! And your red and white striped tea mug looks very grand!Happy Very late T for Tuedsay! But I was last!((Lyn))

Empire of the Cat said...

Wow Erika that is a lot of work, but I imagine very satisfying type of work, and you will have a great room at the end of it. Looking at your stacks of plastic tubs is making me feel less bad about my stacks of plastic tubs, though mine are currently in the dining room which is now feeling very oppressive with the stacks to the ceiling. All work is at a standstill here though due to animal hospital. Looking forward to seeing the next stage in your project! Sorry for my lateness, it's been quite the week Happy belated T Day Elle/EOTC xx