Craft "Foyer"

We have had a foyer that was over-utilized by collecting our "junk" as we'd come in and out the front door.  Granted, it was intentioned that said "junk" would find their homes in the immediate future when we put them there, but it just never happened.  I decided to turn it into my crafting space since we don't have any extra room to spare.  The idea was born of the following:

1. My need to corral D1 & D2 whilst crafting oodles of goodies for then yet-to-arrive D3.  I figured it'd be safer to set them up with toys in baby jail (gated off living play room) and me to be right there where I could still keep an eye on them.
2. Quell my nesting instinct and find the "junk" places to live.
3. My love for all things Ikea
4. Force AH to finally refinish the desk we found at a thrift store.

Without further ado, the BEFORES:

In this one, we used to have an old ottoman that was my Nan's sitting under the print.  We were supposedly using it as a place for AH to sit and take off his boots and all of us to take off/put on shoes in general so we didn't wear/stain the carpet excessively (we live in military family housing and have light beige carpet....seriously?  who puts extremely light carpet in any rental?)..alas it collected junk.  it has been relegated to underneath the dining table for extra seating when needed.

Here's the door to the great abyss....

The corner with my FIRST project EVER!  My Great Aunt Mary and I finished this piece when I was 6, and she had purchased a Princess Diana collector's doll with her dresses (I got two a month for about a year :)  It's rough and needs to be redone.  It's on the "AH-do List")

A different view of the corner for a better idea of the space I'm working with.

AFTERS!:

First view from jail de trois bebes then from door into jail de trois bebes.  The mess is nasked by curtains I mounted on tension rods.  I made the curtains from an old twin sized flat sheet.  It only "ate" a thrid of the fabric then I was bothered by the bright blue dress form...so Bessie got herself some duds from the rest of said "sheet".

Evidence of my Ikea Love/Hate relationship.....The "mom"-gineer was told by the sales people at Ikea that this rack was bookcase-depth.  Not the case,  And let me tell youse...the little drawings are deceptive and this lady can't do simple math.  Took it out, put it together and was not allowed to return it....

So I "mom"-gineered it into storage for tutu and bow-making supplies.  Note the ribbon trim on the curtains.

It sits atop the SUPER SUPER SUPER versatile Expedit (Ikea) bookcase.  This fits 12" cubes/baskets which house my seriously depleted yarn stash.  Our neighbors were going to sell their Expedit at a yard sale and gave it to us (literally for FREE) when I was asking to measure it to see if it would fit here.  FYI: Fits PERFECTLY, and I seriously cannot thanks the ANs (B&S) nearly enough!

The machines in here are all Brothers.  The first is my very first "baby", an LS1217 given to me by my mother and only does a straigh and zig zag stitch.  I <3 it though and will never get rid of it.  The second is an XL3750.  Still a "lower" end machine to most, but I like it cause it's teaching me some basics.  I used it so much the first two weeks I owned it and the motor literally burnt out.  Evidence that Brother has an awesome warranty and are super easy to deal with: they pulled a trailer off a ship to get a motor meant for a new machine off of a pallet being sent overseas to go into my machine.  I was quoted at 2 weeks time frame for it to be fixed, and the dealer got it back to me within 2 DAYS.  Essential functions: needle threader, drop-in bobbin with clear casing & one-step automatic buttonholer.  Will not live without these again if I am ever able to upgrade to a "Cadillac".  The third is my serger...a 1034D.  She's like a bratty preteen so I don't pull her out all too often.  She scares and intimidates me.  Good machine, just....scary.  She is waiting for the next serger class where I will likely be convinced that she needs a "boyfriend" (coverstitch)...and then another man on the side (a Bernina).

The train case is just my sewing box and was an antique that I hijacked from my aunt who hijacked it from my grandmother who hijacked it from my great grandmother.  It was too teeny for my makeup (I have a 'kit' as my career ADD led me through cosmetology and esthician schools), but it totally served the purpose for sewing notions (and saved me a good $40-50 in the process).  

Underneath the train case is my mending pile (We buy a great deal of awesome clothing at local thrift stores....the catch: price tags are double STAPLED through the fabrics in rather conspicuous areas).  Some of the things here are new projects as well.

I have a card table that I keep off to the side for a bigger workspace when I need to cut fabric or map patterns etc.  The hook is from Ikea (comes in a two pack).  The purpose: place to hang UFOs if I need to switch from one thing to another.  IE: I am working on a dress for D1 and need to sew patches onto AH's uniforms (wishfully it will happen in a few weeks).

My 'sister' calls this the corner where the hooker works now.  She stops here regularly herself to pick up some crafty crack.  NOTE: I crochet...hence the "hooker" reference.  Sister also happens to be one of my rugby teammates where my position is....you guessed it!  A HOOKER (and that's a legit position).

We (I) moved around the family pictures.  Newborn shots of D1-D3 will go to the left of the family picture (which looking at it needs some serious updating).  They're in JoAnn's down the road being custom framed.  On the right are pictures of all of our foster kiddos (the bottom picture is being reprinted as we speak.  D2 decided it'd be fun to throw a ball for the first time into the picture of her brother which shattered the glass to which the picture was stuck for some reason.  Frame was replaced...picture in process.  Cut out of the shot is a vinyl decal with the verse Jeremiah 29:11 which we thought fitting giving both our journey with the foster care system and infertility.  Totally our life verse.  The print and sconces are being replaced with "shadowboxes" that will house my thread.  The part that you would "see through" is going to be replaced by those padded bowboards (French Memo types).  Saw the project on Craftster...too awesome NOT to attempt...AH and AN (awesome neighbor) are building the boxes.....still. :)  The light was an Ikea impulse buy....$7.99 for the light complete with halogen bulb.  Take that million dollar Ott Light that I keep oogling!  Task lighting at it's finest....  The organizer is something I got in a swap.  It's an 8X10 acrylic fram with a "sleeve" place over top of it...a pretty nifty cntraption if I might say so.  I wish I could remember who gave it to me because I'd have her make me a million more cause time is no longer my friend.

The desk....the desk would have gotten a whole post of it's own if I had remembered to take before pictures of it.  It was straight up "retro"...a pasty shade of that icky mustard yellow and all sorts of swirly with layer after layer of paint and scrolly handles and all.

The labor that went into this $30 thrifty find ($24 desk and $6 chair) is a level of amazing that I can barely comprehend.  I mean easy, yes...but beyond tedious for AH/AN.  The fabric for the cushion was an upholstery remnant from Michaels for about $2.

D2 and D1 telling me to get my rear in gear and make them some stuff!! :)  Man were they small! 

Hope you enjoyed our little tour of where some of my magic happens :)

<3 M