Thrift Store Sleeve Board Refinish

I love sewing tools and gadgets.  What's even better than having a plethora of them is finding them at a bargain price, as was the case when I found this sleeve board during a recent visit to a local The Salvation Army store.

BLC Day 4: Poppin' Wheelies!

I have long dreamed of having a beautiful and functional space in which to enjoy the various craft activities which interest me.  I recall in the pre-Pinterest days initiating and saving online image searches to see how other sewing-enthusiasts have set up and organized their sewing spaces.  And who hasn't thumbed through a copy of Dream Sewing Spaces by Lynette Ranney Black?

While working in my Sewing Room now, I look around and am pleased to see the progress I've made in improving its efficiency and appearance, but it has not been an overnight process. Most of the improvements have been done over a period of about 10 years - reminds me of the saying "slow and steady wins the race."  Case in point, my Project Table which I actually completed building in 2014 and blogged about in January 2015.  It has truly become a workhorse piece of furniture in my Sewing Room, and provides a lot of great storage capacity underneath its table top...

BLC Day 1: Saving My Bum

I recently shared with you that my Sewing Room serves many functions, including where I manage my household affairs, so it's fair to say my office chair and desk has received lots of use since purchasing them in 2006 and '07 respectively.  My desk, purchased on Target.com, was part of their "Our House" collection and I liked its streamlined appearance and function, plus the approximate $99 price tag was right up my alley.  At the time of my purchase, this furniture line was being discontinued and the only color available was white, so I knew I'd be painting it black as soon as it arrived.

Images taken in 2012

The chair was purchased from Art Van, a well-known furniture store in the Midwest.  I think I paid about $100 for the chair - a price I would never ever pay again for a similar item.  Hindsight is 20/20, right?  Anyway, the seat bottom flattened out significantly over the years.  In fact, I've had several "Princess and the Pea" moments because I could feel the hardware through the seat cushion whenever I sat in the chair.  It is, however, in otherwise good condition, so I decided to simply replace the seat padding.

The space between my desk and chair is one of Max's favorites.

The Dresser Refinish

I shared with you how busy my spring and summer has been due to the amount of travelling I had to do for work.  Well, now that the travel has slowed down, I've been able to devote time to making my sewing space visually appealing.  I finally got all of my pattern boxes decorated, assembled, labeled and filled.  Yes, a couple of them are decorated differently, and the color saturation on others is a little off, but they're all done.  I will revisit the "odd" units at another time.