Beautiful Craft Spaces

Cathy Wall Designs (A Before and After)

2011-09-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

A short BEFORE and AFTER post for you showcasing Cathy Wall's craft room that went through a fabulous makeover! :)

BEFORE

AFTER

Pretty right??

Crafty Amy

2011-09-18T02:02:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm still alive. haha Just haven't blogged for a while. I have to let you in on a secret.. I used to update my blog first thing in the morning when I arrive at work. You see, my cubicle was in a far corner of the room and my computer wasn't really visible to anyone but me. So in the mornings and whenever work got a bit too much, I could get a few minutes and de-stress by posting something.

Well, that's not the case anymore! The company decided to shuffle everyone's space and change the layouts. So now I'm in the middle of the whole room and in full view of everyone! Don't worry, I promise it wasn't because of blogging. We all chose our spaces but by the time it was my team's turn, all the good spots were already taken. Darn. Ah well, I guess that's goodbye to my happy blogging days.. I'll just be posting whenever I can. I do hope you'd still stick with me..

So anyway, today's a weekend. Normally, hubby and I would be at the mall for a movie date or just lounging around at home. But today, he's out with his brothers for a little bonding time over a few beers.

SO! I got some wonderful time for myself! :) And I'm spending it by sharing another craft room with you. :)

This is Amy's space..

I particularly love that she wrote about her "ribbon paper / ribbon holder thingy". That's how she calls it. :) It looks like this..

Yeah, yeah, I know you've seen hundreds like this. But! You haven't seen how her carpenter made this one.. :) Head on over to Playing Sublimely and grab a few tips and tricks from Amy!

Meanwhile, I'm gonna go treat my feet to a pedicure and an ultra relaxing foot spa! :) Til next time!

Cut, Paste and Tumble Dry

2011-09-06T03:49:00.000-07:00

Did you know that for most of us in my country, our laundry area is outdoors and that we still do laundry by hand? Washing machines are pretty common but most of the population still prefer to do stuff the traditional way. The common laundry area pretty much looks like this.

Source

We use tubs for washing and rinsing and then manually wring the clothes to get rid of most of the water. Drying is still done the traditional way too. And that means hanging clothes on a clothesline to dry for the whole day. I guess some of you still do this.

Source

So why am I telling you this? Well, aside from the fact that I simply felt like doing chit-chat and giving you a peek of my beloved Philippine culture, I also wanted to reason with myself on why I simply can't have any of these rooms..

Ah, how lucky you are, my friends from the Western side.. :)

All from Furnishism and a lot more there too!

Teach-Me Tuesdays: Mini PomPoms

2011-08-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

I just love tutorials in a single photo. haha

Source

With winter coming up, this will definitely come in handy! Well, for you at least. We're not lucky enough to have snow in this part of the world. :-/

It pulled me like a magnet

2011-08-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, this idea surely did..

Don't have much space? Utilize your vertical spaces! Get a magnetic board, some canisters and voila!

Source

Pretty clever, don't you think? :)

Two Cute for Words

2011-08-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Living with someone who crafts too? :)

Source

Ready... Set... Draw!

2011-08-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

Do you usually put your thoughts on paper? Do you draw patterns and layouts for your craft projects? I do and I've got a harassed, messy drawing pad to prove it! When I'm inspired, lots and lots of ideas creep into my head and if I don't write them down, I would never remember any of them in the morning. So you see the need for a harassed, messy drawing pad which sometimes doubles as a note pad..

But this would definitely make things a whole lot easier if I had something like it!

It could work for grocery or shopping lists too! You can put it somewhere and everyone in the family can pencil in what they need for the next grocery/shopping session. Of course, you came up with this idea so it's technically yours right? That means you can crinkle your nose, take a felt tip pen and then crash out anything won't suit your budget, thus letting the family member know what you think without needing to say it. haha ;)

Teach-Me Tuesdays: Tying Under the Inkfluence

2011-08-23T06:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another round of Teach-Me Tuesdays!

Let's have a basic but important one for today.. Tying knots and bows! :)

Visit Under the Inkfluence and get ribbon-crazy! :)

Eeney, Meeney, Miney, Moe

2011-08-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

Catch a tiger by its toe. Haha I love and miss my nursery rhymes..

Okay on to business.

I really thought making this blog would make designing my own craft room a lot easier in the future. I have collected lots and lots of ideas to last me a lifetime, I've seen almost every possible way to dress up a craft room and I've had the chance to look at (and drool over) color combinations, storage options, furniture and layout.

So why in the world do I feel like I have too many favorites? haha For one thing, I can't decide which desk I would love to have!

I found this one a few minutes ago..

Source

So now I can't decide. The one above or this other one from a previous post?

