It's good to be back, after a 4-month break from creating and blogging. It wasn't entirely my choice to have such a long hiatus after packing up my craft supplies in preparation for moving house, but I've just "rolled with the punches", and here I am! In those 4 months, I have:
- packed up my old house, and moved into my new (hopefully forever) home that I just love;
- been on an amazing trip to the US, which included attending a huge Stampin' Up! event in Salt Lake City (the "home"of Stampin' Up!);
- seen my first-born move out of home, into the house he has bought with his gorgeous fiancee;
- got divorced;
- and dealt with both elderly parents being hospitalised, and needing ongoing care, that has put huge strain on our whole family.
Is it any wonder I am chomping at the bit, to get creating again??!!
My new house ticked all the boxes for me, except for having a dedicated space I could use as a craft room. The 3 (or possibly 4) car garage was way bigger than I needed, so I claimed half of the garage space, to be converted into a craft room. Are you ready for some "before" and "after" photos?
Here are some photos I took of the garage, before the works started. The nearest roller door is the one I kept as a car space, and the further door is the area that was to be converted.
Trying the space out for size, for my class tables:
The external door (with glass panels, to left of picture), which will be the entrance point to a newly-created corridor, leading to the craft room.
Day 1 progress! The roller door was removed, and internal walls created.
You can see the corridor now created by the internal walls having been put up:
Day 2 was an exciting day, as the window frames went in:
Window panes are in!
.... and the floor tiles are down:
At this point, because it had been a bit of a protracted process, and I had so much else going on, I didn't take any more step-by-step photos. I can now share with you the "finished product"- woohoo!
Here is the room, that is adjacent to my car-parking space:
I have always wanted to live in a house with at least one barn door, so was able to fulfil my dream!
When you slide open the barn door, this is what you see:
Isn't it beautiful?! It has turned out exactly as I'd planned. I am waiting on window blinds, but aside from that, everything is in place, and my room is ready for me to use.
I made sure there was room for my Ikea Expedit unit, that has been housed in each of my (now three) craft rooms. I just love the overhead cupboards, that open upwards, and have soft-close fittings, like the drawers.
This is my creating space. I used the same cabinet makers who created my last craft room, and stuck with the same white cabinetry, and Organic White Caesarstone benchtops.
This view, from my desk, is looking back towards the garage. The tables are for use in classes, or when friends come over to craft. The standing-height unit at the rear left-hand side is the "Big Shot station" - for embossing and die-cutting.
Here's the finished exterior view:
.... and looking in to my craft room,, from outside (complete with reflections of my neighbours' beautiful houses!):
I hope you've enjoyed this "tour"of my lovely craft room. I look forward to sharing some cards with you before too long.
