back at it

sometimes, something has to give.  and this time, it was blogging. 

i pride myself in being a super multi-tasker.

but lately, i am not sure what happen. 

i think, at times, it just all catches up with me.

i also think that this time of year,

when i am called out to the garden,

everything else gets put on the back burner.

i love nothing more than cleaning out the flower beds and

getting the vegetable gardens ready (which entailed a new

puppy proof fence this past weekend...update on that later this week).

the boys also love when we play kickball all afternoon outside.

and who doesn't love the crack of a bat this time of year?

oh yes, there have been many baseball games many afternoons.

and when you finally come in, exhausted from the fresh air, and try

to throw something down for dinner, there just wasn't much

energy left for blogging (or being creative for that matter).

and then there is the burlap junktion booth....open every weekend now.

love it, but my is it ever a j.o.b. now. 

but i did take an entire weekend, with the hubby sans the boys. (thanks mom & dad for helping out!)

to tackle the unfinished portion of our basement.  the good old staycation!

the workbench is now cleared off, and every nail, screw and tool is organized.

and....

so is my studio!

i moved, purged, and organized and i can't tell you how wonderful it feels.  wow!

two of these old cabinets came in the basement when we bought the house.

i have always admired their shabbyness.  and finally i put them to good use

in my studio.  i also was sitting on the floor, sorting nails, and had a thought.

how fun to insert some of my favorite papers into the sections on the

cabinet doors.  so i started digging through all my scraps

and just love the result....

most of my papers are stashed away in a file drawer, all color

coordinated and organized.  i never get to see them.  so i thought

this was a perfect idea to get them out where i could see them.

it also fills that 'i need some color, but can't live with it upstairs"

urge that i have been having lately.

was so happy that i had two of them.  allowing me to create

a work area with one on each side.

a random bookshelf, bought at a garage sale months ago, propped on top

makes for some display place.  i have everything here for tagging my items

for the booth.  and each cabinet has shelves inside too that hold things like

tax papers, extra business cards, etc. 

i just used what i had.  all this stuff was just stashed and not being used. 

it is so much more fun organizing with the things you have than spending money on

containers to contain everything.  equally makes me feel like less of a hoarder now that i have

some empty shelves and bins in my studio.

the other side of my studio has this big black cabinet.  also left here at the house

when we moved in.  it was just open shelving and a few years ago i added the toile fabric to the front so that i could store more junk in there.  another random bookshelf that holds necessities but also just pretty things to look at.

my ever favorite galvanized bins.  found at a junk shop when i was living overseas.  they are from a hardware store and they are big and heavy duty.  i will never part with these.  i have 6 total and 3 smaller ones.

threads from grandma.  love the colors and that when i see them i think of her.

ribbons at the ready.  for wrapping packages, or who knows what.

a ribbon fetish you say??  perhaps!  because this is just a small bit of what i actually have.

since i am no longer creating trays, i had every intention of getting rid of all these larger paper rolls.

but i just couldn't do it.  i love to look at them standing all tall in galvanized buckets.

and besides, they'll be perfect when i need to wrap up a small present.

feels so good to be this organized.  and even though my studio is in the unfinished part of the basement, right next to the laundry facilities.  it's my creative space and last week when i had a cup of coffee down there, i think it just might have been the best cup of coffee i have had in awhile.

more to blog about this week...stay tuned!