Which would you choose if you were in my shoes? :)

Appreciated Follower

2011-08-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ah. Finally some time to accept and pass this wonderful award! :) I happily grabbed this from Anne-Marie's Blog. I love visiting her blog and absolutely adore her creations!! She has great talent for card-making and it's always a pleasure to read whatever she has to say. Seriously, never a dull post! Her post about the award was really sweet, and true to the award's intent, I really felt appreciated. :) Thanks, Anne-Marie!

I also eagerly grabbed this award because it came with the chance to pass it on. Ehem. Allow me to get a bit sentimental okay?

I started BCS a little over three months ago. I was looking at craft rooms and collecting ideas at a rate that was a wee bit more than the usual that it harbored on obssession, and so in an effort to keep my sanity I thought, "Why not share these with others instead of keeping them all to myself?" And so BCS was born. I didn't expect much, I just created a new blog and winged it! I never expected that my humble blog would have this many followers in such a short time or that my mornings would start with me excitedly and happily reading what you have to say. And I never expected to "meet" wonderful people along the way. That was a beautiful surprise. Oh and let's not forget your visits! Your visits keep me going. :) No matter how long this blog will stay up, I will always remember you who have been with me right from the start and I will cherish the friendship and trust you have given me always.

I know not all of you will have the time to accept this and pass it on. And it's okay. :) What's important is you took the time to read what I have to say. Thank you SO much.. I can never fully express how much I appreciate you and all that you do.. *HUGS*

Yes, Please

2011-08-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

Source

A craft room with a bay window... *sigh*

Would the day ever come when I would show you all my very own craft space? I don't think our dining table fits the bill so I don't have anything to show you.. Yet. :)

Visualize and Improvise

2011-08-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of repurposing. I always keep thinking I can find some use for something that others would have easily thrown away. I'm a firm believer that there's always more than 10 ways to use something. :) I guess that's partly why my room has always been full of junk. LOL

When I get my own craft space {I said "when", not "if"}, I'll definitely get down to a lot of repurposing, DIY stuff! Do you have anything repurposed in your craft room?

So You Think You Can Paper Craft

2011-08-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

Wait til you see these!!

Source

Pretty cool huh?? :)

Cozy, Lacey, Country Beauty

2011-08-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

This home is just too pretty for words!! I absolutely LOVE it! I'm going to take you on a mini photo tour and then you can go visit the home yourself.. virtually of course. Bummer, I know.

So of course, we're going to start with the craft room, that much is a given!

*Sigh* Be still my heart.. Oh but isn't it just GORGEOUS???? *Sigh*

Ehem. Okay, moving on... Here's the rest of this lovely home...

Don't you just adore how girly it is??? :) Ready to go pay a visit? Head on over to The Old Painted Cottage.

Breaking the Silence

2011-08-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

Erm... It's awfully quiet here.. I can almost hear crickets.

Hi, ladies!!! Soooo sorry for going MIA for a while. I had one of those Today-I'm-not-going-to-do-anything days except that in my case, it went on for a week! But I did miss blogging and drooling over gorgeous craft spaces so... I'm breaking the silence. :)

First up, we have Craft-O-Maniac's dramatic craft room makeover!

BEFORE

AFTER

Didn't I say it was dramatic? I love how doable this is! She didn't use anything that would burn holes in our pockets and most of the materials and storage she used can definitely be bought from the local stores.

More photos for ya!

Want more? Head on over to Craft-O-Maniac then!

Ni Hao! =)

2011-08-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone! Sorry for not being able to post more lately.. I'm starting to pay for my week-long absence from work. Piles of papers on my desktop!! I've been tempted many times to just put everything in the trash bin and start with a clean slate. Ha! Wonder what my boss would say..

Our trip to Beijing definitely refreshed all of us! We didn't enjoy following our tour guide very much though. Although we loved the conveniences of just following her around and having a private car to take us places, keeping up with the tour guide's pace definitely didn't suit our tastes.

Take for example The Forbidden City. .

Isn't the place wonderful? The beautiful place has so much history that it would probably take a whole day to explore it and learn about the emperors and empresses who lived in it (and the emperors' concubines of course). Because we had a tour guide to follow and keep up with, we breezed through the place and were done in an hour. Yep, an hour.

I learned some interesting facts though. Did you know that the whole Forbidden City only housed one man (the emperor, of course) at any one time? The rest are girls and the emperor can choose to sleep with any of them. It's like thousands of girls belonged to one emperor. If at some point you were lucky (or unlucky?) to be chosen as the emperor's partner, even if it was just for one, single night and even if you never wanted to be, you are no longer allowed to step out of the Forbidden City for the rest of your life. If you weren't, you have the option to leave the place after 10 years.

Language Barrier
I guess the most difficult thing we had to deal with during our trip had to be the language barrier. It really surprised us when we realized that only one staff in our hotel spoke and understood English! We had to wait for her shift to start before we could start asking how to go around or where to buy prepaid credits for our phones so we can call home and other stuff. Ding was genuinely nice and helpful though and she managed to answer all of our questions. And if we needed to ask someone while we were exploring the city, we looked for young locals, those who looked like they're still in school, and we were sure to be understood.

