Sprouting: A new design and organization tips!

Hello everyone! Wow, can you believe that July is almost here? It may be hot and sticky at times, but there’s so much to do and explore—let’s make it a great Summer! 

Yesterday I visited my good friend Sarah G. for the first time in a while, with a belated graduation gift I had been meaning to give her before I went adventuring up north for the next few weeks. In the process of making her gift, I discovered (almost by accident) that it was a design that I wanted to pursue for my upcoming Blueberry Crumble plushies. “Happy little accidents,” as Bob Ross (one of my role models) might say! It helped me to find ways in which to improve over previous designs I’ve had, and Sarah sure seemed to enjoy her new friend. Here’s a picture:

                                                 Hello! Do you have any carrots?

The rabbit, who I tentatively dubbed “Bonnie Bun,” is a step up from its cousin Strawberry-Choco the cat; for starters, I’ve been continuing to practice embroidery, and although Bonnie’s eyes didn’t come out exactly as I’d hoped, I have a much better idea of how I’d like my dolls’ eyes to look in the future. I also learned how to do button-jointing, which I though added a cute touch to the limbs and a little more potential for posing and interaction. (Bonnie can either lay back on a nice patch of grass or assume the hug position!) I wanted to blog about the bunny doll because I felt it was a big improvement for me and the vision I had for my plushies, even though it started out as a simple gift, which is important to me—I went for months without really knowing what I wanted to do or what I wanted my dolls to look like. Hooray for small victories!

                                                  A closer view of the button jointed arm.

Slowly but surely, more space is being cleared in the second bedroom (or “craft room,” as I reluctantly call it), which is another step in the right direction. I’ve managed to get a lot of stuff off of my main desk, clearing up room for my sewing machine to be used, and cleared a lot more floor space; the cleaner it gets, the more I actually want to go in there and craft, funny enough! I think having your own personal space has a bit of sacredness to it and can be almost like an escape, depending on the atmosphere of the room. It is what you make it to be, after all! With this in mind, I set out to find some helpful tips on keeping an area organized and clutter-free, to maximize happiness and productivity—something anyone can benefit from, to be sure! Here are some webpages that stood out to me:

1. Organizing Your Craft Room: http://www.getcreativeshow.com/Craft_Sew_Business/Business_Seminars/craftroom.htm
2. Tips for Organizing Craft Room (via Country Living): http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/make-craft-room-0306
3. How To Organize Craft and Hobby Materials (via eHow): http://www.ehow.com/how_137851_organize-craft-hobby.html
4. Easy Organizing: Craft Supplies (via Good Housekeeping): http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/organizing/organizing-craft-room

This is just the tip of the iceberg! Hopefully this inspires you to come up with your own ideas for organizing your own craft space and making it an easy place to work and unwind. Good luck!

That’s all for now, friends! I’ll be away from July 2nd to the 17th, so in the meantime, why not leave a comment? I’d like to hear about any Fourth of July plans you might have or any updates on your own craftstuffs! Take care!

Best wishes,
-Angie