Tour Highlights
As expected, one of the highlights of the trip was conquering the Great Wall of China amidst short breaths, buckets of sweat and aching limbs. That has got to be the hardest climb I've made, ever. And I didn't even get very far! Haha!

Most of the trip was spent walking (lots and lots of that!), climbing and enduring long periods of time under the scorching heat of the sun. So you can imagine our delight when, during the 4th day, we visited Beihai Park, the largest and most preserved imperial park in Beijing. It was sooooo beautiful and peaceful I wanted to take the whole park home with me and hide it in my backyard!

And of course, who would forget about these adorable, furry, black-and-white babies? We went to see super cute pandas at the Beijing Zoo!

No, he's not dead. He simply decided he didn't want

to face and entertain us so he gave us a good view

of his cute panda butt instead. :)

And here's a photo of us in rickshaws, getting ready to explore the old alleys of Beijing and see how the locals live their everyday lives..

So I guess that's that! I have so many stories and pictures but they would probably bore you to death so let's just limit it to the highlights. :) I wouldn't want to kill anybody out of boredom..

We all loved the whole trip and are already looking forward to our next adventure together. But probably not too soon since we've used up almost all of our savings. lol It was well worth it anyway..

And since I'm still in Beijing spirit, let me leave you with a link to a FREE downloadable Asian-themed scrapbook paper that you can print and use as many times as you'd like. Feel free to browse through the site since it also has other pretty freebies. :)

Hmm.. I can already see myself cutting the lanterns out and sticking them to a card using foam tape!

Have a great day!!

I'm Baaaaaack!!!

2011-08-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

So how have you all been? :) I missed you guys. Of course, I won't be a hypocrite and say I didn't enjoy my trip. We loved China!! I hope you're prepared to endure a long post because I'm sharing my trip with you all! But not on this post though. Just a short one for today. I was greeted with a pile of overdue work when I got back to the office. Urgh.

This is a bit late, I hope you'll bear with me.. This is a tutorial for a handmade invitation you might want to try making. :) Enjoy!

See TUTORIAL and have fun!!

First of Many

2011-07-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

Little Crafting Buddies

2011-07-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you love to have this and craft with your kids? *Sigh* Be ready for twice or three times your normal mess though..

Source

Queen Elizabeth (Of the Crafting World)

2011-07-28T05:39:00.000-07:00

Craft room tour!! Yipee!!

Wanna see more? Click here to visit Elizabeth's Craft Room. =) Enjoy!

Teach-Me Tuesdays: Pom-Poms

2011-07-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's really that easy! Click here for the tutorial.

Teach-Me Tuesdays: Revamp the Lamp!

2011-07-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another round of Teach-Me Tuesdays! Got a super easy one for you all today. A five-minute project to bring new life into a few lamps in the home.. :)

Instructions and more photos at Beach Vintage!

To my friend, Anne-Marie, today's a tough day, honey, but you'll get through it. Prayers and hugs going out to you..

Another Reason for Australia

2011-07-25T06:35:00.000-07:00

Let's go to Australia!! Why? Well.. There's the mountains, the wildlife, the beaches, Ayers Rock, Opal mines, etc, etc... Still not convinced? How bout this then..

Simone lives in a charming beach house in Australia. These photos are actually of her old studio. She blogs about her crafting projects (all types) and about her ongoing project of designing and furnishing her new studio (which, to my own opinion, is going to ever prettier than this one!). You will definitely not regret following her blog, Beach Vintage.

A Rack that Rocks!

2011-07-24T05:58:00.000-07:00

Imagine if you can repurpose your old, ugly cd rack...

... into this!

Click here to learn how!

Off to China!

2011-07-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hi, ladies!! Guess what? I'm really, really, really, really excited to say... I'm off to Beijing, China!! Ron and I are celebrating our first anniversary and we thought, well, what better way to celebrate than take our first out-of-the-country trip together? Sort of like a second honeymoon. Only my mum and aunt will be tagging along. *sigh* Spoilsports. lol Nah, I love them both to pieces and we're happy they're coming with us! Actually, we invited them. The more, the merrier! :)

This is a scheduled post by the way. Knowing me, I'm probably running around the house for some last-minute packing by the time you read this. And Ron is probably rolling his eyes and sighing at my harassed state knowing that he's told me a dozen times to pack ahead of time. hihi Yep, we make a good team. Anyway, I knew I'd never get any blogging done on the day we leave. Hence, the scheduled post. And a few more scheduled posts for the next few days so you won't miss me! :) lol

The Great Wall of China

The Forbidden City

Hutongs (Ancient Alleyways)

Will share more photos when we get back next week!

Before I go, here's a before-and-after for ya! From brown china cabinet (china - get it? :P)...

BEFORE

... to white craft room storage space!!

AFTER

More details at the BirdHouse Blog.

Enjoy your week, ladies! :)